Shutemdown

Ugh... just as you stated "I expected that this would come up sooner than this, but I feel that it needed to be brought up." , I knew this exact thread would come up as well. However, I disagree with most of your statements. Now, first off, it's easy to get antsy when your newly-signed, highly-anticipated free agent isn't scoring left and right, but is it really time to just write him off already? It's understandable that everyone here is a little uneasy about the start of our season, and already, the panic has set in and the votes have been cast: Hossa is a huge flop. WROOOOOOOOOOOOONG. Why freak out so early in the season? Hossa, although he hasn't scored and hasn't shot as much as he should, has played fairly well. Imagine coming onto a new team with new line-mates. Would you shoot everytime you got the puck or would you try and develop a play by passing to your teammates? He's just trying to build chemistry... for SOME players, chemistry takes awhile to build. It's not something that will just click overnight. Expecting a Pav/Hank chemistry right out the gate is just unrealistic. Realize that it may take a little bit of time before the ball gets rolling. Besides all of that, Hossa has already mustered 4 assists in 4 games? It's not horrible... I could name plenty of Red Wings players that haven't done even THAT. Now, don't get me wrong... I know that he hasn't been playing up to his full potential, but we're 4 games into the season, with Hossa playing on a BRAND NEW team. Give it time. It's far too early to hit the panic button or declare this signing a flop. Comparing him to Lang is an insult. Hossa has been fast as hell out there... I've seen him chasing down pucks all over the place and has been hustling. At least he's still putting up points while he's slumping in the goals department. He's also doing a great job of backchecking and being defensively responsible. If you expected 10 goals from him already, you're crazy. And just because he's not there yet doesn't mean he'll never get there. Give it time. Zetterberg has looked like s*** out there and people still give him the benefit of the doubt because he's proven on the team. Why discredit Hossa by saying he's lazy and slow just because he's taking some time to adapt? Give credit where credit is due...

lawlz

Friday: Phoenix @ Ottawa Toronto @ NY Rangers Nashville @ Columbus Vancouver @ Buffalo Edmonton @ Calgary San Jose @ Anaheim Carolina @ Los Angeles Saturday: Colorado @ Dallas Phoenix @ Montreal Boston @ Ottawa Toronto @ Pittsburgh New Jersey @ Washington Buffalo @ Atlanta NY Islanders @ Florida NY Rangers @ Detroit Minnesota @ Tampa Bay Columbus @ Nashville Chicago @ St Louis Calgary @ Edmonton Philadelphia @ San Jose Sunday: Vancouver @ Chicago Carolina @ Anaheim

Agreed completely. IF, and I stress that word heavily, IF they ever get a third jersey, I would HOPE that it would be their retro "DETROIT" jersey. I love that jersey and I think they did it perfectly. Not too busy, very simple. Either way, I like our jerseys the way they are. Although... I've always wanted to see purple-sparkley Wings jerseys, or maybe a soft pink? How about a powder blue, or a nice beige? Nah... I'll stick with the good 'ole red and white. And yeah-- maybe they'd look like candy canes out there in their retro jersies, they'd still kick the s*** out of any team. Keep it simple, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Link: http://www.redwingscentral.com/redwingscor...189837384838948 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mating Kronwall with a defensive-minded partner helps in times when the Swede goes for big hits at the offensive blue line or joins the attack. "He's always making it easy for me being in the right spot all the time, bailing me out if I jump too soon or if I get turned upside down," said Kronwall. "He makes it easy, talks a lot." And how does someone from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, and someone from Djurgarden, Sweden, communicate? "I'm trying to learn Swedish," joked Stuart. "He doesn't know it yet," said Kronwall. "We're working on it."

Link: http://www.redwingscentral.com/redwingscor...840240504501098 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Despite being 2-1-0 and having won the Stanley Cup and President's Trophy last season and adding Marian Hossa and Ty Conklin to an already stacked lineup, Coach Mike Babcock said that the Red Wings are just one of the pack chasing the NHL elite. "It's pretty apparent to me when you look at the league right now, San Jose and the Rangers are the class of the league," said Babcock. "They're both 4-0 or 5-0 or something like that. They must be the class of the league. The rest of us are catching up." Really?

