akustyk

I like this idea but this would mean much less playoff games in TV and what's more important - this would be those games ppl would be often most interested to watch. won't happen

elemental laws of logic say it suffices to give a single counterexample to contradict such general claim. so this is it: I personally never liked Avery and would sure as hell not want Tootoo who doesn't even have skills Avery does and is nothing more than just a little punk who looks to piss-poor and/or injurer other teams' players now translation into English: no, I'd not like Tootoo in Winged Wheel at all. I'd be ashamed of it. I've been through this when this team got Hatcher and Bertuzzi and their arrival to Detroit didn't change the fact that I despised both of them

yeah... he's all saint and everything he does is soooo clean... man's way to do this... like 10 strides and visible lifting at the very end... yeah... huge check... jumping 2ft above the ground and with knees going to other guys butt... another "clean" check... with his butt going forward and the whiner falling to the ice instantly to escape hit back... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ5l40daTdM yep, I know. he defended himself... yeah... really... just as the warrior code says - get ahead of the guy and make it clear you want him to drop the gloves. well... no, it's not. I especially like those moments when Predators fans suddenly find back some interest in the game once Tootoo starts some crap. classy ice hockey fans, I tell ya!

are you asking if my feeling towards Tootoo are similar to those towards Turtle. yes. I hate them both passionately as the prime example of whiny cowards who try to injure other players and turtle when someone wants to take them accountable. truth being said, Lemieux had some offensive skills and was a contributor. and he was a strong player in playoffs. I hate him but I don't fail to give him what is due. he was a significant part of those teams he played for. Tootoo... is just a dumb ass

actually, he has. a World Champion title with Slovakian team which is by far not the most powerful national team in the world. which would be my case for him - a role he played for Slovakian hockey in general. but I agree he's a very long shot and doesn't go along other names. I mean.... him and Yzerman or Andreychuk... not the same league

gotta disagree with that. we're not a tough team by any means but when it comes to real hockey Wings are able to stick to their game and not let the other team do their goonery. it's just not working against the Wings who, when needed, stick for themselves and keep on playing their offensive game. yes, we'd need some toughness but theres no place for a player that only contributes with toughness. and Tootoo isn't even close to being tough player. he's just a cheapshot douchebag who does nothing but piss the other team off. we had a guy with such attitude in our roster not so long ago. and unlike Tootoo he also had some decent offensive skills. his name is Sean Avery and he hasn't played a single 2002 playoffs game. go figure! again - this is not the case. yes, we'd use some frame and some physical play but there's no room for a player with just this "skills". if anything, Holland will be looking for a player who provides size AND offense not just one of these. Wings don't have a spot for player like Tootoo. truth being said - do not judge this team after regular season. Wings have pretty much shown it last year that they may look soft in regular season but get to play very hard and bring muscle in playoffs. they're not going to compete with Ducks or Sharks in this area but will still be able to force their game. and that can be enough for them to win it.

Yzerman Leech Andreychuk Larionov (I don't see him on the website but he deserves to be in HHOF right after Yzerman, if not before) then: Hull, Robitaille. I don't see the rest of the pack making it soon, though. maybe Bondra but I'm not so sold on him being the same class as above four

Tootoo impersonates the kind of player whom I'd hate in Wings. whiny brat who puts a lot of effort to injure other teams players and has pretty few other skills. definitely no. BIG F* NO. yes, I know Wings had dirty player before. but I don't recall single one whose main and by far most important concern was doing dirty shots with very little thinking about how dangerous some things are. Tootoo is the epithome of what I hate in hockey. I don't want to see him anywhere closer to Wings team than South Africa. hope this bastard gets his medicine some day and will get the * out of NHL. thanks god, it's our division so there's no danger of Holland going for such crap

dito. I'm hating this whiner Burke even more. hope his bunch of goons will be out of the playoffs as quick as possible. f* untouchable whiner kissed in the ass by TSN

nice one!

or 3rd if by 4th we understand Maltby, Drapes and whomever they're paired with. I'd rather give Brunnstrom a chance to play some offence and show his case

