SweWings

Must be one of the few times that a thread on LGW has been derailed by hilarity and not hate. Well done and very funny I might add.

Yay Hudler. No, I'm not going to argue and no I don't care if you think he sucks.

Fair enough. But reading both the original quote from Babcock and your first post you do get more than a casual impression that it's all about the PP - at least considering this interview.

Exactamundo.

If there's one thing he's actually good at it is this. He was 4th on the team in PP points with 28 and top 40 in the league 2008-2009.

Either Detroit'll sign a relative safe bet early or, and hopefully, one of the kids will have a great camp and take the Detroit coaching staff by storm. But yeah... that's gonna happen.

Because with some teams developing a defensive skill-set is not merely encouraged. In Detroit, and a few other places, being defensively skilled and responsible quickly becomes a requirement. Why? Because the coach wants it, the system the Red Wings plays demands it and the talent on the team allows for it. That means that there's a lot of pressure to learn, but also a lot of people who can teach you and a lot of people who will try to help you. Beyond that I would guess that Zetterberg and Datsyuk are also very talented in that area.

Way to to. You picked the one part of Eva's argument where you could bash him. By the way, going with the 'compare with the right players'-argument that you put forward: how well do you think Hudler would do if you put a guy like Rick Nash and Huselius on his wings or Cammalleri and Gionta? For me there's a lot to be said about opportunity - in Detroit he's not going to become the 1st line center and therefore get those kind of minutes and wingers because of a guy like Datsyuk. If you actually become objective for a minute - do you really think that Hudler wouldn't improve upon the 57 points he had last time he was in Detroit if he played more minutes? Would he get better results than Lecavalier, Kopitar, Staal, etc. do when they're at their best - no. Would he get better than Vermette and Gomez - yes.

Nice to have a highly offensively skilled prospect coming up.

Considering he's been given a secondary, if not tertiary, role on the team I think his performance has been admirable.

That's Selanne right who gets so emotional that he can't say a word just shakes his head and shoves his cap down so can have a moment to try to clear his head. I can't imagine that senstation of joy and relief that drains you and leaves you empty. Instense.

I've gotten to that point to... almost on my knees praying and begging for him to stay.

See those are good reasons.

Great argument. Could just as well turn that same argument against you - how do you KNOW that he will take pay-cut that size?

Guys are getting ready to shoot a Dressman commercial.

HAH! Didn't something like this happen to Dick Axelsson?

Couldn't find any pictures of Eminem with a Red Wings jersey but I did find: Snoop Lil' Jon Duh da buh

Biased here cuz I like Eminem but I think the song works - and those of you thinking "why not pick an African American" rapper's song to promote the sport to a wider audience, the song choice here isn't going to make a big difference... Gotta start when they're young with a sport... But yeah I approve of the combo. It's a new song too so I'm guessing that's another reason why it was picked. And lyrically it fits well... not as aggressive as you might usually like for a hockey commercial but... ok I started complaining.. better stop. I should add that I love the room service commercial. Real classic humor: Room service! - Ovechkin! Cracked me UP.

Too bad I'm not watching the game - 11 goals so far, what's up with that?! CREEEJJJJZEEE

The IIHF were pissed off that so many players decided not to join their national teams for this years World Championship. Usually there's at least one bona fide NHL superstar on the major nations' teams and a lot of players do tend to join up. This year the Swede's and Czech's had like 25-30 "no thank you"s each, the other major teams probably had more than their share of declines, and pretty much all of the tournament's star players played for one team, Russia. Most years some guys do skip the World Championships, esp from the NHL, due to injuries, age and recent exit from the playoffs, this year I guess there were just too many, too high profile and too many examples where one star player on a team went while the other decided not to (Malkin/Crosby, Kovalchuk/Elias). The World Championship's reputation is sinking with every year passing and the fewer star players that participate - esp if they get more concentrated like this year - the amount of television viewers will probably shrink. Less viewers equal smaller television deals which in turn equals less money for the IIHF. As far as I know the NHL doesn't get anything. I don't think this will impact the NHL players' participation at the 2014 Olympics directly. However, there will probably be more s***-throwing before this comes to some kind of resolution. Making some kind of financial concession to the NHL/NHLPA would probably go over very well, and not just when considering the current situation but long term. But the overall structure of the tournament needs to be looked over. This post became very rambling and I almost made it even more so but this will have to be enough.

Well that would certainly be nice. When's the final number announced?

Hopefully the Red Wings will still be at the Joe when I make my first visit to Detroit. I've been planning a trip for over a year now, all that's missing is the ever elusive cash...

Old doesn't translate to historic you know...

Doesn't Jagr make like $10M? Kovie could probably demand upwards to twice that if the rules allow it. He can get a long $10M per year contract in the NHL - more taxes though I suppose.

No... Pretty sure only Dick Axelsson can reach Dick Axelsson's level of Douchehood.