e_prime

Oh Boy! Another thread about how much Bettman sucks!! Yeah, yeah, yeah... we know. However... I'll give him this much. *fore-finger and thumb about a quarter of an inch apart* His comments on the salary-cap and cap management are spot on, specifically as MacLean speaks to the point on the Flyers and Flames cap situations: Bettman: "How you spend under the cap determines what your team is going to look like. If you don't leave yourself some room under the cap for injuries there's consequences for that. No club did anything wrong. You use your judgement and Calgary had a lot of injuries and made a trade and didn't leave themselves enough room." MacLean: "Holgrom said, 'We wanna be the best, I guess we can't be.' You have to have leeway." B: "No, what you have to do is leave yourself room to deal with all contingencies. ...Injuries are a part of the game." McL: "So you wouldn't consider a change? (Leeway for clubs with x # of injuries in some phantom amount of time created by McL and his distaste of the cap) Don't you think the fans get cheated? The standings get cheated?" B: "It's no different when a team signs a player who turns out to not to be the player they thought they signed and they used up their cap space. Part of the system is to ensure that all of the teams can be competitive ...if there's no consequence for one team leaving no cap space you've blown a hole in the system. It's a playing rule of sorts. When clubs make their cap decisions they have to do it understanding the consequences." McL: "So, you're okay with 15 skaters?" B: "No, I'm okay with the teams making choices. I didn't determine the 15 skaters. They did by using up their cap space." ...and the Master of Cap Space = Kenny Holland. :thumbup:

It's just such a depressing post. I mean, if he's a supposed fan since '93?! There have been some let-downs between then and now, sure... but I just don't see this year being one of those years. You know, I'm all for cautious optimism... or as least tempered enthusiasm... He's not screaming from the rafters that the Wings are going to lose the next four games, but putting statistics, percentages, and everything else aside... He doesn't think the Wings can pull it out. Where's his ******* team pride??

*shakes head* I... I don't even know how to respond to this... The Wings are playing well. Plainly. Simply. We are getting great effort from all lines. I do not know why your confidence has been shaken so. Yes, the Pens will probably get some momentum from being on home ice, but I think the Wings are going to take a game on their ice. I pray for your soul.

And why would you do that in the first place? I don't trust 90% of jock-talker's knowledge of hockey, and certainly no-one on that station. On topic: We're beating this dead horse of a topic into the ground. I certainly would love for Hossa to be signed, but not at the expense of depth. Moving forward, can't we talk about who we could sign instead of Hossa?

"I can't believe I shook his freakin' hand" -- Dino Ciccarelli (This spat, after Claude Lemieux destroyed Kris Draper's face.) --- I don't think anything that has happened in this series thusfar would keep any Wing from shaking hands with any of the Ducks players. ESPECIALLY when we bounce them from the playoffs.

Chilli Dogs and Thongs. My new band name. Discuss.

Michael and Tony never talk about hockey. Never. Ever. Ever. They don't care about hockey. Even Mr. Chicago, Michael Wilbon will not talk about the Hawks until they are in the SCF. If they didn't take the time to mention Torts getting suspended or Brashear getting suspended or Avery getting suspended... they ain't talking about hockey. Of course, I have no idea if they talked about these subjects because I don't waste time watching PTI for hockey. ...or Around the Horn either.

Yeah, really! I'd really like to know what that announcer is watching... 'cuz it certainly isn't the same fight I'm seeing.

Infer what you will from my topic header. Just the facts, ma'am: During a stopage in play, Sean Avery "innocently" skates by Tim Thomas and "accidentally" hit him in the back of the head with his stick. Mayhem ensues. Here's the vid.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?...;name=hradek_ej Why Red Wings' 100-point feat is absolutely mind-boggling Monday, March 16, 2009 | Feedback | Print Entry While we were celebrating Martin Brodeur's terrific achievement over the weekend (Bravo, Martin!), the Detroit Red Wings quietly set an impressive record. When the Wings beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 to the dismay of a packed house at Nationwide Arena on Sunday, they cracked the 100-point mark for an NHL-record ninth consecutive season. Think about that. It's an impressive feat under any circumstances. I think it's even more impressive when you consider the Wings have done it as they've transitioned from a Steve Yzerman-Brendan Shanahan-Brett Hull team to a Pavel Datsyuk-Henrik Zetterberg-Johan Franzen squad. And they've done it as the league has changed from a clutching-and-grabbing circuit that operated without a salary cap to today's post-lockout NHL. To me, that makes the feat absolutely mind-boggling. It really is a special accomplishment for the Ilitch family, GM Ken Holland and the entire group in Hockeytown. The Wings, who have had some unusually lopsided losses in recent weeks, put on a clinic against the upstart Blue Jackets. Afterward, Columbus coach Ken Hitchcock made his feelings about the defending champions very clear. "I don't care who plays Detroit," Hitchcock said. "If they decide to play that way, not many teams are going to beat them ... and nobody is going to beat them in a series. If they're going to play that way, certainly teams are going to be lucky to win games against them." Interestingly, the Red Wings are three points better through 70 games than last season's team. You might not have guessed that based on the many puck watchers who've voiced concern over the Wings. In particular, there has been a lot of discussion over the club's goaltending. Clearly, three-time Cup winner (twice as a starter) Chris Osgood has struggled for a good portion of the season. In recent games, though, with the exception of the club's ugly 8-2 loss to Columbus on March 7, Osgood seems to be finding his way. He has won four of his past five starts with two shutouts. Detroit coach Mike Babcock also committed to starting Osgood against the Flyers on Tuesday. This season, whenever the Wings have been challenged, they've responded in championship manner. I think that says something. In the postseason, there are so many things that come into play. So I do think they could be beaten under the right circumstances. But, if you're asking, I'm still picking them to repeat as champions.

