Kp-Wings

Unbelievable. I'm glad I didn't watch. I don't know what Babcock sees out of Ellis, because he's nothing more than the new Josh Langfeld in my opinion. The one positive to the Cleary injury was that Downey would get more playing time, and now that isn't even happening... this team mystifies me in so many ways.

Haha, and that's putting it generously. The NHL, or the respective teams, seem to be afraid of revealing a players true height anymore. Shannon is not 5'10, like I've seen some sites list him as. Neither is the Wings own Jiri Hudler, who is often listed as 5'9, but in reality, looks like he's about 5'5. He's extremely tiny in comparison to even other small players. I think the actual smallest guy listed in the NHL is Brian Gionta at 5'7, but some guys (Shannon, Hudler, Chris Conner) all look even smaller than that.

I didn't watch the game, due to lack of interest. Was Downey scratched out of the lineup by any chance? In my opinion, this losing streak is the best thing to happen to the Wings. Why? Because if the Wings were to go on another 400 game winning streak, it'd be all the more incentive for Holland not to make a move at the deadline, and come up with some bulls*** cliche like "We think we can win the Cup with our current group", which I absolutley cannot stand. It's not going to kill the team if they lose some of these games. They pretty much have their playoff spot etched in stone, and if they somehow blow it, then it'll show that Holland isn't the magical genious like everyone thinks of him as. But I highly doubt that'll happen. The Wings will make the playoffs, so a losing streak in mid-February is nothing of harm. P.S: Play Howard in the next game. Osgood can ride the bench after what sounds like an absolutley awful performance. Besides, as he is the goaltender of the future, it'd be nice to see what he can do.

Kolzig will, more than likely, finish his career in DC, and even if he doesn't, I doubt he's really someone that can take the Wings anywhere. He's old, and at times this season, is being supplanted by Brent Johnson, the backup in Washington. Maybe if Kolzig wants to be the backup, but I seriously doubt that he does. He's already publicly made his displeasure known this season when he get's pulled.

Which, later in turn, cost Kramer his presidency as well (though that was mostly because the "tip calculators" didn't work properly ).

To answer your questions... 1. Maybe. The Wings time will eventually come, and since I don't see any suitable replacement for Lidstrom in the near future (sorry Kindl, but you're not cutting it right now), this team will be in a dire situation when Lidstrom leaves. Hopefully, he'll stay around for another 5-7 years, while the Wings develop prospects down in GR to take his place. ...and really, none of the Wings forward prospects impress me a whole lot either. I like Cory Emmerton and Zack Torquato in the OHL, but there is nobody else that really stands out. They better hope some of these guys come through. 2. Absolutley not. The Wings may have a good team on paper, but I really don't see this as a playoff team. They have virtually no secondary scoring. Filppula and Samuelsson are horribly inconsistant, and Hudler has decided to kickstart his summer vacation a little early. I know the guy isn't getting any decent minutes, but 0 goals in 10 games is un-acceptable. Combine that now with two major injuries (Cleary, and who the hell knows if Kronwall will stay healthy), and you're now relying on players like Kopecky and Meech to eat up prime minutes. These guys won't cut it in the playoffs, as their in-expierenced, and really, not very good players. I hate seeing this stuff like "Wings won't mortgage future" and "Wings won't trade roster player" because that basically means they won't making any trades at all. Who the f*** else is left after that? If he's not going to trade a roster player, yet is also not going to trade any prospects, then what is he going to trade? Secondary scoring, forward depth, and defensive depth are the major areas of concern, and if Holland doesn't address them, then I am not liking the Wings chances in the playoffs.

Nobody. The Wings don't have any assets to give up for Jokinen. The cupboard was already dry down in GR, and it doesn't help that the Griffins blow this year, either. This is why I was so pissed at Holland last summer, and rightfully so. He should have just used up the 5 million in Cap space on free agents, because it's pretty apparent that he's not going to make a big splash this year. My oh my, how things change in the course 6-8 months.

