Anomalously

He was interviewed very recently and the guy jumped the gun about all of his recent success, citing marriage, and he said, "No, no, just engaged."

The only thing this post is missing is a or a mention of Rory Fitzgerald. The verbal shellacking you give Lidstrom continually is patently over-the-top.

The only issue with Fedorov and the HHOF is whether he's a first-ballot, and the consensus is that a lot of special players would have to retire the same season. I think you're exactly right.

I think this underscores the point a couple of us have made: the Wings look rough around the edges right now. It's about how you perform, not the name on the back of the jersey. Individually, most of the Wings' top talents have done some impressive things, even 3 games in. But as a unit, the Wings have not exactly been the October version of their Colorado-sweeping counterparts. It's not about panic (which, because it's an online message board, everybody immediately thinks any critique is panic in red capital letters), it's about room to improve. And Babcock agrees with that assessment.

I think the problem with your list is that it's split into thirds and your criteria don't match the 'tenders in them. DiPietro and Backstrom don't belong in the same category as Brodeur, period. Price could be great, but he's not proven yet [in other words, the jury is still out on him, and he's in the same group as Osgood, who is a reliable, proven starter -- they're two completely different scenarios]. Why's Ellis in the bottom category? He was the only reason Nashville did what they did last season, 2.34 GAA and .924 in his only year, and he's the bottom tier? Hardly numbers that warrant the group that says it needs "drastic improvement." He's not proven like Miller, but he certainly had better numbers. I think you can split them up into a few more categories that are a tad bit more representative of the goaltenders in them.

McCarty. Don't ask me who gets scratched, though.

That Franzen scored two goals, including a fluky one off a defender's leg, in three games doesn't make Franzen any less of a streak scorer. And comparing him to Datsyuk, a playmaker, and Hossa, a guy who has played three games in the red-and-white -- seriously? And do you really think that Franzen is going to have more goals than Datsyuk, Hossa, and Zetterberg at the end of the year? Then why is this even a relevant point? Do you think Z's only goal would be an empty-netter if he played with his clone or Datsyuk? And didn't Zetterberg go from a line with Holmstrom, with 3 goals, to a line with 2 goals? Maybe we should feel bad he's not with a snipe like Homer. And didn't you notice the ? I was joking about the lack of parity between Datsyuk and Hudler, which I think anybody can agree with. And the second part of my comments merely said exactly what you piggybacked -- that he's on the second line because he's the most complete guy (and can improve his linemates the most by being there).

He deserves it. That much is clear. I feel bad for Z, too -- it must be hard transitioning from Datsyuk to Huds. And he's on the second line because he's the most complete foward, which is an unfortunate truth. He's so consistent, and yet he's playing with streaky players like Cleary, Sammy, Hudler, and Franzen.

Datsyuk on Hossa trade: did he just say he was in a bar, with a lot of beer, and didn't understand what was going on?

Man, with Hossa's speed, he should have been able to do something on that Datsyuk feed. Just doesn't seem like he cares.

It's a black puck on a white surface. It's not tough to follow. If there's five guys clawing at the same corner of the boards, it's there. That's the only time it's difficult to see it.

I'm curious about how the lines would go if Babs just switched Hank and Pavel. Hank with Homer and Hossa, Dats with Huds and Franzen.

Yes.

OH NO. The puck is worse than it was on FOX.

How (or maybe I should ask who picked) did they pick who would be on HD? Anaheim/SJ, Nashville/St. Louis, Detroit/Carolina, Anaheim/LA, Nashville/Dallas, Dallas/St. Louis, SJ/Anaheim, Pittsburgh/Boston, Detroit/St. Louis, Washington/Phoenix, SJ/Florida, Anaheim/Columbus, Detroit/LA, Boston/Vancouver, Detroit/Anaheim, Carolina/St. Louis. The number of total appearances in HD for October for each team listed (all others are zero): Anaheim 5 Detroit 4 St. Louis 4 San Jose 3 Nashville 2 LA 2 Dallas 2 Carolina 2 Boston 2 Pittsburgh 1 Phoenix 1 Washington 1 Florida 1 Vancouver 1 For me, I would think that Montreal, New York, Philadelphia -- none of which are listed -- would get some HD plays. And why the hell does St. Louis have just as many as Detroit? (I am, however, happy that Detroit doesn't fall into the Pittsburgh/NY/Montreal/Philly/Washington camp where they have exciting players or big markets but don't have more than one appearance in HD). Of 11 games, almost half are in HD, that's not too bad.

Or how about "Swede Repeat" when Hank takes the Conn Smythe again. A little ahead of ourselves... can't wait for the pre-season to end.

It would appear that DirecTV is showing Detroit/Buffalo tomorrow, though, so it may be a case-by-case. I have Time Warner here (can't get satellite because of the position of my apartment and the regs. of my landlord) -- and they're not even showing the regular season games in Europe.

No. The season begins in Europe today. Pre-season is still treated as pre-season.

Questionable pick at best.

Nothing counts.

Crosby, Thornton, Datsyuk, or Savard are my top four guesses. If Crosby is healthy, he's a safe bet. (Also, Savard put up better assists per game but played in 8 fewer games than Thornton.) I'd give Spezza, Lidstrom, and a few others outside shots, but it all depends on performance (let's actually play the games) and injury.

You should change your font -- just for the preseason.

I agree with what has been said... put Leino on a real line and see what he can do.

That he's sort of pulling a McCarty (coming up through the minors, jumping in the NHL after time away, etc.) is just kind of ironic.

Twenty-three-year-old who has already put up 252 points in the last three seasons? When he puts up 100 points this year, he'll totally be worth it [OK, OK, wishful thinking -- he's on my fantasy team ].