Hockey Convert

Yes, see: any Montreal game, especially in the playoffs. And yes, it certainly is.

Oh, I completely agree. I just don't like ANY added chance of injuries. Also, this is exactly why it pisses me off. The Coyotes have to know it's not going to help; but they do it anyway, because they are asshats.

I don't know about "for sure", but it seems he will be. And that worries me. It always pisses me off how Phoenix goons it up against us every game/series, and throwing Biznasty in now just suggests to me that they're going to try to run our players some more. Keep your heads up, boys, and deflate these ******* clowns so the league can finally fold them up and ship them back to Winnipeg. LGW!!

To quote Pronger- which I can't believe I even considered doing - he's "day to day with hurt feelings."

Yeah, without their helpful reporting, I would have followed my natural instinct to run through the window toward the black funnel... The officiating being what it is, the shocker to me was that they gave matching penalties rather than just sending Franzen. But yeah, I hate Doan more and more every game the Wings play the Desert Ballerinas.

I'm getting that too in SC; and it's infuriating because they don't just give an update, they talk for 5 MINUTES each time. Grrrr. I've missed a PP and a goal because of it. Anyway, bad play by Stuart but at least Doan got to show why he's a complete joke by going after Cleary instead of playing D, so that Abby got a breakaway...

I guess some people are going to argue that. I disagree, though there's really no way to know for sure. I haven't seen anything to indicate that Chara is that kind of player; I would say the opposite. The league will do what they'll do. I just hope Pacioretty will be all right at this point.

Yes. Very scary, especially in watching the replay. I'm very glad to hear he's conscious and moving. Game itself is a blowout in favor of Montreal, and doesn't look likely to change. Shame on the Bruins for letting it happen.

Yeah, horrific, horrible looking awkward hit into that glass. I don't like the Habs at all, but my hopes are with Pacioretty right now. I really don't think Chara meant to hurt him, just bad luck. Really hope he's all right; I don't ever like seeing something like that.

If this is some subtle wit that I'm not getting, I will make my apologies, but just to bring it down to my level... The Habs did acquire Drew MacIntyre, a 190 lb. goalie, not big Steve MacIntyre, who still plays for Edmonton as far as I know, correct?

Far more serious injuries (in number and severity) result from hard hits that the guy wasn't expecting than from fights. Fact, not opinion.

This actually made a lot of sense for the Bruins. Wheeler seems great on paper, but this year he's really been like Ville Leino was for the Wings. He may do great somewhere else, but he was absolutely average and replaceable on the Bruins roster. Mark Stuart is great, the fans love him and I wish the Wings could get him, but he really is extraneous on the Bruins; McQuaid can fill the same role and is cheaper (at least for now). So the Bruins shed some salary, and got what appears to be a decent depth winger in return (I don't really know much about Peverley, though, to be honest). More than anything, I feel bad for Wheeler and Stuart having to play in Atlanta. I wouldn't wish living in the Southeast on anyone, let alone having to play hockey in front of an indifferent market...

I can report that a lot of fans in the Boston area, including the sports-talk radio guys I listen to, aren't very enthusiastic about this move. In short, that it's not enough, and/or fills a need that wasn't there. The argument for it is this: with Savard out, the B's are weak in the bottom lines at center. Seguin isn't ready, Zack Hamil (another prospect) isn't quite ready to step in on the 3rd line center position, and Blake Wheeler is anywhere from not quite good enough to absolutely useless depending on whom you ask. So, queue the move to bring in Kelly who is 1) a solid depth guy, 2) a veteran, perhaps needed for a pretty young Bruins lineup, and 3) a proven playoff performer, at least at a depth role. Personally, I can see the argument for it, but I don't think this is the move that will get the Bruins to the Cup. And one thing Wings fans should understand about how fans feel is Boston: they haven't had the success of the Wings in recent memory. Bruins fans want to see a Cup, and see it NOW. At this point, I've heard it said that they'd absolutely take the tradeoff the Hawks made last year; all out for a championship, and damn next year. So, looking in from outside, yes, this looks like a big over-payment. The thing is, from the Bruins perspective, they a) have a lot of picks and some prospects to deal, and b) overpayment is not a concern; they need to go all out. I also agree with a lot of fans here; what the Bruins really need is a pure skill, scary goal scorer. Someone that opposing defenses get nervous about, that can take feeds from Krejci or Bergeron and just blaze it in the net, consistently. The other big comment thrown around is about the "puck moving defenseman", and I agree that would help; it would have to be a veteran guy, though, I think. I suggested to a dude in a bar that I'd send them Jonathan Ericsson for Mark Stuart, Adam McQuaid or maybe Boychuk. Still think it would be helpful for both sides.

...like Howard will be. Agreed.

At this point, I honestly don't see how they get out of the first round of the playoffs.

This, exactly, is my problem here. OK, Joey Mac isn't the strongest tender; I won't argue that. But Jesus tittyf***ing christ, could the team give him a bit of help? Tighten up in front because you know you've got an injured keeper right now! Seriously! Do NOT allow so many shots. Amen.

The league's off of that now; hits to the head are the new hotness. Not that I'm saying that's bad; just that they can only seem to handle one thing at a time.

Really? Hmm, I must have been on the crack that day; I get those chumps confused. I'm still fairly sure I don't like Jones.

Problem the entire year, as far as I'm concerned. No one's willing to do it except Holmstrom, and he's getting too slow. All the backhand attempts from bad angles are starting to make me nauseous.

Yeah. This is a little off-topic, but after the injury to Brad Stuart, the Versus crew was talking about it and Keith Jones (I'm 90% sure he was the one) referred to it with "Now let's go back to namby-pamby land..." and then proceeded to spew sewage about how it was a travesty that anyone was upset, it was a good hit, and any action by the league would ruin hockey bleh bleh blah. I haven't been able to watch Versus coverage since.

I can't honestly tell if you meant it this way or not, but I think the second statement illustrates the problem with the first. It's hard to definitively say what the effect would be until the front office makes a real effort to get a more rounded "enforcer" type, rather than as an afterthought; i.e. a more legitimate candidate. Hehe, I can't argue with that. That doesn't necessarily invalidate the point, though, as much as say something about human nature... I don't see a problem with using it as one example. I don't think anyone's trying to claim that as sole evidence for the argument, though. My opinion- and I can't speak for others, but from reading these threads I don't think I'm alone- is that it's self-evident in almost every game in the last couple years. Watching the Wings play any tough team gives me the same thought: more systematic toughness would help the team. Knowing teammates will stick up for you when the going gets tough, less worrying about blind-side hits, etc. And for me, of course, it also comes down to gritty hockey being more fun to watch; as I've found watching Boston games this year. I don't think there's any value it arguing any of these specific incidents, because it's obvious that not everyone will agree about how any given one went down. 'Course, it's a discussion forum, so those who wish to do just that will continue, and I support that.

OK. In that sense, nothing said on these forums is "useful". My opinion, the conversations are interesting; but from your point of view, not sure why you bother reading or posting at all unless your name is Ken Holland because it would be "useless". Not going to derail the thread by continuing down this track, though. To newfy: I forgot about Brookbank. That might be good too.

The conventional wisdom is that a forward is more expendable and can therefore more easily sit in the penalty box; but I see where you're coming from, and would be fine with a D-man. I watch a lot of Bruins hockey, and they lament wanting a puck-mover defenseman, but from my perspective what they do have is a good corps of physical, punishing defensemen. I like the way Mark Stuart, Dennis Seidenburg, Adam McQuaid and maybe Boychuk play. I'd take any of them in a heartbeat. McQuaid probably fights the most, since Stuart was injured. Otherwise, there's been discussion of Carkner in the Ottawa thread, and I would be happy with that. Shea Weber would be good by me, though I'm honestly not sure how much he could enforce. All I can think of at the moment; I've had a few whiskeys while watching hockey... "Useless" is your opinion, and you're making a lot of assumptions without adding a lot of substance.

Yeah, I meant to put something in my previous post related to this. I think it's really a multifaceted issue, because I also think the Instigator rule should be taken away to allow real enforcing; by which I mean if Cooke throws a cheap shot, the enforcer goes after Cooke directly. I can sort of see the point made by the blog post someone posted a link to earlier which is that since guys don't have to fight, they don't fear the other team's fighter. I don't think it's fair to put up a barrier to the self-policing by the players, then say fighting doesn't help players policing the ice. I don't think it's a bad thing if the off-the-faceoff goon fights are tapered back, though I don't have a problem with them particularly. I think it's also worth noting that at least to my memory, Kronwall played a more physical game that year than he has lately.

I really, strongly agree with this. I know most people on here don't agree, but my observation is that the Wings the last few years consistently have trouble with the really physical teams. Philly has come in the last couple years and wiped them across the ice. Nashville is a problem, St. Louis is a problem, the Wild also if I recall correctly. I hate watching our guys get run, and before anyone flies off the handle, the quote from Babcock from back when the Wings first picked up May (for an exhibition or tryout? I can't remember the details) shows that the coach feels the same. I see the argument over and over that "the Wings win without a fighter!". OK, that's true, they are winning regular season games. I'm not disputing that. Until they win it all without at least the toughness of even an end-of-career Drake and McCarty, I'm not convinced. Show me the Cup and I'll admit I was wrong; until then, I think there's room for the debate.