19Wingsfan4ever

The Avs are rivals as well.

Just found out on 97.1 the Ticket that EX Redwing Martin Lapointe is now a Chicago Blackhawk! I believe he previously played for the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference. Any thoughts in Lapointe on being a Chicago Blackhawk.

I agree. Hopefully it will motive the team.

Here is a interesting article written by Christopher Botta. A hockey writer on fanhouse.com. Any thought or opinions on this article would be appreciated. Vultures waiting for the Chicago Blackhawks to address their looming salary cap trouble before the March 3 trade deadline are going to be disappointed. The Blackhawks are in position to win a championship. Like the brilliant college kid procrastinating until the eve of the final exam, Chicago won't make a cap-relief deal until they have to. They do not have to until after the Stanley Cup is handed over. In fact, there's a better chance they'll make a deal to improve their chances. The Blackhawks are approximately $1 million under the salary cap today. In the hours leading up to the deadline, they'll have plenty of retroactive cap space to acquire an impact player. In a phone conversation with FanHouse, Blackhawks assistant GM Kevin Cheveldayoff would not reveal his team's specific plans. However, he did shed some light on the state of the Blackhawks. "When your team has developed the high level of chemistry our club has, you want to keep it together," said Cheveldayoff, who joined the Blackhawks this season after 13 years as GM of AHL's Chicago Wolves, including four league titles. "If anything, you hope to add – not subtract. "Of course, we're going to look at everything. One thing we know for certain is that you put your team in the best position to succeed in April, May and June by having depth. And in Stan Bowman, we have a GM who has already proven he is not afraid to make the bold move to make our team better." Even if the Blackhawks decide to not make a move in the next five weeks, they still could be one of the most improved teams around the trade deadline. Dave Bolland, the two-way center who had 46 points last season, is expected to return this week after recovering from back surgery on Nov. 10. Gritty fourth-line right wing Adam Burish, the kind of fierce forechecker who can be invaluable in the playoffs, should return soon after the Olympic break after preseason knee surgery. Those are pretty good additions for a team that's 38-14-4. With a forward depth chart bursting with high-end talent and effective grinders, Chicago could use their cap space on a veteran defenseman or a goaltender -- if Cristobal Huet or Anti Niemi are injured. In discussing the impact of second-year coach Joel Quennville, Cheveldayoff said, "We love his ability to mesh all the different kinds of personalities that are on our roster. Joel's Xs and Os and his dilligence in preparation are as strong as any coach's in the game, but it's passion for seeing everyone blend together into a winning team that really makes him stand out. No one likes winning more than Joel." With the addition of Burish and Boland, and perhaps an acquisition for depth, Chicago will see plenty of winning this spring.

Didn't realize it was a typo. Mean't to put FOR before broke. Anyways thanks for a lot of the responses on this topic here on letsgowings forum wing fans.....

I visited Pittsburgh once. It is a S*t hole when I was there and haven't been there since the mid 90's. Has anything chanced in Pittsburgh since then?

Just wondering if anyone in here went to the game in Pittsburgh this afternoon? If you did what was your experience in attending the game before and after? Thanks alot.

Ok..Helm is my favorite rookie on the team! Go wings.

I hope none of the wings who are playing the Vancouver Olympics get seriously injured. That would plain suck. I hope franzen sits this one out.

Pittsburgh Fans are the Worst fans in Sports other then Ohio...Fans were talking S*t to me at a sports bar in New York during Game 7 last year! I was F**cking pissed off.

Tampa Lightening almost moved to Detroit a few years back when Bill Davidson bought the NHL Franchise.

What a terrible call last night! The refs are bunch of idiots!

If the Wings struggle with the PK, I predict that Brad McCrimmon will be replaced sometime half way into the 2009-2010 season. He needs to go.

I disagree because the Redwings were on verge to become a dynasty in the new millenium...That PHUCKING hurt like hell!!! Indeed I was old enough to remember what had happened back in 95 SCF and WCF in 96 that was painful as well. I have been a Redwings Fan my whole life.

