Miller Brew

Red Wings appreciation thread. I have been browsing through the GDTs and it seems folks here lately are being harsh to this battered team. The Wings are battling through more adversity than ever and are still above .500 since losing Williams in early November. The team is playing above expectations and, I for one, am extremely proud of them! We're not used to losing but think about it... If someone told you before the season started that Wings would be playing without Franzen, Filppula, Kronwall, Eaves, Williams, Lilja, (and in some games without Ericsson, Osgood (flu) and Rafalski) but still would maintained better than .500, would you believe them? You'd be ecstatic knowing the Detroit Red Wings' /Griffins depth is keeping this team above .500 for so long! Any sane human being would. We're playing with (around) $35-$37 million dollar payroll right now and the boys are still putting up wins. Wings are 9-7 since losing Filppula. That's not bad considering all the injuries to our top players this season. This is a fluky season, but I'm still not ruling out this team. I'm sure there's a lot of people wishing like HELL Wings don't make the playoffs, because a healthy Detroit Red Wings with some players getting long breaks to recover will be HUNGRY! And will have something to prove, and they will! I'm proud of my team! Go Wings!

I don't remember them playing with $700k players like Leino, Miller and a washed up Bertuzzi in the past. I remember Datsyuk playing with an all-star named Hossa and Zetterberg playing with an amazing finisher and clutch goal scorer named Franzen. Weird.

So... you're the "glass is half empty" kinda person?

Just a question, so don't flame me. Do you think there is any chance that Holland would be willing to give up our first round pick for a young soon-to-be-star type player from a non-playoff team? A young player that would be worth giving up the first rounder for? I like to keep the 1st pick put it sucks waiting 5 or 6 years to see him crack the line-up. If we could get our hands on an already great young player that could step in and really help, who would that be?

Wasn't there like 15 people at the Joe last night? And now we're talking about another team in Michigan? I say the market isn't too strong right now in Michigan for another NHL team.

If someone told you before the start of the season, "Hey, Red Wings will be playing without Franzen, Filppula, Kronwall, Williams, Lilja, and in some games without Rafalski, Osgood, Eaves and Ericsson... but will be 13-10-4 and only 3 points back from 6th place and only 7 back from 1st place in the division with only $35 million dollar payroll." Would you believe them? I wouldn't! I would be amazed knowing we're only 7 points back from 1st place in the division, especially considering the slow start!

Just a hunch... Maybe these $55 million dollar teams have some talented players and (deep) depth that allows their coach to throw players out there line after line to shut down our 2 star players, playing 1 star per line. The games I've been watching, opposition players have been doing everything they could (with their $55 million dollar payroll players) to shut down our two stars in Zetterberg and Datsyuk; smothering them like white-on-rice. Our depth is running kinda thin, wouldn't ya say? Of course you wouldn't. Lidstrom isn't a spring chicken anymore and I think he's having a elbow or wrist problem... but that just speculation on my part. However, I have noticed that Lidstrom is reluctant to firing the puck like he use to... Is he lazy or sore/injured? You be the judge. I'm sure the fact that the Red Wings (core) have played more games the past 3 seasons than any team in the entire NHL has nothing to do with their play. I mean, they're not human, are they? This is the Detroit Red Wings, they are cyborgs and we should be able to hit a button on our TV remote to make them score on command, right? After all, Wings did have... what, 15-17 people at the Joe last night cheering on the team. That should really ignite the team and give them the burst of energy to win any game! The game that I'm watching is, if anything can go bad or have bad luck, it is against the Detroit Red Wings. They are cursed this year.. they are playing through it, and despite all odds, are doing relatively well. Better than anyone could ever expect of them. Get.over.it.

Hossa will never put his arms above his head in Chicago, either. Source?

Huge blow to the Ducks. As much as I hate them, I still would like to see them make the playoffs. Not everyone... Sharks, Blackhawks and Penguins are long overdue for season ending injuries to their top gunners.

