The Secret

I would trade Franzen for Lucic as I think it would benefit both sides but maybe not Lucic for Franzen and Ericsson because I think we will need what Ericsson offers on the blue line in the future. He will bring the physicality we need when he gets brought into the line up. Maybe Franzen and Helm?! Maybe! But I think Franzen for Lucic is plenty. I'm not sure that Lucic will be able to produce as much offensively as Franzen... but I could be wrong. I just really like that Lucic kids as it sounds most people do! He is fun to watch!

I agree with this point.....Lucic comes to mind again! Downey may be a good character in the dressing room, the guys might love him for his enthusiasm. But he is a crappy hockey player and a mediocre enforcer at best. Having him on the bench will not deter anyone from taking cheap shots. In order for Downey to "keep the flies" off our star players he would have to be on the ice with them! Downey will not play on anything but the bench and 4th line. He will not be able to stop anyone roughing up our player from either the bench or 4th line AND if he is being ordered to give paybacks then someone has already taken their cheapshot on our player. Having Downey in the line up will do absolutely nothing to improve our hockey team. Our main problem is defense right now, Downey can't change that! He is in GR where he belongs!

Don't forget that there were people that hated Gretzky for the same reasons they are hating Crosby. Same for Lemieux. And same for the next phenom i'm sure. As for who ever is having man love for Semin (and its not me!)... that is wierd and maybe a topic better suited on another message board! Hahahah!

We Canadians take our hockey seriously and with pride... it's our national sport. For the Canadian media to be gloating over Crosby says how high we hold Crosby amongst the many many many great players we have to offer... and we have plenty to choose from. All the hype surrounding him, whether liked or not, has some merit too. There is a need to promote the sport and make it more profitable... what does hockey rank in US sports? 4th maybe. If pumping Crosby generates more interest and revenue then why not. I'm sure wasn't Crosby's idea. Why would they choose Crosby if he weren't the real deal? Why are they promoting him so much? Because he produces and there are people just like us talking about him... seems their idea is working like a charm to me.... like it or not!

Perfectly said HS but you can't base a players worth by stats. What are stats anyway? Just numbers of how a player contributes to his team while on the ice! Why do they bother with stats anyway?

GO SKACORE... I'm with you all the way buddy. How many great players out there do you see making comments like Semin? Not many. Why? Because great players are great at doing what they do and let their game do the talking. Great players don't have to try to boost their own stock by taking shots at other players. And if you should not count the quality of a player by his stats then what should you base your opinion on? His hair? His shoe's maybe!? How about last name.... well then Semin is a loser there too! Crosby's numbers are what they are because of his play. He has won so many awards because of his play. He was made Captain because of his play. He's been a leader everywhere he has played, he has produced everywhere he has played and he has improved everywhere he has played.... and yes, he has accomplished all that and he is only 21! Semin comparing Crosby to Kane says it all. Kane is a great player but he will never ever be anywhere close to Crosby.

I really hate Sean Avery but I think even he would be more intimidating, and effective then Downey, McCarty, Maltby, Kopecky and Lilja.

I might be the only person on LGW that thinks this but I think Downey is just as usless as McCarty and Maltby. His hands are made of cement, he fights but not very well! Not sure what type of message swapping one pilon for another is going to send except we are desparate. I think we are all starved for an actual physical presence that Downey is as close as we have.... thats sad! Downey being in the line up will not change a thing... I think Pronger would dumby Downey personally and I can't see how he would intidate any other team in the league. I give Downey credit for dropping the gloves but he is a terrible fighter and a worse hockey player. Don't hate me for having a different opinion, I'm sure he is a great guy but I want to see some positive changes not different faces achieving the same results!

Who was/is you all time favourite goalie? Some of you may remember my favourite goalie. His career was ended abruptly while his star was quickly rising. My favourite goalie was Pelle Lindburgh from the Philidelphia Flyers in the 80's.

I actually thought CuJo was fantastic in Detroit. He did not deserve the treatment he got. Having a team that wasn't scoring and a few soft untimely goals made it look worse. Plus wasn't that during the Dave Lewis reign? Man I hated Dave Lewis as a Coach! Poor Cujo, if ever a player I wanted to come to Detroit and win a cup he would have been one of the top for me! CuJo was and is a star!

Thats hilarious! I was Greg Stefan or Mario Gosselin!

I think the best thing so far is the fact the we can come up with wins even while we are really not playing up to par yet. To be honest, even though we are not playing Red Wing hockey yet I feel no nervousness with this team! A lot of players that have been around the team for a long time and know what to expect. Adversity is part of the game and we are gliding through some early in the season.... says a lot about us as a team! Hossa has been a great addition, I love watching him play with Datsyuk and Holmer! Good thread!

I thought I would have gotten a comment or 2 on my fav. Does anyone even remember Pelle Lindburgh? His mask was awesome too... his plain white Jason mask was sick!

Fuhr and Hasek would be next on my list. Fuhr/Moog in Edmonton was the greatest tandem I had ever seen.

Yup, I like Cleary and how he plays the game. Not sure how anyone can really pick and choose who to blame because so far the whole team isn't looking good. Some players are finding their own and some are looking worse then ever. The whole team needs to tighten and simplify. Cleary is no exception but to say you hate him?! He is one of the hardest working Wings that for sure, might not be playing his 'A' game yet but not many are.

I liked Quincey and I agree that he'd be a better option then Lebda and IMO Lilja too. I would have liked to see him stay but he has gone from trying to make our roster to a 22 minute per game guy in LA. I think he deserves the shot and the ice time.. he would have never gotten here. Good Luck Quincey and hopefully Good bye Lebda and Lilja!

Take off eh! No way I'm throwing in my Canadian Tire money too. I do agree that the publicity surrounding him might be a big distraction... especially in a low key dressing room like ours. Good point!

I would do it.... would you? Discuss.

I'm floored that he could have surgery like that and be game ready this quick. Modern science is amazing... I'm sure having the best doctors goes a long way too. Glad he's healed!

Lucic is exactly what I see missing from our team. I Love this kid, he is fun to watch! Watching any Maple Leaf being put through the glass is fun too.... I hate the Maple Leafs and fans most of all!

I do agree that the Wings organization does everything it can to add pieces to improve each and every year. And looking at our roster there are plenty of players that could be making substantially more elsewhere. I think the players stay for less due to the team philosophy/strategy, the organizations commitment to ice a competitive team every year and equally important that they are treated incredibly well by the organization as well. We have seen plenty of players leave an annual competitor in the Wings to chase more money elsewhere only to find out after that is was a big big mistake... Fedorov, Schneider, Bertuzzi. I've been living in Montreal for almost 2 years now and get to hear how they are the greatest NHL organization in the league yet I don't see players wanting to stay for less nor have they been a great team for the past 15 years. In my opinion there is no better organization in the NHL and possibly in profesional sports. I hope they find a suitable replacement when Mr. Illtich decides to "hang up his skates"... I attribute our teams success to Mr. Illitch and his dedication to the team. Success starts from top down and we are the best because we have the best! As for Crosby getting the C too soon. You have a legitimate point, he definately could have used some time to mature and learn how to be a Captain of an NHL team but I don't think it as a knock on him, unless he never improves and that has yet to be seen. If I were to offer you a trade of all your current tools for a fully loaded top line Snap-On tool box filled with top line tools but the draw back was that there was a squeak when you opened the lid and a few of the tools, despite being top notch, needed to be sharpened... would you take it? Or would you pass because of the squeak and because you have to a sharpen few of the tools?

We have a 4th line? I have yet to see it this year! Maybe they are experiementing with the invisible 4th line. All kidding aside, we definately need more production for everyone except Holmer and Franzen. We only have 4 players currently with more the 1 goal. Worse yet we have 10 player who have yet to tally and 7 players who are in the minus. The whole team needs to tighten their game, keep it simple if you will, to get on track.

Its been pretty well the same thing for the first few games: 1. Defensive lapses.... too many uncharacteristic turnovers! 2. Too much fancy puck play and not enough good hard quality shots on net. 3. Bad untimely penalties (they always hurt). 4. Some bad bounces as well. Goaltending as been pretty good. Ozzie had some rough games... Conklin has been great! All in all... nothing to worry about everything will be back to form after a few more games. Like Mickey Redmond said "Good teams find a way to win even when they aren't playing their best!" and we are. We will sharpen up as we go!

I do think that age is a factor as most young guys have to spend time in the minor league preparing for the transition to the pro's and in doing so they are taught alot of the skills they will need to succeed (off-ice and on-ice) at the highest level. For most, even after spending time in the minor's, they still need adjusting time when the finally reach the pro rank. Crosby never had that and was put right into the fire and IMHO has done quite well considering. I think due to the fact that he was one of the rare few that have that happen to him it was a logical move for Pitsburgh, who is building their team around him, to make him the Captain... and perhaps they didn't feel that there was anyone else on their team that would be better suited. I think there is also the fact that him being a young phenom able to be put into such a situation is very exciting for most hockey fans and therefore generates alot of money as a bonus. I don't believe that Crosby asked for all the responsibility that has been handed to him, it was proposed, he accepted and is doing the best he knows how at this point in time... and considering all that he is doing a great job. I have not heard 1 legitimate negative factor that proves otherwise. And from where he is at cuurently he can improve if he chooses. I consider myself a huge Red Wing fan and I have been since the early 80's. But I don't consider myself to be a "homer", I can critique, good and bad, on our beloved team. I am Canadian and if I am a homer about anything, I take extra pride in our sport and the talent we produce and Crosby just happens to be the cream of the Canadian crop! I also like the North American style more as I find it more exciting. Thats not to say that there is no place for european players or their influence but I would like to see more North American players, that fit into our system, brought back into our organization to give us the best mixture of what both European style and North American style bring! Lastly, whining is annoying by anyone... I don't care for it either but to say "He sucks because he whines!" is crazy. I would agree with the statement "It sucks that he whines!". The kid can play. Defensively he can, and no doubt will, learn. Besides defense doesn't score goals... offense does and both are require to win! Great debate going on here... keep it clean and its alot of fun eh!

Both Dats and Zet were groomed in the Detroit organization surrounded by legends like Yzerman, Shanahan, Lidstrom, Hull... and on and on. Both Dats and Zet spent years in this organization, being groomed and slowly moved their way up the pecking order until finally... 5 years into their career they were ready to handle the responsibility of being Assistant Captain to Mr. Perfect Nick lidstrom. Perhaps, it was their nature but perhaps they learned alot from spending their whole career in Detroit?! Now go out there and take any 19, 20, 21 year old kid and give him the massive responsibilities that have been placed upon Crosby and see how they respond! If it were me in that sitaution at that age I would have went missing for weeks at a time from partying my ass off and sharing a piece of my captains C with as many beautiful young ladies as I could. Now to mention that I help lead my team to a Stanley Cup final and lose and now I am supposed to take it graciously? AT that age I would have flipped my lid, I'd have cried and swore and thrown things, I would have been just as pissed a Crosby and I would have been worse then a whiner. I guess it would have better for him in his interview to say "I sucked out there, Our whole team is crap, and we deserved to lose and I am taking it so graciously aren't I!" Bull crap! That kid has the weight of the NHL around his neck, the weight of the Pen organization and the weight of the entire hockey community to bare. All eye's are on him and the biggest gripe is that he's whiney.... wow! I commend him of what he does and how he's doing it. I see him learning and getting better each year and once he matures we will all be watching the next record setter like Gretzky, Lemieux and Yzerman! Surround the kid with what the Red Wing organization provides and he becomes defensive minded, more conservative and more of what Detroit values...duh! We had Fedorov, one the biggest ******* in the league on our team for how many years. He would take night after night off for his achey breaky heart, or he was always in Stevie's shadow, or because he didn't want to play defense or he was thinking of Anna, or his Dad was controlling his life... thats Red Wing class I suppose! Half of the people on this board would still take that whiney, bitchey, heartless bastard back after all his antics. He never had to Captain the team, was never the face of the league, was never a leader, nor was he classy.