Broken 16

I don't want the East to win this year. Wouldn't mind seeing Hossa get a Cup either. Go Hawks!

Wings were being outshot more this season than any other season I can remember. Howard faced a lot of quality rubber for basically an entire season and we still got into the playoffs. And aside from that one awful goal, nothing Howard did cost the Wings any games. Even that one is debatable. And he did it all as a rookie. And it doesn't matter that he is 26. He still had to make that leap into the NHL and he finished among the leaders in the NHL. To even insinuate that Osgood should be the starter next season is just flat out dumb.

Gotta hand it to Kane. He's playin hard. This is a great game.

I don't agree with your assessment that everyone here just claimed that he was awful. I never got that impression. Everyone seemed to agree that he had a lot of talent, he just wasn't making effective use of the extra ice time he could have seen. He had a golden opportunity to make a name for himself here, but for whatever reason, couldn't/wouldn't/didn't. How is that not frustrating when you had such high hopes for a player?

He's the one that demanded a one way contract. He made his own bed.

He appears to be battling harder. Maybe he finally shed his lazy ways (yes, at this point I'm using the word lazy strictly to annoy FinnishWing). I'm still reserving judgment until next season.

Lol... you gotta laugh.

From where I'm sitting, it's starting to look like Leino only comes to play in the playoffs. Sucks for the team that has to suffer with him through the regular season. Glad we could keep him warmed up for the Flyers. I'm rooting for them anyway (for some reason, I don't hate Pronger nearly as much since he went to the East).

I saw Leino give up on more plays than I care to count. GIVE UP. Put his stick in the air and skate for the bench. When he lost possession (which was often), he didn't bother to try and get the puck back. When he had possession, he would telegraph a ridiculous move, then try and pull it off on the perimeter... fooling nobody. We wasn't willing to drive the net on a regular basis. He lost most of his individual battles. Put a half assed effort into backchecking. Was weak on the puck. You can call that whatever you want... but I call that laziness. By your logic... nobody that has a job can ever be considered lazy. Guess what... when someone shows up to the office everyday and doesn't try... he is lazy. Having a job doesn't automatically make you unlazy. Get a clue. A professional athlete is no different than any other kind of professional.

You keep saying that and it just isn't true. He wasn't benched because he wasn't scoring. A lot of things have to happen before you actually score the goal. THOSE were the things he wasn't doing. Honestly... what do you think a goal scorer is? Very rarely are goals scored in the NHL that aren't a result of hard work. Leino wasn't putting the hard work. Watch replays. Read articles. Read his own words. THAT'S why he was benched, not because he didn't score the X amount of goals that Holland anticipated. That's just stupid. Go peddle that at the HFBoards or something, because that's not gonna fly here. Sorry. Nice recipe for failure there bro... kids at home, ignore his post. One thing leads to another. Don't spend your life waiting for someone to hand you confidence on a silver platter.

I can't believe you are using his salary as a way to justify his utter uselessness as a Red Wing. I see... so not only demand a one way contract... but also pay me a bunch of money if you want me to score and be a team player. Congrats, you've convinced me. I hate him.

You've never played hockey... confidence has NOTHING to do with hustle. Zero, zilch, nada. He couldn't even hang positionally. Stop trying to gloss over lack of will by clumping it up with lack of confidence. They are two seperate things. Every player loses confidence at some point. Good players work through it with hustle and determination. Leino didn't do that. You can cite other examples of players sucking all day and it won't change the fact that Leino didn't hustle... and even admitted it in the press.

Right... one dimensional. That's why he is gone and that's why I don't want him back. Any points he's racked up since leaving the Wings don't matter. Since he would be sitting home if he was still with us... and probably a lot sooner. You're speaking about his Flyers totals as if they mean anything to me. Players have lost confidence before and were benched. Thing is... most of those players wake up and don't get benched again till next season. Leino woke up for one period after each benching and then was basically useless again by the time the game was over. Offensive numbers don't impress me coming out of the East. It's pretty much what they do over there. A) He was lazy and refused to do the little things that would keep him in the line up. B) He was too dumb to grasp the Wings system and didn't fit. C) He realized that he was outmatched and wasn't gonna be able to compete for a top 6 roster spot and gave up. Your pick.

This is the first season in a long time where I'm not really bummed about an early exit. I have a feeling that next season is gonna be sick.

They are facts... why do you think he rode the pine so much? Lol. Have you ever seen a Wings player benched for not scoring if he was doing other things to help the team? Shall we delve into point totals for last season? I don't care if he succeeds or not... but I fully understand someone not wishing him well after he basically demanded to play on the big team and then proceeded to stink up the joint while flapping his trap to the press about not being the type of player that digs in the corners. Language barrier? Maybe. Still a stupid thing to say. Screw him.

It's not that he didn't play well here. He was lazy, refused to make the extra effort to make a play. Said stupid s*** to the press. Was knocked off the puck whenever someone used harsh language. I don't care how well he is doing somewhere else. He sucked here big time and I, personally, would never want to see him in a Wings sweater ever again. I don't care if he is racking up a PPG in the weak ass East. Big deal. My son could get a PPG in the East. He was completely lost and useless in the Wings system. He's better off in the East playing dumb, systemless hockey.

Just a flip flop from last season. They were hoping to get Howard into 35 games. I would think that would be the maximum that Osgood sees if all goes well.

This. With the Avalanche getting the edge on cheese factor.

I don't think it's too far out of the realm of possibility to blame McCrimmon for E's apparent breakdown in the confidence department. Obviously not gonna blame him for a lackluster season from the vets, but he has a much bigger impact (or should) on the younger defensman... Like E. Not saying that all of the blame should fall on McCrimmon for E's fall from grace... but some, maybe most. If he has been working with E this season as much as he should have been... he failed.

Still talking about that stupid handshake 'incident' a year later? Wow. People still care?

Right. I'm not saying he wasn't a great player. He was. He helped the Wings in a lot of ways, no doubt. I still despise him though, and always will. He will always be a scumbag s***hawk* in my book. *- Used with permission from Jim Lahey Inc.

Ya... Clark kinda bugged me too. Not nearly as bad as Chelios. But Wendel Clark was a Leaf for a long time and was a thorn in our side. It was just really weird when he got picked up at the trade deadline.

Shootouts are fine. It's the consolation point awarded after it and/or overtime that has to go. If you lose in any fashion... 0 points.

Who knows... maybe they'll be burning a picture of Leino.

Ya. I'm definitely mystified on how he can look like he might be on the road to being dominant so early only to drop off so drastically. I'm hoping it is only a confidence thing. I kinda blame McCrimmon to be honest. And to a much lesser degree, Lids. Though Lids had his hands full with a team that was struggling to make the playoffs most of the season.