Opie

The only way I can think that I would want to start on the road would be in 2-3-2 format, that stretch of 3 home games in the middle would be kick ass, on the road would suck ass!!

psst I was being sarcastic, because I am tired of the Sammy bashing. But don't tell anyone!! It's a secret. OH s***, I guess I shouldn't be posting it on the web if it is a secret!

Because he was on the ice for 21 more goals by his team than by the other team. That is how plus minus works, you get +1 when you are on the ice for an even strength or shorthanded goal for your team and a -1 when it is the other team.

Pile, did you mother have any children that lived! It looks to me like the best part of you ran down the crack of your mama's ass and ended up as a brown stain on the mattress.

Now that is a Feds statement that I can agree on, he is a tremendously gifted athlete, he is one of those guys who you look at and see a natural ability and athleticism that makes you think he could have been a pro at a lot of sports!

We all know you hate the wings, Holland, the whole org. we got that when you, well you know what happened. The point is why are you here posting negative things all of the time still. If you are no longer a wings fan why on earth are you here to just post negative things. If you had joined here as a Sharks or whomever else fan and were shat talking like this people would be all over you. But since you "claimed" to be a wings fan, when you joined, people are lumping you in with the crowd of negative Nancys around that say the wings can't win because of this, that, and the other thing. The difference between you and the others, you no longer claim to be a wings fan, or are you again? I have a hard time keeping up with it, you switch sides more than Tia Tequila. We get it you hate the Wings now, you hate Hudler, you hate Sammy, you hate the moves that posters are predicting or anything Red Wing. Why, some of you may ask, I'll tell you why. All of this hatred is spawned from the fact that Holland didn't trade for Fedorov (within the division, because that happens so often for other teams ) and in your mind that was a capital offense. Move on go pollute some other board where the people don't mind you trashing the players, a team that mind you no matter who you choose did worse than the wings this year!!! Go root for the sharks, hell they were 2nd best after Det. Go root for Mon, hey O6 team, first in the East, oh but still not as good as Det. Go root for Pit, Young, talented up and comers, 2nd in the east, oh what is that you say they were worse than Det too. Hmmmmm, funny because when I go to LGW you would think that the Wings are the worst team with the worst group of players since the inception of Hockey. Enjoy the playoffs, and remember every win the wings get, will get you closer and closer to wanting to root for them again, but here I will be to point out that you BAILED on them, you turned in your RED WINGS Card remember. I sure as hell do!

Right and if he had done it with the Jackets, like people seem to think he still can, they would have made the playoffs. If he is this good for a prolonged period of time after leaving the Jackets, putting up points leading a young(er team than Col) team, being an all around guy. Than I call shenanigans. That proves that he dogs it when he wants and then he goes out and tears it up when he feels like it. That is not to say that is WAS has success he was dogging, but if he tears it up these playoffs and next year, just because he feels he is on a better team just goes to prove the selfish theory. ON THE OTHER HAND: If he continues the pace he has set the last couple of years, is a mentor to AO (who seems more willing to listen than Nash ever did) or someone on another team (he is a UFA) than I will be on here saying I was wrong about him. But I want to see it from him for more than a month and a half before I believe it.

You know what is fuct, this is my first post in this thread, and I am not even going to defend Sammy in it, I don't have to, so many posters already have!!! Thanks guys, it is nice to know I am not the only one that thinks he is worth more than a bag of pucks!!!

Great read, I really hope they get the long term thing done and he is a wing for his career. He and Dats are going to be great for years to come, and both seem to have very relaxed personalities and seem to be very down to earth.

I don't give a crap about her predictions all I know is that I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more. No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more. Well, I wake in the morning, Fold my hands and pray for rain. I got a head full of ideas That are drivin' me insane. It's a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor. I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.

I agree 100%!!! That second line about them being close in terms of value is a little wrong too me, I think if it is Dats that is out for the time Z was out, Z carries the team the way Dats did. I think they offer the same value to the team. Now not saying they are the same player, but in terms of being team first, top notch players on both ends of the ice, on all speciality teams, so on and so forth. I just never was able to come up with a good way to describe those sentiments. That was until Eva put up this post, in terms of what they are worth to the team they both in my mind the two most important forwards on the team, with no seperation. These two are going to be phenomenal players for years to come. I am just glad they are on the wings!! Great post Eva! I agree that Dats and Z are BOTH on the second tier of the MVP race, Lids is the man, will win another Norris trophy this year, and if the cards fall right will be the first Euro captain to win the cup!!

