WingNut722

@Haliax I'd have to agree with @yave1964 on this one, but you raise a good point. I think this season is a special case. Filppula was let go so he was replaced by Steven Weiss. Good. Can't argue with that. But the wrinkle had to be with Alfie. Had he decided to finish out his career with Ottawa, I think we would see Nyquist (at least) in a full NHL uniform and looking for apartments in Birmingham with the other young'uns. The mystery has all last year has been Darren Helm and Mikael Samulsson. Both guys didn't play much at all, so it's hard to tell whether they fit in or not, and if so, where. These are a lot of questions Holland had to field, and until he had his answers, he was going to hold all his cards. While I think it was a great move and this will be a fun season, Daniel Alfredsson has everything to do with the extra lag time for the AHL call-ups.

@TretiakCCCP20 The Sharks streak is still active.

@TretiakCCCP20 Yep...22 and counting. The longest in all North American Professional sports. Next longest is the NBA's San Antonio Spurs with 16 seasons. The next closest NHL team is the Sharks with 9 seasons.

He'll be an improvement to the Devils given the loss of Kovy and Clarkson over the summer. At this point, they just looking for warm bodies. That's where Brunner comes in. He can score, sure. And the details of his defensive game can be improved once he's in uniform.

@jammer2 Yup, that makes sense. And validates my conclusions! He's too good to try and take the gamble of sending him back to Grand Rapids. It's the Winged Wheel or bust! Either way, Holland's got to get rid of some baggage, and I'm sure he'll be runnin' up the cell phone minutes. Maybe he even had little lunch meeting with Ray Shero this afternoon before tonight's game with the Pens!

Don't count out CLeary for next season yet. LIke you say, "The Love Fest" will continue. Cleary intends to play until he's 39-40 years old. And the elevated cap ceiling next year will allow Holland Co. to extend a multi-year deal to him for the rest of his playing days in the red-and-white, and also make up for the paycut he's taking this year. Darren Helm will likely be back. His back appears to be getting better and the ground strain, while not a simple injury, is temporary. Expect him back by the third or fourth week of the regular season. I expect Holland will deal and live up to the Executive of the Year moniker. Eaves and Emmerton should be traded. There talents are more then covered with the remaining squad. Nyquist will likely be moved but only as a secondary contingent. I also think the Red Wings are bent on keeping Bertuzzi on the ice, but Samuelsson and Tootoo are looking to be moved. Your Top 9 forwards are probably correct (although maybe not in those line combinations) but I would be willing to bet that the fourth line consists of Miller, Helm, and Bertuzzi. Tatar is staying. He's too good to let go so easily, and he can't be transferred to the minors without a trip down the waivers, and that will not end well for the Red Wings. So the Top 12 looks like this: Alfredsson Datsyuk Zetterberg Franzen Weiss Samuelsson Cleary Andersson Abdelkader Miller Helm Bertuzzi And let's put Tatar and Eaves on the bench to be rotated in and out pretty regularly. That leaves Emmerton and Tootoo on the auction block and Nyquist likely back in Grand Rapids to defend the Calder Cup another season. Holland needs to free up about $2.4 million to get under the cap, and this scenario gets him $2.68 million. Plus, a younger team like Edmonton or the Islanders with a bit of cap space left, might appreciate the opportunity to take a young but experienced center with decent capability in the face-off circle, and a fearless, but loyal enforcer who can protect their star talent while they develop. Ya listenin', Kenny???

Indeed, I was! Thank you! I know full well the rest of the team wouldn't stand for juvenile temper tantrums, and I know that Sammy is a professional at heart and enjoys playing the game not matter who's team he's on. As for my part, I value everyone's post here. We have a small, yet talented group of posters on this forum, who really know and enjoy the game, and love to discuss it even more. I'm glad we can all welcome each others' comments and can disagree respectfully with each other. @jammer2 Hoping/Praying for the best for your Mom! It's great to see everyone here and I'm looking forward to another FULL season of Red Wings' Hockey! Let's drop the puck!

