sureWhyNot

He has looked perfectly fine, and will continue to do so barring an injury (knock on wood). People just don't like the guy because his past, and that dislike clouds their jusdgement to such an extent that nothing he does will "look good" to them.

You are silly.

Active players who would be able to help: 1) Marian Hossa (once he returns in late November) 2) Slava Kozlov 3) Sean Avery Favorite Wings of all time: 1) Steve Yzerman 2) Sergei Federov 3) Bob Probert

My choices are the following (in order): 1) Shawn Burr 2) Kelly "Dangle" Buchberger 3) All of the above

Love the signing -- love Babs quote even more. It served as a well needed dose of reality for a lot of folks around the organization.

A couple posters already said it, but I will chime in with my opinion. That is, yes, Ericsson does have the potential to be better then Kronwall in the future. Tremendous upside. The best thing is that both guys will be in a Wings uniform for a very long time, cementing at a minimum a great first pairing.

I cannot tell if this is a serious post or if you are joking around -- I am hoping it is a joke though because you're assessments are so bizarre they come off as funny. Howard showed no signs of brilliance, what he did show is exactly what we can expect from him - an under par, unreliable goaltender. This is nothing new, nor is this his "first official regular season start as a backup." He has actually started 7 games for the Wings as is 1-5-1. Lidstrom played fine, he was a +1 and when you lose a game 5-3, and are played close to 27 minutes, I would say you did your job just fine. Not to take away from Kronwall or Ericsson, who have played well too. However your most obscene claim is that Bert is "GAG, the weak link on the second line". Bert, as well as the rest of the line have been playing great - actually, they are the only line really playing well. Bert had an assist and was a +1, Cleary notched a goal and was a +1 and Hank had 2 assists and was a +1. Overall the Wings didn't show up, and that is not one players fault. But there are a couple things that you can take out of this weekend: Lebda blows, Howard is below average at best (this really shouldn't be a shock to anyone) and our defensive makeup is way off - and I have no clue why or what it is.

You have a point,, but I also think that people who refuse to ever criticize anything, or aspect, especially when the issue is obvious or at least in question (Howard not being NHL caliber) have blinders on that make them immune from the reality of the situation. Not only does it get old, but often times it gets annoying.

Howard played fine for a while? In what game? This one? He was 8 for 9 in the first and 10 for 13 in the second. Granted, every goal was not 100% his fault, those numbers simply are nothing close to "fine". I mean this is hockey - those numbers are a little bit closer to what you would see in a soccer match.

It's unfortunate, but I am surprised people are so taken back by Howard's under par goaltending. The guy is not an NHL'er, never will be either. You saw it every chance he's had in the past to play with the big boys, and we will continue to see it for however long he is in a Wings uniform and playing. He is not good enough to play in the NHL - flat out. It's just weird that people were expecting more from the guy then what they are seeing today. Get used to it, this isn't a "bad game" for him, this is what we will get whenever he plays.

Just came across this video - it's from the KHL last year and it is a fight, line brawl actually. Does anyone know who the kid, or dude that looks like a kid is? You can't miss him, he's the only one who is half the size of everyone else on the ice. He actually gets in a scrap and is throwing punches over the refs shoulder until an opposition player comes over pulls him off with one hand and removes him like an older brother would do to his little brother. Who is the tiny guy? How old is he?

What a funny dude - definitely looks fiesty though. Did you see the guy who pulled him off the ref and other player? He seemed quite annoyed with the little guy - but what was he going to do ya know - if he starts swinging it's really the physical equivalent of child abuse.

Jonas Gustavsson 2008-2009 Färjestad | Reg. Season 42 1.96 .932 | Playoffs 13 1.03 .961 Wow. He did play out of his mind didn't he.

He's looked good no doubt, but I am far from confident yet in his ability to be a full time NHL goaltender.

BAHAHA what is the camerman doing?

I wish they all came that easy

Howards looking pretty good.

I second that. Great job on the part of the NHL. Also, how much do yo think our guys love going in the corners not having to worry about getting absolutely leveled?

Wow. That ice surface is big. I always forget how much bigger it is until I see a game being played on it.

Wish the video went a little longer. the commentary from both Ken and Mickey is priceless. "Oh my god fighting?", "The fans sure hated that", etc. Usually it's just Mickey that takes jabs at our lack of fighting, or the perception that the fans don't care about a good scrap - but Daniels definitely jumped in this time.

I notice May when he's on the ice a heck of a lot more then I realize Eaves (well, tonight I did that is.)

Wow, sure spending a lot of time analyzing something that has been done and over with for a while now - And yes, the book is closed, well, that is among parties who matter (NHL, Bertuzzi, etc.) My advice to you is move on, find a new issue to play your tiny violin for. You are 100% wrong, I know of 3 cases where an individual killed them self - all were prescribed "pills". Never was the doctor who prescribed them the medication charged with anything. That said, your argument in general is so far off base - analogies included - that it's hard to be taken seriously. Bertuzzi (and the rest of the team) were told to send a message to Moore for an dirty hit on their then captain. Given the situation, it being a hockey game where "payback" is more or less a common occurrence for cheap hits, running goalies, etc., etc. to argue culpability is non sense. There was no intention to paralyze Moore and that is where any legal argument ends due to the fact sending a message for actions is entirely different in the NHL compared to the real world - Bertuzzi attempted to fight him, when Moore refused to go Bertuzzi mugged him - much like McCarty did Lemieux, Probert did to anyone who touched Yzerman whether they wanted to fight back or not, etc. The result was of course incredibly unfortunate, to continue harping on it after all these years is a waste of time. Bertuzzi did something very regretable, or should I say, did something which very regrettable results. Let it go.

Are you blind? Both were throwing, Rosehill with the slight edge. PS: GOAL Kronwall!

Here's a crazy idea - what if the Wings played someone regularly (like the did Downey 2 years ago)? The games were awesome, the fans and his teamates loved him, and it certainly didn't hurt us W/L wise seeing as though we went on to win the cup (with McCarty dressing in the playoffs too.)

The fact May didn't get KO'd here makes me want him on our team all the more: