yave1964

The sad truth is that even tho Parise has a family history in the twin cities, even tho the Wild have a ton of money to spend and want to spend it, the sad fact is Parise will likely wind up in Pittsburgh because they are relevant and minnesota is not. Doesnt seem fair, hope it has a happy ending would love to see the wild get him but they will likely get stuck with a Hudler or semin who will take the money and mail in the effort.

we are not in the Parise sweepstakes now, odviously, so we better get Suter.Samuelson is better than hudler, tootoo at this point is better than homer, the monster is better than Conklin so the boys are going the right way. I dont see the wings getting Nash, but suddenly his contract doesnt look so bad. The more Parise demands the better Nash will look to some team. I read somewhere Franzen and Brendan Smith for Nash was being considered by both sides, I hope not, we are dangerously thin on the blue line and Smith is gonna be a 20 minute plus d-man with offense and a bit of snarl in his game.

The monster has more upside than Joey Mac, but it does seem that they have been looking to replace Mac since they got him.

High reward, low risk deal. He is a swede (surprise!!) who will be a solid backup to howard. Gotta feel for Joey Mac but the Monster is better.....

Hudler had the craziest bunch of goals I have ever seen last year, bounces off his feet, his arm, shots he fired that deflected off the other teams d-men. I cannot think of too many of his shots that were pure goal scorer shots that went in. That said, he still is ahell of a shootout guy, a good teamate, hope we find a way to keep him, but my bet is he winds up in Tampa with Stevie Y.

Outside looking in, Trading Couts plus whatever for Nash, if it gets you a banner is worth it. Ten years from now when Nash is retired and Couts is still scoring 30 plus goals a year for some other team it is worth it if Nash helps carry your team to a cup. Howson is trying for a kings ransom as he should. He doesnt have to trade Nash, and if he does he shouldnt settle for nice complimentary players, he should do the most possible for his team. Rumor has it he turned down Pavelski, Clowe and Demers from the Sharks before the draft. If that offer was on the table and he turned it down he was foolish, that was more than Philly or the Rangers will or should offer. Personally, I think Howson is trying to trade him to the east, Ottawa is where I think he will wind up.

Hudler is my wifes favorite wing but he cannot be worth 5 mill a year....

Hope so too Brotha. I read a few comments about Jagr to the Wings, God I hope not.

If the Wings lose out on the Parise/Suter signings, who out there is worth signing? Parenteau and Carle? Garrison and Semin? And if we can only sign one of the big two, which one should it be? Personally, Suter is a solid d-man who I would love to have, but feel he will go for more money than he is worth. He has played in Webers shadow, has proven himself to be the best number two in the game but as a number one he is unproven. I am not denigrating him, I think he is an amazing talent, but Shea Weber has made him better and without him I am not sure if he is worth 7-8 million a year. Personally, Parise is who I feel we have to sign, along with Garrison or Carle. You can forget about replacing Lidstrom, he comes along once in a lifetime, it is time to change the makeup of the team, Parise scores 35-45 goals a year and is a flat out stud.

I pulled out this year and last years THN prospect report to read up on the Wings picks. A.A. was rated as a high 2nd rounder/low first and Frk (couldnt he borrow a couple of extra vowels from Andreas Anathasiou?) was rated the 9th best prospect last year, and slipped due to injuries. Everything I have read has him as a power forward with a nose for the net. Very excited about the pickup.

