kliq

Its hard to simply define what a "real fan" is, but here is what I think pisses people off and results in some fans questioning others. Some fans want to win at all costs, and have absolutely zero empathy for the players. The kind of people who are legitimately angry at a player for getting a concussion, and think that a player should sacrifice his life after hockey for a win, which is ultimately to give that fan immediate gratification and IMO extremely selfish. These people I have an issue with, and do question. I think its okay for a fan to be frustrated that a player is hurt, but when you are mad at the player for getting hurt, I believe a line is crossed, especially when insults are thrown at the player. No player wants to be hurt. Could you imagine if a person broke their leg at a factory job because something random and flukey happened, and their co-workers were mad at them for it, seems ridiculous...right? When I hear people say thing like "F U Datsyuk, if you cant play" it embarrassing. Secondly, we are the luckiest fan base in all of hockey, I'm not going to list our resume as we all know it. We are now in a league that has been created to have parity. Some people still have the expectations of the late 90's, early 2000's, they want this team to be a top seed every year, and to ALWAYS be Stanley cup favorites. This is just not realistic anymore, and when fans don't get this, they attack the people in the organization. Personally I don't think this makes you not a fan, just a bit delusional. We cant outspend other teams by 20mil anymore. A Lot of people hate the constant negativity. There are certain posters who if you go into their post history, every single thing they write is negative. I think this has more to do with a persons outlook on things in general then their fandom, or they are just trolling.....Tank It? Lastly, there are the people who hate the fact that the Wings play a European style (Don't hit etc.) This I find funny, because this has been the Wings for years. If you have not accepted this by now, you probably are watching the wrong team lol. That's my thoughts.

I fully understand and comprehend his post. Your post is literally agreeing with me as far as the substance, but you are making it sound like you are not. I am saying that in today's NHL there is such parity that a few players can make the world of difference. If you are saying that without Kronwall & Qunicey we dont make the playoffs, that reinforces my point. The LA Kings lost 2 D-men, and had Richards decline and went from Champs, to not even top 16 You are saying that if the Wings lost 2 major players it would put them out of the playoffs, which I think is true (though I think if Marchenko or Oulete came in for Q we would be okay). But I also think if they added a couple (lets say Boychuk & JoeThonton) they could be a front runner for the Cup. My point isnt about the Wings, its about the parity of today's NHL.

Mods are not going to like this thread lol Ill comment if I get the okay from the mods. I dont want to get a warning/suspended/banned for saying something.

You're probably right, but this just goes to show you how much parity there is. Losing 2 D-men, and having a player or two decline would not have taken you from Champs, to not even making the playoffs 15 years ago. As a Wings fan, this excites me. It show me that we are just a player or two away from being at the top of the NHL. Though it also scares me, as it show me we are an injury or two from being out of the playoffs.

Good Job Boys! I think we are a better team that our record indicates, but this is the time of year you prove that......GO WINGS!

I don't think so, especially for the 10min OT idea. Here are the calculations of extra time played if they went to a 10min or 20min OT. This year Detroit played in 25 OT/SO games this year. If ALL the games went the entire 10min (an extra 5min per game), that would add an extra 125 min of game time, which is equivalent to 2 extra games per year. If you went to 20min OT, that would be an extra 6 games. Maybe I can see your argument with the 20min OT, but 2 extra games (and that's only if EVERY game went the full 10min) is by no means a nightmare. Plus, a large portion of those games would end mid OT.

If I had a vote, I would say ditch the shootout and have 1 OT that is 20min (or maybe try 10 first). Sure you would get some ties, but if they had a 20min OT, MANY games would end.

Cant get mad at the goalie. If the message from the top is that shootouts aren't important, you cant fault the players for listening to their coach.

I was actually going to start a thread about this. When I looked the other day, I saw he was 7th in the league in the points! Makes me wonder, is he really this good? Or, is he in a situation where due to the amount of min/opportunity he is given, he is playing above his skill level? Similar to Robert Lang when he led the league in points playing for Washington, nobody confused him with being the best player in the NHL.

