N4C3R

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/ Sopel and Downey still in it. Nice to see Ericsson still in it as well.

With Rafalski day-to-day with a hip flexor we'll see more of the kids and free agents out there tonight.

Both Sopel and Downey made it past today's cuts.

You also believe in Robert Lang.

Downey. We're very deep on defense, and with Sopel a booming shot doesn't make up for coughing up the puck on a fairly regular basis. I'd much rather see Ericsson and Kindl get a chance to play. Downey is not a liability defensively, has enough speed to play in the NHL, stands up for his teammates, and creates room out there for our guys. He can even find the back of the net, he scored last night off a pretty Grigorenko assist from behind the net. He also got under Boogaard's skin and got the big fella to take a massive run at him, causing Boogie's ejection from the game. Downey may not be able to take Boogaard in a fight, but he did his job by taking Boogaard off the ice for the rest of the game. I'd say he was pretty effective last night, and I hope he gets a shot to stick with the team.

Here is the top 10 list of players with the most fighting majors in last year's regular season. Full list can be found here: http://www.hockeyfights.com/leaders/players/1/reg2007 George Parros 18 Ian Laperriere 17 Andrew Peters 17 Ben Eager 16 Josh Gratton 16 Cam Janssen 16 Colton Orr 16 Donald Brashear 14 Raitis Ivanans 14 Shane O'Brien 14

With TSN confirming that Svitov has signed in Russia, it looks like Zherdev is out of friends on that squad. His potential is tantalizing given his young age, but I'm not sure I'd want to try to tackle his ego and baggage. He hasn't exactly had a good role model in Sergei Fedorov over there either. He's young enough that he could turn it around. Is Detroit the place to try and do that? Only one way to find out.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=216198&hubname=nhl TSN is going to carry a lot of hockey, and in HD too! Looking at the TSN site it looks like a clone of ESPN. Are they really the same company (ABC/Disney), and if so, why are American fans getting the shaft on seeing the NHL? I don't know who I want to yell at first, the NHL or ABC/Disney. And if TSN and ESPN are not the same company, how come TSN hasn't been sued by ABC/Disney for making a carbon copy of ESPN and calling it TSN? Why are we getting the shaft?

Does Kasper have anything left in the tank or is he done?

Good stuff, enjoyed watching it. What song is that in the video? (I know, I'm old and out of touch, but I liked it).

I would love to have Avery on the team again. Sather was publicly harsh on him leading up to the arbitration today. Avery had an amicable exit from Detroit. We could use a guy like him on the team, and we have the room to sign him. Looks like this may be feasible.

After Burke seduced Schneider and overpaid Bertuzzi I said I'd have gone after Penner if I were that sort of GM.

I was at that game in Chicago, about 10 rows behind Eddie Belfour's net, wearing my Redwings jersey. I believe Draper had a sweet breakaway in that game too (and had he not been recently acquired from Winnipeg for $1 at that time)? Good times! -P

Anaheim carried George Parros and won the Stanley Cup. Buffalo carried Andrew Peters and tied us for the most points in the regular season. The Rangers renewed Colton Orr's contract (for 2 years) before adding Gomez and Drury to his protection duties. Pittsburg has invested a lot of time and money into their young elite scorers, they traded for arguably the Heavyweight Champion in the NHL when they acquired Big Georges Laraque. Alexander Ovechkin runs people knowing Donald Brashear has his back, and Todd Fedoruk continues to find work in the NHL. I'm not talking about mindless goonery here folks, I am talking about a physically intimidating presence on our team. I'm talking about a guy we can send out there to send a message. Putting Dallas Drake on the ice for us is a nice step in the right direction, but he cannot be expected to fill the enforcer role for the team: it's simply not what he's good at. So what is it about the current administration in Motown that we appear to be so resistant to carrying a heavyweight enforcer on the team? Babs likes the rough stuff and seems to have a good sense of when and how to utilize this aspect of the game. Bowman is the one I'm not so sure about to be honest with you. I think as long as he is consiglieri to Holland I think the honey potion being poured in that ear will continue to exclude the vision of an enforcer in Detroit. What do you guys think? Why doesn't Detroit carry a heavyweight enforcer these days? What is ownership and management telling Hank and Dats here? Are they not worth protecting? Williams and Lebda last year showed us clearly what we lacked. Sure, it's only two incidents, I guarantee you the team chemistry solidifies if we send out a guy who grabs <insert perp name here> and gives him a good beating to remind him that running at our guys is a big ******* nono! We proved last year that we could take a hit. It looks like we're trying to prove this year that we can start the hitting by adding a guy like Drake, but will we also make a statement about taking care of our own by carrying a heavyweight enforcer? Is it even necessary? Discuss.

