martyrme19

I think its more that Glendale has a higher % of potential households that they can capture. Comes down to basic market share and market cap. Atlanta is a bigger city - but 54% of the city is black. AND THIS BETTER NOT TURN INTO A RACIAL DISCUSSION, but I mean, c'mon....you aren't going to capture a large portion of the black population to make it relevant. The Glendale area is quite large, and is more of the NHL's target market. So, no, I don't think this is a fair place to hate on Bettman. I'm just betting they did their business math.

For what its worth, in my pre season rankings, I had St. Louis right behind Detroit in the division sitting at 4th in the west. I actually LOVE what is going on in St. Louis. I think it was an accident that they didn't make the playoffs this year. I feel that the position where St. Louis is right now, they are prone to lapses because they are more of a newly functioning team. But soon its all going to click, and when it does (sooner rather than later) St. Louis will be quite a formidable opponent. So, I think the pieces are all in the right place - and last year was more of a blooper. They took a step back from the year before and that is typical of teams right on the cusp of being legit. In my opinion - they need to add 1 marquee forward to the mix, but I have no idea of your available cap space. I feel that I do a pretty good job of evaluating teams. Last year I predicted the stanely cup finals in my bracket (Chi VS #8 seed Philly) and this year my bracket had the first 8 matchups perfect along with a TB VS Boston conference final with TB losing in the SC finals. No doubt in my mind St. Louis is better than Chicago next year. The wild card is Nashville. Nashville has always been an enigma to me and I can't seem to figure them out (I had them upsetting Van). My head tells me St. Louis will be 2nd in the central next year. I would like to say this as well - I think there is a very REAL possibility that Detroit has a dissapointing season next year. Paired with the immense amount of FA we have the following season and an almost certainty that Lids will be gone in the next 2 years - Detroit will be a hugely different team in the next 2 years. We will be forced to make some major roster decisions (something we do NOT do very often) and we will have a lot of salary cap room to delegate. That's scary because no one knows if the right options will even be available for us to make the right moves we want to make - assuming we even KNOW what the right moves are! Point being, I would not be suprised one bit if St. Louis was 1st in the central in the next 1 - 3 years.

There HAS to be a mathematical logorithm or something that can be applied to calculate the FAIREST traveling distances among teams. I mean, seriously - can't some Excel wiz bang something out here? When it comes down to it, the ONLY factor that should be taken into consideration is travel distance. I may be wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure that travel expenses (High plane fuel cost, hotel cost - more nights in a hotel than for teams with shorter plane rides home - misc. costs) come out of the Red Wings expense budget. If I were Illitch, I would demand there to be revenue sharing in favor of teams with more travel expenses. NOT TO MENTION the wear and tear of traveling, jet lag and all that jazz that a team has to suffer more than other teams.

I hear ya man. I'm not a fan of the cap at all. I do, however, see the positives so that smaller money teams can compete. I can say that I have enjoyed the parity we have already seen in the NHL. But as many members here already have pointed out - it really sucks when a team can't afford to sign its own talent. Many have suggested something like, 20% of your drafted players salary doesn't count towards the cap. I, for one, think that is a great idea. I miss the days when over the summer you knew any player could be going to any team. Specifically, that the Red Wings could sign any player on the FA list and when you find out about the new star we sign, you're just floating on cloud nine for the rest of the summer anticipating getting to see him in action on your home ice. Is there any precedence where a league has gone to the salary cap, and then for the next CBA they abolish it?

I'm going to take that with a grain of salt as I'm assuming you don't know either one of them personally and have never shared a locker room with them. You're probably referring to Jagr's issue with the Pens when Lemieux came back from retirement. The controversy of his captain status was created by the media and its fan base because it was they who had discrepancies about who was the teams "official" captain. Neither you nor I have accurate information as to if him and Lemieux ever actually cared about who was capatin on the team themselves, let alonge let it become an issue among them. You are probably also accusing him as being a floater and someone who doesnt work hard because at times in his career, Jagr was considered a bust in comparison to his salary. When he played with the caps, he struggled to live up to his salary. Well guess what - the wings, or any other team, aren't looking to pay him his salary from 2001. People sometimes aren't smart enough to think it present terms with present conditions. You assume that since Jagr doesn't put up his 106 point total he did in yesteryear, he must be washed up. You fail to consider that he still puts up upper echelon numbers. Or maybe you are just basing this on a gambling issue. Which, if that is your total argument then please let me know because there is obviously no reason to even have this discussion with you. Quote from wiki: In April 2009, Jágr publicly stated an interest in returning to the NHL, stating that he really just needed a break from the pressures of an 82 game NHL schedule. Jágr, who claimed to have lost 15 pounds since his last NHL season, and who was "practicing a lot harder than [he] ever did in [his] life" So sounds to me like he has been practicing and working hard for some time now. I don't think there is much evidence to the contrary. I have a hard time believing that a cancer in a locker room and a player who doesnt work hard can be the 4th fastest player to 1,500 points joining a list that includes Gretzky, Limeux and Dionne while winning multiple stanley cups, multiple Lester Pearson awards, Scoring titles and Hart awards. And I think he won a gold medal and probably got a couple others in his career. But I digress. Perhaps he is no good...... *god, I don't even care if Jagr even ever comes back to the NHL let alone the Wings. But seriously, sometimes i find it humorous how people just go with status quo and don't think for themselves sometimes.

