Drake_Marcus

Oh, and if it isn't Jesus I'll guess Bobby Hull. Wait... did those toolbags in Hartford actually retire Howe's number even though he's a Wing for life? I think they did.

Hmmm... I'm guessing here but: Gretzky Bourque (the dumbass Avs think they had a right to retire his number even though no one cares that he played there) Messier (rangers and oilers?) Orr (he played for the Hawks for like 30 games so I assume those assholes just retired it) Roy Jesus (retired in half of the NHL cities for being the first man to walk on water, which was later bested by everyone owning skates)

The context in which you stated Franzen would be back in March isn't the point. I was simply correcting the timeline for the sake of clairifying things with respect to his injury. As far as what the temporary lines are when only Filppula's back... well that's tough. Obviously someone will have to sit. Babs likes Filppula as a centre, so he might end up moving Helm to the 3rd line wing and having Filppula centre that line. That or he'll put all the lines in the blender. The big problem is that the chemistry might be ruined if that line is broken up for a few months.

First of all, the earliest Franzen can come back is JANUARY. So saying he's out until March is a bit of an exaggeration-- that's a worst case situation. Second, the team is better off with Filppula on the third than they are with him on the second-- it makes us much deeper and more potent all the way through the line-up. Once everyone is healthy I think the obvious choice is to keep this third intact and use them as the fourth line.

Guess where we play 7 of the next 10 games...

Ahhh balls. I thought Larsson was going to get the start.

Just as a follow up to the posts in this tread I thought I'd add an article that brings a bit more perspective on just what the team expects from this kid: This should help counter that tool-bag E_S_A_D's drivel.

Holy s***. I heard that too and never gave it a second thought. But damn. Sucked everyone down low.

And two more from your boy Abdelkader?

Come on Wings! Win this one for me!

I know. I guess they're both American, so there's one similarity.

It's funny because scouts said his rebound control was excellent when he's on his game. Here's his scouting report from redwingscentral.com (the report was written before this season when he was still a prospect):

That's where coaching comes in. It's up to Babcock to make sure this play continues tomorrow. He's got to make sure people don't start playing like last year and keep the defensive play tight.

I dunno, but could you skip tomorrow's game so we keep this play going?

What a beautiful game. Every one of the lines is clicking right now. Leino-Zetterberg-Cleary seem to have great chemistry. Leino's back to his old self all of the sudden-- his play after the goal was so much better than before it. He definitely was suffering from a rookie-confidence problem. Can't wait to see that line play tomorrow. Datsyuk and Bert are really clicking well too. Looks like Bert's got the goal monkey off his back now (earlier in the game he couldn't buy a goal no matter how well he played). Both the Forwards and the D did a great job clearing the zone tonight, as did the PK. Overall this game was fantastic... but then again what else do you expect a fan to say after a 9-1 win?

No way they're sending McCollum to another league-- he's been dominant at times in the AHL, with other starts poor but that's expected from a young guy playing his first pro season. Clearly McCollum is either sick or injured. I haven't heard about an injury so I'd bet it's the flu and they're being extra careful with it so it doesn't spread.

This. Holland's philosophy is that competition brings out the best players... apparently he wants to extend that competition down to GR's forwards too. GR's defense has good competition among the rookie d-men (with Pyett pulling away from his peers and playing better than Kindl right now), but their isn't a ton of competition for forward spots, especially in among the top 6.

Miller is on a two-way contract. Those hardworking minor leaguers just got themselves a teammate. Miller won't be here for 60 games.

Come on Wings! Win this one for me!

Hilarious. Finally we know how Richards escaped suspension.

Thanks to The Detroit News for the scoop: Makes sense. With Eaves coming back I'd rather reunite him with Draper and Helm-- that line's been money. No sense in screwing with the Adrenaline line. Leino's suffering from some rookie lack of confidence so playing with Zetterberg and Cleary will give him a huge boost in the arm. Right now we need him to be the player he was last year and in this year's preseason. If anyone can get his ass moving again it's Zetterberg (and really, who's a better guy to pair him up with and let him learn from?). Can't wait to see them play against the Jackets.

Giguere is an elite goalie that's fallen off the wagon and struggled since last season. He is, however, a guy who won the Conn Smythe as the losing goalie, so he's definitely capable of being a game breaker. If I remember correctly, he makes somewhere near 6 million dollars, so I'd never advocate taking him on here in Detroit unless it was a re-entry waiver thing where we'd only be paying half or the deal included an excellent young player or prospect to sweeten the pot (and provide cap relief by replacing a more expensive guy).

Rabia! You're back!

They brought Price in too early. Big mistake. You can ruin a good young goalie that way-- confidence is everything for goalies.