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I support the players you listed, and I also support big goons who have no talent other than intimidating people and punching them in their faces. And no I don't care that those players don't skate well or score points. Just being completely honest with my feelings on this.

I gave you a +1 for positively enforcing honesty.

I gave you a +1 for being honest.

The game changed and so did the Wings. That's why we stay on top. Also I hate to break it to you, there are more and more Europeans being brought to the NHL. Less Russians, but an influx of Swedes and Fins. It's only a matter of time before the "guys who can take a punch from Orr" are gone form the game. Dallas Drake was a special player. Look at his age, though, he was near the last of a dying breed. There are maybe only a handful of guys in the league that fight and score on a regular basis. The only person on the Wings I'd replace with a guy who makes the same as him, or slightly more, would be Miller. i think Miller is highly replaceable, but as I've stated before is that our 3rd and 4th lines are the best in the NHL. Why would you want to change that? And there is no such thing as an intimidating "corner digger". Wings have two of the more devastating open ice hitters in the league. Picky picky.

Something to note in regards to the 'replace Miller with a fighter' sentiment that's so popular around here. When this team is healthy, Miller is in the pressbox. No one helps the team from that position, so to me it seems pretty pointless to worry so much about the bottom of the bench. Guys like Miller and Mursak are great bench players. Cheap and capable of contributing in a lot of different situations or roles, even if not at a very high level; but at the same time, you're not really missing anything when they're not in the lineup. Makes more sense to me to either aim higher and replace someone like Hudler or Flip with someone like Ott, Clutterbuck, Ruutu, Brown, Boyle or even Neil looked decent when Ottawa was good. Granted some may have bad contracts and or be too hard to get, but the principle remains. Or alternately, and probably better, replace someone like Bert, Modano, or even Hudler with someone like Konopka and use the money savings to upgrade someone else to compensate. Bottom pair defensemen also make a good spot to insert these types of guys.

It's just un-original bad music.

Hah! Don't make me laugh. Sorry, but big does not = tough. At no point, other than the occasional rare fight, have I seen Ericsson display a true mean streak. I'd say he's about as intimidating as Eric Daze.

Give me Danny Cleary and all the intangibles he brings over a knuckle dragger any day.

This poll is terrible. Prust is the only guy that can actually play hockey. The other two are garbage. If the poll was "Would Prust be a welcome addition to this team", I would have said yes. But you have two pylons. 2/3 are pylons so I was forced to say no. Prust would look good in a Winged wheel, as he actually has talents and is really starting to come into his own since last season. Neil and Prust ar emuch much better players than Konopka and Rupp. That's like saying would you trade Helm for a player like Eaves/Miller/Filppula/Franzen? There is such a huge discrepancy in skill and point production.

I just read the best idea for Nabby yet. Tell Snow you're ready to play. Show up, play a period or so, then fake an injury. It's been working for DiPietro for years now. Then he can go where he wants when the season is over, and there's nothing the Isles can do about it.

Filppula has almost 50% more points than Fischer and makes 1.2 million less than him. AND you want to give away a pick/prospect with Filppula? Does your obsessive fascination with men touching each other blind any logic or reason from your mind completely, or is it only 90%?

Great, Chad's a Red Wings fan. And when he plays in Ottawa, he's a Sens fan. In Toronto, he's a Leafs fan. He's also a musician who has made a lot of money off bad music. And I'm not jealous or a "hater". I just want them to break up or retire so I never have to listen to them ever again.

Larsson started the season playing in Europe, but he is doing so on an NHL contract on loan to a European club. Nabokov was playing in the KHL on a KHL contract. Larsson could be brought up to the Wings without having to clear waivers.

Also the only reason Nabokov would have signed with Islanders is money. They would have had to pay him real salary.

Barking up the wrong tree is right.

This. And the success of the Wings power play lately demands that we go 5 on 4 as often as we can.

turning down fights is not always a bad thing when the other team loses an inferior player for 5 minutes. i remember abdelkader was going to go with iginla (bless him) but the refs got in the middle - that would have been a good trade. a few years ago cleary went with pronger to get him off of the ice for 5 minutes. we have really smart players.

Punching people and being punched...that does not make you tough. A goon with no skill might be tough, but not because he fights. Toughness is being able to overcome adversity in the forms it manifests itself as. For the Wings, it often seems to be an opponent where many of you guys start flipping out because we don't have an enforcer. But the Wings get through, because they have tough players like Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Holmstrom, Draper, Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Osgood. You can have your team full of Colton Orrs and Derek Boogards. I'll take a team full of Zetterbergs, Datsyuks, Lidstroms, or Kronwalls.

Yes they can. One, possibly two, no more than three on a team is enough if you want to win regularly. Drake was awesome for us because he had a niche that he filled well. A whole team of Drakes will get you a lottery pick. Plus, find me a tougher guy in the league than Holmstrom. He gets his ass beat more than anyone on a regular basis. Is he not tough?

Enforcers don't really win cups. They're nice to have, sure, but I'd rather have a scoring, producing forward...than just to fill a slot with an enforcer. Enforcers have a clearly defined roll in the NHL, but it is not a critical role for a team to be successful, and certainly not required for a team to win a Stanley Cup. I don't know if this guy has been watching games or not, but it would seem more fitting if he wrote an article on our increasingly faltering defensive strategies. The Enforcer debate is what people who have no idea what they're talking about use to criticize the wings. Guys who write articles like the Free Press article in the OP, are the jerk sticks who have written articles about the Wings being "Too Old" for the last fifteen years in a row. The Freepress is only useful if you're old, and gullible. In order to qualify to be a writer for them, you have to exhibit a complete lack of knowledge of the subjects you're suppose to be covering. A grasp of English helps as well, but it is not essential

So, what's wrong with Larsson?

Crosby has a concussion, he is still not practicing and has missed a lot of games. Datsyuk had a charlie horse that caused him to miss 1 period before the ASG. Lidstrom had tendinitis and missed no time. I think Crosby's condition is a little more serious, and it's probably not a good idea to attend an event like this with an injury as serious as his. We all know the Wings, Holland, Datsyuk, and Lidstrom were "embellishing" the injuries to allow them more time to rest. Get over it OP.

Nice post. Agreed with everything said here. Does this guy realize that this is year and last year (i think) are the first couple of seasons in a while where we havent had an enforcer? Weve had may, and downey around the last few years to help keep the cheap shots away. I believe the wings will have some enforcer type players coming up in abby (who also brings skill to the table) and callahan. nothing to worry about here. Im sick of these teams who come in with 4 roster spots of goons and think theyre the s***. ill take the banners over PIM all day long baby.

I don't understand. They're not the Broad Street Bullies but they do hit in about even numbers with their opponents. When they play a tough team they usually step it up and often outhit them (Anaheim, for example). And to say they play with no heart is ridiculous. When the games matter they throw it all on the line. Anyone who watches them recognizes their patented 3rd period comebacks. They may not play 100% all of the time, but they never, ever give up and usually find ways to grind out wins.

Oh the Cap world... Stealing away both Alfie and Sarge would be interesting. Stupid rules. This year Mike Fisher's value to me is a chance at an affair with Carrie Underwood.