Kass

They won't roll back the cap or salaries. The players would never ever approve it and it would screw over too many GMs to be feasible. What I think they'll do is freeze the cap where it is for a few years and set a new, lower percentage revenue determinant. At that point, the cap will be either $70 million or the new percentage, whichever is higher.

The four first-round picks are too much, but if they can keep to the tier below that (two firsts, a second, and a third) then I certainly wouldn't mind. The Wings are absolutely terrible with their first-round picks, which is why I think Holland was so willing to give one up for Quincey. Of course, if they do manage to keep it at that level, Nashville would probably match. And that's assuming that Mr. Holland is even willing to try it, considering how negatively the other GMs from around the league would look upon it.

I don't think it's a personnel problem as much as it is a strategic one. The Wings built up too slowly along the boards going through the neutral zone, allowing the Preds to set up an effective backcheck and choke them off at the line. This meant that they had to dump the puck in or risk giving up a turnover trying to lug it in under heavy pressure. Naturally, they chose to dump it just about always, and the time it took to recover gave Nashville ample opportunity to set up their tight defensive scheme. Once they wrested control of the puck, the Wings would then spend most of their time cycling it along the boards and the blueline before finding that the Preds were in most of the best shooting and passing lanes and that they'd be checked if they tried to push into the interior of the zone but would remain mostly untouched if they stayed in those areas. Because of this, attacking plays would usually end in shots from low-percentage that got blocked or smothered and passes that got knocked away or stripped. Nashville's discipline (and the predictability of the Wing's offense) meant that their defensive play hardly ever broke down, which is where the Wings scored most of their goals in the series regardless. Phoenix, on the other hand, counter-attacks fast enough through the center of the neutral zone to be able to carry the puck in over the line instead of dumping it in (imo the most important factor in their success), and when they get into the offensive zone they do it with such speed that the Predators can't effectively set up their scheme and pressure out the guys who are trying to push deeper into the zone. The Coyotes crash the net almost as soon as the puck is in and make quick passes and shots to the front of the net, creating scrambles that give the Coyotes a pretty good chance of finding Rinne out of position and getting a goal while Nashville's defense is broken down. That's the kind of thing that the Red Wings almost never produced, and it's really the only way to defeat Nashville considering that their defense is pretty much designed to be an insurmountable object for slow, methodical defenses like ours. The same lesson applies to Phoenix when they attempt to set up in a similar fashion on the PP and end up being snuffed out immediately.

Wow. It's almost like breaking into the zone fast and crashing the net is a better strategy against a defensively strong team than setting up a methodical passing offense and taking constant shots from the point.

This. There's no guarantee that the replacement won't be worse than Babcock, and I honestly think the odds of that being the case are pretty significant. Give him a bit more time. He just needs a better team and maybe a better support staff. If he fails with that, then you can fire him.

I think this team has had some bad luck this series that is giving off a false impression of them being far worse than they actually are, but even then, I don't think this is a team that could win a Stanley Cup. The '08/'09 teams were absolutely stacked in terms of depth, and that's definitely not the case anymore. The second and third lines are too inconsistent, some of the guys have been playing much worse than they did back then, and some of them just aren't good enough to warrant being on the lines that they are. The glut of talent from those years has been replaced by a bunch of holes that Holland did an inadequate short-term job of patching up with the cheapest players available at the time because he couldn't find long-term solutions via the free agent market (where value admittedly comes at a steep premium) or trade (where we don't have the assets to get teams to give up current talent). Signing some high-quality free agents is a must. Especially a top D-man, as there will be a terrifying lack of talent there if Stuart leaves and Lidstrom retires. Maybe even find some way to swing Nash from Columbus. Bring in the youth players too, and get rid of the most obvious of the dead weight and spare parts that just can't cut it anymore.

They should put Mrazek in and see what he can do. I know he's young, but he's the team's best goalie prospect. Giving him a small taste of NHL action would let him know what level he needs to reach. It worked pretty well for Howard during a similar injury crisis back in 2005.

I don't think he'll be coming back, but everyone on here dislikes him somewhat unfairly. Yes, he took a lot of bad shots, but when you have an offense of playmakers sometimes you need someone who will just get into a decent position and shoot the puck when he gets it. Not to mention his habit of coming up big, like in Game 1 of the 2008 SCF.

The Vermette trade further cements the Blue Jackets reputation as the worst-managed team in the NHL.

Nash's value to the Jackets is much higher than his point totals this year, or even his career-average point totals, would suggest. The man isn't just a 'franchise player', he IS the franchise. 90% of the jerseys in Nationwide on any given game night will be #61. He is just about the ONLY thing Jackets fans have to look forward to before the start of every season, and the only name on the Jackets that casual hockey fans in Ohio are guaranteed to know. He brings in far more in ticket sales, merchandise, and general marketability than any single player on the Red Wings right now or in the last six years. He is nearly on the same level as Yzerman when it comes to his personal value to the franchise, and yet everybody here seems to think they can give up a single high pick, two or three prospects, plus Hudler and get the rock that the Blue Jackets are built upon. It's not going to happen. You need to give Columbus something that will allow them to either compete immediately or gives them a very, very bright future, and Hudler + the 30th overall pick + Mursak + Tatar does not fall into that category. Frankly, if you want Rick Nash then you're going to have to take a beating on par with, or maybe even worse than, the Kessel trade, and I doubt Holland would be willing to do that.

They should keep the shootout but lengthen the OT to ten minutes. Having ties kills a lot of casual interest, and I can't really imagine why anyone would rather have them over the shootout as long as losing team ends up with what they would have gotten under a tie system.

I'm down for a three point system and a 10 minute OT, but I don't think whatever system gets adopted should punish teams who win in OT. Maybe if they win in the shootout, but not OT. It's not really fair to take points from a team for not being able to break a deadlock until after regulation. The shootout is fine too, since its one of those things that gets non-fans excited and keeps draws, which are cancerous for popular interest, out of the game. These kinds of systems don't really compress the standings that much either. Soccer leagues around the world use the three point system and a lot of them still have very close races for first/playoffs.

When was the last time a 'hard' team won a Stanley Cup? The '07 Ducks?

To be fair, I bet Sharks fans were complaining about Jumbo Joe's lack of dedication last year and every year before that since he came to town. Hell, they still might depending on how they do next round

We need to stop complaining about how we have too many soft, skillful Europeans. Implying that Hudler, Flip, Ericsson, or Salei have any skill any skill at all makes me mad.