Sergeiwasmyfav

Not much sympathy for the Wings from this fan. Yeah, it was a horrible call, and it's even worse that it cannot be reviewed. But you know what? That is why you play until you hear the whistle. I don't care if you saw it hit the net and thought the play would be called. When it wasn't, you keep going. San Jose did, and they scored. We stood there like a bunch of idiots with our thumbs up our ass. Again, terrible call. However, the outcome of the call could have been avoided if the Wings had decided to keep going when they did not hear a whistle. And please don't tell me most players wouldn't keep going because the fact that San Jose scored totally contradicts that. You play until you hear the whistle, period. Having a cousin in hockey who I am very close to, I know that that is reinforced to hockey players from the time they start playing. Before you all attack me, please notice again that I said it was a beyond horrible call and it is an embarrassment for the league. But the outcome could have been avoided by the Wings.

I think part of the reason people reacted like that was because the guy just made a random statement and didn't even try to support it. If you want to say something like that, fine, say it if it is your opinion, but at least give a reason. Then other people asked him why he thought this and he never responded. That is what I have an issue with. To me, when someone makes a statement as blanketed as the one the OP made and doesn't even try to support it, even when asked, that is what makes someone look ridiculous.

Hey, at least you are honest. I have the exact opposite feelings about Lilja: I like him a lot and I can't really put my finger on why. So I know what you mean about sometimes you feel a certain way about a player and can't quite explain it. I just think sometimes the Lilja bashing gets out of control, to say the least. He is not as bad as people make him out to be. It is one thing to not really like a player that much and to notice their mistakes more (that's how I feel about Rafalski, I just haven't warmed up to him and I see him make a lot of mistakes no one else seems to notice or that they choose to ignore), but I can still at least acknowlege that Rafalski does a lot of stuff pretty well and is a good replacement for Schneider. I guess that's what I mean about being objective; it's fine to dislike someone, but overreacting the way many do to Lilja is just ridiculous.

I love how the OP said absolutely nothing to back up his point. At least some of the other people on here who say outrageous things try to support it with some kind of reasoning. This guy just posted it and was done, and still hasn't responded to those asking him why he thinks this. Wow, just wow.

Let's try to be objective here. Lilja took three penalties last night. One was a terrible call. He barely touched the guy. That is not taking a stupid penalty, that is being the victim of a terrible call by the referee. Another one was delay of game because he was in an awkward position and the puck flew on him. How many people has that happened to since that rule has been on the books? Certainly not just Lilja. Yes, it was at a bad time, but it has also happened to many other players at bad times as well. You guys make it seem like Lilja is the only player who ever makes mistakes at bad times. I assure you he is not. Overall, I would say Lilja took perhaps one bad penalty last night. The other two were not bad penalties in my opinion for the reasons I stated. I will be the first to admit, I like Lilja. I don't know why, I just do. So perhaps I am somewhat biased. However, many of you are also biased the other way. He has been playing pretty well lately and he has one arguably off game and everyone is calling for his head. What about all of the other players on the Wings who have been playing like crap lately? You all seem to think that Rafalski is the next coming, but what I see with him more often than not is horrible plays trying to hold the puck in the other team's zone when he is on the point and constant shots into the other team's skates, legs, etc. But whenever anyone points this out, everyone freaks out. Some objectivity people, I don't think that is too much to ask. Oh, and yes, I realize Rafalski has been out, so he has not been one of they guys playing like crap. I used him as an example of the ridiculous double standards on here.

Uh oh, I think we have moron here....Not Lilja, the OP.

I think Lilja is the one who will be playing. I like Lebda, but Lilja will help us more in the playoffs in my opinion. He is more physical and has more size. For those of you still harping on the giveaway from almost a year ago, can we please move on? Yes, it was at an extremely important time. Yes, it may have been the single most important reason why the Wings did not win that series. But honestly, it was almost a year ago. Players make mistakes. Lilja's worst one happened at an awful time. It doesn't mean that it is going to happen again. People who study the psychological development of children have found that by the age of six, a child can distinguish one situation from another, meaning that they are able to understand that just because something happens a certain way once, does not mean that it will happen that way again, even if the same general factors are involved. My condolences to those of you who have not yet reached this milestone. Yeah, the last comment was a smartass remark. I already know it. Spare me.

I wish we had picked up another forward, someone tough who could also contribute offensively, but alas, it was not to be. Stuart is a good acquisition, and hopefully he will help us out. I think the Wings can still win the Cup this season, but in order to do so, every single player is going to have to be at their best. That is the only way we will beat some of the other teams in the West. I hope everyone decides to show up.

