Calder Winner?

The Hockey News has listed the top five Calder Trophy candidates for the 2009-10 season and Ville Leino is listed as number 4.

"Ville Leino is the most mature among our top crop and will be counted on to provide offense in Detroit."

It's nice to see him getting recognition for his talent, however, this can backfire as well. Some players can't handle the pressure, but I don't think--okay, I HOPE--that it isn't a problem for Leino. He is, after all, older than most rookies and was a star in Finland before coming here, so he knows what pressure is all about. He showed a maturity when he stayed in Grand Rapids last year instead of taking the option of returning to Finland when he didn't get to stay in Detroit. He has some work to do, but should do well this year. Calder winner? We can only hope.

The other four in the top five are: 1) Cody Hodgson, 2) John Tavares, 3) Nikita Filatov, 5) Simeon Varlamov.

The Smile Is Getting Bigger

When I read yesterday that Hossa had a small tear of the rotator cuff, I smiled. Not that I want him to be hurt, mind you, just that this seemed to be a small bit of payback for the way Chicago screwed the Wings. Today the smile definitely got bigger when it was announced that he would, after all, have surgery to repair the damage and would miss the first two months of the season. Whoa! Let the imploding begin?

Huh?

mLive.com has several stories about Hudler's move/non-move to Russia today--and I STILL don't understand what the hell is going on. It seems as if the more it is explained, the more confusing it is. At one point in my reading, I got the understanding that Hudler WILL be staying in the States--with the Wings or through a trade to another team. At another point, it seemed as if he will be going to Russia. As George Malik said, 'something's getting lost in the translation.' Hopefully all of this will be resolved sooner rather than later--and Hudler will be allowed to go to Russia.

Just For Laughs

(Off The Mark by Mark Parisi)

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I TOTALLY understand this woman--I'd be upset if a Wings' game was interrupted, too. (From Not Always Right.)

Customer: *on the phone and angry* “HOW DARE YOU RUN AN EMERGENCY ALERT DURING THE RED SOX GAME?! BASES LOADED!”

Me: “Ma’am, I’m sorry for the inconvenience. We have no control over the emergency alerts.”

Customer: “CAN’T THEY DO IT AT NIGHT?! I’M TRYING TO WATCH THE GAME! BASES ARE LOADED!”

Me: “Again, ma’am, unfortunately the emergency alert will broadcast during an emergency situation; we have no control over when that will happen.

Customer: “WELL YOU BETTER GET SOME CONTROL OVER IT!” *click*

Next Season Schedule

The schedule was announced today and there really isn't much to talk about--they play, that's about it. The home opener will be against Chicago, so that should produce a lot of interest and, possibly, venom to start the year. Pitts and Detroit will play twice again this year and Washington will play in Detroit. While they will play on my birthday, they won't be at home, so no going to the Joe as a birthday gift for me. The Hubby says we WILL get to see a game this year, but I've heard that one before--I'm not holding my breath.

Hmmm...

So, what exactly does it mean to the Wings that Stan Bowman is the new GM for Chicago? Hard to say, but I certainly see Scotty's hand in all of the changes going on there. Despite the fact that Scotty lead the Wings to the Cup, he rubs me the wrong way. I really don't think I would like the guy in real life. Just saying. This season is going to be interesting, to say the least.

Little Gary HAS To Be Thrilled

I can imagine Little Gary sitting behind a very large desk--well, considering what a very small man he is, it wouldn't have to be THAT big--rubbing his hands together and cackling like the Wicked Witch of the West. Since 1 July, he has seen five of the Wings leave and the Hudler situation just made everything a bit more uncomfortable. Losing five players should have been the prize for Red Wing haters, but the league decided it wasn't enough. Despite the Wings NOT arguing Hudler's decision to go to Russia to play, the NHL has stepped in and said he's not allowed to do so--that he is still under contract to the Wings and he can't leave. And so the situation just gets worse for the Wings.

First, if Hudler is forced to come back to Detroit, just how effective of a player will he be? He WANTED to leave and the team he was going to was giving him BIG bucks to play for them. Now, we're talking about $2 mil more per year TAX FREE to play in Russia. THAT is quite an incentive, for sure. And something NO ONE wants to have taken away from them. Would he be able to put aside his disappointment and play as well as he is able if he is forced to stay in Detroit? And would he be satisfied with his role on the team? He said that playing in Russia would increase his on-ice minutes--something ALL players crave--and that he would have a leadership role on the team--something that wouldn't happen on the Wings. NOT a good situation for the team, at all.

And now, with this whole league-contesting-Hudler's-Russian-contract deal going on, Holand's hands are tied when it comes to adding anyone to the team. Without knowing if he has to work in Hudler's salary, Holland can't sign anyone because he has no idea how much money he has to work with. The Wings were willing to let Hudler go, so why should the league make a big deal out of it? (Yeah, yeah, there is the whole bit about future players, etc, etc, etc. Whatever.) It seems as if this is just one more thing that the conspiracy theorists can point to when they talk about the hate Bettman and the league have for the Wings.

For the amount that the Wings would probably have to pay Hudler--in the $3 mil per year area, I would imagine--I say "Let him go!" Filppula is getting $3 mil a year and Cleary is getting $2.8 mil--and Hudler is NOT worth as much as either one of them. Too much money for too little talent. And despite VF's and Cleary's not-as-good-as-hoped season last year, I think both will step it up a lot with Hossa being gone. They both will add minutes and be expected to do better. Hudler is not needed--especially a Hudler that doesn't want to be on the team.