Drake_Marcus

Fine. We can be "original 12 buddies" but I'm not wearing this charm bracelet.

I'm not sure if they're eligible. I tossed the question out to Sproul on twitter... we'll see what happens. Both got their entry level contracts but are slide eligible (meaning if they don't play 10 NHL games in the first season of the contract it slides back another year without counting towards the 3 contract years). I know Holland's stated that the intention is to play Jurco in GR this season, so hopefully he can live up to expectations and tear things up! Almqvist is definitely in GR this coming season as well (again according to a Jimmy D interview). Sounds like Quine is returning to jr for another year, though.

lol well played. In that case assume I said he'd be active on the trade market after July 1st.

Holy s***-- this guy can see into the future to reveal the results of the next 2-3 drafts.

Honestly, if Holland strikes out on Suter/Parise I expect he'll be active at the draft.

I'd be very happy if Holland managed to add either of those two to GR. I think it all depends on who earns a contract this summer. As it stands the Wings have 37 people on the list towards the 50 contract limit (but that doesn't include any of our RFA or UFAs. Tvrdon and Quine are up for contract and will likely play in the AHL instead of an over-age year in junior. I'm not sure what the status is for GR's team next year but we have the following as of now: GR UFAs (non-prospects): Excelby (D) Janik (D) Brunnstrom (F) Conner (F) Minard (F) Johnson (F) GR RFAs (prospects): Ehrhardt (D) <-- will likely get another contract at a cheap price to play in GR Pyett (D) <-- may get another contract to stay in GR as depth or may be let go, his development seems to have stalled at an AHL level So the Wings have a nice number of contracts to play with. Ouellet and Sproul both have their entry level contracts so it's a lock that they'll be in GR next year. Don't forget that Mrazek signed his entry level contract as well so he'll be in GR. I'm betting one of McCullom or Pierce will be traded at some point depending on how Mrazek's season in GR starts (both are RFAs next summer). Almqvist is on his entry level deal next year as well so he'll be in GR for sure.

The Suter connection, I believe, is more about Chelios' close relationship with Gary. Someone can correct me on this, though, things are a bit fuzzy. Edit: yeah according to this article Cheli and Suter were friends for 30+ years

I was thinking about this tonight when Kovy scored the 3rd goal. The thing is-- Brodeur is probably more likely to retire this summer if he wins the Cup (his numbers are down across the board, he lost quite a few starts to another goalie over the last two seasons and he might genuinely want to go out on a high note). If Marty were to retire it would likely signal some more serious moves as well. In the end the big thing is how dire the financial situation is in NJ. Let's not forget that Parise turned down a serious extension last year to sign a 1 year 'moving on' contract.

Luckily Holland only did the 'no one makes more than Lidstrom' thing once and it was with Lidstrom because at the time he made that promise to Lidstrom when he signed his contract at a discount and Holland is a man of his word. He's never made a promise to Datsyuk about players making more than him.

Trotz-Babcock-Hitchcock super team. The Miami Heat of coaching assignments.

The best part with Sheahan is he's only 19 years old and he's got the strength/body of an NHL player and can play excellent defensive hockey (which is one of the toughest things for young guys to learn). With his natural offensive talent makes him one of those guys with the tools to break out at any time (don't forget he was considered a potential lottery pick the year before his draft but his move to the defense-first ND system hurt his production... I doubt he'd have fallen to us if he played junior his draft year). For us, though, if he only ends up as a big, strong defensive centre with good hands he's still a valuable piece because he has excellent size and can skate very well. Big centres who can skate and play excellent defensive hockey are the kind of players Babcock drools over.

Ohh boy-- mr clutch strikes again! well mr clutch assists

Yeah, it was definitely a payback hit but it was 100% clean so there's nothing NJ can complain about.

Wow... Schenn just got Kronwalled. What a freaking hit.

Going forward, I think Sproul and Ouellet have a chance to prove themselves to be real studs this coming season. Both had fantastic years in junior and likely will spend next year in jr where they'll be expected to take another step. Quine and Tvrdon may be in GR next season where they'll have a shot to prove they can score at the professional level. Quine will be exciting for his retarded skating ability alone, although he's a former 2nd overall OHL draft choice I doubt he'll be anything too amazing offensively next year. Having his skating skill is still nice. Tvrdon excites me because he's a big guy who can still get bigger and he has legitimate top-6 offensive talent. I hope he makes a smooth transition to the AHL and stays healthy.

You missed Jarnkrok, Jurco and Mrazek. Jurco has more pure offensive talent than Tatar but obviously needs to show he can succeed in the AHL like Tatar has. Sheahan has the potential to be a big piece as well. With his size, strength and offense upside he'll be an important piece in the future (big, strong defensive centres who can chip in some offense are valuable commodities, especially when they are strong in the face-off circle).

I guess the Hockey News voting Smith in the top 20 prospects in the entire league doesn't count.

Parise is averaging 26s/game more time on the PK than any other NJ forward. Where exactly did you get the impression that he's weak on D other than his +/-? Surely Lidstrom's - season last year should prove that +/- can be deceptive. During the regular season the Devils only scored 0.13 more goals than were scored on them and their 5-on-5 goals for/against ratio was 0.93 (meaning they were scored on more than they scored 5-on-5).

Check your calendar dude. Drafting and internal growth are the only way to success in the post-cap era. The only guys ahead of Jarnkrok are Smith and Nyquist and that's arguably because they're farther ahead on the development curve. Ironhook is one hell of kid. I can't wait to see what he can do with NHL size and some time in NA under his belt. Add Mrazek to the stud list as well. Anyone who doubts him definitely didn't watch the World Juniors this year.

Bro... I feel for you. Nothing more frustrating than being stonewalled when your boys are pouring shots on net. Now you know how the Wings felt in the 1st round.

I can't believe how much of a goat Ward's been this year. Poor bastard takes the penalty that leads to the tieing AND winning goals by the Rangers. Staal played a hell of a 3rd/OT. His defensive play in the 3rd was brilliant.

You make it sounds like AI in his prime wasn't an perennial MVP candidate. He may have been an ego and a half but he was a damn good ball player.

The two Red Wings Matts combine! Matt of RedWingsCentral fame is the guy who created CapGeek. Until recently I thought it was the same LGW Matt. Now they've actually mingled.

I disagree about trades being out of the question-- it all depends on how Holland does on July 1st. If he strikes out we're almost guaranteed he will look very hard for trade possibilities. I have zero interest in Penner unless he's cheap. He comes with huge questions about his commitment on and off the ice (especially in terms of whether he is NHL-fit). Both would be downgrades.