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I was just reading that the Lightning bought out Denis and I was thinking he might be a good option to sign. Let him and Howard battle it out at camp. Denis would certainly be capable at either NHL backup or AHL starter and would probably sign for a million or less.

I'm glad Quenville declined (if he even did). Who knows might have happened if the coach who could never beat Detroit suddenly became a coach in Detroit? The reaction might have gone supercritical . . . we might have divided by zero . . . we might have created an artificial singularity . . . Only Eklund would know for sure what might have happened

How much was he making with the Bolts though? Maybe that's why they're buying him out. By the way, that wasn't a stuck-up rhetorical question. I actually don't know what he was making.

I'm actually really excited now about Gustav Nyquist. I just read this on HFBoards from one of the staff members:

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=241172&lid...=topStory_main# There's a video link on that page to a story about a Steven Stamkos marketing campaign in Tampa Bay. It's cool to see. I really hope this guy becomes a star, cause I'm tired of seeing Crosby's ugly face on everything.

Are you sure? It would be awesome if there were two rounds Friday night, but everything I've read says that rounds 2-7 are on Saturday.

Tomorrow + 6 months

I don't think "Best Player Available" is always the simple answer we make it out to be. 1. There might be a player with not much potential who is ready to contribute on the 4th line immediately. Then there might be another player who is a raw talent, but has sky-high potential. Who is the better player? 2. What if the best player available (hypothetically) every time a Red Wings pick rolls around is a goaltender? Certainly, you have to deviate from your plan at some point and address your needs. Lets go back to 2003. The Wings need to draft a "goalie of the future". What if some other player had dropped slightly? You can't just pick them instead. You have to address your needs in the draft. Teams all say they will pick the best player available, but if it was always that simple, teams wouldn't need scouts. They could just walk into the draft with a photocopy of the ISS rankings. Teams do come into the draft with a plan and I don't think it's wrong for us to discuss what that plan might entail.

I really hope Erik Karlsson is still available at the 30th pick. He has the potential to be as good as some of the guys going in the top 15, but will just need more time to develop, which the Wings can afford to give him. However, Ken Holland and co. usually manage to make a move that no one predicted and it turns out to be better than anything fans were suggesting.

If Ken Holland intends on resigning two of the three of Stuart, Lilja, Chelios, he has no option but to trade at least one of the defensemen who's out of waiver options (Meech and Quincey I think). Since Babcock likes him so much, Ericsson seems the most likely of the three to get a roster spot. Although we could trade them for draft picks, I'd prefer to see a defensive prospect traded for a forward prospect. I've never heard of that happening before, but I think that would be the best option for the Wings.

We've talked a lot about what Detroit should do with their first round pick, so I thought I'd start a topic to discuss what the Red Wings' plans for the draft as a whole should be. To start out, I want to analyze what we already have in the system. I've divided prospects into three categories and placed players where I believe they'll be next fall. Although every team's needs are different, you generally want to have a good variety of prospects (i.e. mobile defensemen, skilled forward, 3rd line grinder ...) at every level. The first category is Unsigned prospects. This includes junior leagues and overseas leagues. This is where almost all players end up out of the draft. Unsigned prospects are generally 1-3 years away from getting a contract and graduating to the next level. The second category is Signed prospects. These are prospects who are under contract with the Red Wings organization. Most of these players play in the AHL, although the Red Wings choose to let some develop overseas. This does not include AHL depth players not drafted by the organization. These prospects may graduate at any point due to their performance, but they generally run out of waiver options after 3-4 years (don't remember the exact terms). The third category is NHL-level prospects. These guys are either out of waiver options or challenging for a full time roster spot on an NHL team. Here are our prospects (in no specific order), their projections, and their probabilities of graduating to the next level. I've categorized them as I believe they will be in the fall: Unsigned prospects: -- Brendan Smith - D - Offensive defenseman - Although he has 3 years of college eligibility left, he's almost a lock to be signed at some point. -- Joakim Andersson - C - defensive/ two-way center - One of 2007's more promising prospects. Expect to see a contract in 1-2 years. -- Zach Torquato - C - Skilled forward - did not live up to expectations last year and will need to improve to be signed -- Sergei Kolosov - D - Physical defenseman - Still in the system, but a long shot of ever graduating. -- Anton Axelsson - LW - defensive forward - Could still be signed, but hasn't yet because of Detroit's depth in this area -- Nils Backstrom - D - two-way defenseman - Unimpressive so far and unlikely to factor into Detroit's plans -- Randy Cameron - C - 3rd/4th line forward - Hard to get a read at this point -- Nick Oslund - LW - 3rd/4th line forward - Has a lot of time left until the signing deadline and could get a contract depending on Detroit's depth. -- Bryan Rufenach - D - Mobile two-way defenseman - If he performs well in the next three years, could be signed. Signed prospects: -- Jakub Kindl - D - Two-way defenseman - One of Detroit's most promising prospects. Had a bad year, but is expected to challenge for an NHL spot in 1-2 years -- Justin Abdelkader - LW - 2nd/3rd forward - Performed well in games with Detroit. Should also graduate in 1-2 years. -- Jan Mursak - LW - Skilled forward - Probably the best offensive talent in the system. Expected to be an NHL player at some point. -- Cory Emmerton - C - Two-way forward - Will need to continue his scoring at the AHL level to see any call-ups -- Dick Axelsson - C - Skilled forward - May play in Europe or North America. Can expect to be notice if he plays in Grand Rapids. -- Daniel Larsson - G - Potential NHL goaltender - Best goaltender in the SEL last year. Can expect to see call-ups and a full time position in Grand Rapids next year. -- Logan Pyett - D - Mobile offensive defenseman - Will have to impress with skill and speed to be noticed. -- Mattias Ritola - RW - 3rd/4th line forward - Needs to play a solid two way game and score to move to the next level. -- Evan McGrath - C - Skilled forward - Unimpressive in two AHL seasons. Needs to score consistently. -- Ryan Oulahan - C - 4th line forward - Hasn't impressed in the AHL so far. Will need a consistent all-around game to get call-ups. -- Johan Ryno - LW - Skilled forward - Will need to play in Grand Rapids this season to continue to progress, but is still a great prospect. -- Logan Koopmans - G - Depth goaltender - Looking to be a career AHLer, could still see call-up duty as a backup. NHL prospects: -- Jonathan Ericsson - D - Two-way physical defenseman - Will likely be a full time NHL defenseman this year. -- Darren Helm - C - Two-way 2nd/3rd line forward - Could see a roster spot this year, but still has waiver options. -- Jimmy Howard - G - NHL starter - The goaltender of the future could split starts with Osgood this year. -- Kyle Quincey - D - Physical defensive defenseman - Good enough to play as a depth defenseman on many NHL teams, but Detroit's depth works against him. -- Derek Meech - D - Mobile defenseman - Detroit's 7th Dman last year, will still struggle for a roster spot, due to defensive depth. -- Ville Leino - C - Skilled forward - Could see a regular roster spot, if he can adjust to the North American style. Now onto what Detroit needs to address in this year's draft. Detroit has six draft picks: 30th, 91st, 121st, 151st, 181st, 211th -- Because 2006 was such a strong year, many prospects graduated to the AHL. Depth is needed at every position. -- All of the goaltending prospects are close to the NHL. This is a decent year for goaltenders. With two netminders with NHL potential, perhaps they will draft a long-shot goaltender later in the draft. -- There is only one skilled forward among the unsigned prospects. Most of the others have graduated to the AHL level. -- Although they're difficult to find, there are no power forwards in the system at any level. -- The two physical defensemen (Ericsson, Quincey) are close to graduating, and the only other physical defenseman (Kolosov) seems to be a long-shot. -- Although there are plenty at the AHL level, there is only one good defensive forward among unsigned prospects. That being said, I'm not familiar with a lot of the prospects this year. I'll leave it up to others to speculate which players might fit which needs. Feel free to add your own observations.

