Herr Hockey

"I played with the guy for a year, no wonder I'm out of the league". Lmao what an *******.

That only begins to describe the flaws in his post. Looks like "RuutuAndHavlatOwnZetterberg" just got a new account. Anyone remember him?

lmao

"I'm looking forward to coming out and helping," Bertuzzi said. "They lost Hossa, Samuelsson and little Hudler so they need a little bit of help offensively and I think I can help out with that." http://www.detnews.com/article/20090818/SP...o-one-year-deal "Little Hudler" For some reason I just like the sound of that. Bert eats guys like Rex for breakfast.

I can't wait to see Hank pull off a few half-assed attempts at the Forsberg move!!! It will be Pav, Hank, and Williams, but Hank just isn't that great at the shootout. Babcock needs to experiment with others in his place.

I now declare the most famous member of LGW to be *drum roll* DON CHERRY!!!

God, this is one of those signings that really is as bad as people are making it out to be. My only complaint with Babcock is the fact that he views having two leftys on the point as an "end of the world" scenario. Just give it a damn chance. Schneider and Lidstrom were fine, and plus, it's only the 2nd unit.

I immediately thought of "Borat: Cultural learnings of America for make benefit glorious nation of Kazakhstan." Seriously though, don't worry about the English. I wish I had even the slightest knowledge of a second language. I'm just not sure what to think of the whole Hudler situation anymore. Jimmy D said they would look to free agency to replace some of the 88 goals. I think some of you are dismissing Bertuzzi a little too easily. I remember last year Holland spoke of possibly "Bringing back an old friend" just prior to signing Hossa. I don't think he meant Shanahan, and considering inner management voted down trading for Fedorov at the 08 deadline, I don't think it was him either. Sure, Bertuzzi was only a Wing for a few months, but I can't imagine who else that "old friend" could have been. He does have his downfalls, like bad penalties, but after losing 88 goals, Kenny and Co. are going to have to take what they can get at this point. I would also be supportive of getting Eaves now that he might become available.

I agree with everything except Kronwall being good on the point. Am I the only one that thinks he's actually really bad at it? The backboards are to Kronwall what the goalie's jersey logo was to Sammy IMO. He just can't hit the net worth a damn, and he turns the puck over at the blueline more than anyone. And most of Kronwalls wide shots aren't intentional.

I agree. I think it needs to be Kronwall and Stuart most of the time, with Ericsson subbing in for each of them once in a while. Ericsson will one day be depended on to quarterback the PP, so he will need some practice. As for now however, I think Stuart is more suited to succeed on the PP. I think Ericsson's shot is slightly overrated, as was his play in general during the final 2 rounds of the playoffs. An 82 game season in the NHL is going to do wonders for the kid though. He's already shown that he can play top 4 minutes for a brief period of time, and he's barely played at all. Back to his shot though, it seems he rarely used it to his full potential. Whether this had to do with the injury he battled in the winter is yet to be seen. I just think he had a tendency to give a half-ass wind up trying to rush his shot too much. He also seemed to have trouble hitting the net, much like Kronwall. More playing time should make him more confident about his surroundings, and maybe we'll actually see that 100mph shot that people like to boast about so much.

Like many said, Stuart and Ericsson will both get their shot at it. Personally, I think Stuart looked fantastic on the PP when Lidstrom and Rafalski were out in the playoffs.

What's the point of garbage like this? I'd suggest you cut the bulls*** out of your posts, but I think there is a minimum number of characters that have to go into a post. It's obvious that I was discussing the fact that there is a real possibility that they might not make up for enough of the missing goals, and that there are too many things that can go wrong next year. Of course anything is possible, but I think signing someone who has a good chance of scoring 20 goals would help lower the chances of having a worst case scenario. Sure, guys like Bert and Shanahan have their problems, especially in the defensive department. But right now, that's all there is left in the goal department at the price Holland can afford. And yes, one of them could be signed for 1.8 mil. Welcome to the cap world.

Of course "to an extent" could mean anything. That's why it was used instead of a concrete number. Did you really think it was possible that by "to an extent" I meant "80-some goals instead of 88 goals." I think a fair definition would be something like what you brought up, a season like 2007-2008 in terms of offensive production. Is it possible they could do that? Yeah it's possible. But there's still a chance they wouldn't be able to. And, as my point as been all along here, that chance combined with the chance that we might not get many wins out of Howard creates a pretty scary worst-case scenario. My original post's point was that adding someone who would very likely score around 20 goals would do a great deal of help in reducing the risk of that worst-case scenario.

