GoWings1905

Dave Dombrowski = a much worse version of Joe Dumars without a championship. I am so stunned and irate from losing Granderson right now. Did Dombrowski miss what trading the face of the franchise did to the Pistons? I have no desire to watch the Tigers now except every fifth day when JV pitches.

It won't happen, but it sure would bring those non-stop Ozzie bashers from last season back. Funny how most of those quality posters were nowhere to be found after last April. Ozzie will be our playoff goalie until he retires. He proves this every.single.year.

Great post and I couldn't agree more. The BCS is such a damper on a great sport to watch.

Glad to see Everett is coming back. It appears Jackson is very close to being moved. Yes! I can't wait to see some combination of Robertson/Galarraga/Bonderman/Willis at 3-4-5 in the starting rotation. Hopefully Lyon accepts arbitration and Rodney goes to the White Sox.

Florida/Alabama is going to be a classic. I have a tough time picking against Tim Tebow in a big game, therefore I will go with 24-17 Gators. I still think Brian Kelly is the guy for ND. If the Stoops rumors were true at all, he would have been named the head coach already. I am going to be beyond pissed if some of these names being thrown around like Harbaugh, Edsall, Skip Holtz end up as the coach. It's pretty much Kelly or complete miss for me at this point.

Ugh ... I sure hope not. Bobby Crosby has been downright terrible (and always hurt) since his rookie season. I would rather have Everett back, or just start Santiago instead.

Losing their "way more than decent" pitcher will hurt, but the return will be nice.

Good thread. While I do get very frustrated at times watching the Red Wings, it's hard to get too upset given the circumstances. It was going to be tough enough with all of the players the Red Wings lost in free agency, but adding major injuries had made it a challenging season to this point. The most noticeable thing lacking to me is the depth. Our third line last season was frickin Hudler - Filppula - Samuelsson. That's a drastic difference to now with Draper - Helm - Miller. Getting Franzen and Filppula back will be a huge boost to the top six and players can start getting back into more comfortable roles that suit the team better. Most nights, the Red Wings still show up and compete hard through everything. We are so used to the Red Wings just being able to walk into any building and win because of their skill level and style of hockey. That isn't the case this year and it still won't be even when Franzen and Filppula get back. This team has had to earn everything they have gotten this season and they are going to have to keep battling for points because nothing comes easy in the Western Conference. I still believe this is a very dangerous team when everyone gets healthy. There are some flaws: we need another sniper and big physical d-man to clear the front of the net and kill penalties. However, there is not one team in the Western Conference that wants to see the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the playoffs. Adversity isn't a bad thing if you can turn it around and use it as an advantage. The Red Wings are far from done -- people that suggest so are badly underestimating this organization.

There could be a thread like this right now for every player except Henrik Zetterberg. The Red Wings have bigger issues than Homer. He does, afterall, lead the team in goals.

Friday: Tampa Bay @ New Jersey Boston @ Montreal Anaheim @ Minnesota Nashville @ Chicago Saturday: Vancouver @ Carolina Edmonton @ Dallas St Louis @ Los Angeles Toronto @ Boston NY Rangers @ Buffalo Detroit @ New Jersey Washington @ Philadelphia Atlanta @ Florida Colorado @ Columbus Chicago @ Pittsburgh NY Islanders @ Tampa Bay Minnesota @ Nashville Ottawa @ Phoenix Calgary @ San Jose Sunday: Detroit @ NY Rangers Ottawa @ Anaheim

Agreed completely. If Lilja doesn't come back this season, the Red Wings need to a find a big physical d-man that can clear the front of the net and kill penalties. Rafalski, Lebda, and Meech get manhandled physically.

Helm is playing on the third line today, tomorrow, and for the rest of his career. Look, the guy's energy is second-to-none, but he does not have the hands nor goal scoring touch to play on a top line. Appreciate Helm for what he brings to the team and stop expecting him to develop into something he isn't.

The writing was on the wall with Polanco. Still very productive, but the Tigers gave out bad contracts to aging players like Guillen and Ordonez and that blew up in their face. I'm surprised Polanco went back to the Phils though to play third base now. I'll definitely miss not having Polanco around -- he was the most clutch hitter the Tigers had. That being said, Scott Sizemore is the real deal and needs to be in the big leagues sooner rather than later. It's a good financial move for the Tigers presently and for the future as well because Sizemore is going to be a very nice player.

Why didn't you just say that was the point of the thread? Your boy Pavel is totally awesome and Z could never make it in the league without him. Is that what you want to hear?

The OP tried to dance around it, but yes. Bash Z and make excuses for Pavel.

You started the thread. I only jumped in supporting Z when it became obvious this wasn't merely about Datsyuk. Give Z some credit dude. He gets a lot of hype here (and around the league) for good reason.

A goal or two in the Finals would have been a nice starting point.

Well, if I follow the logic correctly, Franzen's play will be a result of Datsyuk.

The truly elite players always find a second gear in the playoffs. Isn't that the whole point of playoff hockey? Zetterberg is the Red Wings best forward every playoff run. The importance of playing at a higher level during the playoffs is rather obvious, despite you somewhat having trouble grasping that point. Zetterberg works very hard the entire regular season and elevates his game at the most important time. To answer your question, I do find this more worthwhile than regular season achievements.

Now you are just pulling crap out of your ass.

Please, while Datsyuk's numbers are incredibly impressive -- the Red Wings were never in any jeopardy of not making the playoffs those years. Datsyuk has had some solid playoff years, but Zetterberg has been better. The Red Wings don't win the Stanley Cup in 2008 without Z's dominance at both ends of the ice (good time to mention that Conn Smythe).

He showed up when it mattered (like he always does). Z carries the Red Wings April through June. I'll take that every time over gaudy numbers in the middle of January.

I seem to recall he wasn't producing before the injury either.

I don't care if they win every faceoff they take. This is the second line center position we are discussing.

When did Ville Leino become a top six winger? I haven't witnessed any evidence to prove that is the case. Kris Draper has more goals than Leino.