b.shanafan14

I actually love the cap-hit for Weiss and the signing overall is looking great because we need at center. Now its the Alfredsson signing that has me thinking we essentially chose a guy about to retire for Cleary and Brunner. Brunner should have been signed before UFA for the money and term they were looking for. It looks like we have run out of cap since we still need to sign Nyquist, Smith, and Andersson. Bye Brunner

Scary stuff. At what point does the recklessness of a guy like Raffi Torres overshadow his contribution to the point of giving him a sort of permanent ban? Same thing with a guy like Cooke. Is it really worth risking the careers of other players because of destructive, repeat-offender 3rd/4th line plugs? I mean there has to be some equation whereby the number of suspensions/games lost by the victimized player as result of your actions divided by your ice time, point production, etc. equals expulsion. Just a thought. Carry on....

Yikes. We are talking more in the $2.5M per season range, not $3M-$4M. Actually, since his potential is still a relative unknown, I think the escalation in salary over the course of a longer term contract could be minimized. As good as this kid COULD be, I think it would be a great move to sign 4 or 5 years if Brunner's camp will accept it, and it sounds like they will. If I was Ken Holland (we would be in trouble), I would table this: 1st year: $2M 2nd year: $2.25M 3rd year: $2.5M 4th year: $2.75M 5th year: $3M That would be a 5 year, $12.5M contract that would take him to age 32 with a cap-hit of $2.5M. If Brunner's camp would accept it, I'd offer it all day

Yes, unfortunately, they are the new NHL model: mismanage your team, tank over and over again, stockpile high draft picks, move directly from worst to first, leap frogging teams that remain on the bubble at least trying to be competitive. In the meantime, the city that forgot you even existed will read on the 3rd page of the sports column that you won the Stanley Cup (whatever that is) and rush out celebrate you. Worked for the Penguins, worked for the Blackhawks, its helped teams like Boston, and even Washington looked like they were on a similar path. Soon the Oilers will get something right and climb back from obscurity after how many consecutive top-5 picks. Model franchise? Yes. Best run franchise? No.

"...and because the lockout wasn't enough, I'm going to f*** with real hockey fans a little more. Your Conn Smythe winner, the player who most exemplifies the courageousness of the NHL playoffs..."

Good for MacLean, and well-deserved, but it really does point out the problem with the Jack Adams: Babcock is generally regarded as one of, if not THE very best coach in the league (as result of a NHL.com article/poll a few months back), and yet has never won the best coach award. Seems a bit silly to me. The reason has always been the stacked teams, and yet Quenneville gets plenty of consideration despite having the same this season. This season was far and away Babcock's biggest challenge and he really squeezed everything out of the team, still little consideration. At this point, even with his "students" (so-to-speak) winning Jack Adams, and some of his best coaching seasons already in the books, its fair to wonder if Babcock will ever get his Adams. There are several NHL awards that have the same problem, over-qualifying some things like MVP or best defenseman instead of just picking the best of the best. This is not to diminish a well-deserved win by the Walrus, but it does make me wonder.

This. Good luck offering your top goal-scorer in the playoffs and 3rd best goal-scorer in the regular season (all during his first North American action mind you) right-handed shot soon-to-be UFA $1.5M-2M... kiss that one goodbye.

I love the guy. He went from next-to-zero travel and 40 games in Switzerland to the Western Conference grind and 97 combined games this season, and handled it more than admirably. He'll never be a great defensive player, but he hustles, he is a righty, seems like a good locker room guy, and he scores goals. What more do you want? If this guy makes it to UFA because we don't want to commit more than $2.5 and a couple years, we'll be kicking ourselves. Get this done, Kenny.

Buffalo buying out Leino sent a chill down my spine... DON'T DO IT KENNY!

TLDR: No pick, no matter how high is a guarantee, so why not entertain offers to satisfy some needs? Repeats in the top 4 to the tune of 2 or 3 appearances in 7 years does not necessarily indicate parity not working. Are good teams supposed to be replaced by the worst teams through the draft and salary crunch every year? If anything is wrong with the system, its that teams like Pittsburgh, Chicago, and obviously less successfully Edmonton can tank for several years and basically bounce off the bottom into contention with little to no growing pains by stockpiling high picks through the lottery. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think some people are trying to see a problem where there really isn't one. First of all, even supposed great draft prospects can bust, or at the very least not be the sort of "game-breakers" a team hopes for. When you look at a team like Edmonton, imagine if they had dangled a few of their top picks for a group of established players that could provide the sort of leadership and depth they have been missing. Maybe they wouldn't still be bottom feeding. To equate trading your top picks to some conscious effort not to improve seems silly. If Edmonton had been bad enough early enough they could have gotten Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, Toews, Kane, that caliber of player. Instead, they got serviceable guys like Hall that haven't been good enough to really turn them around. That's life. And as far as the supposed same teams making the top 4 every year, I don't really see it. Red Wings 3 straight, Pittsburgh 2 straight, Hawks 2 straight, Sharks 2 straight, with some teams returning to the top 4 this season after a few seasons out of it. Is parity supposed to knock teams down and others up every single year? Some teams are good consistently working within the cap because the same core remains. At no point did parity and draft lottery guarantee the sort of "worst to first" climb Pittsburgh and Chicago had, nor did it limit a teams window to a year or two. Its evened the playing field in terms of salary, period. In fact, in terms of the draft lottery system, I think its terrible that the worst teams get rewarded with the quickest ascent ala Chicago and Pittsburgh, while the bubble teams remain in limbo.

