Wings_Dynasty

Short of him winning the Conn Smythe there is nothing he can do to redeem himself for the extraordinary amount of WTF moments he has had this post-season. 

 

He is the weakest D-man on the team, he is a PK-making machine, doesn't use his size, doesn't make good passes, and when he tried to be offensive he gives the puck away. 

 

Cut him loose and get what you can for him. He is a dime-a-dozen player. 

I thought this was a neat little story from the Wings 97 Cup run. I actually remember this game and a play that was made after Fedorov came back into the game where he skated down the ice and beat Foote to an icing call and then tried to move the puck towards the net and drew a penalty. I remember the crowd going nuts because it was such an electric play.

I never knew the injury he came back from was that bad though.

http://www.freep.com...r-of-Hockeytown

http://www.mlive.com...d_wings_69.html

http://www.detroitne...er--Zach-Parise

Apparently Parise and Crosby have ties through school and are friends.  If it is true that Parise and Suter want to play together it may be enough to sway them both to Pittsburgh since they are set to be contenders for many years and have a younger core of stars to work with than the Wings.

Linky Doo

Could be interesting. I personally like hockey movies, and Zombie's take on the BSBs would probably have some different (violent) interpretations and hopefully will be more along the lines of Goon as opposed to Miracle, Youngblood, or the Mighty Ducks.

First off, let me say that Nick Lidstrom is one of my top 5 favorite Wings of all-time and in my opinion the best defensive defenseman of all-time.

Now, his (expected) retirement is a major chapter in the history of this team. I for one cannot remember any second in the last 20 years as a Wings fan where I thought that Nick Lidstrom was a liability. On the contrary, I felt that a 50% Nick Lidstrom was an upgrade over pretty much any other defenseman that the Wings could have put on the ice to replace him.

Now we as Wings fans finally get to see what we have consciously dreaded but somewhere deep in our collective subconsciousness have always wondered. "What will the Wings look like without #5?"

I am (as the thread title bears) excitedly optimistic, and here are some reasons why:

1. We are already a good team - had this happened in a year where we didn't already have a strong core of players (say 2000) I would be pulling my hair out. But we have a Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Kronwall, and even White to fall back on as a solid core of defensive players to build around. Not to mention the great 2-way forwards we have developing (Flip and Helm) and the ones in the minors.

2. We have SO much money - We just gained $6 million more chips in the Parise/Suter/Semin games. I would much rather have had only $3mil more (with the 1 year extension of Lids) but we have to look at what we have. I don't know the exact numbers, but if we drop the players to FA that I think we are going to drop (Stuart and Hudler) then there is even more money. I think we are looking at a summer where we sign 2 big FAs and a couple role players.

3. We are deep - Half of the Griffins played last season, and I wasn't really put off by any of them. In fact, a couple I would have wanted to take a roster spot from some vets that were having off seasons or were playing for less than they were being paid (Cleary, Hudler, Franzen). Smith, Tatar, Nyquist, and Mursak all looked good in the short time I got to see them and I think at least 2 GRGs will have roster spots on the big club this season.

and finally...

4. What else could you ask for? - I mean, come on, he has left a HUGE impact on the current roster and his presence will be felt for years. Other than retiring after winning a Cup (which probably wouldn't be likely since he would probably feel that he still had something in the tank) or winning another Norris, what else can he really do to excel? I don't blame him for calling it a career, maybe he will stay with the Wings as a European scout or a director of something, or, I daren't say it aloud, decide to take an upper management position that was said to be vacated when he retired...

Anyways, good luck Nick and thanks for being the wall in front of the goalie.