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Not really true, there are some differences..

As reality begins to set in across Red Wing land that this season is most likely the end of the playoff streak (barring an unlikely miraculous turnaround). I just want to say thanks to what the Red Wings have personally provided me over the past 20+ years. My earliest memories of watching the Wings are from 23 years ago watching the 1993 / 1994 season with my Dad. That of course was the year the Wings lost in in the first round in seven games to the San Jose Sharks. As a 9 year old boy, my feeble mind could simply not understand how a first seed could lose to the lowly Sharks. That was followed by a devastating lost to the Devils in the Stanley Cup Finals which was equally devastating for me. But good things were soon to follow and that has led to a lifelong passion of all things Red Wings. I want to personally thank the following: Illitch's - thanks for being great hockey owners and supporting the team throughout the years Holland - While I think its time to move on, Its incredible the success you were able to bring this organization since 1997 including 3 cups (2 if you don't give him any credit for the '98 win). Classy players who were World Class - Yzerman, Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Zetterberg...thanks for all the sacrifices you made over the years and for being such classy players who always gave it their all. Joe Louis Arena - A great Arena with many personal memories. You will be missed. Babcock - I think he is one of the greatest coaches of all time and is a big reason why the Wings stayed as perennially contenders well into the cap era. Mickey Redmond - Since I was 9 years old, I've listened to Mickey night in and night out. Please never retire! Four Cups - Four cups in 23 years of watching in a league of 30 teams and increasing parity in the later years...incredible stuff! The road ahead may be tough for a while, but I'll stick by these Wings. I believe that brighter days will once again return to this iconic original six franchise. It may take longer than we all would like, but I recognize how spoiled I have been as a Wings fan and am truly lucky to have identified with them for as long as I have. THANK YOU!!!

It's unfair that Tampa has more talent and a brighter future than us, while having a GM that is a Wings legend and was in the Wings' management only a few years ago. That's unfair.

Really looking forward to seeing how Givani Smith develops.

No I get it, its the end justify the means kind of thinking. I cant even say you are wrong, sure I dont agree but its just a case of both of us wanting the same thing, just thinking different paths are better to get there. I almost look at tanking in a similar fashion to spending all your money to play the lottery. If you win (ie. Edm/McDavid), Chi, LA etc. you are thrilled and become a millionaire (ie. Cup winner). Though like the lottery, most people lose and the risk just leads to going broke (ie. Edmonton pre McDavid, Columbus, Atlanta/Win, Carolina etc.) Even with Edmonton/McDavid, while I think he will be a HUGE difference maker, he doesn't guarantee them a cup.

Larkin - 1st line center. Mantha - 1st line winger. Athanasiou - 2nd line center / winger. Svechnikov - 2nd line winger. Jurco - 3rd line winger. Bertuzzi - 3rd / 4th line winger. Smith - 3rd / 4th line winger. Turgeon - 3rd / 4th line center. Sadowy - 3rd / 4th line winger. Nastasiuk - 4th line winger / bust. Frk - 3rd line winger / bust. Nosek - 3rd line center / bust. Holmstrom - 3rd line center / winger / bust. Cholowski - 1st / 2nd pair defenseman. Sproul - 1st / 2nd pair defenseman. Ouellet - 2nd / 3rd pair defenseman. Russo - 2nd / 3rd pair defenseman. Hicketts - 2nd / 3rd pair defenseman. Renouf - 3rd pair defenseman / bust. Sambrook - 3rd pair defenseman / bust. Marchenko - 3rd pair defenseman. Saarijarvi - 2nd / 3rd pair defenseman / bust. Hronek - 2nd / 3rd pair defenseman / bust. Mrazek - number one goaltender. Coreau - starter / very good backup goaltender. I could be wrong, but I thought he / she just meant that's where they should slot in the future, not necessarily where they should be right now... So of the players I have listed, I see something like this... Mantha - Larkin - _______ Svechnikov - Athanasiou - _______ Jurco - Nosek - Smith Bertuzzi - Turgeon - Sadowy _______ - _______ Cholowski - Sproul Ouellet - Russo Mrazek Coreau Obviously not everyone will make it, some may surprise, and there will be some veterans mixed in, but that's give or take where I see the future of our young players...

