imisssergei

Hank has never worn 15 in a regular season game, he didn't ever wear 20. His first year with the Wings he wore 40. That season Luc wore 20. The pic of Hank is a training camp pic. I'm not sure why he has an 'A', the only think I can come up with is he wore the 'A' during one of the intersquad tourneys they have during training camp.

I see a lot of people mentioning Burr, I hate that mofo. He is a first class @hole. He plays pick-up hockey with a group of guys I skate with, obviously he is the best on the ice, as none of us have ever played in the NHL. But he has no problem with winding up for a slapshot from the hash, and putting everything into it. The worst part is he can't hit the net from there, so there is a puck screaming towards who-knows-where! And he is a jerk off the ice too. Enough about him. I would have loved to seen Shep and Silly win one. I lost all respect for Probie after I found out he was on crack. I don't care what he did after that, I was just a kid, and that really bothered me. I wish the Wings would have never traded for Hasek, that way Ozzie and Kozlov would have won more Cups with the Wings. Dino for sure.

Atlanta is going to be a bad spot for Williams. Right now, Williams is probably the number one center. That is a horrid position for him to be in. When he is at the top of his game, he is at best a second line center. The fans will crucify him. He won't play the point on the PP as Kovie already does. Possibly on the second PP unit, but that's doubtful. Atlanta is looking worse and worse every single day. Kovie has to be counting the days until he can get out.

If you want to look at stages of development, it's not fair to compare ages. Especially with the d corp the Wings have had the last few years. You have to compare the development in years with the Wings. Ericsson hasn't been with the Wings for one full season yet, so it's unfair to say anything about him in comparison to Fischer.

Interesting move. Wonder what they have in store for the team. They couldn't have just wanted to get rrid of Bernier for picks and not have something bigger coming. He was the centerpiece in the Campbell trade.

No way Carle is as good as Boyle now, and you can't count on Carle or Wishart developing into the role Boyle played anytime over the next 3 seasons, minimum. The first round pick is going to be a bottom 5-10 pick. Yeah, it's still a first round pick, but it isn't like Tampa Bay is going to get a stud with it. Take a quick look at Tampa Bay's drafting history over the last 10 years. In those 10 years, Tampa Bay has only produced one draft pick that has has played in more than 180 NHL games (Paul Ranger), and he isn't even that good, he is a 4-5 d-man at best. They have 3 guys over the last 4 draft years (not including this past draft) that have actually played in an NHL game. Take a look at a team everyone rags on for poor drafting, the Leafs. They have 4 guys over those same 4 draft years, and 4 guys who have played in over that same 180 NHL game benchmark. Tampa Bay needs to go back to 'Entry Drafting 101' and if you think that the fourth round pick is any added sweetener to the deal, well come back out of left field. Factor in Lukowich going with Boyle, and you have the result, a hosing for Tampa. This move had a simple motivation, salary cutting.

This trade seems really odd to me. I'm sure they could have gotten a better return from someone else, say the Kings. Makes me wonder if Boyle said no to a different team or possibly gave the Lightning a list of acceptable suitors. TSN says Philly and Vancouver were on Boyle's approved list, I can't believe they couldn't come up with something better. I just don't get this move. Tampa has a lot of talented guys up front, but you need someone to get them the puck. Add in Lukowich going to San Jose, and it maes this deal even more puzzling. First Tampa makes a real big effort to get better fast, then they turn around and trade two of their best d-men. In return they get a prospect, a couple picks, and in Carle a d-man with potential, but on his best day he is a 3-4 d-man.

That's such a ridiculous point of view. There is no way any team would totally tank a season for a shot at a number one overall pick. Especially in a draft that doesn't have a Crosby/Ovechkin leading the pack, no can't miss guy. The Leafs are just doing what should have been done 2-4 years ago, and getting rid of bad contracts, and trying to get a fresh start. JFJ really screwed up the Leafs, and they will be feeling it for a few more years.

