Drake_Marcus

Exaggerate much? I think this is the perfect chance to bring I. Filppula up and evaluate him. I'm a huge fan of Tatar but I. Filp is only signed to a 1 year contract is will likely move on if he can't break the roster this season. He's healthy and still producing in GR so they should bring him up and see what he can do.

Brutal. Well if there's a trophy for most man-games lost to broken bones we'll win it this year. 85 year old female astronauts break fewer bones than Red Wings. On the other hand this will give the young guys in GR way more NHL time than they'd otherwise see. Time for the cream to rise to the top.

Milbury is a joke guys. He's widely considered the most hilariously terrible GM of recent history and as a player he beat a man with his shoe. How many times have we laughed at the Yashin for Chara+someguy+1st(Spezza)? Check out the list of retarded moves Milbury made in Long Island during his career as a franchies-raper: Recovering From Mike Mulbury: Is Five Years Long Enough?

I have to disagree that Z's Datsyuk's equal offensively. He's just a bit below Datsyuk's level. In the playoffs hsi game translates much better, though, and in that area I'd say Z's definitely a superior player. The brand of hockey Zetterberg plays is perfectly suited to the playoffs. Datsyuk is just a flashier player. His puck skills are so impressive on both ends of the ice it's hard not to be dazzled by him. Zetterberg's always been a lower-key kind of guy and that's part of it.

The Leafs and Raptors probably want the Bills to move there just for that reason.

Good to hear you went with a legit source.

Jarnkrok and Pulkkinen can decide their own fate. If the come to the prospect camp strong and in great shape they'll get an extra look in training camp and possibly in the pre-season. If they impress there they might get a brief (less than 9 games) shot in Grand Rapids with the understanding that not making it there would result in their return to Europe for another season. Tatar surprised everyone and became the youngest player in the AHL last year. There's no reason either of those two can't do the same. They both have lots of time to train and try to bulk up between now and September/October.

Your comment doesn't make much sense in a cap world. How many players out there are going to provide an upgrade over Holmstrom that is worth their salary PLUS his salary? You're either looking at a rookie (expensive in terms of obtaining via trade or cheap but a huge gamble), a player on an entry level contract who is a known performer (expensive to obtain), a reclaimation project (gamble) or a veteran very near the end of their career (gamble).

His retiring would create a bigger problem-- his contract would count against the cap AND the Wings would have to pay a player to occupy his roster spot. I assume it was understood that he wouldn't retire early (barring injuries) when he signed the contract.

Definitely. My issue isn't with your post. I just think it's silly that the media in Toronto is making a big deal out of it.

I like the jerseys but the numbers centred above the logo on the front look retarded.

Stupid. Players reward the game-winner against their former clubs all the time. It's unfortunate that they didn't keep it quiet but nothing should be done about it.

Crosby probably would've picked him too. They have a history playing each other and would probably enjoy the chance to play together once.

Because it'd count against the cap no matter what. He signed after age 35.

Yeah I'll take Dregs over Eklund's blind guesses any day of the week.

Something will have to give with all the forwards. Mursak and Emmerton will either make the team or be traded. Draper's spot doesn't need to be replaced because the Wings are carrying too many players as it is. There's really no need to carry a 7th defenseman all year either. Guys like Kindl and Meech are only carried because the Wings are protecting their assets against waivers. At some point Holland will have to decide what to do with Kindl-- either play him regularly, trade him while he has some value or let him become a spare part. Meech was never a highly regarded prospect aside from perhaps his last season in the AHL. Kindl's trade value will continue to decline as he ages and doesn't make the team. With Smith the Wings have a young, highly regarded, waiver-exempt guy who they can call up when injuries happen. If they're happy with their defensive depth Kindl can be shipped out. Honestly, if it wasn't for Ericsson's rough rookie year I think Kindl may have been moved earlier. Now that they know E's returned to form there isn't a ton of room for Kindl (assuming Lidstrom doesn't retire this summer). Once Holland knows Lidstrom's intentions he can make some final decisions on the defense and clear this log-jam. As far as Larsson goes... well he didn't help himself when he left for Europe. He's played very well in Sweden so they won't completely discount him but he can't look at Holland and say "play me in the NHL or I walk" unless he comes into camp and plays outstanding. Ideally the Wings won't carry so many players next season.

Anyone notice that Marc Staal made the team? That's just stupid. He's had a good season but he's not one of the top 12 defensemen in the league by any stretch.