Did anyone else see that Toronto's first line is a combined (-100) or the year. I know +/- doesnt mean everything, but that's a problem!

In 2002 Detroit's payroll was $66 million, #1 in the NHL. The team with the 10th highest payroll had a payroll of 43 million. In 2015 there is a salary cap, Holland cannot spend 20million more then the other teams in the conference giving the Wings a giant advantage. You cant compare Yzerman ability to lead to Datsyuk's. Yzerman had a stacked team behind him (literally a ton of HOF's), while Datsyuk is playing with kids, not the same thing. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Yzerman wasn't a good leader, the guy is my childhood hero and my favourite player of all time, but you cant compare the two as its now the salary cap era. As far as the injuries go, its also a different time. The NHL/doctors don't let players play through injuries like they used to. The reasons being, more of an understanding on the long term effects of injuries, lawsuits, and i'm sure there are provisions in the CBA (though I admit this is speculation on my part). Yzerman did have a gutsy performance in 2002 and I will always respect him for that, but he was never the same player again. If they didn't win the cup, would that have really been worth it? Also don't forget, while you seem to be putting the success of that team 100% on Yzerman, if not for Dan Cloutier's inability to stop a puck from center ice, we likely would have been beaten first round. My point being, Skill, leadership, and luck all come in to play in a team winning a cup. Also, if Datsyuk playing this week was the difference between a cup or no cup, I think things may be a different story. When you say the word EVER 28 times in a row, and constantly drop f bombs, it just reinforces my point that you sound like you are having a temper tantrum.....seriously, calm down.

You can emphasize the word EVER all you want lol, but the fact of the matter is your post was extremely disrespectful and makes you sound like you are having a temper tantrum because your team is on a losing streak. Lash out at me, I really dont care, but treat Datsyuk with some respect if you call youself a fan Find a single post where I say everything is awesome. What I said when the season started is the same as what I am saying now. We are going through a re-build, I don't expect us to win the cup this year. I expect us to finish between #3-6 and to keep growing as a team. In today's NHL everyone has a chance so you never know, and I do think we have a good team, but things are going exactly how I thought they would.

I'll be the first to admit, Howard's recent play has been very frustrating, but dont forget it was only 2 months ago that this guy was an all star and in the conversation for the Vezina. He got hurt and hasn't been the same since. Mrazek does appear to be our goalie of the future, but I'm not ready to go with him as "the guy" without a safety net just yet. I would want at least a full season of Mrazek playing high level hockey before I would even consider trading Howard. Plus, his value right now is at an all time low. Not the right time.

Wow! If you don't want people to take you seriously as a poster, this is how you do it. Why do you hold it against player for being hurt? You think they want to be hurt? You think they aren't tough enough? I really doubt that Franzen wants to have post concussion syndrome, I really doubt Datsyuk wants to have an ankle injury or is "being weak". If they could play and not cause further injury, they would. Its not worth jeopardizing a season just to get him in the lineup. The guy has been a great player for this team for years, he doesn't deserve to have is own "fans" say "f*** him" for being hurt. Such disrespect.

I know you are frustrated, but this is the type of thread that causes other fans to call Wings fans spoiled. The NHL is a league of parity, and we are going through a bad month. One bad month means nothing, just as one good month means nothing. At the end of the day what matters is where we finish, not how did we do in March. One thing that I think is hurting us is that our backs are not against the wall. We are in a position where we cant really get a higher seed as we are not catching Tampa, and we have had a decent lead on 7th which is fading, but still there and likely to stick. I have said this a million times, the Wings are going through a re-build. Tatar, Nquist, Sheahan, Jurco, Pulkkinen, Smith, DD, Mrazek, Marchenko, XO, Sproul, AA, Larkin, Mantha etc. the list of young talent is endless, to compare us to the Leafs, a team that hasn't won a cup since 1967, has made the playoffs once in 10 years, has not had stable leadership, has a horrible relationship with the media (though that seems more the media's fault), and lacks prospects is just ridiculous. Too many people seem to take things to extremes, when we are winning we are primed for the cup, and when we are losing we are absolute crap and need to get rid of everyone. We aren't either right now, we are exactly what I thought we were coming into the season, a team that falls between 3-6, and in today's NHL with parity the way it is, has a change, but is by no means the favourite. Not a bad place to be when you are on an up swing with a ton of up and coming talent. If you are expecting a cup this year, you are probably going to be disappointed. Of course we all hope this up swing of young talent peaks before D & Z really start to decline, but that's probably not going to happen....though one can hope Bottom line, you cant be elite every single year. We definitely don't "deserve" anything. We have had it better then every other fan-base in hockey since the early 90's.

But Kip, this was to the back of the neck. Every argument you have given about concussions can be applied here. People still need to be responsible for their actions in the heat of the moment. I am not saying the guy is scum or anything, but what he did was dangerous and IMO goes beyond what is acceptable in the game of hockey.

This is the kind of crap that needs to be eliminated from the game. If he gets a light suspension which I'm guessing he will, its just going to encourage him to do it again, the reason why...Fear Byfuglien puts in opponents > suspension = Him doing it again.

Here is my take, I believe Howard is one of the most underrated goalies in the league. Before his injury, the guy was in the conversation when it came to the Vezina. With that being said, since he came back from injury something is not right. He isnt the same Howard he was before the injury. Just look at his stats: Oct.......5-1-2.....1.97.......92.9 Nov.......6-3-2.....2.26.......91.1 Dec.......4-2-3.....1.98......92.6 Jan........1-1-0.....2.50......89.6 Feb........2-1-2....2.81......90.2 Mar........3-4-1.....3.38......88.7 He got injured in January, since then his GAA went from 2.08 to close to 3. With Jimmy playing the way he is playing, we have to give the job to Mrazek for the moment, but dont count Jimmy out. The guy is good, and as soon as Mrazek has a bad stretch, the same people that turn on Jimmy will turn on him. It has happened to pretty much every Wings goalie since the Dead Wings era.

I watched Connor play in person for the first time tonight, and damn was I impressed! He sticks out like a Man playing with Boys. It wasn't even about points, it was the way he just seemed to dominate.. Things like the ease he moved with the puck, the way he made no look passes, etc. Completely unselfish player, in the third period with a few seconds left he had an empty net and he passed it to his teammate. Hes going to be a stud! (not that everybody doesn't know that).

They don't necessarily need to catch them, they can still get #1.

Since he retired a Devil, dont the Devils reserve his rights until that contract is complete? I dont understand how this would work.

I hope a team like LA wins, hopefully this would teach a lesson to teams who are tanking. Tanking should be a HUGE risk with a small potential of a payoff, not a likely path to potential success (unless your Edmonton lol). I do not want Buffalo to win as I feel they basically gave up on this season for him, and I do not want Edmonton to win because I dont want to see them ruin another potential superstar. At least a team like TO tried when the season started, and didnt start getting rid of people until they were out of it. I also dont want to see him in Arizona, because come on....its Arizona. Columbus would be a team I would like to see land him. That fan base deserves something.

I think a much more probable outcome is somewhere in between.

Tatar and Nyquist have 49 and 48 points respectfully, Filppula has 46. T&N are just getting started, Filp you can easily say has peaked. You could even argue that T&N are already better players. Hudler I believe is overproducing due to the team he is on. Reminds me of Robert Lang back in '06 on Washington. He led the league in points, but I dont think anyone thought of him as the best player in the NHL. Not that anyone is saying that about Hudler lol. On Calgary he is being put in situations where he will score often.

I dont see it, I think he has been a hold-out or at least gone to the wire almost every year he was an RFA. He strikes me as a guy who simply will go to the top bidder, and I dont see Holland throwing stupid money him.