I don't see how anyone can call Sundin selfish or anything else. He has shown nothing but class throughout this whole situation. The no-trade clause was in his contract because the Leafs put it there. They have no one to blame for any of this but themselves. Sundin is a class act; it is not his responsibility to single-handedly try to turn the whole organization around by selling himself out. He does the best he can for that team every night on the ice. It's a shame Leafs fans can't see that.

If we are just talking about last night's game, I actually thought Sammy had one of his best games in a while. He made some nice moves that actually worked, and seemed to be working harder. He still frustrates me though with his lack of shooting ability/bad decisions when it comes to shooting, but last night wasn't as bad overall as it has been. As for Lebda, if we're going to talk about young defensemen playing poorly last night, special mention must go out to Meech, who was terrible. Just to clarify, I do not think Meech is terrible overall. In fact, I kind of like him. I am saying that last night he was pretty bad. Lebda was much better last night in my opinion. Again, this is all about last night, not in general, as it seems the OP was making his comments based on last night's game.

Anyone else think HNIC is incredibly biased against many American teams, but especially Detroit? I really think they have an inferiority complex or something. I enjoy watching HNIC, but not if the Wings are playing. They take too much pleasure in anything going wrong for the Wings. And to counter any points others may make, I do not think Ken and Mickey show bias against Canadian teams when we play them; not at all. And I don't think VS shows bias against Canadian teams on the few occasions they may show a game with them in it. So no, in my opinion I don't think it goes both ways.

You are a real gem. Do you go through your whole life thinking the worst? How sad.

Well they will just have to deal with it. Nothing else to do. Hopefully the young guys will step up to the challenge and show what they can do. The rest of the team will also have to step its play up as well. This is a good test for the team in general. Let's see what they can do.

I second that! It would be awesome. Like the old days.

Way to class it up. You are right up there with Lappy in that department.

The only reason anyone questioned Downey was because he had not been doing what he did last night. Had he been performing his role, no one would have questioned him in the first place. What should we do, just bow down to Downey no matter what he is doing out there? I don't think so. He should be critiqued just like every other player if he is not playing the way he should be, and he had not been. Yesterday he did. Good for him, good for the team, but it doesn't change why people were saying the things they were saying before yesterday. Also, are you related to him or something? You seem awfully defensive of him.

I have to disagree here. It was a clean hit in my opinion. Lids put himself in a bad position and Laperriere took advantage of it and finished his check. I don't mind that hit at all, just wish we weren't on the receiving end of it.

That is a little bit unrealistic as far as I'm concerned at this point. If this continues, maybe. But at this point, that comment is extreme.

I like Don Cherry for the most part, but what bothers me about him is that he never seems to acknowledge that there is a place in the game for finesse players. (Or if he has, I have never seen him say it; however, I can't claim to have seen every Coach's Corner ever done.) Will a team of all finesse players win the Cup? No, most likely not. However, I don't think a team of all gritty, tough players would win it either. There has to be a good mix, and this is something I think Don doesn't want to admit. There is a place for both types of players in this league and on a Cup championship team.

I don't disagree, I saw that debacle as well. However, to be fair, did it really matter at that point? Had the Wings been within a goal of tying, I would have been pissed. Maybe even if they had been down by two. But they were down by four goals with like a minute to go. Given the circumstances, I just laughed. That play was par for the course for that game, not just for Sammy, but for the Wings in general.

Back in the day, maybe even as recently as ten years ago, I would agree with this. But I have to believe that with the spread of the Internet, and just technology and communication in general, all young up and coming NHLers, no matter what country they are from, know about the prestige of winning the Stanley Cup. Most playoff games are now shown in many European countries, and as I understand it, there is a genuine interest in watching over there. I think as the next generation of NHLers gradually comes in, it will matter less and less where they are from as far as dreaming of the Cup because the exposure will be there. It may always be greater to an extent over here, but I think the impact of it will diminish.

You know, up until a few weeks ago, I would have agreed with this. I did think many posters here were too hard on him, and that he wasn't that bad; not great, but not the way some on here made him out to be. But lately, he has really been sucking bad. I mean, I think I am pretty fair when I watch hockey; I try not to be too hard on players unless they really deserve it. Before, I didn't think Sammy deserved some of the crap he got on here. Lately, I think he does.

Thanks for the info. I liked Markov, especially last year in the playoffs, and I was actually disappointed that he didn't come back to the Wings. If this guy is a slightly better version of Markov, then I would be for him coming here.

I'm not sure that those three bits of information about him are enough for me to say "Done." They tell me nothing about his ability or the type of player he is. Just b/c someone is large and relatively young does not mean they are a good hockey player. I must admit, I don't know much about him. Could someone please give some information about how he plays or his ability? I'm not saying I don't want him because I don't know basically anything about him, just that those things alone don't mean much to me.

I want him back, for all the reasons that have already been stated in many other threads and by many other posters. But getting Feds back should not be the only move the Wings make at the deadline.