Barrie

Last time I checked.. Draper's helped us win 3 Stanley Cups.

It would be great to see Draper retire a Red Wing . I hope Drapes and Holland get something done.

Me too!

I can't say I blame Black Hawks fans.

I wonder what Pistons attendance will be like this year. I'm sure Wings attendance will pick up once the weather gets colder and some of these issues with the Michigan Economy are settled. We're playing to good to have 3,000+ empty seats everynight. I feel the same way. Looking at the roster, we're not as good on paper as in the past, but when comparing us to the rest of the League, this could be a special year. I enjoy seeing us beat NW division teams as well. Man, rough start for Calgary.

Decent idea, but if the League switches to North and South Conferences, the South would go bankrupt. Seriously attendance would be horrible when the Southern teams play each other.

When the Yankees and Canadiens lose attendance suffers, and the ownerships know that. I think when you mentioned in another post that the fans and the media care more about the Leafs than the ownership, does answer my statement. It's similar to the Cubs and Lions. You never want to put ownership in a position where they feel they really don't have to improve the team inorder to sell tickets and make a profit. I don't see any point in packing the joint, when a team is losing, or if like in the current Wings case, you have some issues with the players. Hockeytown USA was a marketing campaign before the 1996 season when Hockey was the #1 sport in the city. Since the early 90's, Detroit clearly was the best Hockey market in the USA, so the campaign fit. It's only been since last year's playoffs where the Tigers, Pistons, and Lions have passed the Wings in popularity, due to Yzerman retiring, the lack of North American talent, the lock out, the high price in tickets, and the salary cap. The marketing campaign has been very successful for the team, and due to the fact that it's been just recently the ticket sales have dropped, I don't see the need to pull the plug on the title of Hockeytown USA when we're 3 games into the season. I'm sure the team will use it the rest of the year, and see if they want to continue with it or not in 2008-09. Right. This town is filled with fans similar to your's truly. I appreciate and enjoy all of the major North American Sports. I don't have the time and money to support all the teams, so naturally I'll follow the winner. However I see nothing wrong with that. The Tigers, Pistons, Wings all know they need to win to get fan support. Not only do they compete against teams in their own Leagues, but also with the teams in their own city. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Tigers, Pistons, and Wings are all among the best teams in their Sport. Since 2002 all have either won their Sports Championship or made it to the Championship. I think the Detroit Sports fan make their teams better.

The price of Pistons tickets are more affordable the Red Wings tickets, plus they have players who the fans can connect to i.e. Billups, Hamilton, Prince, and Wallace. The Tigers are the new thing in town after their surprise appearance in the World Series in 2006 and fans are excited to see a World Series. If you're a guaranteed sell out every game, you'll turn into the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Cubs, or Detroit Lions. I don't think I need to explain myself.....

Right, mostly what it comes down to is marketing. Only a hand full of guys market and sell the team well to the fans. We're still winning which is great, but us fans need some character and entertainment if we're going to spend our hard earned money. Add to that, in my case, I need that character/entertainment not only to buy tickets, but to make the 3+ hour drive to see a game. Edit: I've had a few people already this year ask me if I could take them to a game, but I'm about 50/50 when it comes to going. I do, but I don't. If it was 2-10 years ago, I'd be there no problem. Oh well, as I've mentioned already I think it's healthy for a team to go through this. Ownership is more accountable to the fans if they're not a guaranteed sell out every night. The Organization will be better off for it in the long run.

Oh well, still a decent number if you ask me. You can't sell out all the time.

I guess you can put me in this category of fans. I'm a Wings fan and have all the gear, but without guys I can connect with (Yzerman, Shanahan, McCarty, Lapointe, etc.), I'm not rushing out to buy tickets. I'm fine watching on tv, following along online, checking the highlights/boxscores, and posting on the Forum. I haven't lost interest in the team, but I've lost interest in spending money to go to games. And if I go to a game, I'd wear an Yzerman jersey. Nothing against the Euro's, but I think it's a fair request to want a little more North American talent on this team.

Johnny Bower's Grandson and I went to the same High School. He was two years younger than me, so I really didn't know him. My sister was the same age as he was, and I heard he always thought he was the best hockey player in the school since he was Johnny Bower's Grandson.

Agreed as well. This was one of the many reasons I was against a Salary Cap. Next to the Stanley Cups, the consistancy of the roster between 1995-2004 was the best part of being a Wings fan. Now the roster will change every year and it'll be tough to get that same connection we had with Yzerman, Shanny, Fedorov, McCarty, Lapointe, Holmstrom, Osgood, Brown, Murphy, Lidstrom, Draper, Maltby, etc.. I think Bettman and the Owners assumed even with a Cap that the best markets would still sell out reguardless of the roster and how the team was doing. I'm glad we're not a guaranteed sell out like Toronto, I think we're making a big statement to the League by having about 2,500 unsold seats for playoff games and the Home Opener.

After the Yzerman-Shanahan-McCarty era, not selling out is a good thing. You don't want this Organization to turn into the Toronto Maple Leafs. Leafs ownership doesn't give a damn about their fans, because every game is sold out, and it doesn't matter how bad the team gets. I'm glad it's not a guarantee that the Wings will sell out. It may suck now, but in the long run the Red Wings will be better off for it.

I have no time for Burke. I'm sure he was one of the ring leaders in trying to get a Cap in the NHL, now he's bitching about it. What does he expect?

I've noticed the last few season that Pierre McGuire knows what he's talking about, so it means something to me seeing McGuire pick us to win it all.

The last 10 years he hasn't had to. If tickets still go unsold, I'm sure he'll make changes. Illitch is a very successful business man, so he knows how and when to market his product(s). Give it time.....

Yeah bonuses from last year.

yeah and those drew over 1Million every time. Imagine during 1995-2004 if they had a Red Wings Fest at Cobo before Training Camp? Downtown would have been nuts!! Off ice events are used to promote the team, and the team during those years didn't need any extra promotion.

I think it's healthy for a team like the Wings to go through something like this. It keeps the ownership accountable to the fans. There's one thing I would like to say about the players not being as fan accessable as other teams. There would have been massive crowds if guys like Yzerman, Shanahan, McCarty, Fedorov, Hull, Holmstrom, Lidstrom, Chelios, etc. were ever at an off ice event for the fans. These guys were like rock stars and I'm sure it would have been a nightmare for the City and Police to control the fans. Honestly if there would have been a off ice Red Wings event downtown, it would have drawn over 100,000 people. Look at the crowds they'd get at Training Camp. Our team from 1996-2004 was almost to popular.

How can anyone be a Leafs fan, let alone get into a fight with a Red Wings fan in Detroit? If cheering for the Leafs gets you that frustrated that you get into a fight with a Red Wings fan at the Joe, it's time to switch teams. I don't understand how a fan base can continue to allow themselves to be heartbroken every year. Edit: The Leafs aren't worth getting into a fist fight over.

IF he becomes available, pick him up. I think the fact that he can play forward too is the key.

I pick Holmstrom

I'm expecting Franzen, Filppula, and Hudler, with increased ice time, all to score 20-25 goals this year. I agree with SweWings, despite losing Schneider, Calder, Bertuzzi, and Lang, I think our offence is fine.

I call myself a sports fan. The NFL and MLB are going on at the same time, so preseason hockey takes a back seat for me. Once the season starts, I'm in. It's similar with MLB's Spring Training. The NHL's playoff picture is being settled in March, so MLB is on the back burner until April.