Yzersyukstromberg

Sounds like you're a pretty big Glen Wesley fan. I have no issue with that. But like I said, he was good, not great....Glen's best years didn't even happen in a Whalers/Hurricanes uniform. I completely agree with you, however, on the fact that he was a hard worker, dedicated, did the right thing, and was obviously a great team player. But...and I don't mean to diminish whatever contributions he made to the Carolina franchise...he was a good player at the best of times. I know that stats don't tell the whole story, but he topped out a 32 points (96/97) and +18 (03/04) while in Hartford/Carolina. I thought that maybe his stats in their 05/06 Cup run might have been good, but he only had 2 points then... But, again, Carolina isn't exactly a storied franchise, so the intangibles you mentioned in your post weigh very heavily in his favor. I appreciate that you obviously have alot of respect for him as a player, but I still think it's a reach to retire his number. If the Red Wings were to retire the number of every player of Glen Wesley's stature or better, there would be no numbers left to wear. That's all I'm saying. But nonetheless, I'm happy for Glen Wesley and I hope you don't take this too personally. You're not his brother are you? Just kidding. Cheers man.

You're right, I always laugh when people talk about our attendance issues. I watch TV highlights of our games and they'll always talk about the place being half empty. What a joke. We're still #3 in the entire league in attendance, and we only average 300 seats below a sellout every game. I can't argue that there are some empty seats in the lower bowl on a regular basis, but the seats are sold...so it's very deceiving.

Try contacting the Red Wings ticket office direct. They run alot of promos right now, and they sell a Family Pack that's a great deal...not sure if it will be available for the Avs game, but it's worth checking out....$44 gets you 2 tickets ($48 face value each) along with 2 dogs and 2 pops. Call them direct at 313-396-7575.

I wouldn't...not that I don't like him, but I'm not jumping on his bandwagon just yet. Maybe 2 years into said deal, I'd splurge and get one, but he'd have to help us to another Cup win, or I'd probably blame him for us not winning. lol

I'd say the fastest guys on the team are Brett Lebda and Darren Helm. I'd love it if the Wings did like alot of other clubs and did the team skills competition for charity. That would be a lot of fun to watch, and would help us settle the argument.

No doubt, a good player, but not a great player.

If you're a team without a lot of great tradition, you need to 'reach' a bit to make nights like that happen. And to think the 'Canes actually won a Stanley Cup.

I have to disagree with you on that. I was there too, and just because the ref's arm didn't go up instantly, doesn't mean a penalty wasn't in the making until the Blues' bench showed their displeasure. It was boarding, and there's no arguing it. Just because Lilja made his trademark weak contact on the hit, doesn't mean that it wasn't a penalty. The only thing that could be left to question is whether or not he was assessed the minor or major boarding call.

You've gotta be kidding with me. Sounds like you might be confused between the NHL and the movie Slapshot.

OK, my bad on that. What I'm saying is that the major boarding penalty carries a game misconduct with it. The variables you're talking about, as opposed to the ones proposed by blueliner, are much different. There's no such penalty in the NHL that takes into account how long the injured player remains off the ice, and applies that as the length of the penalty to the offending player...that's what I mean by variable. It's one thing to allow the ref discretion as to the severity of the hit, but to let them choose whether the penalty should be 2, 4, 5, 10, 12, 14, whatever minutes long is not reasonable. They give the ref 2 choices, minor or major, and they go from there. Thanks for the clarification on the boarding rule.

You're right on one thing, he won't be benched, or fined. But don't be surprised if he gets a suspension. The one thing that might save him is the fact that Backes escaped injury on the play, but Gauthier from the Kings just earned himself a 5-game suspension today on a dirty hit the other day (elbow to the head). The league disciplinarians will definitely have a look at the play, and when that happens, there's always a chance they'll dole out a suspension. At most, I'd say he gets 1 game. I don't think he deserves it, as he already paid the price with a 5-minute major and a game misconduct, but I wouldn't be a bit surprised if he gets a short suspension. You are right though, Andreas probably is sorry that he did it...but that doesn't change anything unfortunately.

What's the variable with high sticking? It's a 2 minute penalty. It's a 4 minute penalty if you draw blood. There's no variable there. It's clearly written. A variable would be if, let's say the player gets hit with a high stick...blood drawn, and he needs to go the locker room for stitches, and can't make it back to the bench for about 12 minutes...your idea would mean that the penalized player can't go back on the ice until the injured player is back on the ice playing again. Know what I mean? You can't have that in hockey. The penalty has to be clearly written and can't have that variable. I'm having fun with this though...good argument for sure!

The Stuart play a few games ago was in no way similar to the boarding call we witnessed by Lilja tonight. Stuart got slightly tangled up with the opposing player while coming in to the end boards, slipped up, and went in to the boards hard and awkward. There was no foul on the play, and hence, no penalty. That's just one of those things that can happen when two big men approach the boards at a high speed. Andreas Lilja's hit tonight was not accidental...it was an undisciplined play that was dangerous and could have severely injured Backes. I stand by my original statement that the penalties given were reasonable considering the foul. Again, these are big men we're talking about here....professionals...they know the rules, and they know the punishment if they break those rules. I like Lilja, but he made a bad move tonight, and he paid the price. Again....I'm just glad that Backes wasn't severely injured. If he was, Andreas might be facing a suspension. Just take a look at Gauthier from the Kings...he just got handed a 5-game suspension for a dirty hit the other day. We don't need that, and we don't need that type of play giving our team a bad name either.

