Internet.Unknown

I didn't see Howe play, so I cannot comment on him. I suspect those who claim Lidstrom was the better Wing (and that's what this thread is titled--the better Wing not player) didn't see Yzerman carry this team on his back before Lidstrom arrived. Throughout the 80's, the Wings were Steve Yzerman and not much else. Listening to Lidstrom speak last night, it's clear that he believes Steve is the greatest Wing of all time.

Again, you're making assumptions about me that aren't true. No wonder you can't win a debate. For years I've stated that Holland is overrated. I think Bowman (and others) had much more to do with building the championship teams than Holland ever had. I've simply been pointing out your (and nyquistcantusethespacebar's) absurd whining about the Legwand deal and the importance of the playoff streak to the Wings' organization. 1. The Wings have a better shot at keeping the streak alive with Legwand than without. It's still far from guaranteed. 2. Jarnkrok may turn into a bust. The future isn't written. 3. Moving up/down 5-7 places in the draft isn't going the break the franchise. Get a grip.

Quick! Someone call Mr. I. We've found the Red Wings next GM. Let Illitch know that frankgrimes is willing to throw away a 22-year playoff streak to move up 5-7 places in the draft. #winning Pure speculation. You have no way of knowing that. Keep posting baseless accusations and emotional tantrums, though. Good stuff! By the way, you're still here 24 hours after you said you were off to find a new team. Just a friendly reminder.

Your "point" was that it was a last minute deal made in a panic. That isn't the case. Holland had been working on the deal for hours. Takes time to finalize things. Nice use of the ellipses, though.

Don't let facts get in the way. Keep ranting. "He said he first heard of the potential deal at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday and it was completed a minute before the 3 p.m. deadline." http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2014/03/david_legwand_excited_to_retur.html

Isn't that every day for you, fat guy?

You're still here almost 4 hours later?

Someone who gets it.

You're doing a lot of google research but missing the point. No team has ever made the playoffs for 30 years in a row, the NHL included. The Wings are 7 years away. Doesn't matter if "over 50% of the teams make the playoffs." It matters that no team has ever done it. No in any sport. Not in the history of the world. Keep rooting for your team to lose, though, that's what true fans do.

Cute! I must have hit a nerve. Did I say anything about the Hawks being the better team? Nope. They were and it played out that way. What I did say was that the Wings took them to a seven game series. It was exciting. It was fun. It was playoff hockey. I'll take 14 thrilling postseason games over an earlier trip to the draft day podium every year. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions would be happy to have another "fan" who wants their team to lose in the hopes of acquiring a higher draft pick.

It isn't that special to YOU, maybe, but it is special to sports and to people who can objectively appreciate the historic nature of the record. No team in professional sports has made the playoffs for THREE DECADES straight. It's nigh impossible. Yet the Wings are closing in. I hope they break it.

Such short memories people have! Last season when the playoffs were in doubt, some posters were rooting for a high draft pick instead of making the postseason. Then--whoops!--the Wings made the playoffs, won the a round, and took the Stanley Cup champs to a seven game series.

What's the point? To keep the streak alive on the way to thirty straight years. Yuck. This board is getting as bad as a Detroit Lion's board. "Let's tank the season for a better draft pick."

I've brought this up a couple of times in other threads and received no response throughout the season. The playoff streak clearly is NOT "meaningless" to the Wings' brass. Sure, some fans (younger ones, I suspect, who don't remember the last time the team missed the post season) are willing to dismiss the streak's significance with a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately mindset. "Why only make the playoffs to lose in 4-6 games? A high draft pick is more valuable long term." How terribly shortsighted. In failing to make the playoffs, the Wings would reset 22 years of chasing a 29-year-old record. Prospects come and go. Making the playoffs for thirty straight years doesn't. Doing so would be more than once in a lifetime. It would be once in the history of hockey. Does this mean that I like the Legwand trade? Not particularly. But the Wings were in desperate need of a center while trying desperately to make the playoffs for a consecutive 23rd year. I, for one, am glad they're trying to keep the streak alive. Breaking the longest playoff streak in pro sports would be a huge feather in the Wings' collective cap, one that every fan should wear with enormous pride. Go Wings!

Didn't you already say you were switching teams? Go root for your new team to bomb, not mine. Kthxbai.

He's done well dominating the injury list. I'm still hopeful that he can turn it around.

I'm hoping Weiss comes back and becomes a dominant 2nd line center. If not, then we can talk.

In fact, it's very very very difficult.

Trading away Weiss before he has had a chance to play uninjured for the Wings just isn't going to happen. You can keep suggesting it every couple of pages, but rational people realize we haven't seen what the guy can really do in a Wings' sweater.

Judging Weiss by his performance this season while injured is unwise.

Can we get back to real hockey now?

Actually, contracts could indeed stipulate that players not participate in the Olympics and that still wouldn't make the players "slaves." You're not going back far enough in the process. No players HAS to sign a contract he doesn't like. Players are free to refuse a contract, play for another team, play in another league, and to pursue another career entirely. There was a big hullabaloo over the football player Kellen Winslow Jr. a few years back. He was injured while riding a motorcycle, which could have been a breech of contract. ESPN reported (bold mine for emphasis): "ESPN.com senior writer Len Pasquarelli reports the availability of Winslow for the 2005 season is not the only thing at risk. Beyond the injuries, there are possible financial ramifications as well, and Winslow may have given the team an opportunity to recover a portion of his signing bonus and option bonus, if he is found to be in breach of his contract. Section 3 of the NFL's standard player contract stipulates, in part, that a "player will not engage in … any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury. … Player therefore agrees that club will have the right … to enjoin the player from engaging in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of injury." http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2051653 As for the Founding Fathers intentions, you should probably research the difference between a democracy (which the U.S. is not) and a republic (which it is). Pure democracy in which "the people make the calls" as you described is mob rules and is quite dangerous to personal liberty and to those with minority opinions.

Rooting against one's country because of a particular NHL player is silly. The saint on your team is often a devil to your rival. For Wings fans, think Todd Bertuzzi, Vladdy, Probert, and Chelios. These guys were/are hated by many across the league yet fans of Detroit cheer for them. Probert ended up in Chicago after beating the snot out of Blackhawks' players for years. Chelios came to Detroit after many seasons of bitter rivalry. USA! USA! USA!

Still arguing a fallacy. Boohoo, the NHL plays 82 games in a non-Olympic year. Boohoo, the NHL plays 82 games in an Olympic year. Now get out your calculator. See any difference between the two numbers? If anything, the Olympic break keeps NHL fans talking about the sport for an extra two weeks. It extends the season. That's a win for the "pure greed" of the "multi billionaires." Just because the facts don't fit your envious world view doesn't make them untrue.

** The above message brought to you by Occupy Hockeytown. Meanwhile, the NHL will play the same number of games as in a non-Olympic year. A two week "standstill" has absolutely no effect on that.