Hairy Lime

Blackhawks had Bollig, and to a lesser extent, Carcillo, though I think he only fought once. I mentioned the '06 Hurricanes in my previous post as one of the exceptions, but added that they were also a fairly tough team without one. The 2011 Bruins had Shawn Thornton, and while not an enforcer or "pure fighter" per se, Lucic. The '99 Stars had Severyrn, but he only played 30 games. And they were also a pretty tough team themselves. And I hope you were kidding about the 2007 Ducks, because who didn't fight on that team? They had Parros, Brad May, Shawn Thronton, Todd Fedoruk, Travis Moen, etc, etc. Some of them were used in a limited role, but you get my point. And you don't have to do the research, because I can assure that the teams that have won a Cup without a regular season enforcer are few and far between. Even if it appears to you not to matter, it must.

The game has only changed in yours and Holland's mind. I posed this question earlier, maybe you can answer it: name me how many teams, including Detroit, that have won a Stanley Cup in the last 30-40 years who have not dressed an enforcer for a minimum of 41 games (half a season, not counting shortened seasons). Who knows what it means, because it does not exactly show up on the stat sheet; maybe it means a few less unprovoked hits or a more unified locker room, all I know is what I know, and I know that dressing an enforcer seems to pay some dividends. If you and Holland think you have a winning formula by using that roster spot for a Kopesky or an Emmerton, it has yet to bear fruit.

Where did anyone say that an enforcer=championships? What an enforcer does equal, though, is less after-the-whistle abuse (which certainly doesn't hurt a teams chances), and maybe a little less of this "Pink Wings" bs, that for anyone who grew up watching the Bruise Bros. or the great 90's Detroit rivalries has a hard time listening to. The in-game stuff is always going to happen, and you can't prevent hitting; this is a physical game. But the extracurricular stuff and some of the targeting can be curtailed simply by having a player or two that can do the same stuff to the other team. Basically, you target one of our stars, two things can happen: 1) You fight. Or 2) Your stars get targeted. Simple as that. That has been the way things have been done in the NHL for quite a long time. Nothing has changed, only the Red Wings have, and not for the better. I remember a game against Columbus where Boll was running all over the place. Brad May dropped the gloves with him and Boll was mostly silent for the rest of the game. Or what about the Laperriere hit on Lidstrom. You could use that as an example of how even having an enforcer in the line-up does not prevent your stars from getting hurt, but just imagine if we didn't have Downey in the line-up that game. Laperriere does not get embarrassed, TWICE, and that hit basically goes unpunished, making the hit sting even worse, at least to the fans. And I don't remember Downey (or Drake, and later McCarty) exactly hurting Detroit's chances that season ... didn't Detroit win the Stanley Cup that season??? As a matter of fact, name me the last time Detroit, or any team, for that matter, has won a Stanley Cup without at least a part-time enforcer in the line-up. You could make a case for The '06 Hurricanes? Boulerice only played 26 games, but that was still a pretty tough team. Outside of them, I can't think of another team in the last 30-40 years that played a significant portion of the regular season without an enforcer. The '92-93 Canadian? As long as there is hitting and fighting in the game, there is a role for an enforcer ... if you know what's good for you. At the very least, it brings a little peace of mind, for fans and players.

This really screwed the Devil's. Maybe they would've resigned Clarkson, or gone after a few of the other big-name free-agents. There is something really screwy here.

"drama"?. What does the "drama" have to do with the HOF? He didn't cheat and he didn't kill anyone. On the ice, when healthy, Lindros was one of the best players in the world. 'nuff said.

Something tells me that you would never say these things to his face. And it does not matter what you think about about Lindros personally. Lindros was a great player, a beast in his prime. If Cam Neely is in, then Lindros should be in too. I have no problem with his not getting in this year, but down the road, he more than deserves to be inducted into the HOF.

Actually, with that kind of logic, we should not have extended Datsyuk because of his unproductive series against Chicago, right? I really hope that this is not the reason we passed on Ryan. Would Holland have preferred that Ryan had scored 10 goals against Detroit? Big, young, great shot, right-handed. Everything I thought Detroit was looking for?

In a word, No. I'll leave it at that. And no one can convince me otherwise.

True, but I think it will be lower 1st rounder, but who knows. Anaheim did have the 3rd most points last season, but that was WITH Ryan.

Players that MIGHT be good for player(s) that ARE good is always a good deal IMO. Sure, there have been some busts on both ends of these types of deal, but I think Sens win this one.

I didn't think it was possible for Detroit to get smaller... I was wrong. No Bobby Ryan. No David Clarkson. No Nathan Horton. No Vinny Lecavalier. Meh. I guess we'll wait and see...

Well, he was on pace to put up similar numbers this last season, so that is some kind of consistency ... right? The glory days. Come back, Scotty!!!