Please, take back your original video game insults, I don't even own a system. Sure there is more to a team than just being able to score points. But thats only because its unrealistic to be able to field a team of all star goal scorers. Therefore, you have to have role players capable of other things. But when you add a player to a roster who scores you points, it means 2 things. One, he is scoring your team points. Two, while he is scoring, that means the other team isnt. Now i'm not going to pretend that Ive seen even a single KHL game, and I'm going to assume the same goes for you. All I know is players like him never forget how to score. Would you be against all of the goals Selanne has provided Anaheim this year?

I feel like sooo many players these days are signing long term deals with their teams...it really has made FA seasons dull. Howz about Radulov over in the K? Or Hossa.2? he's tearin it up in the K as well. I'm only half joking as I just don't see anything on the market it this year. Hell, while we're at it - how the heck is Markov doing these days? I kind of miss the guy.

I honestly feel that Homer gets the label as a guy who can't skate just because of the reputation he has as an immovable object infront of the net. In any case, he was the reason why we won game 6. Check out the two goals, including the game winner where he was clearly a main factor in front of the net. He's only a year removed from a 25 goal season in 68 games....though, admittidly, my argument doesn't bode well for his injury risk. but 7pts in 11 games this post season and a +7. +3 against the sharks. Hard to argue with that. 7pts in 12 games last year too. In any case, you'd be suprised on how many NHLers are bums for skaters. Really.

Restricted free agents, I feel, are out of the question since Kenny believes the path to success in todays NHL is to build through the draft and thus keep draft picks (excellent job on their end to lobby the nhl to position draft positions by the result of the playoffs, not regular season). For s***s and giggles, of those ® players, the ones I would think he would maybe consider would be: Weber Callahan Setoguchi I would love Okposo, Doughty and Parise as well. Is Kaberle really restricted? I don't think he is, and if he isn't - I wouldn't be terribly suprised if many people here woke up shocked one morning to learn that we have signed him. Other than that, slim pickens this year. And i'm ok with that considering next year is the year that the wings will be looking for a new identity. But we will need to roster a few guys - back up goalies I think have a legit chance at being here next season are conklin and boucher. I would LOVE vokoun but I think Jimmy showed enough to give Holland confidence is solidifying him as a legit starter. And we like our goalies cheap anyways. Guys that dont belong on that list are Selanne, Knuble, Hejduk, Nabokov and Foote as they are all literally or figurtivaly off the market. As for forwards and D, I am really at a loss this year. No names jump out at me and we are at such a weird "pre"transition phase. None of those players we want long term - but we will have to sign someone. I dunno...Hamrlik could make sense. I like Gagne but I know he is oft-injured. So ya, who else has ideas?

Kind of a crazy sidenote I just saw on wikipedia: "Jaromír Jágr was sitting next to Alexei Cherepanov when Cherepanov, a first-round pick of the Rangers, died. They were discussing the past shift when Cherepanov collapsed right into Jágr on the bench at the Ice Hockey Center 2004 arena." I didn't know that. Pretty insane. NYR have been one of the more unfortunate teams with player deaths.

