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Exactly. We've got a couple guyys like Smith and Callahan coming up who can provide that snarl and play regular minutes hopefully but Heaten thinks they should soften up and not ever fight or play like they always have just in case they might get hurt. Thats just stupid. These are the guys you win cups with. And Heaten noone said mindless goons carried Detroit in 08, but if you dont think that team was by far the toughest in the playoffs Detroit has iced post lockout, you are a moron

Kane hates old people and Toews hates children. Nice job Chicago. That kid is lucky it wasn't Kronwall, though.

Clearly raised his elbow and targeted the head. The exact type of hit that should have no place in hockey. Classless.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6958966/the-survivor Interesting piece I thought I'd share talking with Stu Grimson and the recent suicides and deaths of hockey enforcers.

Though playing well in Juniors is usually a better sign than not playing well. There have been a few posters on this board who would love to see a team of goons iced by the Wings, but they are not here anymore - go chase them down if that is the argument you are looking for. The rest of us believe it is beneficial to have a few players on the team willing and able to give a beatdown when smaller players are being run. That's it.

Why are you trying to make an argument out of nothing in this thread? It was stated that both fights were a result of players standing up for their teammates, and posters applauded that effort. Has it been so long since an enforcer debate that you had to make this one, or are you so against standing up for your teammates that you have to accost everyone here who saw the fights as a positive sign?

:caution: callahan has the tools to make it 2 the NHL, he was one of our best prospects in juniors last season.

Surely you mean stop goals?

Fighting is yucky and rude. So is hitting and swearing. Dress a team of finesse players and see how far they get. Dress a team of goons and see how far they get. Dress a team with a good blend of finesse and grit and you're on the right track. How many times do we need to go over this?

Are we in the WWE now? I don't know any other WWE phrases sadly. Not a huge fan myself.

I have a funny feeling that Hudler has a VERY good season this season. He's a talented player and a lot of people loved him before he went to the KHL. After he left for more money, everyone turn their back on him. I don't particularly like Hudler. I'd never buy his jersey, but the hate he gets here is not justified.

Exactly. Do we really want Lidstrom's last season (potentially) to finish with him having to cover for Ericsson's lapses? Exactly, again. I think White will be a good partner for Lids.

Kostitsyn and Hudler could be lethal together what's about something like Kostitsyn-Wolski-Hudler? Could be laziest line in NHL.

I liked this joke. Undeserving? Debatable. It's all light-hearted fun either way

C - Lidstrom A - Datsyuk A - Zetterberg A - Downey

Ericsson's contract was due to the market value of free agent defenseman this off season. It was either sign him at that price, or lose him. x2

This is such a dumb argument. When Kronwall signed his deal four years ago, he was still new and it was looked upon as a risk. Now it's an excellent deal, but at the time it was a chance. Meanwhile salaries have inflated massively. When Kronwall gets a new contract this summer, he'll be making substantially more than Ericsson.

That's more based on the timing of the deal than a performance indicator. Kronwall and Stuart will easily surpass Ericsson next summer.

Bit of a cheap shot by Toews, but Hudler needs to keep his head up.

I gotta think the Pronger "I'm taller than my opponents" defense comes into play on this hit. Someone...quick, get Carlyle and Burke on the line!

Ericsson has played 4 years in North America. Year 5 hasn't started yet. In that span he played 2 more or less full seasons in the NHL. He was drafted 291st (LAST overall) and he was a forward then. His last season stats: 74GP 3G 12A 15Pts 8+/- 87PIM 89SOG Not bad for a 3rd pair D. Do you know what Pronger's (2nd overall pick) 3rd NHL season stats were? 78GP 7G 18A 25Pts -18+/- 110PIM 138SOG So it took Pronger - a surefire top pick - more than 3 years to learn to be an NHL defenseman. (And that would have been his 7th year playing pro or quasipro hockey in North America, counting juniors.) So cut Ericsson some slack. You can't teach size, but it appears that Detroit's management believe they can teach Ericsson everything else he needs to know, and fairly quickly.

I hope they pair him with Commodore so he can learn how to properly punch people in the face. esteef edit: grammar

GMR dissing an enforcer?

Trevor Gillies would have probably stood over the kid and celebrated.

I don't particularly like the Hawks, but Toews seems like a pretty cool guy - I respect him like I respect Joe Sakic. With all the kids on the ice, I'm sure it gets crazy and I really don't think he meant to flatten him. I'm a pretty big guy and it seems like every time I walk through a public place like a mall, little kids are around and like to play chicken with me and I have to be a frikkin ballerina - I'm scared you-know-whatless that I'm going to inadvertently level a kid like that and get my pants sued off! Difference between me and Toews? He could afford it! :X