e_prime

Yeah, don't get my snark wrong. I wish no ill will towards the dude. Good luck Pulkkannnonn. Where-ever you may roam!

So... does this make Chuck Fletcher the worst GM in the NHL because he waived such a talent like Pulkinnen or the worst because he claimed him in the first place?

As much as this would personally pain me... I think having all of our defensive options available to us until we make a trade or whatever is KEY. ABSOLUTELY MUST HAPPEN.

So... while the Ducks do not have to move a defenseman... they may move a defenseman depending on how their offense plays out?? Maybe the Wings can get in on that... but there should be no interest in Stoner whatsoever!

Howe's getting a bridge!! ...but I agree an arena would be more appropriate!

As noted previously, I'm a fan of depth. Hanging onto Howard has been good for both Mrazek's development and hopefully re-raising the value of Howard in a trade. Last season there was only a small window of opportunity to trade him for anything of value before his stock plummeted. Trading him prior to the season start would have been nothing more than a salary dump and we probably would have had to retain more than desired anyway. So, as far as "Jimmy should be gone by now" Where? When? Even though Jimmy has been available and teams know it -- it's pretty early in the season for some teams to be making a move like bringing in what might end up being a $5.3 million backup. A starter going down this early isn't a concern for teams like LA or the Habs. It's not crunch time when every game counts, or desperation time to make the playoffs or time to bring in a vet to backup a young hot netminder that may not have it once the playoffs start. Other teams are seeing if they can make a go of it with lesser goaltending without taking on a guy like Howard. I know I keep harping on about how Howard should go to th' 'Peg in a package for Trouba, but I don't really believe that will happen. TBH I'm not even sure I want it to happen this early in the season. I hate the fact we're rolling with $9.3 million in goaltending but I do like the fact that we get solid, determined goaltending from Howie in a backup role, and exceptional young skill from Mrazek. We should relish in the fact that we don't have to worry about goaltending night in and night out. I'm not a Howard-slappy by any stretch of the meaning but, if he keeps up his play from the start of this season, steals a couple more games here and there, and shows he's overcome his mental blocks -- he deserves a shot at being a #1 somewhere. Jimmy Howard should and hopefully will go to a team that needs a #1. It will hopefully be a meaningful trade for us, not just a salary dump. Worst case scenario, he gets picked up in the expansion draft and well... "we lose him for nothing."

Depth. What a horrible thing to have!! I mean, realistically, if we can't get an upgrade on defense having two studs in the net can go along way to help propel this team pretty far.

Did someone say my name??

I don't love either of those guys, but I really want PK to do well to piss off all his haters.

Mabus -- Two years ago, I finally got "real" television after years without. Prior to that I did A LOT of really bad streaming that was terribly frustrating or I would hit the bar to watch games (...sometimes problematic in a completely different way... anyway) Initially I just had regular cable, but along with MSNBC, I had MSG network, as I was living in New York. I spent a lot of time with the Isles (love 'em) and Rags (hate 'em). ...neither the Devils nor Sabres gave me much interest at the time. (The Devils still don't.) I do still go out of my way to watch Isles games. They were my "hometown" team when Detroit was still in the West. Also, at the start it was also very easy to root for them because they were terribad and when they'd win it was a hell of a lot of fun. When they lost it was really easy to not really care about how they were doing because they weren't really my team. Two years ago, I had Center Ice and watched entirely too much hockey. Every night. Every team. Flipping between games and not really watching ANY game all the way through. I'm back in Detroit now and relegated to MSNBC and FSD for the time being. Trying to figure out how to stream CBC because I'd like to watch more of the Jets and Oilers. For now, I'll take what I can get, but I'm tending to watch/focus on whichever team seems to be "hot" just so I can see what's working for them and how different teams make their compliment of players work and matchup against other teams. Knowing how the league works, how other teams operate, and how they play on the ice has become part of my everyday hockey fandom. Wings still matter the most over everyone else, but they're not my end-all/be-all of hockey.

#badgesfriday BADGES! WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING... wait... that's kinda nice, actually.

Not that I agree, but I'm assuming this speaks of the Wings. Try it this way, regarding the Jets. They have played better than their record indicates. If it wasn't for goaltending they could easily have one or two more wins. *coughJimmyHowardcough*

Also, can you really draft top end talent if you're not drafting at the top?