Those are some seriously stacked rosters. Depending on who shows up, I'll give the slight edge to the second team. Hopefully there will be some kind of internet feed, cause I'd really like to watch that game. Edit: I like the second team even better now after realizing that they have the KLM line.

That's easy, BOTH! Just kidding. There's probably not that much money in your pocket. I say go with Zetterberg for now. A Zetterberg jersey will always be a classic. And while I don't want to jinx it, we have yet to see if Franzen can keep up his play for a whole season (knock on wood).

I'm not really upset that it happened, more just amazed that an error like that managed to elude everyone. That is the only time I've ever seen Lidstrom's name misspelled on the jersey, but somehow the error made it through the person who ordered the jersey, the person who customized the jersey, and who knows who else was in charge of distributing the jerseys to the kids.

That was pretty weird. But why are they reshowing the draft lottery now?

It hasn't happened since 1992, but I'm thinking this might finally be the year that the Wings use their first round pick to select a forward. Their group of defensive prospects is really deep, and they don't seem to have many potential top forwards in the pipeline. What do you guys think?

It feels so fulfilling now to have stayed positive the whole season, especially the 1-10 streak. The low parts of the season seem such a distant memory now.

Whatever you do, DON'T order it from NHL.com. They don't sew anything on. It's all heat printed. For the same price (actually a lower price most of the time), you can get the same thing from sportsk.com with real sewn-on logos and letters. Plus you help support the Michigan economy.

I love how Detroit didn't start obstructing until Therrien went to the media. Now it's all they can talk about.

I just really don't understand how Hossa didn't get called for goaltender interference tonight. By moving the puck quickly, he completely prevented Osgood from being able to get in position to make a save. If Holmstrom can get a goal called off for distracting Fleury, how can you let Hossa get away without a penalty when he clearly used his skill to prevent Osgood from making a save. SUSPEND HOSSA!

I used to actually think that Therrien was a good coach. The media portrayed him so well, but this is just like Jim Playfair and Calgary all over again. He is completely focusing on the wrong things and distracting his team. Maybe Osgood did dive, but the part of Osgood's game he should be worrying about is the part where Osgood stops EVERY SINGLE SHOT. Maybe Detroit does obstruct (personally I haven't seen it), but somehow Dallas managed to get around it with forechecking and cycling in the offensive zone. Tell that to your team instead. I will admit that I think the reporter set him up for the Kronwall question, but when your team needs to win 4 of the next 5, stop focusing on Kronwall's technique and start worrying about the fact that he's able to make these hits and that it's causing his offense to choose between playing timidly and getting laid out. Moral of the story: Aren't you glad we have Mike Babcock?

I just looked at the boxscore and somehow Datsyuk got out of that with no penalties. Roberts, however, got 2 for roughing and a 10 minute misconduct. Certainly helps your Lady Byng chances when the officials forget to record any penalties for you.

I noticed an unusual number of shots to the head directed toward Franzen: Roberts, Whitney, and Malkin (during the fight). Do you think the Penguins were targeting Franzen's head because of his concussion symptoms? Kind of makes you wish there was something that could be done to prevent deliberate exploitation of injuries. Too bad the least you can get for "intent to injure" is a match penalty.

IF Chelios wasn't injured and IF Babcock didn't decide to stick with a winning lineup would it have been a good idea for the Red Wings to dress seven defensemen against Pittsburgh's offense?

A lot of good a suspension would do Forsberg anyway. His groin will probably suspend him next game and after that he'll be having his annual NHL retirement party.