imisssergei

I'm saying this because it's true, not because I think it could or should happen. Gerber would do very well with the Wings. Here's why. Detroit is a very positive team. Even when there is a goaltending controversy, the players handle it with class and let things play out. Gerber would succeed in Detroit because he would be given a real shot to play (assuming one of the two goalies on the roster is somehow moved), and get to play/practice every day with world class talent. Dano, Spez, and Alfy are great players, but no one on the Sens roster comes close to the two-way talent Detroit has. Gerber also has success when he doesn't have a real threat behind him, with less pressure from within. Some people preform better in this situation. Look at his stats. Nearly every time Gerber has played very well, he hasn't really had someone pushing him, he has been the guy without question. He isn't what the Jackets are looking for, but I could see him doing well on the island.

With all the talk about the Wings and Hank getting closer to a new deal, it made me wonder. What kind of a deal would it take to pry Hank away from the Wings and who, if anyone could put something together?

I think that Milbury and Pierre genuinely dislike each other. I've gotten that vibe before, and my friend mentioned that's what he thought about this exchange too. I don't think that a producer could have picked a better pair to talk about this topic if they had to.

Word is the Pens wanted someone who could push MAF. Garon could really do that.

Remember, the league doesn't necessarily choose who participates in each competition. The players have the ultimate say in it.

Good idea, poor execution.

Jagr can still score, but I don't think he'd fit too well with the Pens. He'd want to be the center of attention, and at his current state he'd play, at best, third fiddle to Sid and Geno.

Some of the most nasty cuts I've seen were from visors. Plain and simple, a visor doesn't always protect, sometimes it can cause a great deal of harm to the one wearing it.

Sure, but Montreal wins the Cups nearly twice as much as the nearest franchise (Toronto with 13).

Burke is a pretty smart man, despite all of the criticism thrown his way. I think he will wait until after the season to move Kaberle and/or Kubina. I think he will get more for them then. As another poster pointed out, the teams that they would want to go to would be contenders, and contenders don't have high draft picks. Look for Burke to secretly hope the Leafs miss the playoffs, and lose as many games as possible. I think this summer is when you will see Burke really tear apart the Leafs roster.

:clap: And to the idea of having some sort of button to press so the visor would just fall off.... That has to be the worst idea to solve this 'problem' that I've ever heard.

I don't think there would really be much of a market for broken sticks. Back when I used to collect cards, the rage was game-worn or used cards. I'm sure they still do stuff like that. But as a fan, I don't think I'd pay for a broen game-used stick that wasn't part of some sort of monumental achievement for it's user. e.g. a 500th goal.

Hands down I'd take Sammy over Rex. He's bigger, hits, and is an aggressive backchecker. He has a great shot from the point, and gives the second PP a completely different look that the first unit. I've grow to really appreciate both Rex and Sammy much more this season.

I will admit, I've never really liked Rex all that much. However, he does fit very well with the Wings. That being said, I think it's a product of the team more than it is his skill. I'm not saying he doesn't have the skills, but really look at it. He is playing on one of the best teams in the league, which is coached by arguably the best coaching staff in the league. He is playing behind Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Hossa, and Franzen. You could really throw Sammy and Cleary in there too. I think Rex does a great job of capitalizing on his opportunities, but I don't think he could put up numbers at the same rate he is now if he were the go to guy. He is the type of player who needs other skilled players around himself to be effective. He can't do it alone ala Datsyuk. Again, I'm not taking anything away from what he does, or his skills. I don't think he is underrated, and I don't think he is overrated. He is what he is. I think people think he is more than what he is because the Wings scouts are so good at finding guys who blossom into stars. Rex will never be 'the guy' on any team he plays for in the NHL. He has the ability and skill set to take advantage of his opportunities, but he is not a top 3 guy on any team in the NHL. Second line is his career potential. I also think the comparison between Rex and Flip is a bit outlandish. They play different styles, have skill sets, and more importantly, they have different roles on the team. Anyone who would pass on Hossa to keep Rex is foolish. If any player on the Wings is underrated, it's Cleary. Danny is the guys that keeps everyone going. He brings the rough and tumble game with some scoring touch. He's a poor man's power forward.

Looks like the Wild will lose out on getting any real return for Gaborik.

