StaticWithABeat

Aside from the obvious suspects, I don't want Datsyuk re-signed if he s***s the bed in the playoffs again. He looks good this year, much more assertive and confident than in years past, but if he can't pull his weight in the playoffs then let him walk and sign Daniel Briere instead.

I think Babcock is a good coach, I'd be very disappointed to see him leave...I just don't know how compatible he is with the current team. A stereotypical Babcock player is a hard-working lunch-pailer type. For the most part, has the exact opposite here, a relatively non-physical, skill-based team. I think his impact here will get stronger as the older players are slowly phased out and he gets young guys like Hudler and Filppula who he can mold into his image.

I think it's a matter of interpretation...If you had a tough-guy battle between 06-07 ANA and 74-75 PHI, my money would solidly be on Anaheim: ANA: Moen: 6'2" 208 O'Donnell: 6'3" 228 Parros: 6'5" 215 Thornton: 6'1" 202 Pronger: 6'6" 210 O'Brien: 6'2" 235 PHI: Schultz: 6'1" 185 Clarke: 5'10" 175 Van Impe: 5'10" 200 Kelly: 5'10" 200 Dornhoefer: 6'1" 175 Saleski: 6'2" 186 If Anaheim's tough guys played like the Broad Street Bullies did, most of the league would probably be dead. The game is so different today that it's hard to make a direct comparison...If you're looking for the team that was the toughest in relation to the time they played, it's clearly the Flyers of the 70s. If you're looking at the team that is the overall toughest regardless of time period, then Anaheim might have a case.

There's still something to be said for toughness and intimidation, even in this skill-oriented NHL. Anaheim uses it effectively and it has been a big asset for them this season. The playoffs will be interesting...if someone can shut down their top line and powerplay, they will be in big trouble. As has been said, they lack scoring depth and it could be their undoing, but at the same time, they have a lot of big, aggressive guys who will be a nightmare to play against in a long, grueling playoff series, especially for smaller teams like Minnesota and Detroit.

It took balls to stand and trade punches with a clearly superior fighter, Lilja deserves credit for that, and I'm sure he affected a lot of players' play that night by doing so. I can't say I didn't enjoy seeing a rare Red Wings fight, but there is a good reason we have the fewest fighting majors in the league. If anyone is going to fight, it should at least be someone who knows how to protect themselves properly, which rules out all but maybe 2 players in the lineup. Moen is a dangerous fighter, and Lilja put himself in serious risk by taking him on. I acknowledge what he did for the team, but I wouldn't want this to become a regular occurence for him.

I wouldn't be sad to see the Wings take the 4th seed...Ideally I'd like to see something like this in the 1st round: 1-NSH vs 8-CAL 2-ANA vs 7-SJ 3-VAN vs 6-MIN 4-DET vs 5-DAL

And got the instigator to boot...who would've thunk it.

That's exactly what I thought when I first heard about it...I'd be pissed about it too if I were a former Jet fan.

No kidding...NHL leadership in general has been ridiculous, especially with the GM talks..."Nevermind flying elbows to the head and boarding hits that have left dozens injured, we have much more important issues at hand, such as changing the draft for no reason!"

It was the right call. Enough with the penalty threads...why must every loss generate multiple threads about anti-Wings referee conspairacy and unbiased penalty calls...face it, the Wings have earned the majority of the penalties they've taken in this recent "hot streak."

Why the hell are people wandering over to Blues forums in the first place? They have their site, we have ours, why start these pointless cross-forum *****-fests? And regarding Blues fans...if my team was a shameful, poorly-managed disaster I'd probably devote the majority of my time towards hating and bitching about other teams' fans too.

That idea is so bad it would probably give Gary Bettman wood.

It's a combination of things...the Joe is most definitely a corporate arena, it's hard as hell to get seats if you aren't rich or don't work for a big company that hands out lower-bowl tickets to executives and managers. And yes, the novelty of having a winning team is long gone in Detroit, there's really nothing the Wings can do to thrill fans anymore short of winning a Cup...especially since there hasn't been a good fight, brawl, or even a simple rivalry to speak of in years. But the biggest thing is that the Wings don't have any hunger anymore. There's no team toughness, uniting identity, chemistry, or passion like on teams in the mid/late 90's, which is why they get beat by less-talented but hungrier teams in the first round every year. If they want to liven up the Joe, they need to show a little desire and fight their way a few rounds deep into the playoffs.

Man, that looked like the Red Wings circa 2003 playoffs out there.

You pretty much answered your own question...the reason Kronwall gets hate is because he had a sensational year during the lockout and people expected him to make a big impact immediately, whereas this undrafted nobody named Lebda made the team out of nowhere and is developing faster than Kronwall. It's all relative, if Kronwall had made the team as an undrafted nobody people would be impressed with him right now, but expectations for him are much higher than for Lebda.

I wish the NHL would've just stopped expanding in 92-93...24 teams, four 6-team divisions, perfect league structure IMO. There are at least half a dozen current NHL cities that don't deserve teams and maybe two or three non-NHL cities that do.

The Leafs are nowhere near as goonish as they used to be, especially with Domi gone and Tucker/McCabe doing more scoring than fighting these days. I don't expect any major rumbles even if the score does start to tilt hard one way, but if there's one thing the Leafs are good at, it's taking bad penalties and losing their cool, so I wouldn't be surprised to see people taking ill-timed runs at Janssen and then bitching when they get called.

Jesus effing Christ....it's not until you hear psychotic ranting and raving like that you truly appreciate that we have Ken Daniels calling the games.

That's the real reason they created the salary cap to begin with...so teams can't sign S.B. and establish a reign of terror over the league for ever and ever.

Considering they both play for cheap, I wouldn't complain too much if both Oz and Hasek came back next season...Preferably I'd like one of them gone so Howard can get his feet wet as a backup. I guess ideally I'd want to see an Osgood-Howard tandem for a year or maybe two until Howard's ready to take over as #1. Giguere is better than Osgood, but Osgood is much more cost-effective...I'd rather see us stick with him for another year than spend valuable cap space on a high-priced UFA goalie.

I don't think Kronwall met anyone's expectations this year...Lang, Maltby and Kopecky are also on my below-expectations list.

Explosive offense aside, Pittsburgh's defense is not good, and Fleury has been sub-par for most of the year. However, because the east is a pile of s*** I think they could go as far as the ECF, where I would expect them to be eliminated by Buffalo (if they get healthy) or New Jersey.

If he wants $6.85 mil then let him walk and sign Daniel Briere next summer. Show some life in the playoffs and we'll talk.

I'd want Dallas first, then Calgary, then San Jose...they look like a sleeper team to me.

Montreal has looked hideously bad the past couple games, especially without Huet. There's no way they're making the playoffs. The Leafs have a shot, but even if they make it they'll just go down in the first round...unless of course they play Ottawa, which doesn't look likely. Chances are it would be Buffalo. All in all the race in the East is pretty exciting...lots of teams they rely on offense to succeed and only a few decent defensive teams. The only Cup-worthy team from the east is Buffalo, but they have ridiculous amounts of injuries so unless they get healthy by playoff time they'll be in trouble.