GMRwings1983

Good point. And now they have Ryan on that line to boot. Shutting down that line isn't just about 5 on 5, but also their deadly powerplay. San Jose had all kinds of fits against those players on the PP, and our PK has been s***ty all season and struggled late in the first round. This is a cliche, but Ozzie will have to be our best penalty killer when those 3 players are on the ice for the PP. Don't forget they'll also have Pronger on the point, which is the kind of player we didn't have to worry about against Columbus.

That particular argument about the 07 series is not really that inane, but if your position on this is so childish that you'll label anyone who disagrees with you a troll, then I won't argue on this point any further since there's no point in doing so. Apparently your position is a good argument, but the counter is trolling. Hmmmm.......very interesting. I think I'll try some of your philosophy in the future.

Trolling? I haven't posted any more in this thread than you have. I just brought up one damn point in response to the 07 series and I'm trolling?

Isn't Bettman Crosby's agent?

I'm also tired of everyone blaming the 07 loss on refs and injuries. Who knows, if we had a tougher team that year, maybe we would have beaten Anaheim even with the injuries. Fact is, by the end of the series we were getting worn down physically from playing three consecutive tough teams in the playoffs.

The divealanche led at one point in the series. Plus, games 1 and 3 were close in that series. Here, only one of the games was close, and we never trailed.

He's been an alternative captain on that team and has played for them full time the last few seasons. He's just now getting back from injury after his fight with Belak, which is why he wasn't playing earlier. Some posters here are making it sound like he's just some guy who randomly came in off the street. Why wouldn't he be playing for them when he's been on the team for several seasons as a full time roster player?

I didn't spew anything. I just called you out for making what I thought was a B.S. post. Then you started talking about panties and such. Since you're such a genius and an expert on hockey, tell us all what the difference between an enforcer and a goon is in your opinion? Next, define to us which Brashear falls into and why. We're all waiting for your response with utmost eagerness to clear up this issue. BTW, unfortunately I won't be able to read your response, since you'll be going on my ignore list temporarily.

Read my post above, sunshine. It's just pure semantics on your part. Maybe you should have bothered to read it before you started posting about panties and asses, which are two things you probably never get to see any of.

Anytime you make a stupid post about this topic, I'm going to respond to it. I know exactly what your stance on this issue is, so don't pretend like you weren't going there because of semantics. Brashear's antics do not mean that players like him are useless or don't belong in the NHL. It was just a dumb incident on his part. And he's not just some dumb goon, because he's still a pretty good enforcer and has been in their lineup for the past couple of seasons, up until his injury this year. Really I could go on, but there's no point in doing so.

Nothing. I was just responding to his comment about how useless enforcers are in today's NHL. Taking this incident and making such a generalization out of it is pure B.S.

The answer is NO to both questions (as far as the modern era is concerned).

I'm just tired of idiotic, sweeping statements like the one I responded to.

Typical anti-enforcer B.S. coming from you.

The way he's played this season, Ilitch might think about asking for his money back. Just kidding. I actually like Drapes but couldn't resist the joke anyway. The trade was unusual because I've never heard of anything like it happening ever in any sport. It just sounds demeaning somehow when you're traded for a dollar. It'd be better if a guy was just traded for nothing. Even that would be less embarrassing than a dollar.

Someone on the Rangers should have taken their stick and hit Brashear on the head with it. Why is it that no one ever thought of doing this before?

This was the easiest series I've ever seen the Wings play, so I'm afraid that I'm forgetting anything that happened in this series already. It was like a first round bye that went by in a flash. I guess the MVP would have to be Ozzie. Our skilled guys were good in this series, but he was the big surprise and not them. Also, he bailed the team out early on in games when they weren't up to par.

Nobody has ever complained about his work ethic. People just expected him to score more, because he's had stretches in the past where he would go on hot streaks of scoring. Fact is that he's not really on the team to score lots of points. I still think Hudler is more of a top 6 forward than Cleary, but there's no reason to meddle with team chemistry now. He's doing fine on that line with Hank and Franzen, but once we face some adversity, the lines will obviously be juggled around somehow, where Cleary will probably wind up on the 3rd line.

Not really. Imagine if Maltby and Kopecky actually fought. Would that somehow diminish this team's philosophy or worsen the play of the top 3 lines? I don't think it would make our skilled players or the team strategy any worse. How exactly would you classify the Wings 4th line this season? Were they important to the team's success? Did they have a solid season? For that matter, did they really contribute that much to the overall team style of play? Actually, Talbot is the one who wanted to fight, and he got his team back into the game just by doing so. Him losing isn't the point, it's the fact that he was willing to go to boost his team that matters. That's what the Wings could use more of, is guys like Talbot who are willing to fight just to spark their team. Everyone here is looking at that fight from Carcillo's perspective, instead of looking at it from Talbot's.

Anyone know what the chances are these guys go in the next series? Also, will Babcock meddle with the lineup even if these two players are healthy? Personally, I'd love to see Lilja play against a bigger and more physical Anaheim team if we do play them. Draper can take Kopecky's spot as far as I'm concerned. I don't think that would have any negative effect on the team.

But if it doesn't translate to scoring, why does it matter? Lilja was one of the (if not) the team leader in hits up until his injury, thus his size did actually translate to something. I just don't understand how anyone can still be fascinated with Lebda merely because of his speed. I thought people got over him a long time ago, when it showed that he had no real offensive upside with that speed everyone loves. He's the defensive version of Rico Fata.

I wonder if Kopecky could take her in a fight?

Sharp, Begin, Boll, Phaneuf, Souray, Neil, etc. He owned all those fools and had an unfortunate draw in his last fight, where he slipped. Way to analyze him. I still don't know how you can say Lebda fits in better with this team. Yeah he skates fast, but his skill level isn't very good, which is something our other speedsters have plenty of. Lilja gives this team better balance with toughness, size and grit. That's what we need more of, not another undersized non-physical defenseman.

Sure I do. I just want to change one little thing about it on the 4th line. Call me picky, but what the hell, this is a discussion forum after all. That's not the point. I don't want to see scoring from our 4th line. I want to see some Hanson brother havoc. Well, maybe not that severe, but you get the idea.

I never said that Downey is talented. Kopecky doesn't deserve a roster spot over him. As for a guy like Leino, he's a skilled player, which to me means he doesn't belong on the 4th line. If he can't crack the top 3 lines, maybe he shouldn't be a regular on the roster unless there's injuries. The 4th line isn't for someone like Leino. The 4th line is for grit, checking, toughness and fighting. Downey does all those things. Helm can do most of them, as can Draper (although he's had an off year). In the future, I want to see more toughness on our 4th line when Maltby and Draper are gone. Leino playing on the 4th line would be a waste of his talent, and Kopecky is a waste, period. Thus, I want Helm and two other gritty players, preferably fighters.