Drake_Marcus

Getzlaf is wayyyyyy better than Kesler. If Vancouver pulled that off it'd be criminal.

I posted this in another thread but it's worth repeating here: Top 6 Forwards: (Bertuzzi left off because he failed to get a single point) --Datsyuk: 5gp 1g 2a 3pts +0 --Zetterberg: 5gp 2g 1a 3pts -3 (tied 1st in team scoring) --Hudler: 5gp 2g 0a 2pts -3 (tied 1st in team scoring) --Holmstrom: 5gp 1g 1a 2pts +0 --Filppula: 5gp 0g 2a 2pts -2 --Franzen: 5gp 1g 0a 1pts -1 Notes: Emmerton and Nyquist were tied for first in +/- with +1 (the only + players on the team) Top 6 Defence: --Kronwall: 5gp 0g 2a 2pts -2 --Quincey: 5gp 0g 2a 2pts -2 --Stuart: 5gp 0g 1a 1pts -5 --White: 5gp 1g 0a 1pts -2 --Lidstrom: 5gp 0g 0a 0pts +0 --Ericsson: 5gp 0g 0a 0pts -1 Those numbers right there tell you exactly why the Wings lost. Datsyuk was shut down by Suter (impressively so-- if anyone made a great impression on the Wings management you can bet it was Suter) Lidstrom didn't create offence and our top two lines were ineffective. The best thing the Wings can possibly do is add Suter and Parise in the off-season.

I don't know how anyone can say this is too harsh. No one in the entire league has the kind of head-hunting track record Torres has over the past few years. He's shown over and over that he's always on the lookout for a chance to knock another player out of the game. He's a classless punk and deserves every minute of this suspension. Shanny has said many times that past history is a big factor in determining the severity of suspensions.

Ericsson's too important to the PK (see the PK numbers while he was injured and compare them to the numbers when he came back). Babs seems to have a man crush on E anyway and let's be 100% honest here-- this team isn't exactly bursting at the seams with big, strong players. Ericsson makes the back end bigger and tougher to play against. Clearly he's not a star player and will make mistakes but he's big, strong, logs tons of minutes and plays on the PK. With the current state of UFA prices we aren't going to go out and find someone better than E for cheaper unless it's an existing contract that's under market value (yes, the market is that inflated). Bertuzzi had a s*** playoffs, as did Franzen. Hell, out of our top six the only "productive" players were Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Hudler (I'm leaving Fil off because he was so depressingly below expectations): Top 6 Forwards: (Bertuzzi left off because he failed to get a single point) --Datsyuk: 5gp 1g 2a 3pts +0 --Zetterberg: 5gp 2g 1a 3pts -3 (tied 1st in team scoring) --Hudler: 5gp 2g 0a 2pts -3 (tied 1st in team scoring) --Holmstrom: 5gp 1g 1a 2pts +0 --Filppula: 5gp 0g 2a 2pts -2 --Franzen: 5gp 1g 0a 1pts -1 Notes: Emmerton and Nyquist were tied for first in +/- with +1 (the only + players on the team) Top 6 Defence: --Kronwall: 5gp 0g 2a 2pts -2 --Quincey: 5gp 0g 2a 2pts -2 --Stuart: 5gp 0g 1a 1pts -5 --White: 5gp 1g 0a 1pts -2 --Lidstrom: 5gp 0g 0a 0pts +0 --Ericsson: 5gp 0g 0a 0pts -1 Those numbers right there tell you exactly why the Wings lost. Datsyuk was shut down by Suter (impressively so-- if anyone made a great impression on the Wings management you can bet it was Suter) Lidstrom didn't create offence and our top two lines were ineffective. The best thing the Wings can possibly do is add Suter and Parise in the offseason.

Suter please. PLEASE.

I swear I've learned my lesson. Here's a peace offering:

How I feel:

Since when isn't Taiwan secretly Thailand? I demand to see Thailand's birth certificate.

Doom. Doom. DOOM!

I'm serious. It's utterly obnoxious to compare the mundane to Hitler.

That's fine. If the names rumoured to be in the running are any indication Montreal is looking for a guy with his one hockey cards over a real manager.

You clearly haven't compared the PK stats from when E was injured to those since he returned. Ericsson's too important to the PK to send out on a headhunting mission.

There are few things more obnoxious and insensitive than casually making comparisons between the mundane and the systematic slaughter of millions of people.

Tape that s*** up and get him back on the ice. Helm without a stick is still more effective than Emmerton.

Almqvist should be interesting. Last I heard he was still too small but the talent is intriguing. I hope he can be one of the rare dmen who thrive despite their small size.

He's also the only NHL-calibre forward to spend 4 years of his prime in the KHL.

It's pretty hard to judge his scoring numbers as a forward on that ND squad. I wonder what kind of numbers he could have put up in a run and gun "hey it's still the 80's, right?" league like the Q.

If Howard was out for the season I'd just say tank this s*** and get a good pick. If the Wings can't secure home ice advantage for at least one round of the playoffs s*** is going to be pretty rough.

If we're sticking with car analogies then losing Nick Lidstrom is like the drive shaft breaking.

With 9 goals so far this season Z is on pace to tie a career low in goals: 15 (the goal total for his sophomore season). Overall he's on pace for just 58 points (0.71 points per game), his worst output since the lockout. Even in his 63 game 06-07 season he was able to put 68pts on the board. So what's up with Z? Excluding this year, he's been good for 193 goals and 468 pts in 446 games since the lockout. So how does a guy who's averaged 1.05 points per game since the lockout fall so far? He's still an extremely high volume shooter, consistently ranking among the league leaders in shots, but his shot percentage is less than half of what it was in his best scoring years. About the only numbers that are increasing for Zetterberg are his hits and penalty minutes. Has the long-term impact of injuries irreparably harmed Z's ability to produce? Or is his dismal powerplay goal totals this year killed it for him (1 pp goal this year compared to around 10 a year previously).

Indeed-- Yzerman's built a real winner in Tampa.

Why would you say it's a 0% chance? Holland's shopping list reportedly included a forward and a d-man. He's got one of those two things... odd are he's still kicking the tires on another. I doubt Brown could be had for a fringe roster player and a late 2nd, but he has struggled with injuries this season so maybe it could be that cheap (but if so you have to think another team could match that). I imagine the minimum would be a 1st and a roster player or quality prospect. I'd love if we could get Brown, but I'd be happy with anyone who can improve the PK, win a ton of face-offs and provide some grit.

Look here's the reality: Holland wants to have flexibility to take a serious run at Suter, Webber or Parise in the offseason. So anyone they add will probably be: A) An RFA or UFA this summer or B) Affordable going forward (or with a comparable salary going the other way) or C) Too good a deal to pass up Holland's going to want to have enough cap space available to keep Lidstrom around (assuming he doesn't retire) AND sign Suter/Webber/Parise. Anyone who thinks Holland should load up on non-expiring contracts right now just because he's got the room under the cap is a fool. There's no way Holland jeopardizes future success at this stage.

Well I dunno that he's inferior, just different. But he's definitely a plug-in sort of guy right now. He's not really the talented top six or shutdown centre with high-end face-off skill that we need.