I wonder why didn't CBS (yet) come with the idea of showing Sid Crosby watching the game. that would be an outstanding opportunity to repeat his name some 100 times which is the best (of few, though) way those clowns know to advertise the game

his confidence is most likely thinking of BBQ and a couple of beers right now. rather than ponder 2 seconds about meaningless crappy game for US media

yeah... here we go with Sidney Crosby. against all logic, but perfectly fulfilling the expectations.... :puke:

jeez... it's so lame... and the West doesn't even look like an NHL calibre players... they look more like some LA Kings or Maple Leafs...

ummm.... what about Hatcher then?

the video is nice and the guy looks good there. but it is beyond me how a god-fearing Swede could use such miserable techno crap. it should be usual scandinavian tough metal reminding of hordes of Vikings spilling blood and singing their drunk songs for Odin while hanging on cute (though big) behinds of their blonde-haired >6ft valkyrias I mean... come on, it's just pain to hear techno there!

at times I get the impression that some people play too much Xbox and use too little brains. in real life players don't come for free. nor does "Lilja and bag of pucks for Sundin" work. if Canucks were to sport Floppa and Sundin on their roster they'd have to sell all their draft picks through 2010 and all the way down to 25th ( ) round and also send the rest of their current lineup packing to some other team. and I'm not sure this'd be enough. not even to mention salary cap limitations which apparently are forgoten by homegrown "player merchants". with inflated rental players' prices and salary cup there's just no way in hell a single team captures two top-of-the-field guys. most teams won't even go that far to bring one pickup because that would milk them off a huge part of their future. Vancouver needs some scoring other than Swedish Twins and Nazzy. but they are rather unlikely to pursue huge names prior to trade deadline. with Luongo in the net they are nevertheless deadly in playoffs and with experience they gained last year they may proove to be the hard nut to break this year.

what NHL coach is going to give an unproven guy 1st line start for free? I don't think it'll be Maurice, Vigneault(sp) or Babcock? I'm not sure if he'd get 2nd line start "for free". most certainly not from Babcock. if he's really expecting to be taken into NHL and go straightforward to play 1st liner... he really has an attitude! whatever he's talentwise, I just don't see guy like this in Winged Wheel. it's a team game in Detroit not skill competition of individual players. you buy it or they sell you.

it just gets to the point when they are losing credibility. the poll on main site: the biggest story of first half. "Sidney Crosby injured"? "Scott All-Star Niederwhiner returns"? jesus, what about: "Wings completely dominate the parity league"? I mean... I don't usually complain about stuff like and don't care about what media says. but it's quite ridiculous to see a good hockey broadcaster being such blatantly ignorant to one of the teams. anyway... f* y* Canadian homers, let you do your Burke's ass-licking, Wings will fetch their cup and I'll gladly see your dumb faces having to acknowledge their success rather than put all effort into finding something to diminish it. for quite some time TSN has been putting good effort to show Wings in worse light. but this time it really got ridiculous and simply tasteless. that's really low for ppl who are actually knowledgeable and passionate about the game

that's right. because last year this team was in different shape and it was not completely ready to go deep in playoffs - with some people (myself included) predicting playoff exit about Round 2. they surprised many with excellent playoff run. this year's team looks to me like a package ready to grab the prize. most of our early draft picks or promising talents are scooped from Griffs and built into the team. should we continue this trend and wait yet another year to develop it further? that's not a bad choice but I'd rather opt for the second option: a run for the cup. this team is ready and its players are hungry to prove they can win it after a good appearance last year. it might be worth to risk and give away some future for this playoffs. and by "some future" I don't obviously mean selling our whole farm I just happen to think we may not get away with a "Thorton for Lilja and bag of pucks" trade but will instead get milked by other GM. looking at last year's trade deadline those ridiculous prices are likely to stay. and we might have to sacrifice quite a lot to get a real deal. truth being said our current roster isn't bad and if there's no decent pickup for Holland's pockets there's absolutely no need to do a trade. but such Sundin deal is at least worth considering IMHO. it sure is rip-off but there's just no other way to get such player for less. period indeed. I'm OK with this being more than little if the game is worth it. those Wings 2008 are worth more risk than last year. this is an excellent core and a team that together can perform up to the task.