I have to disagree with this line of reasoning. The Penguins and Hawks may consider the Wings rivals but I'm sure they have respect for guys like Lidstrom, Zetterberg and Datsyuk (and that our guys have respect for their top players). Playing against someone gives you a pretty good idea of their talent and skillset. For example, after the 2008 finals when Crosby was asked who the top player in the league was he said (and I'm paraphasing here) that Ovechkin was the best 1-on-1 but the best overall hockey player was Zetterberg. That opinion was obviously influenced by the fact that he fought Zetterberg on every shift during the finals and got owned by him. As for comments that the Wings didn't want Zetterberg picked for the game-- I can see that. Zetterberg always seems to be nursing an injury of some sort so that week off will do wonders for him. On the other hand I'd rather they send Zetterberg than Lidstrom. Lids has less tread left on his tires so it only makes sense to limit his milage any way you can. What would be cool is if they still honoured injured guys like Datsyuk during the game. Dats was having an excellent season before his hand injury and could still participate in the media events during the All-Star weekend. When the top defensive forward in the league puts 39pts uo in the first 33 games it's a shame to leave him out of the festivities. Plus it's not like Datsyuk should be worn out right now... sending him to the All-Star weekend would probably be a welcome change of pace from training, training, training and waiting around for his hand to heal. Regarding the notion that Howard and Franzen were snubbed: they weren't. Howard doesn't deserve to make the All-Star team this season (and I'd rather his agent didn't have that bargining chip anyway). Jimmy's GAA and Sv% both sit at 29th overall and he's only 14th in SO. It's hard to justify sending a guy who's not even top 20 statistically based on the fact that he leads the league in wins by 1. Franzen's only 47th in scoring right now, sitting behind guys like MacArthur, Hedjuk, Clowe, Williams, Ladd and Dubinsky. His best stat is scoring and even there he's only tied for 11th overall. His numbers this season are all that spectacular. If he had cracked 20 goals by now he would've had a better chance.

To be honest I don't think Howard should have started last night. 3 games in 4 nights is too much for any goalie at any level of hockey. Starting Howie last night was a mistake. MacDonald looked good in relief, though. I'd wait and see how Howard responds against Columbus on Friday. He's been better on the road this year anyway. Definitely start MacDonald against Columbus on Saturday. Here's how I'd break it down: Jan 14th at Columbus: Howard Jan 15th vs Columbus: MacDonald Jan 18th at Pittsburgh: Howard Jan 20th at St. Louis: MacDonald (depends in part on how each goalie does in the games above) Jan 22nd vs Chicago: Howard Jan 26th vs New Jersey: Howard After that we should have Datsyuk back and all will be right in the world. Seriously-- it's miserable watching the Wings play and not seeing Datsyuk. Every Datsyuk shift is entertaining.

He's had a better season than Jimmy. All Howard has is win totals. His save percentage and goals against average suck. I have to laugh that Zetterberg is tied for 6th in scoring and didn't make their list of forwards. I'm glad Enstrom got named to the team. He's quietly having an excellent season.

Mursak can make the jump now and should since he can't play in the AHL next year anyway (unless they want to expose him to waivers). Tatar needs time to adjust to the professional game. He's only played a year and a half of North American hockey and he just turned 20 last month. It's easy to forget Tatar's a 2009 draft pick. He looked good in Detroit but obviously needed to continue to improve his strength (although he got a lot stronger this past summer and by all accounts is highly committed to being a professional althelete on and off the ice). Tatar's talent, vision and skating showed at the NHL level in his first call-up but we haven't seen everything he can offer yet. Another year on the first line in the AHL will serve him well. Hopefully the Wings make a deep run in the playoffs this year and he can soak as much of the atmosphere up as possible as a black ace. It's a shame he didn't get a chance to play with Datsyuk or Zetterberg during his call-up but I'm sure practicing with them would be eye opening too. He's the kind of kid who elevates his game to the level of the competition. Now that he's tasted the NHL you better believe he's hungry and motivated to get back and stay there. He did the same thing when the Wings gave him a shot at the AHL. I'm sure he'll make it hard for Holland to keep him in the AHL for long. Ericsson is playing like the guy we saw in the 09 playoffs. Signing him is a no-brainer. Kindl hasn't impressed me in the NHL yet. E showed a lot more in his first NHL games. Smith was tearing it up in the AHL before his knee injury (although he slowed down after the first few months-- which makes sense given the fact that he played college hockey before the AHL). I'd like to see Smith get some call-up time in the NHL as well. At this point his defensive game needs work but his offensive game is brilliant. (he's a great skater too) If there's a top 6 defensive spot open on the roster next season I'm betting Smith makes the team. His situation is similar to E's a few years ago-- they won't let him waste away in the pressbox. Emmerton had a great season in GR before his injury. He'll have to make the team next season as well, so I expect we'll see him called up at some point this season once he's healthy. Next year should be a fun year in GR with Callahan and Nyquist pretty much a lock to make the team. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jarnkrok and Plukkinen get PTO's in GR at the end of their European seasons (depending on when their teams exit the playoffs). Both looked excellent at the WJC although they definitely need to get pro size and coniditioning. I bet one or both will be given the oppertunity to make the Griffs just like Tatar was given coming out of training camp in 09.

The Kings were gunning hard for Kovy... you have to give them props for inadvertently dodging a bullet.

Buff doesn't play a minute of PK time. Voters discounted Green for that reason (the rules of the trophy) and I certainly hope they'll do the same fur Buff. Bowman laughed at Buff and called him a rover in a recent article discussing Lidstrom's play this season. The official NHL description for the trophy, as given to the voters, states it's for the best all-around defenseman. I forget where I found that... I remember digging it up when I was arguing with Shoreline about Mike Green back when he first became a contender.

If they gave these grades out last month Hudler would've gotten an F. Based on his play over the last few weeks he's looked fine. He's still creating tons of chances out there and looks dangerous on the PP. I'd give him a C or C- today. Last month I'd have definitely given him an F or at least a D.

Defensively he was great. But when you're a top 25 draft pick you need to put the numbers up too. Looks like his experience at the Team Canada camp really helped boost his confidence.