people are so silly. I mean, i'm no Jagr fan (its hard to like anyone with an association to a Jofa helmet and a crazy mullet to boot) but to answer the simple question, "would Jaromir Jagr help the Wings?" the simple answer is yes. The detailed answer comes in when you are taking into account his salary, and who else was available with that salary. Jagr's last 3 seasons in the NHL: 123 96 71 pts. 54 30 25 goals. Now sure, his numbers declined each year - but how can you ever justify a pure goal scorer capable of putting up 70+ points can not *help* the wings. Of course, this is all relative. Who did we pass up for him? Who did we not sign because we didn't have cap space left? Most people assume that if Holland were to sign Jagr for 1 year 3 mil, it was a huge f*** up because Richards was ready to sign on the dotted line for 3.2 mil/4 years. But - if the premise of the question is would our current lineup be better if Jagr was in it, then you can't say anything but a resounding YES. How can you argue with a little more Jagr, and a little less Abdelkader or Hudler? I get sad sometimes when I hear Wings fans fall victim to the rest of the goats who preach that the last thing the Red Wings need is an aging vet. "The Red Wings are too old" is THE ONLY THING I HAVE KNOWN MY ENTIRE LIFE SPAN AS A RED WINGS FAN. Seriously....shouldn't you guys know better 20 straight playoff appearances later? If Jagr ended up on our roster, that means Holland and Co. did their due diligence and the sick/nasty Jagr that has torn up the NHL would probably continue to do so in the Winged Wheel. For the curious, I looked up his KHL stats real quick. 55/56gp 25g 28a 53pts 51/56gp 22g 20a 42pts 49/56gp 19g 32a 51pts Last year he was his team leader in all categories (didnt check other years). Someone will probably argue how much of a joke the KHL is and that their grandma could score 20 goals in the league. And for them, well they just dont have a grasp on hockey is all. Some players games translate to other leagues, others dont. (p.s. thats exactly what scouts are hired for - to figure that out!) Jagr's game obviously translates.

Oh come on. That trade wouldn't even work in video games.

I don't know guys - sports writers have been just gaga over Datsyuk in the past month. There are so many articles about how amazing he is and one of the best of all time and this and that. I think that is a pretty fair indication to see how the voters are thinking. Likewise with Lidstrom this year (a litte bit of a bounceback is all writers needed to showcase him to the public) i.e. his perfect human article on espn. I think its safe to say he's wrapped up the norris.

I sure hope you're right. I was just basing it on the overall product that SJ has put on the ice over the season. Teams can look sluggish one series and completely turn a corner the next.

Thinking big picture - If SJ played the hawks I think SJ could easily sweep them and be well rested after we have a grueling rough series with nashville. Akthough, now we dont get home ice

Good god that is some of the worst logic I've ever read. Sure your first argument of us being able to sweep the second round wors - but then the next cup year we got a weaker team that took us 6 games and you say we were still fresh after that series? So by your definition, the only way the wings WONT be fresh is if they go 7 games. And I hate to break it to you, but most series don't go 7 games. So i'm willing to bet that the 1 extra game doesn't dictate who and who doesnt win the cup. Then the next example you use, we don't catch a "break" until the scf. And sure, we did catch a break there, but you're making it seem like we have to catch breaks BEFORE the SCF if we want any success. So to conclude with your logic, the Wings can win the cup as long as we don't play more than 6 games next series, and we play a weaker team based on an upset at least once? Or technically, just next round and the SCF round? In any case, we could still play MTL in the finals. Or TB or Pitt - would those count as upset teams weak enough? Or how about if the predators beat the nucks? Then we can go 6 games against them and still be super duper fresh to play the Caps and beat the in the SCF. Right?

What constitutes as a long term deal? Just anything over 1 year? Cus thats bull. Should be at least 3. What hit did hull give the coyotes and for how long?

I would most want to play Chicago. For a couple reasons: 1, if they win their series now - that is their stanley cup. There is no way they can get higher emotionally if they win. Of course, one can point to Philly last year and how it carried them to the finals. But Philly was way better last year than Chicago is this year. They underperformed during the season and had the talent all along. I had them reaching the SCF in my bracket last year. 2, we beat Chicago at the end of the season when we had nothing to play for and they were playing for their lives. We didn't skate some of our top guys and we still beat them. 3, They have the weakest and least proven goaltending of all other options. SJ obviously has beatable goaltending as well but Niemi has at least shown what he is capable of. The Wings can score goals, so a vulnerable team like Chicago should be a cake walk for us. 4, They will have just gotten done with a tough 7 game series and they have already been hit with some injuries. Nashville is currently resting and SJ can wrap up their series in the next game. Chicago is just extremely beat up and we are nice and rested. Next, I would want to play SJ. 1st, LA has shown they can be beat. They have also exposed SJ a few times with some major lapses. 2, Im a little nervous that we have a losing record vs SJ, but we do against Nashville as well so s***. I think we beat them pretty well last time we met - and the wings are playing better right now and the sharks are playing worse. 3, The Sharks can score goals and guys like Heatley, Thorton, Clowe and Couture can tear up our PK. I don't know if our defense can hold these guys off for an entire series. Last I would want to play NSH. 1st, Rinne is a beast and the Red Wings are known to be stung by hot goaltenders. 2, NSH owns us during the regular season. Look for yourself. They own us, and have for a few seasons now. 3, they are a damn good defensive team. The red wings strength this year is they can score goals. Nashville has proven they can keep us from scoring. Since our weakness is D, this is the kind of team that will keep the game close and find ways to pop a few in on us. 4, NSH beats us up. They play really rough, and really dirty. Not only do I not like our chances against a physical team like them - but even if we do get by them I feel that we will pay the price with some heavy injuries. 5, I can say, however, that they struggled with the ducks at time and they are pretty weak. I don't think nashville is a better team than us, but they seem to match up well against us. So who knows. 3

Does anyone know who has had the MOST losses and still won the cup?

