Echolalia

Hopefully the team feels the same way and a rivalry builds up between these two teams.

I'll be honest. The only reason why I'm even in here is because the author's last name is Kwak. I still don't know if I believe it.

It truly is a wonder why there aren't as many repeats in the nhl

Hossa works fine for me

It might be better just to camp at a state park while your out there instead of shell out the bucks for an overpriced hotel.

Nobody will ever beat the 02 Wings. That's the stuff of legend, salary cap or not.

I sure as hell cannot.

Ken Holland already thought of that when he picked up Babcock.

Whatever they think they can do to roll with us

hahaha But seriously, Shanahan is a defensive liability and refuses to buy into Babcock's philosophies. Also, we have about 4M to sign Flip, Chelios, Quincey, McCarty, and Downey. We're tight as it is.

The big thing with too many All-Stars is you tend to get too many egos, and the chemistry just plummets from the lockerroom with that scenario. The Wings, in comparrison, are the exact same team that won the cup last year, aside from a backup goalie and a superstar forward who both came from the losing team. Its not like we took the top 25 wedding dresses and stitched them all together. We were already complete (or at least enough to win the cup), and just added even more depth. And I'm not too worried about chemistry for this year. Hossa plays fine in our "defense-first" style, and is a good team player. Also, I have a feeling (but don't want to get too ahead of myself) that this may very well be Hossa's greatest year yet. He will most likely be playing on the second line, which means he won't have the added pressure of competing as a top 3 forward, and against the opposition's top line. Look at Hull and Robatille in 2002. 2nd liner, 3rd liner, whatever they were. They thrived in that low pressure job, and all the focus was on our top line at the time, so they were the ones to fly under the radar and post good, easy numbers. I'm predicting Hossa to have a similar situation this year, and with Filppulla as the natural playmaker and Franzen as the natural power-forward, Hossa would be the perfect fit to that puzzle.

Normally I'd agree with you but barring injuries, whos going to stop us?

87, then we'll sign him longterm and retire his number before the nhl can force us to Gretzky-retire Crosby's 87.

Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Hossa, Lidstrom, Rafalski just because we can

Objectively, I think we just won the cup again

To be honest, I wouldn't mind seeing Filppula go somewhere else. If he does sign elsewhere, the contract he'll sign for will be at least 2 million dollars, which means at least a first rounder and a third rounder for us. We have a solid team right now, and we have solid prospects waiting for their chance to play. They definitely aren't as good as Val, but after signing Hossa and keeping our future in mind, I think I would prefer at least 2M extra cap space + 1st rounder + 3rd rounder for next year than Filppula on an already stacked team. And thats all if he signs for under 3M, which the Wings can currently match. If he signs for more than 3M (which would be more realistic, should he decide to leave), then we also get a 2nd rounder.

shoot i meant to type Lester Patrick.

Lester Pearson? fill in the blank: Pronger is a

Pronger is a defensman

I see what you did there

Seriously, 6 hours into Day 1 of of Free Agent Day and they're already 5M over the cap. C'mon now.

Bertuzzi, I believe, would be fine here in Detroit. We're not looking for a 60 goal scorer. He had 40 or so points last year, was a + player, and is a big body, which is something the Wings may need a bit more seeing as how we just won the cup and all. All in all he's a solid second liner at this point in his career (also something that our team needs). I also believe he may be a good fit as a mentor for the Mule, as Franzen shares a lot of similar qualities that Bertuzzi did during the start of his career. And after passing waivers at 4M, his price will be better than ever.

He'll definitely be getting less that 4M; he was passed up on waivers for that amount. If he gets higher than 3M from anywhere (Tampa Bay doesn't count) I will be surprised.

Whats with all the Shanahan love all of a sudden? If I recall, wasn't he a total defensive screw-up who was unwilling to play along with Detroit's defensive style (and rumored to not be able to play to Babcock's role for him)?

Honestly, the only two I think Holland would give a chance to are Bertuzzi and Avery. Nobody else on that list really has anything to give that suits our needs.