GMRwings1983

What's to stop Chris Chelios from scoring a goal like that?

I don't know about that. He does have a european sounding name.

Maybe this is the year where we'll finally see Drapes scoring on breakaways.

He's known as being lazy and a poor leader. Then again, that's the Islanders fault for making him captain. I don't think he'd be a cancer in our locker room, but my first post on Yashin sums up exactly why we should never even think about signing him.

Yashin? What's the point of getting him? He's the same thing as Robert Lang, except he doesn't score clutch goals.

Something that happened 5 months ago, even though the new season has already restarted. Come on guys, there's no sense talking about this now. We'll always have it in the back of our minds, besides we've had bigger disappointments in the past as far as I'm concerned. While we're at it, anyone want to talk about how the Wings should have won the cup in 1942 when they were up 3-0 in the series, before they blew it to the Leafs?

With all the injuries piling up, I wouldn't be surprised if he suits up for the Wings sometime next week.

Does Robert Lang count as a big body? Seriously, though, Phoenix won't trade Doan for Fillpulla and crap in return, especially since Fillpulla himself is playing like crap right now. Holland should have had some foresight in the offseason to bring in a forward, instead of scrambling around now. I'm not too hot on any of the names I've heard mentioned so far. Lindros, Bondra, Carter? Would you guys really want to see any of these rejects in a Wings uniform? We're in a tough situation right now at forward, and it's only going to get worse unless Fillpulla, Cleary, and Hudler step it up offensively.

Absolutely, his number will be retired. He's been the most consistent athlete in any sport over the last 10 plus years. With everything that he's done for the Wings, if they don't retire his number, then they'll never retire anyone after Yzerman. Lidstrom is as good as it gets.

The Wings brass knows how to put a winning team together, but we've had our own hiccups in the past. Even this year we put so much stock in Hudler and Fillpulla stepping up on the 2nd line, and so far it hasn't looked good. I don't remember the Antropov rumors, but I can't believe that Holland was ever serious about landing that bum.

You're missing the point. Downey went after a guy that had been running our players all game long. That's what his job is. McLaren didn't do s*** after that.

Is this the same ant-skill crowd that wants Kopecky and Lilja out of the lineup because they have no skill? What skill are you talking about? Nobody wants our top players out of the lineup, we just don't want jobbers on the 4th line who don't bring anything to a team. Downey may bring only 1 thing, but that's one more thing than what some other players are bringing right now.

He's been exactly what I thought he'd be. He can score points on the PP, and is a good quarterback back there, but is prone to turning the puck over from time to time. Also, Lidstrom hasn't produced on the scoreboard for the last few games, and I wonder how much of that is due to Rafalski being paired with him instead of defensive defenseman.

Downey is more talked about, but only because he's the only such player on the roster. However, we've seen other guys like Kopecky. Useless players who may have size but don't know how to use it. Remember Langfeld last year, or how about Lilja who also doesn't know how to use his size. Maybe if the Wings had an enforcer for the last few years just like every other team in hockey did, then we wouldn't be having this discussion. And as I've said earlier, Downey's history with other teams has to do with him being replaced by better enforcers, just like the Blues did last year when they brought in D.J. King. I think it's fair to say that we're not going to bring any other enforcers in, especially since it took so long just to get Downey to make this team.

I think that the irrational Downey obsession that you allude to stems from the fact that we haven't seen an enforcer in a Wings uniform for a long time. If I'm thinking irrationally, then I guess you can say that I'm hungry for blood. But there's also an irrational Kopecky obsession that's developing, because some people seem to think that this rented mule is actually capable of being anything besides Babcock's fantasy "team toughness" player.

Downey is a good fighter, but he's been injured often, besides he's not really a heavyweight enforcer. That is why other teams haven't played him much, because they have their own heavyweights. However, I and many other posters here want him on this team because we've been fed up with having a ***** team for too long. Nobody's saying Downey is a great enforcer, but he's better than nothing, and better than what else was out there. Also, Hartnell is not an enforcer, and neither is Joe Thornton. Yes, I'd love to have those players here because they can do more than fight, but that is a different story. With our roster being as weak as it is now, why not play Downey? I agree that we lack scoring, but replacing Kopecky for Downey is not going to hurt us in that department. We have plenty of roster spots right now that are not producing, so a change needs to be made. Who knows, maybe it'll light a fire under those younger players, though I doubt it. There's nothing wrong with being copycats in saying that because everyone has a fighter, we need one too.

Well, if you want an enforcer that can do more than goon it up, then who do you suggest? How many current enforcers are there that can do more than goon it up? I can't name very many. So as I was saying, by your philosophy, we'll never have nor need an enforcer. Trust me, Downey is no less talented than any other enforcer in the league.

What's wrong with that? Each guy is there for a different reason. Give Downey more minutes and he'll serve his purpose. Kopecky doesn't really have a purpose, so to me he's a lost cause until proven otherwise. We know Downey is willing to fight. We don't know what Kopecky is willing to do as of yet.

Following that philosophy, only a few enforcers in history should have ever existed, namely those that can score. I got news for you, Joey Kocur wasn't known as the most talented hockey player in the world either. How impressive are his career stats? If you ran the NHL, he would never have played. Enforcers have never received many minutes and have never had that much talent outside of fighting. However, they have always existed. So I guess you know more than any other GM in NHL history. If you only want to have enforcers that can score, then that eliminates just about everyone. What that amounts to is an anti-fighting outlook towards hockey. Just remember this, having an enforcer doesn't eliminate injuries, it deters it. Once again, I'll point out that teams are more willing to run at our players than any other team, because it's easy to bully those who won't do anything about it. With Downey around, we'll have a little more deterrence. He wouldn't have been my 1st choice for an enforcer either, but it's better than nothing.

How was he doing well last season? He scored 1 point in about 25 games.

And then Hasek could jam his goalie stick right up Hartley's ass.

Yeah, but who would you trade for Fedorov? You've already dealt hudler, fillpulla, and a 1st rounder.

I've always hated that s***bag Hartley. I just hope he doesn't get a head coaching job anytime soon.

Most great fighters have been upset at least once in their career, and some were KO'd. Remember the 1st time Probert fought Ewen or Crowder. I think Boulerice is a better fighter than Downey, but there's no use talking about this, since he's suspended and probably won't be back in the league ever again.

So were Lidstrom and Kronwall before Kronwall's injury. It's definitely time to split Nick and Rafalski apart. As for Markov, there's no use in kicking a dead horse. He's not here, and likely won't be back. We don't need to get that desperate yet.