Drake_Marcus

That's insane. Bogo is a 3rd overall pick who's still only 20 years old. Kindl's got tons of potential but he hasn't even managed to play his way onto our top 6 defense this season. His value is not a 2nd pick away from that of Bogosian. I like Kindl and I'm a big Ericsson fan but I'd make the Hudler + Ericsson trade in the offseason. I wouldn't make it today because it weakens the Red Wings going into the playoffs and we need to take as many runs at the cup as we can before Lidstrom retires.

I agree dude. I was being sarcastic about the foolish idea of trading one of our top 6 before the playoffs.

179gp 23g 31a 54pts -22 (averaging 21:41 this season, with 18:06 in his rookie year) [0.30 points per game] 3rd overall pick Takes better stats than that to be a 'proven' 3rd overall pick. Sorry man but you expect a lot from a top 3 pick. Did I mention he's being talked about moving at age 20? E. Johnson put 93 pts up in 204 games [0.46 points per game] in 3 seasons with the Blues before being shipped out. I'd still be over the moon to see Bogo moved here but I'm not going to call him a future Norris candidate just yet.

I can't justify putting Abdelkader on the top 4 lines over Draper based on his play this season. Abs just isn't hitting like he used to... he looks completely drained of energy out there.

Yapping poodles eh? God forbid someone base their opinion about the team's GM on his results! Holland probably won't add a veteran d-man because the prices are rumoured to be stupidly high this year. All the early moves thinned out the talent left at the deadline and inflated the asking prices around the league. The Wings don't like to part with 1sts anymore and are hesitant to part with 2nds. I'd like to see us get a veteran back-up but I'm not privy to the medical situation with Osgood so I can't really say we 'need' one either. I hope the Wings put a claim in on Conklin, though. McCabe hasn't had a season for the ages and he had an NTC so the Panthers were pretty limited in their options.

Dumb ideas were plentiful before the internet came around. Because this team is so good defensively that we need to unload some offensive talent before the playoffs come. If I remember correctly having a strong PP isn't as important in the playoffs.

My hands... they're so hot.

I wouldn't do that deal with the 1st round pick in there. Bogosisn is very unproven at this point.

For what? The Wings can't bring in an expensive shut-down defenseman to sit on the 3rd line. Defensemen are going to be overpriced at this year's deadline anyway. Lidstrom-Rafalski-Stuart-Kronwall isn't exactly a cheap or a bad top 4. In a cap world you can't go and grab a 4 million dollar defenseman to play on the 3rd pairing anyway. Rafalski needs play a smarter game and the entire team needs to be committed to playing Red Wings hockey for 60mins every night. Our 1st periods have been horrible lately.

lol what? Going high and hard for his jaw is hardly a fair response. Crosscheck him back. Fight him. But drying to put him in the hospital? Enjoy the pressbox.

wow... can anyone here confirm this: http://hockeybuzzhogwash.com/?p=1439

You guys aren't happy with the results of this management style so far? We could always be Calgary fans-- they shuffle their roster multiple times every season and it really seems to work well for them. What about the Rangers? Slather is always making moves and they're always an interesting team to watch. The Thrashers love making trades too! The Leafs? I can't help but feel like I'm seeing a pattern here.

Oh definitely.

That's the most retarded thing I've read in a while. Crosby and Ovechkin represent the exception, not the norm. Of the first 30 guys selected each year maybe 2 or 3 will never play a game in the AHL, CHL or another minor league*. Add in all the other rounds and you can safely say more than 95% of the players drafted will play in the minors (both pro and amateur). It's not uncommon to see top 5 picks play in the AHL for a time... it all depends on what their team's status is (garbage or loaded with talent) and how physically ready they are for the NHL. So in summary-- the AHL is hardly a holder pen for fringe prospects. Most of the young NHL players who enter the league cut their teeth in the AHL. Edit: *Condsider that some guys who start on their team's NHL roster at 18 end up playing in the AHL for a time at some point (see: Edmonton this season)

Hilarious. I'm sure Lyle Richardson would get a good chuckle out of the author's characterization of Eklund's "peers" as old media guys who are behind the curve. http://www.spectorshockey.net/ Is still the most respected hockey rumour site on the internet and Lyle doesn't have to make bulls*** up or charge money like Eklund does.

It's certainly possible. Being a first time father would definitely weigh on my thoughts.

Going out there and smashing bodies is exactly what Babs wants from Abby. Hell-- he lead the forward in hits last season by a mile before being sent back down to GR. Babcock demands that his players forecheck hard and grind down other teams by hitting and pressuring their defensemen. Nothing about the Babcock system can be described as 'non physical' outside of the lack of fighters. If Abby can't be a physical presense there's no reason to keep him in Detroit. He's not a bonefide NHL scorer. Abbs needs to play like a 3rd/4th line forward or refind his scoring touch.

Given Bert's history I can forgive him for being hesitant when it comes to hitting other players and fighting.

Agreed man. The entire defense was ugly yesterday. Even Lids had a rough night. The Wings' confident play and fast pace starts with a quick outlet pass from the defense. When the D plays like s*** it's pretty tough for the forwards to get things going.

Well for what it's worth you're right HoH.

Welcome to the cap world man. The Wings can't bring top 3 d-men in to play on the bottom pairing anymore. You have to use #5/6 defensemen in the #5/6 spot. I'd love to see Ericsson return to his form from earlier this season but people need to stop pretending we can make a trade and bring a top 4 guy in and slide Kronwall or Stuart onto the bottom pairing to replace E. The Wings can't pay a #5 defenseman 3.5 million dollars a year. Guys like Ericsson and Salei make very little money and you get what you pay for. When E elevates his play as he did in the 09 playoffs and like he did during the first half of this season we're all happy but the inconsistency is to be expected from a guy who makes a million dollars a year. If anyone needs to give their head a shake it's our stars who aren't producing: Rafalski and Franzen. I can't believe Franzen hasn't scored in 11 games... that has to change. And when I say "very little money" I mean relative to our other defensemen I'd be perfectly happy to get paid what E does.

The fact that he wasn't picked up means the word must be out that his work-ethic is unfixable at this point.

Plus, since we're talking about players on the Red Wings here-- his final value will end up being evaluated based on his playoff performance.

My bad-- I was thinking of the roster entering training camp when Meech was still up. Good thing I included the word 'virtually' in front of it.

I'm not so sure the Avs got hosed on the St. Louis deal. It all depends on what Shattenkirk does. If he's a 2nd or 3rd defenseman St. Louis will be pumped (based on his excellent season so far that could end up being the case). But Johnson still has huge potential and could very well be a team's top d-man for the next 15 years. He's had some bad luck with injuries but if you look at his offensive numbers they're pretty damn impressive and he's got a ton of time to learn the game and improve in both ends. Don't forget that this kid is only 22 years old and has 92pts in his first 206 NHL games (albiet that's with 1st pairing mins in every situation). Right now St. Louis came out of that deal on top but the deal has the potential to be huge for Colorado. Swapping their 2nd round pick in '11 or '12 for St. Louis' 1st rounder in '11 or '12 is a sweet deal as well (I assume the pick this year is lottery protected and thus won't go to Col this year). Does anyone know the specific conditions attached to the 1st and 2nd round picks in this deal?