My trade deadline grade for Mr. Kenneth H. Holland.

[BeeRYCE 2]

This isn't 2002, but for it being the CBA era, pound for pound, it's identical to 2002.

[Guest Crymson]

All in all, I feel quite satisfied with today's events. I turned a few heads in the computer lab when I sat down to read who we'd gotten; evidently I was quite loud.

So, was the Lapointe signing BS?

Yes, fortunately. This is another plus of today.

Why even say anything? Go waste someone else's time with your crap....

Thanks for registering in order to say that.. it's a nice gesture. I mean that.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

I'll give him an A.

If he had picked up one of the decent freebies on waviers I'd give him an A+. HOWEVER- I'm more then willing to admit I could be 100% wrong in thinking that's a good idea (I'm no GM!).

[Guest Crymson]

i like todays trades because it really seems like (assuming everyone stays healthy) the wings can set up 4 solid lines that can play hard and put points on the board.

granted, this team doesnt have hull, shanny, luc, yzerman, fedorov and it is not the 2002 team, but the fact that that team rolled 4 solid lines all day long was a big factor in why it excelled in the playoffs.

Shanahan-Fedorov-Yzerman

Devereaux-Datsyuk-Hull

Robitaille-Larionov-Holmstrom

Maltby-Draper-McCarty

Yeah, that was crazy. It was a veritable freight train headed at the opponent. Aside from the Wings, only the Avs could roll four respectable lines that year. Carolina played primarily with three, excepting in game 3 when exhaustion in OT drove them to throw line number four out there.

Anywho, I'm satisfied. Once Sammy gets back, I'll be happy. I hope to see Cleary with the kids.

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom

Calder-Lang-Bertuzzi

Franzen-Filpulla-Cleary

Maltby-Draper-Samuelsson

Sorry, Huds. No space for now. Well, you can play until Sammy and Bert get back. I actually hope they give Hudler Zetterberg's spot on the first line tonight, as a proving ground (Zetts is sitting out tonight)--after all, it is the Blackhawks, and a skeleton Blackhawks team at that.

On the fourth line, I feel Sammy would be a GREAT bet--with a hard shooter on it, that line would be deep. Meanwhile, Filpulla with Franzen and Cleary would be very balanced; Filpulla has excellent speed and two-way abilities, Franzen has great speed, can hit, and possesses impressive and rapidly improving situational awareness, and Cleary, of course, is Cleary.

[GongShow86 0]

I give him a A++++ and a back massage

[eva unit zero 271]

A F&$*ING +

We got Bertuzzi for basically nothing...we got rid of Jason Williams and got a decent energy guy who has shown he can put the puck in the net. The only way this could have been better, is if Mr. Holland put Bob Probert in time machine and switched it back 15 years, then signed him, and possibly trading Lilja straight up for Ryan Smyth.

EDIT: I realize what I said about Probert doesn't make sense, because he would be stuck in 1992, but work with me here people.

20 goals and 44 points in 63 games from the third line? That would be just fine...Probert only had one better offensive season, and that was playing on the first line in 1987-88.

[RyanBarnes! 293]

I'll grade Holland B+ to A-.

I like both additions of Bertuzzi and Calder. I don't mind what Holland gave up. I also like that Holland took a gamble on Bertuzzi. He could have opted for more toughness and size though, but overall very good.

Edited February 28, 2007 by RyanBarnes!

[johnogrodnickfanclub 0]

F-

this is horrible. we need willy back...and we need our draft picks. kyle was like -7000...he gets on the ice, the other team scores. and berts disc's in his back are all gonna fall out and he'll fall to the ice like a jelly fish...either that or he'll break someones neck and get booted from the nhl.

no...the only way we win the cup is by acquiiring martin lapointe, mathieu dandenault, sean avery, darren mccarty, aaron ward, boyd devereaux, sergei fedorov, slava kozlov, brendan shanahan, manny legace, curtis joseph, ray whitney, mark mowers, jamie rivers, derrian hatcher...we gotta bring the old crew back...

[eva unit zero 271]

Calder for Williams: A+

Giving up an undersized finesse forward who doesn't have the talent or youth of several others we have to get a gritty winger with better offensive talent. Excellent trade.

Bertuzzi for Matthias+picks: A+

Matthias was one of about a dozen skilled center prospects we have in the system, and he was far from a standout in that group. I'm more concerned about the picks involved that could potentially have been solid prospects, but with this upcoming draft supposed to be 'weak' I am less concerned about that. If Bertuzzi is even 50% of his 2003 self, and stays away from the jackassery, this is the trade of the year.

[TheLegend19 1]

I don't quite get you, because:

A) You are already re-judging that the Wings will not win the cup.

B) You see Martin Lapointe, a terrible forward who costs $2.4m and already has a contract for next year, as a key to our cup success.

I still don't think we're gritty enough to outlast the other teams in a grueling playoff series. Getting one guy won't automatically bring us a Cup.

I may have not made myself clear before, but I do not want Lapointe back, specifically. He is gritty, and we need another grit player to compliment Bertuzzi and add more protection for Z and Dats.

[eva unit zero 271]

I still don't think we're gritty enough to outlast the other teams in a grueling playoff series. Getting one guy won't automatically bring us a Cup.

I may have not made myself clear before, but I do not want Lapointe back, specifically. He is gritty, and we need another grit player to compliment Bertuzzi and add more protection for Z and Dats.

"Gritty" players on the Wings' roster: Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Cleary, Calder, Bertuzzi, Draper, Maltby, Franzen, Lidstrom, Markov, Kronwall, Schneider, Chelios, Hudler, Lebda

Now, only a couple of those guys could be considered fighters...but none of those guys can be considered "soft" unless your requirement for grit is the player must fight...which has no bearing on the playoffs.

[RyanBarnes! 293]

Since when is Lidstrom gritty?! I wouldn't label Kronwall or Schneider gritty either. Hudler and Lebda?

[eva unit zero 271]

Since when is Lidstrom gritty?! I wouldn't label Kronwall or Schneider gritty either. Hudler and Lebda?

None of those guys is soft.

None of them will crumple into a ball and stop playing the moment physical force is applied.

Gritty doesn't mean a guy like Kasparaitis or Blake who cares more about laying big hits than about doing his job. Gritty means a guy who will do his job even if the game gets physical.

And FTR...I would take 20 guys who can take a hit and keep playing but don't hit over 20 guys who do hit but can't take a hit.

Grit is, ultimately, about being able to impose your will on the play regardless of outside influences. All of the guys I listed have that capability. Yes, most of them are not bangers. Still gritty.

[RedRum #1 0]

I I dont know about all those guys being "gritty" players....but I do think this team may have the right amount of everything to be successful this spring. They arent the fastest team, but they have enough speed. They arent the biggest team, but they have enough size. They arent the grittiest team, but they have enough grit. I dont think Detroit has that one glaring weakness up front (speed, size, grit) anymore. I still maintain that if Detroit goes down it'll be because the bacxk end is not as strong as many think it is.

[Guest Crymson]

Since when is Lidstrom gritty?! I wouldn't label Kronwall or Schneider gritty either. Hudler and Lebda?

"Soft" is Gretzky, who could not take a hit. Hitting him became illegal, because the four enforcers protecting him at all times would ream whomever touched Gretzky against the boards. Automatic stoppage of play.

F-

this is horrible. we need willy back...and we need our draft picks. kyle was like -7000...he gets on the ice, the other team scores. and berts disc's in his back are all gonna fall out and he'll fall to the ice like a jelly fish...either that or he'll break someones neck and get booted from the nhl.

no...the only way we win the cup is by acquiiring martin lapointe, mathieu dandenault, sean avery, darren mccarty, aaron ward, boyd devereaux, sergei fedorov, slava kozlov, brendan shanahan, manny legace, curtis joseph, ray whitney, mark mowers, jamie rivers, derrian hatcher...we gotta bring the old crew back...

This post was so emphatic--and so standard for this board--that for a second you had me believing you were serious..

[hillbillywingsfan 792]

grade A

[RyanBarnes! 293]

None of those guys is soft.

None of them will crumple into a ball and stop playing the moment physical force is applied.

Gritty doesn't mean a guy like Kasparaitis or Blake who cares more about laying big hits than about doing his job. Gritty means a guy who will do his job even if the game gets physical.

And FTR...I would take 20 guys who can take a hit and keep playing but don't hit over 20 guys who do hit but can't take a hit.

Grit is, ultimately, about being able to impose your will on the play regardless of outside influences. All of the guys I listed have that capability. Yes, most of them are not bangers. Still gritty.

I strongly disagree. There's a difference between not being soft and being gritty. Being gritty is a style of play, it's different from not allowing yourself to be intimidated.

"Soft" is Gretzky, who could not take a hit. Hitting him became illegal, because the four enforcers protecting him at all times would ream whomever touched Gretzky against the boards. Automatic stoppage of play.

I didn't say they're soft, but they're NOT gritty.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

So, now, the euphoria of the initial trade has worn off and I'm looking at the positives and negatives of the Bertuzzi deal. The cons are pretty numerous: he's not going to get a lot of time before the playoffs start, if this injury is a chronic one we could be in some s***, he really hasn't been himself in a couple years (though even '04 Bert would be pretty good), and he's had trouble scoring in the playoffs in his career.

The positives are undeniable, though. If he can get on track, he provides everything we need: size, toughness, scoring (especially from the wing).

The biggest risk isn't the price, of course, there's no risk there at all. The risk is that if he doesn't pan out, our only deadline acquisition was Williams for Calder. The way the other Western Conference powers loaded up, that puts a lot of pressure on Todd do be what we expect him to be, or we might be in trouble.

All things considered, though, Holland did what he had to do: A

[betterREDthandead 58]

I strongly disagree. There's a difference between not being soft and being gritty. Being gritty is a style of play, it's different from not allowing yourself to be intimidated.

Well, that's where there's just a basic disagreement on the definition of grit. eva's idea sounds suspiciously similar to mine which is the ability to impose your will on the puck, occupy the space on the ice you want, and prevent the opposition from doing the same. Because after all, highlight hits and fights are fun, but what's the point if you cough up the puck or take silly penalties in order to do so?

And I'm sure your definition and my definition are just two of many. Which is why I get so damn sick of the flood of complaints saying "we need more grit!!" When people say that, they can mean anything from "we need more fighters," "we need more bone-crushing hitters," "we need our scorers to be bang-and-crash guys rather than skill guys," "we need size," "we need checking defensemen,".....the list goes on and on, but all anyone says is "we need grit."

[Guest Crymson]

I strongly disagree. There's a difference between not being soft and being gritty. Being gritty is a style of play, it's different from not allowing yourself to be intimidated.

I didn't say they're soft, but they're NOT gritty.

Holland did what he viably could.

[Guest paveldatsukthenextsavard]

wow. ive been in israel for what seems like forever and haven't really been able to follow the wings. other than checking the standings every few days. I'm coming home tomorrow, in time for the playoffs, and when i read that we got bertuzzi and calder on nhl.com i just busted a nut.

bertuzzi is ******* huge, and i used to hate him when the wings played against him, but holy s***, for the wings to pick him up and calder on the trade deadline seems huge.

[Offsides 21]

Poor Kenny takes all the heat. It's good to see him getting some good ratings. Credit where credit is due...and all that!

I say A+. I mean, Todd Bertuzzi is one of the few people we could get that would make a true difference...and probably the only one who we could get for practically nothing.

As far as Calder goes, that remains to be seen, but I think that most were fed up with Williams, and it's probably good for him to be somewhere else.

Also, kudos for NOT giving up Lang, who will do well in the playoffs, most likely...or Hudler...just because :-D

I like that our team is mainly in tact (it's a GOOD TEAM PEOPLE) but still added some awesomeness!

Edited February 28, 2007 by Offsides

[Feldmarschall 9]

I still maintain that if Detroit goes down it'll be because the bacxk end is not as strong as many think it is.

Have faith. As it stands, Lilja won't be dressing. As long as he's riding seats in the press box for the playoffs, we have a chance. Really, though, I can see where you're coming from. We don't have traditional marquee players, only a couple guys on our back end with recognizable big-ticket names for the rest of the league. But even our "anonymous" guys are solid - Lebda and Kronwall are stepping in big and proving themselves to be capable hockey players in the here and now. Keep in mind that Carolina did it all last year with a defense that had no one hugely important player but a whole batch of steady guys that could perform in any role and share icetime amongst themselves.

[Guest paveldatsukthenextsavard]

my timecard at the internet cafe ran out so i couldnt finish my post, but my grade.

A+ we got rid of willy, for a player who does everything he did better, and got a 6'4" 240 pound forward with a scoring touch for jack-all-squat. sure he's had problems with discipline and such, but babcocks a great coach, and i'm sure he can keep 'tuzzis temper in check.

todd is one big motherf***er. and we gave up jack s*** for all of it. trading willy for a used bag of pucks would be a good deal for us

[Guest Crymson]

wow. ive been in israel for what seems like forever and haven't really been able to follow the wings. other than checking the standings every few days. I'm coming home tomorrow, in time for the playoffs, and when i read that we got bertuzzi and calder on nhl.com i just busted a nut.

bertuzzi is ******* huge, and i used to hate him when the wings played against him, but holy s***, for the wings to pick him up and calder on the trade deadline seems huge.

Israel where?

I lived there.