Here is an interesting article below that I found today at Yahoo Sports. Just how much should we read into that Game 7 loss on home ice with the Stanley Cup at stake? The Detroit Red Wings were this close to repeating as champions of the NHL, a fifth Cup in 12 years and No. 12 in the franchise’s trophy case – more than twice as many as any franchise not located in Montreal or Toronto. Up in games 3-2, the Red Wings first lost Game 6 in Pittsburgh by a 2-1 score and returned to the friendly confines of Joe Louis Arena three nights later where, shockingly, it happened again – Penguins, 2-1. For only the third time in league history a road team won Game 7 of the finals. What Detroit should take away from the unexpected conclusion to a series it led 2-0 and 3-2 is it wasn’t a fluke. Pittsburgh not only deserved and earned the Cup, but the Penguins found a way to neutralize a Red Wings team that looked every bit as poised to win again as it did 12 months previously against Pittsburgh. Coach Mike Babcock hit the nail on the head with his analysis shortly after the series ended. He said his team never really hit its stride throughout the seven games. The Wings never reached that extra gear that always seems to get opposing teams running around. They never put the Pens back on their heels. It really seemed to come out of nowhere, too. Detroit swept Columbus, wobbled a bit in needing seven games to turn away a determined and peaking Anaheim outfit, then rolled to the conference title in convincing fashion with a five-game victory over upstart Chicago. Had playing to the bitter end in consecutive seasons finally caught up to the older legs between the two teams? Had an opponent finally exposed a ***** in Detroit’s seemingly impenetrable armor? These are the questions the Wings have had to try to answer, and react to accordingly, all at a time when the ceiling of the salary cap is crashing down. Money had a lot to do with a pretty significant exodus – Marian Hossa(notes), Mikael Samuelsson(notes), Tomas Kopecky(notes), Jiri Hudler(notes), Ty Conklin(notes) and Chris Chelios(notes) all departed. For most teams that would be cause for concern. But these Red Wings are deep and no one gets rushed into the NHL. More opportunity and ice time for players such as Darren Helm(notes), Ville Leino(notes), Justin Abdelkader(notes) and Jonathan Ericsson(notes) is probably not good news for the rest of the Central Division and the remainder of the league. Last season: 51-21-10 (120 points), first place Central Division, second in the Western Conference and third in the overall standings. The Wings won their eighth straight division title and eclipsed the 100-point plateau for a league-record ninth consecutive time. In the Stanley Cup playoffs for the 18th straight season, Detroit swept Columbus in the opening round, needed seven games to oust Anaheim in the second and won a second straight conference title in five games over Chicago. The Red Wings took a 3-2 series lead over Pittsburgh in their attempt to be the league’s first repeat champ since 1997-98 but lost Game 6 on the road and the decider on home ice, 2-1. Imports: RW Todd Bertuzzi(notes) (Calgary), C Jason Williams(notes) (Columbus), RW Patrick Eaves(notes) (Carolina), D Doug Janik(notes) (Boston) and D Andy Delmore(notes) (Germany). Exports: RW Marian Hossa (Chicago), RW Mikael Samuelsson (Vancouver), C Tomas Kopecky (Chicago), G Ty Conklin (St. Louis), D Chris Chelios (free agent) and LW Jiri Hudler (Russia). Re-signings: RW Johan Franzen(notes) and LW Ville Leino. Salary cap: The Red Wings have some work to do here before opening night. Currently, the team is almost $1 million over the ceiling so something has to give. The only way Detroit will add to the roster is a money-for-money deal. Three keys: It can be said for every team, but Detroit’s best players really have to be its best players. Henrik Zetterberg(notes), Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Nicklas Lidstrom(notes) and Brian Rafalski(notes) need to lead the way on the ice and on the score sheet. The Red Wings have marvelous depth, all the parts seem to fit so well, but if the top-line players falter, get injured or fail to live up to their expectations Detroit doesn’t really have superstars in the waiting. Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Franzen are all signed to long-term, big-money deals so complacency can’t slip into their game. Lidstrom is going into the final year of his contract so there is motivation to earn one final deal in Detroit or go out with a blaze of glory at age 38. Second, this being an Olympic year, the Red Wings could have nine or 10 players involved in the midseason, two-week tournament in Vancouver. Detroit has already played 209 games the last two seasons so that’s a lot of mileage on a lot of legs, and the best players are getting the most ice time. Babcock knows how the drill goes so he’ll monitor ice time and rest, but the Red Wings still have to be smart about planning for the long haul. They’ve been through it enough in recent years so they should have it down pat. The 25-and-under group – Valtteri Filppula(notes), Patrick Eaves, Derek Meech(notes), Helm, Abdelkader, Leino, Ericsson, Jimmy Howard(notes) – have to bring that youthful exuberance and energy to a room of veterans to make that long regular season go by just a little bit faster. The beauty of the Red Wings’ ways is no one is asked to play a role he’s not ready to play. All of the aforementioned young guns will be asked to simply fulfill a supporting role, whether it’s on a third or fourth line, a penalty-killing unit or whatever. On the hot seat: The Red Wings were very patient with starting goalie Chris Osgood(notes) last season, and they were rewarded when the 36-year-old wiped his poor regular-season performance aside with a superb postseason. He very well may have been in line for the Conn Smythe Trophy had Detroit won one of the final two games against Pittsburgh. But it starts all over again for Osgood, who now sees Howard in the rear-view mirror, a drafted and developed netminder who the Wings have high hopes for down the line. If Osgood surrenders the net like he did for a while to departed Ty Conklin last year, he might have trouble getting it back from Howard. Poised to blossom: Leino? Howard? Ericsson? Take your pick. But the youngster who we favor is Helm. He has speed and a nose for the puck, but he also exhibits a passion that’s very evident in every shift and that’s going to make him a hit in Motown ala Kris Draper(notes) and Kirk Maltby(notes). As much as Detroit fawns over the superstar – Steve Yzerman, Brendan Shanahan(notes), etc. – they always show their cult-like appreciation for the third- and fourth-line grinders. Helm has certainly displayed great speed, so don’t be surprised if his hands start to catch up, too. Time has passed: Not sure we really get the Todd Bertuzzi signing. GM Ken Holland doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, and there’s certainly some recent history between the two parties. Bertuzzi is two years and two teams removed from his eight-game showing with the Red Wings in 2006-07. He feels his improved health will translate to more production, but he’s an old 34 playing in a far different game than the one in which he enjoyed so much success with Vancouver much earlier in his career. Prediction: Other teams in the division have gotten stronger – four of the five reached the playoffs last year – but Detroit is still the team to beat. There’s something about The Joe, the old barn seems to intimidate opponents and the Wings are always a popular team on the road, too, often drawing large and vocal rooting sections away from Detroit. The Wings seem to feed off of the adulation; they just always seem to find a way to win, especially in the regular season. No change this year as Detroit will be a top-three seed in the West and a very difficult out in the postseason.

