JPT

If Holland re-signs Cleary it will officially mean he has lost his mind.

If he re-signs Cleary then he should be fired!

I've seen quite a few posts referencing how we will be in trouble next year moving to the Eastern Conference and playing some tough, physical teams. I was skeptical and wanted to see how we've stacked up in the recent past. Now I know that these stats were with #5 on the blue line but its not like he made us all that physical so here goes.I also included out record against the existing NE division

 

2011-2012 season: 10-7-1 against the East, 4-2 against the NE

2010-2011 season : 12-4-2 against the East, 6-0 against the NE

2009-2010 season: 9-6-3 against the East, 4-2 against the NE

 

Just for kicks against the big bad Bruins:

 

 

I think we've seen Flip's ceiling and he's a guy that should be playing on the 2nd or 3rd line. $5 mil per would be a lot of money for his production and hard to swallow but I wouldn't be surprised for him to get it from a number of teams including the Wings.

 

Only KH knows what the contract expectations are from Flip's camp but if he wants north of $4.5 per and we could swing a deal for a top 20 pick in the draft I would think Holland would have to seriously consider it. I expect him to remain with the team after the deadline though. I don't know how many teams are actually interested in him as a rental and trading him would damage whatever chances we have of making a cup run. 

While Federov is one of my all time favorite hockey players I would think he's outside the bubble in terms of having his jersey retired. He was an incredible talent and one of the biggest reasons the Wings won the cup in 97 and 98. But he also wasn't a lifelong Wing and was never the heart and soul  of the franchise. Dats and Z are way behind Federov when it comes to who's number is going to be retired.

Well enjoy life in either Philly or Nashville for the next 14 years. Cya later Weber!

I think he'll somehow end up in Philly no matter what. Even if Nashville matches I think a trade is in the works. Being a hockey player in Philly is not a bad thing. They have a good young team and its a nice, fun city. As a New Yorker I have a strong dislike for them but being objective its a good situation for him.

I think its time to face facts that we are not a team that people will just want to play for "just because". The Wings could stand to be more aggressive in pursuing high end talent. The fact that we'll be paying Quincy close to 4 mil a year and gave up a 1st for him makes me want to vomit.

This article you link to is over 2 years old. And it wasn't all that great to begin with.

A couple bounces went the Preds way, the Wings whiffed on a couple nice scoring opportunities. Wings played a decent enough game and the Preds PP looked like garbage. This series is gonna give me an ulcer.

WTF Weber that is some dirty s***. Suspension is def warranted it looked like he grabbed his helmet and drive him into the top turnbuckle!

I wish this was true but I don't really put much stock in any reports. I think it's funny how people around here think it's a done deal we get either Parise or Suter when we probably don't end up with either. I hope to be proven wrong though!

Howard is a rookie.  How many elite goaltenders were elite in their rookie season?  It's not like Howard has been in the NHL for 3 years.  Give him next season at least.

I see your point but Howard is not a young guy making his way into the league. He's 26 and had a lot of chances to prove himself. He was good during the regular season but lets too many soft goals and he is unable to control his rebounds so much that I don't know if its something he can fix at this point. We can't pin these losses on him alone but I don't see him being an elite goaltender in the NHL.