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It should be Kronwall who is next for an A on his jersey.

Seems to me that if he really was dogging it or lazy some days he'd just admit it. His interviews seem to be about as honest as possible so I think he'd have no problem saying something like "I wasn't motivated in Philadelphia so I stopped trying". Since he hasn't said that I do feel like he may have been given a shorter leash and probably became a skating scapegoat for any internal problems in the locker room because it was easiest to blame him (speaks russian, keeps to himself and costs very little money).

I was actually quite impressed about how articulate and honest he was. His perspective is unique

I prefer the "He's lazy and he sucks" variety myself.

Anyone else pumped about Klinsmann being our new USA head coach? I know I am. Should have got him awhile ago tbh.

people can work themselves up to type multiple paragraphs on zherdev huh

unless Babcock feels the same way about Kronwall deserving an A as he did about Datsyuk deserving one back then which is entirely possible given some of those quotes

Sidney Crosby. The person below me can't wait for Red Wings hockey to start up again.

just something I feel the need to point out: it was exactly the same this year

No preferential treatment for celebs = fine by me. In this day and age, everyone knows the ramifications of drinking and driving. Jail time on the first offense could inspire folks to never ever do it again. I like Arpaio’s set up. I think that jail/prison time should be hellishly uncomfortable. Basic human needs for survival met, and nothing else. Make going to jail/prison so distasteful that folks actually think twice about breaking the law. Chain gangs. Love em. Make criminals work their asses off for several reasons....help pay the cost of their time in the system, improve the local community, give them a good, solid work ethic so that when they get out they will be in the "get off your ass and go to work" groove. Tents are good enough for soldiers. I like that, too.

Be fair...you're taking that out of context. The question was if he felt that players with big contracts get extra pressure to produce and thus play in the top 6 and if he felt that that was part of why he wasn't in the top 6. He said no, he didn't think money had anythign to do with role and that it was evidenced by the fact that there were players in the top 6 who made less than him. He was essentially saying that if salary indicated role (top 6 for big bucks) that he would have been on one of the top 2 lines. THe fact he doesn't believe that to be the case implies that he wasn't acting in an entitled fashion. Whether or not that's true is up to everyone to decide but don't take the guy's comment out of context.

I guess Homer will never get one, despite his longevity with the team. I'd give it to Hudler. He has all the qualities you'd want in a leader. He skates hard on every shift, constantly goes to the net, rarely takes games off, and is responsible defensively. If not Hudler, I'd give it to Aaron Downey, just because he's Canadian and he fights. Who cares if he's not playing anymore.

when has Helm ever not given 100%? Sometimes, last year it felt like he was the only one on the team willing to skate.

Oct-Jan and March-June C- Lids A- Dats A- Zata A- Kronner When we hit our Annual February Injury Blight (you know the one- where we are missing half the roster and people throw tantrums because we lose an occasional game) C- Lids (will not get injured) A- Tatar (until he gets injured) A- Exelby (until he gets injured) A- Janik (until he gets injured) A- Hudler (won't get injured; will instead lead the team in scoring) A- MacDonald (due to the fact that he's the only call-up left who doesn't have an Ohio license plate)

Why are you so sure?! Why would Bab do such stupid thing? Why do you think Lids and Zetta would agree? Just (try and) picture this: Scotty goes to Larionov and ask if he stop drinking his regular glass of wine every day... Remember there is a difference between having trouble with drinking and living a normal life. If this Dry Island story is true, Carter and Richards are the only normal guys there, who would not comply with stupidity and object anyone, even a head coach, who interferes with their personal life.

That's a nonsense argument. He knows it's never the case. Take the Flyers of last season, for example. Van Riemsdyk, Leino (basically) and Giroux were more valuable to the Flyers than Zherdev and were on ELCs. Zherdev was paid $2m, which is not 'prime scorer' salary and barely ranked in at sixth for forward salaries. There's no doubt in my mind that he knew at least Leino and Giroux would be played above him, in addition to Briere, Richards, Carter, Hartnell and Versteeg (who all made more money than he). Professional athletes should not need to make explanations for why they behaved like immature slobs. They should simply not behave like immature slobs, especially considering the amount of money they're paid.

