LucRobitaille20

Does anyone think that some of the Wings older players like Lids or Rafalski will take a pay cut to help sign players this offseason? The Wings are especially close to the cap and they will need as much space as possible to retain Hossa (and maybe Hudler and/or Sammy). Remember, some of the players did this back before the 01-02 season started so that Holland could sign Hasek, Robitaille and Hull. Lids is making 7.4 million and he will turn 40 in April. Rafalski is making 6 million and will turn 36 in September. I think Lids, as the captain, would be more willing to take a cut. If he does, though, Rafalski should too, because Lids is a superior player. Rafalski has won the cup three times and played in the All-star game twice. Lidstrom has won the cup four times, won the Norris trophy six times, won a conn smythe in 2002, has gone to the All-star game nine times... Come to think of it, we are getting a bargain in paying him as much as we paid Hossa! Aside from that, is there a possibility here of Wings players taking pay cuts?

I agree. It's kinda funny (in a bad way) how fortunate the Pens were with their draft picks: 2006: Jordan Staal, 2nd overall 2005: Sidney Crosby, 1st overall 2004: Evgeni Malkin, 2nd overall 2003: Marc-Andre Fleury, 1st overall 2002: Ryan Whitney, 5th overall All are with the team still besides Whitney who was traded for Kunitz, one of their top six fowards in the playoffs. Have there been other teams getting so many high draft picks, then winning a few years later? Yes, teams must do bad to get that top pick, a la Yzerman (he went first round, right?), Lemieux (1st overall 1984), Denis Potvin (1st overall 1973). But it seems rare that teams get very high picks consecutively like Pit. And I feel it is somewhat unfair for a team to be so bad for a while and be rewarded for it later.

I agree with some of the earlier posters that there is a possibility that Hossa will sign for less because of the outcome. Not only that, but because he played poorly (in the playoffs) and because this is his second time in a row losing in the stanley cup final. Few players experience that feeling. I think it is win-win for Detroit. Either a) Hossa stays, signs for considerably less and transforms into a more fierce player (motivated by the two losses) or b) he leaves and the wings easily fill his void. I say easily because he contributed little in the playoffs.

Gotta love home ice advantage. The Pens have to win at least one away from their crazy excited crowd. I have a feeling that won't happen. Go Wings!!!!!

Was anyone watching the hockey night in canada feed for tonight's? With about five minutes left in the second period and after pitts 4th goal, they show a slo-mo replay of Kennedy celebrating and jumping on the boards. I do a double-take and see a guy in an official referee uniform - with the orange armband - standing up pounding his hands on the glass and in the air and rejoicing in the goal. The guy was right next to the penalty box area. I just thought it was ironic since there's been a lot of talk about the refs wanting to extend the series. Odds are the guy is just a fan, but its weird that he'd have the official uniform on and not a white shirt like the rest of the fans. If anyone wants to see it, PM me and I can send you my SN and password for the site I use to watch the games. The replay occurs during a whistle with 5:09 remaining in the second period.

Yea but it looked like an official refs jersey with the orange armband. Who the hell would buy one and wear it to a pens game? Don't pens fans all wear white?

Did anyone see a guy in a ref's uniform in the stands go giddy happy after the Kennedy (pens 4th) goal? I'm watching the CBC stream on hockeystreams.com Was that a back-up ref? Any ideas what that's about?

Boyd Devereaux....anyone remember him from 2002? I believe he played on the "two kids and a goat" line. He was one of the kids, and Brett Hull was the goat. The other kid? Pavel Datsyuk! Things sure have changed... Anyway, I came across CBS rankings of players, clicked on clutch scorers, and guess who is #1? I thought I'd provide some comic relief as we wait for game 3. GO WINGS!!!

1. 97 cup 2. Yzerman double OT goal against the Blues, 96 playoffs 3. 7-0 domination over Colorado in the 2002 west finals 4. Igor Larionov scoring in triple OT against Carolina in the 2002 finals 5. 08 cup

Yes, the wings have dropped two straight and yes, they have disappointed us in the past against weaker teams. But, I do feel strongly that they will take this series. They played well in games 1-2, and probably should have won game 3. In game 4 Nashville got an early lead and fed off of their crowd to win. Luckily for us, two out of the next three games will not be in Nashville. To those remembering the upset back from 2001 against LA, I empathize with you. The wings had built a 2-0 lead and were winning in game three, but eventually lost that game and lost the series in four straight. I think today's wings have a much different nucleus in comparison to that season (younger, hungrier players, especially our star forwards, Zets and Dats) and I do believe that our captain will have something to say about what he learned from that experience. The series is 2-2, going back to the Joe, exactly the same record we had back in 2002 when we won it all. I'd rather our team face adversity now and overcome it and be better later on than cruise through the playoffs to be beaten by a team that does just that. In 2002, the wings were down 2-0 in the first round, and 3-2 in the third round going back to Denver. Their adverse conditions helped them become a better and more focused team. I'm sure the coaching staff will make a wise decision with respect with the goalie situation and the lack of jump early on in the game and after Nashville scores. The wings will come out firing in game 5 and will end this series as they should (on top). I still believe!!!

