mmamolo

I harmlessly teased him at first, then gave input, to which he teased me back (then edited his response). I thought he was whining so I teased him. If you want to call it attacking so be it. I think there's way too much whining on this forum so I was grinding his gears a bit.

So since you're imitating me is it my turn to imitate you and go on some ignorant, whiney rant?

Nope, that's not true at all. Despite the fact there are a lot of crap posts in this place there are some intelligent posters. But your whiney post about 'over ripe' players does not qualify. Just because Smith is 'NHL ready' does not mean that he is ready to be on this Wings team for any number of reasons. Maybe Holland doesn't think it would be smart to have both Kindl and Smith on the roster this season as Kindl is still a little green and obviously out of minor league options. Or maybe, since Smith still has minor league options, they believe Smith is better served playing a ton in GR, being called up to get looks through the season, than playing 40-50 NHL games while getting 8-10 mins a night. Or maybe they feel that adding a defenseman like Mike Commodore, who brings a different style of play to the roster that some would say was lacking, makes the Wings better right now.

boo-hoo

Ha I was just messing with you. I'm by no means a Hudler hater but it'd almost be worth the price of admission to see Eva's reaction to a Hudler trade. Say Hudler got moved to the Preds, I would bet you that Eva would start a LGP (Let's Go Preds) site just to honour Jiri

In Stevkrause's mind anything roster player being traded from the Wings would be a shocking piece.

Don't you just love when people shout out and claim they were the first to do, say, or be something? When Eaves was on his goal scoring streak last year every one wanted to see him get more ice time and a chance in the top 6. On top of that, claiming you were the first to suggest that Mursak replace Draper on the fourth line is so ridiculous I don't even know what to say to you. Not only is that the obvious choice for a spot in the line up for Mursak but do you also want to claim that if Emmerton was to make the Wings roster that you were the first to suggest he'd be the 14th forward? Oh hey, maybe you were the first to suggest Howard should be the Wings starter or that Lidstrom should QB the first PP unit.

Don't forget to include Jonathan Ericsson into the mix

I would imagine that's the deal it has to be for Brunnstrom to stay with the Wings this season. He could make it as the 14th forward over Emmerton but really he's the type of player that would fit well on a 3rd line that has a chance to produce. Best case scenario he turns into a first year Samuelsson acquisition. Samuelsson hadn't put up more than 8 goals and 22 points before coming to Detroit, getting a chance to play, and putting up 23 g and 22 a. Worst case scenario, he fizzles in training camp and Brunnstrom goes back to Sweden.

At this point he could be competing with Cory Emmerton for the 14th forward spot. Or maybe he will end up in GR. I'd rather see him in GR and work his way back up (if ever)

I actually sent that guy a message through HB that told him he was about as uninformed about the Wings as anyone could possibly get. Obviously in my message I was a tad ruder than I just made it sound but yeah, it was a ridiculous blog. And online forum users claim the Wings fans overvalue their own assets in trades. What a joke

How has no one mentioned Meech vs. Shanahan?

I'd definitely agree, I wouldnt have thought Lidstrom would have been as muscular as he appeared in that picture. Also, you gotta love that Helm picture. That's just hilarious

Be fair...you're taking that out of context. The question was if he felt that players with big contracts get extra pressure to produce and thus play in the top 6 and if he felt that that was part of why he wasn't in the top 6. He said no, he didn't think money had anythign to do with role and that it was evidenced by the fact that there were players in the top 6 who made less than him. He was essentially saying that if salary indicated role (top 6 for big bucks) that he would have been on one of the top 2 lines. THe fact he doesn't believe that to be the case implies that he wasn't acting in an entitled fashion. Whether or not that's true is up to everyone to decide but don't take the guy's comment out of context.

