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Holmstrom speculates that this is his last season

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http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/07/af...809_season.html

THis is a sad read. Certainly, all of the blog is conjecture, but the thought of Holmstrom hanging up the skates is sad. He has been so much of a force in the success of the WIngs power play for so many years, that he has defined a new role in the NHL. I would argue that Holmstrom's crease presence has had as much of an influence on the NHL and it's rules as Gretsky's did when they changed the amount of men allowed off the ice.

We can always debate if Holmstrom was 100% and our power play in the play offs was 30% blah blah blah.

I certainly hope that he has 20-25 goals this year with 40-50 goals directly attributable to his ass in the goalies face.

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I guess those constant chops and pokes the goalies give him, plus the uncalled cross checks to the lumbar area and the acrobatics he does to get a redirect or to avoid the boomer from the blue line take a toll. It would be sad to lose the master of the goalie screen.

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http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/07/af...809_season.html

THis is a sad read. Certainly, all of the blog is conjecture, but the thought of Holmstrom hanging up the skates is sad. He has been so much of a force in the success of the WIngs power play for so many years, that he has defined a new role in the NHL. I would argue that Holmstrom's crease presence has had as much of an influence on the NHL and it's rules as Gretsky's did when they changed the amount of men allowed off the ice.

We can always debate if Holmstrom was 100% and our power play in the play offs was 30% blah blah blah.

I certainly hope that he has 20-25 goals this year with 40-50 goals directly attributable to his ass in the goalies face.

Who? :P Just Kidding!

Yeah, Homer will be hard to replace. But hey, he's played what 12 or 13 years and had 4 Stanly Cups with one more chance for a 5th! He'll probably be on Team Sweden in the Olympics too. Sad to go, but great, great career!

Let the number retirment debate begin! :lol:

Edited by LeftWinger

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This gives the team inspiration to win a cup for him. He should go out with a bang.

If anything I expect Homer to be destroying dman down low during the playoffs this year, I mean without Pronger who is going to be able to really bring it to him? Glad he isn't going to try and waste a roster spot when he is no longer effective.

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Guest mindfly

It was another story in the swedish newspaper the other day, said he'd love to play til he's 40 etc.

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It doesn't suprise me that this is probably his last season, he is coming of that age. I will enjoy his final season in the NHL with the Wings and wish him all the best when he decides to hang em up. He's been my favorite Skater for years and I hope that this season is Holmstrom's best season. We love ya Holmsy!! I hope you can retire a 5 time Champion but if not 4 Cups is Great!!

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I hate to say "told you so" again, but I recall being ripped on a week or two ago for suggesting that Holmstrom has been on his last legs in a sense for awhile now. There's only so much abuse that the body can take and Holmstrom is really pushing the limit as is obvious based on his frequent injury struggles. I love the guy but I wouldn't be shocked at all if he hangs them up after this coming season. He more than likely will battle the same injuries this year and everyone's going to be tougher to recover from. There's no doubt the guy's got as much heart as anyone just to hang in there as long as he has considering his role, but everyone has their limits.

It'd be nice if the Wings could afford to give him some extra rest here and there in the coming regular season in order to save up some steam for the playoffs. With the way he's been starting and finishing the last couple years, it's clear that his body can't handle an entire regular season and long playoff run at this point. He's an incredibly valuable asset to this squad when he's on his game so it just seems like it'd be wise to keep him healthy for the playoffs so he can contribute when it's most important; all the more so if this truly ends up being his last season. I'd hate to see a repeat of this last year. He deserves to finish strong and help his team go the distance.

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I honestly think we're going to see a lot of our guys(Homer, Lids, etc) retire after this next season when their contracts are up.

I would be very surprised if Lidstrom retired. The guy can still play at an elite level. He may not be as incredibly great as he was 5 years ago, but he's still incredibly great...

I could certainly see Homer hanging them up after this year and perhaps Maltby. I would think Draper would go then too if not for his contract still counting against the cap. Unless Holland somehow can conjure up a magic trick to get Draper's contract off the books for '10/'11, I'm thinking Draper finishes out his career with this contract perhaps in a limited role. That said, depending on the cap situation and who all is available, I could see Maltby sticking around for 1 more year to finish with Draper and if Holmstrom has a strong, mostly injury-free year, I could see him doing the same. Maltby is a lot of people's whipping boy, but he's cheap and still can serve a purpose. Age hasn't seemed to have affected his game as much as it has Draper's.