Congrats Kings fans on a great run!! I picked them before the season, was sweating it when they were a bubble playoff team, had a couple of friends howling at me when the Kings were on the verge of not making the playoffs. Easily the toughest run of any team ever, and to go 16-4 was remarkable. The scary part (As a Wings fan) is these guys are young everywhere, with guys like King, Voynov and Nolan getting experience and Carter and Richards settling in, pros like Kopitar, Williams and Brown, doughty just reaching his prime and quick emerging as the best goalie in hockey these guys are gonna be a tough out for years to come. Dave York

The Wings have salary galore, even more so if the cap goes to 70 million as anticipated. with all respect to J.P.s little boy, here are the moves I would like to see the Wings make this offseason. 1. It starts with Suter. If we dont get him, everything else is moot. It makes us stronger while weakening the team that knocked us out. 2. Time for Holmstrom to retire. Love ya Homer, but your dead wood at this point. 3. Hear me out- trade for Luongo. We can afford the cap hit and I am still in the minority who feel Jimmy Howard is a product of the team and not as good as his stats appear. Luongo could be had for next to nothing. 4. Trade Howard to the Bolts for Ryan Malone. 5. Sign Parenteau from the Isles. This gets us close to the cap limit, but would put the Wings back on top again. Holland let the boys down last year by not pulling the trigger at the deadline with cap space to spare, hopefully the same doesnt happen again.

Loved Stuarts game the first couple of years, then he quit hitting and playing the tough game he first brought to the team. We need Suter- period, as well as a forward or two. Quincey should be kept, we gave up our first rounder for him, he didnt show much this year but he only has one year left on his contract and if he plays poorly then it is bounce around at a mill a year or khl time. So it all comes down to Suter. With him we have Suter, Kronwall, White, Ericsson, Kindl quincey and Brendan smith, a solid seven deep who can play with anyone. Would love to see the wings add Parise too, dont know if that is possible, but if not Parenteau and or Semin would be fine.

The Wings need Smith and Nyquist to develop quickly and sign Parise and or Suter, or at the least Parenteau and a solid d-man. That will make Babcock a genious again. Fact is, the wings had obvious holes and millions of cap space, as well as pieces to move. The Wings have nobody to blame except Holland for having everything in place to make a move or two and he starved the team. Holland cost the wings a deep playoff run, pure and simple. Love the guy, feel he is a great GM but wow I dont understand why he left everyone high and dry.

I was the final piece by Todd Mcclellan, how hiring him brought a dynasty to San Jose. Or How to keep your team millions under the cap and still win a cup anyway by Ken Holland. Ouch.

Lidstrom, Holmstrom for sure are on the slippery slope and are likely gone. I believe Holland is the best GM in the nhl or at least on the short list but he starved this team down the stretch when they had the money and did nothing with it. Actually going back to last off season Holland missed out on every big name rumored coming here, Jagr, Vocoun, Jovanowski, Wizcniewski, and only added Ian white, a nice complimentery player who had a solid start but did nothing in the second half. If we do not add at least Parise/and or Suter this summer than Holland may see his time here coming to a close. I have read in the hockey news that Babcock may have coached his last game in detroit, that you cannot fire twenty players and it is easier to replace the coach is a given, and sometimes a coaching change shakes up a roster. But who would we add? Paul Mcclean is doing a wonderful job in Ottawa, what about Todd Mcclellan if he gets let go by the Sharks? He knows the system and could be a good hire.......

When Datsyuk scored his goal in the final regulation game of the season against Chicago which locked us in as the five seed, I gotta admit I groaned a little bit. I would have much rather played the Coyotes than the Predators, hell I would have much rather played about anyone in the world except the Predators. I dont think it is a stretch to say that with the Canucks likely being put safely to bed by the kings that the winner of the Predators/Wings series is the likely favorite in the west. Nothing against the blues, but I still think the two best teams in the west are playing against each other tonite.

From nhl.com. 18-6 within division, 22-18 against the rest of the west, not 22-20, my bad.Still 6th in west.

