I feel a tiny bit sick… sure, everyone could come back shiny, happy and healed for the playoffs, but the funny damn thing is PEOPLE GET HURT IN THE PLAYOFFS.

Ahem.

And, it’s not so, so much about BRINGING big names here, it’s about getting some other dumbass to take your nonproductive players (Hi Sammy! Hi Hudler! Bye Maltby!)

Ugh, need beers.

This trade is worse than not making a trade. Did Kenny forget how awful Stuart was last season in the first round?

I just hope we don’t play a team that knows how to skate and stickhandle, then Stuart will be fine… so, as long as the Wings transfer to the NBA and start playing basketball, Stuart might be a good pickup.

Upon second thought, I forgot how bad Lebda has been this year, and how bad Lilja will inevitably be when it counts for something.

I don’t know too much about this guy but his career numbers certainly aren’t impressive. His highest +/- is 13, and he had a plus 12 two seasons ago. My hope is that being around great D-men will improve him. I get the sinking feeling, however, that we have just acquired another Ewe Krupp; I hope I’m wrong.

St. James suggests that he will be a top four pairing, with Kronwall. That scares me.

Codeword: ba99d

Not a good sign.

Look at it this way:

He’s healthy and will be a fill-in while guys heal.  If he works out, fine - if not, it hasn’t cost them much of anything.

(Although the way things have been going lately, he might try to refuse the trade on medical reasons because he’s afraid of being next in line for the injury bug!)

it would’ve been a better trade if they’d got him for a 2nd a 4th and Sammy.

I agree, I’d rather give up Sammy than a draft pick.

Good move by Holland overall, though.  Good addition on the d-line, makes us a bit tougher and a bit nastier, I hope.  Still very worried about scoring from people not named Datsyuk, Zetterberg, or Holmstrom.

Still very worried about scoring from people not named Datsyuk, Zetterberg, or Holmstrom.

Indeed!  But Stuart can play the point on the #2 PP with Kronwall.  Moves Sammy off the point (thank God, his damn turnovers).  Maybe the #2 PP will be more productive!!

Hey 58 miles… how ‘bout them Penguins?!

You gonna be in town again soon? Email me.

Put Chelios out there with the 2nd unit. Is Stuart that capable of a puck mover or shooter that he can play point on the PP?

Georgeums sees Lebda as the 7th d-man out if/when everyone is healthy. Where does that leave Meech? I thought he couldn’t be sent down without clearing waivers?

Hey, TD.

I’m in the Penguins broadcast area, so I can watch them all the time now (if I’m so inclined, we’ll have to see about that).

I might head back to T-town for the playoffs, but no plans yet.  Ass-deep in schoolwork for now.  Definitely will contact you.

OSRT:  From the Detroit News:

ASSETS: Is a very gifted skater and makes excellent outlet passes. Has a heavy shot that can be very effective on the power play.
FLAWS: Is prone to mistakes in pressure situations, which has led him into the coach’s doghouse in the past. Doesn’t use his size effectively enough.
CAREER POTENTIAL: Top four defenseman.

pretty much what it comes down to is that he’s like mat schneider. no denying that mat was at his best at the point on PP.

“four games from now when we get everyone back, and let’s get playing.”

Well if that is’nt the rose colored glasses, cup is half full, win one for the Gipper, we didn’t give up when the germans bombed Pearl Harbor, gold plated quote of the day what is? 

Must have rum.....

Georgeums sees Lebda as the 7th d-man out if/when everyone is healthy. Where does that leave Meech? I thought he couldn’t be sent down without clearing waivers?

I believe after the trade deadline teams’ roster limit is gone so they wouldn’t have to send him down.

Ok, so here is what we need to do. This is when everyone is healthy. 

We can have Meech as a defensive reserve, although I suspect he’ll play at some point. We finally take Chief’s suggestion and put Lebda on a wing and make him the official dump and getter. He does that anyway, and rather well, except he always needs to get back. I think that’s a worthwhile experiment.

Glad to hear Stuart has potential. I hope he will be appropriately deferential to Babs, Cheli and especially Nick. If he does, he’ll do some serious damage.

Honestly, the way Meech has played, I’d like to see him stay up with the big boys and get a chance playing the PP point with Kronner on the second unit. I think he’s earned the right, even though they always say you don’t lose a job due to injury, to play his way out of the lineup.

Stuart is a great addition and yes, he should slot in on the second pp unit with Kronwall. With that size, he could play second unit pk as well.  Another very good defenseman, hopefully Holland can sign him with cap room in the off-season.  However, I’m still wondering how we score in the playoffs.  At this point we have to pray that Cleary comes back and he, Filpulla, Hudler, and Franzen get hot in April.

Is prone to mistakes in pressure situations, which has led him into the coach’s doghouse in the past.

you could have described at least a few players like that before they came to the Wings, but players like Lidstrom and Chelios plus the Wings’ system seem to smooth those things out.

He’s definitely a Kronwall-type of player who can play in all situations.  He’s a good addition and he didn’t cost us too much but will he be with us at training camp in September?  I would hazard to guess that after the playoffs, the Wings will probably offer Stuart exactly what they offered to Bertuzzi:  a one-year deal at his current pay.

