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Which is better than 99.9% of other hockey bloggers out there. Wait 'till his reports from Traverse City start rolling in next month. I guarantee you will not find a more thorough analysis of the days events even from "Professional" beat writers.

Personally, I would have Jim Hughson in the top 10 at least.

The thing is, if Crosby was a Red Wing, he wouldn't have the personality/attitude issues that he does, the team wouldn't stand for it. So that analogy doesn't really work. For it to work, you'd have to assume that Crosby the Red Wing would be the same whiny, petulant brat as Crosby the Penguin.....and we know that ain't true. So yeah, if Crosby was a Red Wing, everyone here would love him. Not only would he still have the talent, but he wouldn't be an insufferable jackass. *looks in corner* *sees two-year-old basset hound sleeping* *wonders what he does when the rest of us are sleeping*

#13 and #19. Good numbers to have.

That's not totally true. Haven't we seen it where even other hockey players were saying he whines a lot and we have seen the diving first hand. those are people that do know him fairly well so i would say Majsheppard has a fairly close assessment of him from everything from what fans have seen and players alike. Although I do feel he was thrown into it a little too fast being the so called "face" of the nhl and all before any nhl games were played. I is hard on a young kid sometimes to be thrown into something like that too early.

And misses, then blames it on the officiating claiming he was slewfooted by a passing basset hound.

I was definitely a fan of bringing Smith in. I'd have preferred him over Conklin. Smith is better than Conks and has plenty of potential. If he plays to his best, even just based on past performance, he could take the job away from Howard. Fleischmann would have cost far beyond what he would have brought for the Wings, Upshall would have been good for the Wings, and Theodore would have been meh. Wiz would have been an excellent pickup at a reasonable price. He brings everything White brings, but he has a higher level of offense which would have replaced the loss of Rafalski's production. He also would have been a definite upgrade over Ericsson in every possible respect in the lineup.

Crosby kicks puppies. esteef

I hope he comes back. There's nothing better than beating your rival when they have no excuses. If Crosby is gone, I'll lose a lot of hate for the Pens. And it can be just as fun to root against a team as it is to root for a team. So hurry back Sid, and may you find yourself running into a KronWall soon.

Unfortunately it's the Hockey Hall of Fame, not the Role Model Hall of Fame. What he does with his hockey skill set will determine whether or not he gets in, not whether he whines or dives.

what poor ethic, gamesmanship, sportsmanship? My main knock about Crosby in that arena was I'd never heard him credit the other team's players in a loss. And the first couple seasons he did a fair amount of whining and diving. But all that seems to be improving and he's only 24. When asked what player he'd build a team around, he picked Zetterberg for chrissakes. And he's always been gracious about crediting his teammates. So I don't see what's so disgraceful about how he conducts himself, especially compared to other star players like Henrik Sedin, Joe Thorton, and even Ovechkin. Don't get me wrong he's definitely got some quality about him that makes it easy to hate him, screaming like a little girl when he scores. Being generally a goober or something, and mostly just because he's so friggin good, but there's no question he busts his ass out there. I guess that's just a long way of saying that if we're talking about poor sportsmanship, there's plenty of guys I'd pick over Crosby, even if we're just limiting it to star players.

Milbury will be tending the bar.

It is, very literally pitts headache.

Karma for carrying Matt Cooke on their team. esteef

I agree. Also, victory is sweeter when you beat a worthy opponent.

My predictions... - Pavel leads the team in fighting majors - The Mule throws out his back due to a particularly nasty sneezing fit & misses half the season - Huds gets caught in another prostitute scandal in December & decides to retire from hockey to join a monastery - Despite Hudler's retirement, Eva still predicts a 70+ pt 2011-2012 season for him & wonders why he's not getting time in the top 6 - Hank's beard becomes even more manly in an effort to make up for the loss of Drapes' Chuck Norris playoff beard - Mike Modano re-signs with the Wings to become a flight attendant on RedWingsIII - Brett Ledba signs a big contract to play in the KHL only to find that even in Russia, his name is still pronounced "pylon"

Are you seriously saying what someone posted on here is stupid? seriously after the wondrous stuff you have posted about Hudler? wow. hahaha Keep it up champ.

