Hell Toupee

So Z kind of went to Sweden?
Like a US citizen moving to Mexico is kind of staying at home?

Yep.  Heck, using that analogy, I bet I'm close to Mexico than I am to you.

In all honesty, I wasn't sure how close Switzerland was to Sweden.  Now I see they are not neighboring in much regard at all.  It's been years since Geography.

Another decent perspective on the lockout.  Towards the end he hits upon one of the reasons why I put a lot of the blame on Bettman and his strategy.

The NHL and its wealthier franchises certainly have a responsibility to support those teams in weaker markets, especially since those teams were born of the league's own vision for expanding the game.

http://www.tsn.ca/blogs/dave_naylor/?id=405623

Bettman wanted to expand the game into non-hockey markets.  Fine.  Then when those franchises struggle he points the finger at the players as to the biggest reason why and locks them out.  

It's going to take time and commitment to turn a non-traditional market into a good one for hockey.  It's not the players fault that people in Phoenix just don't want to watch hockey that much.  Right out of the gate owners of franchises in Detroit, Toronto, New York, etc have a HUGE advantage over those in places like Nashville and Phoenix.  

It has to do with the history and popularity of the teams, the length of time hockey has been part of a culture in that market, and also the strength of the Canadian dollar.  The biggest reasons for the economic disparity has nothing to do with the percentage of revenue allocated to paying players.  

Bettman apparently doesn't have the skills or the will to get his owners to share more revenue and actually address the economic disparity,  instead he goes after the players because it's easier and something all his owners can agree on.  

Unfortunately his spineless strategy is terrible for the fans and ultimately for the NHL.

I'm not a New Jersey fan so why would I care.

If I was a New Jersey fan then yes I would have felt the same way.

Neither am I,but as a Wings fan got to respect his decision to be with his family,especially after this statement yesterday:

“Yeah, if it was a purely hockey decision, I would stay,” Stuart said. “But I've got other things to consider and other factors other than just hockey.”

First of all I think the long-term outlook of a team always matters to potential FA's. Second, there is reason to think it might be now.

1. The numbers: The numbers of all our 'core' or 'star' players are and have been falling in past years save for Filpulla.
2. IMO, there are no prospects with real star potential to replace these guys that are getting older and watching their production fall. I think Smith is the closest thing to that and even he could be a bust. And even if he makes something of himself, is it going to be Nik Lidstrom something? Not likely.
3. It all starts and stops with Lidstrom for me. I think his retirement (be it this year or the next) is going to be the beginning of the end of our twenty year run. It always seems to me that when Nik goes, we go. He's the leader of this team without question and it's going to be hard to compensate for the loss of him.

1. The numbers: The numbers of all our 'core' or 'star' players (including Yzerman/Shanahan/Chelios/Hull/Hasek/ect.) are and have been falling in past years save for Zetterberg.
2. IMO, there are no prospects with real star potential to replace these guys that are getting older and watching their production fall. I think Datsyuk is the closest thing to that and even he could be a bust. And even if he makes something of himself, is it going to be Sergei Fedorov something? Not likely.
3. It all starts and stops with Yzerman for me. I think his retirement (be it this year or the next) is going to be the beginning of the end of our ten year run. It always seems to me that when Stevie goes, we go. He's the leader of this team without question and it's going to be hard to compensate for the loss of him.

Parise is 5'11, 195. His game's not unlike Helm's - and he's good for ~30 goals a season and clutch posteason performance.

Semin's lazy, often half-interested (at best), not physical, not good for use on the PP or PK - it's a long list. We want to get less lazy, see less floating, be more engaged and aggressive on the forecheck & backcheck and in the corners and in front of the opposition's net, be more defensively responsible, be more committed to winning.

We don't want Semin.

Agreed 100%

Semin probably actually has more natural offensive talent than Parise.  That doesn't mean s*** though since he's a much, much less effective player because of his lack of grit, work ethic, and defensive awareness.  Conversely, Parise has all of these qualities that Semin's lacking...and he has them in spades.

Parise's forecheck alone would be a huge example for this team.  He scores the dirty goals around the net. Semin's another perimeter player.  We don't want more players like this.  I'd rather have gritty, aggressive, 3rd and 4th liners who are hard on the forecheck and tough to play against.  At least we'd then be a more well-rounded team.

Someone yesterday brought up that Detroit ought to keep there eye on Tomas Tatar.The response was that Detroit didn't need another 5'10" 180lb forward,well isn't that what Zack Parise is?


Semin 6'2" 209ibs

Not gonna comment on Tatar, as I haven't seen enough of the guy to have a truly informed take on him.

Parise is 5'11, 195. His game's not unlike Helm's - and he's good for ~30 goals a season and clutch posteason performance.

