chrisdetroit

Actually Flip finished tied for 4th in assists in the playoffs AMONG ALL PLAYERS. Malkin 22 Crosby 16 Getzlaff 14 Kunitz, Flip, and Z 13 This is pretty good company to be in. As far as goal scoring, he is barely a 20 goal scorer but I'm ok with that if he can finish tied for 4th overall in assists in the playoffs.

I'm with you. No news is good news. If the answer from Hossa wa "no" we would already know. Fact is, he is still considering it.

Stupid on his part. He could go out skating around with the cup. Instead he is going to come back so that he can be reminded what a first or second round playoff exit feels like. We see this over and over and nobody seems to learn from it. When you are in your late 30's and you win the cup just RETIRE ALREADY. It's as bad as guys that jump to the team that just won the cup - Bertuzzi, Schneider, Hossa... You'd think that people would learn.......

Agreed. If they were at a deadlock, we would have heard by now.

Why do you say that? If you are blaming the regular season's defensive lapses on McCrimmon, you must have missed the playoffs. The Wings played 23 games in the playoffs and finished with only 2.09 GAA. Only Boston was lower with 2.00. So if the defense was his fault in the regular season, then you have to give him credit for the defense in the playoffs.

Well put but I still can't see Hossa going to Minny or LA. I wish him luck but it means that he all but gives up on the possibility of winning a cup. It would not shock me if he took Kenny's offer. Or how bout this? 1 year for 4 mil. After 2009-2010 Lids retires and Kenny has more money to spend. He could sign for the 1 year and have an unwritten agreement that he gets $7mil next year. Of course Lids would have to be in on the agreement to either retire or take less... It could happen. Kenny is a magician and if somebody like me could think of it, Kenny has already considered it.

That's a bit of an exaggeration. Other guys that IMO did well in the finals Dan Cleary Justin Abdelkader (yes it was a surprise) Valtteri Filpulla Darren Helm Johan Franzen Nicklas Lidstrom Jonathan Ericsson

In theory yes, but if they are trading away his rights, they have pretty much given up any hope of signing him. After what he said about wanting to win the cup, it doesn't make sense for him to go to LA or Minny. I can't see either of those 2 teams getting anywhere near the cup in the next several years...

It's simple math. Sign Leino and Huds and we are just below the cap. Done. Huds does NOT suck and we do NOT have money to go shopping. Throwing around insults on the internet is a little juvenile don't you think. Is that supposed to hurt my feelings or something.

Huh? Ericsson, Leino and Helm will be on the Wings next year. What is it with people and Downey. He is not going to be on the Wings. He has almost no hockey skills. He's an enforcer and that's it. We have no room to carry an enforcer and we don't need him. Sammy is gone and Huds probably is also. I think that Hossa is going to accept the Wings offer given that the alternative is to play in Los Angeles and have zero chance to ever have his name on the Cup.

Leino on the first line? Oh for f***'s sake where did you come up with that?

Retire at 35? Are you serious? Why would he retire at 35. Who else retired at 35?

Stick to NHL 2009. We are not going shopping.....And it's not a conspiracy against the Wings. Where do people come up with this crap...

For Christ's sake. Downey had no hockey skills. He can fight and that's it. It's not 1990. Move on....

I agree with most everything you said except that there are only a few teams that can afford him. He wants to play with a contender (or potential contender) so I think that narrows the list to: Chicago Vancouver Washington Montreal I don't see him in Edmonton where he will never have a chance for the cup.

No way. Ericsson and Lilja play completely different styles. Lilja is a stay at home defensive defenseman and is great at the PK and shot blocking. We missed him badly on the PK in the playoffs. Ericsson is good but the two aren't interchangeable. Ericsoon is more offensively minded. Lebda is the expendable one, not Lilja. We need Lilja

The Pens won IN SPITE OF FLEURY. Did you watch game 5? Yes he played well in game 6 and 7 but overall he wasn't great. You can't judge a goaltender's performance based on 30 seconds.

Carolina, Tampa, Pittsburgh....

What? Not a dynasty? But they have 1 cup and 2 finals appearance in 17 years. Or as the Pens fans say, 3 cups in 19 years just short of Detroit's..LOL

No you misunderstood. He was 8th best among the 16 playoff teams. To me that's pretty average. Ok. Granted, he got them into the playoffs but nobody really cares how he played in the regular season. As a PLAYOFF goaltender he was mediocre. If you want to argue that he was 8th best out of 16 because of the the defense in front of him, that's fine. Then I will change my argument from they have a mediocre goaltender to they have a mediocre defense. The end result is the same. Yes, the Pens beat us but it sure the hell wasn't because of Fleury and it wasn't by a lot. I think it was 1 goal in a 7th game and as long as we are talking about goaltending, how's this... The Wings actually outscored the Pens in the series. They may make the playoffs but I don't see them going far. They aren't going to have the fortune to come back from 2 straight series when they are down 2-0, have the best team in the east eliminated in an OT of game 7, have only 1 significant injury (Gonchar) and play a injury riddled Wings team for the cup. Kudos to them, they took advantage of the breaks. Sorry but nobody is that fortunate 2 years in a row. And THAT is why the Pens fans are mad. They know that they are not going to be dealt 4 aces twice in a row.

2008-2002 4 non-cup years 2002 - 1998 3 non-cup years That's a bit less than the 17 Pittsburgh has Oh but they are comprable! LMFAO

Your boy Fluery had a .908 save % and a 2.61 GAA in the playoffs. He was the 8th best goalie in the playoffs just above Khabibulin. I hope you aren't banking on him as part of this solid base. If the Pens make the playoffs, I don't see them going far. They have 2 superstars and a mediocre goalie. I expect Boston to come out of the East. Thy are a much deeper team that the Pens and have much better goaltending.

Now that is just stupid. Yea you have 3 cups in the last 19 years but 2 of the were 17 and 18 years ago. Fact is the Pens have won ONE cup in 17 years. And you are going to compare that to the 4 cups the Wings won in 12 years. We have not gone more than 5 years between cups. The Pens went through a 17 year dryspell during which the team almost folded. This is why Pens fans piss me off. Sorry but as much as you wish it, the Pens sucess in the last 17 years comes down to 1 loss in the finals and 1 cup won in a 7 game series to a team playing injured.

Sorry to burst your bubble but I think the back-up plan if Hossa does not take an enormous paycut which I don't think that he will take is: sign Sammy, Conklin, Hudler, Jay and Abby Trade Lebda and Kopy. Hollland has already said that he isn't going free agent shopping. He has no money left.

Sundin is NOT a leader, he's a follower. And I agree, there is no "spark" left.