Does anyone else remember how great Denis was with the Jackets? Who cares if Tampa bought him out. Yeah, he had a couple of rough seasons down there, but do any of you watch Tampa play? They were atrocious in their own end this season. Denis has the ability to be a top tier goalie in the NHL. That said, there are always two sides to the coin. Denis did not have any success with Tampa. His confidence is shaken, and he did not show any signs of improvement. The only signing that would make any real sense would be a try-out contract. Get him in, see what he can do, and worse case, he doesn't make the team, no harm no foul. The Wings have Howard who regardless of any of our opinions will get a shot at the big club this year if for no other reason than he is out of waiver options so the Wings need to see what they have in Howard. Now, Wellwood, there is a guy I'd LOVE to see wearing a Wings jersey. EDIT: Spelling.

How is Ryan Miller an unproven prospect? And why would the Wings need to trade for him? I think you missed the posters point. Ryan Miller would be a UFA in this situation. You go out and sign Miller, and use Ozzie as your backup until one of the other two goaltending prospects is ready to take over for Ozzie as a backup. Not a bad idea, but Miller is going to get paid in a big way. I'm not too sure the Wings will be in position to pay what it will take to get Miller.

You have to give Howard the chance to be with the Wings on an everyday basis. He has earned it, and the Wings need to see what he is capable of.

Jokinen is the biggest steal. The 'Yotes got him for nothing.

Per TSN, changes are coming. I'm hoping these changes will shut up the people who think certain goalies are only good because they use big equipment.

For the most part, the big names get their credit, that is unless it's Giggy we are talking about. What I'm saying is that your everyday, run of the mill starter would have been a lights out goaltender in the 80's. No question. Again, goaltending has improved more than any other position has over the last 25-30 years. But what people like Crymson seem to think is it's simply because they use bigger pads. That just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. If it were truely just the pads, you'd see a few things. I'm not going to go into details because that'd just be redundant. But you get the point, it's more than just the pads that make the goaltender. Why bring a skaters cheating or other controversial rules into the thread? Because I was trying to make a point. It really has nothing to do with those things themselves, it's all about the comparison. What any dramatic change to the equipment will bring is a more defensive style to the game. The end result is another ridiculous rule change to try and get goal scoring up. There isn't a problem with goalscoring. Would I like to see more? Yes, but I'm sure nearly everyone could stand to see a few more pucks in the net. But goalscoring isn't going to get noticeably better.

Nice job Sparky.

Sure, but why? It isn't as if he was involved in some highly controversial borderline dirty play.

What I heard was Pav stumbling with his words while trying to make a joke. If you take into account his poor english and his previous comments, it sounds more to me like 'my english shorter now' more than anything. Also, why the would he make any reference to a reign? That just doesn't make any sense. Even if it was some sort of joke, there was no context for it.

I'm not missing that point whatsoever. You are blowing it out of proportion. The NHL thinks something needs to be done, but the changes they make won't be anything drastic, and as history has proven they won't have any significant lasting effect. And I'm sure Giggy's drop in play had nothing to do with the long SCF's run, in a losing effort, it had to be his pads getting unnoticably smaller. But Giggy seemed to bounce back just fine last season, didn't he? Just a refresher, he was top 10 in every major statistical category among starters. Yeah, it's all in his pads. The point you are totally ignoring is that goalies are simply better today than EVER before. Why is that so hard for you to come to grips with? How is my argument in any manner oxymoronic? Just so we are clear, I'm stating that goaltenders aren't raised to an elite level just because of their pads. You are saying that is exactly what is happening. I've never said once that changing the pads would have any drastic effect on the goaltenders in question. So again, how is that at all oxymoronic? I mean, I see that you didn't know how to correctly spell the word, but do you not know what it means either? As for Legace, his pads didn't make him an All-Star. He was the best player on a terrible team. If you really want to look at things from a scientific point of view, then take the actual size added to the pads, and do some statistical research on that. I am sure you will find that the changes made were minuscule. If anything, the change to the pads gave Legace the mental edge, and as we all know, goaltenders need that edge to be successful. Just like Legace said, he felt his pads helped him out, but again the changes made didn't make much of a difference, physically.

