Drake_Marcus

His GF is uber hot too.

Maybe they're eloping together?

*Hugs OzGOD* Anyone who doesn't see the huge level of young talent left on Nashville's roster is a moron. They'll definitely make the playoffs, but I doubt they'll get past the 1st round. Sorry dude. The prospects in your system are enviable though.

I'll give you that much- I really did enjoy the Sharks series this year- it was tough as hell. True enough. I agree that hockey has a different feel when you're not emotionally connected. I like to watch teams that employ former Wings. I like Atlanta because of Kozy

Smart front office.

Try not to be a jackass Great articles, thanks for keeping some of us updated.

Oh s***! We have to pay Lidstrom?!? He's only making, what, like 1 million a year now? Damn, we can't afford to pay him what he deserves. Oh yeah, I just remembered- he factors into every plan they make in front office and will get every damn cent he deserves until the day he retires a wing and his jersey hits the rafters. No question whether Lids would stay here- if it came down to it they'd dump other salary. Lids makes 7.6 million right now. Crosby makes 9 million next year. We could bring Lidstrom's salary equal to Sid the Kid's by letting Malts retire like he will end up having to do before we'd let Lids go.

And stock up on tradable prospects for the deadline.

I thought he mortally wounded his own talent back in Philly. No?

When was the last time you turned down a raise? How about got a job offer for twice as much money and didn't even feel compelled to go to that job because you're all about loyalty? Be fair- hockey players want money, but so do us normal folks. Add to that the fact that the average hockey player has an immense amount of uncertainty when it comes to future employment and future pay.

Gross! No Samuelsson on the top two lines! Here's what I'd do: Holmstrom Zetterberg Cleary Franzen Datsyuk Filppula Grigorenko Hudler Samuelsson Maltby Draper Drake Kopecky call ups Ellis Hartigan and Cullen Lidstrom Lilja Rafalski Kronvall Chelios Lebda Quincey call ups Ference Meech Ericsson Kindl. Cleary and Holmer are gritty as hell- if the other team focuses on Z they'll cause havoc, but if they focus on Cleary and Holmstrom, Z will embarass their goalie. Filppula played really well with Datsyuk and could use the one-on-one experience with Dats, plus centres like Dats and Z just make the players around them even better- which is a great thing for Franzen, Filppula and Cleary. Hudler's centred before, so that's no problem, plus it gives him some more responsibility, which is a good thing in my mind. Grigs is often put on the second line when people on LGW speculate, but I'd rather see him earn it and Babs likely will too. Lillypads played really well with Lids in the playoffs and is the minimum risk when paired up with Lids- it's not like Lids even needs a partner anyway Rafalski should help influence Kronvall and hopefully tell him not to hurt himself. Of course none of this matters- it's all about chemistry anyway, who know's how Grigs will fit in.

First of all- Souray is a horrible fit for the Wings' D because D stands for Defense. Second of all- Rafalski put up similar numbers, although had less than half the goals, he isn't a puck seive either. Souray doesn't scare the opposing team's forwards because they can just skate around him while he stares down the ice at the other net.

Sounds like how the Ilitch family used to treat Wings season ticket holders when they first bought the team. Smart move Boston.

Well it's spiteful. That's kinda mean, right?

Anyone who denies the insane level of raw talent in Feds is crazy. But Yzerman had the heart of a lion grafted to the heart of Paul Bunion's blue ox. Oh, and Y had an ass load of talent too.

Could have worked though- he had the goalie beat... Too bad he messed it up.

Sorry, but who are you to tell someone to take a minute to relax and breathe when you're spouting the f-bomb and biaaatch inbetween thinly-veiled, and sometimes outright, insults? You're both getting pretty personal with your attacks and contributing to derailing the thread, so don't just sit up on a high horse and lecture KPW. You need to own up too- it's a 50-50 thing dude. Plus you still didn't answer his question. No one on the Wings put up decent playoff numbers that season- hence the early exit. I assure you- Shanny's a power-forward with a sniper-scope that's yet to be replaced on this team. Obviously he contributed to the past playoff sucess of the Wings in years the team actually showed up.

True enough. I still think it's smartest to sit and play nice here. Since HS is a hard-ass it's probably easiest if you say sorry

So counting the draft it's been an ok couple of months for the Sutter family? They were reporting this story on the radio this morning in Calgary. Said there's goign to be a news conference with Sutter's current minor league team and news should be availible then. I'm not 100% on when the conference is scheduled.

Saaayyy what? I didn't know he was so big. Niiice. Honestly, without someone copy-and-pasting a TSN.ca "scouting report", how do those guys compare to each other?

The bigger point in that case, especially given DMac's recent financial troubles, is whether these type of players have a retirement plan. Let's face it- the average person doesn't save nearly enough for retirement over 30 years. What happens when your main source of income is from the age 18-38 when you feel invincible and think you need to live like a superstar since you're being paid a million or more a year? Sucks to live young and die old.

HaroldSnepsts= teh funny Graceful in "victory"?

Hey those must be from 1999! Surely physical play can't come from a 38 year old burnout? What's that you say? Isolated cases? Well that's fine- he only costs us $550,000 AND fills up the spot on the bottom two lines vacated by Cleary, Huds or Filp. If I'm wrong? Well we just made a $550,000 mistake in the UFA s***-show this summer- pretty decent compared to those poor bastards who paid $10 million for a 5 million dollar player. Anyone expect the 10 million dollar players to be in the top 5 scorers next year? Give me a break. I'm sure MCK would have loved a big fat payday for Drury by the Wings, even if it crippled their cap space for the next 6 years, because hey- I'd be exciting right now.

Bwahahahaha Not sure if that kinda thing is supposed to leak out

Infact there was no negotiation needed. Hasek just walked in and said: "I'll do it for $400 a year and two coupon books for McDonalds". "No", said Kenny, "you'll take $2 million or I'm going to stab you with this letter opener." "Fine." Hasek replied begrudgingly. And for the record- Rafalski is an upgrade on Mathieu. Throwing money at medium quality UFAs isn't exactly the qualifications for a brilliant GM, just one who makes the offseason seem exciting for the fans. How much of this is us wanting something to read about the Wings and how much is it about fixing a team that was 6 wins and 2 injuries away from the cup last season? {Noting that the losses to our line up since then have either been made up or will be made up by the young players}