I am a wings fan, but love hockey, follow as much as I can with all teams. Thought this would be the series of series my wife and I both hate Crosby and hoped for the flyers in a tough bloody seven game series. A few observations. I think the Penguins with Crosby back figured they had enough fire power to go toe to toe with any team and beat them in a high scoring slugfest and didnt need to worry about defense. Cindy, Malkin, Neal, Letang, the Pens were favored in Vegas to win it all and they believed their own press notices, figuring they could throw the gloves on the ice and the Flyers would fold. Didnt happen. When the flyers pushed back the Pens have been lost. Giroux, simply put is the best player in hockey. The Flyers play as a team, fight as a team, and frankly have figured out the Pens. Still not convinced they will get past the Rangers who seem to have their number but if they play this way anything is possible. Unlike most teams including my beloved Red Wings, the flyers best players will play a physical game, muck it up and even fight. They leave blood, theirs and the opponents on the ice every game. Hartnell, simmonds, Briere and Talbot scored 100 goals between them with nearly 400 penalty minutes. This team is built for the playoffs and I cannot see anyone ever wanting to play them. Good luck flyers, this team is wildly entertaining win or lose and I will be watching every minute going forward.

The Wings stumbled, fumbled and bumbled down the stretch, slipping from a one seed to a five, playing an amazingly talented Nashville team built for a run this year. This could be an early tee time for the Wings, here are the reasons as I see them. 1. Holland had all the money and prospects in the world to make amove at the deadline and didnt add a forward. Gaustad has owned us in this series, so has Kostitsyn. We did nothing to counter those pickups. If we dont get either Suter or Parise in the offseason Holland has seriously dropped the ball. 2. Darren Helms injury, while I feel that Babcock overvalues him a bit has hurt, nobody else can check and add the element of speed that he has. 3. Jimmy Howard has not been the same goaltender since his injuries, broken finger, pulled hammy, not saying he isnt playing well but he was a vezina candidate before the injuries and I am not convinced he isnt playing through more than he is letting on. 4. Lidstrom is looking old. So is Cleary. White has been average the second half. Quincey has been wretched. 5. Pekka Rinne simply put is the best goaltender in hockey today- period, and this looks like his coming out party. With depth on defense and four lines with skill players running at you this Predator team before Radulov returned was set for a deep run, now they are likely the best in the west. What it would take for the Wings to come back.... 1. Howard playing like the first half. 2. Checking. In game two the wings blocked 17 shots, we have to do that in every game to have a chance. 3. Puck control. The Predators have controlled the puck while the wings look like they are sitting back watching and waiting for a chance. We have to be more agressive in taking the puck away from the Preds and playing our puck control game, not letting them play theirs. Go Wings!!

Two years in a row the Canucks were the only represenative of a very weak division, they beat up on the weak sisters for a undeserved high seed. Against own division 18-6 Against rest of west 22-20 They easily have the best record within their own division of any western conference team but are 6th in the west against non division opponents within the west. The Kings are only one point behind them. When you factor in the addition of Carter to the Kings late, the loss of a Sedin, the stanley cup hangover it should have been odvious really. I picked the Kings and Rangers before the season for the stanley cup, mostly because of quick, Not gonna change now.

They have about three defensemen, two lines and a okay but not spectacular goalie. Thats it. I think they will regret the panic move trading for Winnick, I think he is a zero. This is a team in big trouble this year and moving forward, Marleau and Thornton are getting up there, Couture is good but not a future star, Burns game has more holes than swiss cheese, and the division is getting better. The sharks could realisticly miss the playoffs this year and be irrelevant next year.

A huge difference between the guys we have been running out on the power play and Datsyuk, Bertuzzi, and Lidstrom. Hopefully the guys who have gotten extra ice time lately will take the experience into the post season and build on it.

Thank God!! They have put everything they have out there every night and played hard, but the Detroit Griffins just didnt have enough to compete nightly. 6 points back of the blues may be too hard to make up, we need to hold on over the Predators so we can at least have home ice for the first round..... Good to see the boys getting healthy, hopefully this means they are rested going into the playoffs.

Boudreau still deserves votes for coach of the year. Took a team that was fighting with the Jackets for the worst record in the game to the fringe of the playoffs. Future looks bright with a good offseason.