Dano33

Just because he isn't going to win the Norris anymore doesn't mean he should retire. I want him to play because he is still a very good defenseman. Hopefully he takes a cut, but really I see Holland basically letting Lidstrom decide how much he wants. He is going to play, hopefully for around 4 mil, we'll see.

We won't make him take a huge pay cut. We will ask him if he is willing to take a huge paycut, and he will tell us how much he wants to play for. As for the rest of it, it's not likely to heppen if you ask me. Atlanta hasn't always been the greatest team, and I think Kovalchuk is a big reason why fans show up for games. I don't see the Thrashers letting him get away.

Friday: Florida @ New Jersey Carolina @ Washington Chicago @ Buffalo Anaheim @ Detroit Edmonton @ St Louis Tampa Bay @ Colorado Minnesota @ Calgary Dallas @ San Jose Saturday: Washington @ Toronto Carolina @ Ottawa Philadelphia @ New Jersey Boston @ NY Islanders Buffalo @ NY Rangers Montreal @ Atlanta Anaheim @ Columbus Florida @ Pittsburgh Detroit @ Nashville San Jose @ Phoenix Minnesota @ Vancouver Dallas @ Los Angeles Sunday: Tampa Bay @ Chicago Calgary @ Colorado

Year long? Honestly, what's your problem? Datsyuk is having a rough patch, but to say he's acting like he isn't part of the team is insane. You would have no possible way of knowing that unless you're in the locker room every day. Maybe he's feeling like he needs to carry the team now more than ever because of the injuries and that's overwhelming him, who knows. To suggest trading Datsyuk is ludicrous, it's not easy to find someone that will produce like him for the same price tag.

Physically I don't think his skating will get better. It's all in his head, it's desire. He needs to remember to keep his feet moving at all times to make up for his lack of speed. If he can do that, I think he can improve his game.

I really don't think they are. Obviously he won't become Lidstrom's clone, but if he can copy some things now and implement his own style later it would be ideal for his development process. I agree though, that he will need to add some muscle at some point, he can be dominant if he steps up his physical play.

It's not like Lidstom has a completely unique playing style, he's just better than everyone else. I absolutely want Ericsson to try to learn from Lidstrom. If he can be even half as good as Lidstrom defensively it would be great for the Wings.

Friday: Tampa Bay @ New Jersey Boston @ Montreal Anaheim @ Minnesota Nashville @ Chicago Saturday: Vancouver @ Carolina Edmonton @ Dallas St Louis @ Los Angeles Toronto @ Boston NY Rangers @ Buffalo Detroit @ New Jersey Washington @ Philadelphia Atlanta @ Florida Colorado @ Columbus Chicago @ Pittsburgh NY Islanders @ Tampa Bay Minnesota @ Nashville Ottawa @ Phoenix Calgary @ San Jose Sunday: Detroit @ NY Rangers Ottawa @ Anaheim

If the US didn't get involved in Hockey, then people in the US wouldn't know anything about hockey. People around the world (Canada, Sweden, Finland, Russia, etc.) would still care about the sport. The involvement of the US in hockey makes it the most profitable it can be, but it doesn't effect the popularity of hockey in other countries.

Friday: Atlanta @ Carolina Calgary @ Detroit NY Rangers @ Tampa Bay Toronto @ Florida St Louis @ Nashville Dallas @ Phoenix San Jose @ Edmonton Saturday: NY Islanders @ New Jersey Ottawa @ Boston Carolina @ Buffalo Washington @ Montreal Philadelphia @ Atlanta Calgary @ Columbus NY Rangers @ Pittsburgh Detroit @ St Louis Florida @ Nashville Tampa Bay @ Dallas Minnesota @ Colorado Edmonton @ Vancouver Chicago @ Los Angeles Sunday: Phoenix @ Anaheim San Jose @ Vancouver

Being the player he once was and being effective are two different things. The man still has talent, he just isn't using it.

SHMB = Send Holland More Bullies?