Yeah, I don't think he'll ever be a ppg guy but there aren't many in the league that are. I don't even necessarily thin khe'll be a top 6. But this guy has the potential to be a great 3rd line centre and a chance to play in the top 6 at times. I think your comparison to Cleary is righ ton. People around here cry for more youth in the line up but don't want to be subjected the bumps in the road that young players bring to the table. It's a give and take but most sports fans aren't willing to accept that.

It's just ridiculous that this article condemns fans for bitching, complaining and getting on their high horse when talking about their favourite teams when that is 100% what the content of this article is all about just with a different point of attack. The writer of the articles gets all high and mighty and complains about how (Detroit) sports fans *****, whine and complain. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Clearly you don't know any Leaf fans. It's just crazy to lump an entire fan base into one collective group and then generalize them. So many people around here hate Pens and Hawks fans...some do it simply because of the rivalry and some do it because of a select few fans of those teams who are obnoxious. It's easier to chastize the entire group and hide behind those false pretenses than it is to call out an individual. Every single fan base has annoying, obnoxious fans. The writer of the article just proved he's an arrogant, ignorant, obnoxious fan of 'Detroit Fans' who wants to criticize. I don't always agree with Heaten but on this he is right (when comparing the Kronwall/Datsyukl contracts). Holland has always signed these types of deals that potentially overpay in the early years but then translate into bargains in the latter. Whether you agree that Ericsson will become a value contract in the later years or not is irrelevent. Ken Holland believes it and that's why Ericsson got the contract that he did. Maybe a better example would be Filppula. In the summer leadign up to the 2008-09 season he signed a 5 year $15M deal (when the cap was $56.7 M (5.29% of the cap that season). Fil was coming off of a 36 point campaign (in 78g) and a solid playoff contribution. People, still to this day complain about the contract Fil has just as much as they did when he signed it. You can argue that Ericsson hasn't done as much as Fil had (at that point) in order to obtain his $3.25M cap hit (5.02% of the cap that season) but Holland believes that Fil is a bargain today and that Ericsson will be a bargain soon too.

Not what so ever. My sister got married last October and I spent the entire reception on my blackberry seeing what was going on in the Wings game as they were playing the Coyotes in like the 6th game of the season. It was literlaly the only Wings game I missed last year. Thank god they won in OT

1) Who is your favorite Detroit Red Wing player overall to wear the Red Wings Logo? It's basically impossible for me to choose between Lidstrom/Yzerman/Datsyuk. I think Lidstrom takes it for me. 2) Who was your favorite Detroit Red Wing player that joined the red wings? Shanahan - no doubt 3) Which current player would you dream of them joining the Wings? She Weber. I've wanted him for years and even though he's become sort of the popular blog/forum discussion when concerning the Wings it'd still be amazing 4) Which are the players that really "hurt / bugged" you when they left the Red Wings to join another team? Fedorov 5) Is there a player that you never wanted him on the team ... but eventually joined the team? Jason Williams' second go around with the team. Also, Todd Gill. Living in Toronto I see a ton of Leaf games and I always despised that guy Or maybe it was the knee injury

You're right, there is zero chance Abdelkader is moved any time soon. That being said I do think next season is an important one for him. When you look at the progression between Helm and Abdelkader (not just points-wise but overall impact and career progression) I think some would be disappointed. There's no doubt that Abdelkader has a higher ceiling but some are probably frustrated that (last year) ABdelkader was provided with more responisbility and opportunity at times. I think Abdelkader is putting it together. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders and hopefully he starts netting some more points and growing into that 3rd line centre spot.

To me sections 214 and 215 (rows 7-9) are the best. They are directly behind the net that the Wings shoot twice. They are just high enough that you can see the boards right in front of you and you can easily see the other end of the ice. I was sitting there when Pavel did that between the legs goal on Phoenix and it was insane to see it live right in front of you. Section 115 is also good but seeing as it's a little more expensive and everyone in the section is standing constantly because you can't see right in front of the boards it can be a litte annoying. As everyone has noted there really isn't a bad seat but to me 214 and 215 are the best.

