2/25 GDT: Sharks 1 at Red Wings 4

[Kira 451]

Thanks to the boys for making the Sharks look like guppies last night. And congrats to Pasha for hitting the 500 point mark. I'm proud of you.

Interesting, I had the game on last night, and my husband was in the other room watching something else, and filpped over to the game to see what was going on. Then I hear, "Is Ty in goal?" "Yes, he is."

"Okay, we've got a good shot." Even my non-hockey loving hubby knows who gets it done!

[HOCKEY MATTERS 167]

I just can't get on board with this type of thinking. The Sharks are extremely healthy and nothing suggest they'll start slumping right now. They may not be as hot as they were the first half of the season, but to me nothing stands to reason that they'll start dropping games, while the Wings scorch ahead.

TBH, I'm not so sure its even that important. While some people don't like the idea of playing the first two games of a playoff series on the road, is something that can be overcome by winning one of the first two. The Wings never faced too much pressure last year because they were able to go up 2-0 in every playoff series they played, but if the Wings can get one of the first two in the Tank then they'll be in good shape. Even if they split at home, the pressure goes squarely to SJ to defend home-ice in Game 5.

More hoping, I suppose. I'm hoping that the Wings got in the Sharks head last night. Hoping that their cage is rattled a little bit and they stumble some as a result. So I guess I'm predicting without any tangible evidence. Trying to throw a monkey wrench into their mojo. Messing up their psychic waves with a telepathic timebomb, if you will.

[titanium2 867]

Conklin is playing well and still has a number of years left. Larsson and McCollum are pretty solid in their development. Think they might shop Jimmy Howard? I'm sure they're interested in re-signing Conklin and it seems like he'd like to stay.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

More hoping, I suppose. I'm hoping that the Wings got in the Sharks head last night. Hoping that their cage is rattled a little bit and they stumble some as a result. So I guess I'm predicting without any tangible evidence. Trying to throw a monkey wrench into their mojo. Messing up their psychic waves with a telepathic timebomb, if you will.

That I can get on board with.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Conklin is playing well and still has a number of years left. Larsson and McCollum are pretty solid in their development. Think they might shop Jimmy Howard? I'm sure they're interested in re-signing Conklin and it seems like he'd like to stay.

Conks will be UFA and will probably get a decent payday somewhere else. The Wings don't have a lot of room to sign everyone they need to, they'll probably roll with the inexpensive Oz plus Howard for league minimum and go from there.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Conklin is playing well and still has a number of years left. Larsson and McCollum are pretty solid in their development. Think they might shop Jimmy Howard? I'm sure they're interested in re-signing Conklin and it seems like he'd like to stay.

I'd love for Conklin to stay, but I fear he's going to price himself out of the Wings' range. By the same token, Kenny and Co. might not feel its as necessary to keep Conklin for his inevitable higher price tag given the amount of talent waiting in the Wings (no pun intended). Next years' cap number is not going to be Detroit's friend, especially with what now looks like Hossa and Franzen both finding a way to stay.

[The Secret 304]

For all you posters and readers on these forums here is a great example of pure spin-doctoring of something someone says on here.

I said in an earlier post this...

"So all you Osgood Worshipers, you still think Conklin cant do it in the playoffs????? "

Now read Vladfans response above...

1st of all, show me where I am bashing Osgood in my 1 line question.....???

2nd show me where I am even talking about Osgood......???

You cant because I am talking about CONKLIN!!!

Some of you on here complain that I am insulting you on the forums---wonder why???--- now you know, this is why I call some of you in these forums-- MORONS!!

It really shows you who all the Osgood Worshipers are because they are the ones who take offense. Its undeniable by how the games are played with Conks in net vs Osgood this year. Its the same D in front of either goalie but one of making the much needed saves and the other is not.

[HanKarin40 7]

Last nights game was awesome! Probably the one of the best games I've seen so far this year! Pav played like his hair was on fire! He was hitting everything that was moving. I kept saying to my husband "was that Pav again?" The man was possessed! I could watch him all day!

Hank's shorty was nothing less than amazing and Leino's goal was well pretty much the same. Ty was very solid in goal and props to Maltby on the awesome penalty kill! Very Happy with the big win! Great to see a full 60 played!

[Vladifan 680]

It really shows you who all the Osgood Worshipers are because they are the ones who take offense. Its undeniable by how the games are played with Conks in net vs Osgood this year. Its the same D in front of either goalie but one of making the much needed saves and the other is not.

