Kp-Wings

Oh sure, I would rather have guys like Cairns, Witt, or Erskine, but I know that Ken Holland would never give these guys a chance in hell to play for the Wings. So, I'm compromising to go with Asham. Plus, Asham is not a one-dimensional enforcer like some guys. He can play the game rather effectivily without fighting, even though I, of course, want him doing plenty of that. Holland had a good chance to get Witt at the 2006 trade deadline. All he would have had to do is give up a 1st round pick, which is all that Nashville did. Coincidentally, we ended up trading that pick, and not using it, for a 2nd round pick and something like a 6th or 7th round pick. I don't know why he saw Witt wasn't a good pickup, and Cory Cross was. ...and yes, I know Cross was a depth pickup, but having Witt would have easily eliminated Lilja from the fold, and perhaps his horrible playoffs that year would have never happened. Holland doesn't know grit. He really doesn't. I mean, some of the guys the Wings have on the 3rd/4th line are fringe players at the highest level, and really, should be playing for crappy teams like Phoenix. Guys like Samulesson, Kopecky, etc. They aren't good enough to be top 6 forwards on this team, nor are they physical or versitile enough to be depth players. As much as I don't like Fedorov, he's versitile enough to play on a checking line and still could provide offense. On bad teams like Phoenix, they could be top 6 forwards, because they have nobody else, nor will they be expected to perform on a nightly basis like they are here. So, until that level is addressed, I will continue to complain about it. No sense pretending it doesn't exist, because it does very much.

So, you would rather have our current 4th line scrubs like Kopecky and Samulesson over someone like Asham? Wow, that's a first. Ken Holland must have brainwashed you. Yes it can, and thank you for pointing that out.

He's been saying it's his last season for like 3 years now. And yet, it never is. Dinosaur is pretty useless at this point, and has been for a long time. I don't know why he keeps coming back. I mean, does he really think the Packers have any chance at a SuperBowl or something with their current roster? I mean, if he does, he's really been knocked around too many times. The Packers will still be better then the Lions though. Given the current situation, what with Kitna still QB, and an all around shotty roster, I'd be surprised to see them go 4-12.

I'm surprised Penner doesn't have 100% of the votes. Bertuzzi is garbage. He's so overpaid for the money he makes and the contract term. Ridiculous.

So? Holland could compromize by dumping them off on other teams. Granted, that's sort of a dumb solution to the problem, but I want a fighter here. You know, to only see 1 fight every 3 months is getting pretty annoying at this point. Our bottom 6 forwards currently are extremely boring players that don't fight at all, which I wish we had ones that did.

Although no contract terms were released, I highly doubt Asham is making a boatload more money then Drake is. Their contracts will probably look quite similar.

I went to that game! Although my seats were up in the nosebleeds, so I wouldn't be in that picture. Even though the Wings lost, I still had a great time. Playoff games are so exiting, especially considering how boring the crowds and stuff are for most regular season games are anymore. It was such a great atmosphere that night. If it wasn't for the horrible calls, we would have won...

Bottom feeders is right. Our 4th line, which I was hoping would include some gritty fighters, will be going off guys like Samulesson and Drake (nothing against Drake either, but there are better and plenty of other fish in the sea that can do his job better).

1. Wil Kronwall reach #1/#2 Dman status within his current contract (next 5 years)? No, he's too injury prone. Plus, Lidstrom and Rafalski are roadblocks for him. 2. Will Grigorenko prove to be a capable top 6 forward this season? No, probably not. 3. Will Hudler score 20+ goals this season? No. 4. Will Filppula have a 45pt season? Yes he will. Filppula has a lot of potential, and I think it'll show if given good ice time. 5. Will Lilja get in more than 5 fights? No. And hopefully, we won't be banking on that either, as the ideal situation would be for Holland to sign another defenseman, and eliminate Lilja from the mix. 6. Will Rafalski have a career offensive year? Yes, I do think he will. He put up good numbers in New Jersey, under a defense first system. Just imagine what he can do here. 7. Who will be the alternate captains when Zetterberg gets the C? Dan Cleary or Chris Chelios (if Chelios is still playing). 8. Does Cleary turn out to be a one hit wonder, or does he repeat with another 20+ goal showing? I think he will have another good season. He's one of the hardest working players on the Wings, and good things come from that. He'll have a good season. 9. What one forward, that is an 08 UFA as of now, would you like to see the Wings get at the deadline? Brian Rolston. 10. Of the players whose contracts expire in either 08 or 09, which ONE top 6 winger and ONE top 4 Dman (both in the 3M-5M range) and which ONE bottom six player (less than 2M) would you like to see the Red Wings sign? Brian Rolston or Mike Knuble, Dion Phaneuf, Matt Cooke or Brad Isbister.

Exactly. The only type of players who have ever played that type of game at any point of their career that sign with the Wings usually suck by time they do so. Holland is an enigma when it comes to toughness. He has ever other aspect of the game down except toughness. I don't know why he struggles in that department so much.

News on the situation: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=215627&hubname=nhl The Lightning have apparently been purchased by a group of businessmen (idiots in my opinion when you look at the names in involved). The head of the group? Doug MacLean. That's right, the same Doug MacLean that has basically kept Columbus behind the 8 ball since their existance. That's too bad. I like the Lightning to be honest. They have a good base of players, and good fans. I wish he would have bought Nashville instead, and drove them into the ground.