I just like our forwards from last season more. Bertuzzi and Lang is lazy and he sucks left some hole which those youngsters fill only partially. Bert and Lang were big bodies and skill packages and for them we have now Flip and Hudler who are both not necessarily big and physical. nor experienced and bringing as much leadership I think this is where Wings need to look for improvement. and since all other teams know this we can not expect to have free lunch here but must expect a rip-off. the only aspect we might have movable here is D-men and a valuable D-man who is not 100% untouchable has Kronwall on his back. as much as we hate to see him go this may be the only way to buy improvement for our 2nd line. that's right but there's the point where you have to consider taking risk. you can go for another 3 Presidents Trophy or try winning the Stanley Cup. for us fans the choice should be obvious. for GM's who count money... tougher call but I believe with JLA undergoing those attendance problems a Stanley Cup is much better choice. we'll see what Holland does. I think he'll do the right thing here as he did the year before. and before trade deadline is sellers market and prices go ridiculously high. you won't get Sundin for 1st rounder (and a low 1st rounder in addition to that) and a guy who is just decent. selling GM know perfectly that there's more guys willing to drop some coins and will milk you all the way down from valuable assets - or another GM who is more willing to pull the trigger. if not Wings then some other team will plunge massive package for rental Sundin. and this might as well be a team from Western Conference. read: someone who Wings may face in playoffs. my point is: this is a valid exchange. it's obviously risky for Wings but may be worth trying. we were milked from draft picks and prospects in 2002 but it worked. it doesn't have to be like that this time but if it works...

lets do this compared to: Cleary, Filipulla(sp) and Homer: still have scoring and size behind. Spezza, Fisher, Vermette, Kelly... tough call. they have some youth which may lack experience but has tools to do the job. Malone, Armstrong, Christensen, Staal... I'd pick Wings trio but those Pens guys are quite decent that leaves Kunitz, Bertuzzi and Pahlsson. surprisingly, they look quite weak here that leaves Pavelski, Marleau, Cheechoo, Carle... very good crop of players. I think you may have the point here. stripped of top 2 players all those teams look significantly worse indeed. which actually proves how important it is to head healthy into the playoffs. because Sundin's return price will not be lower than this and you can't reasonably expect us land Sundin for anything like Lilja or Samuelson. I mean... I do live in a country where joints are entirey legal but I'd still have to take 3 of these to think this way why would Wings consider getting Sundin? because he brings a package that is missing in current Wings roster. and it may be more important for a good playoff run than Kronwall defensive skills. since you can't have it all you have to pick the better option. and Kronwall > Sundin inequality here is not so 100% clear to me. it's definitely worth considering to me. but yes, I'll be perfectly happy if we keep Kronwall too.

apples and oranges we weren't shallow on defense last year. we just happened to lose two top D-men in playoffs and this had to have an influence because that's 1/3 of regular defense crops. but imagine now Wings losing two top forwards, say Datsyuk and Homer. we're basically left with Zetterberg and a couple of decent but not spectacular players. and there's no chance in hell we go anywhere deeper than 2nd round. Wings have a lot of success in this season because they play perfect as a team and are able to force their game. but in playoffs they'll not be able to always play their game and will also need players who can singlehandedly win games. there's a lot of sense in trading one of our D-men for a quality forward.

just as a remainder for all ppl speaking of trade unfairness: now seriously... is renting Sundin not worth a top-tier developed player and a 1st round pick? if anything you might situate him somewhere between Floppa and Weight, and that much closer to Floppa, actually. and Leafs are gonna get this if they decide to shop Sundin. it's not likely they're gonna do this with Wings but some team will swallow the price and fetch Mats. I get your point but I'll still restate mine - there's seasons of development and there's seasons where you just go for the cup. Wings (read: Holland) have been extremely cautious with their trades in salary cap era, trying to get back on track with own prospects. the thing is they're ready to have their ultimate go for the grand prize. and with competition being in similar situation and looking to bolster at trade deadline Holland must face the decision whether to continue building this team or take the risk of flushing assets for quality rental players. and I mean: quality not some safe-solution like Bertuzzi or Calder whose cost was indeed moderate but so was their playoff production (at best). the thing is there are teams outside that are strong (and I don't mean regular season strength because it means s* in the end) and will be sacrificing their future for now. holding line by Holland would make Wings weaker compared to those teams. and this Wings 2007-08 seem to be a capable team that can win the prize. if this is the good moment to have a go - let's do it! simple like that. just for remainder - Holland did shop Slava Kozlov for Dom couple of years ago. those were different conditions but this is only to prove he was able to pull the trigger when necessary. and I firmly believe he'll evaluate this team now and if necessary go for an immediate help.