You, Lazer and other posters keep calling anyone who even remotely supports our other goalie or wishes him well, "Ozzie Worshipers". That's what caught my attention and pissed me off and that's why I reacted to the original post. What you're really saying here is that any fan who supports Ozzie on any level (HE STILL IS ON THE WINGS' TEAM) is a "moron" or "Ozzie worshiper". Furthermore, what you also don't get is that as long as you use extremes, putdowns and absolutes to make your arguments, reasonable posters here will not take you seriously.

You just don't get it and what's more I don't think you really want to. Conklin is playing great. I'm very happy for him, and what Wings fan wouldn't be? If it turns out he's our #1 goalie, more power to him. AND the team. But Ozzie is going to be in net Friday night and this Red Wings' fan will continue to wish him well as long as he is with this team and hope he comes out of his funk. THE TEAM NEEDS HIM TO PLAY WELL. Hello?

[sharkfan20 32]

oh just wondering was lukowich playing for the Sharks last night?

If i was in Ottawa right now, the visiting senators lockerroom would be trashed. And i dont' care if the Sharks lose, but i care if they lose and don't don't compete for loose pucks, when they don't use their size and physical presence, when they skate like little girls and seem to dont' care about the game, and especially when they let a person go right to the net and shoot, and when every one hits like vlasic. oh well, will see how the team responds well.

If i were, i would be outright pissed. But i'm not them, lets see if they will tumble like recent years, or play like the Sharks team they played like earlier in the year.

[Guest Shoreline]

It really shows you who all the Osgood Worshipers are because they are the ones who take offense. Its undeniable by how the games are played with Conks in net vs Osgood this year. Its the same D in front of either goalie but one of making the much needed saves and the other is not.

Yet the Wings are winning the same amount of games / getting the same amount of points out of both. The team says Osgood is the team's goalie for the playoffs. I guess Babs and everyone else is an Osgood worshiper. Or maybe it's yours and Lazerbeam's views that are the odd-men out and you need to actually go along with the team you supposedly support and simply wish them the best and move along. You're even worse than an Osgood worshiper.

[The_Cub 0]

I'd love to see a animated .gif of Leino after he scored last night. Man that was funny.

[esteef 2,679]

As usual, the NHL.com cover story is about the Pens and their super exciting game against the f***in' Islanders. "OMG Fluery got a win after being pulled the other day! Oh yeah, by the way, the Wings beat the Sharks. In other news..."

Don't worry NHL.com, it was only the two best teams in the West in a playoff-type game, but thanks for the awesome coverage.

esteef

[j.hoop 64]

can someone post a clip of conklin putting the venus fly trap on cheechoo (or marleau i forget). that was easily one of the saves of the year, so acrobatic. that probably pissed the shooter off so bad.

[Guest Shoreline]

As usual, the NHL.com cover story is about the Pens and their super exciting game against the f***in' Islanders. "OMG Fluery got a win after being pulled the other day! Oh yeah, by the way, the Wings beat the Sharks. In other news..."

Don't worry NHL.com, it was only the two best teams in the West in a playoff-type game, but thanks for the awesome coverage.

esteef

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl

Never bother with NHL.com. Not only because it sucks but because there's so much space on their page that's just junk.

[esteef 2,679]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl

Never bother with NHL.com. Not only because it sucks but because there's so much space on their page that's just junk.

Oh I know, I just like pointing out how the league runs with the f***in' Pens in a 1-0 bore-fest when they just had the top two Western teams play a f***in' playoff game. THAT'S what they should market, who gives a s*** about the lowly Pens and the even lowlier Isles. Typical though....

esteef

[Roz 2]

I was at this game. First game since I was little. It was the most incredible thing I have ever been a part of. We had AWESOME seats. 5 rows behind the Wings bench. Seeing the action from that close was....wierd. I don't know how to describe it. It was amazing. And I get to do it again Friday!

[Vladifan 680]

Yet the Wings are winning the same amount of games / getting the same amount of points out of both. The team says Osgood is the team's goalie for the playoffs. I guess Babs and everyone else is an Osgood worshiper. Or maybe it's yours and Lazerbeam's views that are the odd-men out and you need to actually go along with the team you supposedly support and simply wish them the best and move along. You're even worse than an Osgood worshiper.

Damn. Wish I'd thought of the "Babs" line.

On behalf of Wings' fans everywhere, thanks for the input.

[eva unit zero 271]

Conklin is playing well and still has a number of years left. Larsson and McCollum are pretty solid in their development. Think they might shop Jimmy Howard? I'm sure they're interested in re-signing Conklin and it seems like he'd like to stay.

If they keep Conklin, Howard gets shopped. Even if they don't keep Conklin, Howard has to outplay Larsson and whoever else the Wings are looking at next fall if he wants to play in Detroit. That's not a "maybe" as Howard has no minor league options left for next season.

The problem with keeping Conklin is, that adds Conklin to the list of potentially returning UFAs with Hossa, Franzen, Samuelsson, and Kopecky. Goaltending is going to be heavily sought after this summer.

Using my crystal ball, here's what could happen for next season:

Holland has to fill six forward spots and one goaltender spot with about 9,150,001.

I can see Franzen going elsewhere for more than the Wings can afford to pay him, especially the way Leino has played and the amount of money Holland has to spend.

Assuming Hossa stays around for a cap hit of $6m, the Wings would only have about $3.15m to sign 5 forwards and a goaltender. Kopecky will likely sign for about $550k, which leaves $2.6m to fill 4 forwards and a goaltender. Unless the Wings decide to fill the remainder with players at $525k, someone is going to have to be traded to be able to retain players like Hudler, Samuelsson, and Conklin.

As has been said repeatedly around here, the player who makes the most sense to trade is Valtteri Filppula, but after the playoffs. Likely he would be traded for a good pick and a good prospect. This would open up $3m in cap space. This means the Wings now have about $6.15m in cap space to sign 4F and 1G, that could be used to sign Hudler to a smaller contract than Flip has, as well as space to retain Ville Leino and two others, including Samuelsson if desired. Hudler would probably cost between $2m and $2.25m, so we'll assume the high end. That leaves about $1m for Leino.and $2.7 remaining cap space to sign a forward and a goaltender.

So say the first two lines are DZH and Leino/Hudler/Hossa. The third and fourth lines would start from some combination of Draper, Maltby, Cleary, and Kopecky. This is probably what happens either way unless Holland pulls off a miracle.

Option 1) Samuelsson at $1.4m. This would mean that the Wings had $1.3m to use on a forward and a goaltender; unless Conklin takes a pay cut in an offseason he will be looking at a big raise, it won't be him. The $1.3 could pay for the following combinations of prospects also: Howard/Ritola and Helm/Larsson. Howard or Larsson plus an unsigned forward is the third option. The Wings probably lose Conklin here, but are able to get either Howard or Larsson in as the backup and get their next generation of players beginning to transition into the lineup. If Conklin stays around, Howard gets traded, Conklin is the Larsson-priced goaltender who is at very least pushing Osgood for the starting job, assuming Osgood has figured out what's up with his funk, and everyone's happy.

Option 2) Samuelsson leaves in free agency. Wings have $2.7m in cap space, and would still need 2F TBD plus 1G. Helm costs about $600k. If Conklin costs more than about $1.5m, then the Wings won't be able to keep him as they would still need to sign or promote one more forward and

Option 3) Another thought is to invite 2007-08 Elitserien player of the year Stefan Liv to training camp and give him a second chance as our goaltender of the future, as he was, IMHO, kicked out prematurely due to the hype about Jimmy Howard and the fact he didn't go from star goalie in the Swedish league to a star in the AHL without any adjustment period. Give him a chance to compete with Howard (if he's still around) for the backup spot in training camp and the preseason if Liv isn't signed by another NHL team by then, as he seems to have done pretty well since returning to HV-71. Perhaps the 27-year old can fulfill the potential he was originally scouted at.

Regardless, the chances of Conklin returning to the team next season are pretty slim, and depends largely on free agents taking less than they would be worth on the market to play in Detroit so that there is enough cap space to go around, and/or on players being traded and/or let go and replaced by similar players who are significantly cheaper who can fulfill the same role, such as Franzen being replaced by Leino and Filppula being replaced by Helm. Expect to see Osgood combined with a cheap veteran goaltender or one of the prospects in net next season; Howard's chances at the backup job may still be questionable because he hasn't proven himself completely capable.