I don't like his celebrations either. If he went wild with his teammates, then I wouldn't mind at all. But it seems kinda selfish for him to just go off by himself and celebrate.

Actually, the event of clinching a spot in the playoffs is an interesting probability problem. It's not as straightforward as letting the ninth place team "win" the rest of their games and comparing their point total to current Wings point total. Consider a simple example: There are four teams, A, B, C and D that play a 12 game season. At the end of the season, the top two teams make the playoffs. Current standings are as follows: Team GP W/L/OT Pts A 10 8-2-0 16 B 9 4-3-2 10 C 9 5-4-0 10 D 10 0-8-2 2 The remaining schedule is as follows: A vs B A vs C B vs C B vs D C vs D Now, using conventional wisdom, we cannot conclude that A has a guaranteed spot in the playoffs, since B and C can win their games and A lose its games and be tied with B and C. By analyzing the possible results of the remaining schedule, however, we can conclude that A has clinched a playoff spot. In each of the remaining games, there is a maximum of 3 points awarded to the teams involved (2 for the win, 1 for the OT/SO loss). Since we want to see if A can make the playoffs, lets see what happens when A loses its remaining games: A vs B: B wins A vs C: C wins Team GP W/L/OT Pts A 12 8-4-0 16 B 10 5-3-2 12 C 10 6-4-0 12 D 10 0-8-2 2 Since D has no chance of making the playoffs, we let them lose their games against B and C: B vs D: B wins C vs D: C wins Team GP W/L/OT Pts A 12 8-4-0 16 B 11 6-3-2 14 C 11 7-4-0 14 D 12 0-10-2 2 We now have one more game to play: B vs C. Either way, only one of those teams will come out with two points, enough to tie team A. The losing team can only get a single point, putting it one point below team A. Thus, we see that A was already guaranteed a playoff spot. Anyway, sorry for the long post. I'm a math major with a big interest in sports statistics. Hope this helps!

Sign Hasek for $2 million plus incentives, Bertuzzi for $2.5 million, Markov for $2.5 and/or a 2nd line center for $2.5.

The following is a list of Wings players (and their salaries) already signed: Forwards (11) Pavel Datsyuk (6.7m) Henrik Zetterburg (2.7m) Kris Draper (2.128m) Thomas Holmstrom (2.25m) Kirk Maltby (0.883m) Johan Franzen (0.9m) Valterri Filpulla (0.85m) Daniel Cleary (0.675m) Tomas Kopecky (0.45m) Even McGrath (0.65m) Igor Grigorinko (0.45m*) Defensemen (7) Niklas Lidstrom (7.6m) Chris Chelios (0.85m) Andreas Lilja (1m) Niklas Kronwall (1.5m) Brett Lebda (0.55m) Kyle Quincey (0.535m) Johathan Ericsson (0.475m) Goalies (2) Chris Osgood (.8m) Jimmy Howard (0.85m) This puts the Wings at about 33.1 mil salary-wise. Detroit will probably sign Hasek for around 1.5 mil, Hudler for around 0.75 mil (if he's not traded), and Bertuzzi for roughly 2-3 mil. That puts the Wings at about 38 mil, leaving them with 11 mil to sign Schneider, Markov, and/or other free agents (with a 49 mil salary cap). Detroit will need one more experienced defenseman, so I think they will try and re-sign Schneider for 4 mil. If they can't get him for that price, then I'm sure they'll go after another d-man just below his caliber. That'll leave the Wings with 7 mil. I think they should try and pick up Kozlov for 3-4 mil and a cheap 3rd/4th line player (1 mil) or two solid 2nd/3rd line players (i.e. Nolan, Zednik, Sykora, Handzus to name a few) for 2.5 mil each, either way leaving the wings with 2-3 mil for the trade deadline. I'd like to see these lines come September: Zetterburg Datsyuk Holmstrom Bertuzzi Filpulla Kozlov Cleary (*Center) Nolan Maltby Draper Franzen *Hudler, Kopecky, or Grigorenko Lidstrom Lillja Schneider Kronwall Chelios Lebda Hasek Osgood

Hey guys, this is kinda random, but I think it would be nice in the future for the NHL to give out an award to the best forward line. Forming a line of three players that work real well together isn't the easiest task, and I think the best trio deserves some recognition. Considering how well Dats, Zetts and Homer played this year together (I can't wait to see how they'll perform with a year of experience with one another), they would be a candidate. As would the great Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson (sp.) line in Ottawa. What do you all think?