@yave1964 There were times when I thought Samuelsson was throwing a two million dollar temper tantrum because he was sore the Wings got rid of him in the first place. "I can't play tonight, Coach. My finger still hurts...!"

@hf101 @SpikeDDS True enough, it doesn't look good for Tatar. Personally, I think Tatar is more valuable than Eaves. He is just as good, but that much younger then Eaves so he's got a lot of career ahead of him. I doubt very much Miller will sit. They went through the time and trouble to work out a nice fat contract extension for him last season. Besides, he's crucial on the penalty kill. Miller will be around. The Red Wings have to unload a lot of money fast so it's time for some teams with a lot of cap space to get some sweet deals on some experienced players for cash and draft picks. Cleary's choice is a smart one, even without my "Red and White stained eyes." He's happy here, and when you're happy, you perform well. It's like any job, anywhere else in the civilized world. Most people would agree to less pay if they enjoyed the work more. Or even look at it more shrewdly...Cleary has a better chance of winning another Cup with Detroit than he does with the Flyers or the Dallas Stars (rumored to also have made him an offer). Additional reports indicate he'll be able to take a bigger bite at the apple next season, when the cap ceiling goes up and Alfredsson retires. If that's the case, expect a nice healthy raise for him. Loyalty is always rewarded.

@yave1964 @SpikeDDS Nevermind...forget I said anything... Cleary just announced he will be signing a 1-year contract with the Red Wings for a reported $1.75 million. Just shows you how much Cleary wanted to stay a Red Wing, if he was willing to take a significant pay-cut, although I'm sure Ken Holland has sweetened the pot with some bonuses. Now Holland & Co. need to unload about $2.4 million dollars in cap overage by September 30. He'll be looking hard to unload the likes of Jordin Tootoo and probably Mikael Samuelsson. Also, don't be surprised if he makes a serious bet on the health of center Darren Helm, and throw in Cory Emmerton to make the deal happen in time.

@yave1964 Been here all along but just didn't have much to say... Some of the Flyers fans on this forum have been indicating rumors that Cleary is using the Flyers offer to drive up his value, comparing him to Shea Weber. Cleary was presented two offers from the Red Wings and turned them both down. Now we signed Weiss and Alfie and are over the cap limit. So I put it to you, imagine if Cleary accepted.... It's doubtful we would have gotten our two headline stars, no? @SpikeDDS Tootoo said in an article with the Detroit Free Press that he's ready to up the ante and fight (figuratively) for a roster spot. He realizes he didn't have a great season which ultimately ended with him on the bench. He has shown in his tenure with Nashville that he can bring the sandpaper AND score goals, but that didn't materialize with the Red Wings like the Brass had hoped. True to form, he's a grinder, and he's just brash enough to dive in where he's needed and battle for pucks down low. He would be key to the fourth line if he produced a few more points.

@yave1964 It will be a shame to see Cleary go. I was always a big fan. He brought something to the table that is never listed on the statistic sheet - leadership and work ethic. Next to Holmstrom, Cleary was a monster in front of the net, followed closely by Franzen. Now it seems Franzen will bear the brunt of the net-front presence and will have to train others to do so. All sings point to a fairly healthy Darren Helm by the beginning of the season, however he hasn't played professional hockey in over a year so it will take him a long time to oil the joints and get back up to speed, literally and figuratively. Weiss has to stay healthy and so does Alfie, otherwise this whole thing is blown. Not to mention Samuelsson and Bertuzzi. Who knows what they're capable of or what kind of shape their in. They could be in for a career-high season, or a complete bust. Holland has to be ready to come the trade deadline. This has to be the biggest "wait-and-see" situation Detroit has faced in the last five years. Let's drop the puck already....

@jammer2 If Lidstrom doesn't skate in the Olympics, you can always see him in the alumni game during the Winter Classic festivities!

