Drake_Marcus

I'll give Kovalev this much-- he shows up in the playoffs.

Alfredsson seems like the most realistic choice given the role he'd play, the likelihood of prying him away from his team and what the Wings need. Alfy would fit in perfectly with the Wings, is a warrior in the playoffs who will play through any injury and is old enough that he could be considered a deadline pick-up. It'd probably take too much to get him from Ottawa. Getzlaf would be awesome too but we're very deep down the middle with Dats, Z and Val. Nash would be an awesome addition to Datsyuk's line.

Why can't I choose Doughty or Stamkos?

Trading Stastny is a foolish move unless they're getting someone younger and equally good (or potentially more so). I just don't know what the Aves are thinking this year.

Adding an overpaid, aging sniper with motiviation issues won't save the Pens if Crosby doesn't come back.

To be completely honest we don't need a defenseman either (unless he's a rental). The Wings are already carrying 8 d-men and have quite a few guys in GR who are in or entering their 3rd years.

I can live with that!

Stats since Christmas: Hudler: 25gp 5g 18a 23pts +8 (0.92pts/g) *Part of the Wings' top line and extremely productive since the Christmas break* Zherdev: 15gp 2g 2a 4pts +2 (0.27pts/g) *Blows chunks and has been a healthy scratch for the last 6 games* Just a quick note: hockey teams win with the line-up that's on the ice right now. If someone was amazing in October/Novermber but has sucked ass since they suck ass as far as the team is concerned. If your goalie had 5 shut outs in November but has a 5 GAA and 0.80 Sv% since Christmas HE SUCKS NOW. What does Babcock always say? "What have you done for me lately" Your bias and blindness when it comes to players you don't like is amazing. You'd have to be brain-damaged to not know the difference between these two players from an NHL GM's stand point. When Hudler didn't work on the ice Babcock scratched him. Since December he's been skating hard (not fast but we can't change the fact that he's never been a great skater) and fighting for the puck on every play. If you'd watched the Wings play recently you'd already have noticed that Hudler's done a complete 180 from his s***ty, listless play in the first quarter of the season.

Yup. Cleary had to realize that he'd be out of an NHL job unless he learned to work his ass off every night. If Zherdev comes to that realization he could be a really good player. With a cap hit of $2,000,000, UFA status next year and a ton of talent there's virtually zero chance he passes through waivers without being claimed.

Just took a look at his game by game stats and thought people might be interested in seeing how he's done since Christmas: Period: Dec 27th -- Feb 22nd (Including yesterday's game) 25gp 5g 18a 23pts +8 It'd be nice to see more goals from Hudler but you can't really complain about 0.92 points per game. Hopefully he keeps this pace up. If he stays at this pace he'll end up with 49pts on the season.

Someone better text Hall Gill and tell him the good news.

Neal is going to put sick numbers up with Crosby as his centre.

I like those line. It's hard to sit a guy like Miller but you have to do what you have to do...

Looks much nicer now! Thanks Mac

Thanks for keeping us updated Mac! I'm not a big fan of the yellow text on a white background, though.

The playoffs this season will be an excellent chance to see whether Howard's really got the chopps to be a playoff goaltender. His struggles last year can be chalked up to rookie jitters (it was clear that he wasn't himself when he did interviews during the playoffs).

Don't get me wrong, though, I think Bettman is a complete ass. He's snide and condescending when he speaks to the media. On top of it all he's dismissive of the fans' concerns. A guy like Bettman should stay behind the scenes dealing with the owners and with coporate interests.

I wonder if the fathers trip got him thinking about his mother's situation too much. He really didn't play like himself.

I like Pang. He's very professional but still manages to have some fun. It was really classy for him to collect the puck for Bert and present it to him after the game.

And hey, it's not like the Canucks are suffering right now without him. You guys just need to get some healthy dmen back on the bench.

Take a look around the league dude. Hudler's not overpaid based on his production, certainly not based on his production in 2011. And it's 100% irrelevant whether he 'earned' his ice time when he's putting up excellent numbers right now. Babs could give two s***s about Hudler's production from October to mid-December as long as he keeps producing like he has since Christmas. The remaining games this season will be won based on how the players are playing NOW. Who cares about their poor production 3 months ago? It's not like the team struggled out of the gate because of Hudler. We're just lucky they're deep enough to have him slump like that without suffering in the standings.

Reading the full article really does make you wonder what the OP was smoking.

^This.

herp derp The Red Wings aren't sellers. They don't need to unload young offensive forwards before the playoffs.

I wonder what the artist was thinking when he made that mask... now there will be two sets of eyes looking out. This type of thing has been done before but I don't think I've seen it done with the creepy forehead eyes.