Don't mean to jump on you here, but I have to agree. Franzen's god-send the last few season has been a handful of huge games punctuating long stretches of consistent nothing. Those rare games when he actually plays up to his ability are the one's that further frustrate us fans and management. In 2010-2011 season, for instance, he scored 5 goals in one game against Ottawa in February, then proceeded to do nothing for the next 2 months. No goals, no hustle, completely invisible. Without that one game, Franzen goes from an admirable 28 goals to a trifle 23 goals on the season. 28 goals is misleading because when we look at season totals we tend to automatically assume consistent distribution, with some peaks and valleys, but for the most part an even contribution throughout. That season he used over 1/6th of his total output (and effort from what I saw) for the season to help the Wings secure 2 points in the standings. He has been guilty of similar stat-padding efforts in seasons ever since, showing up for a handful of games before going on vacation again. When I see those stretches compared to the vast majority, it feels like he is doing just enough statistically to keep his ass off the bench.

Brunner really panned out nicely. For a smaller Euro without much physicality to his game, to be tied with Datsyuk for 3rd in points, lead the team in goals, and manage to be a plus player, given the competition he was facing and his short-comings defensively, what more could you ask of the guy? Factor in his short adjustment period to the new playing surface, increased competition, and taking a guy who is used to playing like 40 games and more than doubling that even before playoffs (not to mention the travel and frequency of games), and his performance is even more astounding. Can't wait to see what he does training with our guys and getting stronger in the off-season, coming out of the gate rested and knowing the system better. I think we should get him signed while he is cheap. Love to see 3 or 4 years at least, going as high as $3M or so per.

Totally redeemed his sub-par season with a gutsy playoff. 2nd on the team in points despite what sounds like significant injuries. Way to go, Dan Cleary! What boo-boo were you nursing, Johan?

Can't buy him out. However, I'd love to see him traded for someone who currently scores a few less goals with much more work ethic. It'd be nice to get a player who can show up more consistently and do more for his linemates. The majority of Franzen's game these days is take, take, take. Too bad someone like Callahan isn't available.

Can't buy him out. Why reward his terrible effort, inconsistency scoring, and general disinterest with a $22.5M pay check and the opportunity to get paid more elsewhere? I hate watching this bum, but its never going to happen. I've said it for 3 years now: dock his ice-time, scratch him from time to time, do something, ANYTHING to get the guy playing like he should. He has had a free ride and he is way too comfortable. Through 14 playoff games, Franzen ended up with 6 measly points and a team-worst -7 (tied for 3rd worst in the league). Worse than that, he played soft. Terrible effort, perimeter play, few quality chances despite the work of his linemates. Until a 3rd period flurry last night, he showed nothing. The guy has arguably the Top 3 skillset/talent on the team, but by far the worst effort. That is shameful. Imagine a guy with Zetterberg's drive given Franzen's tools (size/shot). We can't buy him out, but next year when he is floating most of the season, can we stop pretending his point production off his linemates' work justifies his $4M cap-hit while he continues to cash $5M+ paychecks? And can we put to bed his clutch playoff status, circa 2008-2010? 2008: 16GP 13G 18PTS +13 ($900K) 2009: 23GP 12G 23PTS +8 ($1.15M) 2010: 12GP 6G 18PTS +8 ($5.5M) (AVERAGE: 1.157 PPG) 2011: 8GP 2G 3PTS -1 ($5M) 2012: 5GP 1G 1PT -1 ($5.25M) 2013: 14GP 4G 6PTS -7 ($5.25M) (AVERAGE: 0.37 PPG)

Kings are capable of tight-checking style that won the Wings 3 straight games this series, while having a bit more experienced D and by far the hottest goaltender. Boston has the firepower to beat the Pens at their own game and there is always the size/physicality advantage if they play smart. Either way, I have varying degrees of hatred for all 4 teams still in it. Either way, it will be a tough pill to swallow.

Hahaha... classic. I know the Sharks are bad. Always have been. Quick loves to flop too. Tell you what, Chicago hasn't looked much better in the dive department this series, Hossa especially.

Great post. I feel very positive this post-season, which I haven't been in a while. Watching how this team competes every game. Watching our young prospects grab the torch the way they have. Surviving 13 (going on 14) games of precious playoff experience against the #1 and #2 seeds the way they have has been an incredible and pleasant surprise. This team has learned so much, through the good (3rd line goals) and the bad (Smith lapses), which in the long-run makes me hopeful for the future. It isn't over yet. Let's hope its just beginning. GAME 7 in the top-seed's barn. LGRW!!