@jammer2 I'm sure they would rely very heavily on Datsyuk, Malkin, and Ovechkin to make mincemeat out of opposing goaltenders, which they're sure to do. In fact, those three could be overused, making them less effective in the later rounds when they need it the most.

@jammer2 Would you have Alfie in for say, Gustav Nyquist? Or Alexander Steen? Even if he were on a lower line, I think he could still contribute more than these two (which isn't negative about them, just that they lack overall experience). Bonus question...Do you think Nicklas Lidstrom would be involved at all with this team?

@jammer2 Not a whole lot of difference on D between this team and the team from Vancouver. And of course, in front of Bryz, they finished 6th. I see little improvement in front, with the exception of adding Nail Yakupov, but you're right, Bobrovski is going to make or break this team. However, count on the X-Factor being the home crowd. That alone could put them in medal contention.

@jammer2 Looks good to me. The thing that jumps out at me is the absence of Alfie. Do you think he deserves a shot?

This is the list of players invited to summer Olympic camp for team Russia. Goalies: Konstantin Barulin, Sergei Bobrovski, Vasily Koschechkin, Evgeni Nabokov, Semyon Varlamov Defensemen: Evgeny Biryukov, Denis Denisov, Alexi Emelin, Sergei Gonchar, Andrei Markov, Evgeny Medvedev, Nikita, Nikitin, Ilya Nikulin, Evgeny Ryasensky, Fedor Tyutin, Anton Volchenkov, Slava Voynov Forwards: Artem Anisimov, Pavel Datsyuk, Denis Kokarev, Ilya Kovalchuk, Nikolai Kulemin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Perezhogin, Alexander Popov, Alexander Radulov, Alexander Semin, Vadim Shipachev, Vladimir Tarasenko, Alexei Tereshchenko, Viktor Tikhonov, Mikhail Varnakov, Nail Yakupov If you were organizing the team which 12 forwards, 6 d-men and 2 goalies would you choose? Who would play together on lines? About half of these names currently play in the KHL, If you think others not invited to camp should be on the team, add them and explain why.

In helping HF101 with the Olympic discussion...This is the list of players invited to summer Olympic camp for team Sweden. Goalies: Jhonas Enroth, Viktor Fasth, Robin Lehner, Henrik Lundqvist Defensemen: Jonas Brodin, Alexander Edler, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jonathan Ericsson, Nicklas Grossman, Erik Gustafsson, Victor Hedman, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Erik Karlsson, Niklas Kronwall, Douglas Murray, Johnny Oduya, Henrik Tallinder Forwards: Patrik Berglund, Nick;as Backstrom, Jimmie Ericsson, Loui Eriksson, Johan Franzen, Carl Hagelin, Patric Hornqvist, Marcus Johansson, Marcus Kruger, Gabriel Landeskog, Oscar Lindberg, Joel Lundqvist, Gustav Nyquist, Niklas Persson, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Alexander Steen, Henrik Zetterberg If you were organizing the team which 12 forwards, 6 d-men and 2 goalies would you choose? Who would play together on lines? If you think others not invited to camp should be on the team, add them and explain why.

I guess Bruce Boudreau can't make it....

@Haliax When will the spaceship arrive to pick us up?

@yave1964 @Haliax Would the two of you like to be alone for a while?

I think they were on the right track with this last year. And I'd say....4 out of 5 times, they were right in getting an established rivalry on TV, at least to some degree, But the schedule has to agree with it though. If there's no marquis match-up that particular night, they'll throw anything on there. I guess what they need to remember is that if you don't have an established rivalry playing that evening, just put on the Penguins game...everybody hates them!

Riiiiight...because........... Wait, you lost me.... :wacko:

A number of folks have speculated over the years that the biggest reason for including the Florida teams with the northern teams is due to the large amounts of retirees and "Snowbirds" from the urban centers in the north. The NHL is trying to cash in on those fans who rarely have an opportunity to see their teams live. By the way @Digityman, for my part...stupid names. Why do they have to be "sterile" like the other sports? What was so wrong with naming them after hallowed hockey legends of yester-year?