SpiritFan

Chris Thorburn in Winnipeg. Goes balls to the wall every shift. Can chip in the odd goal here & there, can hit, can drop the gloves, forechecks like a sonofagun. Plus he seems to have good leadership skills.

Looking forward to Brandon Saad in Chicago this coming season. If he plays up to his potential, he could be in the Calder running.

Stamkos is also fun to watch. Brodeur has always been one of my favorite goalies.

One of my all time favorites from back when I was a kid, Billy Smith. Meanest goalie I've ever seen. Hextall & Belfour were good that way too, but no one was really as awesome as Smith, in my opinion.

Glad we let him slip away. Not like he would have been an improvement over Kindl or anything.

1st & foremost, we need a solid d-man with experience. Trading for Yandle would be ideal, Weber would be awesome but there's no way Nashville lets him get away now that Suter is gone. Matt Carle would be ok. Carlo Colaiacovo would be ok for a bottom pair player at low money, Pavel Kubina, although slow, is also a bigger body & can put up numbers & could be a good short term fill in. P.K. Subban is a RFA, and Montreal has been loading up with other playedrs, not to mention the personal problems he's had with teammates there, maybe we could make an offer for him. Not likely in a million years, but an idea. And since I am being completely "fantasy world" about this, Washington could use a big Franzen type guy... what would it take to land Mike Green (who is a RFA)?

As for forwards, sure, Nash would be awesome, but I think Ryan is more realistic, and I like him just as much. But what would we give up to get, say Yandle (or Green) & Ryan? You have to give to get... do we give up Franzen, Flip & a bunch of prospects & picks for two guys? I just don't see Holland wanting to move Flip.

My gut tells me there may be a move for a D-man like Yandle, and a free agent signing like Semin, even though I don't think Semin is high on the Wings wish list. But pickin's are getting slim!!!

THE MONSTER!!!!

Being from Saginaw (and a season ticket holder for the past few years) I got to see Jake a lot. He has t he tools to be a really good goalie in a few years. He started this season a little rough splitting time with the other goaltender here at the time to figure out who the #1 guy was going to be (we had a vet that was the starter last year, who moved on). Jake clearly outplayed the other tender - so much so that the other guy was released! Anyway, once he "knew" he won the #1 spot, he really took off & played really well the last 2/3 of the season, especially after Greg Gilbert came in to be the new coach to settle this team down. He kept getting better as the season went on & was friggin' INSANE in the playoffs! Everyone talked about how he stepped up in the playoffs when he was most needed! I like the pick - Paterson will be good!

And all us Wings fans will get to see him play in the outdoor game this Winter at Comerica Park!