Uh Hi :-)
I got to wonder if Lindstrom will be back. His contract is up and he likely can see this team will not be the super power it has been. Intersting times for you guys in the D. Well atleast has a while to think about it.

Wings are a class franchise. Its hard not to like Datsyuk especially knowing his story. Howard showed he is a very capable goalie and will likely server the wings well in the years ahead. Good series, glad its over.

Well I am let me tell you I got a few "FU" replies back. :-)

Congrats Mike on your Sharks taking the next step.

Wings had a good season considering all the obstacles, and will be right back making things tough in the West next season.

Hoping the Hawks can send Luongo to the golf tees on Monday morn.

No need to rush Tom I am sure the Sharks are in a hurry to play the Hawks. Take your time the Sharks could use the rest.

I don't know who I'm going to root for now in the playoffs :-)

Good win by the Sharks. Team is good and looks like Big Joe is stepping up his play at the right time. Maybe Marleau and/or Pavelski will be in a Wings jersey next year, I wouldn't mind that. :-)

Lidstrom's decision will have a big impact on the team. He leaves and we get about 8 million in salary cap relief but we will have a huge drop off in D. Holmstrom is also a UFA which I think we'll see him back. Hudler is coming back from Russia to sign with the Wings to bring back some offense we lost. Looking forward to see what moves they make.

In non-player moves I hope we can keep Stevie Y in the front office. Ken Holland isn't going to move out of the GM spot anytime soon but if we can keep both of them that will definitely help the Wings future.

Congrats to the Sharks and their fans on advancing. A couple of monkeys have been shed off some people's backs!

Patty wont be going to the D. His wife is from here and he has a child now. He made mention of taking a little less because this is his home and where he wants to be.
We have 2 RFA's and I think the SHarks will be keeping both Seto and Pavs. I also have it on good authority Blake will not be back so there is some money cleared up there. No way the SHarks are letting Pavs go. He has gotten them where they are. Our big issue will be goaltending this summer. Nabby is 38 and seems questionable if the Sharks will resign him. Also I thought Nichol and Malholtra were on 1 year Ks. Will they be able to keep both as they will likely want a raise. Funny both those players took less money to come here because they liked the chance of winning a cup. Hmmmmmmmm.

San Jose Sharks Evgeni Nabokov (UFA) Patrick Marleau (UFA) Joe Pavelski (RFA) Devin Setoguchi (RFA) Rob Blake (UFA) Jody Shelley (UFA)

Detroit Red Wings Nicklas Lidstrom (UFA) Todd Bertuzzi (UFA) Tomas Holmstrom (UFA) Jason Williams (UFA) Darren Helm (RFA) Justin Abdelkader (RFA) Patrick Eaves (RFA)


Chicago Blackhawks Jonathan Toews (RFA) Patrick Kane (RFA) Duncan Keith (RFA) Andrew Ladd (RFA) Antti Niemi (RFA) John Madden (UFA) Ben Eager (RFA) Adam Burish (UFA)

This has changed though right Tom? I thought a few were signed?

All this in mind, I think the Hawks will take the Sharks. Off what I have seen so far in this round they look scarry good and strong.

Toews, Kane and Keith are all signed. The Hawks will buy out Huet's contract to free up some money, and my guess is they will sign Niemi. I think Madden and Eager will be gone, but I hope they keep Ladd, and I am not sure what they will do with Burish. They will likely have to shed some additional salary, so at least one big player (Sharp, Versteeg?) will probably get traded for picks/prospects as well. :-)

Don't be so sure about the Hawks beating the Sharks, I think the Sharks match up well....goaltending will probably be the key to this series. And I am hoping it starts mid-week (Hawks need to finish Canucks tonight at home, so they can have a couple extra days before flying out West again). :-)

Saw some other gear posted here, so of course I have to post my kids newest skates.
He goes through sticks pretty fast too, just bought him a new stick last October and he snapped it in half a month or so ago. Here are the skates, *well* worth the price.
We have found that for kids, if you get the speed down first, everything else comes on its own. We experimented with cheaper ($100 dollar range) skates and quickly learned what good quality will do for you.
I think we paid about $350 for these in Chicago last November:

Image

I tell you I am getting old. I was in the proshop the other day and checked out the new Bauer Supreme One or what ever it is. The skates now only look like skates the materials they are using are crazy. I still have a pair of last gen Pro Tacks. Its crazy to compare the two skates. I know they are supposed to be stronger, but I dont know. The new stuff is light as hell, but the materials are all composite on the outside. How do these hold up?

As someone who has funky feet and has experienced much pain with skates, the skate area is the one area I think you just cant skimp on gear. I still have not told the wife how much his new skates cost. He likes them though and was telling me about how they made him faster. :-) who am I to argue with the kid. He cant wear Bauer.

Even with signing Jiri Hudler back from Russia we will still have $13million in cap space. If Lidstrom doesn't retire he's obviously back, Holmstrom is back, and most likely all the RFA's. I don't see us bringing back either Bertuzzi or Williams. Could be interesting to see how much of a player the Wings will be in free agency.

Not that I really want the Wings to get any better, but here is the formula for success:

Get rid of Bertuzzi and get rid of Eaves. They are cursed.

Bertuzzi Curse

Eaves Curse

The Bertuzzi curse explains everything.

Credit where credit is due...near perfect road game tonight by the Canucks. They clogged up the passing and shooting lanes all night, and though the Hawks had 30 shots, very few were quality chances. Luongo was much improved in rebound control as well.

I look for the Hawks to make some adjustments, and have a much better game Tuesday night in Vancouver.

Well managed road game by the Canucks today. Not to mention an excellent game by Luoongo. Here's hoping they keep it up for Game 6 !!

There you are! Missed your comments after games 2, 3 and 4. :-)

Not a very good game by the Hawks tonight. Here's hoping they will bounce back.

Another 48 hours....meh. Wish they were playing again Monday.

I think we can pull out another win:-) It is hard to play as well as the hawks have been playing in games 2,3, and 4 night after night. I think game 5 was just a little bump in the road, and the hawks just weren't ready for it. Game 6 should be it.

But then we won't see Sat (dabigdog) in the thread!! :-) :-)

Tough one Tom

Win for the hawks, or banter with Sat?? Just too hard for me to choose:-)

Im sure he is looking forward to LOTS of banter in this thread though..:-)