This effort has spared the livers of many Wings fans!

Honestly, I'd rather play a team that has been rested for 3 days than playing a team that only rested for 1 day....they may be a bit flat.

I dont think a good team in 2016 has Frk on 3rd line and Russo in the top 4. Frk will likely never get there, and Russo is just not ready from all reports I have read.

Realistically? Larkin and Mantha will be a notch below "elite" level at best. Optimistically? Larkin becomes the next Zetterberg and Mantha becomes a tad bit better than Franzen was. Pessimistically? They all suck for eternity. The rest I have no idea about. Marchenko is about as good as he will be most likely. I actually think AA has a higher potential than Larkin does but even that I can't really back up with anything besides just watching the way he plays. But his previous numbers speak against that.

You're right with the Saad move, as long as the Hawks have a prime Kane, Keith, Seabrook and Toews and surround them with good goaltending and solid depth, they will be fine. With that core he can pretty much get away with trading anyone else. I would love to see what our roster would look like with Keith and Seabrook as our 1D & 2D.

I have a very hard time cheering against my team. I get your logic, but I cant help but think that if we draft a player who ends up being a bust, how much of a waste an abysmal season is if that's the end result. Tanking scares me given how rarely it works. I remember I used to get excited every time the Lions got a top 5 pick, but then after constant busts (Harrington, Rogers etc), and successes that still couldn't rid of the losing culture (Calvin, Stafford) I realized how drafting high guarantees nothing. It doesn't even guarantee becoming good let alone becoming a contender. Imagine if the Wings decided to tear things up shortly after 2002, one could have easily created the argument that from 03-06 we only got out of the first round once and major changes needed to be made. You could have argued to trade Lidstrom for a top pick as his value was super high. Had Holland listened, 2008 never would have happened. Don't forget, at one point D and Z were looked down on just like Tatar and Nyquist are now. Not that Nyquist and Tatar will ever get to that level, but again hindsight being 20/20. Now I'm not saying our roster post 2008 is the same as our roster post 2002, my point is that it is easier to point fingers after the fact. When you are in the moment and the person actually calling the shots, its a lot harder then it looks especially if you are given a direction by your owner which I strongly believe is the case with Holland. I truly don't believe Holland could tank if he wanted to. We saw this already transpire with DD/Illitch a few years ago.

Here's some good extended highlights (NHL.com and others just show goals so you don't get much of a sense of the dynamics of the game). Definitely not a perfect game, but they definitely showed some heart. An exciting game with big goals, a fluke goal, a controversial goal, a fight, even a mini version of one of Kronwall's backward hits. Hopefully we can call this a turning point.

This kid is currently the number one story on all of Reddit!

Can't wait to see all this on the Epix Road to the...

I have to say, this is the best I have seen them play in weeks!

Curly fries are made of ... taters!!

A lucky bounce for the wings??? Who sacrificed their first born for that?

At the time it was exciting, as it made the possibility of Stamkos seem very real. But to then find out Neilson was instead the guy Holland had in mind to make cap space for... well, in retrospect that sucks. He made fantastic moves in a sense of keeping the playoff streak alive. All that does is delay the inevitable, which is what we are seeing on the ice right now. In my eyes, the only way signing Vanek will turn into a fantastic move is if he is moved at the deadline to help load up for the draft. Other than that, it would be a player who played well here during an overall bad season.

Keep taking shots Dickie. When are you going to realize that this is a league of parity where there are a few great teams, then a s*** ton of average to below average teams. NOBODY has said this team is great this year, nobody has even really said they are good. The argument has always been they are average. Or is the word average to "rose colored" for you?

I'd rather have a guy who can actually do something at the nhl level other than punch. Someone like McCarty would be great. McKee can't even handle the college game, do you really believe that he has anything to contribute to an nhl team, or are you just that desperate to see fights? Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk

You see, teams like to win hockey games this day and age. Coaching has come a long way, and players who can't play hockey nop longer have use. If you like fights, there is almost always boxing or UFC to watch.