LeftWinger

...Hey, I worked for Wisne Design briefly back in 1994! My UNcle is HUGE at Wisne, he started at the 8 mile building a LOOOOONG time ago and when the comapny expanded north (to the Upper) he was chosen to head up the company up there! God bless your Uncle!

...well, seeing that Rousch is a local owner, that would make sense, BUT I would rather see Tony Stewart finish last in every race next year before I would want to see the Wings logo on a Ford. Sorry, for me, Chevy all the way! That is why Tony is leaving Gibbs, he cannot stand driving a Toyota, plus all of his other owned cars and tracks are all sponsered by GMC/Chevy. Tony is a diehard Chevy man, and well, even though in todays world "The Big Three" don't mean much, he is true to his word. Anyway back on your subject, that would be cool to see the Wings logo on a NASCAR, but then I'd have to see it on Carl Edwards or Matt Kenseth if Rousch sponsored it, but I do believe Ilitch has contracts with GMC for advertising (in the Joe) so if Tony could land the Wings, that would be cool! (besides, Tony already stole Office Depot away from Rousch, why not the land the Wings! ) p.s. He's already driven a Kid Rock sponsored car in the Busch (Nationawide, yech!) series for Kevin Harvick (see pic) A nice Kid Rock/Red Wings car would be the shyt!

...alot of folks are gonna say Yzerman just because that is as far back as they remember. For me Yzerman kinda started it, I remember some news reports about him when he was a rookie ( I was 13) but what really drew me in was the year that the Bruise Borthers were hot, coupled along with the emergance of the (then) youngest Captain ever and Petr Klima. The come from behind 3-1 playoff run against Toronto, Klima's penalty shot. Of course the Red hair streak was **** at the time! ...I would say the combo of Yzerman, Klima, Probert and Kocur drew me in...

...not sure where else to post this, but he is in town for some reason. I happen to work for the major airline in Detroit and was transfering the local luggage from the aircraft to baggage claim. I was off loading a MSP flight when a Nashville Predator Equipment bag came down the belt, I looked at the name of the bagtag it was Tootoo. ...also for all you unclassy Nashville (or any other) fan out there. We Detroit fans are very classy. If I wanted to I could've "LOST" his bag or done something to it to extract a revenge on him, if I were that classless. Of course, being a classy Wings fan, I did nothing but deliver the bag. Not only did I deliver it, but I put the bag on the belt first! Just goes to show, that here in Detroit, you are an enemy on the ice, but a person off the ice... ...also, I ran back to the breakroom to log on and see if the Wings acquired him today, I have yet to find anything pointing to that, so I am left to wonder what he has going on in town where he would need his hockey equipment?

...so what if Babcock said somethig to Hossa. "Great Series, you almost tied it there, I'd love to have ya here!" Big deal! ...anyway Pitsburgh fans are Steeler fans first then Penguins fans, they don't even look at the Pens until February. (must be nice to have a good Football team! LOL!) ...anyway, we may singning the same tune if he leaves in 09. He's gonna have to take a huge cut in order to stay here after we sign Zetterberg and Franzen. Will he? Doubt it, even if we repeat I think he'll cash in his worth to someone who can give him $10 million (or whatever the max will be)

...problem here is, ANY trade involving Gretzky to Detroit would include Yzerman as compensation... ...if they would have gotten Gretz (and was able to keep Stevie) they would have been a better team in 1988-1989 then guess what, the 1989 draft goes WAAAAAAY different. You're in a different draft position and you possibly don't get: Lidstrom, Fedorov, Drake (who brought us Draper) and Konstantinov. They make the playoffs in 89-90 and you don't get Primeau (who brought us Shanahan) and in 1991 you probably don't get Osgood or Lapointe. So, if Gretzky would've come here, odds are he would have taken Yzerman away from us, eventually convinced Devellano to trade for all his former Oiler mates (just like LA, St. Louis and NYR did) and I think we'd still be looking for our first Cup since 1955... ...Not coming to Detroit is the best thing to happen to the league AND to Detroit! How many Cups did Gretzky win AFTER being traded? And How many does Detroit have since then? Thanks but no thanks to Wayne Gretzky...

...that about puts that to bed! Ozzie in the Hall, Ozzie in the rafters... PERIOD!

