union drone

Egroen, you're being kind... if he had been an Avs fan he would have ended up on Gratiot and Warren over on the east side. I got lost over there once. I was afraid for my life. There are actually several very nice places to stay downtown... but be prepared to pay at least $200 a night (Marriot at RenCen, Sheraton, Antheneum, some of the casino hotels). If you're on a budget the burbs are far better. There you will find the gambit of motels and hotels, and even the cheaper ones will be for the most part okay. In the city, cheap = scary. In the better burbs, no problem. Follow the advice of others, consider Dearborn (which is fairly close to the city and has some things to see and do), Royal Oak (where the night life is), Birmingham (yuppie-ville, but super nice), and Troy (upper-middle class suburbia, but a bit dull). You might even find some people here to carpool with and/or party with before or after the game and who can show you a few places. BTW, you should wear your Shanny jersey (even if it is a Rags jersey). It will earn you some points and would be a conversation starter. Most Wings' fans still love Shanny deep down inside, even though he chose to leave.

Perhaps we will see Schneider in a Pens uniform before long...

Everyone here is drooling over Pav plus Hossa... personally, I am looking forward to Hank plus Mule!!

I don't know what they've been putting in the Kool-Aid over in Chicago, but there are some serious delusions over there: Blackhawks following in the Wings footsteps, but MUCH FASTER!! http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=542195 Byfuglien should become another Iginla soon. http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=541116 ...and let's not forget that Duncan Keith is at least as good as Lidstrom! http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=532854

I was actually referring to Lidstrom's misspelled jersey at the awards ceremony where he got his most recent Norris. But, yeah, your comments apply too...

...for a little thing called perspective. If I only listened to everyone telling me how great the Wings are, I would be no better than the Hawks fans. Despite the fact that every team has raging homers, every team has a number of fans who are level-headed and give credit where credit is due. I think that the majority of LGW users will admit that some of their most hated opposing players are good at what they do (e.g. Pronger, Crosby, Phaneuf, etc). I would bash a comment like this as much, if not more so, than the Hawks fan's comment about Keith.

Maybe he watched the '08 NHL awards ceremony and got confused.

I understand and forgive a certain amount of healthy homerism. The Hawks fans certainly have far more to cheer about than they probably have in nearly a decade. In fact, I am excited to see a divisional rival, original six, major market team step up to the plate. BUT, the fans there are saying some pretty ridiculous things (and not just the posts that I included links for)!!! I can count on one hand the number of active D-men who deserve to be mentioned in the same discussion with Lidstrom. Duncan Keith is not one of them. Also, the Hawks are certainly moving up in the world, but to compare their rise to the Wings rise is premature at very best. The Hawks have yet to make the playoffs, much less win four cups in 11 seasons.

Holland making this statement = Captain Obvious

It is obvious that Babs has a definite philosophy about what makes for a strong line: 1) a gritty player that is not afraid to go to the net or work in the corners: Homer, Franzen, Cleary 2) a fast, shifty playmaker who has great moves can score, assist, or help the D: Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Filppula 3) a sniper who can score goals (or at least generate shots on goal): Hossa, Hudler, Sammy (Sammy? Well he does shoot...) With three strong lines, he can distribute ice time, roll the lines, not tire anyone out unnecessarily, and create matchup nightmares for opposing teams. The big question mark is chemistry. These line combos might stick... or they might not. There will definitely be some juggling as time goes by. This is maybe where the loss of Bowman hurts. He is the kind of guy that can envision what does and doesn't work and discuss it with Babcock.

I know that it fits into the "largely unsubstantiated" category, but there seems to be some talk of Chelios going elsewhere. link here Could a return to Chicago be in his future?

Osgood deserves major props for his performance last season and is a great fit for the Wings on a number of levels. I do have some concerns, however. Some thoughts: 1) Ozzy has always played his best as part of a tandem, where the lion's share of the pressure and workload are not on him. An overworked Ozzy is NOT what this team needs heading into the playoffs. Ozzy was able to have a laid back attitude last year because he knew that Hasek would have his back. 2) Conklin is capable of playing well in the #1b role, which is (I hope) what his role will be this year. 3) If Ozzy plays more than 50-55 games in the regular season, I think the Wings could be facing trouble. 4) I hope that Conklin is able to play at least around 25-30 games and still have a decent record. 5) If the Wings alternate goalies in the regular season, then go with Osgood in the playoffs, all while finishing near the top of the conference, things will look great. 6) Ozzy (and our D-men) need to stay healthy.

QFT, quoted for truth.

Semin + Abdelkader = Seminader

Zetterberg. Zarley Zalapsky or Valeri Zelepukin?

As much as I like Mats as a player, I am certainly glad that the Wings didn't waste time for him to make up his friggin' mind. Part of me almost suspects, however, that he may have really wanted to become a Wing, but got beat to the punch by Hossa, and is now out of luck. Almost, that is.

Because he and the rest of the Keebler elves make the best cookies! no, but seriously, he makes the most out of limited ice time. He has great offensive instincts, despite being totally undersized and having only modest skating ability.

I whole-heartedly agree.

McCrimmon is a good signing, and was a solid no-nonsense D-man for the Wings back in the early 90s, but you might be overstating things slightly with regards to Lidstrom. Lids had the luxury of playing on the same team with a lot of experienced/talented D-men early in his career: McCrimmon, Mark Howe, Coffey, Fetisov, and Murphy, just to name a few. I think that all of these could claim to have been a significant part of Nick's formative years.

McLeod on the ice: catfish or plastic rats?

I see your point of someone (rather immaturely, imo) feeling threatened by the acquisition of a new "leader" player. My point was not really one of "keeping mouth shut", but more that being a leader involves great people skills. A great leader would realize "hey, maybe this dude thinks I am a threat" and chooses not to play up his "leader" status, but find a way to make the player not feel threatened, which could in effect diffuse a difficult situation and win the respect of the said threatened player. That is why being a leader is foremost about people skills and communication, not stats.

Hmmm... I wonder why the giant duck jumping through the ice isn't wearing a jersey of himself jumping through the ice... It would be one of those infinite loops. Edit: my poor grammar

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but it seems that Delvecchio doesn't get the love he deserves amongst the old timers. The guy was a career Wing. Retired with team stats that were second to only Howe. Was captain for something like 12 years, which was the most at the time of his retirement, and is now second only to Yzerman. The only knock against him is that the second half of his career was through some pretty lean years. That can hardly be his fault, and might even be an argument in his favor.

Although I agree with this statement in general, a big part of being an effective leader is knowing when to keep your mouth shut and not insert one's own foot into it. A player with leadership skill is a natural at knowing what to say (or not to say) to whom and at what time to help the team and not create dischord.

The mere existence of this thread is proof positive that Detroit hockey fans are spoiled. Win or lose sit back and enjoy the ride... and be thankful that we aren't Islanders fans.