Lou_Siffer

Oh god how could i forget... Brad Norton 6 games - 1pt He's an offensive juggernaut compared to Kopecky! So Williams isnt a good 2nd liner, he still sure as hell is better than Kopecky right now. Im not a big advocate of either but both Norton and Bootland would do more on the 4th line.

Lets look at the company of one Mr. better than Williams Tomas Kopecky... 26 games- 1pt (on pace for 2 pts in 52 games) Brian McGrattan 43 games - 2pts Colton Orr 32 games - 1pt Wade Belak 57 games - 3 pts Derek Boogaard 37 games- 1pt Josh Gratton 37 games - 2pts Aaron Downey 21 games - 1pt Darcy Hordichuk - 34 games 3 pts Do i make my point? You cant even attempt to make an ice time argument either! Now, lets factor in that the above guys play extemely physical to the highest level to make up for the fact they do little offensively. Whats Kopecky doing? Couple hits here and there?

Im not a Williams fan, but you guys are getting completely out of hand if you think Kopecky should be in the lineup over him.

Hell no, that would be a horrible trade.

Is playing a clip of a minor league fight from last year supposed to prove a point to me? Where was that in the 26 games he played for the Wings?

Really? You do realize there's different levels of the term prospect, right?

Before anyone even says it, cause you know its inevitable, Pittsburgh will not be trading Malone to us.

Williams > Kopecky

He worked hard...whooptydo. All im saying is he's EASILY replacable, if you intend on having a guy on your 4th line who's not gonna score at all...let that someone be real physical guy. You might as well have a fighter occupy that spot...its not he could score any less.

You kiddin'? The way Philly has been playing theyre exactly the kinda team i want to see on there! I dont care what their record is, i just want an entertaining game.

Sorry guys, but Kopecky didnt show he's worth a damn. 1 pt in 26 games?? How does this escape criticism? Hell even Brian McGrattan has 2 pts! If you're not going to contribute at all offensively, you had better be a physical force. Kopecky was fairly physical but not anywhere near enough to warrant being in the lineup.

You cant really answer this question right now because of one man, Hasek. With this guy's questionable health even now you cant just assume he'll be in net in 2 months. If he is in net, i'd say theyre better than last year. However, at this point i see their playoff chances being less than last year because the competion is alot better. Anaheim is totally built for the playoffs and will be the clear cut favorite imo, Calgary is better, Nashville is much improved, and San Jose will also present a major problem. Vancouver and Dallas i view as the definite 1 and done teams and arent threats.

I'm glad that Cleary is signed for another year, not because i think he's great, but because we'd probably see Holland jump the gun and sign him to an extension right now (for double the current salary i'd bet) like we did Samuelsson and Lilja last year. When someone comes out of nowhere with a good season, you have to procede cautiously and consider that it may be a fluke.

As ive said in other threads, Holland has really put the Wings in a bind by waiting till the deadline to fill a major need that everyone else is looking for. More than likely, I see the Wings doing something like adding Modin and Lapointe, and calling it a day. I dont believe the market for Lapointe will be that strong, with Guerin, Tkachuk, Bertuzzi, Roberts, and Nolan all being above him on the pecking order...as well him having another year on his contract. Modin is just the typical Holland acquisition, cant stray too far away from your roots now!

All i have is a Large right now....theyve been going fast.

Winchester is the only suggestion of yours thats realistic. Why the hell would Anaheim trade Dustin Penner?!!!! To a potential playoff opponent of all teams? He's a huge young guy with Bertuzzi like potential, he wouldnt go anywhere unless they were getting a star in return. Put it this way, Hudler and Flip combined doesnt even come close to the trade value Penner has. Moen is an important grit piece to their 3rd and 4th lines...he's exactly the kinda guy you want on those lines. So again, no point in trading him. Ryan Clowe is a fighter with 28 pts in 34 games...uh...definitely not coming here either! Dare i ask who the veterans off our team are that Anaheim would give Penner for?

St. Louis is in a GREAT position for next season, they have to trade both Guerin and Tkachuk, and I wouldve said trade Weight again too as well...but i think he signed a 2 year deal. They have the 2 most sought after guys at the deadline, they can acquire some young talent on the cusp of the NHL (or current young NHLers) and then add their big guns in the offseason. Hell they could even bring both back if they wanted to return.

Just because a team plays physical doesnt make them goons...

Not necessarily, sometimes guys just have to be moved and teams take what they can get. Thats how i view most of Holland's trades. Cash constricted teams just couldnt afford their guys anymore...and Holland pounced on it. But thats not gonna happen this year....a gritty top 6 forward wont fall into your lap, in most cases you'll have to overpay to outdo the competion. Is Holland willing to do that is all im saying...history has yet to show he will. And when reading the comments about him saying prices are too high, it has to make you worry that it wont happen.

Prior to the cap there wasnt much incentive to hold on to picks since the Wings could just reload every year through free agency. Thats a reason why im saying the Wings have never really given much up in trades...im looking at it from THEIR perspective. Holland has always had the clear upperhand in every trade at the time it was made (well maybe not Cross for the 4th rounder lol), which i will credit him for, but it leads me to believe he's unwilling to make any deals unless thats the case. That goes to my point about waiting to the deadline to fill a major need which many other teams will be bidding on.

And who were these great prospects we traded? That kid we traded for Lang who's name i cant even remember? Anders Eriksson, Max Kuznetsov? Slava Kozlov was the only player of significance i can recall, and that was a no-brainer trade. Also remember, those picks were all on the low ends of the rounds. Holland has always looked for trades where he clearly gets the upperhand, and when you're on the hunt for whatever everyone else is looking for (a top 6 gritty forward), thats not gonna happen. I think the picks are overvalued to be honest, especially where Detroit's picks were every year. The hockey draft isnt like the NFL, its much more of a crapshoot. I can understand why you may disagree though. Jury's still out on Fleischmann at the NHL level, i looked him up and didnt realize hes doing good in the AHL, but the other guys arent much.

You know, Illitch also stuck it out for quite a long time with another GM in his other sport. Does the name Randy Smith ring a bell? So dont give me that crap about how just because Illitch still employs him means he's the almighty and hes great. The whole what has Holland REALLY done here argument has been done time and time again, and i dont feel like getting into it. Bottomline though, he's credited for alot of things that fell into his lap. I dont claim to know what goes on in phone conversations between Holland and other GM's, but what I do is his track record which are facts. Fact of the matter is he has never given up much in trades....yet he's set the ultimate fate of this team hindering on the deadline. Does that make sense to you? Spare me with the whole 3rd best team in the league argument, everyone knows the playoffs are a different entity as the last few seasons have shown. My problem with Holland is that he doesnt seem to learn from his mistakes. He talks the talk, but doesnt walk the walk. I will be the first to admit i go overboard on the value of toughness and grit, but i know you do need it and this team doesnt have it. He had all offseason and up to this point to address it, and hasnt...so lets see what happens.

1st round 2nd round 1st round I'd say everyone has the right to question what he's doing. Well theyre weaker in the toughness department, but i know Shanahan played soft 98% of the time so all in all i'd say its pretty much even. (which is a bad thing)

Either that or theyre just playing ferociously in an attempt to ruin other teams chances! You know, to make their mark somehow on the season.

Strickland isnt one of Eklund's aliases is it? Nick Kypreos is a moron.