Miller Brew

Yup. And it seems to be at the top A LOT! Which is a good thing, because our $1.5 million dollar player is kicking ass and taking names. Bert has single-handily won us several games.... That my friend, is why Bertuzzi Sucks! I wish more players on our team sucked as bad as Big Bert.

It was me, I wrote something similar to what he is claiming. I wrote in some other thread that before Wings started getting knocked out with injuries Babcock had stated our best line was the Leino-Filppula-Williams line. And I agreed with Babcock at the time... that was our best line back in early November. Since our injuries Leino has become a pylon. I don't personally believe Leino is a pylon, I think he's a rookie thrown into situations that he's just not ready for. He should be on a 3rd line with a couple of quality players. Babcock said it best during the post game last night, players play better when they play in their role. Unfortunately a lot of players where not playing in their roles for the past couple of months. Take Abdelkader for example, wasn't he a -6 his past two games against Chicago? He's not a 2nd line center, but he was thrown in a spot he's just not ready for. A lot of players are going through this right now. I do believe that once this team is healthy, Leino will start to play better because he'll put back down on the 3rd line with Flip and Willie, who he seems to have chemistry with. There will be a whole lotta of pressure lifted off him.

This could be anything. Maybe there is a trade in the works...?

Hilarious. You guessed it, Penguins coach is in the frey as well as Brian Burke crying about Detroit Red Wings.

He played more minutes and had more of a team impact than Ritola or Newbury could ever do on their best day. Fil will be 10x better next game and he'll keep building. We should get Cleary back January 2nd and Zetterberg should be practicing with the team in 2 or 3 days.

are they playing right now? link?

Lol @ the Bertuzzi haters. This thread is epic.

I know it's too early to say Howard will be a #1 but when (and if) he continues to play like this, it's hard not to cheer him on to be Detroit's #1 future goalie. And if Osgood struggles in the playoffs, I won't shed a tear to see Howard thrown in. I think the kid is mentally tuff and is only getting better each game. That said, Wings have a nice stock pile of good (expecting) goaltenders in Larsson and McCollum. If Howard continues on being this good this year and next year, would it be worth trading one of our top-end goaltending prospects? I don't know, but I think Larsson and McCollum will become #1's in the NHL and after Ozzie's contracts up, Wings are going to have too many goalies. What do you think?

The injuries suck and I know we, as RW fans, would rather have our full line-up. But down the stretch the team as a whole is learning something important... CHARACTER. With our rookies playing now and experiencing the adversity in the NHL, they are gaining character and experience (esp. Abs and Helm are really benefiting). Now I know it's cliche` to think injuries now means the team will be healthier later, and considering the way this season is going that might be the farthest thing from the facts. But who knows? That in mind, think about how much more hungrier our top guns are going to be, especially since this Red Wings team has played more hockey the past 3 years than any hockey team in the world. They are going to be hungry and guess what... the players coming back will have time to gel and get hot and into playoff form. A healthy Red Wings team in the playoffs (after the adversity they went through) will be the last team ANY team will want to face. So looking ahead there are benefits to our injuries, it's rest. Babcock's job will be to get this team clicking and going hot after some key players return, and he will. I'm optmistic that these injuries will benefit this team when it truly matters. After a couple grueling 7-game series not that long ago and winning the cup the year before that and going to the WCF the year before that, some of these players could actually benefit from getting hungry from watching these games that they can't play in. Anyone see the pre-game clip on Franzen a few games ago? Did you see how sitting out is eating at him to the point where he wants to return ASAP, and he's working out all day, every day and busting his butt. He's HUNGRY! Feed the Mule!

