Drake_Marcus

Don't knock preseason fan enthusiasm- it's the only thing that sells blackhawks season tickets.

Yeah- I have a hard time taking everything in that summary as truthful in the overall picture given that Ericsson has had a goal every game so far and he's an effing defenseman.

Putting Lids and Rafalski on the same line is a bit of a waste IMHO. Lidstrom dominated the playoffs when paired with Lillypads, so pairing him with Rafalski seems like overkill. How's about: Lidstrom - Kronvall Rafalski - Kindl Chelios - Lebda Meech I know they don't want to have a rookie sit on the bench (ironic, I know, given how they treated Huds and Filp) but Chelios is sure to sit out more games this season- as management has stated that they want to save him for the playoffs. Let's say Chelios plays 60 games. Someone's going to get hurt at some point too, so let's give Meech 20 injury replacement games as well. That's 40 games right there. I suppose it'd most likely look like: Lidstrom - Kronvall Rafalski - Lebda Chelios - Meech Lilja With Kindl or Quincey the call-ups. Meech would have to clear waivers, so unless he screws the pooch in the preseason/October he'll likely be getting third pairing duty. Kronvall's current contract is clearly a vote of confidence from the management, so I don't expect he'll be playing 3rd line minutes. Lebda's obviously still got some clout with the coach as well, so I highly doubt he'd be playing fewer minutes then the rookie, at least not initially. This club is too deep in prospects that need to make the jump to the NHL level to waste time with journeyman defensemen right now.

Guess who's Dad captained that station to glory (i.e. #7 status in the US alternative market )?

I'm not trying to make an argument for Downey here, just thought that video was relevant. Nope. I'm actually hoping the Wings: -Don't get Markov back -Don't pick up any of these three -Put Huds and Filp on the top two lines -Keep Kindl and Meech up in the big leagues full time and give them some real minutes with Lids We NEED young prospects that get a chance to play in the NHL now before the Wings lose their veterans to retirement and are forced to bring more old folks into the system. It's time to reload this team, not give fleeting minutes to the odd prospect every once in a while. Huds and Filp stood out in spite of not being given decent minutes in proportion to their output (remember- no one in the class of calder candidates produced as many goals per minute as Huds). You make an excellent point there- Chelios, while able to play in the top four, is an asset best saved for the playoffs. The Wings would've been screwed even harder last year had he not stepped up after Matty got mauled by a shark. I'm assuming Chris won't play a full 70 games this year for just that reason. BUT, why not start with some kids playing and worry about this s*** once we see if those kids earn their keep?

He's won a couple:

Well, you could trick the Swedish kids and say it was a charity "football" game, then advertise it to their American opponents as a football game and watch the hilarious antics ensue...

That one handed swing thing sounds cool as hell. That'd be pretty bad ass to pull out as a hockey pro at a charity ball game! "Fire on Ice", however, still sounds like a figure skating roadshow.

I'd say that's a safe bet.

Hasn't he QB'd two Superbowl losing teams?

Indeed, although picking Stevie for captain was the best choice and he had the broad shoulders needed to carry the burden, it's always a risk when you ask a really young player to take up that mantle- as Boston leaned with Big Joe (although they were still laughably stupid for trading him). Unfamiliar with sarcasm?

I'll be ecstatic when Datsyuk can put up 105-120pt seasons. That'd put him in the competition for league MVP. Realistically, Pavel is and always has been a set-up man. He always looks for the pass out there and doesn't seem to have that that bury-the-puck-3"-into-the-boards-behind-the-net instinct that made Feds the offensive dynamo he was. 1-on-1 Pavel is arguably the best stick handler in the league, but he's still a playmaker at heart and not a finisher like Z. We need Grigs to be a finisher, and according to scouting reports he is. Now, obviously, if you put Dats on a line with another playmaker they'll still score- it's not like Dats is unaware of how to score. BUT what Dats really needs is someone like what Cheechoo is to Thornton. And that someone can't be Z because we need Z to anchor the second line

Haha, yeah as someone with university training in physics and engineering, I can say that reducing drag on a hockey stick is pretty insignificant compared to the drag on the huge ass player skating with it.

I think yarrr wright. Dude! Lang effing LOVES pizza.

Ahh, so I guess Grigs is adjusted to the NA game? I hope this translates well to the NHL level. Any one know how these prospects vs. prospects tournies translate to NHL performance? That is to say- are the players who dominate these games usually great in the NHL that season?

Who had the helpers?

I assure you- Giggy was just as amazing 1-on-1 as he was with two guys infront of him. He literally stole games from the Wings in the WCF.

I'm not sure that Cleary benefited alot more from Lang then vice-versa. I'd say they both benefited equally. Lang relied on Cleary's hustle since Cleary was literally the only one on that line that appeared to care about being on the ice. I think you're giving Lang a bit too much credit. Sure he deserves credit, but I don't think he was draging Cleary along. Cleary really did show some great offensive flair (he was considered the next hockey prodigy at one point). Of course people overstated Cleary's contribuition, but don't be tempted to swing the pendulum in the opposite direction. As to Z benefitting less then Dats from their pair up- I wouldn't be so sure. Datsyuk maintained a high ppg after Z was injured. One might expect that when an All-star calibre pivot is injured his linemates' ppg would drop accordingly, depending on who replaced him. But we saw Dats maintain a similar ppg when Z was hurt, no? That's on top of the fact that he had different linemates shuffled past him as they tried to figure things out. Z needed Dats as much as Dats needed him, or at least the gap wasn't very big.

Gross.

Bah. We could have that arguement all day. The point is that 99.9% of the players out there need their centre to be competent, and yeah, of course they put up better numbers with a hot centre. But the relationship is hardly parasitic. By the way you phrase it you make it sound like Cleary's streak was purely a product of Lang. What then of Z's streak while paired with Dats? Is Dats, therefore responsible for Z's streak and thus diminishing Z's accomplishment? In my mind there are two types of wingers. First their are wingers that feed off their centremen and co-wingers, contributing little to the overall sucess of their linemates other then being conduits for goals. In my mind Sammy is that type of player. His lack of physical game means he doesn't create space for the centre and opposite wing to work from. His poorly placed, seemingly random, shots showed us that he needed somone to feed him, rather then being simply able to use a feed. The other type of winger is just the opposite. He enhances his linemates, creates room or at somehow occupies his opponents, he makes plays of his own- jumps on loose pucks, agressively forechecks, etc. Cleary is that type of player. No, he's not Ovetchkin- he can't throw up retarded numbers when anchored by a 5 year old lama. But Cleary CAN dominate a game of hockey with his endless energy, relentless forechecking and even a flair of offensive greatness (ask Kipper). Before this year's playoffs you could argue I'm exaggerating. But the fact remains that Cleary was a solid candidate for the team MVP this playoffs- especially against Calgary. Will he continue what we saw in the playoffs during the regular season? I hope so. But ultimately the only thing Babcock can do to insure Cleary continues playing at that level is to put him on a line with other players that play at a high level.

You can't exactly say that many NHL wingers aren't dependent, on some level, on the play of their centres or at least of the opposite wingman. From Feb 2nd on Cleary had an ice-cold centre and opposite winger. Your argument works both ways.

He ******* blows compared to Cleary, who is not in the top six as of this news. That's my problem. Sammy is a junk player who has been enhanced by the play of Z and Dats. Period.

Nostradamus was a ******. He didn't predict anything. All those quatrains were deliberately vague and people read into them what they want. That's my unnecessary post for the day.

Dude- I'd give a nut to get Phaneuf on this team.