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The pessimism is astounding. The shortened season is working against us? Why is it working against us more than everybody else? Because we are older? But you could argue that the short season benefits the older guys and that the younger guys have less time to gain experience. It's all a matter of how you look at it. Detroit has the oldest team in the league but NJ is second and they lost in the finals last year. Try to be objective people. Chicago did not improve, St. Louis did not improve, Nashville got worse, Columbus got worse. 7 teams in the west will not make the playoffs. IMO they are: Columbus Colorado Minny Edmonton Calgary Anaheim Dallas Phoenix That's actually (8). Which 2 of those teams is better than us? I can't think of any Norris trophy candidates on any of those teams. We no longer have the best D-man in the West but neither do any of these 8.

Alright call me crazy but I see people doubting we even make the playoffs this year? Alright so lets break this down. You lose Homer and Hudler and for replacements you have Brunner Samuelsson and TooToo with Nyquist getting more of a regular role, I believe are offense will be more dynamic and more effective then last year. Defense: Everyone knows we lost Nick and we lost Stuart too, and for replacement we have a young kid in Smith who is unproven, Coliacovo who has had injury problems but when healthy has proved to be effective and are regulars White Ericcson Kronwall Quincey and Kindl. I think were putting too much emphasis on how much Nick's departure will hurt us, are defensive core definitely isn't the best but they can perform to were this team can still contend to win the division. I don't believe in the Blues hype, Chicago has goaltending issues Nashville will drop this year and Columbus is well Columbus. I'll call it right now, this team wins the Central, and the doubters will be silenced. Remember we had the best Goaltender in hockey before the injury and I see Jimmy contending for the Vezina at the end of the year and the addition of Gus will keep Jimmy rested and give us a trustworthy back-up. Puck drop is coming in 2days, predictions will be done and will see what this team is gonna bring, Lets Go Wings!

He also said they could be #1 in the conference. But that isn't sensationalist enough, right? He's right. The forced parity of the NHL has made it so that every semi-competent team is going to be a clone of every other semi-competent team give or take a guy here and there. Everyone has a chance. It's going to more than ever come down to who actually gives the most effort and I think he knows that. If you actually think Holland will get fired for missing the playoffs you need to get off of internet forums for awhile and check back into the real world.

You guys who think Holland is going to get fired if the Wings miss the playoffs are crazy! Holland's going no where. If Holland was ever available, all the other 29 teams would be interested and Kenny could name his price.

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="chrisdetroit" data-cid="2340924" data-time="1358445133"><p> The pessimism is astounding. The shortened season is working against us? Why is it working against us more than everybody else? Because we are older? But you could argue that the short season benefits the older guys and that the younger guys have less time to gain experience. It's all a matter of how you look at it. Detroit has the oldest team in the league but NJ is second and they lost in the finals last year.<br /> <br /> Try to be objective people. Chicago did not improve, St. Louis did not improve, Nashville got worse, Columbus got worse. 7 teams in the west will not make the playoffs. IMO they are:<br /> <br /> Columbus<br /> Colorado<br /> Minny<br /> Edmonton<br /> Calgary<br /> Anaheim<br /> Dallas<br /> Phoenix<br /> <br /> That's actually (8). Which 2 of those teams is better than us? I can't think of any Norris trophy candidates on any of those teams. We no longer have the best D-man in the West but neither do any of these 8.</p></blockquote> In all of your "objective" points, you neglected mentioning the Red Wings team that won one playoff game also got worse. Lost two top-four defensemen and couldn't score goals when it mattered. The league has caught up and the Western Conference is very tough. It's not pessimism -- just reality and honest assessment of the current situation, which our own GM seems to agree with. I still think the Red Wings get in the playoffs as a lower seed, but there's a very real chance they also miss out.

“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

Newsflash to everyone: it's POSSIBLE that ANY team might not make the playoffs. The sheer amount of whining over the fact that the playoffs are no longer a guaranteed thing is sickening. Welcome to the standard state of affairs for fans of any other team in the league. Get used to it. Maybe now you'll appreciate the 20 years of success more. Yep. News: the Wings also don't have horrific goaltenders. Howard would never let in the habitual stinkers that Bryzgalov and Fleury allowed. He has more than an excuse; he has 14 years of success behind him. If every GM who failed to make the playoffs got fired, we'd be seeing a ludicrous turnover in general managers. But it doesn't work that way. Fans of the Wings have simply grown to believe that making the playoffs is something that they deserve. It's sad to see such a spoiled, unappreciative state of mind.

Honestly it would suck but wont bother me that much. If there ever was a season where the wings wouldnt make the playoffs and actually get a great pick in the 1st round, a 48 game season is the best time to do it lol.

Go get 'em Kenny!

right with you... now 2010/2011 Ericsson > no one lol

I love this quote! Go Tootoo!

Lilja is still a perfectly good lower pair dude that can block shots and add a bit of snarl. He would be a nice #5. His beard would be a good #6. I'd take him for a good spare part for when injuries strike. The problem is fitting him into a 23-man roster. Who do you get rid of out of our other 7? I'd lean towards having him over Kindl, but I'm not quite ready to get rid of a young guy. Not to mention that the ladies would go gaga.

Nah, I don't think I'm sorry for that. It's a legit suggestion and if you take offense to that it's because it's true. To think he'd get fired for missing the playoffs once is total forum doomsayer think.

2103, the Year of the Groin. Sigh...

I thought it was a possibility every season. Or did Wings have a guaranteed spot in the past? Oh well, fire Holland already. I think it's time. We have almost played one game this season.

i got a sore groin reading this.

I think it's going to take a lot more than that for Holland to lose his job. He's been hog-tied by the salary cap, and while he did great getting currently signed players to take less and found a few diamonds-in-the-rough and reconstituted players, that opportunity is past. He's now struggling to find his way in uncharted territory for him, and I suspect Ilitch is going to give him a little more leeway.

It's a very real possibility, for a myriad of reasons. Losing our #1 and #3/4 defenseman in the offseason hurt, as well as being unable to sign a suitable replacement in Suter. Also, the shortened season is working against us too. A 4 game losing streak in an 82 game schedule is an inconvenience. In a 48 game schedule, a 4 game losing streak could mean the difference between a 6/7/8 spot and a 9/10 spot. That said, I think our defensive corps isn't quite as bad as others seem to think. Our 1/2 forward lines are skilled enough to put pucks in the net, and (once Helm returns) our 3/4 will work well to bring speed and grit to the lineup. This team certainly can make the playoffs. But they've got to start strong, and make sure to respond to losses quickly, rather than let them stack.

One thing about Osgood- he was a winner no matter where he played. Cant say the Isles and Blues were great when Ozzie was in net for them. He still won.

A bit easier? Lidstrom at 40 was better than weber at 26, Chara in his prime, suter, pietrangelo, letang, and so on. The only player in the last 20 years who even compared to him was Vladdy, and unfortunately negligence stole him from us. no one can replace lids, not in his prime, not at 40, not ever.

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.

Some Brunner highlights and Bert's beautiful shootout goal.

Maybe he can teach the bottom six how to throw a few rights instead of eat them.

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.

You're such a tease. Good to see you around.