...ok, here goes, a little obscure fun! These are players that were born in the said country. Using the Brett Hull theory, even was born in the US, he could've have played for Canada because he father was in fact Canadian () So some of these players could've represented their country of birth in international play. Most our actually "FROM" that country, so here we go! (confused?) All-Time Best NHLer's from around the world! (besides the obvious) (all players listed have played in the NHL) Belgium - Jan Benda Brazil - Robyn Regehr (did not know he was from Brazil!) Brunei Darussalam (where?) - Craig Adams Denmark - Poul Popiel (the pocket fisherman?) East Germany - Mikhail Gabovski (I'm not making these up, I swear!) France - Paul MacLean (he was actually born in France) Germany - Dany Heatly (again, he was born there, so he has citizenship) Haiti - Claude Vilgrain (former Red Wings draft pick) Indonesia - Richie Regehr ( any relation to Robyn? If so their parents were frisky world travelers! ) Ireland - Jim McFadden Italy - Nelson Debenedet Jamaica - Graham Townshend Japan - Yutaka Fukufuji Lebanon - Ed Hatoum Netherlands - Ed Kea Nigeria - Rumun Ndur Norway - Espen Knutsen (obvious) Paraguay - Willi Plett Poland - Mariusz Czerkawski Korea - Richard Park Russian Federation (where?) - Sweeny Schriner South Africa - Olaf Kolzig (and you though he was german! ) Switzerland - Mark Hardy Taiwan - Rod Langway (yep, born in Maag, Taiwan) United Kingdom - Steve Thomas (honorable mention to Owen Nolan, Ken Hodge and Steve Smith was born there too!) Republic of Tanzania - Chris Nielsen Venezuela - Rick Chartraw Yugoslavia - Ivan Boldirev ...did you know Peter Bondra was actually born in the USSR? Yep, in a town called Luck...

...if Mario would've stayed healthy and not turned into a crybaby (like Wayne) he was have blew Wayne's stats out of the water!

...now since you put it that way, SKILLWISE Nick Lidstrom is NOT the best Swede in the NHL. Zetterberg has more SKILLS than Lidstrom, so there you have that... ...career accolades and downright hockey smarts and greatness Lidstrom tips his hat to NOONE... (but is not quite as Skillful as Zetts, sorry!)

...if ANY of these guys get in, then Osgood is a shoe-in!

...LOL! That would be great, but the routing on the tag was from Winnipeg to Minneapolis then stopping here in Detroit. So he is definately here for a reason, but I have yet to hear anything about it. If I had more time I would've gone in to meet him. Going back to the class thing, I know someone out there who would have dumped his bag empty all over the belt system and then went inside to meet him and watch as his jaw dropped when each piece of equipment came down the carousel indvidiually. That is like something you would see in a movie, but this guy would've have done it for sure, and not even lost a beat as Tootoo picked his crap up off the belt in front of him...

... ... ...Chill out dude! This was a jab at all the things we've read over the years like St. Louis fans wanting a bounty out on Yzerman or Pit fans wanting someone to break Ozzies legs for diving... ...the point was, all fans have players they "hate" a lot of fans say if they ever met that said player they would beat them sensless or even kill them. ie. Chris Pronger... ...I too do not like Jordin Tootoo (too ) and for a small window of opportunity the chance was there to do something 'classless' to his equipment, like throw it on another plane to ANC or LAS or NRT, or just simply put it on a different claim belt to cause him some inconveniece to his day in Detroit. BUT, I did do my job, as a matter of fact I made sure his equipment was the first bag to the claim area, why? Becasue I respect hockey players and instead of ACTING like a lot of our opposing fans and being an *******, I actually made his day because his bags were the first to come to the claim area, and we all hate waiting for our luggage to arrive, so he was probably a little relieved it got there first! Am I a hero for doing my job? That's an idiotic assumption from an obvious idiot. Was I excited to "RUN" back here and tell everyone that I soiled my undies cause I saw a hockey players bag? Another idiotic assumption. I've worked at this place since 1991 and have helped, talked to, met, befriended and carried the luggage of more Hockey players then you can ever think of, so, no, I was not in GAA GAA-Ville because I seen a hockey players bag. So you can put that idiotic assumption to bed. My point was, unlike a lot of things said here and other forums about what we (as fans) may do to an opposing player if we had an opportunity, in which I did, I simply did nothing, becuase I, like 99% of the hockey nation have more class and respect than that. Yeah, we "hate" you, but when your not on the ice, you are a human being... ...Let me ask you something? Ever lost your luggage? Did you tip your skycap? Ever had a feeling that something wasn't right with your pizza or carryout order? Ok, maybe you personally haven't, but I can guarantee and have witnessed when your don't tip your skycap when checking your luggage, I have seen that luggage get put on wrong planes (on purpose.) I know someone who was a pizza delivery guy and if you didn't tip him, the next pizza had a special ingrediant added, a nice big hocker in the center of your pie! And if you don't believe that kind of crap goes on, then you walk down a very narrow hallway. This year alone we fired two employees for rummaging through peoples luggage. Dude it happens, only a few people are classless enough to stoop to that level, but they do. I know a guy out there that used to open up luggage looking for womens panties and once he found them he would sniff them and have his way with himself on those panties. He also used to dry hump suitcases for no apparent reason. Of course after about 25 years of doing this, he eventually got caught a was fired... ...the reason I posted this is I tought it strange that he was traveling to Detroit (not laying over or transferring) with his equipment, and I was wondering why? I added the classy fans thing as a little anictdote and poke at everyone who says they would get "REVENGE" on a player if they ever had a chance... ...here's some advice, chill out, get a grip, come out of that narrow hallway and open your eyes. Oh yeah, relax and enjoy life a little. Always tip someone who provides you a service (even though it's their job) and you'll never have to worry about lost luggage or tainted food again...

