bonan78

Hadn't thought about Laperriere, not a bad idea. My only concern is his age, but he's only a year older than Grier, so I could go either way. We definitely need to go out and get a UFA grinder/scrapper for 1 million or less, that is one role that none of our prospects are ready to fill. Some of the other names that are being mentioned, Moen, Marchant, Neil, and such means that there are plenty to pick from, we just need to find the one whose personality fits the team the best, my pick would be Grier, but then again I'm not the GM, am I?

Thank you Matt and all the other Mods. This site has allowed me to get in touch with Red Wings Nation and for that, I am grateful. Keep up the good work.

I watched well over 500 games this season, regular and playoffs, and the thing that frustrates me the most is the inconsistency of the officiating. Regular season, the officiating was not horrible, but there were a lot of calls that were made where you could understand why they called it or why they let it go. In the playoffs however, it was just pathetic. I'd be watching one series and they are calling everything, then another series they put their whistles away entirely. The fact that everything in the playoffs was on national TV and therefore the errors were magnified by the commentators pointing out every flaw in the officiating makes it even more inexcusable. I wish I could offer a real solution, but basically the league needs to take a long hard look at the product they put on the ice this year and something needs to change, whether it's the on-ice officials themselves, the crew cheifs, or the league personnel that are responsible for the officiating, but do something. I am fortunate to have Center Ice at work so I do not have to pay for it, but I totally understand the sentiments of those who have stated their intent to spend their money elsewhere. The NHL has been alienating it's biggest fans for years, and this is just the latest in a long line of failures. I will always be hockey fan and more importantly, a Red Wings fan, but it is getting harder and harder to stomach the NHL.

I didn't even notice that it was icing until after they showed the replay and the announcers pointed it out. Yes, it was icing and the refs missed it, but that does not excuse the turnover, nor the overall poor performance the last 2 games. Aside from the opening shift of the 1st period, the Wings looked flaf-footed and out of gas, we were getting beat to loose pucks, we had no support on the rush, were outnumbered at the blue line entering the offensive zone, and the turnovers killed us for sure.

I doubt that they would trade Holmstrom, or that any other team would take him. He needs to retire, as do Maltby and Draper. These guys have been great and have done a lot for this team, but they are taking roster spots away from our young GR prospects that are clearly ready to make the step up (i.e. Helm, Abdelkader, Leino). IMO, this is the most important thing that needs to happen this off-season, more important than the Hossa decision, more important than trying to make changes to our defensemen, more important than trying to lure a big-ticket UFA.

Wouldn't mind seeing Grier or Neil being signed. Neil probably has more upside at this point, but I've always kinda liked Grier for some reason. None of the Defensemen really jumped out at me, other than their bloated salaries. It would be nice if we could get a guy like Bouwmeester or Weber to take a discount to come her and win, but that would be harder to pull off considering the Hossa debacle. Speaking of Hossa, it will be interesting to see where he lands. I just hope it's not here, unless it is for 4 million or less. Bottom line, Ken Holland has a lot of work to do, and I can't wait to see how this team looks next year.

I will admit that some of what Bettman said was drowned out by crowd noise, but after making such an effort last year to gush about the Penguins before handing the Cup to Lidstrom, there was a noticable lack of acknowledgement of the losing team in his speech. I'm not calling him out, or saying anything bad about him, it's just an observation.

Filppula has been my favorite Red Wings player the last 2 seasons because of his effort. He may have trouble finishing, but that will come along with time and as he gains more confidence in his shot. For a guy who signed a significant contract extension to be the 2nd line center for the next 5 years, only to have his role changed almost overnight with the signing of Hossa, you never heard him complain, he just went out and battled every night, and don't forget, he set personal bests in scoring for the regular season and the playoffs this year, he just turned 25 and has tons of upside, and I think that short of Zetterberg he was our best forward the entire series. So much was made of teh Zetterberg/Crosby matchup, but he held Malkin, the eventual Conn Smythe winner, to 2 goals (in fact, IIRC both of Malkin's goals were on the PP, so he really held him to 0 ES goals), and was 7th overall in playoff scoring. Not bad for a guy who was the goat for many posters on this board all season. Every great team needs role players, and he has filled his role admirably all year. I can't wait to see what he does with a full season as the center of the #2 line and real minutes on the PP.

