RedRockit

*shudder* I second that. I third that. I fourth... well, you get the idea. It's not at all the 'lanche history, but he became a completely different player post-injury. I lost what sneaking admiration, and lost all respect, that I had ever harbored for him-- and I had qute a bit indeed BITD, to be honest. Argh, don't go there.... look at his post F/O stats. (no don't, it's FAR TOO painful) He's got a no-trade clause, he's a Wing for life if he chooses to be. Regardless of his post-play this year, I'm VERY sure his presence on the team is a positive one (I hope I hope I hope).

Yzerman is a given-- far too easy, so I'll except him from the list, and add Lids to the "of course, duhh" list as well. Favorite Formers: 1) Larionov, baby! No one could create plays like him-- not then, not now. I can't say enough about how much I admire his abilities. I've always felt he never got nearly enough credit for the first two post-drought Cups. Of the Russian 5, Fedorov had the shooter's glamour, Vladdy had the respect/fear, Slava had the hot yong gun rep, Fetisov had the respect well due a seasoned vet, but The Prof was THE one who got the job done quietly and decisively and with deadly skill and brilliance. There's not a player today who has half his skills. Period. 2) Mac and Marty (really happy to see a nod to LaPointe previously in this thread). Reliable production always from both, always threats whenever on the ice, and a heckuva lotta fun in interviews. The locker room must have been BigFun back then. 3) Ozzie. 'nuf sed, innit? But I've always admired his behavior in '97: getting us to the playoffs in great form, then stepping aside for Vernie. It surely musta stung (at least I felt stung on his behalf), but he handled it like a true team player. I'm glad he got to netmind for the Cup the next year. Vindication must have been all the sweeter. Plus... empty net goal, anyone? Honorable Mention: Dino, Coffey, Murphy, Kocur. Probert just scared the s***e outta me, I was completely happy he was at least on Our Team! Current Wings: Zata and Data, Draper (where were you, though, me darrlin'? I really thought you'd do us some clutch, but then again, there was a definite dearth of clutch this series, so all is forgiven), Maltby (thanks for coming up with one, lurrved it). Oh, and Homer should also be included on the "of course, duhh" list. Sammy was pretty great in post too. Lilja... ahhh... this'll only hurt for a lil bit. You have 'redemption' written all over next year. Non-Wings: Much as I hate to give props to a former Aaa... Aaaa... ehmm, player from That Team Who Shall Not Be Named, Chris Drury was integral to Sabre success this year: far more than Briere (I like him too, but SabFriend tells me he's been less than all that, and she knows her stuff). As a baseball mom, I also gotta love that Chris was Championship Little League MVP!! (I covet him. He's free, can we afford him? Prolly not, ohwell... it would seriously PO my SabFriend should we acquire him, anyway)

He shook the Ducks coaches' hands-- that's enough respect shown right there. I highly doubt there was any disrespect meant to the players, or HE WOULDN'T HAVE SHOOK HANDS WITH THE COACHES who brought this group of players to the series win. For whatever reason, he skipped the on-ice bit, but I feel sure it had nothing to do with disrespecting any player. Not because I particularly think that he's too all-that sportmanlike to be an arse, but rather because just plain common sense tells me that he blew it off out of some expediency or other.

Ask this question next week. Right now, it's comparable to telling mourners at a wake that "Well, he had a good life, but life goes on. You really shouldn't miss him all that much-- I don't." Some people get emotional about sports (go figure) and for them this is a harsh blow-- one they'll get over when the Sens bring IT to the Ducks.

Hear hear! I hope that you are involved in hockey on some level: coach littles, if you have time, or even ass't . Coaches are hard to come by at peewee level. Reminder to ALL here: ***** about the Wings/NHL/BettmanVERSUS all you want, but what have YOU done for hockey lately?

Seeing Homer come out of the locker. I thought he was killed, done, concussed the hell outta our playoffs: and he came back strong and huge for an A and was his usual mosquito-like annoyance. Toughness that hasn't been seen on a RW roster since Vlady.

Ehmm. You must not have played sports, or maybe not at a youth level, because the tradition of shaking hands in football et al is taught to them as sportsmanship. Happens in the USA, Canada, Europe, China. The world's a new place, embrace it; Many of your so-called enemies-on-ice hang out, play golf, do charity events together in the off-season, and many of them have played as teammates. Sad that you feel a longstanding tradition is dumb. Let's do away with the octopus then. A dumb tradition, and further, a del;ay of game.

Best. Post. from a Duck Fan. Ever. (but then what do I know, I've only been here 2 weeks-- but don't you DARE call me a bandwagoner, II was there for the heartbreak in 95!) Well, my best friend, a Sabs fan (hates Wings except StevieY), has been hoping Dux would win, so they could put some of the same dirty hurting on Sens that OTT did to Buf (see the boarding noncall on Alfy v. Tallinder). Don't worry, Dux got it in the bag. Mark my words, and I WILL eat crow w/ catsup: DUX over SENS in 7. In OT. And Grapes will stroke out.

