Opie

Try re-reading my post, it is obvious by your first phrase you did not read my post, as I specifically said I didn't call you a kid! Secondly, you were right that was another poster in the Poll thread I apologize, it was above one of yours and my brain for some reason transposed your avatar there, again I apologize. Back to the debate: Fringe fans, so now the league should determine games in ways that are designed to keep fans that may or may not watch ever again, that is what should decide wins or losses, playoff births or going on vacation all summer? Really, what determines who gets into the playoffs is going to be based off of a gimmick, a skills competition, which is only a part of the game to keep fringe fans, it may be marketing stupidity to get rid of the shootout, but basing standings off of a gimmick meant to keep fringe fans is even worse. Listen if it were something that had no barring on the outcome, like Ice girls or tee shirt give aways or free NHL CenterIce for the fans great, but we are talking about deciding playoff spots. Even if it is only the 8th seed, teams have made it to the SCF from the 8th spot. And we are also talking about altering all 8 spots in each conference, 06 -07 Calgary makes the playoffs as the 8th seed, 1 point ahead of the AVS, on the strength of 3 extra losses, were they OT or Shootout, I can not find that info right now and don't care to. The point being that the three extra points they got for losing, for losing mind you, put them in the post season ahead of Colordo. It happens every year that a team gets less points because some one else lost more in overtime than in regulation. EDIT: I went off on the point in OT thing, which I don't think you (Stev) pointed out as a bad argument, but I got rolling!

WHY? The shootout is played out, points for a loss, what is this Rec League basketball, does everyone get a trophy at the end of the season. I live in a pretty decent hockey community, and I ask people I see in jerseys at bars, Resturaunts, Monarch's games, just about anytime I see someone in a hockey Jersey what they think of the game and ways to improve it, do you have any idea the number of people behind getting rid of the shootout? Almost as many as would support a second winter classic, by that I mean a lot! About 80% of the people I talk to hate the idea of a shootout, and I am talking new fans old fans. The only fans that I see consistently liking the shoot out is young kids. (Nothing meant towards you Stev, at all please don't take it that way, just what I see here in NH and New England). Why is my proposal marketing nightmare. Open ice with fewer players on it means more high speed dekes and moves, as opposed to watching Crosby, Malkin, Datsyuk, and Williams all coast towards the net, deke a few times and go backhand. It also incorporates what is great in the game with the high speed dekes and moves, things like hits, crazy passes, you know the things that were a part of the game more than 5 years ago and were able to establish quite the fan base! You really think an activity that happens, 15-20 times a season for an 82 game season, being removed from the game entirely is a problem. The shootout doesn't happen every game, why would pulling it out of the 20% it happens in be marketing stupidity. How do they go about marketing the shootout so well to begin with? Marketing stupidity, wasn't it you that on another thread (Ken Holland Poll) just minutes ago accused some one of making a statement and then not providing any path of logic to describe their stance?

0 points for a loss, then teams who know they suck in the shootout bust there ass in Opie's new 10 minute 4 V 4 overtime. Then after a week of looking into it Opie (the New Commish) says F&^k the Shootout, the shoot out will be replaced by another 10 min 4 V 4. Stopping 5 minutes after the first 10 for a breather, then stop 10 minutes after the second 10 for an ice cleaning. Still no one has scored, no worries new Commish Opie has another idea, another 10 min OT, this time 3 V 3. The open ice will create more highlights then the shootout. The 3 v 3 continues until a winner is scored, loser gets 0 points, you want points, win a game! 2pts for a win 0 points for a loss. Cut and dry. If playing four OTs is too much and the players union comes to new Commish Opie and say whoa guys are tired. Opie says, new rules, 1 4 v4 for 10, then one 3 v3 for 10, then a tie. 2pts for a win 0 pt for a loss 0 pt for a tie A tie is as good as a loss in my book. You want points, win a game!

Best thing that could happen for the Wings is if Sweden gets eliminated in pool play!

He looked good when he was out there with Fil and Bert towards the end. Not sure if it was the line or caught between lines (I was watching Celtics suck ass at the same time). He is playing very well, I could really see a future line of Miller(Eaves too really) Helm Abby playing real well.

Last I checked it was 39 per jersey, unless you ordered more than 10, I think.

No harm no foul.

I have claimed all along I want Ozzie in the post season, so I ask you again what was the point of your post? I have always asked though, how does Babs getting the team going in front of Ozzie, how many games is ok to lose in regulation? Right now regardless of whom is better the team is getting better results with Howard in net, Babs needs every point he can get.

So that means he didn't deserve to play? What in the hell was that post supposed to prove? Did the Wings miss the post season in 06? No they got ousted again in the first round, not like it was the first and only time a Wings team ranked in the top 3 didn't make it through the 1st round! And Legace put those numbers up on a team coasting half of the year, Howard is doing it for a team ranked 9th for the better part of the year! Again other than liking Ozzie there is no reason to play him over Howard right now, other than past accomplishments.

