Bring Back The Bruise Bros

To be honest, Holland and/or Babcock should go if we suffer another early exit. I don't think either will happen, so we can only hope for a few players to be shipped out. If Franzen doesn't show up, he needs to go.

Don't worry guys, it will all be better when Franzen gets back. Wait...

Fans who support them through the hard times are considered "Die-hards". The opposite of "Bandwagons". I'm often critical of the team, but I'm always gonna root for Detroit.

I think Boston and New York are a lot more well-rounded than we are. I mean, if we exit the playoffs early again this year, one would think some kind of shakeup would happen.

There's so much work that has to be done this summer in Montreal. -For starters, they are among the lowest scoring teams in the league. Scott Gomez has been a complete bust. 11 points this season, and I believe he has been injured for a while. Put Brian Gionta into the same category. He'd been under-performing before he got injured. One of the few bright spots on offense has been Erik Cole. -Their powerplay is pathetic. From what I've seen of them this year, they rely on a lot of perimeter shots. They don't have guys providing a screen in front, and they don't cycle the puck down low/behind the net much. Having guys jam into the crease in the hopes of pouncing on a loose puck does not seem to be in their playbook. -They're a lousy faceoff team. This may explain, at least in part, the terrible powerplay numbers they have put up. -They can't hold onto any leads they get. They're 29th in the league, as far as winning percentage, when scoring first. -They're not very physical. Outside of Brad Staubitz, Ryan White, and Travis Moen, nobody on the team will really get in on the forecheck and finish their checks. If you force the defense to make passes quickly, they're more prone to turn the puck over. on defense, P.K. Subban will throw his weight around here and there, but he takes very immature penalties at times. May be part of him maturing as a player, but nonetheless, you can't put your team down with stupid penalties. Play hard, physical hockey without putting your team down a man. Their penalty kill is very good, I'll give them that. Other than that, this team is an utter mess. According to CapGeek, here is what they're looking at, as far as free agency: UFA: -Travis Moen -Mathieu Darche -Brad Staubitz -Chris Campoli RFA: -Carey Price -Lars Eller -Blake Geoffrion -Mike Blunden -Peterri Nokalainen -Aaron Palushaj -P.K. Subban -Alexei Emelin -Raphael Diaz We'll be looking at a much different Montreal team next season.

I know, wishful thinking. I'd definitely listen to offers. Doubt he is traded, regardless of his playoff performance. But something has to be done if we come up short again. Year in and year out of virtually the same roster typically will not yield much different results.

He's going to Toronto

Its getting ridiculous in general. Pretty annoying lately. If we have another sub-par playoff performance, they will all jump off the bandwagon, so it will be back to normal soon I do think however, that if we do stumble in the playoffs, shake ups need to happen somewhere.

It will be an interesting offseason considering Lidstrom and Holmstrom's futures are up in the air. Assuming Holmstrom retires and Lidstrom sticks around, here is what the Detroit Red Wings would do under GM Bring Back The Bruise Bros: -Get Justin Abdelkader re-signed. -Let Conklin walk. -Sign Mike Smith for a solid backup for Howard. -Let Hudler walk. -Stuart decides to test free agency. -Get Kyle Quincey re-signed -If Franzen is invisible in the playoffs, deal him to Philadelphia straight up for Wayne Simmonds. -Trade Jonathan Ericsson to Dallas for Mark Fistric and a pick. -Trade Dan Cleary and Cory Emmerton to Tampa Bay for Ryan Malone (Yzerman takes the trade because its Detroit) -Sign Tanner Glass Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Simmonds/Franzen Malone-Filppula-Nyquist Abdelkader-Helm-Bertuzzi Miller-Mursak-Glass Eaves Lidstrom-White Kronwall-Quincey Fistric-B.Smith Kindl Howard Smith Kind of hard to predict what state Eaves will be in, so I've got him as the extra forward, for now.

I just said in the last post he is not effective. So that washes out your "argument" that I'm some kind of homer. He'll have a good game or two and you're nowhere to be found is what annoys the s*** out of me. When he does well, you refuse to acknowledge it, as if he's the worst mistake this organization has ever made. If I had my way, several players would find themselves getting wheeled out of town, but you're right, the loyalty does go too far.

Next season's head coach of the Montreal Canadiens:

Did Cleary f*** your mother? Steal your credit card number? Torch your house? Your hate for Dan Cleary is bizarre. We know Cleary is getting old. We know there are better options. Give it a ******* rest.

This thread should be titled "The sky is blue". Plus, tough hockey isn't winning hockey anyways.