Sorry, he was *on pace for* 40, the year he had 34... why don't you make some of your own instead of swinging from my coat-tails champ? Or should I just make yours for you - "Hudler will score 164 pts and reach 50 goals, all while saving children from burning buildings and preventing world war"

Modano is the only possible suspect, as Harold mentioned, and he's no longer on the team. Homer sucks defensively, Hudler is no star in his own zone, Bertuzzi is mediocre. But those guys all work hard in the defensive zone. They just aren't as good at it as guys like Dats, Z, Helm, or Flip. Franzen knows what to do to play defense; it used to be his job. He just doesn't do it. Brunnstrom's best year by the age of 26, with top-six ice time, was 29 points in 55 games, or pace for 43 points. Hudler scored 37 in 73 last year, which included a huge scoring slump. Brunnstrom played top six in Dallas, Hudler has always been third line or below in Detroit. Brunnstrom is also consistently criticized by every scouting report for failure to backcheck, inconsistency, etc. Hudler's performance last season was, effectively, as good or better than anything Brunnstrom has EVER produced. And it is being called terrible. If you prefer Brunnstrom, that's fine, but you are also welcome to the unfortunate results of such a choice. Of course, the fact that Brunnstrom's ceiling closely matches a year that was very disappointing by Hudler standards, and has people calling for a 'bounce-back' year, tells me all that needs to be said.

I have several issues with this: What has Crosby done to give indication that he is "bigger than the game?" He didn't get his concussions from getting stood up at the blueline. Lindros kept skating through the middle with his head down, probably from growing up playing against guys so much littler than him. This is no way the same thing as what happened to Crosby. Crosby isn't even in the top ten of divers in the league. He did it more early in his career, but he's nowhere near what half the Vancouver and Sharks teams were doing in the playoffs. Losing one of the best players to ever play the game is going to hurt the league for more than marketing reasons. I get sick of all the Crosby marketing and wish they'd spend more time promoting other players, but that's not Crosby's fault. Honestly I hate the little f***. I think he's still kind of immature and he has some little-***** like quality that's easy to hate. But he's 24 years old. There's still time to grow up. And he's an incredibly talented player who works his ass off. I just don't get how so many hockey fans would want one of the best players in the game not to be able to play. Even if just to hate him when the Wings play. I've hated a lot of great players over the year, in part for that reason, because they were great and they kept schooling my favorite players. But it makes it so satisfying when you defeat them. It makes for great rivalries.

If you don't want responses, don't post. I'd call you champ, but you have yet to earn it.

Have I ever claimed Hudler achieved a full-season statistical mark (such as 40 goals) he never actually reached? Anyone? Thought so.

You know what I think I am going to do? Start a thread asking people to post third line players who suck because they are relied upon for offense and only puy up around 40 points in a given season. I don't think the list will be very long.

Crap I just wrote a long response and the kitten hit refresh on the keyboard. So here is the abridged version. Many writers believe class counts for something in getting into a hall of fame. I believe fame should be dependent upon how they hold themselves as a person. He dives, he whines, he acts in a way that if my son did that I would scold him. He does things that non-marquee players would be called cheaters for... It isn't all on him, it is the superstar culture but he does act poorly, especially for a hockey player. Do I think that will keep him out? No. It might if he retires now. Also he really hasn't the numbers to get in, the reverse Osgood argument. I put it this way. Hypothetically, if he plays 10 more years and because of his concussion he has balance issues that lead to him never getting more than 30 pts again. Would he get in the hall with 16 years and about 900 pts? I don't think he does. Based on that rational, I don't think he gets in if he were to retire now. His entire career, albeit impressive, is not complete therefore you wouldn't bestow that lock upon him.That is all I was saying about your statement about him being a lock no matter what happens. I think it premature. Honestly, I will use every argument used against Osgood and others because I only think it fair to be consistent. I might be wrong about him being a lock, but that is my viewpoint. I am however quite confident that beyond skill, there is nothing impressive about Crosby as a human being and I dislike his attitude. That should count for something when there are people looking up to him.

This thread is not geniuous enough without that girl named Carman! Where are you, Carman?