achildr1

Dude, I know you said your not a big trade guy, but whoa. That's straight nuts. No offer sheet. Bad news. The whole offer sheet process isn't cool. Poaching players at rediculous prices (real dollars and compensation), not something I see Kenny & co doing. If Huds reclaims some value and we package a prospect (Sheahan, Pulkinnen, Nyquist, or Jarnkrok. To a lesser extent Emmerton and Nestrasil. Smith, Tater, and McCullom are probably safe.) and a 1st rnd pick, we might be able to land a Suter or Seabrook type (might have to be in thier RFA year) Just for fun, here's what I think it may reasonably take to get Doughty if he were realistically available (not in an RFA year), taking into account the Kings roster. And I think it would look like a possibly beefed up Pronger trade... Hudler/Filppula Ericsson/Abdelkader Smith/Tater 1st 2nd In an RFA year: Hudler Smith/Tater 1st 2nd BTW, I would be very suprised if any team with a Doughty, Suter, or Seabrook type lets them go. It's such a bad idea to let good, young d-men walk.

It took Brian Rolston, Sami Pahlsson, Martin Grenier, and the Avs 2000 1st round pick to land Bourque. I took a minute to consider it and came up with what our deal might have been comparing similar players: Martin Lapointe Kris Draper Maxim Kuznetsov 2000 1st round pick (Kronwall) *btw, we traded our '99 and '01 picks for Chelios That's not even considering that the Bruins may have asked for more from us because of the owner fued. I think that's an extremely hefty price. Considering we won in '02 anyway and some of those pieces helped in '08, it probably was better we didn't go that route.

I forgot about Rafalski being out. We've been playing great considering our #2 d-man and a big peice of our PP has been out. Considering that he'd be a #1 on alot of teams, says alot for our ability to compete with key guys out, as if last year didn't prove that anyway. Not sure if it really speaks to our depth though because Janik, Kindl, and E can't come close to bringing the kind of play Rafalski can.

There really isn't a reason that this team shouldn't be good. I thought Halak would be huge for this team. With a goalie that steals games (or series'), a team like the Blues could make noise. They're young, talented, and diverse in the type of young players they employ. I don't think they have a chance at the Cup this year (although who thought Montreal was going anywhere last year.) If they picked up a top 4 d-man and another forward throughout the season they could theoretically compete.

Jimmy needs to get pulled, even though these really aren't his fault.

This game is nuts. It's like playoff pace with 70% more goals.

That kid is no joke, he's an upgrade over a Kopecky type. Wouldn't be suprised if he put up some decent numbers. He's the reason I think the Hawks won that deal with Atlanta.

Yea, I think 9 games isn't enough. Give it a little time. Last year I thought Bert was lazy, and he was, but he's tearin' it up. Huds has shown he has what it takes, and is still young. Chill.

Crosby tossed him about quite a bit. That said, Crosby is probably gonna get demolished one day by an experienced fighter, if he ever agrees to go with one.

One of my favs, Stacy Roest. http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=540341

Yep. Meant exactly what I said. One of the worst in 15 years. I can't name 5 guys that I thought were as bad as Lilly Pad, The No-Pain Train, upon his arrival. I'll even cut it down to the last 10 years, when I had become more intelligent hockey wise. My worst Wing's (since 2000): Andreas Lilja - The first year he was here, I was astounded he made the team. This guy brought absolutely nothing to the ice. Here was an about 6'2", 200 lbs plus d-man, who didn't use his size at all. Didn't get his stick in the way. Couldn't pass, shoot, or hit worth a darn. The only reason I even thought they brought him in was in the hopes that he may one day use his size to his advantage...and it never happened. He was constantly bad on a team with very few weak links, let alone out right bad players. At that point he wasn't only not bringing any pluses to the rink, he was a liability. The Selanne goal ('07 playoffs), on Lily's give-away, wasn't a surprise at all to me at the time. My only shock was why they even let him on the ice in that OT at all. Would have taken Patrick Boileau or Cory Cross instead, anyday. Fast forward to '09-'10. Lilja was no longer a constant liability. He rarely was my scapegoat anymore. He wasn't great but he wasn't bad enough to constantly stand out. There was even one game, one of the last I saw him in, that I thought he might have had the best game out of our players that particular night. Needless to say, it was quite the occassion. Boyd Devereaux -Skated like a newborn deer, just a bit better than Holmstrom. Only difference is, Holmstrom knows what he's doing with a stick in his hands. This dude played on an explosive line, with Dats and Hull, and still couldn't muster more than 25 points. There was nothing more than very short glimpses of anything more and who knows why Edmonton drafted him so high.. Robert Lang. (Not at first, but the longer he stayed here.) - No heart. Doesn't belong on a Wings team. Lazy. Derian Hatcher - High expectations, no follow through. Me and my GF used to joke he'd literally be better without a stick. There's probably more, but Lilly is obviously the one who I feel like i've been subjected to the most.

