GMRwings1983

So? We'd just play them 4 times instead of 6. Certainly better than how often we play them now. Of course, the everlasting rivalry with Chicago would be lost. Don't know if the league wants that.

I've said that before. It makes the most sense with the least amount of disruption. Of course, that means Detroit stays in the West.

So what happened to league re-alignment? This is essentially a switching of two teams. I for one have no problem with the move. That's a weak division traditionally and I want the Wings in the east. Yeah, it makes no geographical sense, but neither does having Washington in the southeast. Besides, in a few years, Florida will most likely move from that division as well.

Yeah, I read about that today. I guess Stortini getting his bell run cost him his job. I write McGrattan letters every night, asking him to contact the Wings. Chris Simon?

Unless you're the Pens in the 2009 Finals.

I don't think it was the greatest team ever assembled, though. Outside of Lidstrom, those other players were basically past their prime. Now if you put all those Hall of Fame players together in their prime, including Datsyuk, then you'd have the best team in history.

So no one is sold on Columbus getting Jeff Carter and Wisniewski to go along with Rick Nash and an ever developing Mason in net? I'm not either.

Try ten Hall of Famers total. That was truly a memorable year. It was my first year in college, and I was probably a more obsessed Wings fan then than I am now. I guess when I was younger I didn't have as many worries in the world, and cheering for the Wings seemed to be one of the biggest things in my life then. I also remember being extremely excited about the moves we made in the offseason. Only team that really scared were were the Avs. I knew we'd have to go through them eventually. The playoffs was truly a stressful time, especially after each loss. I don't get as devastated now as I did then. You guys are lucky I didn't post on LGW in those days.

Except we're not in a court of law. I don't think Shanny should be viewing things the way the law would. Hockey is not a safe sport in general.

Seems like a lot of people were picking Chicago to win the Cup this season. I guess the members of LGW disagree. They certainly have some question marks on that team, namely in their depth and their goaltending. But remember that guys like Toews, Kane and Keith are only now getting into their prime. It's possible we haven't seen the best of those players yet. And they won the Cup with Antti Niemi as their netminder, who was hardly a well known goalie at the time. They're a dangerous team for sure and not to be underestimated.

I don't think a slash to the face is an example of players losing respect for one another. There have been a lot worse stick swinging incidents that have happened in hockey history. Where respect has been lost is in all the cheap hits to the head we see. Those are the suspensions I actually like.

Saskatoon, here they come!

I don't mind the league suspending guys for dirty hits to the head, but I think some of the suspensions have been incorrect or too severe. This one is one such example. It was a careless play, but I don't think he was trying to whack the guy in the face with it, like say Simon on Hollweg. There should be a difference between a reckless bodycheck to the head and a reckless stick swing to the head. Sure, there was intent to slash the guy on the wrist, but you shouldn't then transfer that intent to hitting in the head. They need to change the letter of this rule for such an example. Slashing someone on the hands in retaliation happens all the time in hockey.

Is there going to be some prize given at the end of the season to the dozen or so guys that don't get suspended this year? This should have been a double minor, but not a suspension.

Yeah he would. It runs in the family. Besides, it's the unsung guys who frequently score in the playoffs in OT. Remember Benn Ferriero scoring in OT against us last season? Or guys like Draper and Maltby, who always scored big goals for us in the playoffs in our Cup runs. You need players like this to help in the scoring. The top 6 can't do all the work. The Wings have tried the last couple of seasons, but have failed because they got no secondary scoring. Brunnstrom has talent, but I don't think of him as a 4th liner. He needs talented players around him in order to score. Otherwise, you're wasting his offense by throwing him on the 4th line. And we've already talked about Miller in this thread. He's not a better 4th liner than a guy like Nystrom.

Embellishment has been a part of hockey a long time now. I hate it too. This won't affect suspensions, however, since replays will show that it was embellished and no punishment will be necessary.

For some reason, he was a free agent when I acquired him, though. I'm still leaving that spot open for a pure goon on any Wings line I put together in this season long thread.

My lines in NHL 12 Franzen - Datsyuk - Bertuzzi Holmstrom - Zetterberg - Cleary Hudler - Filppula - Abdelkader Eaves - Helm - McGrattan

It's not fun to post after wins. You've been here long enough to know better.

So ninety-sux has finally happened? Well, Homer probably knew what he was getting into when he decided to stick around for another season. It was only a matter of time before he'd be demoted to the 4th line and get occasional healthy scratches. I'm sure the coaches and GM told him about his reduced role beforehand.

Yeah, except he's much bigger than Kostopopus. Stortini is this generation's Andrei Nazarov. And yes, I saw the fight. I'm surprised they went out and signed him in the offseason honestly.

Nice win. Powerplay needs some work but an overall solid effort.

I change lines all the time in NHL 12. What's the big deal? Hockey isn't like it used to be, where lines stayed together all season.

Did Homer look that s***ty last night? I didn't think so. We could have used him with all these powerplays.

Not to me it doesn't. Although the fight engine in this game sucks badly. The 2k series had awesome fight engines.