newfy

Before hossa8181 takes this out of context again, he doesn't mean shin pads he means upper body gear. I just thought I should clarify that considering the smarts you've shown earlier in this thread.

People used to lose there shoulder pads and sometimes undershirts in fights. Rob Ray used to sew his shoulder pads to his jersey so they would come off with his jersey to get an advantage. Ditching an elbow pad before a fight isn't a big deal at all and at least he has an argument. You just made some dumb comment about a baseball bat and either took a comment completely out of context on purpose to try to make him look dumb or you're the dumb one and doesn't know what he's talkign about when he would take off his jersey.

I don't hate euros but I have to chime in here. Lets be honest here, Europeans 90% of the time play the game like *******. You're right they grew up playing differently over there, but that doesn't mean they aren't sofft players for the most part. They grew up playing soft and it translates in the NHL. Thats fine if they want to use speed and skill but that isn't the way hockey was made to be played. Its great they got to the NHL that way and everything but come on to say that most aren't ******* is a little far fetched.

Kronwall is a huge open ice hitter in the playoffs not really the reg season. Looch is a force all year round and is strong along the boards, something Kronwall sort of lacks. And to say you would take Kopecky over some of those guys is just plain retarded. The guy made one big hit in a preseason game, he sucked and couldn't fill his role as a 4th liner.

Oh so do we maybe have a big, physical defenseman in Lashoff who can drop the mitts a bit? Or was this a once in a lifetime thing?

So you would rather have a team that lies down and doesn't defend itself and scores goals then one that can beat other teams up and beat them on the scoreboard? Thats one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

Obviously us fight slappys or knuckle draggers or whatever people want to call us watch hockey for more then just fighting. We're red wings fans for God's sake I think its clear we don't watch for just the fighting.

Like someone above said, Bert does have a pretty mean backhander actually and has some nice goals because of it. He pulls it backhand quick and gets it over the tendys shoulder like its his job.... oh wait it is his job.

Good point and he doesn't play both ways. Maybe I'll vote Travis Moen next since he's a great penalty killer and plays some 2 way hockey, that seems to be the deciding factor.

People need to shut up with all the "class" comments. The wings are a hockey team, if you want class watch a polo match or something. FAct of the matter is Kenny brought Bert here so ppl should stop whining about him. Yes its the same Kenny that built a classy team and now he's adding some grit. Boohoo

Theres always some idiot, making a smart ass comment about Bert. Give the guy a chance for God's sake.

Its tough between Malkin and OV but I think OV is number one. He's a pure goal scorer with a physical edge, dirty dangles and probably the fastest release in the game.

I'm thinking the Pistons would be a more likely favourite for Wing fans

Iginla throwing a crosscheck is a hell of a lot different then blasting a slap shot at someone and not even aiming it. That cross check on the hip isn't very likely to hurt anyone. Getting blasted in the face with a puck? See Dan Cleary

Amen.

I dont even wanna get involved in this but it is true. Even if its against the rules running goalies happens in hockey especially in the playoffs. Especially considering its the AHL and DOwney is a top notch fighter in the big leagues.

from tsn http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=288074

Sportsmanship isn't a must. Its cool and all that Dats wins the award but who cares its the byng not teh Selke or Hart.

Ok saying Mike Richards isn't a soldier is one of the dumbest if not the dumbest thing I've heard in weeks. I love Helm but he doesn't even compare to Richards at all, Richards is one of the best captains in the game and by far the best young captain. Morrow is not quite the warrior Richards is anymore but man you gotta get out and watch some hockey or maybe take the red and white blindfold off. I'm thinking the raging newbie title is well deserved.

He avoided a suspension because its hockey and stuff like that happens. It was a 2 minute penalty yes but running goalies happens in hockey all the time. In a blowout game thats his job. Get under the other teams skin, get them off their game, throw the goalie off of his focus and maybe you'll put some goals in. He did his job perfectly.

So aside from this argument thats going on here. What do people here who know about the griffs actually think about Tardif? Could he eventually be a bottom liner for this team? Is he a huge hitter or just a capable hitter? When the gloves come off how well does he do? He seems like an intriguiing prospect, if Nill is telling hom to workout with Downey then he must factor into this teams future eventually right?

That line says it all. If they could dish out even a little punishment I think it would put this dynasty over the top and be one of the best all time. Teams play rough and make it hard for our superstars to play and we say our team is tough cause they can take it. Why do some people here think it would hurt the team to be able to do that to other teams superstars? I would love to see if other teams stars can take it as well as the wings do but that won't happen with this roster right now. I think Holland is kind of starting to lean towards rougher players then he has in the past now with drafting guys like Ferraro with their first pick this year and picking Callahan. Adding more scouts in the WHL will for sure help because its the toughest Jr league in the world. Our team would be better if we had some toughness in it, any non toughness advocates can argue all you want but its hockey and its proven that if you can play and be tough its better then just playing.

My top line would be Lindsay Yzerman Howe Vladdy Lids Dominator Closely followed by a line of Probert Shanny Kocur - just for pure entertainment purposes and the ability to score somewhat.

I agree on the PLyometrics. My school has Plyo classes everyother day after school and runs them through the summer and they definitely help. If you`re still playing competitvely I would say do some weight lifting to go along with plyo and some core workouts. This summer instead of just doing cardio and core I started lifting and saw huge improvements. My leg press went up to 430 in 3 sets of 10 and that combined with plyo really saw my skating improve. I like to do ab workouts with a medicine ball and inbetween sets balance on the ball, this made a huge difference for me as well. If you play a physical style like me the upperbody workouts really help too for mucking in the corners but legs are by far the most important.

I don't think Franzen's soft rep is undeserved. A guy his size should throw the body way more and I'll never get over him acting like he got shot by Jim Vandemeer last season. Dats does lay guys out all the time in the playoffs, we can for sure agree there and Z can take a hit, doesn't really give them but he's not really that soft. Anyways, its not your top line players that make or break your team in tuoghness. You should have a couple hard nosed players like yous aid above filing out the bottom lines to make your team tougher to play against. Helm and Ab will be tough to play against in a few years but thats at least 2 away probably. I would like a Maltby in his prime back on this team, someone who can play in the corners, still play the game and piss off the other team. Your top players like Dats shouldn't be called upon to do alot of your teams hitting come playoffs but he has to since Drapes, Maltby and Kopecky barely ever did. I can't wait for Drapes and Maltby to be gone in the next couple years because I think Holland will sign guys that play like those guys did in their prime which is what we need. If we add one or two Drake types to this team I think we`ll have almost perfect balance but until then we`re not quite there.