Yeah, let's not jump the gun here... Just because Lil' Huds got demoted doesn't automatically mean his head is on the chopping block. He got bumped to a higher line and found out that maybe he was better suited to play on a 3rd or 4th line. Personally, I always thought that he would be better and more dangerous on a 3rd or 4th line, so this is alright. Cleary hustles his ass off and he deserves a spot on the second line. He's going to bring a lot of energy and pace to Z's line. I'm very excited to see this combo. Zetterberg had a little bit more jump in his step last night. He was looking good. Just needs to get back into his groove. Maybe he should grow his beard back... he's always fierce with his playoff beard! Franzen is an F'in TANK. He's got moves, AND he hits like 3 crossbars/posts a night. The man's a sniper. Can't wait until those pucks start going in. I'm VERY happy that he's keeping up his pace from last year... he's turning into a marquee power forward. (Too bad it's on a contract year.) Hossa is finally stepping into his rhythm. I still can't get over how fast he is... Did anyone see when he gave up the puck while entering their zone, got it stolen from him, then just CHASED the guy down and got it back? He caught up to that dude in like 2 seconds! CRAZY! My bad... it's early. Still waking up. Excited after a Wings win. Let's get 79 more W's!

Found this article just now and thought it was pretty cool... who would thunk Ty Conklin's a registered, liscensed pilot? Link: http://www.redwingscentral.com/redwingscor...621844068654136

Couldn't the Wings find a spot for him with the team elsewhere... like a defensive coach? It's just sad to wave g'bye to a prospect when we're still carrying a 47 yr. old defenseman that's past his prime and just too stubborn to hang 'em up... Sure he's a veteran and provides leadership, but c'mon... should we take up a roster spot for that? Get this man in a suit, pronto!

Alright... So it would seem that these boards are split between whether or not Lilja belongs on this team, or should still be here depending on his play. Alot of you argue he should be gone. My only question to all of those people: Obviously you guys are GM-caliber and possess the foresight and hockey-knowledge of a seasoned, veteran coach, so this question will be easy as hell for you... Who would you replace him with? Tell me who you would rather have on the back end and why. What defenseman would you plug into his spot?

Well, first off I'll admit that I was a little disappointed when they lost. For the most part, I think they played pretty well. The Leafs just brought it. They knew what they would be up against... That being said, I noticed a couple things that I liked/disliked in last night's game. First, it was AWESOME to see how hard Franzen was playing. I saw him backchecking, intercepting the puck in our zone and turning it out, gunning down the wing and putting pucks at the top corners of the net. I saw him hit 2 posts, but his shots were barely off. Either way, it's awesome to see that he's keeping his form and bringing his game. Secondly, and I will admit, Hossa looked sluggish in the preseason. I had the opportunity to watch him in the first preseason game and he seemed slow, almost confused at times. I know he was just getting into his groove, adapting to new teammates, etc. But still. ALL OF THAT BEING SAID, Hossa looked great last night. I saw a couple quick little moves out of him at center ice to gain their zone, he was taking shots, and making Datsyuk-esque passes across-ice through traffic. Just wanted to say it was good to see him clicking with his new teammates. Third, our 3rd line (Cleary, Flip, Sammy) actually looked really solid out there. They were creating some good chances. I was pleased to see that most of the team seemed in good form and ready to play. Won't even really get into our defense... I saw Lilja turn it over a couple times in our zone, but I also saw him block a couple shots. What was with all the turnovers last night?! Yeesh!

Hudler: Life of the Party http://detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...S0103/810090381 Draper: Timeless Treasure http://detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...S0103/810090372 Kronwall: Nice Guy, Nasty Hitter http://detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...S0103/810090382 Red Wings are Everyone's Targets http://detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...S0103/810090396 Individual Player Profiles and Personal Questions Great Read!! http://detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...S0103/810090438 Would you ever guess... Holmer would want to be a Carpenter or Policeman? Rafalski a businessman? Kronwall in real estate? Cleary in engineering? Stuart in technology and computers? Zetterberg would play pro soccer? The best part: 13 Pavel Datsyuk Position: center Height/Weight: 5-11/194 If I weren't a hockey player I'd be: I don't know, I only thought about playing hockey. One thing people don't know about me: That my English is really good. (He laughs.) I am good at shooting at targets, like using a sniper rifle with a scope. My Stanley Cup story: Just winning the Cup is great; anything you do with it is fun. Every time winning the Cup is a fun experience.