,,, Ugh.... nevermind, you don't get it. **removed/

Aside from the Oilers game, when have they underperformed (to your expectations)? Do people realize when you break up a roster like Detroit had to do and plug a bunch of holes with rejects with Eaves', Miller's and May's, in addition to playing teams with $55+ million payrolls with only a $41 million payroll ourselves, and the Wings are still pulling off wins and outplaying teams we lose to. We should EASILY be in last place in the league standings right now. Yet we're only 3 points from 6th place in the conference. It seems to me that a lot fans here are ashamed and humiliated because Wings are not one of the top teams this year despite all the injuries, and while totally disregarding the entire circumstances of personnel change. One poster wrote "i think people need to realize we are in for a tough season", well, duh! $40 million dollar payroll vs $55+ million dollar payroll, you do the math. People need to realize the Salary cap was created so teams like Detroit will have a "tough season". Where's the appreciation? Look at the Joe attendance, it's pathetic! Why should the team play above their payroll and actually give a s*** when their own "HockeyTown" loyal fans don't even give a s*** enough to go to the game and support their team and screaming at the top of their lungs to get the Wings energized.... I would be ashamed if some of our players visits this message board and read some of this ungrateful spew here.

Wow, are you serious?

I don't care who you are, a team will have a bad game. I remember bad games with the 2002 All-Star Red Wings, I don't see why a roster full of kids and rookies (more than this team saw in years) are expected to be masterful than all-stars game-in, game-out. Look at everything this team has been through. A couple of good goals waived off for no apparent reason to factor in some loses. Goals dried up for awhile which even seemed to happen to the blackhawks with a healthy Hossa, Toews, Sharp, Kane and entire roster. But Red Wings are the exception. In other games bad puck luck was a factor even when the Red Wings dominated the opposition. I'm not making excuses but if you watched every game this season, and I suspect you have, then look at the big picture. Wings are playing better than the 9-7 winning record shows and they are doing it with less than a $40 million dollar roster. I agree the Oiler loss wasn't fun. But I'm giving them the pass. ALL teams have bad games... even the 2002 all-star Red Wings.

And add to the fact that our $7 million dollar defenceman's contract will be going down significantly next year and they're stuck with their $7mil dman's contract til 2016. By which time Wings should have another 2 Stanley cup victories under their belt.

And Kane's contract expires when he's 26 (before his prime). So what's your point?

Lol. That's HUGE!

Maybe I wrote it wrong. But you misunderstood the message I was trying to write. Wings top 3 as a whole > Hawks top 3 as a whole.

But the question was... would you take Hossa over Zetterberg. No doubt Hossa is a super star. But Zetterberg is a super-star killer. I'm laughing at the poster (Trapt1307) who said they'd take Kane over Franzen. Glad you're not General Manager of the Red Wings... if so, they'd probably sign Hudler to Ovechkin-type-contract. Franzen > Kane because I like Wings going deep in the playoffs.

Yeah, Blackhawks are pretty much so insignificant to me that I don't really care to keep track of them. I know more about the Sharks or even Nashville than I do about Hawks. Few things I do know is they haven't won anything since '61 and Wings owned them in the WCF last year, their management is a circus... and their coach Q has been owned and known as a Red Wings choker since... well, since he became a head coach. Who know, maybe Hawks will start to show they are the real deal within the next few years. It's yet to be seen how they handle this insane cap fiasco they have.

Really? You'd take 20-cent Kane over Franzen? Franzen owned Kane in the playoffs and last season ended at Kane a -2 while Franzen was +21. Kane scored 25 goals, Franzen had 34. Zetterberg and Dats don't have any problems shutting down Toews and Hossa. They've "been there, done that". Zetts > Hossa Dats > Toews Mule > Kane All for a Million less cap hit. I'm not saying Chicago won't be a solid team, but a healthy Red Wings is superior to a healthy hawks. Especially in the playoffs.

True, but in all fairness, we went through a similar situation in the "Dead Thing" era when they gave away cars to get people to the Joe to watch a game. But it's still funny how all these Hawks fans only come to LGWs when their team finally made the playoffs. Or when they signed top players. Lucky for Hawks they sucked so bad to stockpile top picks and prospects and also lucky for the Hawks NHL employed a salary cap and adjusted the rules for teams like Chicago and Pens. If not for the cap, Wings would have Hossa, Hudler and Quincy right now.

Maybe what Babcock really meant was he loves Versteeg because Wings' plays against him and get gives us a better chance to win. Was Seabrook another one who helped us win by causing turnovers every time he was on the ice? Or was that Barker? I can't remember.

Watching the SCF on cable television just like the Hawks were after we owned your team in 5.

You're right, Sharks have superior goaltending in comparison.

Spoken like a true loser. Sharks felt good about their chances last year until they got schooled by the Ducks in the first round.