I agree that 40 would be wishful thinking. Hell, even 30 is unrealistic IMO. But, he'd do better than 14. If he got some time with the likes of Franzen and Filppula and/or played on the 2nd PP unit, I think he'd get 20.

Gee, good thing I never actually said that, because if I did, I would be unable to find you those posts. I said "to an extent" for a reason. It's obvious that you only read my post "to an extent" as well. I think everyone agrees that to a certain extent those goals need to be made up for (as in the Wings can't actually score 88 less goals). There are more than a few people on here that think that those 4 players will be adequate enough to make up for the goals to that certain extent. I am saying there there is a good chance that they won't, and that, combined with the fact that there is a chance Howard won't be a capable backup in a 25-30 game role, the Wings' worst case scenario could get ugly. Next time, read the post a little more carefully, and such problems can be avoided. Please and thank you.

The Wings do have to make up for those 88 goals to a certain extent. If people think that Leino, Helm, Abdelkader, and Ericsson will probably do it to that extent, they are delusional. Each will be entering their first full seasons in the NHL. When it comes down to it, just about everybody on that list has some downside that people are going to ***** about. That's just how it is. I know wanting ex-Wings has been just a big fad around hear the past few years, but when I look at that list, I only see three players that can give us goals. Sykora, Shanahan, and Bertuzzi. Two of them just happen to be ex-wings. Sykora was scratched almost the entire playoffs, so he'd be the last of those three I would want. Think about it this way. There are two things going against the Wings favor next season: 1. We're not sure if Howard is a capable backup to play 25 games and put up a decent winning percentage. 2. 88 goals from last season are missing. If both of those become worst case scenario (Howard can't win games and our rookies aren't making up for missing goals), then the team could be in deep s***. Sure, Shanahan and Bert aren't the best backcheckers in the world, but each would get around 20 goals for sure, and if lucky, a little bit more. We need those goals to minimize risks for next season. IMO, the best option would be to get one of those two guys, and if possible, one of Moen/Niedermayer/Malholtra/Nichol/Grier. Wanting one of Shanahan or Bertuzzi has nothing to do with them being ex-wings, it has to do with wanting someone who will likely score 20 goals. EDIT: Also, Shanahan could replace Sammy on the point on the 2nd PP unit. We all know how much Babcock loves that left/right handed combo on the blueline. He did plenty of point play in NY when I watched him.

Can anyone tell me a little bit about this guy and the time he has spent in the Red Wings' organization? I remember hearing that he came damn close to making the team out of camp in 2005-2006. How is it that he came close to being a Wing in 2005-2006, and he still isn't one? With the setbacks that he has had, do you still see him meeting his projection of being a top 4 guy?

I see your point, but I don't see it happening. Kenny isn't the type to send the message that the Wings don't honor NTCs with no questions asked. I think you're going to see a whole lot less of them being handed out, as many GM's are finding their hands tied by them in the new cap world. The Zetterbergs and Datsyuks of the world deserve their NTCs, but outside of that, I don't think many people should have them.

I think this site should be moved to www.STUARTHASANOTRADECLAUSE.com, and www.letsgowings.com should redirect people to the new site.

5.2 million cap hit? He could have gotten better. He must have wanted to play there. Whatever though, thanks for the 1 year anyways. Let's not forget he didn't have to do that. I planned on rooting for Hossa's team 2nd after the Wings, but I can never root for the Hawks.

We have his rights until the 1st of July. It's the latest fad in the NHL to trade them (See Malone and Roberts). You're right about the cap space issues though. Heatley won't be a Wing, nor would I want him to be.

Now that my mind is 100% clear after the loss, I'm completely in favor of signing Hossa. It's not Hossa vs. Sammy and Huds, it's Hossa and a 1st vs. Sammy and Huds. Hudler will get an offer sheet for over 2.6m, and we get a 1st.

Sure anything is possible, but this is said almost every year about the cup champs.

Pretty much this. I don't think we need both of Lappy and Neil though. I prefer Lappy. I've always had this sort of irrational disliking for Neil, and as much as I try, I can't lose it. I might also suggest losing Hudler and Hossa instead of Sammy and Hossa. At least with Hudler going we'd probably get a 1st round pick. Sammy and a 1st is better than Hudler IMO.

Adding toughness wouldn't hurt, and I'm a huge advocate of signing Laperriere. That being said, the team doesn't need to add toughness to win the cup next year. I think this years team proved that. Someone had to win last night, and it happened to be the penguins.