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news;_ylt=Apee...o&type=lgns 1. Detroit Red Wings (54-21-7, Previous: 2) – It was a good year because the Red Wings once again put themselves in position to win Stanley Cup No. 11, and no one is calling this team old anymore. 1Det 2Sj 3Ana 4Mon 5Pit

Not to argue with you, or start a flame war but do you care to expand upon that. For instance I would say the wings are because they have: the most points the most wins the fewest loses (you may think this and the one above go hand and hand, but they don't necessarily) 2nd most GF the fewest GA so on and so forth, I am not saying you are wrong, please don't take it as that but what criteria are you basing that off of.

Care to explain how? He does one thing and one thing only, fight. If this was the regular season than sure he has a spot and has earned a spot, postseason he just doesn't possess the skill set, and if he does than the wings have big problems (injuries). Now if someone starts some crap, then sure the next game let him have a game and do what he does.

s*** they could use one from last year!

As I did some research people speculated that was the reason too, some even said Devallano said as much, but I can't find anything concrete to support that theory. I just think it is weird that he would take down a number another owner retired.

1 Netminder has his number in the rafters in Det, and he was arguably one of the best ever to play the position and not just in det. http://www.detroithockey.net/history/retired.php Anybody know why Illitch refuses to hang Auries jersey?

I am so torn on this issue of whether or not they should let this kid play this year, however the one thing I know is that it should not be his decision. Him feeling healthy enough is more than likely the desire to play burning him up inside. This kid should be the face of the franchise for years to come and should be a great player IF HE IS FULLY RECOVERED!!! He has said himself that he is 7-8 days away from playing shape once he starts full practice. So today's practice would be day one and then it would be a week at best, based on him knowing his own body. I really wish the best for this kid, this injury could have been and still could be career ending, I hope the best for him and that next year he scores 40+ and wins come back player!!!

You are misusing my post, my post was in response to Fedorov DESERVING to be a Red Wing. But your example, if life were lived in a vacuum, would be valid and Holland would look like an ass, but what you forgot in your little explanation is that Feds signed an offer sheet with Car before this. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m120...222/ai_20382950 This little tidbit was in response to paying Feds more money: So it is not like Holland had reasons to feel ok about waiting around for Sergei to make up his mind, last time he didn't jump all over Sergei, he signed with another team. But you just like to support Fedorov because he bailed on the wings like you and if they take feds back you are hoping Wings fans will let you back on the bandwagon!!! OK that was a little sarcasm, but you did bail. OH BTW I hope Feds doesn't sign with this team in the summer, nothing Personal, but that guy is not what this team needs, as laid out in GS&T's post.

True, but just a couple of years before that he had the opportunity to show loyalty and instead he hung them over a barrel. Again I have no problem with him leaving for his reason, but as far as him deserving to come back that is where I think differently than you.

Quick question for those of you who want Miller in the Winged Wheel... Am I the only one who sees him as Jiggy Junior, his pads are only a little bit smaller than Jiggy's. His shoulder flaps are slightly better than Jiggy's. I am not saying he isn't good, but in my opinion, if you want to support Miller in that gear you should be willing to give Jiggy the benefit of the doubt as well.

........You do know that is your opinion right? For Instance Malkin could destroy his knee in the first PO game and never play again. OR he could just start to suck. While you are correct that he is at the start of an elite career, and if things continue to go this way he will be an excellent hockey player. But as of right now this moment, Malkin isn't top 5, not even top 10 IMO, and I would already put Dats in the top 10. I would disagree that Malkin is on the same level as Dats already, not that his offense isn't insane, but his D is not on the same level as Dats, he doesn't see/feel (bad choice of words but couldn't come up with anything better this early, lol, I am referring to the mental aspect of the game) the game like Dats. He is more physical than Dats, and I think is a purer shooter/scorer than Dats. However I would agree that at the age 20 he is better than Dats was at 27. Dats has also performed in the post season, albeit once, he has still been a playoff performer. Now I know that is not really Malkin's fault, hard to win 3 cups, 12 postseason series when you are only in your second year. BTW I googled Malkin's name to check some of the info I posted about, and one of the top 5 results was a forum discussion about whether or not he has a girlfriend. That game up before ESPN, Yahoo, and after Wikipedia!!

