hockey&beer

Speaking of Big Joe, I actually lost a bit of respect for him last night as well. One particular instance really got me. I'm not too sure if this incident was televised (I was at the game) but Joe took a penalty for slashing (I think) and after the whistle as he was skating from the Sharks bench area, and as he crossed paths with Z threw a little jab up under Z's visor. Of course the zebras didn't see anything. I just thought it was a little excessive being that Z isn't know for being an agitator (unless you count tearing up the opposing teams defence).

Please note I received this info second hand and therefore I don't have a whole lot of info. Apparently Mr. Holland is looking around the league to help fill the void left by Sammy and Franzen. My logistics engineer (delivery driver) heard this on the radio early this afternoon. No names were tossed around but I would assume that he's in the market for a "big body". I guess I was wondering if anyone caught his first hand and may have picked up on any language that would indicate a particular team or teams that we're in talks with? And just to make this interesting... Does anyone have any ideas on a possible addition. I have seen Doan's name on the boards the last few days and he may fit the bill. Well, at least being a true winger and above average size.

Good call brother. Of course it may be due to Dom's less than stellar start to the season, the idea that if one is beaten mentally then to body is sure to follow.

I kind-of like the idea of breaking up ZDH. If those three can find chemistry elsewhere on the team, that will give us all kinds of fire power. As I had mentioned in another thread, that would allow Babs to roll out possibly three different versions of the PP with each one having at least one of these guys. This would also make it difficult for the opposing teams to line match since we could actually put a variety of threatening lines on the ice.

According to the article I read Tuesday (TSN.com maybe) Franzen will continue to skate light workouts with the team for another week and then kick things back up to full speed. If I was to take a guess probably should see him back after next weekend.

Unfortunately, this problem will exist through out the season. It seems everytime the Colin Campbell instructs his crew to be "more aware" of certain situations, many more calls are being made that usally don't exist. This is similar to when the refs decided to watch goalers a tad more closely for diving. The refs simply only watched the tenders with a "history" of embellishing contact and not watching everyone. One example was Hasek consistantly being called for diving 2 years ago and then Roloson that same playoff year not getting called for purposely knocking his mask off during play. Between the two plays (call against Homer, non-call against Yotes) the PHO player was MUCH closer to interfering with the netminder than Homer was, even though neither should have been called.

I may be taking a wild guess here but if the Ducks have 5/6 mil in cap left, doesn't that equate to 2.5/3 halfway through the season? Therefore the Ducks are still in hot soup if Selanne comes back by Dec. because there wouldn't be any space for Nieds unless Burke unloaded some big dollars.

OK add Drake to the list of bodies in the pressbox.

I don't know why but I think Babs has a larger plan in mind. For some reason I see him setting up the team so that possibly 4 forwards or so can mesh easily with either or both D and Z. Apparently both can log major minutes so it is possible to run the D-Z-H line, then follow that with back-to-back combinations of each individually with different wingers, then back to D-Z-H. Babs has been getting close to this on the PP and I can easily seeing this happen through out the season. That will give the Wings the advantage of essentially rolling up to 6 lines totally wiping out the top defensive duo of the opposition, especially at home. I realize this is a lot of ice time for the Euro-twins but this scenario will not be necessary on most nights but may come in handy during our nice long playoff run. Personally, I'm looking forward to Franzen coming back so that the two may be split up and the Wings can win how it should be done... rolling 4 lines all night. (pending a little more offense from the Drake, Maltby, Kopecky line)

I'm wondering if there is an NHL rep watching to see if Nieds is not participating in any team activity. I mean, if he's "suspended" he shouldn't be practicing or traveling with the team until he is re-instated. If he starts practicing half way through the season to get in shape and get his timing back, his salary should take affect at that point, not when Mr. Burke decides to tell the NHL. (P.S. I REALLY do not like Mr. Whiney-Ass and by him allowing this to happen, I may like him less)

The new NHL site appears to be set up by a REAL professional this time around. I haven't had a chance to play around yet but the layout is mucho better.

