stevkrause

I added something to your post in bold, because even though I agree with you 100%, I still think there would have been a few jack-holes here that would have voted for him to retire...

I really hate this board sometimes... you need to break some eggs to make an omelet - we are 6-2-1 and off to a great start, but some posters here just want to look at the negatives... how horrible a life that must be to be such an eternal pessimist... Would I have liked to keep Ritola and let him develop more? yes, but what needed to be done, was done. period. Just root for him in TB and accept that Holland and co. made a tough decision that needed to be made.

Exactly... win-win, it will finally take those abortions of projects and get them to markets that will welcome them

He likes to resurrect threads that have any players name in them, to post new, un-related information to confuse everyone...

And there it is... http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2010/10/red_wings_jiri_hudler_surprise.html

Ooh, ooh, ooh... the whole thing? China... I have something you may be interested in! Sorry, I had to

So you do care whether it is Hudler or Modano then, since you could care less?

If I had to hazard a guess, I would say Hudler actually... I can't remember who was arguing with me that Abs would not be back in unless there was an injury - As I said then, he would be in by Thur or Sat. mark my words... well, mark those words as correct.

in all seriousness though, I really do put at least part of the blame on Ericsson's defensive steps back, Kronwall's inability to taking that leap forward to elite, Ledba's HORRENDOUS steps backwards and Meech never developing into more than a fringe NHL'er on McCrimmon...

It negates the dangerous, unexpected physical aspects of the game... the bullying doesn't work and look at the Ducks and their success... short of Philly and NY, name me ONE other team that REALLY plays like that in the East... you could just as easily argue the style by the Ducks and Flames on the West as the same... so once again, the difference is minimal at most...

and that too, haha although, this one I actually agree with, but that's for a whole litany of points and other arguments as well that stem back to the day he started here...

You forgot about trading Hudler

And why would the Wings as opposed to current EC teams? If anything, they'd be less likely, as a puck posession style of game basically negates the dump and chase anyway...

I'd like you to show me some stats that back up the argument that there are more man games lost in the East than the West... I don't buy for one second that this is the case...

I endorse this entire reply on all accounts. and this one as well.

The book reader from Amazon?

That handful is dwindling by the year though and those teams have not been winning, so they will continue to dwindle... also, a team cannot dump and chase, if they never get the puck... I think endurance is a FAR bigger factor in the West actually, that travel takes its toll and is a lot more draining (mentally and physically) than playing an up-tempo style of hockey that these athletes are conditioned for...

Winnipeg wouldn't affect a shift for East-West most likely anyway, as Winnipeg will probably just be getting its Jets back (Phoenix) The East-West shift would come into question if/when Quebec gets a team back (Atlanta most likely) and/or if the New York Islanders move to Kansas City

Skill beats goonery 9 out of 10 times... if anything, the other teams would need to re-tool to compete with Detroit... it's kind of a moot point anyway, because the difference between the 2 conferences is minimal at most...

He's been FINE, he could play a little more physical again, but I'm sure with all the injuries, that that has something to do with it... once everyone is healthy, pair him with Rafalski (I originally wanted Stuart and Rafalski, but Stuart seems to prefer the right side and has been playing very well with Lids, so why break it up?) and watch the difference...

yea, but how well will you really be able to enjoy it, considering how crowded it will be with so many members from LGW up there?

I think the East/West format needs to go away and there needs to be a re-alignment with all conferences essentially enduring the same travel, almost similar to an AL/NL setup in MLB (http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/index.php/topic/63908-re-alignment/)... with that said, if they are going to stay in an East-West format, then there is no doubt the Wings should be in the East, as it should have been all along...

a flub of a puck when the net is empty = sit him?!? :huh: He was one of our best defensemen last night and short of that gaff, was one of the only reasons we were still in the game... he was moving the puck well, moving quickly and making smart plays... he's had a revolving door of d partners this year and that's hard to get into a groove... the knee jerk reactions on this board floor me sometimes... EDIT: Oh, by the way, we're 5-2-1 if you guys haven't noticed... get off the ledge...

Did the decline of respect lead to more equipment, or did more equipment lead to the decline of respect... think about it... In all seriousness though, I think 55fan was right on with the train of thought - back then and now, there will be players that are clean and players that are dirty, I don't think that has any ties to generation, it's just a variable of man-kind and will always exist. I think to some of the older players, things come across as more violent in today's game, because they happen so much faster and harder than they did back then... as another poster touched on (although in a more disrespectful way) players back then were nowhere near as well conditioned or big as they are today, combine that with a wider talent pool (world-wide), enhancements in technology (lighter and better performance enhanced equipment, sticks that allow a beer leaguer like myself to still crank it up to almost 90mph, better kept up ice surfaces, etc, etc, etc...) and other factors (other than love for the game - ie.money) driving the players to crank it up and the result is an incredibly fast, physical game...

I think Abs will be in the lineup this Thurs or Sat chances are that Babs will go into the game with the same lines with Abs just replacing Miller on the 4th line, but he will tinker in-game with the bottom 2 lines and even spell Holmstrom a few shifts on the 1st line with some of those bottom line guys I wouldn't mind seeing: Hudler-Modano-Eaves Cleary-Helm-Abdelkader for a few shifts and see if it shakes things up enough, Eaves speed and defensive abilities could REALLY help the lack of D by Hudler and Modano and he'll go to the dirty areas as well, not to mention has a great shot... I think Cleary could just use a change of scenery and if he doesn't have to worry about D as much (as he does on the 3rd line) he could potentially crank it up on the 4th... All and all, these are great problems to have...