Drake_Marcus

Interesting read, but there was some very poor sports research put into this thing. One example would be the fact that the author assumed that the OT loss column in the Islander's stats meant "ties". Easy mistake, but smacks of someone who doesn't even understand what he's writing about at a fundamental level. Plus his comments about the questionable profitability of the Buffalo Bills games played in Toronto is retarded. They sold out within minutes and were spectacles that drew in s***-tons of cash.

Well then invite his drunk ass to camp!

You make a good point about Bell doing a tryout. Has he been playing hockey in another league to stay in shape?

Also, does it piss anyone else off that he left before passing 700 goals? That was the worst part of his retirement... you knew he wasn't going to be around for much longer, but why couldn't he wait until he passed 700 goals?

The triple OT winner against the Blues where he took it from Gretzky-- still gives me chills. I was shocked they left it out of the NHL Network top 10 list.

Yeah, I honestly think we're set defensively for the next few years. The only time I'd start to worry is if Kindl doesn't pan out this season in GR at all.

Kindl isn't even close to being ready for the NHL. Meech costs less than $500,000 a year, so it'd be insane to dump him then bring someone else up to be the 7th d-man. On top of his low cost he's also the 13th forward, so that's another reason why you're better off leaving him as the spare. But yeah, if the Wings could've nabbed Johnson at that price they'd be smart to move pieces to make room for him. That kid has tons of potential.

Hey now, he's bee the whipping boy for 2 years now.

Why oh why did Hudler force the NHL to file a grievance with the IIHF?

1st: Amazing deal for LA. Shocking that he didn't demand more. 2nd: STFU about Hudler. Everyone is tired of you bashing Hudler at least once in every damn post you make. Talking about Sakic's retirement? LeftWinger will probably relate it to Hudler being a rapist and forcing him to retire. LA re-signs a defenseman? LeftWinger thinks that were it not for evil Hudler, the Wings would've pouched him to further log-jam their defense and steal time from Ericsson in his rookie season. Enough man- we f***in' get it- Hudler is the cause of all the wrongs in your life. Cool. Go to counseling or something.

.... and the discussion takes a right turn into Creepy Town.

Little known fact: in most cases the use of facts and numbers to back up an opinion stems from a hidden physical attraction to the object of discussion.

It's a total waste of a year of Abelkader's development to have him sit on the 4th line playing 6 mins a night in the NHL. He isn't a PK or PP candidate either, so that 6 mins is unlikely to balloon much. Let him centre the first line in GR (and even give him some time on one of the wings since we have more than enough centres right now) and play 20 mins a night with all that responsibility. He'll become a better player that way. EDIT: Oh, and Holland's already got his hands tied to 4 rookies on the 09-10 team. I have a hard time believing he'd be happy with playing a roster that's a 1/4 rookies, which is what we'd have if Abs were on it. 4 rookies is enough for one season!

Ummm... so you don't think there's a good argument that Hasek, Roy or Dryden are on the same level as Tretiak, Sawchuk and Brodeur?

Messier is highly overrated. Kuri was too- I'd love to see Kuri put those numbers up without Gretzky. Like Gretzky, Messier was lucky enough to have a career that exactly coincided with the more ridiculously inflated scoring years in NHL history. For a 20 year period the NHL went insane and disregarded the idea of defensive responsibility to create a ludicrously high scoring era where d-men were nothing more than forwards that lined up outside the circle at centre ice. Look at the 50 goal scorers from that era and compare them to the 50 goal scorers from any other era-- they were much less skilled (on average) and far more plentiful. Messier's career, like that of Gretzky, was also marked by an amazing lack of serious time lost to injuries, which helps him have a better career point total than Yzerman and Lemieux. In the end the only guy who played more games on the top scoring list is Howe, and he played in the eras where 8-7 games would make people s*** a brick. Messier was blessed by a retardedly long, relatively injury free career that directly coincided with the highest scoring seasons of the NHL's history. So, in summary- f*** Messier.

How does that have any bearing on the 2010 Winter Olympics? Are you aware of some kind of curse or other magical spell that I'm not? This is more relevant to the situation than the last fact. At least the teams in 2010 will have players in common with the teams involved in the last two WCH finals.

I whole-heartedly agree that Oulahen deserves a shot to make the Wings out of camp. His defensive skill and PK ability would be greatly appreciated on the Wings right now. Are you sure he's re-signed with the Wings? I'm pretty up to date in all the Wings news (I'm pretty obsessive-compulsive when it comes to the Red Wings). I haven't heard a peep about it. I do know that the Wings tendered qualifying offers to the following players this offseason: -->Hudler, Leino, McGrath and Oulahen. Of those 4 only Leino was signed and to my knowledge, only Hudler filed for arbitration. That leaves McGrath and Oulahen exposed to an offer sheet (about as likely as Holland growing a second head). Where did you read that Oulahen re-signed?

This. Although Cody McC could do some work in Detroit on the 4th line for the right price.

We also hold more than 70% of the Earth's fresh water. Don't f*** with us. We'll give you the pee water.

Actually, yes- exactly that respect.

Which side is this post on?

Booya! I know more than Khan. Take that evil man exiled from Earth for starting a genocidal war!

? Who would want a guy who wanted more money than Detroit could offer? Ummm lots of teams that can afford to pay him what he wants? How is this situation different than any other situation where a UFA or RFA leaves for more money? Instead of going to a s*** team with cash he wanted to go to Europe. The KHL has announced they won't steal him if he's signed in the NHL, thereby removing any lingering fears that he'll bolt for Europe. So again, this is no different than any other UFA situation where the player wants more than the original team can offer.

I think this should be repeated given some of the confusion related to Leftwinger and Khan's misunderstanding about the difference between offersheet signings and arbitration signings. Again, I blame it all on: khaaannnn

Yeah, I blame the confusion on KHANNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!