I think you are right. I remember hearing something about a player on the IR can't be traded. That completely slipped my mind. Good call.

From everything I've read, he basically is going to be out too long to make a comeback before the trade deadline. So I see one of two things happening. 1. With as much faith as Minny seems to have in Gabby, it would make sense for them to not let Gabby come back this season. This would allow Gabby to heal 100% so he would have a complete bill of health for UFA, as well as give Minny the long term look at how his hip heals, and what condition his overall health is in. This would let Minny make the best possible decision on what to offer Gabby, if anything. In today's cap era, sometimes gaining cap space is more valuable to a team than the player possibly filling it. Either way, I think Minny is now in a better spot for long term contract negotiations with Gabby. 2. Minny sees this as the last straw with Gabby and deals him at the deadline to a team look to get rid of a bad contract or willing to give up some picks/prospects. Say a team like Pittsburgh, maybe say sending something like Staal for Gabby and Bergeron. I wouldn't be surprised to see him dealt to the Pens. Regardless of what comes back to the Wild, a few things fit well. If Gabby likes it with the Pens, he could stay. I'm sure he would love to play with Sid, and Sid with Gabby. I think even in the short term, Gabby could be successful with the Pens. All he would need to do would be to get open. Crosby is skilled enough to do the rest, and Gabby could be a 50-60+ goalscorer. No doubt the Wild would want as much as possible in return. With the health of Gabby most likely still being unknown at this point the Wild might have to sweeten a deal to get something significant in return. The Pens will have a hard time keeping Staal. Staal would be a perfect fit with the Wild. He could do very well on a line with Nolan. But who knows, as of right now the Pens wouldn't be in the playoffs.

That makes me think......If you had to choose between Havlat and Gaborik, who would you pick? I think I'd go with Havlat. But if I'm Havlat, I'm moving out East where they don't hit quite as hard or often.

I wouldn't argue either way on a penalty. I can see both sides of that argument anyhow. What I will argue is that when Heward turned as he went into the boards, Ovie also changed his angle of pursuit. This made Ovie hit Heward closer to the front side than from behind. Couple that with Ovie not driving Heward's head into the boards, or for that matter not really hitting Heward all that hard, I think it's just a solid hockey play. If Heward doesn't turn like he does, he isn't put in a position that he was. Ovie, IMHO, did more than enough to ensure that Heward wasn't hit from behind. Watch the replay again. Ovie hardly touches Heward. Think about it. How does Ovie do everything? 110%, all out attack. So to see him not finish his check really says something to me. Also, if you look, Ovie's body makes minimal contact with Heward. It's really only Ovie's arms than make any significant contact with Heward. I think what happened is that Heward thought he could avoid a big hit by turning his back to Ovie, and lost his balance with Ovie brushed him. No malicious intent, just a poorly executed play by both players with a poor outcome.

I saw this live, and at first it did look like a hit from behind. However, the more I watch it, the more I realize that it's nothing more than a player knowing that he is going to get hit, turning his back to the opposition. The hitee is to blame, not the hitter.

Anyone else think that this is just a ploy to at least dress for the Winter Classic? I don't think he should play, Conklin is the better goalie right now, he should get the nod. But do you think Ozzie just wants to be a part of it bad enough that he'd say he feels better than he does?

They play in the East which is so wide open. I don't consider any team in the East a top 5 NHL club.

Yeah, I saw this, it was one of the funniest things I've seen in a very long time. Especially with Eddy O just dying of laughter.

Not only would I not care if Homer would be upset (winning cures a lot of problems), but I wouldn’t blink if he was traded for Pronger. I’d trade Rex, Homer and Lebda for Pronger. That video posted of Cheli is much worse than Pronger’s hit on Homer. In fact, I think it’s worse than anything I’ve seen Pronger do. Another great example is how Kozlov wrecked Stevens. If Lilja can keep up with the system, Pronger would have no problem. We could argue all day about Lilja being able to keep up or not. But Pronger is a much better skater than you give him credit for.

You are missing something here. This isn't a real team. They have no chemistry, and just play as individuals. There is no accountability to each other. Also, I don't think you can blame Lawton for anything. He is clearly just a puppet for the ownership.