Came here specifically to post this, but Kick beat me to it. Currently we sit 6th in the league. 3rd in the division. 4 -2 in 6 games over ten days. What a start. Amen. I actually considered going to the game last night with my brother who's in town for the weekend... and we were both, well... it's a back to back against the team that made it to the cup finals last year... maybe... MAYBE WHAT YOU DUMBASSES. SHOULD HAVE GONE TO THE GULLDURN GAME. IDIOTS! I just can't quit Ericsson. I DO wish the NHL had contract restructuring. I love him on the 3rd. Hate his salary on the 3rd.

Wait we're getting Shatty, Fowler, AND Trouba? Speaking of being high on something... how about Sproul!?

That was nyquististhefuture not Lefty.

Everytime I don't watch... Drew Milller scores. What kind of fan club president am I?

Agreed, but I'd probably still trade him for Trouba.

...and this:

I'm just gonna leave this here:

Let's send it over to e_prime for our daily Defenseman-Watch Update: If Trouba doesn’t have a NHL contract in place by December 1st, they do have a plan in place. “We have to contemplate everything, but it’s not something we are going to discuss as it involves our client and it’s a private matter,” he said, adding he’d spoken with Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff earlier in the day. “Any of the conversations we have with (the Jets) are very amicable and those are private, too.” On the Winnipeg Jets and Jacob Trouba … the Anaheim Ducks and Hampus Lindholm … Michael Traikos of the National Post: Though their situations are different, Jacob Trouba and Hampus Lindholm are at a similar crossroads. Both RFAs are 22-year old and would like more money and/or opportunity to show that they are young stars. “I think we all know that we wouldn’t be in this situation right now if it wasn’t a young man’s game,” said Kurt Overhardt, who represents Trouba. “Part of it is systemic. But the other part is the skill level of players coming out of junior and college and Europe is pretty incredible. “We’ve got 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds playing huge roles on teams. And at 22 years old, a player doesn’t want to stay around waiting if he thinks his ability is greater than the opportunity he’s been given, because there’s really great players in front of him.” Neither Trouba or Lindholm have much negotiating leverage as they wait for a deal to get done. “The season is more than three games,” said player agent Claude Lemieux, who represents Lindholm. “Trying to get a long-term deal is more than just the performance of the team during a short period of time. There’s definitely motivation from both sides to try and get a deal done.” Michael Traikos: Trouba’s agent Kurt Overhardt: “This is nothing like (Jonathan) Drouin. It shouldn’t be personal. We continue to speak to the club — everything’s amicable”

You mean like their stellar 2 -2 start where their only definitive win was a 4-0 victory over the Flames? OT wins against Carolina and TO. Loss to Boston. ???That kind of crap????

You know, we're not supposed to tell each other "how to fan" around here but... Hell, four games into the season, I'd rather have a guy tell me to suck it because he thinks somethings going right than people telling me how this team sucks before the puck even dropped for the first real game. Yes, the defense is weak which makes your goalie stand on his head and all your forwards have to play better defensively. ...but a win is a win and if Jimmy can pull off a win like that, we should be happy about it because in previous episodes of Red Wings hockey, he's been less than stellar in his role. ...and if we can pull out a win like that now, who's to say that it can't continue through the season? ....or that the defense won't get their s*** together? ...or we won't get a trade or two that miraculously launches us into the upper echelons of the league Yes, we are currently sitting in the lower rankings of the standings. Where we sit at .500. FOUR FREAKING GAMES into the season. Winnipeg, with their stacked defensive, offense that isn't in need of an Red Wing winger upgrade unless they're Larkin+, stars in the making - - Laine, Scheiffle, etc, are also 2 -2. Pulling out an OT win against a re-building Toronto, losing to Boston, winning against Carolina in OT. Scorching the Flames 4 - 0 in their first game, their only definitive win. That's a less than stellar start to the season, wouldn't you say? Are they lower tier? Some teams haven't even played four games. Does that make them lower-tier by definition? Nashville and the Isles sit below us in league standings... Buffalo sits below us in the standings within our division? Are they too lower tier? Lower-tier? That's like, just your opinion, man...

Oh snap! My boy Drew scored! Missed the game due to work.