titanium2

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...ate=fullarticle Todd Bertuzzi is dragging down Red Wings BY BRUCE MASON / BOISE, IDAHO After attending games for the last 23 years, I've seen greatness inside Joe Louis Arena. Greatness like Jacques Demers running across the ice and pumping his fist after beating the Leafs in 1987. Bob Probert bringing the crowd to their feet each time he dropped the gloves. No. 19 on a breakaway that resulted in a goal. The white pom-poms. Sixty-two wins in 1996. Stevie's double-overtime, spine-tingling classic to exterminate the Game 7 ghosts of playoffs past. Greatness? I've seen it all. And now I see lousiness, which is defined by Todd Bertuzzi. Red Wings general manager Ken Holland's hockey expertise heavily outweighs mine. It's kind of like comparing the brain capacity of Albert Einstein versus Pee Wee Herman. But something has to be done about Bertuzzi. Bench him. Cut him. Trade him. Heck, send him across I-96 to Grand Rapids. Because, in the end, he will kill this team, if he hasn't dug their playoff grave already. Bertuzzi, although skilled with his spin-o-rama shootout goals and occasional offensive flair, really lacks the hockey intelligence instrumental for winning games. Simple plays he cannot make. And in a puck-possession system, simple plays are critical. He frequently loses the puck beneath the face-off dots in the attacking zone (instead of using his 225-pound frame in the corners to shield defensemen.) When Bertuzzi commits turnovers and action leaves the attacking zone, his linemates are forced to retreat and exert energy back-checking. Hence, offensive opportunities are limited and fatigue becomes more common. You think that's bad? His defensive-zone liability makes Petr Klima look Selke-like. Bertuzzi plays the wing poorly. I'm used to seeing Kirk Maltby and Tomas Holmstrom, who, over the past decade, have made the right play consistently, whether it's chipping the puck off the wall to avert danger, crossing the red line, dumping the puck and changing lines, or hitting the centerman with a pass in stride as he breaks out of the zone. Textbook hockey? Bertuzzi doesn't have a clue. And his career plus-minus rating of minus-46 backs that up. Look at the Wings' post-Olympic line combinations and then tell me where he fits among a defensive-minded roster. Should he play alongside talented scoring threats such as Valtteri Filppula and Johan Franzen? No, that spot belongs to Dan Cleary. How about with offensive wizards Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg? Holmstrom belongs there. The third line consists of Tasmanian-devil legs in the likes of Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves, who can use Jason Williams' abilities, not a 245-pounder who will lug around the rink. And don't tell me Bertuzzi is a fourth-liner, because those precious minutes belong to Kris Draper, Drew Miller and Justin Abdelkader, guys who will maintain the tempo, keep the top three lines fresh and display minimal defensive liability. When you possess the puck, you dictate the play. Conversely, when an opponent possesses the puck, you're chasing them around the rink, which can occur when one bad apple ruins the batch. Bertuzzi is that bad apple. His turnovers and poor plays cause linemates, such as Zetterberg and Datsyuk, to tire much quicker. Instead of generating offensive opportunities, they're too busy compensating for their incapable teammate's inefficiencies. Greatness has defined the Wings several times across the past 18 playoff seasons. Greatness never involved Todd Bertuzzi and it never will, either. This year has been lousy, but if Bertuzzi is removed from the Red Wings bench, there's considerable hope another Cup run can be made this spring. Do the right thing, Holland: Dump Big Bert.

Hehe. Only you can make a statement like that look cute. Luckily I'm not a moron. At least according to the above criteria.

I think it's safe to say that anyone who votes for that option pretty much just hates Fil. Whaaaat? GMR would never ever do such a thing.

I'm at Meijer all the time, no fair. Then again, not the Meijer in Farmington Hills I'm guessing.

Who's going to make the first genuine reference to global warming? I'm super cereal.

Despite all the awards, Lidstrom has never ever been the most popular hockey player in Sweden. At least, among the general public. Though, he probably is that popular among coaches and young defenseman learning to play. Nick is just one of those guys that will never ever get the credit he deserves because he has never sought it and deep down he already knows how good he is and that he doesn't need anyone else to tell him that.

Boo. Why can't it be someone that doesn't have a "Yeah he was a great player but a chicken s*** diver" kind of reputation?

Like Floyd Mayweather?

Mursak, 1 assist, +3, One Fight! (9 PM).

I agree on all counts, but apparently 4 people who voted would give him away for a bunch of scrubs. They simply just want to get rid of him. It doesn't make any sense.

Hmm, so four people have voted "whatever we can get for him." Why?

That's about 50k short unfortunately. Seriously though, Lebda will still be in a Wings jersey tomorrow and if the Pain Train plays, Ericsson will probably sit. Maltby has been ok for what he's supposed to do. I think he's been pretty decent on the PK.

He also pulled it off against BUF. It's at 0:31 seconds. EDIT: Woops. Forgot to add video.

Oh, boo. Not you. Hockey's future.

Where did you get that talent report?

To be fair, he's done that move before. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybkmaPGUXa0 And again I think on a Buffalo Sabres goalie.

But what about Lilja?

Doobley post.

Yeah really, take advice from Shanny: No sax before game!

I don't get it. Why are people talking about him as if he's going to retire? He can't come back for the playoffs?

But we've been hearing reports that Kronwall "will play next game" for a couple games now.

Less than two hours to goooo... So much anticipation!...

Nice imagery.

Should you wait until the Wings win a game? A real win, too. No shootout.

EDIT: I added video.