Ha that is exactly what I thought. I definitely agree that it seems more and more likely that we'll see more youth in the Wings' line up. That being said, I can't see any prospect being rushed or entering the line up before they're 'ready'. In some ways I really think we're going to see a little more of the prospects throughout the season. Smith will get his time (as it's not likely he makes the roster out of camp based on who is already signed) and Tatar should get a bundle of games when the forwards get hurt (which always happens at some point). But I don't think we're going to see a massive influx of young, inexperienced players on the 2012-13 roster. There will be some(similar to what is planned to be here this upcoming season) but I can't imagine there being such a massive alteration. I see a forward being signed or traded for

Wow, I'm glad you understood what was said. I didn't say that Leino was working here or that he eventually would. I didn't even say that Hudler would eventually work here again. What I did say was that had cap space not been an issue in 2010 I dont think Holland would have moved Leino because he wasn't working here. The Wings exhaust every avenue to make it work with palyers they feel have skill and hockey smarts. It doesn't make sense to move Hudler now, when his value is rock bottom just as they did with Leino, only to see him flourish elsewhere when it's still possible for him to flourish here - especially not at the expense of a 40 year old who will surely retire next summer. Even if Hudler falls flat on his face this season it's still worth the gamble. That was the point...hopefully you get it this time.

I didn't jsut quote his age (I also mentioned his previous production and role) but it definitely has merit to the comparison. I didn't say it was an indicator of his future contribution but it at 27 he still has room to grow and surpass his previous levels of play. Again, I didnt say that it would happen I simply said it could happen. Even if Draper could bring more this upcoming season to choose Draper over Hudler is short sighted in my opinion especially seeing has there are numerous players on the current roster than can do all the same things that Draper can (including providing leadership and experience). If you were to keep Draper this season over Hudler at the end of the upcoming season you end up with zero assets as Hudler would already be gone and Draper would retire. You keep Hudler and at worst, sooner or later, you get a pick. Only way you end up with nothing is if Hudler absolutely tanks to the point the Wings wouldn't bring him back next summer which is unlikely. Even if that were to happen, I'd much rather take the risk that he returns to being a decent to solid contributor because you have assets moving forward. Also, yes comparing Draper to Ritola from last off-season and Chelios to Quincey from a few years ago does factor into this. Both of those situations have the Wings keeping a player on the brink of retiring over a young player. I'm not even saying those were wrong decisions but it's the same thing only this time it's worse because Hudler is estbalished. You can ignore it all you want and claim it is irrelevant but it's true, it's very similar.

I'm not saying Hudler will turn it around and magically become a superstar but you claiming he 'just doesn't work here' because he had a poor year last season is a tough pill to swallow. Hudler is a player who has worked here in the past (prior to KHL) and was effective for some stretches last season. If 2010 wasn't packed with injuries and room under the cap had to be made for Franzen's return I bet Holland never would have traded Leino at that point despite him 'just not working here'.

I honestly don't understand how any one here could choose a 40 year old Draper over a 27 year old Hudler. This isn't mean tto knock Draper what so ever but the blind hatred of Hudler is ridiculous. Look at team needs versus roster players. Not to mention that if Hudler even has a decent year he will most likely be re-signed and continue to provide something to this franchise. Draper is on his last legs and although he brings a lot to the franchise in terms of morale, experience etc. it just doesn't make sense in my mind to give up on a 27 year old with one bad season in favour of a 40 year old who would most likely play about 40 games next season and then retire. People on this board weren't happy about losing Ritola last year in favour of keeping Draper. People still hold a grudge about Holland losing Quincey in favour Chelios. Those were two players who, at the time, were completely unestablished at the NHL level. Now this poll is asking if you'd rather a last-legs 40 year old Draper over a 27 year old established player in Hudler. That's absurd...the people on this board (come the end of this season) would be calling Holland and idiot and quoting Quincey and Ritola as prior evidence of a growing trend.