I've been playing hockey since I was 3 years old. I played for various travel teams and actually did tryout for a junior team once, but to no avail. I currently play in a 21 and older senior league. It's a pretty decent league with good competition. My older brother also plays in the same league I do. I do occasionally have a hard time with injuries, because my back has been giving me problems ever since I was a teenager (I know, I must sound like an old man ). It doesn't bother me that much though, so I can still keep playing on a regular basis. I did like to fight people in my younger days, even though it was generally frowned upon by people (I have no idea why ). Eh, I wasn't Derek Boogaard or anything, but I did hold my own. Since I was never a very gifted offensive player, I was usually playing defensive roles. I was most effective playing on checking lines and the PK, since that's the area of the game I excelled in.

I hope speculation is all it is. It would just be devestating if he left the Wings organization. He's an icon here, and has been the face of the Red Wings for over 20 years. I just couldn't stand to see him go.

Unfourtantly, the canadian media wouldn't care about this at all. They'd be all googly-eyed over the fact that he would be helping Canada's favorite bandwagon team: the Toronto Maple Leafs. In fact, guys like Grapes and the other circus clowns on HNIC would probably regard him as a national hero or something for doing that. It's completely ridiculous, but they would. I don't think it would happen though. I mean, talk about BS Eklund's ass rumors we got here. Why would Yzerman go to another organization? The Wings organization has been great to him. They gave him the VP position right after they retired. He has just as much say in roster moves as Holland and Nill. He had his jersey retired here. That sounds pretty damn good to me, so I can't possibly think of a reason why he'd leave, especially for a classless, un-loyal organization like the Leafs. This is, more or less, just one of those fake summertime rumors that give us something to talk about.

QFT. ...which is exactly the reason why that organization will never turn it around. Harold Ballard came up with that line of thinking when he ran the team, and basically it became a benchmark of how every ownership group with look upon for the Leafs in the future. Ballard ran that team into the ground. His legacy of being a dick, amoung other things, will last forever in a shadow on the Leafs organization. That's why they have idiots like JFJ calling the shots.

I choose choice C - Chase him with a baby-eating dinosaur.

This thread gets so many posts, it's not even funny. I was 15 pages back since the last time I looked at it, and that was on August 1st.

That he is not. Sure, Sutton isn't a roadrunner on skates, but he brings other things to the table that Markov doesn't do. IE: hitting and fighting. Something our defense lacks right now as is. I actually thought he got worse in the playoffs. He wasn't physical at all for long stretches. The Wings just signed Brian Rafalski, who is better offensivly and defensivly then Markov. How is he not a suitable partner for Lidstrom? I see it as this: why sign Markov to a ridiculous amount when we have guys that play the same style of game as he does? Why not use that money towards someone like Sutton, who is 20,000 times more physical than Markov? Or save that money for the trade deadline?

You disappoint me. I thought you had news on it. Judging by what continues to be said, Cammalleri won't be an LA King for much longer. He's rumored to be exactly mad at management for even refusing to get a new deal in place before arbitration. Something tells me he will play for the Kings this year, because it's only standard that they except a 1-year deal. Plus, I believe their still under the cap floor. After next year though, he could be gone.

Amazing. I wasn't able to watch the game, because I'm out of the house right now. I don't care how they did it, I'm just glad the losing streak is over.

I know the reason for that aflac... our bullpen sucks! Ok, we're playing the Devils Rays tonight. The same Devils Rays that are last in the AL East. The same Devils Rays that are last in the entire American League, and are 19 games back of a wildcard spot. The same Devil Rays that have never had a winning record in their entire existance. I expect nothing short of a win.

Treble Charger - Brand New Low

With the money he wants, I'd say forget it. Markov is not a 4 million dollar player. Just because Babcock played him with Lidstrom doesn't make him that. You guys are all overated Markov so much, it's not even funny. He's not Garnet Exelby, so stop acting like he's laying out these bone crushing hits every game. The only time he really impressed me with physical play is his hot on Stoll that set up Datsyuk's goal, and his 2 fights against Petr Cajanek and Shawn Thornton. While the Cajanek fight didn't get very far, because Jeff Woywitka stepped in and broke it up, it was good to see Markov throw down the gloves pretty quickly like that. Still, he's not worth 4 million. No defenseman on the current market is. I'd like to have Andy Sutton on the Wings, but he's asking for too much money also. I'd like to wait and see if Sutton plans on lowering his asking price, since he's someone I really want. The Wings could really use a player like him, because he's big and plays physical on a consistant basis. Granted he does make mistakes, but I'm not asking him to be Nick Lidstrom. Rafalski can replace the defensive element left behind by Markov, and Sutton replaces the physical play. This is all just what I hope for though. If Sutton doesn't lower his asking price also, I don't want him. He does make mistakes that don't warrent him the money he's asking. If he doesn't lower is pricetag, then I just assume play Quincey or Meech.

Give me a break. Are you forgetting that the Tigers went 19 years without a playoff appearence? Or the fact that from 1994-2005 they had a losing record every season? Talk about bandwagon fans. Jeez, if a 1-9 stretch is the end of the world, then you would have probably killed yourself if you were a Tigers fan in the 90's.

What a true class act. Everyone knows that Lidstrom is easily a a 7-8 million dollar player. To take far below his own market value at 4-5 million so the Wings can keep their other players like Zetterberg and Cleary is really special. He's got true charecter to do something like that.