Good looking there... At first I wasn't sure, but after listening to the clip in the official site, it's "my writing short now"

The only reason I make any mention of goalies being better today than ever before is because people aren't giving them any credit. Especially guys like Giggy. It really bugs me that these people say Giggy is good because of his pads. Do them help? Sure. But in the same manner that smaller pads help Ozzie. That is, they cater to his style of play. If pads are within the rules, what's the problem? As I said before, the NHL has this idea that coaches won't find a way to overcome any rule changes made, including size of pads. Just like they found a way to snuff out the larger offensive zone, and totally kill the legal two-line pass. As for cheating, does every goaltender do it? That's debatable, but I wouldn't doubt it. But don't be so naive to think that skaters don't do the exact same thing. The only real difference is goaltenders equipment is much more closely monitored. I'm not trying to say they should change the rules on goaltenders pads if it can make the game better. I'm just saying that it won't make the game any more exciting, or 'better'. It won't make any dramatic effect on scoring, as if it actually makes any difference in the way a goalie plays, teams will simply adapt defensively. I don't think the NHL can increase scoring very much, consistently. There are other things that could really improve the flow and more 'casual fan friendly' than making changes to goaltenders pads. Things like touch-up icing, or getting rid of the instigator rule to allow more fighting, these are the things that are going to grow the game in the U.S., not the width, or height of a leg pad. EDIT: Asking a goaltender how old his equipment is going to bring about deceptive answers. Most goalies I know have kept the same equipment they used in their last year of competitive play. However, when I was playing, even the guys in Jr.'s would get new stuff (save the chest protector) every year in order to match team colors. It's no different than a player getting a new lid or, stick, or mitts. Even at that, how often do you change your gloves? I do about every other season at least, skates every 3-4 years, helmet every 3-5 years, elbow pads never, pants 3-4 years, shin guards 1-3 years, and shoulder pads well, who actually wears those anyhow?

Here is why. They want to re-sign Avery, but at the right price. Avery is asking the Rangers to more than double his salary. He isn't worth that much to them, so this signing is nothing more than an insurance/leverage plan.

But if these goaltenders aren't any good without the extra pads, and they are simply covering up more net, than it would be as simple as a short little pass, or a small deke, anything to change the angle and you'd have yourself a goal. But it isn't that easy, because these guys are pretty damn good.

Admit that goalies are simply better today than they have ever been in the past. The problem isn't the size of goaltenders pads. It's two things really: 1. The NHL having unrealistic expectations in regards to where goalscoring should be. It will never be where is was in the 80's. The level of talent is so high in today's game, it's impossible to expect much more scoring than there is. 2. The NHL underestimates the coaching staffs. For every 1 brilliant offensive mind, there are 5 equally brilliant defensive minds. Even at that, the old cliche' holds true in the NHL moreso than any other sport, defense wins championships. Every rule the NHL implements to increase scoring is countered by a change in defensive play. The NHL, and a large part of people here have to realize that plain and simple, every player is better, especially goaltenders. No position in hockey has seen greater strides towards improvement over the last 25-30 years than goaltending. Does Giggy use pads that are too big? No, they fit perfectly within the rules. Could he get the same result with smaller pads? Yes. Giggy isn't good side to side, but he is one of the most positionally sound goalltenders the game has ever seen, that cannot be denied. I'm so tired of seeing 'current rules give smaller goaltenders an advantage' it's such a bs argument. If it did offer some sort of advantage, then the only thing that would result from making the pads smaller would be a greater advantage given to bigger goaltenders. Afterall, they already take up more space.

Seriously, get your head out of the clouds. I'm not sure what your beef with goalies is, maybe you just can't score. Whatever your beef is, get over it. If all it took were larger pads to be better, than every single goaltender would be using the max allowed. But not all do. Come to grips with reality, and just admit it. Goaltenders today are better than at any time in the history of the game.

That's a farce. There will be no sudden increase in goals scored. This isn't the 80's. Goaltenders are no longer the worst skaters and athletes on the team. In this day and age, goalies are some of the best skaters and athletes on the team. That's te biggest reason why goal scoring is down. GOALIES ARE SIMPLY BETTER NOW MORE THAN EVER BEFORE.