VM1138

Preseason could be an indicator, but he's racking up points because he's playing. Come regular season, he's not going to get as much ice time in crucial situations. But last year's playoffs should prove to every critic that Chelios is only "washed up" due to lack of playing time. The more time he's given, in more crucial situations, the better he is.

Sure people think he'll fight and be aggressive, but in reality, it has everything to do with his performance NOW. Past numbers don't matter. Most people here don't even know anything about his past. What they see is him working his ass off in the preseason and training camp and making a difference. Time again it' sbeen shown that if you need a career boost you come to Detroit. In most players, the Wings bring out the best in them.

If people want to bash Lilja for the pass, then why aren't you all tearing Lidstrom apart for his own nasty deflection?

It's funny how quickly fans forget. The Sharks series was extremely dicey. We did NOT dominate them like so many remember. I don't want to say we got lucky, but it was a closer series than a simple 4-2 series win indicates. They DID improve over the summer. And let's not forget, everyone here thinks the Wings are going to crush Anaheim (the favorites according to most) because we have a chip on our shoulder. But the Wings are in the Sharks' sights for exactly the same reason. We have a better defense, but they probably have the better offense. The main thing that kept us going in the last playoffs was our resilience. We were on our backs through much of the playoffs, but we never gave up and managed to take advantage of mistakes the other team made. What happens if we play a team that doesn't make enough mistakes? Or what happens if our resilience is gone? I mean, last year, our ability to come back and win games was stuff of legends. Can we repeat that? A lot of teams got better and the Wings status is largely up in the air. I want to be optimistic, but EVERYTHING hinges on the ability of our team to be patient and wear the other team down and take advantage of mistakes.

They look so....skinny.

"Perhaps the Injury Bug... if we stay healthy, I honestly dont think theres a team with our mix of skill and grit. Yes some teams have more grit, but few can put the skill wiht it." Frankly, skill doesn't matter. If you can goon your way up (say, like Anaheim did, with the exception of Niedermeyer and Selanne), that's all you need to win. Grit+Skill is no match for Pure Goonery.

Well there you have it. The trapezoid makes the game more entertaining by preventing rapid-fire clearing attempts.

Clutch and Coaching have to be fives. The only time the Wings played amazing was when it really mattered. And Babcock is an amazing coach. The rest....well....there's a lot of question marks. The only thing that seems to be a lock is good offense.

I'm really torn. I have a CHelios Home (Red) one, and I'm looking to get a white away one, CCM, not RBK. I'm either leaning towards Zetterberg or Cleary, but I'd like to get a Rafalski or Drake one (but after the Bertuzzi/Calder fiasco I want to see if they actually perform as good as they are expected to.)

I'm sorry, but why are a lot of those players ranked over Datsyuk? I understand why Zetterberg is higher, because he's better all around, but Datsyuk is...well, one of the best players in the league for his skating and scoring ability. Much better than a lot of these players (like Pronger) which seem to be included just to represent each team.

ESPN has nothing going for it. Annoying broadcasters, constant repetitions of boring ass Sportscenters (how many times can you see a guy swing a bat in twenty different shots). I have NEVER seen so much baseball in my life. It sickens me.

I don't care what anyone says, Columbus improved a lot this off season. They were going strong at end of last season, they got rid of some riff-raff, and they got a decent player in Peca. This could be the upstart team of the season, quite possibly contending for one of the lower playoff spots.

Bowman broke up his lines (i.e the Grind Line) all the time. The regular season is for experimenting. He reassembles the important lines for playoffs. Here's a question. How do you guys think Babcock decides who goes on the top line, Datsyuk or Zetterberg? In my mind they both play at the same level, but maybe Zetterberg is slightly better in the leadership department (he's definitely a future captain). So what pushes Datsyuk above Zetterberg in Babcock's mind? Mind you, I'm not belitting Datys, they're two of the best players in the league, it'd be hard to pick one over the other.

Don't you remember? Whoever signed Ryan Smyth wins the Cup for the next 50 years!

They're pretty ugly. But ugly in a....loveable mutt sort of way. They're bold.

Just got my notice. Unfortunately I didn't expect to get it so soon, and I don't have the money. I'm currently looking for people to split the cost, but I've never done it before and I'm not really sure how to go about doing this in a way that I cover all the bases and won't get screwed (or get accused of screwing anyone else over). Are the only costs the money for the seats themselves and the 500 deposit? Or are there any other hidden costs? Actually, it soudns like the smarter plan would be to buy the games individually. Are there any benefits to having season tickets other than just having guaranteed seats?

I don't see anything being put off proportion by the thickness of a line. Actually, I think the newer ones are more balanced. The bottom white stripe looks better on the new ones. Now, the tag does look retarded.

It's an interesting idea, and would reflect talent, but I don't know about using this as an official point tallying device. Simply because the standings fluctuate so much. If you wait until the end of the season to do the tallies, you have no real idea what sort of progress your team is making, and you won't know if you made playoffs until it's too late to make changes. And if you tally ongoing during the season, the standings fluctuate so much it would make it difficult to keep track. I'd like to keep the current standings, but if someone wanted to do this next season as a little hobby, it would definitely be interesting to see.

Wow, people like to complain. All you have to do is buy uniform a bigger size and it won't be hugging you like it will the players. So that isn't really a change. THe only changes is a curve in the tip of the logo and the NHL logo. Seriously, folks, the changes are practically nothing. A casual fan probably wouldn't even notice a difference. Quit being so prissy.

Zetterberg and Datsyuk could be huge stars in Detroit one day. But Yzerman, Federov, and the likes had an opportunity to win three cups for this city when all other Detroit teams sucked. Zetterberg and Datsyuk need to lead the team to a few Cups and build a reputation for amazing playing (which they are doing). THen the widespread popularity will follow. Remember, these guys are leading a team after only four or five years in the league. Our guys didn't get to be truly famous and beloved until 1997. Once we get that cup, you'll see.

Howard is way too inconsistent to be a starter any time in the future. And when he does start, barring some miracle, he will likely only be another Osgood (but I like Osgood, but he IS inconsistent). I'd much rather keep up with the "trade for premier goaltender every year". We're in the age where goalies are hot one year, off the next. There's no such thing as a sure thing with goalies anymore. We really shouldn't be banking on Howard so much. When does Luongo become available? It's time he plays for a team that deserves him.

That sucks, looks like attendance will get worse. Michigan's economy sure isn't getting any better thanks to those blinded by their ties to the un.....wait, I shouldn't get political here.

I started getting nervous when we lost all those players, but now with Rafalski and Drake on the team, I feel we've upgraded. I've also gotten the impression that we've got at least two more people to sign. I'm getting a summer 01 feeling again, so I'm really excited. Watching the Wings was much more entertaining last year than usual, and I expect the grittiness and confidence to grow. I'm also really excited tos ee if our young guys can keep up their development, or if they were one year wonders. Also looking forward to Datsyuk and Zetterberg both playing with new confidence after they saw they could be the league's best players.

Great addition to the team, I'm really excited. Especially for that cheap. We just Bertuzzi-ed our team for virtually free. I'd say that if Kenny was done we'd be an awesome team as is. But something tells me Kenny isn't done. I'm picturing two more signings, a big one, and a role player, both of which will probably make most people happy. I was frustrated at first, but now I definitely feel we're upgrading and Kenny knows what he's doing. I feel kind of bad for bad-talking him, he obviously does have a plan.

I was just wondering the other day if Zetterberg would stick around and how franchise players are so rare these days. I would love for both Datsyuk and Zetterberg to stay for their careers, but they really do remind me of Federov and Yzerman, respectively. Which makes me worry about Datsyuk. That's cool that Zetterberg said he can't complain about his salary. Maybe he won't bleed us dry for his life contract. Althoguh, even if he did it'd be worth it.