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If I recall, most of the same Tootoo haters on here were Drake haters when the Wings signed him. Now they are all like, "he was so important to our 08 Cup!" I am not saying Tootoo will get us a Cup, heck I didn't even say that in 08 about Drake, but you and you and you and even you cannot deny that Tootoo brings a dimension to this team that we haven't had since 2008. Tootoo will not only bring so much energy to this team and the crowd, he will stand up for his superstars and fellow teammates. When Lidstrom got smoked in Colorado, Aaron Downey stepped up, kicked ass, didn't ask any questions, just kicked ass. What happened when Brad Stuart got his jaw broken in Calgary a few years ago? Abby and Ericsson just stood there and looked at the guy who did it. What happened when Corey Perry was beating on Datsyuk so much that enough was enough? Well Datsyuk whooped him, but Pavel cannot be fighting out there, period. What happened when Weber head slammed Zetterberg? What happens everytime Backes takes liberties on Datsyuk? You get my point. With Tootoo here, you can guarantee what is gonna happen the first time someone tries to take out Calder candidate Damien "The Gunner" Brunner. PLUS everyone is forgetting Tootoo is still only 29 (30 Feb. 2,) in the prime of his NHL career and is coming off his best ever offensive performance last season all while playing in a limited 4th line role. People mention Chelios and they way we and he both hated each other. Well, after 10 years of being a Red Wing, I do believe he warmed up to us and us to him very well. As long as Tootoo stays healthy and gets a fair chance from us (unlike Hatcher and Modano did) he will become a fan favorite. I see him playing the rest of his years here in Detroit because that is what players do. They may start their career's somewhere else, but in Detroit they finish their career's. I am on the Tootoo train, I always was from day 1. I loved his intensity in Nashville, his hard work and toughness. I hated him when he played us, but wished that someone on this team had his work ethic and energy. Well now we have him. All aboard, the train has room for everyone, but we are leaving the station soon, express line to the Stanley Cup.

“I'm a Red Wing for the next three years and I'm going to make sure every team we play knows that.'' -- Jordin Tootoo esteef

He'd best do three things if he wants to be successful: one, improve his situational awareness; two, use his size more; and three, use his shot more often and more wisely. He's got all the tools, which is why I'm so critical of him when he botches up.

Jordin Tootoo ‏@Jtootoo22 Just want to thank all of our great #RedWings fans that came out tonight ! Truly amazing to see. Can't wait to suit up at the Joe!

Central division: 1. Red Wings 2. Blues 3. Blackhawks 4. Predators 5. Blue Jackets - Wings finish 3rd in the Western conference. - Brunner scores close to 20 goals - Kronwall picks up his game and solidifies himself as the new number one d-man. - Howard plays more games, than Gustavsson, but the Monster has better numbers. - Datsyuk finishes in the top 5 in scoring. - Nyquist finishes the season on one of the scoring lines. - Franzen will be a $3.9 mil cap hit, score around 30 goals, and people will complain. - Crosby wins the Art Ross. - Ovechkin wins the Hart and Rocket Richard - Tuuka Rask wins the Vezina - Shea Weber wins the Norris. - Parise scores less than 30 goals. - Suter finishes the season as a minus player - Rick Nash does only slightly better than he did in Columbus. - Anaheim makes the playoffs and Selanne's final run for a championship is an exciting one. - Rangers, Flyers, Wild, Hurricanes, and Kings underachieve. - Stars, Canadiens, Oilers and Ducks overachieve. - The Kings start off slow, but finish strong to barely make the playoffs. - Penguins and Canucks are top seeds in their respective conference. I don't understand why people are ranking the Wings so low, just because of Lidstrom. I mean, I know he's great and all, but he's not the whole team. There are plenty of teams that won the Stanley Cup without Nick Lidstrom in their line up, we can too. We have more depth and speed up front. While other teams are cramming in as much training camp as they can before the season, Datsyuk is already in midseason form and Zetterberg and Brunner have been playing together, developing chemistry for the past few months over in Switzerland. IMO, Kronwall can be the next Scott Stevens. That hard hitting, stay-at-home defensive style with a big shot from the point every now and then. Colaiacovo is a very solid pick up for us. I think he's an improvement over Stuart. Plus, we have Brendan Smith, who is really motivated and excited to be playing in the NHL this year. People complain so often during the season that the Wings looked lazy or "unmotivated" out there. We have plenty of new blood in our lineup that should change that perception. I think the pessimists and the critics who have been predicting the Wings downfall for over a decade now are going to be surprised/disappointed.

I honestly think after he blows up a few defensemen on the forecheck people around here will start appreciating what he can do. The Dallas Drake comparisons are not too far off. Good forecheck, good skating, finishes hits, and will scrap if needs be. I'd say he'll win everyone over in the first three games.