When, and in what world, has Lilja ever showed anything in his skill set or play to ever suggest he's: 1. Great (at anything, let alone overall) 2. Worthy of a number 3 or 4 d-man spot, even on a bad team ? The Lilly-pad love has gone too far obviously, for some. The Red Wings made Andreas into a relatively useful defenseman from an absolutely horrendus one. Lilja was one of the worst players I have ever seen on the squad in my 15 years of watching them, when he first came here. He progressively got better in his tenure, to become a PK specialist, and a relatively good shot blocker. He never used his size to his advantage, not even with his reach did he make much of a differance. Lilja was never better on this team than a 5th d-man, nor should he ever had been. The gap in overall play and ability between him and Brad Stuart is tremendous. Enter 2010 Free Agency period. Lilja, although just coming off a concussion, hardly gets a sniff from any NHL team. Almost goes back overseas, only to receive a try-out from a Sharks team with a thin blueline. Fails to make that team, and is signed to Anaheim to replace another d-man who would be no higher than our 5th d-man if we were to have him, and who I believe most LGWer's hold in higher esteem. I can't think of one NHL team that Lilja could be a clear cut #4 guy on, even pre-concussion. It took me all of one of Ruslan Salei's shifts to be thankful that he replaced Lilja. Datsyuk's undressing of him in the clutch against the Ducks burnt up any shade of remorse for his absence in this lineup.

No. No. No. (per Wikipedia) June 30, 2010 - Re-signed by the New Jersey Devils for three years for $2 million the first year and $3 million for the second and third year, with a total cap hit of $2.6 million. 1. We don't need that big of a contract for a third line enforcer type, although he may have 50 point potential (per THN) 2. I'm gonna imagine that 50 pts for him would only happen playing consistantly on the top 2 lines, something he would not do here. 3. Hudler's upside, which he has come closer to realizing than Clarkson, is 70 pts 4. It's 9 games into the season, chill out!

I think I had a dream, about two nights ago, where Kevin "Ticker" Hodson was our 'tender again. Even in the dream I was all "wth is he doing in goal?"

Wow. That's clean hit.

Incredible. I might expect this from an Atlanta paper, but our central division rival? I know they know who Datsyuk is, he only dekes out thier whole team 6 times a year. This is embarrassing.

Ok. Sometimes I'm literally shocked by how we get on LGW about certain players. Average, or less than average, 4th liners and 6th d-man get some major love around here. Modano should have had a spot (at least before we got to see how disinterested he seems) over Ritola, period. His ring, style of play, and experiance made him a better option (even a better gamble, over Ritola's upside) for this years Cup run. This is what the Wings do and we all know it. Personally, I don't and didn't care that we lost Ritola. Even if hew is V.Flip lite©, which I'm not sure many people would support that comparison, it's not like we have a shortage of those kind of players. In the system we got Joakim Andersson, Riley Sheahan, and Gustav Nyquist (three better than average two-way prospects, the first and last could play as early as next year). The second "tier" (which I would have included Ritola in) would include Corey Emmerton and possibly I.Flip, could play this year. Ritola, at age 23, never had over 42 pts in GR, although he played less than 82 games in those years. He's straddling the line between prospect and depth player. And on the Wings, he should never play above the fourth line. Emmerton is essentially the same case. This adds up to: Ritola wasn't special in any way, he could and will be easily replaced, and had no future with this team in any meaningful role. His window with the Wings was this year, a year in which Modano (in theory) is more valuable and has more potential to affect a single Cup run. Next year he probably would have been shipped off anyway. He'll stand to get a much better chance to succeed in TB.

I'm kinda curious about what other teams fans are saying, like us at LGW. I thought I knew one of the Pens sites but it was pretty lame/seemed like it wasn't used a lot. You guys know where we can prey on some unknowledgable/less fortunate hockey fans? ...besides the Hawks fans that seem to love to share their delusions on LGW....

"cause we know Nashville will score four" Lol. Pretty much. When Ozzie starts, I expect no less than a three goals against. I always tell people, if the opponent has five, you know who started. And up until last game, he used to blame everybody but himself for his woes. Drove me nuts. It was always that Babcock doesn't believe in him, our won't play him for three weeks straight so he can get on a role. Our defence didn't help him or our offense didn't score. His audacity was infuriating. But, I listened to the post game interview with him after last game, and he was finally owning up to the fact that he might be to blame. On to the game. I think whatever happens will depend on Rinne. Suter and Lombardi are out. Their line-up is pretty thin to begin with. With Nashville, if they beat us, its usually thier goaltending or they just flat out work us. I would venture to say, if they beat us with four or more goals, it will be another couple bad goals on Osgood that is to blame. Prediction: 4-2 Wings. Lidstrom, Franzen, Holmstrom, Helm (open net) Only 2 on Ozzy because I just don't believe in Nashville offence. Otherwise, like I said, 3 is my floor with Chris.

"oh my goodness, did you get the dramamine?"- Mickey Datsyuk just deked out Taylor Pyatt's soul.

I've always thought this. Imagine swinging your stick around carelessly back when no one had helmets or visors. I bet it wasn't looked upon very highly. The more equipment though, the less careful players will be.

Agreed. In the long run, I believe Datsyuk would have the longer sustained success, career-wise, because his stand alone ability. He is the more naturally skilled all-around player over Zetterberg. While Z has flashes of individual brillance, I think he would end up as a poor man's Steve Yzerman in his late 30's, a two-way player with less offense then Steve put out (thus my reasoning for cringing when he signed his life deal). Also, Henrik's whole game takes more physical exertion, leading to reduced effectiveness late in his career. Datsyuk usually skates at less than top speed, his defensive game focuses more on craftiness and a quick stick lift than physicality, and his game is 90% his hockey sense (which isn't going anywhere with age). In reality, disregarding age, if i had to only have one of them, it would be Pavel.

"Henrik Zetterberg does" Nope. Nice try though. The Selke's and takeaways speak for themselves.

Wings (away)- (2) Yzerman, (1) signed Preds (white, old style)- plain Caps (white, the bad ones)- 3 bucks ar thrift store Leafs (white)- C. Joseph 'Nucks (white, Messier era)- plain, free HOF (rangers dark style)

Haha. Love it.