I live in Royal Oak, so this will depend on where exactly you're from, but I've found that EVERY Little Ceasar's pizza place around here has them, or usually has them. (I don't know for sure, I haven't been looking for them, but they're ALWAYS there.) If not, I'm sure they'll start turning up soon. It might be too early in the season, or production was late, etc. They'll start flooding in, though. I would look on eBay in like a week. God knows every single person at the game won't keep them, and alot of people know they could sell it for a decent price. If you can't find them on any official DRW websites, they might not be avaiable to the public, or only in a limited supply. IMO, eBay would probably be your best bet.

Gee, only 81 more games to go... I hope the wings can turn this around before the season's over. /sarcasm

Interesting, I coulda sworn Lilja turned it over. Eh... I guess that's good news though. One less thing for everyone to jump on him about! The point I was trying to make in saying, "I think they played well last night", was that I saw alot of strong individual efforts. The team failed to come out with a W, but at least it's good to see that some of these guys are really bringing it already.

Link : http://detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic...S0103/810090373

Chuck Norris saved your life?! Holy s***! Lucky bastard!!1!1!!

Link: Banner ceremony will be 'a little bit awkward' for Hossa http://www.freep.com/article/20081009/SPOR...3/1053/SPORTS05 "I'll try to really enjoy the ceremony tomorrow," Babcock said after Wednesday's practice at Joe Louis Arena. "If it was up to me, we wouldn't have that. We'd drop the puck and play. But that's just the coach in me speaking. The guy who won the Cup is going to cherish the opportunity to see it happen, and so are our players. They deserve it, and our fans deserve it." "We just gotta get through the ceremony and make sure we're focused enough. After tomorrow, you're either one up or one down. It's just that simple. The celebration tomorrow is about last year and we're living in this year, so it's time to move on." This is a man on a mission, ladies and gents. It's about to be a killer season... Great read! GOOOOO WINGS! BEAT THE s*** OUTTA THE LEAFS!

It'll be like Rob and Big, only instead of a huge black dude and a tiny little white guy, we'd have a crazy Swede and a wiley Russian causing mischief! The broken english would be the best part. I think it'd be hilarious... let's pitch it to the brass and see what they think!

Heh, my bad dude... I had so much to do Friday night that I forgot all about the pictures when I got home. I'll take them when I get home and send 'em your way... already made myself a note about it.

Friday: NY Islanders @ New Jersey Chicago @ NY Rangers Florida @ Carolina Montreal @ Buffalo Washington @ Atlanta Nashville @ St Louis Columbus @ Dallas Saturday: Montreal @ Toronto Detroit @ Ottawa St Louis @ NY Islanders NY Rangers @ Philadelphia Chicago @ Washington Atlanta @ Florida New Jersey @ Pittsburgh Carolina @ Tampa Bay Dallas @ Nashville Boston @ Minnesota Columbus @ Phoenix Los Angeles @ San Jose Vancouver @ Calgary Sunday: Phoenix @ Anaheim Colorado @ Edmonton San Jose @ Los Angeles

Sure! I'll have to wait until I get home (I'm still at work) but I'll post pictures of them when I get the chance!

My shoulderpads are utter s*** (and technically they're lacrosse shoulder pads... they're lighter weight and provide for a larger range of motion), so I dunno if you'd even want 'em. My shinguards, however, are in nearly mint condition, as I bought them towards the end of my hockey playing days. They're strong and cover all the way from the ankle to just above the knee. Very high-quality hockey pads, though. I would be more than willing to trade either or both! Lemme know!

Depending on what way you take, it's not THAT far, although Troy is quite a bit away from JLA. If you were to take I-75 the whole way, you could probably get there in 15-20 mins, and then another 15-20 back to the Joe afterwards.

Alright... it's slow at work, and I kept thinking about if I were the GM, who would I move in order to get under the cap. It can be only one guy, or a combination of multiple players. Doesn't matter. If I left someone out that would fit, lemme know. If you were Kenny Holland, who would you choose?