Either way though, I think we've got two seasons max left with Homer, Maltby and Drapes. Osgood's contract is up at that point too. He's shown no signs of slowing down considering he's coming off his career-best playoff outing, but if he hits the numbers he's aiming for in the next two years and we've got some kids that are knocking on the door, perhaps Osgood decides to go out with the crew as well. I kinda doubt it though unless his play severely drops off. He's a driven guy and still seems to have what it takes to be a top goalie in the league and his game isn't going to be as affected by age as more acrobatic goalies. I think he'll likely stay on for a couple more years after this contract is up, but time will tell.

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Who? :P Just Kidding!

Yeah, Homer will be hard to replace. But hey, he's played what 12 or 13 years and had 4 Stanly Cups with one more chance for a 5th! He'll probably be on Team Sweden in the Olympics too. Sad to go, but great, great career!

Let the number retirment debate begin! :lol:

I personally hope he doesn't play for team Sweden. I really don't think his body will be able to handle the regular season, Olympics and a playoff run. And I guess selfishly I'd like to see him finish strong for the Wings.

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Let the great 96 retirement debate begin....I really think so.....

Malts I think might sign a 1 year to stay with Draper, then they both leave

Draper might be useful to teach the kids how to win faceoffs. That's Important.

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I hope homer is able to play at a competitive level for another couple years. Its going to be so strange to see our PP without the big man in front of the net...

This whole off season has been us talking about losing one guy after another... Cant take it anymore -_-

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I still believe Holmstrom is quite effective when he is healthy. I think goaltenders fear his presence. He makes the goaltenders job more difficult for sure. I don't believe he was healthy all year. I think he was injured early on, and his ability to be consistent night in night out was hindered for sure.

I love how all the naysayers come out of the woodwork, after an injury filled season. They talk s***, and say good riddance, thank god!

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I hope Homer rebounds this season, for sure. Insert Homer rebounding pun here.

I would love nothing more than to see Homer get into a rhythm and another 35 Red Wings powerplay goals where Nick unloads from the blueline and Homer either tips or jams it.

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This thread definitely put me into a state of denial.

It's always tough to lose players the Wings have had for a long time. As far as "irreplaceable" goes, Homer is closer to it than most; definitely not in the same way as Lidstrom, but still tough to replace nonetheless.

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Like mindfly said, in swedish Aftonbladet he recently said he didn't have any plans to retire. He even mentioned playing as long as Chelios has, but that was probably more of a joke. He did seem to have his mind set on playing a few more years atleast.

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Yeah, sorry not buying this AT ALL!

I see Homer still playing 2-3 years from NOW. If that is w/ the Red Wings or not, well who really knows.

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I hate to say "told you so" again, but I recall being ripped on a week or two ago for suggesting that Holmstrom has been on his last legs in a sense for awhile now. There's only so much abuse that the body can take and Holmstrom is really pushing the limit as is obvious based on his frequent injury struggles. I love the guy but I wouldn't be shocked at all if he hangs them up after this coming season. He more than likely will battle the same injuries this year and everyone's going to be tougher to recover from. There's no doubt the guy's got as much heart as anyone just to hang in there as long as he has considering his role, but everyone has their limits.

It'd be nice if the Wings could afford to give him some extra rest here and there in the coming regular season in order to save up some steam for the playoffs. With the way he's been starting and finishing the last couple years, it's clear that his body can't handle an entire regular season and long playoff run at this point. He's an incredibly valuable asset to this squad when he's on his game so it just seems like it'd be wise to keep him healthy for the playoffs so he can contribute when it's most important; all the more so if this truly ends up being his last season. I'd hate to see a repeat of this last year. He deserves to finish strong and help his team go the distance.

I certainly think that they need to drop him down to the 3rd line so he plays less minutes and doesn't get as much punishment. Also, the more he creaks, the less he can keep up with the pace our first line plays at. Cleary has proved he can play on that top line in Homers role.

What worries me is the way he is talking about not knowing how much he has left etc. All ex professional sportsmen say the same thing about retirement - its not your body that tells you when to quit, its your head. For a long time, as long as you have the will, you can continue to play through your age-induced physical limitations. Once your head starts saying "enough" the body very quickly folds.

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