I never said anything about this, i don't know why you assume i thought that. Ok, so Maltby would dig for pucks in the corner, get it to Datsyuk, then what? He doesn't have the offensive mind or skill to cycle with Datsyuk and control the play, he can't just stand in the corner and wait for a battle. It wouldn't work, it would be a waste of Datsyuk's energy because he would have noone to play with, the man can't do EVERYTHING himself.

Abdelkader might be worth a shot with Datsyuk. But Maltby or Miller with him would be awful. Sure they can skate, but their offensive mindset is on a much lower level than Datsyuk's. Honestly, i think they would look lost out there. There's a reason why Maltby has never scored more than 14 goals in a season, he's not a offensive threat. It just wouldn't work.

Friday: Montreal @ Washington Boston @ Buffalo Florida @ Detroit NY Islanders @ Minnesota Colorado @ Vancouver Philadelphia @ San Jose Saturday: Calgary @ Los Angeles Washington @ Toronto Detroit @ Montreal Buffalo @ Ottawa Florida @ NY Rangers Tampa Bay @ Carolina Pittsburgh @ Atlanta NY Islanders @ St Louis Columbus @ Nashville New Jersey @ Dallas Philadelphia @ Phoenix Chicago @ Edmonton San Jose @ Anaheim Sunday: Tampa Bay @ Atlanta Chicago @ Vancouver

You take a shot and the puck goes in the net. It's black and white. There wasn't a scramble in front of the net and they thought it was covered or something. Just because the ref didn't see it doesn't mean it didn't happen.

I don't really know why, but the net in that video looks tiny to me. It doesn't look anywhere near 6 ft wide. Nice goal and a great ending.

Friday: Minnesota @ Washington NY Islanders @ Carolina Anaheim @ Columbus Calgary @ Buffalo Los Angeles @ Atlanta Toronto @ Chicago Saturday: NY Rangers @ Ottawa Calgary @ Toronto Washington @ New Jersey Buffalo @ Philadelphia NY Islanders @ Florida Anaheim @ Detroit Boston @ Pittsburgh Los Angeles @ Tampa Bay San Jose @ St Louis Montreal @ Nashville Dallas @ Phoenix Vancouver @ Colorado Sunday: Minnesota @ Carolina Edmonton @ Atlanta San Jose @ Chicago

First of all, you can't just throw out Howard and bring up McCollum. What if McCollum isn't ready and is worse than Howard? Then we'd be in an awful situation. As for the rest of it, we can pretty much only bring up GR guys, unless we get some veteran (as mentioned above) for cheap. I think we just stick with what we've got.

To me it sounds like you haven't forgiven Bert for the incident and you are looking for reasons to get him off of the team. Bottom line is, we won't find someone better for the price. You need to get over it and realize that Bert is not a bad player.

Go to NHL.com today. You'll have a tough time finding any mention of Crosby on the front page. However, you will find an entire section dedicated towards Steve Yzerman. There are articles about his two-way play and how successful he has been off the ice. Also, you can find highlights from his hall-of-fame career. It's not all about Crosby all of the time, give it a rest.

Friday: NY Islanders @ New Jersey Toronto @ Carolina Philadelphia @ Buffalo Washington @ Florida Vancouver @ Dallas Chicago @ Colorado Saturday: Nashville @ Los Angeles Buffalo @ Boston Detroit @ Toronto Tampa Bay @ Montreal New Jersey @ Ottawa Atlanta @ NY Islanders St Louis @ Philadelphia Florida @ Washington Carolina @ Columbus Dallas @ Minnesota NY Rangers @ Calgary Phoenix @ Anaheim Pittsburgh @ San Jose Sunday: St Louis @ Atlanta Edmonton @ Colorado

Just like not panicking after a few bad games, a few very strong games is nothing to get excited about, not yet. If he keeps it up, then yeah get excited.

Was going to post this, like you i would be ok if he used it once in a while and not 6 times per game. Daniels bugs me in general though. I'm sure this would happen if you listened to any announcer 80+ times per year, but it seems like he basically says the same things every game. I have a hard time watching the post games when they are on the road too. Ken, Murph, and Keating is just brutal.

It pissed me off that every time there is a big hit someone tries to protect their teammate and has to jump the guy instantly. Kessel was shaken up, got up and was fine. It's hockey, hits are part of the game.