mmamolo

I'm a huge fan of a signing like this.  He has a ton of potential and we don't have to give up an asset to get him.  We can further his development in our system and he's already shown what he can do on a big stage.  Personally, I think he's already shown far more potential than Leino did when we went after him.

It's true that he is small and that will undoubtedly bring a lot of ppl hating on this potential signing but at the end of the day skill beats size as much as a lot of you guys hate to hear it.  That being said, I personally have my skill players be whatever size they are and then fill the rest of my team out accordingly - somethign the Wings don't always do.

The love for Wellwood on this board is insane.  Hoenstly, I don't get it.  I live in Toronto and obviously got to watch him a ton when he was a Leaf and let me tell you, he is nothign special.  I know he has improved in his time in Vancouver but he still is nothing special.  For $1.2M this year in 63 games the guy has 10 goals and 10 assists.  We're getting the exact same production out of Darren Helm plus the heart, energy, determination, work ethic and more.  There is zero need for Kyle Wellwood in Detroit.

It's really a tough question because on one hand you don't want to throw Osgood to the wolves and start him against one of the hottest teams (Vancouver) but on the other hand you don't want to throw him in a game against a s*** team (Edmonton)in case he s***s the bed and you blow two easy points you absolutely cannot spare but you have to figure he's gotta start one of the back-to-back games.

To me Howard's last two starts againt Vancouver will pay a factor in the decision for sure.  That being said, those starts can be used to make an argument for either Osgood or Howard to start.  The poor performances in the last two games should light a fire under Howard's (and the rest of the roster's) ass to get some redemption and they should come out firing.  On the other hand maybe you try to change things up and you go with Osgood.

No matter how you spin it you absolutely need to get every single point out of Edmonton and Columbus the rest of the way.  Plus, the two remaining games against Nashville are huge so you need a minimum 3 of 4 points in those two games.  Plus, you have games against teams like St. Louis and Minnesota so it's really anyone's guess as to when Osgood starts.

In all honesty, that Minnesota game on March 26 might be a half way decent game for Osgood to start.  It's the first of a back-to-back game.  It's in Detroit before they head on the road to travel to Nashville.  It'd give Howard an extra night off to rest before a big game.

I live in the Toronto area and got to see Wellwood play a ton before he left the Leafs for Vancouver and although he's had a a much better tenure in Vancouver than he did in Toronto I'm still not entirely sold on the guy.  I'm not saying he's a bad player by any means but I don't particularly think he's what the Red Wings need most.  So far in 60 games this year he has 9 goals and 10 assists while last year in 74 games he had 18 goals and 9 assists.  In my mind that is not nearly worth $1.5M a year.  We already have Draper, Helm, and Eaves putting up those numbers and in my opinion all work far harder day in and day out.  There's no question Wellwood has skill but this kid can be one of the laziest players in the league at times.  He doesn't always have the desire to play and when he doesn't watch out.  If he ever signed here, trust me, he'd  quickly become the LGW new whipping boy.

For me, I want Maltby to reitre, Ritola as our 13th, Bertuzzi re-signed on our 3rd line, Abdelkader on our 3rd,  and Hudler back.

Right on. I was not sure what you meant when you had he and Ericsson separated by a slash. I thought you meant they would sort of be in a rotation. I agree, he should be weaned into the lineup given what we have seen with E.

Yeah that's all I was saying.  He just needs to be weaned in and have someone to fall back on so that when he does eventually hit those inevitable bumps in the road a rookie season will no doubt bring he isn't left to fend for himself.  I know I'll be so much more comfortable next season having Ericsson and Kindl as our options instead of having to fall back on either Lebda or Meech when Ericsson stumbled this year.

Like I said, I know that we could have used Huds this year, I'm just amazed at how much love he gets here. I don't remember him being that amazing. If he was that amazing, he would have received the ice time. Babcock did not like his defensive habits and for some reason he didn't play him as much as some other guys. I'll welcome him back, but until I see what all the buzz is about I will continue to think of him as a slightly above average player (offensively).

That's fair.  I'm not saying he's Alex Ovechkin or anything.  But at 57 pts in 82 games (the last year in Detroit) with an upcoming $2.85M cap hit that's very solid value especially considering the growth he showed in the previous years with the Wings.  You're definitely right in saying that he has room to continue to grow but his game definitely hasn't peaked yet.  He definitely won't be the best player on the team if he were to return but at that cap hit he will provide a huge boost to our secondary scoring and be a very valuable piece to our offence.  In this year where our scoring has been low (and everyone seems to blame our secondary guys more than our primary which isnt necessarily true - but the point is we jut need more goals period) a boost is a boost and Hudler at $2.85 can provide just that so I think that's where all the love comes.  Maybe some ppl jut didnt realize how valuable he was until he was gone.

Hawks for several reasons.

1) Short plane rides, good start times for games.  If we get the sharks, travel will be a killer.

2) Huet is the weak link.  Probably the biggest weak link of all top 4 teams in the standings overall.

3) If we beat the Hawks in the first round, we'll have beat the 3rd best team (in points) an probably the most exciting team in the NHL right now.  That's a big confidence booster for our boys.

4) If we lose in the first round, I'd rather lose to the Hawks than put up with "Sharks finally climb out of the first round on Detroit's back" nonsense that will play endlessly.  We already have to put up with giving Crosby the cup, I don't want to put up with the Sharks either.  Let Calgary be the Sharks patsy.

The travel issue is a very good point to make and I think the Wings proved that Huet can be exposed.  If the Wings continue to pull things together down the stretch, and we're seemingly on the right path right now, it would set the stage for a nice rematch of last year's WCF.  

The only problem is I really think the Hawks are the deepest and most well rounded team in the West.  They have four lines they can roll and they can all chip in goals.  I think a lot of it would depend on how our goaltending holds up.  If Howard (or Osgood for that matter) plays like he has most of the season and provides a solid back end then we could end up doing well but if his rebound control falters and the Hawks score goals to get themselves back in games like they did on Sunday we could be in trouble.  In a series against a deep team like the Hawks we couldn't afford to blow a game like we almost did on Sunday.