Whats your point? Osgood made a career out of letting in softies in in the playoffs.

I could see him making a statement like that for bargaining chips. Me thinks a great way to give him both worlds is to let him play on a team with his best friend from Russia. I think I heard him and datsyuk are bff's, right? Pavel needs to do a little recruiting this summer. Also, I think it's out of the question that if we actually did sign Bryz, that he and howard would fight for a spot or share. I don't believe Howard signed with a no trade clause....what makes sense is we trade him. And honestly, I could see us getting a good return on him. I know that a scenario like this usually doesn't seem likely - and I LOVE watching the Red Wings grow their team from the system up - but the chance to have a well established elite goalie (long term most likely) and get a return on a young goalie who has really supplanted himself and could look really attractive offers just seems to good to pass up if its possible. Also, I for one do not hold much weight to Bryz's playoff performance. Sometimes the puck just doesn't bounce your way and thats the END of the story. Case in point - raise your hand if you were one of the members on this forum that called for Datsyuks head because his first 2 playoffs he didn't post huge points? How stupid do you look now? Bottom line, if a player shows he is consistently good in the regular season, that means he's good. And playing in the playoffs doesn't change that. Players go through statistic slumps all the time. The only problem is, if it falls in the playoffs - you are labeled as a choker. On the flip side, s***ty players can luck out and score at the right times and he can be labeled clutch (think robert lang). It just happens sometimes. simple as that. So in summary, yes - put me in the lets sign Bryzgalov this summer. (unless NYI lets Nabokov go and we can get him.)

Uh oh - I remember when i asked about where to find an octopus when I attended a game earlier this year....and the lgw police informed me that this tradition is ONLY reserved for playoffs and very rare big games on occassion. I mean, I didnt know - I had no idea. Luckily I was informed. These poor fans in Tampa unfortunately don't have the benefit of being a member of such a superior internet fan base that no one was there to tell them the proper way of being a Red Wings fan. Can we get a facial picture of the fans who threw the octopi and perhaps use google picasa technology to find out where they live so that we can better inform them?

ya, not rude. I didn't feel like doing a google search make sure i spelled his name right and what not. Figured if anyone knew who he was, they'd figure it out. But hey, at least I got him to come to my tournament. They actually mentioned it on ESPN a month after. Kind of cool.

Hey guys - I know of another charity poker tournament thats going on this Sunday, Feb 13th. Its in East Lansing at the MSU Union building. Its put on by the MSU Rotaract Club of Rotary International. The buy in is pre-selected food items (juice box, fruit packs, cheese n peanut butter crackers...). First place is $2k and there are tons of other prizes. (last year top 70 won a prize). Last year 548 people came and played, as well as Joe Cata (world series bracelet winner from Michigan) and Dean Hemmrick (Last table finalist). Registration starts at 11 and cards are dealt at noon. To register to play, go to MSUHoldemForHunger.com if you would like to volunteer, or are playing and have a friend to come along and volunteer, please email rotaractdealers@gmail.com

I think its a no brainer to be in the east for 3 reasons - business wise, Detroit's franchise must pay a lot more for travel expenses. As rich as Illitch is, that is hardly considered fair and as a major player in the NHL, i don't think Illitch is content with letting that slide if he can help it team wise, the strain it puts on our players to travel so much - the effect the time zones have on them mentally and physically....not to mention the extra time it takes away from their families (no one ever seems to bring this up). fan wise, I can't afford to stay up and watch those late games. Its bulls*** that this is routine for me to watch my favorite team. Other notes: I don't buy that the East has a different style of hockey (that is apparently inferior) and the wings wont be prepared and this or that. Every year 2 teams meet for the stanely cup - one is from the west, one is from the east. These guys are professionals and little technicalities that you want to make up in your head are not going to determine if the wings win the cup or not. We've lost to the devils and the penguins before - and theyre from the east. The biggest reason why the west is considered so strong IS BECAUSE DETROIT PLAYS IN THE WEST. Also, I get why some people wouldnt want to leave teams we have established rivalries with - but our rivalries should be with the likes of toronto, montreal, new york, philly, boston, new jersey and pittsburgh. Sure beats the hell out of edmonton, st. louis, nashville, san jose, anaheim....chicago is a good one and of course colorado....but imagine the rivalry we had with colorado being a city like toronto or montreal - now THAT is a worthy hockey market to have a rivalry. I don't give avs fans much credit.