He's here for 3 (er... 2 1/2) seasons at $1.9m per, which is more than Abdelkader, Brunner, Eaves, Goose, Miller, Mursak and Emmerton. At his cap hit, he's not likely to be benched. Tootoo wasn't my first choice (or even hundreth) of FA's to sign. But he's a Detroit Red Wing now. Wanting him to fail is by extension wanting the team to fail. I want the team to win, so by extension I want Tootoo to perform well and succeed. To use the tired cliche, the name on the front of the jersey is more important to me than the one on the back.

I was going through reddit and came across a picture featuring the introduction of Jeremy Roenick's book,

wtf.... Pierre McGuire is safe?

Some fans will never be satisfied...soft Euro's or tough NA's...what do they want?

The people saying Tootoo is just a cheap shot artist and isnt tough are out to lunch. The guy is 5'8, consistently takes on much bigger guys, rarely loses fights and Chris Neil is probably hte only forward that hits harder. He adds a tonne of speed to the line up and has cleaned up his game a lot for those of you who are worried about the "class" of the wings. But he draws more penalties then he takes and can take on most fighters in the league while chipping 30 points? Whine some more about the wings signing one of the tougher pound for pound fighters in the league that can actually play hockey

I too would like to congratulate John, without his steadfast leadership in the face of inevitable destruction, we never would've survived judgement day and defeated the machi- ....s***, wrong John. Way to go Rig, you were solid as hell last year.

God I hope not. I will be there and if it comes down to the wire I'll be a wreck.

It's good to see that owners are going to rein it in on the whole overspending thing after losing half the season to the lockout.

Central: 1. St Louis 2. Detroit 3. Chicago 4. Nashville 5. Columbus Any of the 1-4 can switch spots. To be more specific on my prediction is that those 1 and 4 will finish just 5 pts between each other. I agree with pretty all you said there except for the Norris. Weber brings size and a sexy shot but in my opinion Suter was the better all around player. Weber could do a lot because he had Suter supporting him. I see Weber having the worst season of his career this year.

Babcock said it the best during the beginning of the 3rd period when he joined Ken and Mick, "Tootoo looks great out there, even when he can't play his game. Obviously in a situation like this, he can't play his game, his game is to go out there and make it hell for the opponent. He can't really do that tonight, but he still looks good." I loved when they interviewed Tootoo, "They know what I bring to the table, and I know why i'm here." A lot of you will be eating crow from some of things you've said during this summer and these signings. Honestly, I think everyone including myself underestimate how much this team can bring to the table if executed right. What was displayed last night actually made me feel better about the season. I saw Mule working hard in a scrimmage, working with his hands and he looked in better shape. I'm actually excited to see him this season, and the one shot he pulled had a great release that railed the post. That's what we need more of, except less post. Bring back that sexy release mule! For it being Brunner's first time on NHL sized ice in a scrimmage setting, he impressed me. I could tell that the first lines weren't really into it at first, but they probably get an ass-kicking within the locker room to put on a show for the damn fans. Bert looked like he was in great shape and i'm excited to see him. Smith looked really comfortable and i'm excited to see him full-time. Nyquist was strong on the puck and probably showcased to some people that he isn't as small as many people tend to think he is. The man put on some weight during the off-season and he's been amazing for GRR this season (yes, you actually had to watch him this season and stop judging him from the last nhl season). Jurco surprisingly looked strong on the puck for his size, I know his main goal is still developing and putting on weight but I was surprised on his foot work and ability to stay on the puck when forced. Obviously they weren't able to throw all their body weight into each other so it's a little off-base to judge everything, but it's good to see the footwork and ability to stay on it.

Remember a couple years ago when the Wings played Phoenix in the playoffs and Helm was just murdering Jovo? Forechecking hard, finishing his hits, forcing turnovers, and all that? Remember Jovo was so sick of Helm doing it that he eventually kinda snapped and was all up in Helm's face talking s***? It was awesome. That's what Jordin Tootoo does every night.

I can see Holland holding on to our expendable pieces until the deadline. Emmerton, Mursak, Tatar, Nyquist and Kindl can all be used in package deal for a great defensemen. Holland will wait until the deadline and a team looking to rebuild. Would you trade Nyquist, Emmerton and Kindl + picks for Iginla and J Bou for a playoff run? Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Brunner Franzen-Flippula-Iginla Bertuzzi-Helm-Cleary Tootoo-Abdelkader-Eaves Ericsson-Kronwall J Bou-Quincey White-Coliavacio

But, but.......... I thought Downey and McCarty weren't important to our roster in 2008, as has been debated to death on this forum.

While you guys boycott the NHL. I'll be watching hockey drinking a cold one. Enjoy!

...should be free..

no one can win that

I want to see them pull off a hot dog eating contest for the fans. If you can beat Larry Murphy, you get a free 9 game ticket package for 2.

Ottawa are doing 14-and-under free, half priced merch, and $1 popcorn on opening night. Better than a kick in the nutz, I suppose.

You know what I want them to do for the fans? Win the Cup. Then let each of us spend a day with it. (Not holding my breath on that one.)