I think the success of that line has a lot to do with the 3rd-tier match-up. I agree with the whole "if you're going to do the work, you're going to get the ice-time" sentiment, but as good as that 3rd grouping is, Brunner is still a defensive liability and if they weren't going to worry at all about matching up and Chicago got a consistent diet of Toews-Hossa-Sharp against say the Smith pairing with Brunner trying to watch Keith or Hjarm creeping in the slot, things might get hairy very fast. Of course, none of this matters. Babcock is smarter than all of us. He'll do what he is going to do and I trust him implicitly.

The stick on the "slash" appeared to get mostly stick between the hands of Frolik. Frolik did a great job to look like he had broken both hands on the play, but it was a grazing at worst, and a clean stick check at best. Agree with Crashnburnluder, and this is the largest problem with officiating in this league: gross inconsistency. Call it both ways, or not at all. Call it the same in the first period, second period, and third period. Call it in Game 1 or Game 7. or not at all. When refs get "choosy" about which penalties to call, the result is a tilted playing surface and the comprising of competitive balance. In a perfect world, the refs should never give penalties where there are none, or miss penalties where there are some. In a perfect world, they would be right all the time, drawing the line consistently, either letting them play or making them pay. This is not a perfect world, and the NHL's officiating has never the greatest. That's why in games of this magnitude I believe until we get a replay/review/challenge system in place for major penalties, penalty shots, and other grievous, game-altering calls, one should avoid calling them unless they are most blatant and obvious. If that play is called a minor penalty, as it should have been then the Wings have a chance to kill the penalty and the Hawks have the chance to score on the advantage. Instead we got a skills competition out of a half-assed slash that got mostly stick and that decided the game. That is why I respectfully disagree with it being "the right call". If you can't call it consistently, at least err on the conservative side.

Look no further than your avatar. Franzen is supposed to be our finisher. Our goal scorer. The guy who can put us up 2 goals going into the third. We've known about this need since Hossa left in 2009. A lot of good its done us. If anything, I don't see why Brunner isn't playing forward on the PP. His shot and net drive doesn't do us any good at the point, and has actually been a detriment in terms of keeping the puck in and avoiding short-handed chances. He should be a circle-slot-crease guy. Let the defenseman hold the blue line. Let the goal-scorers play goal-scorer, especially since we have so few. In fact, if we want an offensive mind on the point, why not use someone like Filppula who can't score but can make smart plays and be consistent defensively in case of pressure up ice.

I think the Nyquist line deserves more ice-time, and I'd love to see them out there more, but back in Chicago we are going to be busy matching our top guys against Chicago's top guys for shut down. So far the match-up of 3rd lines has been all Wings. If only Chicago played their 3rd/4th lines more, we wouldn't have any problems . Filppula has never exactly been a clutch playoff performer, but he and Franzen are both currently tied with a lowly 6 points in 13 games, and have the two worst +/-, -4 and -6 respectively. Both need to step up for Game 7, but Franzen more than anyone. He looks like December Franzen. We need May Franzen.

Outside of momentum-killing, hole-digging gaffs made by Smith, Franzen (negating offsides by bringing the puck back into his own zone prior to turning it over), and the referees (every time I watch the play it is more and more clear that there was not only no grounds for a penalty shot, but no penalty what-so-ever!) Game 6 was tight, even favoring the Red Wings for most of it. It was an epic collapse, but hardly the whole team, and they definitely weren't outplayed consistently. The Blackhawks scored on the few chances the Wings and the refs gave them.

Smith has easily been our worst defenseman these playoffs. Every night I am cursing at the TV to get him off the ice. He is out of position, turning over pucks, and being none-too-reliable in his own or the attacking zone. I hate this Brendan Smith. Period.... Now, replace Brendan Smith with Jonathan Ericsson and you'll be transported to a far away time called 2009-2012. Doesn't change the fact that in the moment he is goat #1, but it also doesn't change the fact that he is a rookie goat. You don't trade away rookie goats. ...and Ian White would be just as horrible. White lost his spot to Smith, Kindl, and Lashoff for a reason (EDIT: and Cola, and rookie DeKeyser. If DK was healthy, White would be 9th on the depth chart).

Smith 2013-2014 will be fine. He'll learn, he'll grow, and he'll be forced to either sink or swim. Ericsson was the same way. Kindl was a spare part before Babcock showed him his "ticket home" so-to-speak. Smith has Kronwall-caliber potential, and I think we the leadership in the room and the faith of the coaching staff, he could very well reach that sooner rather than later. That said, Smith 2012-2013 has been a mess. The 2nd goal the other night was a prime example of a young player getting lost in the play, trying to do too much instead of manning his post and playing his part. Puck along the boards, man-on-man trying to retrieve the puck and he gets preoccupied with the battle in the corner, moving to support 30 feet from his net and forgetting his responsibility. He'll eventually work these gaffs out of his system, but in the meantime, its going to be a bumpy ride. I do agree with rick zombo in that regard. Should have had Smith in more last season, getting his lumps while we had a more potent back-end to support and mentor. As it stands now, he is playing Top 4 minutes, getting costly education on the job, and the only steady veteran defenseman worth leaning on for support is Kronwall. If Smith costs us this series, he won't have done it alone, and he'll learn. Let's just hope he plays level in Chicago tomorrow.