...OH, sorta lke when during the finals he said he was playing like crap so he didn't expect, nor was he upset that he wasn't playing... ...Chelios's bench presence and lockeroom presence are irreplaceable. Plus, he has given so much to this team and to this town, and Holland knows that, so he is not just gonna be thrown aside like an old tire... ...Chelios knows his role, he knows what he will be expected to do and he'll gladly do it, especially if it means winning another Cup...

...Bowman, OUT! Take McCarty with you! Good for nothing, how could you turn your back on the WINGS! (trumpets blare) and how could you go to the Hawks, thine enemy of the WINGS (trumpets blare) .... Good luck Scotty, thanks for the 4 Cups! I know I know he only coached 3, but he was still very influential on last years team, so heck lets give him a little credit! ...BTW, since it is traditon in Detroit, when you leave the WINGS (trumpets blare) you will now have to get booed everytime you touch the puck. Uh, whatever it is you'll be touching, expect to get booed, because nobody shoudl ever leave... you guessed it, THE WINGS (trumpets blare!)

... Uh, reality, 2008, ALL GAMES PLAYED, ALL PERIODS, Give away, icing, too slow, can't fight, give away, icing. McCarty Out! ...sign Downey (he earned the spot) Tselios and Quincey, once training camp starts ONE of the defensemen will have to be traded. Either Lilja or Ledba, not unless Quincey brings us a higher draft pick (or more of them.) The can and will go into the pre-season OVER the cap limit and as long as they get under before the season starts, they'll be fine...

...Cool! Chelios WILL re-sign, Downey WILL re-sign, and BYE BYE McCarty! YEEEEEEHAAAW!

Jesus Christ! WTF does this guy have to do to get respect? He only WON you 2 Cups, he backed-up and was a huge part of the regular season in 1996-97 for the 1st Cup. He is ONLY the 15th WINNINGEST goalie of ALL TIME! He is #2 in Red Wings wins, he #1 in Red Wings playoff wins! What else does he have to do? Pull a Ned Braden and skate around the rink naked? Enough already! Osgood is an Elite goalie and he deserves everyting he has EARNED! And yes, Ozzie would've won that Cup in 2002! ...in another NON-deadline trade, in June of 1988 the Wings traded Darren Veitch to the Leafs for Miroslav Frycer. Who you say? Well the seasons prior to the trade, Veitch had 40 and 58 points respectively and when Frycer came here, he lasted 23 games and 15 points before he was traded off to Edmonton for their 10th round choice in 1989 (Rick Judson) who? Exactly! Iwould have rather had Veitch around for a few more 40-50 point seasons!

...no way, never. He would rather play 4th line minutes here than go elsewhere. He's already made that decision before when he was a UFA. He could easily go to a lesser team and get 2nd line minutes. He won't go anywhere else than here. He will retire a Wing. As will all the other mentioned core players...

...thing is, Holland will give these guys a contract for as long as they want to play, so they may hang around well into 40 plus years... ...I can see Lidstrom playing beyond Chelios' years, he'll re-sign unless he just loses the passion (yeah right.) Homer will definately re-sign, he's only getting better the older he gets. I could see Draper and Maltby signing 1 year at a time contracts and Holland allowing them to take their time each summer to make a decision, their next contracts will be under a million anyhow, so they won't hit the cap too hard. Ozzie is the big question, if he has another stellar year where he remains injury free, and a solid next year, he may sign on for 1 more, all depends on the development of Howard. If Howard turns out to be the next starter and plays great, I could see Ozzie playing as a back-up at least as long as Hasek... ...basically this organization is so dedicated to their players, they will have their choice if they want to play, at no point do I see Hollland telling any of the listed players that they are not wanted anymore. Of course for very minimum contracts (with the exception of Lidstrom, he'll still get paid the big bucks)

...I'm gonna start calling you Quigley! Nice one though!

...well, sure they had a winning record against us last year, but look at who was most responsible for that, Khabibulan and he won't be the starter next season, Huet will... ...I predict the Wings handle the Hawks better this year and end up with a winning record against them (as they will with all other teams.) I don't even caret about the classic either, you know that (like the last one) will be fixed to showcase the two youngsters on Chicago, even though Hank and Dats are you two stars of the game right now...

...I just hope he takes less to stay here. We NEED Franzen, and of course Zetterberg! Not sure whether we can pay out another 12-14 million to 2 players, plus 4-5 for Franzen (unless he drops off his pace and only gets about 3 mill.) ...cross my fingers, but if Hossa signs on long term and we can still fit him/Zata/Franz under the cap! WOW!

...yep, just read the sig! Tony is already great friends with Kid Rock (Detroit) and Kid Rock is a HUGE Red Wings fan maybe there can be a little co-sponsership with Illitch, Kid Rock & Tony, so how about a Winged Wheel on one of Tony's cars next year? Maybe at one of the Michigan races... ...that would be COOL, even though it probably won't happen!