lomekian

Absolute ******* bulls***

The NHL needs to get its s*** together...embarassing they can't get this stuff right...

Anyone else think these announcers are a tad biased?

Wouldn't it be great, just once to see an NHL game not significantly influenced by the officiating. The Ducks have been diving all ******* series. That hit couldn't make me fall over, and I don't play hockey....absolutely pathetic

Call on howard for the same as every goaltender did to Holmstrom 10 times a game for a decade,.....

And the players making the biggest difference for the ducks are players we could never get because of drafting position. The system has been threatening to catch up with the wings for a few years. And with some stop gap signings and a whole raft of rookies, this was always going to be the weakest line up we would put out for a while. And that was without injuries.....

Problem essentially is that a fully fit wins roster may be able to compete, but with no helm, no DD now, and Sammy and Bert basically broken we can't match the ducks for size or speed. Skill level is pretty well matched but in every other department the ducks are better. But that's no surprise, we limped through this year for a reason, and haven't been at full strength yet once this season. We even miss Miller as a combination of decent size and speed

Mike Keenan isn't exactly unbiased though!

Exactly - and its been like this since the new rules came in. On the whole I agree with them, but punishment seems entirely dependent on whether anyone is hurt or not, rather than the nature of the hit. Knee on knee but no-one is hurt - no problem, accidental high stick causes a nick 4 mins. etc....but then I lost faith in this league seeing the officiating and suspensions or lack of them in 2009. And years of seeing goals chalked off for goaltender interference when Holmstrom got crosschecked face-first into the goal. The choice of what can and cannot be reviewed is either incompetence or corruption, plain and simple. It was a penalty and I can see the argument for tossing him, but officiating in the NHL is so inconsistent, so poorly set up with its review system and so open to bias and interpretation that I'm fed up of seeing games decided by people other than the players. It makes one over-sensitive to situations like this where the officials may have had a point. Plus NBC can blow me, because their intermission disgusted martyrdom is nothing to do with serious sports coverage or journalism. But it has to be said, the majority of coverage of NHL games has a level of bias, unsubstantiatable opinion and pointless sensationalism and hero worship that makes it very difficult to watch at times. I am disappointed with football coverage in the UK, but at least that is just inane. NHL coverage is often just embarrassing

The ducks have been hooking and sniping and tripping all ******* game and wings have been called for hooks that have been stick-lifts. It may have been an illegal hit, but so many others are similar and don't get called. Basically the ruling seems to be entirely dependent on whether the person being hit gets up or stays down.

The problem I have with watching the NHL at the moment, is that I have absolutely no faith in the competence or impartiality of the officials

Not sure I agree. Moore has a fair amount of upside, Brassard is almost as good as flip and Gaborik has a hefty salary. Our saleable non core assets are UFAs, totally unproven kids or scrubs. Had white and Flip both had a year more on contract, it would have been worth pushing for him with them in a deal, but I just think the timing was wrong for the wings on that one. Also the Rags and the BJs already have their trade love-in going on, so I'm not sure we would have been as popular as trade partners. Also part of the wings problem is finding willing trade partners. West Conf teams don't want to trade with us unless it favours them because of this years playoffs and old rivalries, and the East are worried about the impact the wings may have this year. Rentals or bad deals only I think...

It strikes me that the majority of complainents on here have little understanding how reality works. I would agree that not doing more at last years deadline was a mistake, and perhaps if Holland had realised that Lids was going to retire he would have made a trade splash to give us our last go at the cup. This year we are not cup contenders in all reality, but probably will make the playoffs. The only players on the market that would have made a significant impact, either went for very big prices and/or have very big salaries or were rentals for high picks in a draft with at least one and a half deep rounds. Unless they pull off a miracle, the wings will have their highest 1st round pick in over two decades, and in a draft where the first 2/3 of the first round are thought to be pretty exciting. After the first half of the second round the draft drops off a fair bit, and early comparisons with 2003 are wide of the mark. With this in mind trading top 2 round picks away was not likely to be a great idea, and trading players like White for 3rd rounders is not worth a great deal. Another key element is that with so many injuries and rookies, its hard for the GM or coach to really know where things stand. Will Cola stay fit or play well so soon back? Will Quincy return effectively? Will Dekeyser be able to step up straight away? Can lashoff cope with the playoffs if called on? Will bert or helm come back? Can Sammy play more than 2 games in a row? Holland doesn't need how many pieces he needs to get the team into the playoffs, and maybe a round or two in. Equally lots of rookies bring unpredictability. Not to mention the fact that the griffs are in line for the playoffs, and it could be valuable for a borderline NHL press boxer to get 20+ mins a night down there if the injured players do return. I agree with those who said that we should have done more last year and seen more of smith then. I also liked what tatar brought to the big club, but I'm not sure it was much more than a fit sammy, and certainly not enough to get rid of flip, especially since for the first time in two decades we are short at centre. Another consideration is that our most exciting prospects, in terms of high end potential and fitting needs of the NHL line-up are just too far away to gain masses in a trade or justify trading the likes of Nyquist or Tatar unless in a really sweet deal. As for the pending UFAs,..we want to keep flip. He knows the club, is defensively sound and can put up on average 50 ish points a year. He'll get more money than he deserves, but wont have a NTC so it wont be a disaster. Also with the possibility of dats leaving and it being too soon for Jarnkrok, Sheahan or Greek lightning to be relied upon in that eventuality, we need to keep flip, even if its just for 2-3 years. Also if he re-signs he'll be worth more in a trade than as a pending UFA. White has been underwhelming and has 3rd round value at best, and would not have been a great fit in any of the trades that took place. Miller is worth more to us on current performance level than to anyone else in a trade. If Bert and Helm were fit, he'd probably be gone, but he's been one of the best of our plugs of late, and probably wouldn't have secured more than a 6th rounder. Anyone trading with us would have wanted Smith, Nyquist, Tatar or someone like Sproul as a prospect, and I think they will be worth more to the wings than we'd have got for them.

Jesus the stripes are calling against us hard every bloody game at the moment

Ice hockey is incredibly frustrating to watch at sometimes due to the regular incompetence of the multiple officials. If they were that bad on basic rulings in football they'd be slaughtered. Still, lets hope Berts alright and be thankful for the goal from Z

Same old dirty effing stars and same old incompetent officials.

Abdelkader is a bigger and possibly better hitter than helm, but because of his speed helm is often a more effective hitter, in terms of the next phase of play. I think Abdelkader has better hands, but hasn't quite worked out how to use his skillset in the same way as helm and, as was mentioned, Miller have. Helm knows what he has and squeezes what he can out of elite wheels, decent positioning and mediocre hands. Miller is just smarter at knowing where to be to capitalise despite his fairly mediocre skillset. 'Kader still has time to develop in relation to miller particularly, but at present needs to play at 100% to really make an impact.

Joe Thornton is a Brilliant player but doesn't seem to deal well when the intensity ramps up. He's basically a prick who never crosses the line sufficiently to ever get severely penalised, but 20 years ago someone like Marty McSorely would have pretty much killed him. He's a big little man.

Finally worked out where your avatar is from. Bloody hell that's obscure...a Norwiegen sketch show mocking the Danish Language. Good sketch! PS Hit was accidental as Hemsky isn't even looking. Dirt knee hitters rarely think they shouldn't even get a penalty.

I have stayed up in England to all kinds of stupid o'clock to watch the games, and there have been so many bad calls already this year. It seems that the opposition can tap dance on Howard's head and no-one gives a rats arse, but if holmstrom farts in the direction of a goalie, we have a penalty and goals waved off. The standard of officiating in the NHL is getting worse year by year over the last 15 years I have following from overseas, and frankly, I'm not sure I can be bothered anymore. The league has the parity it wants, but it does seem there is another agenda out there, following on from the endless debacles in 2009 playoffs. The fact that these don't get reviewed and there is no real forum to criticise officials is pathetic. That said, the team looks in not great shape this year, and this seems to be the beginning of a slow long predicted partial decline, that needs to be addressed with more size and speed in the line up. Just as well some of the kids coming up in the system look exciting.

Well I seldom contribute because its pretty difficult to do so from the UK, but I lurk around pretty much every red wings prospect forum I have found (and use it to update all NHL related PC games accordingly). I would agree the article seems out of date as it seems to say things even I know are wrong! Obviously everyone seems to like the cut of mursak's jib, and its only a matter of time before he is regular 3rd liner in my eyes. Pulkkinen is also clearly very exciting, but its too early to say if his injury problems are behind him. RE HTD, I like that the wings are keeping tabs, because all the stats and reports would suggest that his problem is more maturity than ability, and that can come. I guess also being almost European (bit of politics there)that I have some sympathy for those who make poor transitions, and looking at this years stats and reports of renewed vitality, that I would even have a look-see to check if grigorenko has finally conquered his post accident demons. I guess the ones I am most excited about long term based on reports & video clips are obvious choices like smith, nyquist and nicastro, but almqvist could potentially step into the rafalski role if given time.

Shanny - Yzerman - Feds Dats - Zatta - Hull Franzen - Larianov - Huds Homer - Draper - DMac Helm Lids - Vladi Kronwall - Chelios Fischer - Stuart Ralf Hasek Ozzie Pretty Predictable I guess Well Replace Legace with Maracle for a start. Play meech 4th line fwd and draft in Uwe Krupp.

Pretty sure this has been posted on here before, but it does no harm to see it again. http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/ ... id=4133702 No matter how many times I see this, it brings a tear to my eyes, for so many reasons. It is also a fine example of how great the Red Wings are as a sporting organisation, and should be manditory viewing for any prospect attached to this team for the foreseeable future, to remind them of their good fortune, and to be inspired by this mans determination, willpower, humility and humour. Just a thought from across the pond, where my other great sporting love, Arsenal FC are also well known for looking after their own, helping past heroes fallen on bad times, and trying to help all those who don't quite make it.

To be honest, I figured that with this being an Ice Hockey site, most of you lot would know more than me from across the pond (although if you want I can tell you about the British historical origins of non-ice hockey ). As one of the token Brits on here, I have to defend football (or soccer if you prefer) from those who talk rubbish about it, seeing as it is one of the few topics I can pretty much guarantee to know more about than 90% of the posters on here. And being a classical actor, anything that can justify a Shakespeare quote is good! As an aside, on of the things I love about this site, is the broad range of views, communication styles etc, which gives me an interesting insight into people I otherwise only meet in passing. Oh and Hemmingway was over-rated......

That article is self contradictory and inaccurate. The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863 and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford "-er" abbreviation of the word "association". Today the sport is known as football in English-speaking countries in which it is the most popular football code; where other codes are more popular, the sport is more commonly referred to as soccer. Non-English-speaking countries predominantly use a variation of football, such as Spanish fútbol, Portuguese futebol or German Fußball. The Middle Ages saw a huge rise in popularity of annual Shrovetide football matches throughout Europe, particularly in England.The game played in England at this time may have arrived with the Roman occupation. The first detailed description of what was almost certainly football in England was given by William FitzStephen in about 1174. For those wanting a further sporting education: In 1363, King Edward III of England issued a proclamation banning "...handball, football, or hockey; coursing and cock-fighting, or other such idle games", showing that "football" — whatever its exact form in this case — was being differentiated from games involving other parts of the body, such as handball. By 1608 the word "football" was used disapprovingly by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare's play King Lear contains the line: "Nor tripped neither, you base football player" (Act I, Scene 4). Shakespeare also mentions the game in A Comedy of Errors (Act II, Scene 1): Am I so round with you as you with me, That like a football you do spurn me thus? You spurn me hence, and he will spurn me hither: If I last in this service, you must case me in leather. "Spurn" literally means to kick away, thus implying that the game involved kicking a ball between players. King James I of England's Book of Sports (1618) however, instructs Christians to play at football every Sunday afternoon after worship The first offside rules were devised during the late 18th century The Côte d'Ivoire national football team helped secure a truce to the nation's civil war in 2006 and it helped further reduce tensions between government and rebel forces in 2007 by playing a match in the rebel capital of Bouaké, an occasion that brought both armies together peacefully for the first time. By contrast, football is widely considered to be the final proximate cause in the Football War in June 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras. The sport also exacerbated tensions at the beginning of the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s, when a match between Dinamo Zagreb and Red Star Belgrade devolved into rioting in March 1990 Interestingly, Baseball was popular in Britain in 1700s (and until about 1860 it was still far less popular in the USA than cricket). American Football was basically rugby until about 1880, and basketball was invented by accident by a YMCA tutor trying to keep students fit with only a clapped out old gym, a peach basket and an 'Association Football' to hand. Bizzarely it appears as though Ice Hockey was invented by bored British soldiers in Canada....