Bannedforlife

Our season is surely done for

Or we could save it and bring in Semin and Chara at the deadline

I guess it depends on your definition of shake up. I believe Ken is the kind of GM who would never move one of his players once he has identified them as part of his core. Cleary doesn't fall into that group, but Flip and Kronwall certainly do. Even if he ever does decide to make some moves, I doubt it would happen next year. Lidstrom will most likely retire, and whoever he brings in as his replacement will be all the shaking we will see for a while. Speaking of which, Weber, Doughty, Seabrook, Johnson, Schenn and Yandle will all be RFAs next year, and Markov and Chara will be UFAs. If Kenny were to pull off one of those promising RFAs with an offer sheet, I think that would be one of the most impressive things he has accomplished in his time as GM.

Do you really? He might move one of them next year if he doesn't see enough progress, but of the 30 GMs in the league, I'd say Kenny would be the least likely to ever "shake things up".

People do tend to talk about current events. Wouldn't it be more ridiculous if there were 8 Crosby related threads on the first page?

So if a team wins the cup 3 years in a row they could potentially have a salary cap 9 million dollars higher than everyone else? I wonder what would happen the 4th year?

I was just about to say this. It's not like any of this is unexpected for Chicago management. They knew exactly what they were doing and the consequences. The only way one can logically conclude that they screwed themselves would be if they didn't win the cup this year.

If Hossa had this bonus in his contract last year, would we have won back to back cups? I wonder...

We should trade them Howard for Leino

I'm not saying that I agree or disagree, just that it most likely will not happen. Personally I would love to see bit of a shake-up. Nothing major, just something to get excited about.

He said that they will pick the best player available (which is what he always says) If McIlrath falls to 21, I bet they would take him.

Holland has already stated that he will not be pursuing a top 6 forward. He will sign a bottom 6 forward and maybe a bottom pairing defenseman. Sorry to rain on your parade

I picked Summer's Eve. It reminds me of a warm tropical rain.

What? No NTC?

Nice vision. Dumbass

Hypothetically, if he were to return next season and we re-signed Bert, I would start the lines like this. How long they would remain this way would be determined by how he and the team responded. Franzen - Datsyuk - Holmstrom Leino - Zetterberg - Bertuzzi Cleary - Filppula - Hudler And to answer the original question, over he course of his career I think he will end up being a solid NHL contributor. He will put up respectable numbers as a 2/3 line defensive liability, and yes, some of them will be of the clutch/heroic variety. But neither Kenny nor I will end up losing any sleep over him.

That's probably why Holland said he was looking to add a gritty, tough to play against bottom 6 guy. Depending on who he has in mind, that should be enough. Cleary/Bertuzzi - Abdelkader - GUFA (Gritty Unrestricted Free Agent) Draper/Miller/Ritola - Helm - Eaves I know it doesn't make a lot of sense to start the season with Bert on the 3rd line, but I think everyone in the top 6 belongs there, regardless of how you arrange them. Plus with the injury bug still lurking around Detroit, its much better to have too many guys who can play on a scoring line than not enough.

If you were a TB fan, how ******* pissed would you be if they traded Hedman for anything, let alone Rafalski?

The only problem is that it takes Filppula forever to find chemistry with new linemates, if it happens at all. Most likely Babcock will put Z with Fil and Bert to see if they can keep it going. Yes, that would be awesome. But really, could you ever see Holland doing something like that?

Even if he fell low enough, Pittsburgh would pick him just before us out of spite. Assholes

The simple novelty of a new arena would sell out games for several years. Add to that the possibility of an economic turnaround and/or a championship within that time and I don't think it would be a problem for a while.

McIlrath will go before we get a chance at him. I'd say Tinordi is more likely

I knew you'd appreciate it. I was going to PM you, but then I realized what time it was. Next time.

Good thing we're not Chicago fans. This kind of thing Ladderally Kane Toews all night. Byfuglien the end, I think we're all Eager just to see it go Huet.

No need to be a Dick (Axelsson) about it! This thread has officially jumped the Shark(s)