Semin's lazy, often half-interested (at best), not physical, not good for use on the PP or PK - it's a long list. We want to get less lazy, see less floating, be more engaged and aggressive on the forecheck & backcheck and in the corners and in front of the opposition's net, be more defensively responsible, be more committed to winning.

We don't want Semin.

What's the point of that hit? Sweden's winning easily. Latvia has no chances to advance further. No necessity to swing momentum here. I just don't get it.

He's Kronwall and is just letting people remember that he is indeed there to play.  Thanks for posting op.

And Minnesota has a good track record with prospects panning out?  Is that why they make the playoffs EVERY year?  If they have all these great prospects that are ready to go, why don't they get them in the lineup and make the playoffs?  Nyquist/Smith are better now than any Wild prospect purely because they've already proven that they belong in the NHL and are good enough to play top 6/4 and produce.

If I were Parise and Suter, I'd choose the team with the better track record and compete for the cup, not the playoffs.

I can't stress this enough: You HAVE to do your research before you make comments. If you want to talk about their prospects not panning out that's fine, but you should know that all those picks in the first round that never panned out were all drafted by the previous GM. Their current GM was the one that helped build the Anaheim stanley cup team and the Pittsburgh cup team. The draft picks HE has taken are all projected to come to the NHL next year, it's taken a few years for them to clean out all the s*** from the last regime and restock the shelves. And even though none of those prospects were pro this year, Minnesota probably would have made the playoffs had they been able to stay healthy. Look at them when they were healthy, they were winning like every game even without their touted prospects; and winning against the best teams. They beat us multiple times, they beat Nashville, New Jersey, Boston, Vancouver multiple times.. I'm not here to bash the wings' prospects or anything but as someone who follows the NHL closely, you're kidding yourself to think that Minnesota doesn't have one of the top 3-5 prospect pools in the league. And what the wings have is great, they have one guy who I think is top 6 for sure and then a couple other quality guys, but it's a far cry from what Minnesota has built, which only makes sense. Finally they get a competent GM and with all the high picks he's had, they are finally hitting on a lot of those. They of course have to prove themselves just like everyone else, but they are so deep with prospects that even if one or two are busts, they still have a bevy of other guys that will be home runs. Granlund alone is already scoring over a point per game as a youngster in a league full of men. It's just preposterous to compare Minnesota and Detroit in the area of prospects. Just as it would be to compare Mikko Koivu and Pavel Datsyuk. They are both good, but one is CLEARLY better than the other. With all that in mind, it's an absolute fallacy to be thinking that Parise and Suter with immediately sign with the Wings on July 1. Minnesota is not a team to be taken lightly in any sense.

I can't stress this enough: You HAVE to do your research before you make comments. If you want to talk about their prospects not panning out that's fine, but you should know that all those picks in the first round that never panned out were all drafted by the previous GM. Their current GM was the one that helped build the Anaheim stanley cup team and the Pittsburgh cup team. The draft picks HE has taken are all projected to come to the NHL next year, it's taken a few years for them to clean out all the s*** from the last regime and restock the shelves. And even though none of those prospects were pro this year, Minnesota probably would have made the playoffs had they been able to stay healthy. Look at them when they were healthy, they were winning like every game even without their touted prospects; and winning against the best teams. They beat us multiple times, they beat Nashville, New Jersey, Boston, Vancouver multiple times.. I'm not here to bash the wings' prospects or anything but as someone who follows the NHL closely, you're kidding yourself to think that Minnesota doesn't have one of the top 3-5 prospect pools in the league. And what the wings have is great, they have one guy who I think is top 6 for sure and then a couple other quality guys, but it's a far cry from what Minnesota has built, which only makes sense. Finally they get a competent GM and with all the high picks he's had, they are finally hitting on a lot of those. They of course have to prove themselves just like everyone else, but they are so deep with prospects that even if one or two are busts, they still have a bevy of other guys that will be home runs. Granlund alone is already scoring over a point per game as a youngster in a league full of men. It's just preposterous to compare Minnesota and Detroit in the area of prospects. Just as it would be to compare Mikko Koivu and Pavel Datsyuk. They are both good, but one is CLEARLY better than the other. With all that in mind, it's an absolute fallacy to be thinking that Parise and Suter with immediately sign with the Wings on July 1. Minnesota is not a team to be taken lightly in any sense.

I can't stress this enough: you HAVE to stop dismissing all opinions that differ from your own as being uninformed.

We were all speaking specifically about their current prospects, not just folks drafted by the former GM. You've neglected to do that. All you've added is that 1) you know more, 2) they have a new GM who helped build a cup winning Anaheim team and a team in Pittsburgh that was built the same way the Blackhawks and soon-to-be Oilers are being built: get top pick and take top player, and 3) they beat good teams multiple times during their last regular season, which resulted in missing the playoffs, again (even though as a Wings fan you should know that they always turn in stinkers against bottom-dweller).

