Chunkylover

My mistake, man. I was responding to the notion that some have that he is lazy and sucks. I don't think so, and I know many also do not. Your summary makes sense in the immediate sense. I wasn't intending to accuse him of sitting out because of emotional or mental issues. I was addressing his streakiness that some consider laziness. I should have been more specific.

Didn't he play through a subdural hematoma while simultaneously tearing through the Avalanche in 2008? Yes, that was a while ago, but maybe he does play through injury when it is A. not diagnosed, or B. not threatening to his quality of life after hockey. 2008 was before all the NFL and NHL concussion-related suicides. Maybe he doesn't want to end up like some. Can anyone blame him for that?

It does nothing of the sort. Anxiety is an emotion. I didn't say he had "mental health issues" because I thought it would be somewhat equivocal. There is nothing gross, simplistic, remarkable, or narrow about my comment. I think I understand in some way what he described in the early interview, and it could be something that still affects him. Some people think their observation is infallible and they make statements that are disrespectful. I'm calling for compassion as it is possible there is more to the issue than they see.

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/11/aftonbladet_red_wings_forward.html Relevant Quote: "I've always been shy and the first season here, I was almost afraid to score. Then I knew I would be interviewed afterward. It was almost as if I shot at the post instead, but only almost. But it was never so, I went and chased the goal if we led the game. I don't now, either."

I think he has emotional issues. Wasn't it mentioned a few years ago that he was struggling with depression? I've had a job that required a lot of travel and I struggled with those issues too. Give the guy some slack. Fedorov had personal issues too. I remember Bowman snatching a heckler's sign that criticized Fedorov's contract dispute during one of the '90's playoff runs. He didn't want him to lose his confidence. Think of your own performance at work. Do you always perform at the highest level? Especially when you are down about something? No one has any evidence to suspect him of malfeasance.

It could be a good thing. As mentioned Jurco hasn't contributed on the score sheet, and Bert might keep Z a little safer. Nobody respects Jurco, but the might be wary of Bertuzzi. We'll see. Since the game hasn't been played yet it's too early to say if it's a bad move, but something has to be done. Doesn't Bertuzzi play well with Franzen or Zetterberg? I seem to recall him playing well with Z, though that might not have been recent.

I think this proves Holland did try something to improve the defense. I'm glad Feaster declined. Perhaps Nyquist and Tatar weren't considered that special by scouts? Glad it worked out for the Wings. We like our team and our management.

I'm not quite clear on the rule, but isn't there some distance from the boards that determines whether it's boarding or not? I guess he hit him from the side, but I thought there was something in the rule that said if it was a certain gap between the player and the boards it was boarding. I thought the Tootoo hit a couple years ago against the Dallas Larson would have fallen under this rule too. Does it actually exist? If so could that explain things? Either way, I don't know why players can't fight if they don't like a hit. I wouldn't like getting hit like that. If the players don't like it, and they are the ones playing, shouldn't they be the ones to determine whether they think it is acceptable (regardless of the legality of it)?

This probably explains the trade for Legwand anyway.

I think his rush to get back on the ice should improve certain peoples' view of his work ethic. He knew Zetterberg was going to miss and tried his best to step up. He played well, but was obviously still not healthy. That's what we want out of him though, right? Sacrifice? I hope he gets healthy.

Wow, he is mad. It's like somewhat lit a stick of dynomite in his jockstrap.

... Which is more than can be said of his fans.

Those are nice jerseys.

Maybe a hockey guy would do a bad job in their mind? They do choose to pay him that ~$270K per franchise, after all. Maybe the owners know better? The players (via the competition commitee) and former players (Shanahan/Campbell) are responsible for most of the negative changes most people complain about. Bettman isn't God; his powers are limited.

It's a good thing none of you guys are coaches! The guy was making a pretty straightforward statement. He's at the other end of the spectrum of guys like Yzerman, Gretzky, Crosby, Ovechkin, etc. Goal-scorers are often very snobby. Good for him that he's not, but he can be, and a good coach is able to bring that out. Sort of like how Bowman would "coddle" Fedorov to keep him productive. Humans are very complex. Don't hate on him.

Ilya Kovalchuk? How long before he can un-retire?

I don't think Matthias ever played for the Wings. He did trade Jason Williams for Kyle Calder, didn't he? Williams was with the Wings for the '02 Cup through the '07 season, if I am not mistaken.

That's what he gets. That's actually a really good article. Sounds like the author has identified Suter among the "third of the players" who are ignorant "cattle".

What do you think would happen if the owners fired Bettman and hired someone else? Do you honestly think any commissioner, whose salary is paid by the owners, is going to side with the players? Do you really think a different commissioner will keep his job if he capitulates to the demands of the Players association? The lockout is what everyone wants except the fans. Fans need to face the fact that they are not the owners of the team, the actual owners are. The owners have to protect their bottom line and the health of the league. Their loyalty is rightly directed to their wallet. They also know they won't actually lose any fans as a result of their actions because fans, by definition are loyal to the team. Fair weather fans will always come and go. Likewise the players have no loyalty to the fans, that's why they're all playing for in Europe. They sacrificed all the lazy hours you and I spent as a kids working hard so one day they might be part of the 1%. It sucks for us but we don't really matter to any of the parties involved at the end of the day. And before anyone is tempted to judge too harshly, how would you respond is someone was trying to take more of your money?

Can we go one offseason without losing someone?

He's probably right. He does have the credentials to make these judgments, doesn't he?

I'd enjoy speaking with Datsyuk about his faith and his experience growing up deep in the Soviet Union. I think he grew up where the Tsar and his family were killed. Plus, he seems to be a legit Christ-follower.

I know a lot of people don't like Bertuzzi at this point in his career, but I think just having him out there somewhere in the top six is something of a deterrent to opposition shenanigans. He needs to be on one of the top lines for his size and net crashing/scoring potential. I know he's streaky and occasionally soft, but you know that's what the coaches think about him.

What's sad is that your predisposition against Bettman makes you believe a fabricated story and then you use that as evidence that he should be fired. Can anyone name one thing they know for certain about this guy that is a justification for their animosity?