Detroit Red Wings & the NHL

[Mike]

They're really dinged up right now but at least they should be relatively healthy for the playoffs. I guess Zetterberg will just have to score a hat-trick tomorrow night

[Hannibal]

Is Cleary back yet?

[Optimus Prime]

Sid cleared to play against Rangers this Thursday, League needs its SuperStar.

[Paul L]

Thank God; I haven't slept a wink in months.

[Optimus Prime]

Oh you are such a card. Wait until Crosby rules the playoffs!

[Optimus Prime]

Wings drop another on the West Coast, first star of the game Drew Doughty was impressive, of the best D men in the League.

[Hannibal]

Detroit is screwed big time until they get healthy.

Thanks to the salary cap, virtually nobody in the league can afford an injury to a big star on top of a few other guys. The Wings lost next to nobody important all year long until Datsyuk went down. This is one of the things that I despise about the salary cap. The team that wins the cup is the one lucky enough to not get anyone hurt. In 2009 Detroit would have won that series in 5 games if half the team hadn't been hurt.

[Tony G]

Avoiding injuries is almost always one of the things that happen with championship teams

[Hannibal]

That's true, but it's even more critical than it used to be. The Wings haven't played a season without a major rash of injuries in either the regular season or the playoffs since 2006. That includes '08, when the entire blue line was hurt for a month, but at least they were healthy for the cup run (even though Franzen got a concussion). Last year injuries absolutely cost us home ice in the second round against San Josey, and then Franzen being hurt may have cost us the series.

I also hate the salary cap because it destroys championship teams. I don't think that it's good for the game where if you win a Cup, you should expect your team to scatter to the wind because half the guys are going to get a pay raise. That's what happened to Chicago. And it's not like Chicago bought themselves a team with free agency. They built that team from the ground up with young stars, which is how it should be. IMHO you should get some kind of salary cap discount for players that you drafted.

[Optimus Prime]

Honestly I've always felt that Detroit had routinely enjoyed depth and strength by committee when compared to other clubs.

[Mike]

Cleary was back last night, Hanni. That game was brutal and they followed it up with a 4-0 loss tonight in Anaheim. They won't hold onto home ice as long as the B team is out there. Only 2 points up on Nashville for 4th.

[lineygoblue]

And the news on Lidstrom isn't real good either. He said he was in more pain after skating on Wednesday ...

[Optimus Prime]

Tough loss, Ducks are still 9pts out of the final playoff spot in the West after essentially squandering their season. In positive news......Crosby returns tonight against New York.

[Hannibal]

IMHO something else that you are seeing with the Wings right now is a combination of 15 years of drafting late and trading away picks to win cups. Detroit simply does not have any young impact players who can step up if one of their stars goes down. The last few years, I haven't been impressed by the talent pipeline at all. The Wings have picked up adequate penalty killer/role player types like Drew Miller and Darren Helm, but it has been a long, long time since we picked up a legitimate 30 goal scorer or top 4 defenseman.

[Mike]

Good point. When I was at the game in LA on Tuesday I felt like the construction worker in Major League. "Who are these fuckin' guys?"