GMRwings1983

Abdelkader on the top line? I hope to God not.

Not the last few years they don't. You're thinking old times. Don't. It's 2013. For the last few seasons, our 4th line has been useless and a waste of time. Miller hits? Also, Helm is more of a 3rd liner . He's too important to this team to be on the 4th line.

Our 4th line has been awful for several seasons. Look at the series against Anaheim, where their 4th line was a huge advantage for them. Ours did nothing in that series. Teams that win the Cup typically have a 4th line that contributes greatly throughout the run. It shouldn't just be a place to stack leftover players. It should have identity and purpose, namely an energy line that sparks the teams and has guys with grit, size and preferably fighting ability. A 4th line of Miller-Helm-Samuelsson isn't much of a 4th line.

No. If Dallas "freaking" Drake went before anyone else, why wouldn't Aflie?

Sammy playing on the 4th line is just as bad as him playing bigger minutes. He's not the type of player that should be a 4th liner. That role is better for players with size and grit. Holland and Babcock have no clue what a 4th line is supposed to be.

Just because you can't get big name ufas, doesn't mean you should sign a Samuelsson to a foolish contract. I guess Holland is just as prone to overreaction as any other GM.

Actually, even at the time it seemed like an awful signing, and many people here stated so. As usual, we wanted Holland to target a bigger winger, and not a former washed up player. The no-trade clause ticked even more people off. Sammy was coming off an injury season. Also, many people were calling for the young guns to get more playing time. The signing was pointless even when it happened. This isn't hindsight being 20/20. Just a bad move by Holland, much like the Tootoo / Colaicovo signings and the Quincey trade. Let's hope Alfredsson and Weiss turn out much differently.

Oh yeah. Good point.

I can only imagine the hatred around the NHL if Bertuzzi is the first guy Zetterberg hands the Cup to.

Would have been something if he roofed it. I still can't believe we got such a good chance off the faceoff.

It's harder for older players to recover from injuries. Healing time is longer.

LOL. That explains why you were absent from LGW for some time.

He's a guy in his late 30's coming off two consecutive injury plagued seasons. You're not concerned?

Before or after I score with Kate Upton?

2009 was worse in retrospect. The Wings won numerous Cups after the 1995 loss, while they've only gotten worse as a team since the 2009 loss. Of course if we win another Cup with this roster, it would quench the bitterness, but I don't see that happening anytime soon. Also, they were never close to the Cup in 1995. They were freaking swept. Game 7 at home is as close as you can get to winning the Cup There's so many plays and bounces you can look back on in that 2009 series. What play could have turned the 1995 series around? Hard to point to any, since the team got beat so easily.

I blame Holland more for offering that contract, than I do Sammy for signing it.

I've always figured Datsyuk isn't nearly as popular in Russia as Ovechkin, Kovalchuk or Malkin. I don't live there anymore, so I don't know how much truth there is to that. I just know Datsyuk is more shy by nature, and it doesn't seem like he enjoys the same superstar status in that country as a result.

Well, the Islanders may not be a crappy team anymore. They had a surprising playoff appearance last year.

It'll probably be Ovechkin, since he's the face of the Russian team, especially in the media. But Datsyuk would make the most sense, in terms of sportsmanship and experience in winning big games. In any case, they have bigger problems to worry about than who the captain is. Their defense still looks weak on paper.

Tootoo is definitely not as dirty as he used to be. There was that fight where he decked Dorsett, but he just beat him to the punch. It wasn't a suckerpunch. He does run guys hard, but I don't remember him throwing cheap hits last season.

Duh. Getting paralyzed is most certainly a deterrence.

Cooke has been attacked by enforcers before, most notably Shawn Thornton after the Savard incident. I do think Cooke has changed his game since the Kane knockout. He doesn't play as dirty anymore. I know if I was a Cooke or Shaw, I'd be less likely to go after players like Kronwall and Zetterberg after whistles, if the Wings had a tough guy who could beat the hell out of me for it. I don't know how much fear Tootoo instills in people, but I know he'd make me think twice, as opposed to being afraid of an Eaves or Emmerton, which I wouldn't be.

When they play the Jets When they play the Jets, I hope they will have a West Side Story retro night.

So why was it OK for Derian Hatcher or Scott Stevens to drop the gloves in their eras? Was icetime for star defenseman somehow less important in those days? I don't think that has changed over history. And like I stated, I'm not expecting him to fight as often as the guys you mentioned, so he won't be in the box that often. He just needs to fight occasionally out of necessity, especially if Tootoo won't be back and Holland won't fill that role with anyone else. I'm not just picking on Ericsson. I'm hoping guys like Smith and Abdelkader will be more willing to defend their teammates also.

He started fights at the opening faceoff to spark his team a little. Not just because he had some vendetta against a particular player.