McCollum I don't think will be given a serious look at the backup job unless he outplays Larsson and whoever else is being looked at, because he can still be returned to juniors. Depending on Howard's performance from here out, and therefore Howard's fate, Larsson will either be the Wings' backup next season or will be the starter in Grand Rapids.

[chrisdetroit 189]

"We've been outscored 10-1 in this building now," left wing Ryane Clowe said. "It's very frustrating."

That says it all...

[Inultus 12]

Just out of curiousity, for whoever said that "the team said Osgood is the goalie for the playoffs" I'd like to see a link to a quote on that one.

The quote I read said that it depended on his play the rest of the season.

[puckloo39 5,686]

"We've been outscored 10-1 in this building now," left wing Ryane Clowe said. "It's very frustrating."

That says it all...

He forgot to add that the Sharks outshot the Wings last night and still got beaten.

Again.

[Guest Shoreline]

Damn. Wish I'd thought of the "Babs" line.

On behalf of Wings' fans everywhere, thanks for the input.

Are you too busy trashing Osgood to support your team? That might be why. This coach just helped lead the team to a cup, as well as Osgood. This isn't even the case of the team getting drastically affected because Osgood is in a slump. The Wings are, yet again, top cup contenders with both Osgood and Conklin, both of whom just about equally share the Wings 88 points. If Babs goes with Conklin, he does. I can't disagree with that. If he doesn't, he doesn't. I wouldn't agree but I'll still support the team's decision. Maybe there's something about being a fan that you haven't caught onto yet. This isn't, per se, directed at you. It's a statement in general. Some people have been way too obsessed with bashing Osgood to even support their own team.

Edited February 26, 2009 by Shoreline

[The Secret 304]

Yet the Wings are winning the same amount of games / getting the same amount of points out of both. The team says Osgood is the team's goalie for the playoffs. I guess Babs and everyone else is an Osgood worshiper. Or maybe it's yours and Lazerbeam's views that are the odd-men out and you need to actually go along with the team you supposedly support and simply wish them the best and move along. You're even worse than an Osgood worshiper.

You should go back and re-read my posts. If Osgood was deserving then I would say he is deserving. I'm a Red Wing fan, not an Osgood fan. Saying the obvious, that this year Osgood sucks ass, does not make me any less of a Red Wing fan then anyone else. I am just stating that fact as it is. It would be great if Osgood came out and played is usual adequate game but we are weeks away from the real season and he is benched to clear his head.... If Osgood continues to play as terribly as he has I can guarantee you will not see Osgood in net but back on the bench. I'm just being realistic, I don't need to pretend everyone on this team is the greatest and saying anything to the contrary is wrong. So far Osgood sucks! I would be great if he stopped sucking but currently he is in the dog house for good reason. I'm pretty sure that myself and Lazerbeam are not the odd men out, it was Babcock's decision to call out Osgood for poor play and it was also his decision to sit him for 10 games. I hope he gets out of his depression or what ever is going on, it would be better to roll with 2 goalie's but I feel Conklin is playing well enough to do the job and I am fine with that. So go back to worshiping if you choose to... I choose not to.

[Guest Shoreline]

You should go back and re-read my posts. If Osgood was deserving then I would say he is deserving. I'm a Red Wing fan, not an Osgood fan. Saying the obvious, that this year Osgood sucks ass, does not make me any less of a Red Wing fan then anyone else. I am just stating that fact as it is. It would be great if Osgood came out and played is usual adequate game but we are weeks away from the real season and he is benched to clear his head.... If Osgood continues to play as terribly as he has I can guarantee you will not see Osgood in net but back on the bench. I'm just being realistic, I don't need to pretend everyone on this team is the greatest and saying anything to the contrary is wrong. So far Osgood sucks! I would be great if he stopped sucking but currently he is in the dog house for good reason. I'm pretty sure that myself and Lazerbeam are not the odd men out, it was Babcock's decision to call out Osgood for poor play and it was also his decision to sit him for 10 games. I hope he gets out of his depression or what ever is going on, it would be better to roll with 2 goalie's but I feel Conklin is playing well enough to do the job and I am fine with that. So go back to worshiping if you choose to... I choose not to.

Worshiping who? The Red Wings? Who is it you're rooting for then?

I haven't even praised Osgood, so much as worshiped him. Even though I don't agree with their decision to start Osgood, I show my support for the Wings, whereas you call people who support the team Osgood worshipers. Pretty funny.

Edited February 26, 2009 by Shoreline