Haha, I love how this thread officially went from being about a goal, to being turned into a rant about the referees of the NHL. Oh, and as for my take on it... Shannon lost his footing, so I don't see how you can blame him for "intentionally running into a goalie". Besides, the "Bulin-Wall" as they used to call him, is a washed up idiot, and he plays for a team that I love to see lose... so why should I support him?

It'd be nice if they actually play Howard this time around. I keep hearing so much about the guy in GR, so it'd be nice to see what he can do in the NHL.

The Flyers would be crazy to get rid of Upshall. The guy has loads of offensive potential, is a great checker, can kill penalties (hear that Holland??!!), fights when he has to, and he's becoming one of the bigger trash talkers in the game. He's like Sean Avery, except not quite as brass.

We all know you miss Monroe. Don't hide it anymore...

Thanks, you saved me the trouble. I'm sorry if that comment bothers you, but I still hate Ron Wilson. The guy is a pathetic excuse for an NHL coach. The only good thing he ever did in his entire career was coin the phrase "Hanta Yo Baby!", and that's only for comedic purposes. By the way, your outburst was really uncalled for.

Franzen is, in my opinion, a poor man's Sami Pahlsson. He's an ok shut down center, not very physical, and not very good offensivily either. I don't really care about Franzen one way or another. If the Wings keep him, fine, if they get rid of him, that's fine also. Whatever happens to him really doesn't matter to me.

1. USA (I will always support my home country first and foremost) 2. Canada (obvious reasons of course) 3. Russia (Russian 5, Vladdy, Igor Ulanov, Pavel Bure, there are quite a few Russians that I like) 4. Finland 5. Sweden (I'm not really big on Swedes. Obviously I like Zetterberg, Lidstrom, and Holmstrom, but aside from them, I'm not the really biggest Sweden fan) 6. Slovakia 7. Czech Republic (some ok players, but nothing overly impressive)

That's who I was looking at as well. Gratton is such a logical option, because he can score points, and that seems to be the selling point with Wings management. Thornton wouldn't be a terrible choice, as if Holland actually got him, I wouldn't be against the move. I'd just rather have someone like Gratton first.

Hehe, I guess that's true. I can't believe I forgot about that, because I've called Drake out on numerous occasions this season as being a dinosaur. I used to be a Thornton fan, but he hasn't done much lately. Then again, when you consider the current guys on the 4th line the Wings have, I guess he would be an upgrade.

That would be the best thing to happen to this team.

Are you sure you heard that right?

No, with the way he's done this year, obviously not. Still, he can fit into a checking line role just fine. He'd bring just as much to the table as, say, Tomas Kopecky.

Scott Thornton is a dinosaur. There are plenty of other guys that can fill that role in a better way.

I'd be in favor of that move.

I'd definitly take Mark Bell. Yes, the guy has his problems (mostly attributed to that dumbf*** Ron Wilson), but I think he would do very well on the Wings. If he doesn't score, he'd at least provide some needed size and grit, which will be very nice to have if we play Anaheim in the playoffs.

Great stuff! Finally, a major trade to report. Now, is it just me, or is Jim Rutherford one of the most overated GM's in the league? I mean, he's basically throwing in the towel with this move. Stillman is a great top 6 forward, and Commodore is the gritty defenseman that all teams love to have. They didn't exactly get much in return for those two. Keep in mind that I like Patrick Eaves a lot, and I think he'll be a great player, but that's still a few years down the road. I don't know why the Hurricanes wanted Corvo, because his salary puts him on the dead weight list. Ottawa has been trying to get rid of him ever since they signed him. Oh well. Still a nice thing to see regardless. Hopefully this opens up the floodgates, and we start seeing more trades, specifically involving the Wings.

I'm really glad to see Downey take down a true heavyweight like that. Like you said, Lou, it's been a ridiculously long time since any Wing has actually beaten a heavyweight in a fight.

This kind of thing (thankfully) doesn't happen enough to require the NHL to mandate neckguards/full shields. If it becomes a problem, then it might need to be discussed, but not now. I hope Zednik is ok. That was such a scary looking play. Hopefully he can make a quick recovery, and be back soon.