That's what I was thinking. I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure there was (minor) talks with a couple of our guys in recent years (abby, smith) about the way Red Wing's handle themselves off the Ice was there not? Even so I just can't help but think if Bab's went to Lids and Zetterberg with the same idea you wouldn't even hear about it, they would do it for a month as a team and move on. I've been a part of "experiments" like this for hockey as well as in a work setting too. As soon as a couple people dont participate it gives the whole thing kind of a meek out look and works in the opposite way. Perhaps when Laviolette saw it going this way he should have pulled the plug on the experiment and tried something else? Or maybe I'm looking way to much into something that was never even a problem? Weird scenario to me but alas it doesnt really matter now and I wish Carter and Richards the best of luck on there new teams. Unfortunately we will see them up close a lot more this year!

don't you think, you (if you were Laviolette) should talk to your captain and alternate captain first and then come up publicly with that stupidest idea only if they are in?

Whatever. Whether they liked to drink or not, they were still the best players on the team. I wouldn't want a coach telling me how to live my life either. I bet in time they willl be glad they got traded away. LA will be better than philly next year anyway.

he will not make it in, nor should he.

I am surprised at almost everyone thinking it's not a big deal they didn't take part. Obviously people will get wind of a story and it will become a small game of broken telephone, but don't fool yourself there was indeed a story for the wind to blow. When the your new head coach (Laviolette) ask's "team" to take part in a "dry island" experiment there are 2 important things to consider... ... 1- The coach see's an issue (which could be a number of things in this scenerio) and thinks he has a solution through a team building exercise. 2- The Captain and Assistant Captian choose not to take part in the exercise displaying, imo, very juvenile and self righteous attitudes. If I was Peter Laviolette new to a dressing room and my two top players, not to mention "leaders" choose not to participate, I would have cursed those two f***ers under my breath for sure.

I have always found this argument awfully flawed. Bringing a known locker-room cancer onto the team is damned well not a low-risk venture. Part of the Wings` success over the years has lay in the fact that they do not bring in players who cause problems behind the scenes. Everyone on the team gets along, and everyone either works hard and behaves well or finds himself going the way of Leino, Williams and Avery. Do not underestimate locker room dynamics in their relation to how the team performs on the ice, nor in how they relate to players wanting to come to the Wings. Frankly I don't give a damn if he wanted to be on his old teams or not, and indeed he shouldn't have signed with them if he didn't like them. He consistently had a bad attitude and put forth substandard levels of effort while being paid a high-level professional athlete's salary. And his story about the problems he supposedly had in Philly that kept him from succeeding are meaningless in light of the fact that he's had the exact same problems with attitude and with his coaches on both of the other NHL teams he's played for. The fact that every single team passed on him when he was put on waivers rather than risking putting up with him for the last two or three months of the season demonstrates how troublesome a player he is to any team he's on. Honestly, how many talented players get completely passed over, especially when their contract is ending and they aren't being paid that much? What does that tell you about him? If any of you think that he's suddenly being honest, is willing to work hard, and isn't responsible for his laziness and piss-poor attitude last season, then I won't hesitate to call you gullible. The guy wants a job. He wants to get paid. He knows he has a bad reputation. Once he gets on a team, he's guaranteed a salary. I don't doubt that he'll say whatever he feels will help him get that.

Sounds to me like hes just whining about not being in the top 6, which he didn't deserve anyway. Complaining that players who make less money than you are getting more minutes? Give me a break. He makes it seem like there's some evil dark conspiracy against him. Laviolette is a coach, and a smart coach at that, and is simply icing the best team he can.