Aa I was watching, I started to notice (after the first 10 minutes which were akward) that quite a few passes were JUST off (namely Kronwall, Rafalski, Lidstrom all had near break aways). I think that this probably has to do more with timing, both game speed and the mix of new faces, than players not having the skills to make everthing work. What I was really impressed with was Datsyuk finally looking to take the shot as opposed to waiting to make that perfect setup pass. I think he's finally de-programmed from being Hull's setup man.

A bit off topic but... WE DIDN'T "LOSE" CALDER and BERTUZZI!!! A trade line acquisition does NOT make a team. Kyle showed a litlle something the last few games of the season, then disappeared. And frankly, Bert was NEVER there. As far as Lang goes I fall in the category with the "majority", he's lazy and sucks (and a complete waste of space on the PP by the way). The Wings offense will be near the top of the league this season. Not only led by Dats, Z and Homer but Huds, Franzen, Sammy and Flip. Franzen is a beast and will prove his worth on the top line VERY shortly. (I apologize for the "yelling", but I really can't see all the whining about who we lost (nobody) and who may pick up the slack when it seems clear that the Wings drafted some gifted players who are finally ready to step up)

All GMs with a brain have mentioned that in the post-lockout years, a competitive team MUST rely on youger, role players to provide depth at any position. With the youngsters the Wings have this year I think that we should be OK. Don't forget the story of the playoffs last year was how impressive the Ducks little guys played and they weren't proven scorers previous to that. Prediction--- Wings average 3+ goals per game

Although key injuries could spell doom, I think that with the youger guys getting some more TOI (esp. PP time that was getting wasted by our buddy Lang) and some of the skill that is developing in GR the Wings are sitting pretty in the depth charts.

Chances are he is gone. A $ goes a tad further in Russia than the US, not to mention simply being back home.

Shouldn't Detroit automatically be first in the West since "the central is the weakest division". I mean what team gets spotted 64 points before the season even begins!!!!!!

How would they make the "playing field" level. Isn't international ice quite a bit larger than NHL ice?

Yeah, caught that... oddly enough while I was complaining to co-workers about last years schedule and the cluster of games against Columbus and Chicago at the end of the season. Low and behold... there it is again!!

Well, at least Chelli will finally be happy with who ends up gettin' the job.

The problem is that the D-man can only "clear the crease" by backing the opposition into the goaler. Yes the days are gone that a D-man can nudge, slash, or cross-check a man from in front of the crease and ALL have adapted to pushing the man into the crease hoping that when the shot comes, the forward has already made contact and the zebra's arm is up. Tenders, although needing protection because they cannot concentrate on the puck and all the players at the same time, take advantage of the rules as they stand now anyways. Be it flopping (Hasek), mask flying off (Roloson in last years P.O. run), running "interference" behind the net (Turco, Brodeur, Miller... et al). Refs need to start calling D-men for pushing players in, consistantly calling tenders for embellishment, and simply pay attention to what is going on in front of the net. There are 4 refs out there and none can see that as a shot comes in from the point, headed towards the net, Roy cranks Homer in the twig and berries!!!!!!!!!!!

... good thing, I just stopped sniffing glue yesterday!

My personal (like it really matters) opinion is the two indicators for a fine defensemen is +/- and PIM. A D-man is useless in the box, and if he cannot help prevent the oposition from scoring when he's on the ice .... seems simple to me. Nick clearly out performed the rest of the field.

Keep in mind, Niedermayer just won the Cup, therefore he is top-of-mind....

More or less that is exactly how I felt after the game. In fact I was a tad annoyed after game one with the media reaction that Sj played a GREAT game and the RW have little chance of taking the series. If SJ cannot put together 60 min of play, they are going to be in trouble. I don't think that Nabby can carry the load by himself (for example his positioning on Z's goal).