Dawgs

Max Pacioretty is gonna be a star. So is Leino. 60-80 point guys, maybe more. Was surprised to see how physical the game was. Think it took the Wings by surprise a bit too. Montreal was borderline dirty throughout the evening. The hit on Leino easily could have been a double minor and then they hit Howard pretty hard just before Pacioretty scored. Gotta find some ice time for Helm and Leino. They are ready now. Dont want them to grow stale in the minors.

When I saw ESPN so high on the list I immediately dismissed the entire thing.

Hank and Pavel play in all situations. They are the two best forwards in the NHL defensively. They both had nearly 100 pts last season and I believe Hank probably would have if he hadnt missed games. Crosby and Ovechkin dont kill penalties. They arent as defensively responsible as Hank and Pavel. If either Hank or Pavel were in Ovechkins role of being the only big scorer on thier team collecting 22 minutes per game they very probably could match those numbers Ovechkin puts up. Hands down in my opinion Hank and Pavel are 1 and 2 among forwards in the league. Thier game is just more complete and more evolved than either Crosby or Ovechkin.

Conklin. Howard has another year left before waivers and the best way to maximise that time is to let him play 50 games in GR. Next year Larrson steps into the starting GR job and Howard is with the big club.

I dont think they will. If Burke went to Chicago the first thing Id expect him to do is bring in his own people. Stan Bowman would probably be looking for a job. If Stans gone I think it unlikely that Scotty would stay.

Id say Abel is the best, mostly due to defense and goaltending. On the surface, Sawchuck looks like it may lack offense, with thier scoring line being the third line, but they do have the Draper line and Lidstrom and Rafalski. Overall, it looks like they did a bang up job trying to keep things even. My only complaint is Leino should have better linemates. I'd like a good look at what we got.

There will always be questions about Osgood, right up to the day hes inducted into the HoF. Kronwall is close but as long as Lidstrom is playing at this level I dont see his chances as being good for the Norris. How many times have teammates been finalists for the Norris? Rafalski could even be top 5, with another career year playing alongside Nick. And Anaheim thinks they have the best defense in the NHL . Not even close if ya ask me.

I hope they can find a way to keep all three of our big UFA's, but realisticlly Zetterberg's most likely a done deal, meaning the choice may come down to Franzen or Hossa. Alot will depend on Franzens play this season, but Im leaning towards him. Those of you who have been saying they'd be in favor of keeping Hossa over Franzen, please explain why. Isnt Franzen, at 6-2, 223, exactly the type of power forward these boards have been screaming for Holland to get since its inception? I love Hossa's game, but the Wings have other guys that do what he does. Zetterberg scores and both he and Pavel make up two of the best defensive forwards in the game today. Theres precious little on the roster that bring what Franzen does to the table. IMO, Franzen helps bring the balance that makes us better than everyone else.

This quote worries me a bit. I hope hes not expecting that the Red Wings are all offense and he wont have to backcheck hard every play, every shift. If he does expect him back in Finland by November.

Why wouldnty it come down to that? If you keep one, you may not be able to afford the other and lose him to FA. That to me is coming down to one or the other.

First off, Eva, those are some pretty harsh words. They remind me of what a preteen would say when he has no other argument. Uncalled for if you ask me. Most of you guys that would keep Hossa, fail to see the big picture. The Red Wings have great players, but what really makes them the best of the best is balance. Its what makes them so hard to play against. They have highly skilled puck possession type players among the forwards, combined with gritty, hard nosed hockey players. You have a guy like Datsyuk who is a wizard with the puck, a guy like Homer who can barely skate but is the best net front man in the game. You have guys like Draper and Helm who can fly and guys like McCarty who wont win any races but will stick up for any teammate, anytime. You have big, powerful guys who use thier size to score like Franzen, and shifty, little guys like Hudler who do the same. Franzen contributes mightily to this balance. Hes big and strong. He doesnt go looking for trouble but handles himself well in the scrums. He makes us tough to play against. Last year he scored 28 goals in 30 games. Im not sure if that was a fluke and thats why I said it depends on how his season goes in the original post. But if hes going to be a 30 goal scorer in this league, and I think he will easily surpass 30 on Zetterbergs line, Id prefer to keep him and his size. Hossa scored 29 goals between Atlanta and Pittsburgh last season. He has 2-40 goal years and 4-30 goal years in his 9 years in the NHL. Hes a nice mix of scoring and defensive responsibility. Hes not going to win a ton of battles on 50-50 pucks behind the net though. I love Hossas game, but Franzen brings something he never will and we desperately need.

Looks like a nice balance there. No mention of Ville Leino though.

And Hudler did it in less minutes on the third line.

Jacques Lemaire was quoted during the 2008 playoffs as saying that if he was starting a team today, the first player hed choose would be Lidstrom. Id bet 9 of 10 NHL coaches would agree. Offense is so overrated in sports. Whether its hockey, baseball, football or basketball, offense draws the fans, but defense wins championships. I watched some marvelously gifted Red Wings teams that scored goals in thier sleep in the early 90's, bow out early every year in the playoffs. When did they become Champions? When Bowman got them to play defense. So imo, with all things being equal, the best defensemen in the NHL since Harvey and Orr, who has maintained a remarkably high level of play for almost 20 years, with multiple Norris trophys, should probably be considered at least the equal of the leagues current top offensive player but who isnt even the top offensive player in the last 20 years. Lidstrom is a top 50 all time player. Ovechkin isnt there yet.