I have agree with you on this one...Go ahead blame the refs. Also you should blame Gary Puckman as well.

and total goals given up in the penalty killing during the 2009-2010 season. Total Goals Scored: 270 25 goals less then in the 2008-09 season Penalty killing: Goals Given up 185-190 better then last year at 240 I like to know you fellow Redwing Fans your predicts.

Do guys think that this coming 2009-2010 Redwings roster will better than last years team despite losing 82 goals from Hossa,Samuelsson, Hudler and Kopecky during the offseason but made up 40 plus goals by getting such players like Todd Bertuzzi. Techincally it should be 40 goals lost because The Redwings won the Cup without Hossa the previous season in 2007-2008. We will see what happens.

I completely agree with you

What the hell are you talking about? I just want opinions from other Wings fan on this forum.

I have a gut feeling Scotty Bowman will be the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks in the next year or so. His son Stan will probably convince Scotty to come out of retirement to coach the team. Joel Quinvelle isn't that great of a coach and it depends on performance on the ice in the regular season and in the playsoffs. I hope i'm wrong about this. Any thoughts about another coaching change in chicago.

LOL

Looking forward with a rematch against Pittsburgh at home and on the road!

I think Lidstrom has at least another 1-2 years in him before calling it a career.

According to THN 5 players from the Redwings are in the Top 50 list. Also they predicted that the Wings would be ranked #4 in the Western Conference. I think they will finish either 1 or 2 seed in the conference and will WIN the STANLEY CUP IF OUR KEY PLAYERS ARE HEALTH. What do you guys think? In the Top 10 Ten: 4. Pavel Datsyuk 9. Henrik Zetterberg 10. Nicklas Lidstrom Impressive 3 players are in the Top 10 Listed Ex Redwing Marian Hossa at 30 Also in the List 45. Nicklas Kronwall 48. Brian Rafalski 49. Johan Franzen