Come on, I know Red Wings fans are smarter than this. Yeah, he's just an enforcer ... who happens to score 25-30 goals. That's more than McCarty ever scored. Probert scored 29 once, but that was a different NHL. I'm not saying Clarkson is worth his asking price, but to imply that he's nothing more than an enforcer is a bit ridiculous, don't you think.

But would we be able to tell he and Abdelkader apart, aside from McCarron's height?

Better yet, Kindl and our 1st rounder to Nashville for Jones! Come on, Kenny, git-r-done! Unrealistic?

If you thought Detroit played "a nice physical series with him out of the lineup", then you need to get those prescriptions checked. I think I saw Abdelkader deliver a few big checks, but outside of him, nothing. Tootoo should have played in the playoffs, and will be a valuable asset next season. It's hard to win playing soft hockey, especially in the East, as much as Holland would have you believe otherwise. It's a physical game. Detroit would be wise to try and find that balance they had in the 90's, like Chicago has now. Bickell is going to demand more money than he's worth, and I don't see Holland going after Clarkson, as much as I would like to see him in a Wings uniform next season. I hope I'm wrong, but this is Holland we're talking about...

Good. Now all we need is every other team to pass on him until he falls down to us... But he seriously needs to bulk up a little.

What's up with this "holier-than-thou" attitude that so many Wings fans have developed? It's getting to the point where only The Amish can play for Detroit ... except "The Amish Mafia"; they're too "thug" for this organization. I mean, nobody wanted Jeff Carter because he would have been a "bad seed". Nobody wanted Bertuzzi because of "the incident". It seemed like most fans liked Avery when he was here, but then hated him after he left. Most fans had no problem with the Chelios trade, and he was a pretty dirty player in his Montreal and Chicago days. Was Dallas Drake "Detroit material"? Drake was a better goal scorer earlier in his career, but both he and Tootoo play similar games/roles, and Drake was a HUGE presence for Detroit in the '08 Cup run. I think Tootoo could have brought that same presence and intensity if he had been given the chance. I'm just really not understanding the Tootoo hate on here. I can understand not liking him from his Nashville days, but he's here now, and he brought something to Detroit that this team sorely lacked: TOUGHNESS! He played *mostly* disciplined hockey, came to the defense of his teammates, and probably would have scored more goals than Abdelkadfer had he been given the luxury of playing with Datsyuk. I think people will be glad he's on this team next season, though without a true enforcer or some size up front, Detroit might still be in trouble.

David Clarkson has to be a top priority. Not a pure scoring sniper, but a big, net-front presence. Kind of like Holmstrom, except he can fight. I would not mind adding Bickell. He was a prick against Detroit, but I think he was mostly that way on direct orders from Quenneville, and it being the playoffs. The little I saw of him in the past, against Detroit and other teams, he was not nearly as big of a meathead as he was against us. He's not much of a fighter, thought, so don't expect an enforcer type. If you really want to add an enforcer that can handle the heavyweight in the East, there is always the option of Colton Orr. But what are the chances of Holland having Tootoo AND Orr on the same team??? Not good.

Sammy, yes. But not sure about Bert. Is there a deadline to buyout a player? Because I would like to give Bert a summer to heal and go from there. We are already a undersized team in the West; we'll be playing teams like Boston, Toronto and NYR next season. If you thought Anaheim and Chicago were physical with our small forwards...

I don't know, Kronwall seems to get "Kronwalled" more these days than he delivers them. He got "Bickelled" last game, along with Andersson. Still, it would be nice if he could line up the aforementioned Bickell. Lord knows that no Red Wing is going to get in Bickell's face, except Cleary with his "why I outta!" and "you're lucky this linesman is holding me back...". The only other player that does the "why I outta" bluff better than Cleary is Samuelsson. He is truly the best. But it is what it is with this line-up; if they win tonight, I'll be happy. I hate the prospect of them having to go back to Chicago. I can't take that post-goal music; it literally makes me nauseous. Please win.

Wait, Sammy is out and we're putting Emmerton in over Tootoo? Does Babcock just not like hitting the opposing teams D? Lord knows that Chicago is going to pound ours. Can somebody tell me why we even signed Tootoo. Does he carry the equipment, or is that Ian White's job?

What were the Wings doing on the Power Play? They were moving the puck to a more advantageous spot on the ice and not constantly settling for shots from the Blue Line. Is that even allowed?!?! I'm confused...

I hope Bert is put on the top line and Tootoo is in for Samuelson, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

It was his first game back in a while; everybody expected him to be a little slow. Sammy wasn't exactly flying down the ice, either, at any point this season, and basically gave the team nothing.. Bert will at least, hopefully, be a physical presence. I hear Tootoo is a healthy scratch, making his signing pretty pointless. But we'll get to see Sammy and Eaves do nothing, as usual. Hurrah!