What you said. Wings players lose gracefully: their fans take it hard, but we have a legacy *yzerman* that has taught us grace, and patience and class. We didn't lose this series because of officiating: we lost because we didn't score. Buffalo didn't lose because of officiating: they lost because they didn't score. Having said that: I believe that a review of the officiating in both series would possibly have resulted in a BUF/DRW final--two teams that have do-or-die fanbase. But that wouldn't open up any new markets... and Canadian pro hockey is bleeding out the pores... I feel sick, and not because my team lost, I've been there done that and I know there's always next year=-- it's the REDWINGS, we are consistently good. WUZROBBED

II think I'm going to the Sens thread, nyself, But I CAN post something nice about the Dux. My best friend, a Sabs fan and a self-professed WingHater (yes, I really need to hang out with a classier group of people heh) has been hoping for a Dux/Sens final all along -- she wants to see the Dux bring the big brutal to the Sens the way they did to BUF Scripte:d The Real World: USA (Cali/Disney) against Canada. Well, at least I get t watch it on CBC. Grapes is sure to wear something outrageous, snd that alone is worth the price of admission.

Props to Matt and support staff, for reals. I subbed to a RW mailing list from 96 on (when I first got net), and it was good WingFolk, but I just listened to others, never mailed, never felt part of a Wing community. I say, much like Shanny after '97 Cup: "I was looking for a home, and I found one here, and I couldn't be more proud.** ** Of course, Shanny kinda ruined the fairy tale for me when he repeated those same words with his new team... I'm such a sucker for the Irish blarney, I am. Thank you for allowing me to ride along this playoff season. Thank yu for giving us WingedFolk a home. Far beyond that, you give our "enemies" a home that they love more than their own boards, and that-- look, I'm totally not religious,. but that's quite Christlike Or Ghandi-esque. Or Mother Theresa. Or, as I prefer: The VLADIATOR! (anyone remember his COOL glasses in 97? Him saying, I'll be back?) I still BELIEVE. Thank you again for allowing me to believe along with alla yez.

Dom's competitve, and if he feels healthy, he is willing to play. Give him some $$ that don't insult his ego, and he's back in red. And that would make me happy. Playoff experience is vital. But his playoff perf this year MAY have raised his price: added to that, he's one of the very few players (these days, thankyouverymuchNOT, BettMan) recognizable hockey names (f***youverymuchNOT for that, BettMunch).

Detroit is historically hard (did I say hard? try brutal) on goalies, esp pre-97. I fully support Dom if he wants to go again-- he saved our arse time after time after Father Time, and if you don't see that he was our MVP--perhaps our ONLY MVP of these playoffs, then I don't know what to tell you. But if I were him, and had such crap support from people who should be worshipping him as a minor god-- hell yaa, I'd go home.

I miss most Wings when they leave us. I still mourn the loss of LaPointe-- even though I know that he doesn't want to come back to DET, he and his family are happy in ChiTown, loves the NHL young'ns he's skoolink, but darnit... Mac said once that Marty had THE best trash talk in faceoffs to distract a foe. I wish that I'd heard him miked-- especially because the Corey Perry to Datz 'yer gonna get it' was: The. Lamest. Ever. *shaking head* What ARE we teaching our hockey players these days? *lifts a glass to Marty and Mac*

Precisely. and yeppers. I was over the moon w/ Wings when they went FIRST round-- c'mon, we lose THE Captain OUR Captain, replace him with a SwedeHeart-- and we go playoffs? GO NIK! You are THE Man to fill the large Stevie soul/soles... It was an unlikely scenario from the git, our playoff run.. I am so proud of these warriors on ice. They have lost this battle, but mark my words-- Red Wings will Never, EVER be defeated completely. We will ALWAYS rise to contest another Grail. I can congratulate heartily the Ducks on their win in this series. Gotta tell ya, I'm a Sens=-by-default fan tho, and I think the ReDux just might be in for it. Sens bring the aggro, and.. waitaminit... WHAT am I saying?! Mickey Mouse pwns Stanley.. It's all about das Korporaten Bettmannistche.. Konspiratsia! *bemused heh*

No, seriously. The plsyers from both teams played a great game. YOU are dismissing their achievments because you have access to a KB and can talk anonymous s***e. Die.

SumWing please kick Pronger'a arse NOW. Or Perry's. Game's gone (damn, Homie came sooo close just now!!! PP DRW!!!! I've been coveting Getz, but WildChild Corey(You're Gonna Get It Pavel) Perry would look sweet in red. How prophetic=-- Getz just got the P!!!! SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FRANZENSTEIN... goshdarnit. SO muffin close

I call bulls***. Dom SAVED us from a far more embarassing loss. His D was non-existent (Matz, we really really needed you. Please forgive me for thinking that you weren't all dat) "Poor decisions inside of the blue line, turnovers, blah blah blan" Wings dinnit play like contenders tonight. [FTW, in the process of venting my emo out on this post, DATZ!!!!!!!

CBC: Detroit's dominated play. NEVER SAY DIE. Ice is slippery.*** **yikes, I forgot. Muffin ice is boggy in the Ponda tonight. MUFF!!!

zetta!!!!

Hey, dinna lay the jinx on moi-- I was ASSURED the win did I LangAVA! (I secretly wanted to ZettaAva-- but then, what hot-blooded WingChica DOESN'T??) GAME STILL ON,

And Thank You. Very. Much. for the cheap shot. Pronger groupie, I assume?

Chiill. No one knows how to scout talent on the cheap like Kenny, and we have Lidz as Captain-- the Next Gen Stevie Y. And I'll never ever forget what we as Wingnuts owe to Little Ceasar's.

DID THEY JUST GET A POST?!!! MuffinA-- WE GET TOO MANY MEN? When last game they had FOUR count'em FOUR uncalled TOO MANYs?