ManLuv4Clears

I'm with you on the player perspective. I was just agreeing with his analogy that you do what you can to give your team the best chance to win the cup in the short term, not necessarily his feeling on players. I ideally don't want to see Kronwall or Flip go.

Great story. Can't hate on the hair either, that screams: "I am a hockey player."

I understand where you are coming from, but he has a point as well, so I can side with both. No one knows what's going to happen in the future with the cap, the team, or the NHL in general. There's something to be said with putting your team in the best position to win now or in the short term, because you may not have that opportunity again, especially in a cap era. Look at the Lions.

Maybe GMR can be Lilja

ManLuv4DecoyJones

I'm going to have go with Neon Dion as much as I hate the Wings playing against him. I emulate his style and am about his size as I'm 6'2", 215lbs and play defense. Plus, I've got the swagger:

See 2007-2008, the absence of a Drake type player is leaving a bigger void than what people are willing to admit, because he's just a "goon."

Way to practice "selective reading." GST = "You need to fill out the roster with 1-2 forwards and at least 1 dman that can throw punches" VM1138 = "Team full of goons"

I'm with you GST, hopefully this unfortunate incident raises some eyebrows. Get better Lils, and I pray that you have no long term repercussions from this.

Very sad day in the D.

Wow, you are something else, where did I mention Downey in any of my posts? Maybe I should come to you everytime I post so you can help me get my point across......

Agreed, two potential injuries for one goal in a regular season game???

Yeah!! As you can tell, our enforcer is our powerplay!

This team doesn't want to win.

I appreciate what you are saying here SWF, however I'm 50/50 on this. Of course I like seeing the team win, but in the same sense, I want to be entertained. I have some what of a financial interest in the team because I try and go to 8-10 games a year. For the money I spend to watch this team play live, I would be more than content seeing a 3-2 overtime loss that had hits, fights, and a playoff type atmosphere than a 4-1 puck posession fest win. It's all about the entertainment value. I don't benefit more whether the team wins or losses. I only benefit if I can leave the game stating: "that was worth the money." To each is his own I guess, but this is just a game.

+1 I like that you can look at the situation without blinders on when there are people on these boards that think every fan out there likes the game for the same reasons as themselves. I don't think people understand the number of fans the NHL would lose if it were to eliminate fighting. A majority if not all of this select group would be in the US where the NHL gets most of its revenue.

Our enforcer is our power play

I agree as well, and it's not because I think either are a better team than the Wings, but because in my opinion they have something the Wings are lacking right now, and that's hunger. The problem with the Wings' isn't their skill, the goaltending, or anything tangible. They simply seem lathergic out there. If they don't have the hunger to beat other teams and the drive for the cup they will get beat every time by teams who want to win more. Call it cup hangover or whatever, but Hossa seems like the only one giving it his all night in and night out.

Excellent post there BlueMonk. However I caution you, there will be posters coming on here from TX and NH that will disagree with you and try and tell you what the demographic of Detroit and it's metro areas want to see in a hockey team.

The Joe will be rockin' with Downs and Big Rig in the lineup.

Because some people around here only pay attention to the stat sheet, and to them, that's the game of hockey. See above.

One point I want to add that a few people have mentioned, is that having an enforcer in the line up makes the team tougher as a whole. Cheap shots will still happen here and there, but I feel less frequently. Right now when there's any scrum after the whistle or a small cheap shot without Downey in the line up, the team tends to just shy away from any altercation. When guys like Downey are in the line up, it seams the team as a whole will mix it up, hit more, and stand up for themselves. It doesn't hurt this team to have a little grind. Right now the Wings have more skill than arguably any team in the NHL, but I'm in the belief that it helps to have a little parity as well to help win. Plus guys like Downey are good for team motivation, like "Rudy" if you will. Everyone knows he's a s***ty hockey player, but he goes out, will take a punch if he has to and work his ass off to support the team and them win. Players feed off that hunger.

The economy's spilled over into the interwebs

I've thought this all along as well and I'm torn on the issue. Under the assumption Hossa is the one most likley to be signed first, are Hossa + Franzen > Hossa, Hudler, and Filppula? I would almost go that route with the young cheaper talent that can be brought up from GR.

As with most posters, I'm still happy with this team. They are a skilled, exciting, winning team. However, in my personal opinion there is one intangible that must occur for the team to win the cup, and that is hunger. You can have all the skill in the world, but if you don't have the drive to win it means nothing. The team has shown hunger at times and been lethargic at others. Drake brought this to the table last year and the team rallied around it; will Hossa be able to do the same with a slight SC hang over? We shall see, I have confidence that they can. edit: grammer