I took my medicine and watched the Cup handoff, I was impressed at how he handled it. It was difficult to watch, but it was surprising to see how humbled he was by the whole situation. It's going to be even more difficult to watch 12 months of Crosby-love, but we did not deserve to win the way we played. I have already called my 2 co-workers who are Penguins fans to congratulate them, and I congratulate the Penguins on their championship. Can't wait for October to do it all over again.

What time is it? Game Time, Whoo

I sincerely hope this is just a rumor. I would hate to have a guy like Jack Johnson, who not only is a former Wolverine but I really admire the way he plays the game, end up on a team full of goons that I can't stand.

Speaking of balls, I refer to one of my Photoshops:

Every playoff game since '96

Thank goodness this board has an ignore feature. Mister Puck Fittsburgh just made me snap at my 8 month old son. Hope he's happy.

I grew up there, you ignorant pus brain. Like most of the people on here that do not live in the area, we have some ties to Detroit. If you had read any of my other posts, you would know that I did in fact have something intelligent to say, for example, Detroit does not have a monopoly on economic crisis. Things are bad everywhere. Here in Florida the housing market is just as bad as it is anywhere else in the country, and people here are out of work too. I am fortunate enough to have a job that pays the bills, but just barely. My point was and is that I am sick of people like you whose only source of pleasure or self-validation seems to be raining on other people's parade. Win or lose, there will be Red Wings fans in Michigan and elsewhere that are going to wake up tomorrow and have to face the same reality that they did this morning, LET THEM ENJOY WHAT MAKES THEM HAPPY.

No, your comments and trolling and your efforts to make people miserable like you make you an a-hole.

I did not say he was wrong about anything specific, I just don't like him, and was simply pointing out that he is a troll and I want him to go away. As for the ticket prices, if I still lived in the Detroit area, I would pay whatever the price was to go to a Wings game. As it is, I've only been able to go to 1 Wings game every 2 years, in Tampa and in Raleigh when I lived in SC, and on 2 of those occasions, I was between jobs and had to scrape the money together not only for the tickets but for the trip. The Red Wings winning the Cup again isn't going to change anything, but it has the potential to make people feel better, at least for a little while, and what is so awful about that that people like that tampon have to piss all over it.

Up yours, douchebag. Just because my parents moved away from Mt. Clemens when I was in high school doesn't mean I don't have any input in the matter. You are a piece of crap and no one wants your wet blanket attitude. There's enough pessimism and complaining on this board from real Wings fans without trolls like you laying turds on everyone else who is trying to have a good time and talk about their hockey team.

9 hours to go, I can't stand it Win the crowd!

Tazke your negativity elsewhere you nasty pig.

You suck.

Link broken

I think we may likely be watching Hossa's last game as a Red Wing. I know there are stories out there that there is a deal in place, but I doubt that. Unless he takes a HUGE discount, like 3-4 mil per year, we simply cannot afford him, financially or in terms of what it would do to our depth. I also think that Kopecky will not be re-signed, and that some other team may offer Samuelsson a significant raise that he will not be able to pass up. Chelios retires, and Hudler gets 3 million for 5 years like Filppula did last year. Hopefully any combo of Draper, Maltby, and Holmstrom retire as well, allowing us to bring up some Griffins who are ready to be regulars. At any rate, next years team will feature many new faces. Until then, here's hoping Hossa has a huge game tomorrow and proves all his doubters wrong. It was certainly fun while it lasted.

I have yet to see a single "Crosby jealousy" thread on here. Crosby is a crybaby, Crosby doesn't deserve to be the league's posterboy, Crosby dives and takes cheapshots, maybe. But no Wings fan has any reason to be jealous of Crosby, how many Stanley Cups has he won? Bettman conspiracy, well the expression on his face as he sat in the stands at Joe Louis for Game 5 says enough for me. Making referrences to an entire state's mental capacity instantly disqualifies you from being able to make any "high horse" comments, you lowlife.

I love it, our Photoshop thread is now a Youtube sensation. They should put some kind of credit or caption telling people where the pictures are from.