No one has said Parise and Suter are a lock for the Wings. No one has bagged on the Minnesota prospect pool. You're the only one being contentious and pretentious about your opinion. Minnesota doesn't have a good track record, and citing a supposedly elite prospect pool (which should be an oxymoron) as a reason why the Wild is better off than the Wings and thus a better destination for free agents is a flawed argument, which is the reason for us discussing Wild vs. Wings prospects in a thread about signing Zach Parise Others have demonstrated knowledge enough to break-down each team's best prospects and the consensus is that difference in prospect pool + current NHL product =/= Wild as the better team.

Toews. Kane. Stamkos. Those are the only type of "can't miss" draft signings there are these days. The Wild need Top 3 forwards, Top 2 defenseman. Even if they got 2 or 3 Filppulas and 1 or 2 Kronwalls out of their current pool, they'll lack what it takes to make a legitimate run at the cup. And that's assuming they adjust immediately to the big leagues, unlike Filppula or Kronwall.

Contribute to the conversation and argue your point all you like, but you've provided nothing that justifies dismissal of others points as inferior to your own

Did you watch Hossa's playoffs here in 2009?

Yeah, and despite injuries, he still wasn't terrible. Wasn't at his best, but his body was a mess. Still put up 6 goals for 15-16 points if I remember correctly, again, with injuries.

I love the way Smith plays. Usually with these call-up defense prospects being noticeable is a bad thing, but not with this kid. He plays with remarkable intelligence, skill, and confidence for a young call-up. He has been making some smart pinches to keep the offense going and is really quick on his skates. Really, he has exceeded pretty high expectations given the situation, adding to the offense whenever he is on the ice and playing pretty responsible in his own zone. Physical, offensively inclined, and defensively savvy.

Honestly, come playoffs, both Ericsson and Kindl should be on the outside looking in. I know it probably wouldn't happen, but since White has been playing with Quincey, and has not been his best since Nick went down, and Smith has been pretty phenomenal despite having Janik on the opposite side, I'd love to see Smith given minutes with Lidstrom when he returns (though I'm not sure which side he is used to playing):

Lidstrom-Smith
Stuart-Kronwall
White-Quincey

That is a pretty ridiculous Top 6 when healthy.

Still think he's a top pair guy after his two boneheaded turnovers, in two games, leading to two goals?  Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Was there ever really a doubt that he would.  Though some were heralding the demise of Henrik Zetterberg, in the not too distant past (one season ago) there was a guy who scored 80 pts. and was top ten or fifteen in the league in scoring.  But have one slow season and the past is forgotten and all the "fans" hold you over the fire.  Good on Zetterberg, but again, was there ever really a doubt?

He said what Swede. And Karlsson.

Oh my bad.  Shea Webersson.

A really good read.

http://www.usatoday....AUqwnuFWw.email

We are memebers with a bunch of pansies.....

Careful DragonballGTZ you better not badmouth Hudler around here, you may get a neg and no explanation or rebuttal why...

Neg bandit too scared to man up!

Brunnstrom in, Mursak in after injury, Hudler OUT! Suck It Trebek!

You don't get it.

Just like your polar opposite, both of you bring him up in these absurd extremes and bring him up in topics or subjects that have absolutely nothing to do with him over and over and over again.  9 times out of 10, we know what is coming from both of your keystrokes, and when it's annoying in either extreme positive or negative, people are going to neg you.

Both of you are grown men that should know damned well that he is neither as bad or as good as either of you underhype or overhype him respectively, yet you two still keep on doing it over and over and over again.  I have little doubt that yall aren't trying to purposefully piss people off, but it is still incredibly numbing and annoying.  Most times I want to strangle both of you, figuratively speaking of course, when I read your responses.

Nobody here says he is the greatest thing since sliced bread or an all-star like you perceive, and conversely most people don't think he is as bad as a dumptruck (when he isn't in a dry spell or whatever) like eva unit zero perceives.  The only two people with these absurd extremes are you two.  Not the LGW community, you two and you two alone.  The majority of people will likely give him fair kudos if he is playing well, or dog him accordingly and fairly if he struggles (like much of the beginning of last season for instance).  Nothing more or less.

And making a big deal out of being negged is annoying as well, worrying about ego or how you look on here to people you probably will never see in life.  Let it be, people don't have to explain themselves to you or why they plus or minus you.

You want to keep disliking somebody, doesn't bother me, that's totally your business and your choice and I respect that and won't be able to change that, I'm not trying to.  Not trying to change eva unit zero's supporting of Hudler either.  But keep beating a dead horse in this type of fashion and in places that have nothing to do with him, you are going to get a good bit of negatives and bashlashes more often than not.

Now as for Brunnstrom, I think at worst he secured himself a minor league contract here, definitely improved his chances lately to make the Wings and with some recent injuries to other probables.  Would love to have him in the system.