What's even more scary is that you guys are looking at rumors that are about a year old. I feel your pain though, I can hardly wait until training camp starts. -P

Yes, it was completely embarassing to see empty seats at the Joe during the playoffs! I wore my jersey to work on game day every day this playoffs. I work 40 miles north of San Jose, so it definitely got interesting on occasion with some of the banter. It was still embarassing to see empty seats at the Joe. I know I think different than most GMs, but I'd do anything to get Boogaard on the team. I watched that game 4 against Anaheim, it was just insane how much energy he single-handedly pumped into the building while also, single-handedly, shutting up the Anaheim bench. That folks, is an Enforcer at his very best.

I really like the idea of using Kocur as a consultant to help our guys work on their technique. We have some big young guys coming through the system who could benefit from this. Can you guys imagine Johan Ryno after working with Joey Kocur for 3-4 camps? He already has the size and disposition, and he's young enough to be taught good and proper. Have you seen him go to work on guys? I'd love to see him wearing the Winged Wheel, and see Pronger just try and put a dirty hit on anyone. There is no way Pronger does that and doesn't get a beat down from Boogaard. Pascal Dupuis is glad to have him on the team: A little summary of his skills: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH0BEoA9hsE Anybody think Pronger (or anyone else for that matter) might think twice about putting a dirty hit on our boys if Boogie was on the bench?

I think you make good points here, and I agree with you on the intimidation factor being a turning point in this series. Holmstrom was absolutely destroyed by Niedermayer and Pronger, and there wasn't a damn thing the Wings did about it. If we had a guy like Arron Asham I have to believe he would have at some point during the game (or series) grabbed a hold of Pronger to feed him a knuckle sandwich or two. It isn't always about winning the fight, sometimes you just have to be willing to drop the gloves to stand up for yourself or your team. As long as Detroit continues to NOT drop the gloves in that capacity, I will continue to lobby for an Enforcer. For anyone who doesn't think Detroit needs a Fighter or an Enforcer, please tell me who answered the bell last year when the time came to stand up for the team? Don't even think I'm bagging on Lilja, I'm not and quite frankly he's one of my favorite guys on the team. Detroit showed their resilience and toughness last year, but they also showed me they're not ready to stand up for each other like they should. Until guys are willing to do their part to protect their teammates, we're going to need an enforcer to do it for us. Anybody else tired of the Wings being pushed around?

Exactly!

You call people ignorant immediately before you contradict yourself. Brilliant. Could you please remind me how the Wings handled the cheap shots put on Lebda by Drake and on Williams by Torres? Didn't have to because the referees called a penalty right? Could you please remind me how the Wings handled the cheap shot put on Holmstrom by Pronger? You know, the one Pronger didn't take a penalty for? We didn't win that series did we? You can call people ignorant all you want, all I see you put up is excuses for not standing up for your teammates.

The man still makes a valid point about your claim to know how Babcock thinks about hockey. Thanks for contributing.

Maybe I'm getting too old for this new NHL. What I want is a team where guys will stand up for each other no matter what. I didn't see that when Williams and Lebda got demolished, so apparently what we need is an enforcer to do this for the team. Until I see our team react properly to a run being taken at one of our guys I'm going to continue to lobby for an enforcer. Neither Dallas Drake nor Raffi Torres are especially big guys, why didn't anyone from our team stand up for Williams and Lebda?

I don't believe there are any reports out there with any sort of empirical evidence that shows carrying an enforcer on the team reduces injuries during the regular season. I agree that it also makes little if any difference in the playoffs. That said, plenty of successful teams buy into the notion that an enforcer is indispensable, and while I'm not one to go for the lemming approach, I know I feel more comfortable in any type of situation if I am with somebody who I know has my back 100% no matter what. If that situation happens to be an NHL game and my the guy that has my back is Derek Boogaard that can only be a good thing right? -P

Last season SJ carried Scott Parker and Nashville carried Darcy Hordichuk. Neither guy, like most enforcers, were factors in the playoffs. My contention is that their value to the team comes during the regular season, when the chemistry for the team is formed going into the playoffs. -P

You speak truth, my brother!