One thing to keep in mind, he instantly makes the Wings a lot bigger on the blue line.  The addition o McCarty, and what Downey has contributed, should silence some of the “Wings are soft” bs we always have to hear come playoff time.

...should silence some of the “Wings are soft” bs we always have to hear come playoff time.

I don’t think there is anything that can silence that.  It has become conventional (i.e. incorrect) wisdom by now.

Helen St. James at Freep.comhas comments from Holland on the Stuart deal:

Stuart, 6-foot-2 and 28 years old, has five goals and 16 assists and is a minus-16 in 63 games this season. He’ll be a good second-pairing addition, likely to be paired with Niklas Kronwall – which also means that on a nightly basis, either one of Chris Chelios, Andreas Lilja and Brett Lebda will be a healthy scratch.

General manager Ken Holland said he expects Stuart to be at practice Thursday, and should play Friday when the Wings play San Jose. The Sharks, coincidentally, picked Stuart no. 3 overall in the 1998 entry draft. After six seasons with the Sharks, Stuart was shipped to Boston as part of the Joe Thornton trade, and then played last year for Calgary. Stuart is in the last year of a contract earning him $3.5 million (which will be prorated for the remainder of the regular season).

“He gives us one more defenseman,” Holland said. “We think he’s a perfect no. 4 for us. He can play a little bit on the second power play, he can kill some penalties, he gives us some size, he’s abrasive. We played against him last year in the Calgary series, we thought he played real well against us. He gives us depth.”

Personally, I disagree with St. James.  I can’t see the Wings coaches sitting Chelios out of the lineup unless it’s the back-end of a back-to-back.

On the assumption we get everyone back:

Lidstrom/Rafalski
Kronwall/Stuart
Chelios/Lilja

with Lebda and Meech rotating in as the seventh defenseman.

Agreed SYF.  Assuming the “D” get back and healthy, then the backend will have two sets of puck moving D which should help tremendously with the “puck possession” game the Wings like to play—and which in turn should drop the GA/G alot.  Also allows DET to put the body on with Cheli and Lils.

Uh...is there any way we can describe BS as something other than a Kronner-type player?  At least for the first 24 hours?  That just screams “snapped tibia/fibia/collar bone” to me.  I’m trying to learn to love this guy as I do all wings acquisitions.  Let’s keep the romance alive a little longer.

“He gives us one more defenseman,” Holland said.

Which is important since we are running out.

Which is important since we are running out.

A little bit of an understatement, Miss B

The laugh of my day, Baroque!

“One more defenseman”...leave it to Kenny to make the obvious statement.  I think its a good thing - maybe this will give us some confidence in the fact that we didn’t “deal big” and upset the chemistry I hope returns when we get everyone back. The Federov to the Caps bothers me - I guess he wants to play with an up and coming fellow statesman...but I would think Pavel would fit his style of play better. Plus Federov is familiar with our style of play. Oh well… Speaking of the Caps - I’m watching their game on VS (which is in D.C.) and they played the Mortal Combat theme during the fight. That’s going to bring in someone flipping the channels on cable for sure...Thanks Gary.

Who’s this “Federov” character I’ve been hearing so much about?

/petpeeve

[Who’s this “Federov” character I’ve been hearing so much about?/quote]

I once sent an e-mail to some bottled water company in Quebec about spelling his name incorrectly in a promotion. They sent me an apologetic form letter and a coupon for a 1 litre bottle of water.

Posted by Arthur2sheds  on  02/26  at  10:25 PM

Fedorov.

There.

My spelling skills suck and I know it.

conventional (i.e. incorrect) wisdom

Hey, somebody’s been studying Freakanomics!

Man.  I come home to sit down to a dinner of strong cheddar (as an offering to the gods/tribute to the Chief) and vegetables, trying to keep my mind off the fast-onrushing 1500 EST deadline.  Drunk on cheese, I proceed to watch half an old Sam Raimi film (Crimewave), put a couple of glasses of whiskey on top of dinner, then go to bed.  Woken up early by a coworker, against my better judgment I peek at what went down.

Aside from the Hossa trade, I don’t think anyone made the big ‘rental splash’ like what went down last year.  Pittsburgh overpaid, but everyone else looks reasonable, except that the Dive got Foote for a song.

As for Stuart, the trade that I think more than a few of us saw coming, I don’t think I’m the only one who feels distinctly ‘eh’ about this trade.  There’s good trades and bad trades and this isn’t either one.  He gives us physicality and toughness, and maybe better offense on the power play (though I think as others do that Meech should get the point on the second PP unit), and maybe it allows us to put Lebda up front.  You can be sure Lilja is too dumb to crosscheck an opposing team’s star player in the spine, thus causing him years of chronic back problems, so he’s an upgrade in nastiness.  And maybe with the right coaching and the right system, he can cut down on the defensive lapses.  And not much was given up for him if he turns out to be a rental, especially with some of the young defensemen ready to come up.