I have made mistakes, but I also said I fuct up, he hasn't. Not that I think he has, I think if he left, whatever reason he left was his, maybe it was Yzerman's shadow, maybe it was Anna in Ca, but by the way he acted with Car made it seem like money, until he left for ANA for less money, who knows, but just because he put up numbers it doesn't mean he deserves to come back. I personally think he is no better offensively than Sammy at this stage of his career, his defense is 50x better, he is much, much, much better at face offs. Before you blow up and think I just put down Feds, I defend Sammy on these boards a ton, so I am one of the rarities on here that thinks he is worth more than a bag of pucks (and in some cases less) This is the first I ever hear of Feds being a good leader, so I will reserve my comment on that until I see how well he leads WAS, but from what I read he was a disappointment in the leadership dept in Ana and Col. I have no knowledge of that though. I would argue also that Shanny was a bigger part and the missing piece to the cups, not that feds was just a passenger. However when it came time for him to step up when Shanny and Yzerman were out of the playoffs what happened. Feds was a huge whipping boy on this board at the end of his wings tenure, he got bagged on for the goal where he didn't back check (against LA, that goal pretty much sealed that first round exit), more than Lilja for his hand over to Teemu. He got bashed for not being able to lead the team when Shanny and Yzerman were injured and out of the line up. I would argue that the Red Wings did more for his career than he ever did for the Wings, because before them it wasn't like the NHL was ravaging Mother Russia's talent like it is today. He came to Detroit and played with 2 future hall of famers on his line, not to mention the ones on other lines or the blue line. Look at AO, he is the central focus for Was, who else scares anyone, when Feds hit the league he wasn't as known as AO is now, and he had a team with other names on it. I would venture to say if not for the Wings and their airplane he would not have been in the NHL for a couple of years at least. Now all of his accolades and awards are well deserved, don't get me wrong, I am not saying he sucked and was lazy, but to me he owes the wings and when he had a chance to pay them back, he forced their hand with the offer sheet to Car, then when that contract was up he bolted for the west coast with a thinner wallet than if he had stayed. Edit: So you think the team owes him for the best years of his career, or he owes them. I guess it is a matter of if you think the player or the team did more for the other. I just don't think it is a coincidence that he hasn't put up anything close to what he put up in the D. Yeah his first year in ANA was great but after that he falls off a little.

I would like to know what feds did to deserve to come back a wing? What did he sacrifice for the good of the team? What did he ever do that showed he put the team ahead of himself? Hey, if you like the guy and want to see him in a wings jersey, I could care, but saying he deserves to come back is a stretch. I don't want to derail this thread with more he hates feds, he loves feds, she thinks he is an ass, so on and so forth just asking why he deserves to be a red wing. Remember what being a Wing means! I am not knocking his style, skill, abilities just curious as to why you think he deserves it. Because to me, threatening to leave the team to force them to pay you more, or leaving for less money are reasons he doesn't deserve to be in the rafters or a Red Wing again. But that is my opinion.

I try to stay out of the Dats/Z debates for this same reason. I think cerebrally there are very few people that play the game the way Lids and Dats do. Now that is not to say that Z isn't a purer goal scorer, or in any way a knock on anyone else, it is just these two seem to know what is going to happen before it does. Dats has become one of the most complete players in the game. I say based on pure skill (mental capacity is a skill to me) these are my top 3 forwards in the game: Crosby (This kid is crazy at that age) AO (same as crosby, to me these two are a tie) Thornton Dats The only player that I see who can pass like Dats is Marc Savard. Savard doesn't seem to see the game as well as Dats though, and is not as much of a natural at it(IMO). I think if Dats had to play with guys with hands of stone you would see him score more, but if you have a chance to deke the piss out of half of a team and pass to a wide open teammate, that only you and a handful of others can make that pass, you give it to him so he can bag it into an empty net. But then to top it off, the guy whose stick you put it on happens to be another of the top 15 forwards in the league that makes it nice too. Then you top all of that offense off with the fact that he can play D as well. It may be a product of him developing his game, could be a product of the environment he is in, but even Yzerman's stats fell a little while he was working more defensively, s*** even Jordan's scoring average went down when he became the best D player in the NBA. Dats stats haven't diminished! He, like Lids, seems to have great all around hockey skills and smarts. So to make a long story short AO Dats Malkin Nabby Kovalchuk Zubov Gonchar Kovalev Frolov Semin If you meant, Andrei Markov, he is further down my list a little, If you were talking Danny Markov, someone would have paid him the 4 mil he wanted, it wasn't only Det that could have used him and decided not to. That to me says something about either his motivation or his ability. Either way he is off of my list.