White was up and down in Toronto, but I remember thinking "Pair this guy up with Lidstrom or Kronwall and I think he could do well". For some reason, I've always liked White. Good signing by Ken.

At least we know we can still beat Carolina and Columbus How about a repeat on Wednesday!

Yeah the only guys that are still around from the rivalry are Lidstrom and Holmstrom for Detroit, and Hejduk for Colorado, but he didn't break into the league until the late '90s, I believe. With the way free agency is, guys coming and going, it is gonna be hard for a rivalry like that to brew and continue for as long as theirs did. It is safe to say the rivalry is dead. I'd love to see the rivalry get re-ignited, but it'll be a lot less likely for it to last these days. The key to developing rivalries: Playoff series

Don't pay much attention to the minors, do we have any realistic expectations for any of these guys, or is it too early to tell?

What team wouldn't want a 4th line center that hasn't scored a point in more than 10 games and refuses to hit anyone?

The single best game ever. Had everything anyone could want in a hockey game. Tons of goals, big hits, a huge brawl, blood. I mean that game was the definition of hatred. We don't see many rivalries last in the NHL anymore, since players come and go more often through free agency it seems. I want to get one of those plaques with McCarty pummeling on Claude as he is turtling. I really miss those teams from years ago. Happy Turtle Day LGW!

Well, we're 4-0 against Dallas this season, but a series against them would produce some bumps and bruises, taking into account the likes of Brenden Morrow, Mark Fistric, Steve Ott, Eric Nystrom, Jamie Benn, and Jake Dowell. Dallas is a pretty physical team, but I'm not sure they could keep up with us overall. They're a mediocre team at even strength, their powerplay is worse than ours, and I'm not sure they have the secondary scoring to compete with us. To be fair, their PK is far better than ours. Regardless of who we face in the playoffs, we'll likely get outmatched physically. Chicago isn't as physical as Dallas, but Andrew Shaw, Bryan Bickell, and Jamal Mayers will all be tossing their weight around. Personally, I worry more about playing Chicago because they've got the offensive firepower to compete with us, and they'll likely be able to physically out-do us. To be honest, I wouldn't wanna play Nashville in the first round, either. They're 6-3-1 in their last 10. We're 3-2 against them this year. I think they will give us more problems than Dallas will.

Crosby and Staal were holding back smiles, while Erik Karlsson simply could not Even people in the stands appeared to be laughing at her. Nice voice, but opera singers should stay away from hockey rinks.

Exactly

These guys have been playing great hockey lately. They sit 2nd in the Northeast Divison (3 points behind Boston) and 5th in the Eastern Conference. 7-1-2 in their last 10. Everyone (Including myself) wrote them off to be cellar dwellars at the beginning of the season. At age 39, Daniel Alfredsson has continued to put up solid numbers. He's scored 33 points in 39 games so far. Jason Spezza seems back on track with 46 points in 45 games. Milan Michalek has really stepped up as well, with 31 points (23 goals) in 40 games. Since arriving from Phoenix, Kyle Turris has scored 8 points in 12 games with the Sens. Their grinders have produced offensively as well, while maintaining an in-your-face type of game. Nick Foligno has scored 27 points in 45 games. Zack Smith has 21 points in 45 games. Zenon Konopka and Chris Neil have provided constant physical play, as well as keeping the flies off younger guys like Erik Condra, Colin Greening, and Bobby Butler. On defense, Erik Karlsson has been having a spectacular year offensively, with 43 points in 44 games. Jared Cowen has really established himself as an up and coming talent. Chris Phillips and Sergei Gonchar have served as mentors for the younger guys, and it all seems to be working out. Also, Craig Anderson has been having a solid year in goal. Their penalty kill and their power play are mediocre, but they play pretty well 5 on 5. Paul Maclean and his staff have done a great job with this team. Do you guys think they can continue this play in the second half of the season?

Bump. Erik Karlsson continues to just dominate in the offensive category. Keep in mind this guy was a -30 last year, and Sens fans were calling for his head. Spezza seems to have rediscovered his scoring touch. Alfredsson tallied 4 points tonight. At age 39, he continues to play a solid level of hockey. Milan Michalek continues to play solid. Their younger forwards have really panned out well. Nick Foligno has really emerged as a solid 2 way player. Career-high 44 points for him this year. Colin Greening is a big kid that plays a good two way game. 35 points for the second-year player. Zack Smith has posted career highs in goals, assists, and points. kid isn't afraid to get his nose dirty. They sit 7th in the East right now. I'd really like to see these guys make the playoffs.

That's because if anyone says they hate the Florida Panthers, they get jumped by Peter Worrell. You've been warned.