Cali-Wing-Nut

I hoe todays game reiterated My original post. Our first unit was sub par and the 2nd unit with this experimental line was hideous. The fact that our game winner 4on 3 in OT making us 1-19 for the PP is proof that we need a lot of help and trying completely new plays is only going to hinder an already bad special teams. The PP is bad, the 2nd unit umbrella play is worse and sooner or later is going to cost us and needs to stop before it becomes a game winnining promblem (as in winning games will be a problem),

No were doing Awesome and Im stoked especially for having the rusty weeks between games. I just think that when you compare the first line PP to the second its night and day and has me shaking my head. I doubt you can argue that our PP overall is looking fairly ugly. Time will tell obviously Im just amazed that the coaching staff is making the huge changes in the PP during games when its obvious that the guys are out of rhythm and are having a hard time actually setting up a play. To me it looks like someone trying to type with their feet. They know how it should be done but dont have a clue how to do it like that. This issue and the scheduling with back to backs in between 4-5 days off are my only gripes otherwise Im singing happy days right now.

Think you forgot that anytime a hit to the head occurs ,EMBELLISHED OR NOT, they gotta go sit in the quiet room. If itsdetermined they are ok after quiet time they can come back and play.

Ive looked as much as I know how and haven't found any info regarding Pav's wrist beyond his name having wrist in parenthesis after his last name in FHL updates. Curious if he is beyond the injury or if he is still dealing with it. I havent been able to watch a pre season game yet due to work so Im wondering if he seems hampered by it, if his shot is lacking or if there is a news article to update his condition. Im just hoping to start the season with our guys Rockin and Rollin.

I read about that too, said he was going to Russia to spend time with his kid and was just going to stick his arm in the sand?? I hope he is sand bagging and making peopel think he has an injury when he is A OK but there is nothing concrete Ive read that says hes ok. I'll get to watch the first PS game of the year tomorrow and hopefully he is moving the puck the way I expect him to. I just pray we dont have the issues with injuries weve had in the last few years AGAIN. Starting the season with guys hurt is getting REALLY f***IN OLD. Hope someone can chime in with any concrete news regarding the magician. Hope its that he is just fine and ready to go for a 100+ season.

Ive had Center Ice for a few years now. You get every game of the season. The two execptions are if the Wings play a non nationally televised NBC game the other one is that if the game is on after one in progress on VS. Last year there was one non nationally televised Wings game that was only available to the Detroit area while everyone else had to watch the Caps vs Pit IIRC. As far as being precluded by other games, sometimes they will open up another feed of the game so you dont miss it. One other thing is that if the Wings are playing a team that is local to you (for me its when they play the sharks) I have to watch the Sharks feed as the FSD feed is blacked out. Sucks cause I gotta listen to Drew "Im a whiny piece of s***" Arenda instead of Mickey Redmond. All in all it is the best 150 bucks I spend on TV. I know in my case I learned a lot more about the league and players that I wouldnt really see otherwise due to being able to watch 2 games a night every day of the week. Id watch a Panthers Ottawa game just to watch hockey if no good games were on. Its addictive.

Im at a loss for words and have been for two days now. I feel guilty being so happy that McCrimmon and Salei left the team. Being so caught up in the game and wanting to see the Wings better and wanting anyone gone that doesnt make a perfect Cup winning team blurred the line between players and real people that are on the ice or behind the bench. I hated on Rusty cause he took off so many games to be with his pregnant wife. Its easy to fault him for that at the game level, who couldnt put the team first??? This has put it in persepective. I hope Salei's family especially his new born understands that he put his family before everything. He skipped everything for that little one and I got to hand it to him. A family man should be respected beyond all else cause in the end what else is there? This has been such a f***ed up summer. I hope that what has happened is over. The biggest thing beyond wishing that 2nd world countries didnt have horrible planes is that the league and hopefully the US and CAN can find ways to stave off the liberal prescription and use of Oxycontin. Too many people have been prescribed it for injuries without any oversight to the use after the fact. Some people need it. If you can play in the NHL, YOU DO NOT NEED OXYCONTIN!!!. I wish we could have just had the summer to do innocent thinfs like questioning trades or how the draft went but instead we hear about overdose, suicide and people dying doing their jobs. I pray that this is it, no more death. This should be fun not mourning. My thoughts go to every person affected by the terrible loss in ?Russia as well as the tragic losses of players that died too early. May you all rest in peace. May all your families find peace.

I almost shed a tear then it reminded me that I was being like him. Maybe he can make millions making video in how to shoot the tops off hockey puck pyramids... Or teaching kids how to take a hit.... maybe not

The Icing change is my biggest issue. Second is if I read it correctly bring a team that goes off back into their zone. Add in the line change rules and you have a recipe for some teams or teams having a bad night to never get out of their end and wear down the guys on the ice to the point they are worthless by the end of the game. The no touch icing negates players like Helmer, he can usually pick up a puck that was stretched and missed. With these proposed rules he doesnt have a chance of picking it up. Now about the team that goes off going back to their end. Talk about screwing up the flow and pace of the game. Not only does this over work the players, bad off side call could decide games. Maybe thats what they want but at the least its serious annoying especially if a blue line missing a pass. The line change rule is idiotic. Why not just do all the drops at center and get it over with??? Who cares if you play half of your games at home when you can play like theyre all on the road?!?!? Im ok with the trapezoid as well as anything that can be done with getting rid of the shoot out. God knows we have felt the sadness of having a goaling that cant hold up his end without a guy to help him out. All in all its just 5 or 6 ways to ruin the game that much more not to mention add in more opportunities for me to call out the refs for colluding and/or cheating.