The degree of injury sustained by a player who is boarded has no bearing on what penalty is given. Boarding is a 5-minute major penalty, which also carries with it a game misconduct. The injury or lack thereof has nothing to do with the penalty... Do you really think Backes was pretending to be injured? I doubt it. He got flattened....and just because his face wasn't rearranged, doesn't mean he wasn't dazed by the hit. I wouldn't have gotten up that quickly either, but I sure as hell would have been out there on the ensuing power play, provided I was healthy and ready to go. The amendment you're suggesting isn't concrete enough. Penalties can't have variables. They need to be steadfast rules, and can't vary based on the level of injury sustained. Boarding = 5 minutes + game misconduct...simple and fair.

The penalty was well deserved, and unfortunately, once they issue a 5 minute major for boarding, the game misconduct is mandatory. That's not a decision the ref gets to make. It ties directly into the major penalty. Tough situation, but it happened, and at least they only allowed 1 goal in the 5 minutes of power play time. Good thing also that Backes wasn't seriously injured, or Andreas might also be facing a suspension...

The penalty has nothing to with whether or not the player was injured on the play.... The rule is simple; if a player is standing 2 feet from the boards, with his back facing to you, you can't face plant him into the boards. It's called boarding. Good for him being able to pull himself together and get out there to attempt to stick it to the Wings as retribution for getting his face slammed into the glass. I'm all for cheering on the Wings, and I hate bad penalties just like anyone else, but please....try not to be a homer. This has nothing to do with Pav and Nick's suspensions....it's a rule in the game of hockey, and if you break it, you pay the price. Just be glad they only scored once on that power play.

Personally, I think that's a ridiculous suggestion. I have no issue with the rule as it stands. I was at the game tonight, and even though I was disappointed to see the Wings shorthanded for 5 minutes, the penalty was well deserved. Backes was only a couple feet from the boards, and Lilja came in from behind and planted him directly into the boards face first. Whether or not he was seriously injured is irrelevant....if that same play happened to one of the Wings' players, you'd be calling for the offending player's head. I'm glad Backes wasn't seriously injured...it was a poor judgment call from Lilja, and the penalty matched the crime unfortunately. To say that a player who gets rear-ended face first into the boards should have to sit out the rest of the game in order to 'earn' the 5 minute major power play isn't realistic. We should be glad that he wasn't seriously injured, or Lilja would be looking at a suspension as well. The game misconduct has nothing to do with Backes trying to win an Academy Award, it's directly tied to the major boarding penalty. What a ridiculous statement...I'd love to see the reaction if this happened to one of our guys. Totally different story. Take the good with the bad!

I disagree that it's 'clearly' affecting his play. Nick will battle through this injury, and the coaching staff will continue to limit his minutes during the regular season to aid in this. Come June, then he'll consider his options regarding whether or not to have it repaired surgically. I don't think we need to be too concerned. If it wasn't for the All Star Game, we don't even hear about this injury.

LOL! awesome!

As much as I was glad to see him and his lazy approach to playing hockey leave Detroit, I would never wish such a painful and devastating injury on anyone. I hope he's able to make a recovery, even if not just for a return to hockey

As much as I can't deny that Hossa is a great player, I think the Red Wings would really handcuff themselves if they were to lock Hossa up long-term, in a contract similar to Z's. I think they'd be much better off trying to find a way to lock up Franzen to a long-term deal, with a cap number somewhere around $3.5 mil/year (if that's even possible!), which would then leave them much more space to keep guys like Samuelsson and Hudler around. I think it would be a much better situation keeping 2-3 guys rather than blowing the wad on Hossa, and being forced to drop a couple of solid role players like Sammy and Huds, both of whom have been solid contributors to our team for a few years now.

I agree...as much as I was glad to see him and his lazy approach to playing hockey leave Detroit, I would never wish such a painful and devastating injury on anyone. I hope he's able to make a recovery, even if not just for a return to hockey.

I'm completely with you on this....as of today, I'd say Lilja is the most improved player on the Red Wings this season. The guy has really done a great job in limiting his mistakes, which used to be a major problem for him in the past. I like the fact that he's taking more shots, and that he seems to be much more comfortable back inside his own zone with the puck. If he keeps this up, he might just justify himself getting a contract extension of his own...

No, you'll need to have tickets for your kids. They only allow you to bring in a child for free if they are 2 years or younger, and even considering that, they need to sit on your knee. 3 and 5 years old will require a regular priced ticket to enter. Hope that helps.

I won't lie...I'm saying that partially to convince myself that they will in fact hit a bump in the road at some point, because if they don't, the Red Wings league record of 62 regular season victories is in jeopardy.