therock48880

The thing that impressed me the most with Downey was that he didn't take many stupid penalties. Most enforcers get mad and commit ignorant penalties at bad times. Downey played smart. He also wouldn't fight just to fight. There had to be a reason for it, sticking up for teammates (Boll, Lappy, etc) or trying to fire up the team and the crowd at a critical point in the game (Parros). Having said that: Laraque>Downey>McCarty Laraque is a bit of a "hugger" but a lot of that comes from the fact that his opponents don't want to engage in trading punches with the beast.

I've quietly read the banter in this thread and finally decided to weigh in. How on earth can anyone in the world possibly think that a team doesn't "need" a player of Hossa's skill? I've literally laughed out loud at people who typed that. He's a great scorer, that's a given, but he's also a great defensive forward. No, the Wings don't need a player like that. (sarcasm). I guess if there is no one on the wings roster that is worse than Hossa, you could say he isn't needed. Otherwise, the comment makes no sense at all. So, if Crosby were available, would the wings not "need" him either because they already have a lot of centers? Complacency is the worst thing for a championship team. Having said that, I don't think there's any way the Wings get him, but I'd certainly love it if they did.

I think when you see players publicly come out and say how valuable a guy is to a team, their value is beyond the number of points they score. Z, Lids, Chelios, Datyuk, etc... have all publicly stated Downey's importance this season, not to mention the love affair that the Stars still seem to have for the guy. And, I'm just not convinced McCarty will be able to provide much of anything. Maybe if Drake retires, Downey will be able to come back too. However, the depth of the organization makes that seem unlikely to me.

It's no secret that fighting VERY rarely happens in the playoffs. Downey's best asset is his willingness to stick up for teammates. If fights were prevalent in the playoffs, Downey would have played over Mac. In terms of next year, I'd take the locker room presence, energy, willingness to stick up for teammates, and his ability to not take stupid penalties over whatever D-Mac can provide. McCarty may end up with 10-15 points next year, but how many will the opponents score because he's sitting in the box for taking a stupid hooking penalty? One thing that gets overlooked with McCarty is that he is very injury prone. Even this year, he missed a couple weeks with a rib injury. Granted, he won't be playing every night, but at 36-37 years old, it appears that his body is breaking down and I don't think he'll provide much for the team. Hopefully, I'm wrong about that.

Downey is very well noted for his positive locker room contributions. I thought that was common knowledge. Here's a couple quotes about him: "the Detroit Free-Press tells us that tough guy Aaron Downey, 33, has added plenty to the team chemistry too. His personality has meant as much to the Winged Wheel as his willingness to fight for his teammates." "“He’s a positive maintenance person,” coach Mike Babcock said. “He makes the people around him better because he works hard. He’s professional. He’s an upbeat guy. He’s great on the bench. He’s great in the locker room." http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/tipsheet/...iner-motivator/

Did you watch him play much this year? Rarely did he take silly penalties and would only fight if the game conditions were perfect. He rarely went to the penalty box alone, unlike McCarty. I don't know if I've ever seen such restraint by an "enforcer" before. The energy he brought to the ice was noticed by fans and teammates alike. McCarty brought nothing to the ice. I'd take that over the three or four goals that McCarty will score next year anyday.

If Kopecky's healthy, he won't be a scratch. Babcock loves his size and he was playing extremely well when he got hurt.

I had forgotten about Kopecky. I was suprised to see him skate with the cup. I assume his rehab must be going well. I have high hopes for him if he can come back mentally from that injury. He was becoming quite a force on the ice in the weeks leading up to his injury.

Here's how I'd list the priorities: 1. Babcock 2. Z 3. Franzen (last year of his contract for 1.15 million) 4. Stewart 5. I guess this one depends on how much money is left. I disagree with saving a lot of money until the trade deadline. Spend the money in the offseason and let the person who is signed become a member of the red wing community for the entire season. Edit: here's an mlive article where Holland talks about his off season priorities. The four things I listed are all mentioned. http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20...etter_next.html

I just realized something in this video. Does someone hand McCarty a beer toward the end of the interview? If so, I would think that would be a bad sign for a recovering alcoholic. It may have been a red bull or something like that but...........

Just think, they couldn't re-sign Penner due to the contract they gave Bertuzzi. Double ouch.

It's great what a little beer can do to a person. Overall, a pretty good interview by Mac.

Do you rank McCreary the best? He's my number one.

This is EXACTLY how I felt about it. It seemed that calls (or non-calls) at crucial moments of games all favored the Pens. I keep going back to the Philly series because I can't stand the Flyers and I felt they got ROYALLY screwed by the refs. I was getting mad because a team I despise was getting screwed by the refs. It's gotta be bad for a hockey fan to feel bad for a team you don't like. Over the years I've defended refs over and over again, but after this year's playoffs, I can't do it anymore. BTW, what did Osgood say about the refs? I haven't heard or read anything about it.

I've been a member of LGW for a number of years and have read thousands upon thousands of posts and this is easily the best post I've ever seen!

97- Especially after beating the Avs 08- I wanted this Cup win SOOO badly 02- After the playoff failures the previous years, I was wondering if I'd ever see another Cup. 98- Great, but it just didn't stack up with the other 3, imo.

I do think it was a conspiracy and I will base my thoughts on the Philly/Pitt series more than the Detroit series because I'm an obvious homer. It certainly seemed that most of calls or no-calls came at crucial moments against Detroit. I realize that Detroit had more power plays than Pitt in this series. But the ones at crucial parts of the game seemed to go in Pitts favor. (Hudler hooking call, no interference on Malone for ripping Lilja's stick out of his hand, Datsyuk trip, etc...) Now, back to the conspiracy theory. I watched all but a few minutes of the Pitts/Philly series and I thought there was a definite conspiracy against the Flyers. Every questionable call (with the exception of the one no-goal call) went in Pittsburg's favor (notice a trend here?). I had absolutely no rooting interest in either of those two teams, as a matter of fact, I can't stand the Flyers and wanted Pittsburg to sweep them. Therefore, I'm sure I'm not being a "homer" when I say that Philly got royally screwed by the refs. I don't know what the solution is, but I think something HAS to be done in the offseason about a few rules: 1. goalie interference (which will soon be called the Holmstrom rules) 2. cross-checking in front of the net 3. refs swallowing their whistles at the end of the game (Datsyuk trip) Do you guys think any type of a challenge system, ala the NFL, will ever be considered to look at the obvious mistakes that refs make?

That's a great observation. Too bad it's wrong. Detroit has more power plays in this series than the Pens. Simple fact is, if they weren't so ineffective on the power play, we'd be sitting here discussing next year's roster and defending the Stanley Cup.

Good points. Teams often mirror their coaches. A perfect example is Marc Crawford. Look at his teams, the Avs with Lemiux and the Canucks with the whole Bertuzzi incident. Ironically, I said in another thread that Therrien reminds me of Crawford.

Yzerman whined? He talked to the refs quite often, which is the captain's job. I don't blame Crosby for that either. However, when you look like you may break down and cry, that's called whining. I also don't recall Yzerman complaining to the press. Yzerman, always gave credit to other players, teams, etc.. even at the age of 20. I don't know, I guess I'm just tired of hearing "Crosby this, Crosby that". Right on cue, Melrose was just on ESPN talking about Crosby. Sigh....

I haven't heard his comments and it's hard to judge someone's intent by reading comments online. However, I've lost respect because he is constantly whining on the ice. I understand that once in a while a complaint should be made. But it seems like every single time they show a close up of him (which is about every 30 seconds) he has a whiny look on his face or he is complaining to the refs, etc... That's the face of the nhl? He needs to grow up a little, imo.

1. Hossa. He's been the most impressive Pen so far. Before the trade deadline, someone did the math and figured that the Wings CAN afford him and still be able to sign Z long term. 2. Downey

Great Balls of Fire pointed out that Z only has two points in this series. True, and yet he is still the favorite to win the Conn Smythe. Hmmm, must be more to his game than just scoring. That's something that can't be said about the wonderkid. Secondly, I've lost a ton of respect for Crosby in this series. If this is the face of the NHL, the league has problems. Maybe they ought to try to market some true professionals.

With all due respect, I think you are underestimating the Pens. They ARE still bitching, even after winning a game. At least they're consistent.

That's where you are completely wrong. The Wings have been victim of the three worst calls I may have ever seen this year, and all three led to them losing the game. The first was another phantom goalie interference call on Holmstrom against the Ducks on national TV. The second happened when an opponent shot the puck from the red line and it hit about 10-20 feet up in the net. It bounced back down and landed by Hasek, who had stopped playing. The other team (Columbus I think, but could be wrong) tapped the puck in the net and it counted as a goal. The third call was the goalie interference call on Holmstrom against the Stars when they ruled his butt was in the crease. Despite losing all three games, and one could argue they lost because of those calls, Babcock did not whine. In fact, he said on all three occasions that the refs do a great job night in and night out. So, your theory is completely off base. Babcock acts the exact same way, win or lose. Come to think of it, Therrien does too since I see he is still whining even after winning the game. I've lost a lot of respect for him. You know who he kind of reminds me? Marc Crawford. Whine, whine, whine.