GMRwings1983

It's this type of mentality that made us pickup Cory Cross at the deadline in 2006. How did that work out for us? This team has shown enough faults this season for this to be a viable thread. Apparently, you have better ideas for topic threads.

I've never understood why people in any sport make this argument without realizing how foolish it is. What if everyone celebrated this way each time they scored a goal. No one can get a shutout in every game. There are plenty of players who don't act like ass clowns when they score, and I can name you plenty more in the game's history that didn't. Ovechkin is no more special than anyone else. Of course he's going to score, that's what great players do. I personally don't have a problem with Ovechkin's behavior, but I can see the point the OP was trying to make. I just don't understand this "don't let them score if you don't want celebrations crap."

They didn't really need him since they aren't going anywhere this season. Wouldn't be surprised to see them dump more players, even some of their best ones.

We had way more fights last year in the regular season than this season. Drake and Downey provided that. Your memory is obviously not that good if you can't tell the difference between the 2 seasons. Also, the same guys you speak of that we had last year are not playing with that same grit this year. They need some catalyst on this team who everyone else can feed off of physically. That's what the 4th line is for and we haven't seen the 4th line give us that passion and hitting like we need.

He actually started out his career pretty well, but yeah he has been passed around a lot. I don't know why teams don't like him? He's a great 3rd or 4th line player, great size, amazing on faceoffs, and sticks up for his teammates. Who knows, maybe your theory on why he's been passed around is right.

Actually, the Wings have won almost as many Cups in the last 10 years as Edmonton did in the 80's. It's harder in today's league to have that kind of success. However, our biggest playoff successes came in seasons where we dressed some kind of tough guy either in the regular season or in the playoffs. It's tougher to win the Cup when a team hasn't shown any consistent grit all year. This year the Wings haven't shown any consistent physical play to match that of last year. So yeah, you were right about the Wings being successful year in and year out, but that hasn't always translated into playoff success. I just want this team to play with more attitude like they did last year, so that it can hopefully result in more grit for the playoffs. It's tough to do that with such a soft 4th line, and would be easier if we had a Downey or McCarty in the lineup. Yeah, skill is more important than toughness, but we already have plenty of skill. The Wings have yet to show me that they can win the Stanley Cup with just skill on their roster all year and no toughness of any kind. Who knows, if they win the Cup without any consistent tough guy or figher in the lineup this year, maybe then I'll change my mind. Until then, this is my position.

Let them spew their denials and try to discredit whomever they want. It's not my fault they don't understand hockey that well.

We don't. We have plenty of players like him on our 4th line. I wish.

Not the Stanley Cup they don't.

He must have been hanging out with A-Rod during his leave of absence. It won't last, though. He'll start to be lazy again after about 10 games or so.

Antropov can't hit, so your point is mute. I'd rather have a guy that can hit and fight. Currently Lilja is the only guy we actively use who can do both.

I'm rather disappointed. I was hoping the scandal would have something to do with Robert Lang stealing food from the team refrigerator or something like that. Instead, it turned out to be about some Montreal newspaper's paranoia over the Russian mob. Seriously, don't they have anything better to do over there?

Well, he's from Kazakhstan, like Borat is. Seriously, though, he's got some talent, but would be too slow for our style of hockey on the top 2 lines. Also, he doesn't fight, which makes his size utterly useless. Also, he's horrendous on faceoffs, which is odd considering how he played with some great faceoff men in his career with Toronto. You'd think he would have learned something from them. Lastly, the price tag would be too high for us. We need to find a way to re-sign Hossa, and then Franzen. Signing a big, useless stiff comes somewhere lower in the pecking order.

2006 was the only season they overachieved in the playoffs. They usually don't make it at all, or they get eliminated by Dallas. I figured that being from Edmonton, you would know better.

Any team on the West coast with a hot goalie and players that nobody has heard of. At this point, that team could be anybody. It's been a while since the Wings coasted out of the 1st round without difficulty, thus it's the round I'm always the most nervous about. I guess it brings back too many bad memories.

Every team in the league has that goon that you speak of. Does anybody on this thread even watch hockey, or do you guys just watch the Wings? You do know that fighting is up this year, right? Enforcers are still around also, even after this "new NHL" crap that everyone speaks of. WORST POST IN THE HISTORY OF LGW BECAUSE OF THE BOLDED PART You're lucky I'm not a mod, or else you'd be gone for that. Your name doesn't happen to be Stevie Wonder by any chance? Have you even seen his fights, especially the Sharp fight? I suppose Souray kicked Lilja's ass also? Unbeilivable.

They need to get his mind straightened out, like they did with Cool Hand Luke. Hopefully, he'll come back feeling like he has something to prove. That's when he's always played his best for us. So far this season he's felt like he's on a high throne somewhere where no one can do anything to him. No more immunity for that Cup win.

Amazing isn't it. Posters on this forum still think that we have Hall of Famers on our 4th line which can't possibly be replaced. How can you argue with such ignorance?

Stuart should be ashamed of his Western Canadian roots. The guy is 6'2, is a big hitter, and never fights. Who knows, maybe he used to beat the s*** out of people when he was a kid, and has reformed his aggressive ways.

Mate? Isn't that an Australian expression? I thought you were from the U.K You should have called me a hilarious "chap".

Bad comparison. Drake was a proven NHL player who brought it every night. Kopecky hasn't proven anything, except that he knows how to crash face first into the boards or get knocked on his ass after a bodycheck.

You could have put about 50 links into post, all of which would have been applicable. To answer the OP, fact is we do have an enforcer in Aaron Downey. Unfortunately there's a guy right now on the 4th line who's taking up his roster spot.

Who was that person who started a thread last year in game 5 against Nashville, who said that we'd already lost the series? Oh BTW, I think it was Franzen who made that same person look silly about 5 minutes later. Ironic isn't it.

He is still a fighter, albeit not like he used to be. He, Drake and Downey helped this team to become grittier last year, which showed up in the playoffs when everyone turned it up. I just hate how some clueless posters diminish the importance of those players, because without them I don't think we could have won the Cup with just a soft, non-physical roster.

Those neanderthal fighters helped us win the Cup last year. You obviously know nothing about hockey.