b.shanafan14

do you think any goaltender in the league could have done better with the saves Osgood had to make tonite? Did you even see the game?

There is a HUGE difference between Osgood's great saves and Hasek. Diving across an open net to make a save isn't a flop. Hasek's snow angels, getting hit by the puck and laying flat down, those are flops.

Word.

thought I read this wrong for second.... really?! no, in all seriousness...... REALLY?! I despair the species... 44 saves with at least 3 or 4 being all but guaranteed goals...

The only thing redeeming about Draper is his faceoff percentage, other than that he has proven useless this season, complete detriment in my eyes. If we could afford to sit him for a couple games or more I would be all for it, reminded Maltby (albeit briefly) that he is here to play hockey and just cause he has the rings doesn't mean its a free ride.

Nights like tonite make me furious, good thing I don't have my finger on the button. Hate to see Ozzy play out of his mind tonite and have the team in front of him hang him out to dry. Only Datsyuk and Osgood showed up, pretty pathetic. Near 50 shots against, and many of Ozzy's saves were disgusting, really sad he didn't get any help.... Babcock better tear everyone a new ******* after this one and they better be at least half as pissed when they play the Ducks as I am right now.

that figures....

Obvious attempt to keep him long-term. I doubt very highly it will work.

Ozzy is playing great, our fourth line is useless, and Kronner and Stuart are playing like crap tonite. They better come out pissed off in the 3rd, cause they should be down by one or two right now. GO WINGS.

This is a good tweek. Definitely see Datsyuk still with the Selke and Byng and I see Ovechkin pulling out the Hart again. I can't really argue with Bactstrom for Vezina right now, but I think Mason is the best goaltender in the league right now in a season without Luongo and Brodeur. Kid is definately my Calder pick too, tho the freshman class this year is pretty deep.

Sad to see Shanny bounce around so much on his way, great player and great guy. Sundin/Rangers really f***ed up things for Shanny this year. If it wasn't for Mats waffling and the Rangers leading Shanny along, he would have been signed in the offseason.

If this kid keeps this up and doesn't win the Calder AND Vezina it would be a joke. Seeing him play the other night against the Wings was awesome, kid has a bright future (except for the whole Blue Jackets thing )

My point exactly WingNut, I hate that there are some teams that hug the floor almost refusing to get better, and other teams throwing around frivolous big-money contracts at players who don't deserve them, maxing out the cap and still not icing more than a mediocre club. Then there are the few exceptions like the Wings who draft and develop their own talent, build a deep team with players who have no desire to play elsewhere and making them choose between getting the pay they deserve or playing with the team they want. Its a horribly flawed system that didn't fix much if anything. Wasn't it supposed to prevent $10mil+ per year contracts. And I also love how the NHL is dying to market a 'dynasty' like the one allegedly starting last year in Pittsburgh and yet they have created a system to cause not parity, but mediocrity in most teams year to year. A similar problem has the possibility of appearing in Detriot next season, except unlike in Pittsburgh where you play under a spineless coach in Therrien and alongside the egos of Crosby and Malkin causing anyone who could to bolt for greener pastures and paychecks soon as they could, you have a team in the Red Wings where players are willing to exchange cash for comfort and cups, but reach a point where it would literally take half the team taking half pay or less to stay. f*** the salary cap and f*** Bettman.

Hudler has been a huge surprise, wish Filppula would follow suit or else I don't see him in the Winged Wheel next season.

Pavel is so sturdy on his skates and much in the same way he dekes out defensemen or steals the puck, he knows how to catch the opposition vulnerable. He doesn't lay crushing Kronwallian open icer or Stuarts board rattlers, but almost more often than either he puts the opposition on their ass and a lot of the time takes the puck with him the other way.

Exactly, just more in depth. It would take bizarro professional sports world to keep Hossa and not lose all of our depth. If such a thing ever happened all wars would stop, diseases would be cured, and hunger eliminated. Thanks for putting it into perspective for those who don't understand simple explanations, Eva. Next topic: Pavel Datsyuk, god or satan?

Keeping Zetterberg and Hossa is impossible. Lets say the cap stays right where it is, which is optimistic. We are right up against the cap. Now best case senario, Conn Smyth winner Henrik Zetterberg and Marian Hossa care so little about money they decide to split Hossa's current salary, leaving us right up against the cap still, but now both are making around $5 mil a season, a tremendous stretch. Now factor in Hudler, Franzen, and Samuellson wanting and deserving raises each, especially Franzen and Hudler, all would have to go and you would have to replace them with a list of players from GR, cutting the Wings depth in half, the same depth that won us a cup last spring. I'd like to be as optimistic as the next guy, but the ceiling for my optimism is in the realm of possibility, sign Zetterberg, Franzen and Hudler if we can, and we're lucky enough. I love Hossa as much as the next guy, but don't get too attached.

Article doesn't say anything new, just reiterates what we all know: the salary cap sucks because we have a great team, with great players who its safe to say none of them want to leave but all of them deserve paydays we can't provide under the cap. And yet there are still those hugging the floor of the cap and mediocre teams maxing it out, not sure how well the system works, especially when there are still $10mil/year contracts getting handed out....

Run Computer Blue! Game: Blouses... good ol' Chapelle's Show

that is the first thing I thought too, stealing a souvenir stick from a young kid at a once in a lifetime game = place in line between Hitler and Manson on the grill.

When I first saw the Ovechkin hit I couldn't believe the guy got hurt as bad as he did, it didn't look bad at all. And even so, Ovechkin looked really bummed about it, especially since the two had played together according to TSN. Ovechkin could have definitely done worse, like others have said, just unfortunate. But comparing it the Kostopolous hit?! That is a huge stretch...

Online fan balloting is a joke. I guarantee at least Pav Hossa and Lidstrom are going either way and so should Hank and Rafalski. Let those with nothing better to do write the programs to auto vote or worse, spend the time to vote each time. I voted 5 times, thats about my maximum. Its a joke, every. single. bit. of. it. Anyone who watched the judged shootout in the Skills competition last year knows it.

This. I think people forget that Hank is going to get a $5mil raise and that we are already right against the cap, which is expected to go down next season, and on top of that have 3 of our top 7 forwards to resign after that.

Right now it comes down to money vs. production. Franzen currently is tied with Hossa for team lead in goals, but he will command A LOT less than Hossa. I am not saying Franzen is as good as Hossa, he isn't, but he and Hudler for the price of Hossa with the way the two of them have played this year is hard to argue. I wish they all could stay and they wish they all could stay too, but they all also deserve to get paid. Damn you salary cap, what does it even matter anymore with revenue sharing and some teams still opting to hug the floor. Its not like owners aren't willing to pay, say hypothetically $10mil a year for a Sundin.

No thanks, its a hockey game at Wrigley, let it end there. Its not a baseball game, if anything give Cubs fans in attendence a taste of a good ol' fashion hockey game and all the sights and sounds. Its a hockey game after all, and hell maybe some baseball fans watching will like what they see. Stompin' Tom Connors could help: