RedWings Gone Wild

lol why draper... why

hahahahaha... it really does take s*** like that for this team to score. amazing.

I don't know, but I think a large section of the crowd was convinced it was a fire alarm.

they were trying to shoot wide and missed.

i give up tonight, can't watch this s***... maybe they'll do better if i dont watch.

i'd be less annoyed sitting through this if we weren't the most offensively inept team out there.

how badly can this team struggle to score goals... it's like we're fielding a full team of Maltbys.

the whole league's lost its damn mind...

so it's a ducks penalty... meaning it couldnt be a goal either way... and these moron refs need to deliberate for 20 minutes about it? wth kind of league has this craphole become.

i've never seen a season this damn weird and frustrating...

Seriously? It happens in football all the damn time man. Hell, Becks has stated he moved to LA because his wife likes the city... and he transferd to Milan, again, because of the city. Football players transfer clubs at a considerably higher rate than hockey players, and there is far less likelihood that stays will be long-term (unless they are a very high-end talent), so it would be more tolerable to live someplace you hate for a year or two (as opposed to a 7 year contract). But locale often plays a role in decisions.. most likely more often than is reported. And while all the talk of "throw the ***** under a bus" is all well and good from an outsider's perspective, the dynamics of a relationship is difficult to understand, and Datsyuk could easily be feeling a lot of pressure on the home front. Do I buy this? Not really, but it's more than conceivable.

To those honestly considering trading Datsyuk, I hope you have never ever once criticized a player's loyalty before (Fedorov anyone?)... An MVP caliber player who is committed to the franchise long-term, has helped us win two cups, and is a year removed from the finals.... and there is trade talk? Sheesh, talk about malcontents. 1 bad stretch in the guys career with us and he's suddenly Mr. Expendable.

This. He has been captain of their past couple of World Championship rosters, and they've been perfect with him on the ice.

Ah, a very common problem my friend. Here's a tip that's helped me through some difficult decisions... what color pants and shoes are you wearing?

Being 2nd on the team in points hardly qualifies as a year-long slump. Is his consistency and play down? Sure. But it's pretty asinine to single him out since in reality he is performing quite better than a number of long-time Wings. Some examples: Dan Cleary, who was supposed to be blossoming last playoffs onto the next level, has been just awful.. Chris Osgood, who is now well into year two of his slump (his 09 playoffs were far below his 08 ones too... so it's not like his regular season struggles have no impact on the postseason) Rafalski and Lidstrom are also struggling much worse than Datsyuk is... and at this point it's become a group wide dysfunction that they need to collectively shake off too. I think you'd have to be pretty out there to think you'd see any worthwhile return on a Datsyuk trade. Even being a Hart nominee and Selke winner he still gets underrated.

i swear, i feel like i type this every game.... but we somehow have a knack for making every single little goalie who we face look like freakin Hasek or Roy.

How does it help? His competition in net was god-awful that year. Anyways, this organization has gone with the "proven" goaltender every single time for close to 20 years now. Vernon > Osgood Hasek > Osgood Osgood > Conklin Regardless of regular season this club usually goes with the veteran (at least initially).. so it would be a shocker to me if Osgood was healthy and on the bench come playoffs.

There, that's what you really meant right? I mean, he is still wearing the number after all.

First off, Osgood has been playing bad. And unless there is some non-existent stat that I am unaware of, there is no evidence to suggest otherwise. Blaming it on the "same ol' crowd of Ozzie H8rZ" is a cop out. He has been just as bad as our defense.. the difference is Howard has been able to make more of those crucial goal-saving saves this year than Osgood has... but both have let in some real softies. Also, Osgood is 37. Howard is 25. Osgood shouldn't be starting if he can't mentally prepare for games... He's not a new goalie, and, in fact, he has always performed better when fighting another goalie for his spot as the #1. Starting an old goalie "over and over again" despite the outcome, despite no sign that those starts will make a difference, is asinine. Not to mention, the guy's only really had one super regular season since resigning with us in 05, so there is little to suggest he is mentally prepared to handle the load... Also, the year he had his heaviest workload since resigning (last year), was also his worst year as an NHL player EVER... So, where you've found a magical correlation between games started and good goaltending is beyond me... Not to mention, Ozzy didn't start playing any better until he was given a "mental vacation" last year.... So maybe, if anything, Osgood needs to play less until he can prove he's a capable goaltender. Not to mention, your "plan" lacks any and all foresight (37 years olds occasionally get longterm injuries ya' know). Howard needs the time to develop, needs the time to adjust to the faster pace, the better players... Howard needs to be evaluated early on so we can make a judgment call as to whether or not this guy is capable of being our #2, or if we conversely need to find a more suitable backup, unless you'd rather mortgage the future on a guy who should be enough of a veteran to play out of a funk with the time he's given. There's a reason the Wings have been connected to every single goaltending rumor this season.

there was talk a few weeks ago that he would try and make it back for the olympics... and now we're talking about missing the playoffs? That's a swing in the time table of months... which leads me to believe that no one knows jack sh**.

I could live without every single stat having a trophy associated with it (we're almost there...)..... but the best offensive defenseman award is something I would certainly like to see... especially since the Norris has been used that way on many occasions.

Predicting a goaltender's career outlook is subjective because it's really almost as much to do with opportunity/expectations as innate ability. A rookie campaign is by no means an indication of future value or future worthlessness. Predictions to either extreme are misguided. Goalies go from Hero to Zero to Hero again on a regular basis in this league... just look at Mason. Hell, even Hiller looks like he's on the verge of losing his job to Giggy (another ironic hit or miss goalie).

Considering Howard has been hung out to dry by the same poor defense, and he's sporting a respectable .910 SV%, and Osgood's is 39th in the league with .896... it's damn well safe to say he's played like absolute and complete crap... and many of the weak/savable goals he's allowed indicate that as well... the timing of the goals he allows also seem to be particularly debilitating. Has our defense helped his cause? No. but he's been garbage, and there is nothing to suggest otherwise.

it's official... Osgood has the worst five-hole in hockey.

Agreed. Plus he has the added insult of being forever subjected to reruns of clips of it on crap like "best damn zaniest this or thats" .... Kinda like poor Patrik Stefan.