That was as clear and concise as it can be... Regarding Hollands lack of planning. Pavs will be back. We will pay him what he wants. Z is another probable lifer although I think Pavs is a better chance as a lifer. What is bad is that Ken is doing this pick and choose crap with prospects and draft picks. If I was 22 and just won a championship in little league I would expect to be rolled out into the big leagues. Jurco is getting screwed and will want to leave if he watches his ex team mates scoring in the pros. Maybe Im a different breed but when I buy something, I buy it because I plan to use it. Holland is stuck in the 90s with no cap and just see who looks good after we throw good money after bad. Ill be rooting for the team come October, I just wont be happy about whos wearing a sweater as well as what our team will look like 3-4 years from now.

Im not saying Buff in particular, Im saying a big name player LIKE him. Keith Yandle has a nice ring to it. My point is we shouldnt be doing all of our rebuilding based on FA. Ill wait and see if thats why we have such huge cap space. If we are done with the D for the year Holland sucks. If he is working some trades then Ill reserve judgment. I hope at least a few of you can see my distress in how we are remanning the team. Im a business owner and when you know you are going to have a coming retirement, you want to get a replacement in to overlap so that the new guy can hit the ground running so to speak. The way I see the setup right now, we are hiring with the idea that employee turnover will solve our problems. This isnt McDonalds or Walmart. This is a business that needs some career guys that are going to be able to climb the proverbial corporate ladder. Thats ROI not cheap and expendable labor like Holland is signing on right now.

Mule is injury prone, Flip is well flat. Buff is a guy that is strong, fast and shoots great. Thats the type of guy Id be going after due to the pending retirement of Nick. We need a superstar caliber player. Buff didnt do as well in Atlanta but look at the team he has to play with. Id like to know who you think is a reasonable replacement for Nick in 2013. We are gonna need an upper echelon player to fill that huge gapping hole. Lets just say Id like to see a blockbuster trade and fill out the surrounding players to bolster that persons strengths. Not to the poin t of say the Lakers to Kobe or Pitt to Crosby and Malken but a player that can play 20+ minutes a night and average close to a point every other game. We were stripped down for rebuilding the D and instead did small aesthetic redesigns, stopgap measures and nothing that will reform our core.

My list would include trades and not FA deals. Knowing Holland wouldnt make a deal that didnt benefit him more than the other team its moot. If it were me, Id do what I could to get Byfuglien. Wrangling him away from Winni would require a trade like Mule and Fip and some considerations. There are a lot of teams that are trading right now and Holland is just aqquiring guys through free agency. Hell the Guppies seem to be at a trading post with the Wild right now, I can hardly fathom there isnt a team with a D man that is in the top thirty for points that wouldnt trade for a guy or two from our team. The cap is there at this moment to do such a thing. If its realistic, IDK but thats what Id be doing.

I meant Smith, I was talking with my brother at the same time about Merzack and typed his name instead of Smiths. My apologies. Im only happy about White in that we have a right handed shot. Hear me out why Im upset about some of these signings. We are assured to lose Nick next year and as such we need a veteran to lead the defense (Nick does that and some ). Once he is gone who could you look to on the D for that after hes gone? Second is that we needed to bolster our size, Ericcson may be physically large but hes proven that hes unwilling to use it. Commie is a step in the right direction but Ericcson wasnt the answer to that issue. Third we need blue line scorers. We have none after Nick is gone. We shall see if White can run the point as effectively as Raffy did, I know Pylon sure as hell wont. We need two-three guys that embody two of these three traits: Speed, Strength, Leadership. Nick and Raffy held on to the first and last of those traits, Kronner the first two. E doesnt embody any, Stewie the last two. Kindl the first two. I dunno about White and Commie till I see them in our system. We need some leaders to reassemble a core that is retiring and picking up guys cause theyre cheap isnt gonna get us where we need to go. Its a stopgap method of just getting by till later. My other issue is that Holland still has 16m in cap space, who the hell is he trying to pick up by penny pinching on our defense??? If Huds and Flip are gonna get moved we better be getting someone that meets or exceeds Dats skills for that kind of space to be left open.

