Drake_Marcus

I have to agree with you on all these points. I think his biggest issue is focus. His hockey IQ isn't bad offensively but he doesn't always see the play develop in his own end and it bites him in the ass. Sometimes it's obvious he's a converted forward. People here always rag on the 3rd pairing defensemen because hey-- they're like sooooo bad compared to Lidstrom. But Lidstrom makes six times more money than them for a reason! E's been a solid 3rd pairing guy who's been playing outside his comfort zone since Rafalski's been injured. Instead of playing bottom pairing minutes E's been playing top 4 mins (last night he was 3rd amoung defensemen in mins played) and his discomfort doing so really shows. Ericsson started the season really strong and managed to contribute offensively. As I've always said-- he starts to doubt himself and lose confidence when he isn't putting points up. We're seeing this all over again. One place he was very effective in Grand Rapids is the PP. Hell, he was strong on the PP in the 09 playoffs too. Give Ericsson some power play time instead of Kindl and let Kindl get some NHL PK experience. It definitely wouldn't hurt Kindl's development to let him play some time on the PK. It's not like he's producing on the PP right now. The fact remains that Ericsson's logging a ton of even strength time on ice. He's averaging 17:08 mins/game of even strength ice time. That's third on the team behind Stewart (17:13) and Kronwall (17:20). Last year E was 6th in even strength time on ice among the defense (14:37 min/game). Overall he's playing 2 mins more per game on average. He's also second among the defense for +/- with a +10 so he can't be doing that terrible compared to last year. And he still has fewer give aways than Rafalski and Kronwall. People need to accept that our 3rd pairing isn't going to be a pair of all-star defensemen. You get what you pay for.

Jarnkrok certainly has 1st round talent. The problem is that he's got 4th round size.

The NHL is a major sport. In Canada every other sport combined can't pull NHL ratings. In the US Hockey isn't exactly Football, but they have a strong market share in some states and respectable market shares in others.

With a network that was recently aquired by Comcast. Vs will likely become NBC sports.

Mitch already has the heart and dedication to make the NHL. All he needs to do is keep improving his game and we'll have a great 3rd/4th line guy up here. From what he showed in the prospects camp he's got pretty good hands too. No question he's going to be in Grand Rapids next season. I can't wait to see what he can do in a pro league.

^This. Saying this is the end of htting is a huge overreaction.

I'm guessing this means Stewart's ankle is worse than expected. They probably want to be as careful as possible with it so he's healthy in April.

Agreed. And like others have said-- Holland shouldn't overpay E to stay. But if Ericsson is willing to continue being paid like a 3rd pairing guy they should keep him. We don't really have another big guy back there who will stand up for his teammates.

This. The Dats-Cleary-Hudler line had fantastic chemistry. All three have cooled off since being broken up so why not reunite them?

How is Chara supposed to know the glass doesn't extend around the entire rink without breaks? This is obviously his first time playing in the Bell Centre. Do we really want to live in a society where people are held accountable for their actions? In the mean time we should expect the players to be aware of their suroundings when they make a hit.

I honestly don't understand how anyone can defend Chara's hit. It was clearly interference, it was a bit late, the layout of a hockey rink is well known to Chara (it's not like that stantion should have been a surprise to Chara), the guy he hit is someone he's known to have a grudge against, oh and the other player has a broken neck and severe concussion. Was this a 'hockey play'? NO. Late hits that result in a broken neck aren't 'good hockey plays'. How can anyone say that kind of hit belongs in hockey? Putting someone in the hospital with a late, reckless hit isn't something we want in our game. Rubbing a guy out along the boards is great-- put him through the glass if you'd like. But there's no room for driving someone into a stantion or the open doors of the bench. We all decried Lemieux for driving Draper into the open bench and this hit is no different. Avs fans probably said 'oh well it wouldn't have been so bad if the bench wasn't open'. Sound familiar? Chara hit him and Chara is responsible for his own actions. It doesn't matter if he meant to injure the guy or not-- he made a late hit that resulted in a horrific injury. How can anyone say he shouldn't be held accountable for his actions? Big deal if Chara misses 5 games. The other guy is missing a hell of a lot more than that and he certainly doesn't get to put the hit behind him after 5 games like Chara does. Max will need 2 or 3 months for the bone to heal then he'll need physical therapy and who know what else. There's even the possibility that his doctors tell him he can't risk playing hockey again.

True, but my point is that he's got a broken vertebrae in his neck and we both know that's the first thing that went through his mind when he found out.

I'm well aware. But tell me you wouldn't be terrified about walking again if you broke your neck.

Exactly. You have to suspend based on the rules and the outcome of the player's actions. Is it fair that Chara would be suspended for something he did by accident? Maybe I guess but it's also unfair that a guy is sitting in the hospital right now praying he'll be able to walk again.

I honestly don't give a s*** about his intentions at this point. His victim has a broken ******* neck and severe concussion. Did anyone care that Bertuzzi didn't mean to break Moore's neck? Did anyone care that the guys piling on Bert and Moore afterwords almost certainly worsened Moore's neck injury? Nope. If I plow into the back of a guy's car on the highway my insurance company doesn't give two s***s about my intent.

Youtube or it didn't happen!

Yep. I don't see how Chara could explain this away. It's not like he couldn't see the stantion the entire time. He obviously knows what's at the end of the bench (hockey rinks aren't exactly a mystery). But hey-- Colin Campbell's clearly established that heavy suspension are only for scrubs. I'd be surprised if Chara gets more than 1 game.

McCrimmon stepped in to a team that just won the Cup and was among the best defensive teams in hockey. Since taking a spot on the coaching staff the team's defensive play has dropped considerably. We can't just fire a guy based on his job performance! Wait... that's exactly what the Wings should do.

I mean if you care about odds or probability at all you just can't justify picking the Devils to make the playoffs. They're still 8 points out even after the insane run they've been on. Did I mention they only have 17 games left to make those points up? Buffalo AND Carolina would have to fall apart to let NJ in at this point. Sure they could make it. But so could Toronto (LOL!).

Well Kevin Weekes is nothing more than a sycophantic 'tard (see: Piere McGuire's less qualified brodcasting twin).

Ericsson was terrible tonight-- no doubt there. But that pass by Kindl to Helm was ******* retarded. Stupid play in that situation. There was no reason to make a risky pass in front of his own net.

You are a Red Wings fan. Hudler is helping the Wings win games. You like seeing the Wings win. You like Hudler. ... you're a Hudler fan. I guess he's gambling that one game apart from Dats won't mess with their chemistry. Franzen simply has to start scoring. Right now he's skating around with a 200lb monkey on his back.

Hmmm... good point. But Hudler would say Ved Vings, not Red Wings. As far as the stats in that article go... well they reflect the fact that the Wings win more often when they get scoring from guys not named Lidstrom, Datsyuk or Zetterberg. If your depth guys are scoring AND your stars are scoring odds are you're winning too.

Ohhhhhhh. Wow. I've been thinking you two were the same person for years now.

^This. Everyone expects Lombardi to run his mouth. Guys like that make me that much prouder of Holland and company. No matter who's interviewing them they're always polite and considerate. Just listenging to Holland or Nill being interviewed tells you how passionate they are about the game and how genuine they are as people.