Drake_Marcus

blah blah blah... the legendary Stan Bowman will create something from nothing! He'll make them better this summer. No one can manage and sign players to low contracts like the Chicago Blackhawks!

Wow. The Devils just got scarier. I wonder who will have Kovy in October.

+1

And you used "wut" poorly. The correct usage is:

Hey I'd rather Taylor Hall than an 8th seed.

And yet you're the one who writes English like an 8 year old.

Ugggg... that would be so brutal. If we miss the playoffs I hope it's by enough to get the Wings a lottery pick. Lottery pick or playoffs. Choose your fate Ken Holland.

That was easily the best game Ericsson's played in the last month. 1 shot, 2 missed shots, 3 hits (tied with Helm for team lead), 0 give-aways, -1 (Lids, Rafalski and Meech were all -1 too and Stuart was a -2). Plus he had a fight and a huge hit. He made a great play at the end of the 2nd when he got that pass to Val at the side of the net. How about Filppula? 7 shots tonight.

He was closing on a point per game performance before Christmas, but he's slumped a bit since coming back from the WJC. Right now he's got 10 goals and 11 assists in 32 games. Still very respectable for a 19 year old AHL rookie.

Tatar stand out above them in my opinion. Nyquist you can argue for but not Smith over Tatar. Look at what Tatar's done as the youngest player in the AHL. He's the first kid in the history of the Wings-Griffins relationship (8 years) to be sent to the AHL in his draft year. It's very, very rare for players to go to the AHL at age 18. Very rare.

Tatar? No way in hell. He's a potential star or maybe even a superstar if we're really lucky. Kindl? Possibly. He's pulled the same disappearing act in Grand Rapids this season. This is his last AHL year so it's boom or bust time. But, as we've seen with Howard and Quincey, unimpressive AHL stats don't necessarily make for terrible NHL stats. In Quincey's case he needed full top pairing minutes for an entire year in LA to realize his potential, which is something the Wings can't provide. Hell, Meech was far superior to Q on the Wings and in Grand Rapids so who knows what he could've been in Q's shoes. Back on topic, if the Wings get the top value for Kindl they might take it. I doubt they'll trade him, though. Abdelkader? Well he's been very disappointing offensively this year and I think that's because he needed more seasoning in the AHL as an offensive guy. On the flip side his hitting has been great-- he's obviously there physically and can play the NHL game when it comes to his body. But is his head there yet? I don't know. His defense has been suspect and his offense has really dried up. I think a huge part of it is confidence and another problem is that he's fit himself in the grinder role a bit too well. I really hope Abs can be an offensive presense at the NHL level. Helm? No way in hell. He hits, he skates and he can even provide some complimentary offense. They'd have to get an offer that far surpasses his value.

Babs can't resist a good Bush joke. "Who's got two thumbs and just pawned half the furniture in the Lincoln bedroom to buy coke? This guy!"

Opps I forgot a few guys: Holmstrom-- Great game by Holmer. It's like he never left. Filppula-- Continues to be an offensive spark out there. His compete level is a huge factor. Val never gives up on pucks and is always dogging the puck carrier. I really hope he continues to grow offensively because his hunger to get that puck is great to watch.

The Sharks have only lost 5 times in regulation at home this year. Two of those losses are to us. Man I'm proud of our boys. Meech: Great game. He clearly wants a full season job here. I'm not too exited yet, though, because Meech has done this to us before. He played very strong last year when he was competing with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named for a spot then he fell off once he had the job in hand. He also did this during the big February AHL d-man call-up in Feb of 07. I'm reserving my confidence in him for when he does this over an extended period of time. That goal off Nabby was great. What a cool looking trick shot. Off the back of Nabby's leg and in. He also played pretty physical. Too bad he's so tiny. Zetterberg: Only the one point tonight but he had a really strong game and shot the puck tons. Funny how guys who shoot a lot get goals, eh? Howard: Holy frigging rebounds. If he had even average NHL rebound control his numbers would be amazing. His technique, speed, size and reflexes offset the rebounds, but damn man-- it's pretty stressful watching those pucks fly off his pads into the slot. Overall he had a great game. When the Wings were down 2-0 Howard kept them in the game. Cleary: But Cleary's goal completely shifted the momentum for the Wings. Cleary fought every battle he could and it made a big difference. Refs: Thanks guys! If I were a SJ fan I'd be pretty pissed at the refs.

2 more overpaid assists for Val. Only two points tonight? What a slacker.

Argues when told what to do then he storms off to his room and yells "you're not my real Dad!".

Looks great Matt. Man that two week period of no Red Wings looks barren and depressing to me.

I agree as well. I think his 80pt potential is slimmer than the Coyotes would like, but he certainly still has all the tools to be an impact player. He just has to put it all together.

Not really, Schenn moved some stuff in their to help make his stay more comfortable.

His give-aways in the 07 playoffs were pretty damn memorable.

Well that's not a very favourable comparison.

Not in front of the net.

Yeah Kindl and Janik are better choices than those guys. Meech I'd agree on, but give me a break. Do you think it's a huge coincidence that Janik's played for a bunch of teams at the NHL level and can't manage to find a better job than AHL depth defenseman? And Kindl? You've got to be kidding me. Ericsson was a high end defensive d-man in GR. At the same time Kindl had the worst +/- in the entire AHL. Last year he struggled mightily with turnovers and defense in general. This year? He's still in the defensive dog house with GR fans constantly lamenting his terrible defensive play and inconsistent effort. But sure, dump Ericsson and bring the guy up who can't play defense at the AHL level to replace him.

Yeah he does, but I can't be bothered to calculate the scaled turnover averages