Drake_Marcus

Sounds good to me-- there's no need to risk further aggravating that groin for a preseason game. I'd rather they held him out until he's 100% healthy. The preseason is for evaluating prospects and getting the regulars warmed up, so trading a warm up for one guy for an evaluation for another sounds good to me.

This is exactly it. It wouldn't have been this devastating for Okposo if he wasn't pushed headfirst into the hit.

Nice! Looks like Holland's going to fast track this kid! He really did impress in camp.

You're welcome!

Article courtesy of www.redwingscentral.com :

Holland stated that he's trying to get him signed to an entry level contract in the next few weeks (they're currently talking). That's actually impressive since they don't have to sign him for a year or more. Signing him this early is intended to give the Wings more control over where he plays this year. Tatar himself recently said he was staying in NA and not returning home after camp. In an article I read yesterday Holland was quoted as saying he wants Tatar to stay in NA, but didn't come right out and say he definitely would. I'm not sure which is more recent info-- I get the impression that the Holland comment was older than Tatar's. At this point the Wings need to sign Tatar so their ownership takes precidence over his contract in Slovakia since Tatar wants to stay in NA and the Wings want that too. Babcock mentioned that he wants Tatar to play in the OHL so he can dominate before going to the AHL.

Blame TSN's Canadian bias. If there isn't Canadian content they'll only begrudgingly cover it.

I definitely agree. Hossa's the guy I single out because the Wings hired him specifically to be the guy they faced the year before in the finals and he was just the opposite when the finals rolled along.

Unlike Hossa, Datsyuk was fighting two injuries in the playoffs. That gives him some slack... And for the record he put up the same number of points as Crosby did in the finals in 3 fewer games.

I'd say this year's team is a more interesting team because there's so much room for error and so much room for growth. Ericsson, Leino and Helm getting full seasons makes this year an exciting look at the future of this team. I can't wait. If Ericsson and Leino fulfill the expectations they've set up for themselves then we're in really, really great shape. Ericsson makes the defense so much sexier as he's already proven himself to be top 4 and he hasn't even had a full rookie season. The sky's the limit with Big E. Leino's in a very similar situation-- he can be a dynamic, cheap 2nd line winger in his rookie year. Speculative hockey sites are already listing Leino as a Calder threat-- I read one preview that listed Leino as second overall in their list of probable Calder winners! Everything we've seen from Leino indicates that he really could be the next big thing up front.

Great game by Meech and Larsson according to the guy who picked the three stars. Well I'm waiting for Howard to prove he belongs here. One soft goal tonight, but I guess it could've been worse. Still-- Larsson was better. The Wings will likely keep a short leash on Howard this season. It'll be tough, though, since he can't go to the minors and they won't want to lose an asset like him (former blue chip prospect) for nothing-- especially since goalies are such unpredictable subjects.

It is being broadcast on WXYT-- I read that on Mlive. Looks like Babs put one guy on each defensive pairing who is definitely on the team (in this case Lids, Rafalski and Ericsson). Odd, but I guess the idea is to maximize the exposure for hopefuls while not wearing out the veterans (in this case Ericsson is a "veteran" since he's going to be on the team for sure). That means the next game will have: Kronwall-Kolsov Stuart-Janik Lebda-Pyett Osgood Cloutier

It'd look sweet. Oh man-- just imagine if we got the privilege of facing the Ducks with Boogyman on our side!

Or Eva Unit Zero

This is odd since Helm makes so much less than Abdelkader. I'm assuming the Wings are praying Helm heals up quick!

I'm not so sure the Wings even made Koppy an offer Sammy's the one that left for bigger money in my opinion, Koppy left to the team that actually wanted him. Seriously, if you were the Wings would you rather Kopecky, Leino, Helm or Abdelkader on the ice? In every scenario Kopecky is the last choice on that list.

I'm excited to see what our crop of rookies can do with regular ice time. This is the first time since Hudler and Filppula made the team that we'll get to see promising rookies with virtually guaranteed roster spots. Plus I'm a huge Ericsson and Leino fan so I'm really excited to watch them play 82 games

Did you get to see the game tonight? Who scored? Who looked good in the game? Where do babies come from?

Two notable things from this info (as originally posted by Bruce McC): -->Tatar is still with the team (he's the only jr eligible guy still there) -->Tatar announced that he will not return to Europe and will play either in the OHL or AHL.

As long as Ozzie is as good in the playoffs as he was the last two years I'm happy

Yeaaahhhh durability is Havlat's middle name.

Me too if the teams on MNF are worth watching. For example-- the Steelers vs. Titans game on Thursday was EPIC. That was one hell of a fun game to watch. Of course, once we're talking about regular season or playoff games MNF takes a back seat because Hockey is KING.

Here's what I think Eva's reasoning is for that comment: -Ericsson will more than likely jump over Stuart in the depth chart -If Lidstrom returns that means Stuart is now being paid 3.75 million a season to play on the 3rd pairing -Keeping Stuart on the 2nd pairing and Ericsson on the 3rd simply because Stuart makes so much is stupid and detrimental to Ericsson's development. -Stuart's NTC is over after this season. -Kindl will be playing next season, further jamming up defense. Kindl will have to get a top six position on the defense-- he's too important of a prospect to let set in the press box. -Again, why pay Stuart 3.75 million to play on the third pairing? That makes no sense in a cap world. The logical choice is to trade him next summer and get something back for him while relieving the log-jam on defense and creating more cap room.

Why three years? I was under the impression forwards got roughly the equivalent of 4 years to play in the AHL before they lose their waiver exempt status.