Drake_Marcus

Passports have nothing to do with hockey talent or toughness. I don't really care where players come from as long as they play well for the Wings.

How time consuming is applying stiff penalties to head shots? I'll be pissed if they don't keep the new penalty added in the playoffs for blatant head hunting.

Abs was the team leader in hits per game by a mile. He ended up with 152 hits in 50 games.

It's funny that you say that because Bertuzzi has a pretty good shot. Poor shot selection at times, but a good shot. No one can realistically say Bertuzzi doesn't have above average hands. Cleary's got ok hands too but they aren't quite as soft as Bert's. Like Bert, Cleary is definitely capable of creating scoring opportunities. Abdelkader had a poor showing last season but his offensive skill set didn't magically disappear between the AHL and NHL-- he just needs more confidence and to crash the net more. Abs, Cleary and Bertuzzi are all very similar players, however, so putting them together on the same line doesn't seem like a brilliant plan.

Montreal is out of their mind. I'm shocked they couldn't get something better than that for Halak. Why did they make this trade? Price is an average NHL goaltender (at best) with tons of unfulfilled potential but serious mental blocks created by horrifyingly bad management. Halak has shown that he can be an elite goalie right now. Price is young and has the potential to be an elite goalie. Before the playoffs I'd say this trade makes sense but after the way Halak played it just seems retarded to me. Worst case they should have signed both and made room for them then traded whoever didn't fit. Halak must have made it clear that he didn't want to return to Montreal.

Are we talking about a few years from now when he has even a modicum of experience or do you mean the completely unqualified Chelios of today? I'd love to see Cheli return to the fold once he has some coaching experience (people typically pick that experience up before getting an NHL coaching job). But the Wings aren't really in the phase of their life-cycle where it makes sense to plug a person in as coach who has zero coaching experience.

Are these high-end prospects? They better be if they came in for Halak... I'm shocked they chose Price over him. How much is potential worth when your playoff MVP has to be traded to allow it to develop further?

Hey, if anyone can stretch things it's Goatse.

Oh snap!

It turns out that Vancouver's NHL insurance won't cover a single penny of Berts' (likely) legal settlement against him so it's not like he can afford to cut the Wings a huge deal... Moore asked for $38 million.

Don't bag on my boy Tatar. He's money and you know it. What about "NHL Filppula" and "AHL Filppula"? We could just call the cool one Val and the old one Goatse.

That first quote was me poking fun at you (about the point per game). That second quote was me being awesome. Note that I said he wouldn't break 50pts in 09-10 and he didn't. Damn, man. I rock. Overreacting is fun and educational. I don't mean to sound cocky... that's Ezbake's (perceived) shtick. I'm just having fun with Z and D, he knows I'm cool with Val. I just bought some of his rookie cards this season for kicks, so I can't hate him.

Ok-- time to list your favourite Datsyuk quotes: “I have blocked shot,” he said today. “I’m surprised myself, too. Today, it’s hard to put on skates.” “I want to make speech longer but my English short,” "I remember going to the party but I don't remember coming home," (asked at news conference about 08 Cup party) “I can't play with one leg. I need a second leg, too.” That quote where he said it was tough skating with Hossa at practice because he was used to skating with Holmstrom And there was the interview $5 one and the KGB one. Holy crap! I forgot this one: “He just used me like pony,” Datsyuk said. “He was on top of me. I don’t like being the pony. I want to be on top.”

Love the Datsyuk on the mic reference. Sadly, I doubt he'll ever be able to top his "my English is short" joke

I thought you were a classic film junkie! The chick Chaplin dances with is totally Canadian. My link Also, I'd say Shania Twain gets me hotter than Ms. STD However... after pursuing this list: http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/top_twenty_women/ You're probably right. Was Mrs. Howe Canadian?

Division by 2 is widely considered a simple task.

But... but... Filppula is going to score at just under a point per game this year! I read that on LGW

Look-- Filppula's a better all around player but it's 100% legally retarded to state even for a micro-second that Filppula's natural offensive talent is even equal to Hudler's. Name one NHL season when Filppula's NHL totals were superior to Hulder's NHL totals. You can't even make that claim using Hudler's KHL numbers. Get over it man-- Filppula is not and never will be a better offensive talent than Hudler. He may outscore Hudler some day (assuming Hulder is playing on one leg or has a severe drinking problem) but he can't magically infuse his hands with more talent. And by the way guys, do you think Filppula is more offensively talented than Jonathan Toews? Because Toews has never scored 70pts in the NHL. Not once. His best total was 69pts.

Putting Datsyuk with Eaves and Holmstrom on the 2nd line is absolutely bizarre. I just can't fathom why you'd think that's not a waste of Datsyuk's talent. He should be feeding a sniper at all times. Giving him inferior linemates so he can pull them up as best he can is a foolish way of using a superstar in his prime. Why would you take one of the best playmakers in the entire league and waste his talent by asking him to dish the puck to anyone but your best snipers? The injuries this season showed what happens when a superior playmaker asks inferior shooters to finish on his plays. Datsyuk's perfect saucer passes were pissed away by 3rd and 2nd line shooters. Am I the only one who died a little inside whenever Datsyuk made a brilliant play so Bert could fire the puck wide of hold onto it for a second too long? Also, in what world do you think the quality of Datsyuk's wingers has anything to do with his "needs" and not with optimizing the talent you have on hand?

No shocker there. I was suprised anyone bought into the idea that they would move that pick for anything other than a home-run deal.

I disagree. Filppula is an average 2nd line player but a brilliant 3rd line player. We're still waiting for his break-out season instead of a break-out month. He'll have to break 41pts before you can loudly proclaim him a top six player. I'm sure he can break that barrier but the fact remains that his best season in the NHL was 40pts in 08-09.

People need to drop the Zetterberg as the 1st line centre and Datsyuk as the 2nd line centre bulls***. Zetterberg has never put up more points than Datsyuk in the regular season and likely never will. Datsyuk is a superior defensive player and is (generally) better on face-offs. Do you ever wonder why the Red Wings always play Datsyuk as the 1st line centre in these scenarios? You shouldn't. Zetterberg's forte is the play-offs. Let him save his steam for when it counts. Datsyuk is too dominant to put on your 2nd line in any scenario.

Jesus. A 3rd liner (at BEST) who takes horrible penalties 24/7 wants $4,000,000 a year? Is he ******* high?

Neil Pert is Canadian... why can't we get him? Probably too much luggage. And we all know who the winner would be

I want to disagree here but I really can't. We're pinning everything on internal growth, which is fine, but at the same time it's scary because it's an unknown. Although one positive is that he played every single game this season. That's a big step for Bertuzzi... he's not exactly known as an iron man. Maybe he can turn that health into more confidence in his physical game?