But as George said on Snapshots, this deal really is only worth it if and only if he regains his top-four form, and if and only if he signs an extension after the playoffs.  Wings have the cap space to resign him and the RFAs/UFAs (with the exception of a few players whom we should let walk) and still sign Hank to the extension he deserves, so hopefully this all works out for the better.  Otherwise, I would have just as soon seen them hold their hand at the bell.  Stand pat, keep the picks and maybe go for it next year.

Oh well.  Least we salvaged a much-needed point out of the game last night.  I’m gonna watch the second half of Crimewave.  If it’s at all like the first, it’ll be a far more entertaining show than Deadline Day ‘08.

Hey, somebody’s been studying Freakanomics!

Nah, just get tired of people who parrot the same old stereotypes - about women, Americans, hockey fans, northerners, etc. - all widely held and no less stupid for that fact.

As for Stuart, the trade that I think more than a few of us saw coming, I don’t think I’m the only one who feels distinctly ‘eh’ about this trade.  There’s good trades and bad trades and this isn’t either one.

My reaction?  Thank god they got a defenseman who isn’t injured yet!

Least we salvaged a much-needed point out of the game last night.

Could have been worse.  Ottawa was shut out again, this time 4-0 in Boston.  And they have most of their guys healthy, so there is no reason for them to play like poopsicles.

Nah, just get tired of people who parrot the same old stereotypes

The world’s full of them.  One of the principles of Freakanomics as practiced by Stephen Levitt is that conventional wisdom is conventionally unwise.  That something gets to be conventional wisdom because enough people believe it, not necessarily because it’s true.  If conventional wisdom dictates that the Wings are soft, then commentators and journalists I’m sure will continue beating that dead horse long after Downey turned Laperriere into a terrapin.

isn’t injured yet

Please don’t jinx anything.  Please?

Ottawa was shut out again

Yeah, looks like most teams have figured out what Anaheim did last spring-- shut down their top line and they have nothing else to throw at you.  That being said, I’m not too worried about Ottawa-- all they’re chasing us for is the President’s Trophy, the singularly most useless piece of hardware since the Tip O’Neill Award.  Next time I want to actually care about what they do is Game 1 of the 2008 SCF.  I’m more worried about keeping a healthy distance at the top of the conference, between ourselves and the Pacific Big Three.

BTW Baroque, what are you doing up at this hour?  On your side of the Atlantic, the sun has barely even risen.  You okay, sweetie?

My favorite conventional wisdom is “women aren’t that good at science and math.”

My mother majored in math and got a second degree in computer science, I’ve worked in a string of analytical laboratories, and my sisters are an engineer and a veterinarian. 

Ottawa doesn’t worry me - I just kind of hope they keep sliding so Montreal can get a stronger position in the playoffs.  I’m holding out hope for a Montreal v. Detroit Stanley Cup Final.

You okay, sweetie?

Don’t know - head all stuffed up so I couldn’t sleep.  Some kind of creeping crud is going around and everyone is getting sick.  (Fortunately the secretary in my building isn’t playing martyr and is staying home with her strep to recover.)

This week is busy with end-of-the-month tasks, but I think I’ll take a personal day Friday and sleep in.  Nothing like a three-day weekend to shake off a minor bug.

(And you’re lucky I like you.  The last time someone called me sweetie, the glare I gave him almost made him pee his pants.) J/K

I’m holding out hope for a Montreal v. Detroit Stanley Cup Final.

I’d settle for Detroit vs. Any Original Six Team.  Would rule out the Hawks, of course.  And of those in the East, Montreal looks the most likely…

Some kind of creeping crud is going around and everyone is getting sick

Here too.  I was laid up with some Bug of Doom that had every single symptom of influenza except a fever in January.  I would have blemed it on one of our customers if it weren’t for the fact that everyone seemed to have it.  It was absolutely wicked, and I’m still shaking off the lingering cough.  I’m calling it avian flu in order to keep people away from me.  In any case, the only thing that seemed to alleviate it was painkillers and a hot toddy-- let me know if you want my recipe.  I didn’t get it from my grandmother (didn’t know either one), but it’s from a genuine old Irish lady with white hair and a massive surreptitious liquor cabinet.  Hot toddies go very well with a three-day weekend.

the glare I gave him

Online, nobody can see you glare…

Lesson duly noted.  I’ll stick to bland regional obscure terms of endearment from now on.  All right, duck?

Man, I wonder how much I’m pissing off the Chief with non-topical talk.  I’ll cut it out now.

Andrew: I talk about Rocky Balboa, Tenacious D, firetrucks, hookers and puppies.  I reference Boston songs and express a deep hatred for Bob Dylan.  I’ve discussed Tranvestites in Denver and moonshine in Nashville.  Just this morning I wrote a post around a spam email from Liberia.

My favorite post of all time still remains my ode to America’s favorite Ho.

Do you really think I have a problem with you going off topic?  Stay strong brother.

Online, nobody can see you glare…

I know, and ‘tis an irritating feature of the internet, indeed.

All right, duck?

Now that’s just cruel, to evoke Anaheim.