I am not getting involved with you and your know crowd, I have seen enough of your posts to know that you are an Ozzie slappy. But for the record I want Ozzie to retire in a Red Wing uni, there is no better person to mentor Howard. And also Howard is top 6 in GAA and SV% so how is it exactly he is not ready?

A) Like my stance on Ozzie/Howard I never picked Legace as a starter, I let the coach do that. Therefore I was not wrong, also I was not right. B) My point is, 3/4 of this board will jump on the new Goalie 95% of the time, that doesn't mean the whole board thinks this way. That is my point, since about '08 3/4's of this board has been ready to label anybody new the next hot thing, look at the expectations for Leino this season! C) The team needs points and regardless of whom you or I think is better the team skates harder and plays better in front of Howard. Babcock doesn't have the luxury of being in the lead for the President trophy this year, he needs to get them in to the post season, as of right now it is not looking good. D) I don't rip people for not agreeing with me, I rip on them for making statements that are false, or that they do not back up. Outsider for instance and his people in the "KNOW" bulls***! And other peoples claims of being in the know, and instead of backing up their statement they do the classic discussion board out, "I am not doing the research for you, you don't believe me prove me wrong" yeah because proving a negative is so easy! E) How do you know what this rookie will do? How did you know what Legace would do? Did you want Conk in last year? Look at the past two regular seasons Ozzie has had, not exactly spectacular, not exactly what most of the Ozzie haters here would make it out to be. But without a doubt below his "normal" numbers. Those are the facts. 95 -04 Ozzie had a sv% around .910 (the low being .903 the high being .917) every year except '02-03 when he split time in NYI and STL, Since coming back Ozzie has been inconsistent, .882 up to .910. Did you also know that besides last year Ozzie's highest ever GAA in DET was 2.86 (his rookie year, non-rookie year his highest was 2.69) last year he was 3.09 Did you also know that said rookie would be in the top 6 in GAA and SV%? Regardless of what you think it is hard to look at Jimmy's numbers and just ignore them, he is right now playing like a top goaltender in this league! (before you jump all over that read it carefully, I said he is playing like one not that he is one). Is Babs overplaying him, maybe, but right now he is not showing signs of being overplayed, maybe come March he will s*** the bed and Ozzie will no longer be an option, but a necessity. But I will still give you that in June I want Ozzie in the pipes, there is no replacing experience in the pipes in the post season, none! I am not blaming Ozzie for the goals against the caps, I am not saying Ozzie sucks, so before you spout off and "Rip" someone at least know what you are talking about. I have stated since these threads started that I am a huge J-Ho fan, but this team goes nowhere in the postseason without Ozzie. Again something I have stated all along, how does Babs exactly handle this situation. Last year he had a large lead in the standing after the New Year, they were no where near 8th place. He could give Ozzie plenty of starts to help with whatever mental issues the team thought he had. As in preparedness not he is crazy. Should he give points away? For some reason, probably because he is a rook, the team just skates harder in front of Howard. But with these two sentences: You completely made the post look like you are spoiled little brat of a child who cannot be in a adult debate. I could be wrong it has happened a lot in the past, but those lines make you look like it! So like said before, pat yourself nice and hard right on you back, but you misread my post and went off on a completely wrong direction. So you are not always right try to bare that in mind. Babs has three options right now: 1. Start Howard the rookie in the top 6 in SV% and GAA whom the team skates well in front of. 2. Start Ozzie whom is rusty (I admit Babs fault there) and the team does not skate well in front of. (defensively the team to me looks lapse when Ozzie is out there. Again not Ozzie's fault, I haven't blamed him for anything yet. Not even Backstroms goal can you believe that, well how can I possibly disagree with you then. HMM!) OR 3. Throw up his hands and quit! Which would you pick?

3/4 of this board were clambering for Legace, so Babs is not the only one who thought he was ready. I find it funny now that people blame him for playing Legace. And Lebda, yeah because Babs has sooooooooo many other options other than Lebda or Meech as the 6th. This place makes me laugh!

Wow I just found myself in 100% complete agreement with Mindfly! WOW!

He has looked real good all year, sure he takes dumb penalties, but he is aggressive and a beast with the puck. Great option for the top 6!

YEAH! Now trade/ Waive Lebda, then Call up Janik! Ok seriously wait until they see what Kronner can do and then call up Janik!

winner

How is bringing in Ozzie later costing them points worse than bringing him now and costing them points. If your notion is he needs games to warm up, the wings don't have those games right now, hence Howard playing. Please remember all Babs has ever said about this is that Howard gives the team a better shot to win, this whole Babs hates him/driving him out of town/players hate Babs/etc.. it is all made up on LGW. Nobody on here is in the KNOW like many profess to be. If Ozzie and his fans are upset that Howard is getting the starts, too bad. Ozzie played well last night, I thought, one semi bad goal, but again I like to credit Backstrom for what he did so really no bad goals. BTW I have never seen proof of Yzerman, Shanny, or Cheli (Who never bit his tongue) blame babs for their exit! All of them said it was time for others to have there time with the team. And even if they did, one of the most hated coaches was Bowman, whatever it takes Babs has got 4 50 win seasons out of this bunch, more than any other coach.

Agreed, no matter what happens (see last years playoff run) there will always be a goalie debate on LGW! All in all I was happy with Ozzie last night. The team as a whole played well, Ozzie played great up until the first goal, and then he started sitting back in his net, and that to me said uh oh Ozzie is thinking about this situation. NOW I could be 100% wrong that is just what I saw. The second goal to me would be like blaming J-ho for the Richards goal in Dallas. Backstrom undresses Stuart, and gets a point blank shot on Ozzie, if he doesn't shoot 5-hole (and still scores) this goal is half the controversy it is made out to be on this board. But 5-hole and Ozzie is like Steriods and A-rod on this board. Both Backstrom and Richards made great individual moves to get themselves in a great position and then followed it up by putting the puck in the net. The third I had as much chance stopping that while sitting on my coach as Ozzie did, that deflected and then hit the far side post and went in! I truly believe, Babcock sees his team play better in front of Howard, I think he sees a team that skates harder in front of him. Not because some one dislikes Ozzie, or someone thinks Ozzie is a s***bag, but simply because the team skates harder, works harder in there own end. May that be a product of the lesser of two goalies playing, sure, but babs needs these guys firing on all cylinders and to get every point available.

Honestly I think this was Gary's plan all along. Hear me out, I don't have a tin foil hat! You see, going into the lockout Gary had a big problem. The Clutch and Grab Devils style that was running rampant. He wanted to expand the game to the sunshine belt. With a slowed down product there was no way Hockey would be more successful than football in the south or the west. He was looking for a way to speed up the game. Gary is a lawyer and knows Basketball, not hockey. He is not a "hockey guy" from age 4. For the most part his relationship with David Stern got him the job. There are other details about how he got his job, I don't care my point here is he really isn't a "Hockey Guy" So, not being a "Hockey Guy" he had no idea what to do to fix the current conundrum he was facing, he didn't (and I believe still doesn't) have a firm grasp on the history of the game or the way Hockey had been played for decades. In my mind I believe the only thing he could tell the refs to stop clutch and grab was to simply call more penalties. What was the press release after the lockout about this, something to the effect of the refs are going to call more hooks and holds. So you are either telling me there were penalties being let go by the officials, in that case you need to clean up the officials and have a camp or something to define the penalties in all refs minds (they still need this). OR In order to stop the players from slowing the game down what wasn't a penalty before is now? He had no better solution than to have the refs just start making calls, that is what I believe led us here. None of the refs or players on the ice no what is a penalty to one lineman (sorry stars game flashback) Referee and not the other. Because after the lockout they game out whistles a blazing! There are I would say on average about 2 penalties a game per team where no one knows what to do. Everyone is too flabbergasted to even react, coaches make that eye roll, players not even arguing because they can put the words together to describe what just happened. On top of that you add to the fact that over the past 15 years or so the athletes have become stronger, faster, quicker all while the officials have just gotten older. How can a 50 year (who only probably trains on his own) old keep up with a professionally trained (year round at that) athlete like OV, hell even Helm? Then you add on to it the Auger piece, now refs are taking diving personally? Well then call the dive when it happens, and I mean more than 10 times a season (warning not official numbers!).

Goaltenders, Quarterbacks, and Pitchers are the only positions that get so much flack game to game, really loss to loss. Even in a win those three will get disected. Why they have the biggest impact on the game. They touch the ball/puck on every single possession or in the case of the goaltender are the very last line of defense. And either way all three are left to handle their job all alone. As a Winger, you lose your man, or get undressed as a D (Like Stuart by Backman) there is someone back there. As a goalie you screw up once and your error is magnified 10 fold if not 100! Quarterback throws 3 ints all year, playoffs come around he throws 3 in one game, all everyone talks about is how he is int prone. But all season he threw 3, doesn't matter. Same with starting pitcher, walks 4 in 3 innings all of the sudden he has a walk problem. Nature of the beast. BTW Ozzie's whole "you can write that down", did he watch to much Almost Famous? Bad move my man, keep it in house this is making you look bad!

Drafted after freshman year, just before the lockout. Being a Red Wing Prospect, all of these things add up to time spent not in the NHL. But apparently time well spent!

The second one was tough to watch, but the third goal was a deflection, I agree with Ken not much he could do there!

Damn it!

That shot before the break(My feed is about a minute behind) from the corner would have killed Ozzie a month ago. Not saying every game but he was giving up those momentum stealing weak goals. He has looked very good, very sharp, and his aggressiveness is right on.

I was thinking Ozzie was looking aggressive, in a good way.