Two reasons for this trade. Desperation move by Murray to save his ass? Add a couple pieces to make the playoffs? Precursor to another trade? I mean, Murray has seen the upside of Comrie... but he also traded him away from the Sens, no? Sens have been looking for a puck moving defenseman Campoli possesses the offensive skill that Ottawa has been seeking for its defence. The 24-year-old had spent his entire career in Long Island and is under contract through next season at a reasonable US$675,000. He's not that old and doesn't cost much... but the Isles did draft him... must have seen enough of him... and not think much of the guy. OR Maybe Wang is saving all of his pennies to offer up another insane contact to someone who doesn't deserve it?

Weird for the Sens, yes. For the Isles, it's great. A first round pick and an expiring contract... continue the rebuilding process.

Leino is sitting.

I'm pretty sure this article has already been linked in one (if not more than one) thread that already exists. I'd try to find it. ...but as mentioned before, there are plenty of goalie threads to pick from... and I might get lost and never find my way back to this one.

YAY! Another goaltender thread! WOOO! WOOOO!

I wish Cheli all the luck in the world where ever he ends up playing next year. I just hope he's done in Detroit. (Not that he hasn't done great things here over the years, but I think it's time he's done.) ...and regarding Holmstrom I was referring to HOCKEYMATTERS (...and forgive me if I've read your post wrong) implication that Maltby and Draper take some form of paycut next season. (through contract restructuring? If that is all possible.) Again, apologies in advance if I am taking your post out of context.

Chelios won't be back. Holmstrom? No. He's on the top line and is punished night in and night out by opposing teams. He should not take a paycut.

More than once! http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=55772

EDIT: Double Post

Would you rather he have the attitude of Manny Legace? Look, I'm not ready to give up on Osgood, nor am I willing to give him a pass. Our team defense was downright horrible some games this year, but of late it seems we're getting over some of those woes. Now Osgood needs to do his part and pick up his games. Shelving him in favor of Conklin is not the answer. I'm willing to give Osgood more time to sort out his issues. If we continue to win games and accumulate points no matter how ugly the wins are... and Osgood shakes off whatever is ailing him. As is said so frequently on these boards... "make it happen" If Holland isn't going outside the organization for a goalminder, we all better get used to seeing Osgood.

I see Brind'Amour is listed day to day... I just wondered if the move was somehow related to their (Staal and Brind'Amour) injuries. Either way the move has some potential offensive upside for the 'Canes, although I don't know much about Jokinen other than what his stat lines read. His numbers looked pretty promising in his rookie year, but then he got moved to Tampa. SO...

Anyone know how long Brind'Amour is supposedly out or how bad Staal's injury is?

Yeah, watching the Devils play two inspired, back-to-back OT winning games -- vs the Bruins and Pens, last week was pretty impressive. The game vs. the Bruins never should have gone into overtime as the Devils gave up three goals in the third... most likely wouldn't have happened with Brodeur in net... but Elias tied up with less than two minutes to go. Langenbrunner scores less than two minutes into OT. Langenbrunner with tying (less than a minute left in the game) ...and game winning goal (4 minutes into OT) vs. the Penguins the next night. They're beating or punishing the teams that they should or need be beating (ATL, VAN, COL, NYI, NASH, MTL) and having an eight game winning streak snapped by Washington is not impossible to contemplate. (however the caps are 4-0-3 vs. Devils of late.) All around the team looks solid. The addition of Shanny was a great move. Brodur is coming back soon. They're always a threat in the playoffs. All that being said, I'm still putting my money behind the Bruins making it to the SCF.

Incorrect. Hudler is a RFA. Check the Salary Chart.

Avery is an idiot. ...and he wouldn't have fought Phaneuf ...even if Phaneuf were dumb enough to challenge him to fight. I hope Dion does the right thing and doesn't even acknowledge Avery's comments.