Im not sure I like breaking up Z and Datsyuk. The chemistry they have built up is incredible. With Homer, its the best line in hockey. In the preseason Id like to see a line of Filpula-Hossa- Franzen just to see if they can build some chemistry together. The one problem with a Mule- Hossa -Filpula and Z-Datsyuk- Homer lineup is your 3 best centers are on two lines. With Draper centering the checking line would you use Hudler between Cleary and Sammy?

I dont have a problem with the LPGA requiring foreign athletes to speak english well enough to give a simple interview. Its American dollars they are shoving in thier pockets doled out by mostly American sponsors and the American golf fan. How is it racist in the least to expect the winners to give something back to those that are supporting thier profession?

Edmonton added Erik Cole to go along with a great young forward corps. Along with thier solid young defensemen I think they are a more dangerous team than Chicago who seems to me to be a hodge podge of disparate parts. I really believe Chicago has spent its money poorly this offseason.

When Hudler came up he wasnt a very good two way center in a league that demands the center position be defensively responsible unless you produce offensively like Ovechkin or Malkin. Babcock forced him to change his game if he wanted minutes. While playing fourth line minutes (if that) he has produced offensively at more than a respectable rate to the point where he is one of our top 6 scorers. And he still gets fourth line minutes. His two way game has also improved significantly. Hes only 24. Give the kid some time to develop. Most of you guys know squat about hockey. You scream for enforcers without realizing that the game has changed to the point where an enforcer who is one dimensional (Downey) hurts your club more often than his fists help it. In the salary cap era you cant waste cap space on a guy who can only do one thing well and that one thing isnt scoring goals or stopping them from being scored. Your stuck in the '70s and '80s. Thankfully Holland and company dont take your advice or we would be a last place club.

I know im a day late and a dollar short here but I have visions of Sammy destroying Hal Gill behind Pittsburghs net in game one then pushing Malkin off the puck and throwing the puck in the net. If thats not grit I dont know what is. Then theres Hudler. Tiny guy with some offensive talent told hes gonna get garbage time minutes until he learns to play two way hockey. Not only has his two way hockey improved significantly, hes among the top scorers on the team in both the regular season and the playoffs. Isnt that the definition of grit? Casual fans equate fighting with grit. Just because your not knocking teeth out they think you lack grit. Thats not grit. Grit is being willing to play in high traffic areas. Grit is making the play off the boards even when you know your gonna get hammered. Grit is as much mental as it is physical. If your looking for a bunch of big Canadian guys who hit everything that moves but take stupid penalties your a fan of the wrong team. I dont see the Wings changing thier philosophy or style (a style Ill remind you that first took root under Scotty Bowman and has resulted in 4 Cups in 11 years) anytime soon.

What do you mean? Downtown has lots of things to do. Hockeytown, Chelis, Casinos, Greektown, Hart Plaza, Fox Theatre, Belle Isle to name a couple. Great shopping a couple miles up Woodward. We all realize Detroit isnt N.Y., Chicago or L.A. but we are about a tenth the size. Ive never been to L.A but downtown areas in N.Y. and Chicago are as big as the entire city of Detroit. I hate when people sell this city short. Sure the neighborhoods are s*** but the downtown area plus the suburbs have alot to offer.

Contraction in the NHL is needed badly. Two teams in Florida? Nashville? I mean cmon.

Not including Detroit in the top 5 is insane. On a fall weekend in Detroit you could see 100k in the Big House, 70k in Lansing, 20k at Joe Louis, 40k at Comerica for three days and 50k at Ford Field. What other city in America can claim 360k people have witnessed a game live in person over the course of one weekend? Not to mention the fact that teams in this city win titles. Detroit and Boston are the two premier sports towns in the country and its not even debatable.

Zetterbergs game most reminds me of Yzerman. Not the best shot but great instincts. Always makes the big play when ya need it most. Top notch two way forward. Smallish guy thats not afraid to go into the high traffic areas.

Detroit is not a nightmare world with horrors unimaginable at every turn. The economy is hurting. The car companies were caught with thier pants down when world oil prices skyrocketed. The mortgage crisis has hit us especially hard after the residential segment was overbuilt. Commercial construction continues to thrive both in the suburbs and within the city itself. (Im a construction manager.) There are fun events every summer weekend, including the Gold Cup boat races, the international freedom fest, Dertroit Tiger baseball and a host of music festivals at Hart Plaza. During the fall and winter months, the International Auto Show, The Pistons and Red Wings and top college athletics. We have three world class casinos, Comerica Park, Ford Field, Chelis, National Coney, Hockeytown Cafe, the Fox Theatre. There have been two Super Bowls (only northern city to have hosted the biggest one day event in the world), a baseball All-Star game, a Final Four regional and the Red Bull air races. And lets not forget a Stanley Cup Parade that 750k attended. This city is not helpless nor hopeless. At the moment it is poorly managed. Thanks Kwame. But it is still a world class city with lots to offer.

Sundin would be a one year rentaL Id like this pick up because he would add motivation to next years squad. Win one for Mats. But it would be strictly one year. We will need that money to get our younger guys signed long term. Rolston would look really good in the wingedwheel. Hard shot, great two way player, gritty, a local guy who may be extra motivated to win in his hometown. A second line of Flip, Franzen and Rolston would be among the best in hockey and a perfect compliment to Hank, Pavel and Homer. Id resign myself to the fact that we may lose one of the younger guys to FA to sign him long term. Well as long as one of the younger guys wasnt Franzen, Flip or Hank. Id be happy with either coming to Detroit and as GM Id do everything I could to get one of the two under contract.