Earthhuman

Diarrhea.

Even the best faceoff man in Detroit isn't good enough. That sounds about right. His 20-some penalty minutes really killed his team last year.

How much production can we expect? I have been too generous in previous offseasons, so I will estimate conservatively and see where the Wings stand from that perspective: Zetterberg(30g) - Datsyuk(25g) - Holmstrom(20g) Franzen(30g) - Filppula(20g) - Bertuzzi(15g) Hudler(20g) - Modano(15g) - Cleary(15g) Abdelkader(5g) - Helm(10g) - Eaves(10g) Lidstrom(10g) - Rafalski(5g) Kronwall(10g) - Stuart(5g) Ericsson(5g) - Salei(5g) Howard(1g) - Osgood(0g) That puts the total at 256 goals. It's reasonable to see the Red Wings scoring more, if they have Rangers-level luck in the injury department. (Circumstances in parenthesis): Zetterberg (linemates), Datsyuk (linemates), Franzen (streaks), Hudler (seasoning), Helm (seasoning), and Rafalski (excellent power play) can reasonably be expected to score a little more... maybe 30 goals more between them if you bump each up 5 goals. Holmstrom (age), Bertuzzi (age and wear), Modano (age), Eaves (bottom line), Lidstrom (dare I say), Kronwall (injuries), and Salei (team role, stay-at-home) can reasonably be expected to score less; at 5 goals less apiece, this more than balances out against the players who could do better- but I don't expect this set of players to do 5 goals worse in most cases. I just went with 5-goal increments and stuck with it. This puts the Wings at about 25 goals better than last season (thank you Hudler). They can also reasonably expect to be scored on less with a healthier line-up and a slightly more seasoned Howard, but probably not by much, maybe 5 goals. I would estimate more, but with a more potent offense, it's also safe to predict that the team will let off the gas pedal with healthier leads and let in some goals that would've been turned aside last season. The team's differential last season was +13. Add the +30 from my estimations (+43), and only four teams had stronger seasons last season. This, all with a healthy dose of conservative estimations. At the very least we can expect more than one blow-out this season.

How does one sign up for said text service?

MY girlfriend hasn't seen Star Wars either. Well, she has seen the newer trilogy, but the cast of those movies- while representing decent talent- didn't belong in the Star Wars universe (or should I say "galaxy?"). I have been bugging her to watch them with me for months. She is moderately willing.

A lot has been made of the formidable losses Chicago has faced so far, but I don't think they're going to completely tank. They won't be at the top, but I could see them pulling away with a 3rd or 4th seed. They had a +60 goal differential, which I don't think will be completely erased by a scrub fourth line. But the players who benefited from Byfuglien's play--Kane and Toews, from what I've read--should feel his absence. There will also probably be more injuries to their lineup with less toughness. Their disaster should play out over the next couple of years, making for a better team over those years, but a longer period of adjusting to these front office mistakes. The offer sheet to Hjalmarsson (that spelling was a stab in the dark) definitely kept the drama rolling... I'm surprised Chicago bit the bullet and signed him on that one. It could pay off for them, like the Kronwall deal. I think that Chicago has lost enough, and Detroit is healthy enough, that the Central race should be close to the end (injuries pending).

My guess is that Holland will sign Meech, give him the spot after the pre-season, and then not re-sign him a couple of years from now. In comes Smith. Sorry, Brendan, this team likes the anticipation. (Not bashing Holland; who knows, maybe Meech will outplay Smith and Holland's decision will be merited)

Definitely, that may be the first steal of the day.

I think it's difficult to tell what is fair and what isn't after the happenings of today... I only know there are few deals that I would be happy with the Wings making if their situation called for it: the Biron deal; the Whitney deal; is that it?

They were pretty much all solid in 2006 (except Toronto, who is like the Bart Simpson of Canadian teams ("... and Bart; well, we love Bart"). I guess that was enough for them, taking the rest of the decade off.

Kronwall is twice the defenseman some of these players are, for almost half the price; albeit "injury-prone."

I am catching up (in the beginning of the fifth page) and all of this Modano trashing is bugging me. I have seen no source verifying that Mike Modano mistreats fans or anything like that. I have seen a few guys with the opinion, who probably got it from the same sensationalized report taken way out of context... How have YOU seen him conduct himself, on the ice, post-game, during interviews? I'll believe it when I see it, because seems like a stand-up guy to me.

I haven't seen Modano play too much since 2006, when his season was surprisingly exciting; yet, he still put up a point every other game last year (avg). Sign him cheap, and if he can't cut it, scratch him for the good of the team. Then the organization is not the bad guy. It would have been better for both parties for Modano to retire, but if he was seeking a contract, he forced the hand of Stars management; they could have handled the situation with more grace than he, is all I say.

He is in the top 10 in upper body strength this draft year, the stats are on the first or second page if you missed them. I don't think his "rampant alcoholism" is affecting his work ethic. Not to mention, it sounds like he was somewhat away from the middle of civilization, standing in a truck, spending time with his friends over summer. As long as his conditioning doesn't take a hit (he's 18, after all, he's not going to feel it the next day), then where is the problem? This feels like a nearly Cherpanov-level steal to me. (Rest in peace).

Sedin should win out of the nominees, but Miller probably should have gotten the trophy.

I did not dislike the Yankees until reading this post.

I'd like to see that!

What a terrific idea, I'll start now!

Ok, so since the puck had an upward trajectory, and continued to move upward after the collision with Zetterberg's stick, and yet still made it under the crossbar, he cannot have played it with a high stick, right?

It will be cool to see how many people in here are Buckeyes! I'm one of them.

Something slightly relevant... I just read this quote by Patrick Kane and it gave me a chuckle: "I think we play better when I play better. That's a big part of our team, my production. But at the same time a lot of guys have also stepped up when I haven't been playing good." A two-point night seems to inflate his ego pretty quickly. :-)

St. Louis and Columbus.

Try watching Chris Drury now compared to Chris Drury in Buffalo. It can happen.

Dubinsky or Crosby? Dubinsky is a great guy!

This. (Because I have nothing to add).