Here's a nice report on Ferraro: The rich get richer... I’ve been following and analyzing the NHL draft for quite some time, and I think the Wings got the third best player in the draft. In the second round no less. Nothing is certain, but all the indicators are that Landon Ferraro is a better prospect than Matt Duchene or Evander Kane, as well as the other 30 or so guys that went after Victor Hedman and before he did. I have been a Habs fan, and live in Vancouver, so this is not a homer rant. As someone pointed out in the article above, Landon scored nearly 1/4 of his team’s goals last season, (although not the 32% figure he mentioned). The only other prospect in that range was Tavares, but he is nearly a full year older than Landon. So too is Matt Duchene, who only scored about 1/8 of his team’s goals. If you take the extra year from Duchene, he had 30 goals and 20 assists a year ago (at the age Ferraro is now), on a much stronger offensive team in the wide open OHL. Landon scored 37 goals 18 assists for a Red Deer team that averaged just over 2 goals per game offensively. Evander Kane managed 1/6 of his team’s goals last season, but the reason he ended up with the WHL powerhouse Vancouver Giants while Landon was with the cellar dwelling Red Deer Rebels is that Ferraro was taken much higher in the WHL Bantam Draft a couple of years back. The two both grew up in the Vancouver area minor hockey system, and Ferraro was always regarded as the better prospect. Like Landon’s family, I had a feeling he would end up in Detroit. I think his Dad managed his late “slip†to some extent to ensure that he landed in a solid, stable organization like Detroit rather than the train wreck franchises drafting at the top end of the first round. Ray was a mid round pick himself back in the day, and went on to play for nearly 20 years in the NHL. He had the reputation on and off the ice of being very “craftyâ€. Also, the player Landon most resembles in terms of his playing style and makeup is Henrik Zetterberg. He is very fast (won the skating competition at the Prospect’s Match), and as good defensively as he is offensively. He will fill out to be a similar size to Z, and shares a lot of the same personality traits. Source: http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2009/6/27...troit-red-wings

Any word on Ralfi?

I'm watching the 2009 Winter Classics (Detroit / Chicago) on the NHL Network. Huet's nickname should be Cristobal "Swiss Cheese" Huet. Lol. The 2009 Winter Classics sure is being played a lot this year. It's nice to see

Red Wings are also down 3-1 in the 2nd during the 2009 Winter Classics game on NHL Classics Network. Hope they bounce back

I don't mean to bump old threads, but I must say that I am VERY, very excited about this kid. He's having a stellar year this year with 37 points in only 33 games. He's touted as the new NHL's power forward. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=115949

Anyone got the scoop on how he's doing so far this year? I checked hockeydb and it seems he's doing above average, but not tearing it up. Though he is playing with an inferior Red Deer Rebels team, so his stats won't be that good.

Landon Ferraro will be the next generation "Ball of Hate". Why, because his dad was the "Big Ball of Hate" and the "Little Ball of Hate" was used by Verbeek. Sound good?

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=120671 Also watch his youtube videos

I hope he does get picked up in the top 10 so Wings have a chance to get someone bigger and better that slips through. Sorry, but 5 goals isn't very impressive considering he's totally lacking in size. He sounds more like a play maker. We don't need a small play makers. I have a hardon for Kirill Kabanov. Datsyuk and Kovalchuk all packaged up in one body. He's 6'3. So if your boy Granlund gets picked up over Kabanov, that might give us a (slim) chance... here's to hoping. Of course you could argue Kabanov only has 5 goals in 11 games, but he's 6'3. He won't be getting smaller anytime soon.

All teams will be rusty and out of sync after break. It will be a brand new season.

Granlund is definitely not what Wings need. He's 5'9 and 160ibs. He's not really tearing it up either, he's got 5 goals in 22 games w/ 19 points in the FNL league. I doubt he goes in the 1st round. He's too tiny. http://www.mynhldraft.com/2010/NHL-Draft-P...Mikael-Granlund

After break it's a brand new season. Hot teams will cool off. Injured teams will nurse back to life. And all teams will be rusty. Brand new season and benefits the Wings down the stretch.

"I think it's going to give us a boost once we get some of the guys back, but you can't be counting on them to have an impact right away,'' captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "It might take them a while to get into game tempo and game shape and get their timing back.'' Hey, you strategically left out part of Lidstrom's quote, why? "Guys have missed a lot of games, they should be fresh, should be hungry to get back playing,'' Lidstrom said. "That's going to help us the second half of the year.'' Kronwall > Meech ? Filppula > Leino ? Zetterberg > Ritola ? Williams > Meech ? (on the PP) That looks like a boost to me. Especially with all the 1 goal game's we lost.

More people at the Joe. Why buy season tickets if you don't go? Why don't fans move down closer to the ice if nobody claims their seat? One rant I have.

I wouldn't mind a Datsyuk 2.0 . Kovalchuk . Ovechkin hybrid type player named Kirill Kabanov - Remember his name because you will be hearing it a lot in the NHL for many years to come. Mock Draft: http://www.draftsite.com/nhl/2010mock.htm

Tyler Toffoli is eager to drop the gloves and stick up for his team mates.