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We have Bobby Orr. His name is Nick Lidstrom Nicky, Kron and Stewie need some real pairings. Kindl is a solid bottom pairing and could be a 2nd pairing in an emergency. Merzzy is a bottom pairing but we could run him a full season and be happy. As far as Erhoff is concerned, I never wanted him. As far as the bad blood goes with Wiz, every man hs his price and his snub sounded to me like he was offered a joke of a contract. Conjecture about his family being let go with a pink slip stapled to his last check is one thing but hockey players first need a job and second want to win at their present job. He knew he had a good chance to win here but also knew that hes a pro hockey player that deserves a good paycheck. Nobody even talks about trading with other teams just FAs. We have a deep list of forwards that are definitely worth something to another team. Not just the starters but our GR guys as well. Culling the herd and grabbing up a signed player or two isnt that bad of an idea. Holland reminds me of my dad, stuck in a certain decade and stuck in his routine. Thats when you know you need to retire and let the kids play without you. White is an affordable guy but he is doing nothing for our team to replace Raffy. Ericcson is definitely not replacing Raffy even if he gets his spot on the rotation. We are grabbing up a lot of bottom or third pairing players, no one that is a starter or someone that will fill anyones shoes as Nick retires and other guys move up to newer spots. So Ill say it again Holland is a carp. Hes bottom feeding all the leftover Dmen. Its a waste of money and makes me question how well our D is going to be. We woulda won the cup last year if we had healthy Dmen. The injuries to our Forwards could have ben dealt with but we had too many GA due to shoddy D which was a result of injuries and sub par replacements. Im expecting similar results this season, I hope I wrong.

Yet you didnt name Kindl. Im well know for hating Ericcson. And we signed him I actually made comments about picking up Wiz back in January thinking that would be a good grab, wouldnt pay him. Im no bandwagon fan sir. What Holland is picking up now is a result of his lack of dealing earlier on. RFAs are overpriced ie: Weber. UFAs need a bit of wooing and at the very least a good reason to consider the job. Holland isnt doing a good job of wooing . We shall see how things play out but I have a bad feeling about our defense.

White was harped on a constant basis in my area of the country... Oh thats right NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. Hes far from stellar. Like any player he has his moments. Ericcson had his and depending on which article you read hes the best thing since sliced bread. I know better. Our team is literally grabbing up the table scraps after everyone feasted on the good Dmen. Holland is picking up anyone he can to fill out the roster. Granted a few will be traded off during or after training camp but the fact we havent locked down anyone of signifigance is plain worrying. The diamond in the rough thing isnt gonna get us a cup this year or next year for that matter. Hell there arent even plans of playing Jurco for at least 2-3 years at the very earliest. That is mind boggling. Maybe thats why we are so streaky in our year to year play, its Hollands decision to actually put some fresh players in. This over ripe thing has me banging my head against ever door, wall and post I can see. Im praying we have a decent chance next year, cause on paper we are lookin g like half Red Wings half The Replacements. We havent bolstered our D at all, in fact with our losses we are worse off than last year.

Ian White disappeared in the playoffs for the Sharks. Sounds like a Hossa signing, promising player that cant play when it matters. Holland is a carp.

Do you "POSITIVE" people give any thought to the fact that Holland HAD THE f***IN CHANCE TO PICK UP A FEW READY TO GO DMEN FOR A BIT MORE THAN BIG F-?!?!?!?!?! My god, Holland screwed the pooch. He just had to stick to his "method" and as such we will have one of the worst defensive squads in the last 20 years. I feel for Nicky, Im sure he was told that there would be some backup for a real push to the Cup and to hear that he could possibly be paired with Pylon, itd be like being told your new co-worker is a drooling retard that smells of s*** and piss. Im pissed and I can tell you right now there are a few Wings fans in the northern California area that dont even want the topic brought up. I say, TRADE HOLLAND. f***n idiot.

Dont bring his mom into it. Hes Big Hes Strong and hes a limp wristed *****. We cant afford to keep him on the team. We can monetarily handle it but the Wings arent going to WIN with him on the team. He got signed for one of two things... 1. Hes set to be traded to Toronto or Winni or Ottawa. OH GOD PLEASE MAKE IT TRUE. 2. Holland bluffed and waited and lost. Now hes picking up the pieces. 3. Im a total idiot that has no room to talk and we have a Grade A defense crew next year I dont think #3 is the case.

NO,, He f***in sucks. Everyone on our team is considered above average compared to most teams (we do happen to have a few cups under our belt if that means anything regarding certain players). Ericcson is horrible and now I have a reason to complain all Summer long if he ends up on the squad.

wheres a 357 when I need one? :ranting: I hate Holland now. He had the opportunity to go after some key players and NO didnt do s***. Welcome to a horrible season(s) EDIT Ill hold my breath till 1 pm tomorrow and hope that we pull the Diveaguchi move the Sharks did during the draft. If there arent signs of a pending move within a day, Im gonna start choking on my own vomit thinking we are paying 3+ a year for a piece of s*** player. Dman shortage or not, hes not worth that type of money unless hes going to an under floor team. BTW do people turn red or blue holding their breath? I hope its red cause if I die I want it to be the right color.

One more Red Wings miracle to go.... booting Ericsson

All I gotta say is LMFAO. They burn their own city after choking it again. Im almost as happy as when the Guppies choked it a few weeks ago. Congrats Boston you definitely had the better of the two teams, although I think Detroit would have gone the distance if they won that damn Game 7.