norrisnick

I'm praying for a NMC and I'm not even a believer!

Babcock in Anaheim was even more restrictive. Most of his Columbus tenure he was battling wrist and abdominal issues and then came Hitchcock who chokes the life out of his team as well. Boudreau is the reason he re-signed in Washington. Fedorov craved pressure/big game situations. Those don't exist during the regular season in Detroit or in Anaheim or Columbus. You can call it laziness, but he was always there when a game mattered.

No. And Bowman is probably the biggest reason Fedorov's offensive numbers aren't bigger than they were. His coaching style didn't allow it.

Believe me. You're FAR from the only one that suggested that. Just mind-boggling that there were that many of you.

Considering Sergei gets booed every shift it won't be hard. Not that it means anything.

There are more Euros on the Wings than most Euro league teams so I may as well stick with the best team.

For the record I would like it to be known that I'm not anti-enforcer. I'm pro-hockey player.

Yup, Marian referenced talking to his friend Kopecky throughout the year as a big part of wanting to come here.

Z has more raw talent than Datsyuk? No.

Unless you want no part of Marian after this season you don't move Kopecky. And as a heads up, he blew out his knee in the final game last year. He's gonna look like s*** this year. The year after he should be fine though.

f*** the Patriots. I want the '77 Habs!@!

It doesn't make sense because you double up your top-end centers leaving Hossa and a Franzen that is itching to blow by 30 goals with a center that set a career high with 17 assists. Kenny may as well have signed Brian Campbell for our 3rd pairing. Makes just as much sense. Fil is a hell of a question. And is everyone forgetting that Babcock has done pretty much everything in his power to split up Datsyuk and Zetterberg? At the start of every season he's been here they've been split up. We finally have what seems like goal-scoring wingers and you think Babs will keep them together? No chance. Let Fil center the 3rd and bump one of Hudler/Cleary/Sammy up to the 2nd line. As for Helm I want him on that 4th line.

Sammy had more assists last season than Fil and Franzen COMBINED. Sticking Hossa with them would be a complete waste. Z and Pavel will split with one playing next to Hossa and Holmstrom and the other next to Franzen and one of Samuelsson, Cleary, Hudler, and Filppula. Anything else just doesn't make any sense. The only reason Z and Pavel have played together all this time is because we haven't had the wingers to be able to effectively split them up. We do now.

Calmer than you are. Where did I say you had Stevie at #1? It's an online hockey forum. It's all pointless. And I sit by what I said.

Stevie is more beloved and rightfully so. But if you think from the mid 90s and beyond that Yzerman was better or more important than Lidstrom you're out of mind.

Did you miss the 1st round that year? Losing the first two games at home? Needing a fluke goal in game 3? Gave a big speech before game 3? Stevie had 3 goals and 6 assists against Vancouver. We don't make it out of the 1st round without him.

This thread is unbelievable. Half of you can't even spell is ******* name. Guess it's too much to ask that you'd be aware of his importance.

Fedorov and Lidstrom didn't have to change a thing. Sergei was drafted as a defensive center. That he had offensive ability was a very welcome bonus. Over in Russia and the WJC Sergei was the defensive conscience for Pavel Bure and Alexander Mogilny. His responsible play let those two roam free. Sergei was the Selke runner-up before Bowman came to Detroit. And his Hart/Pearson/Selke season in '94 was before the grand shake-up by Bowman as well. Nick was solid from the get go as well. How in the world can you guys be that adamant about Stevie's ranking and then run with the absurdity that we win in '02 without him? Without Stevie we don't get out of the 1st round.

We don't win in '02 without Stevie. My point is that Stevie did not single-handedly bring the Wings from Dead Things to the best team of the current era. We don't win in '97, '98, or '02 if any of Yzerman, Lidstrom, or Fedorov are missing. Sergei should have won the '97 Conn Smythe and that would have made those three Cups perfect as the three critical pillars each would have received that honor.

Stevie made them not suck. Lidstrom and Fedorov made them contenders.

Mr. I doesn't treat the team to ice cream unless it's spooned out of the Cup!

Federov might not be, but Fedorov certainly is. As for the Lidstrom/Yzerman thing, you can't look at Stevie's full body of work. Last 15 years. There is no question that over that span that Lidstrom was more instrumental to our success than Stevie. Stevie was the heart and soul, but Lidstrom was the foundation of everything.

Because Fedorov was better out on the ice. What Stevie did in his first 10 years doesn't matter when ranking the last 15 years. Fedorov at his absolute worst is better than Draper at his best. If anything is blasphemy it's that.

Ideally? Pro. I'd love it if Helm, Kopecky, and Maltby rotated in and out of the 4th line with Draper in the middle, but with Kop and Helm taking turns now and then at center.

We completely obliterated Calgary in '07 without an enforcer. We went toe to toe with Anaheim as well. No way in hell dressing Downey or McCarty would have changed a damn thing. It's not just Holland's pill. I know it's real easy to blast him, but it didn't start with him. It started with Bowman yet you all are very hesitant to tear Scotty apart. His teams have always been some of the least penalized fewest fight teams in the league. Even back in Montreal. Scotty knows what is important and everything comes before fighting ability. Everything. Come playoff time beard growing ability is just as important as fighting ability.