Nightfall

If the Wings make it the 3rd round, I will consider that a good benchmark for a "deep run". Anything less is an early exit.

Holmstrom won't be resigned. Lids will be retained. Cleary and Hudler will be gone. Holland may be relieved, but I doubt it. I could go on and on....but I am just predicting a big change..... I am just saying changes will be coming. Yea, when you posted how good of a signing that was, and I was agreeing....we took a lot of flak. After the Wings won the cup in 2008, everyone was commenting how good of a signing it was, and I just envisioned you and I laughing at everyone who torched us about it at the beginning of the season.

That happened way back in 2007. You commented on Dallas Drake being a good signing when it happened. I was one of the small minority who agreed at the time.

Be careful, if you say his name 3 times, he will appear.

For the third time in forum history, we are in complete agreement. This team does need a shakeup, because when the chips are down so far, they haven't responded. I am going to be eager to see them in the playoffs, because if there is no spark, I have a feeling that heads will roll.

I think we are all sick of some of these types of fans: bandwagon fans, fans with blinders on, fans of the opposite team, critical fans, etc. Most of all, I think we are all sick of losing.

"Fans" like this are who I am addressing. I suppose you could always go root for the Canucks. They need a fan like you.

That about summed it up. What this forum needs is an enema. A couple losing seasons will do that to the bandwagoners who have been hanging around for the last 21 years. Don't like the team? GTFO. Please note, "like" does not mean you can't be critical. Everyone deserves to shoulder some of the blame on this loss. That and Nashville deserves a lot of credit for being ready to take it to the Wings tonight.

I thought the Wings sucked tonight. No, I can't say they are playing well. Nope, I don't see a Cup contender. Your assessment is spot on with what I believe in. Criticize the team because they should be criticized. My comment is to those "fans" who are quitting on the team, and there are a few posts in this thread alone.

Big difference between holding players accountable and saying someone saying they quit on the team entirely. Everyone should be held accountable for this loss. Those that are quitting on the team should just leave IMHO.

The media? Correct. The "fans" here? Not so much.

They are more analytical and accurate than the "fans" on this site.

I agree with you, but many Wings fans have this fear of them after getting knocked out by them in the last two playoffs. Heck Colorado gave us our fits back in 1996 and then again in 1997 in the regular season before the brawl and the playoffs when we beat them 4-2. Seems that these things go in cycles.

There is a big difference between being critical and being a negative Nancy/Debbie downer with nothing positive to ever contribute. We have too many members who belittle everyone on the team, call the coaching staff crap, and really just take a giant dump on the team. These are the same people who, when the team wins the cup, will claim all along they are behind the team all along. Look at the Dallas Drake signing for instance. When he signed with the Wings, a vast majority of people on these forums really took a giant dump on him and Ken Holland. After the Wings won the cup, everyone was all about backing Dallas Drake and the excellent signing by Holland.

I think Wings nation would collectively kill themselves if they had to play the Sharks first round and the Sharks have home ice. Heck, that would be a travel nightmare too. Nashville would mean that at least the travel would be easier.

IMHO, pairing Smith up with a veteran is really the best option. He needs to get into the NHL game and learn. What he doesn't need are 3rd line minutes. He should be getting 2nd line minutes.

First off, I would like to serve a little crow to those who opted to give up the game or give up on the team. Secondly, the Wings did not play well the first half of the game. When they turned it around, you could tell. They really pushed the envelope in the 3rd period. Maybe the Wings got their confidence back, or their heart showed through in the end. Either way, I liked what I saw in the 2nd half of the game. Lets hope that continues on Monday. I have to agree. I think the difference between those who have passion and desire to see the team do well, and the bandwagoners, are the comments that the team is pathetic and they bail on the team. A passionate fan would say, "The Wings are playing pathetic tonight." A bandwagoner would say, "The Wings are pathetic. I am through with this crap team." Easy distinction.

http://www.xmhomeice.com/onair_audio/12-03-23%20Ken%20Holland.mp3 Very good interview done today on 3/23.

I agree. One has to be coming...the big question is when.

I always root for the Wings, but if they get knocked out, I root for someone who hasn't won the cup in a while. I was ok with Chicago and Boston winning the cup the last couple seasons because they endured many drought years before they won it. This year, I would be upset if Boston, Chicago, or the Pens won it since they have won it recently. New Jersey and Dallas wouldn't be horrible, but I wouldn't root for them much. I am ok with Vancouver, Los Angeles, Nashville, Phoenix, Dallas, Blues, Florida, Phily, Ottawa, Rangers, or Washington.

This is an excellent post. With your method of thinking, I think we could get rid of the "bandwagon fan" title for good. I mean, why put up with the Wings in the 80s when they sucked horrible. I know I certainly wouldn't have bought tickets, but I would have watched them on TV from time to time.

You bring up a good argument. After being a Lions fan for so long, I understand your pain. I still watched them for years through thick and thin. Waste of time? Maybe. If thats the case, then being a bandwagon fan is moot in your opinion. I am ok with that opinion. That would also explain the fickle attitudes of people who are just cheering for a winner and haven't been following the Wings for years. My point is simply this.... If a fan should to root for a team, then root for the fricking team. Stick with them when the chips are down and they are slumping. Through thick and thin, root them on. Otherwise, what kind of fan are you?

I will agree 100% with this post. The simple fact of the matter is that the rare true bleed hockey type fans only come out when their team is in the crapper. I know I have told this story before, but its worth retelling again. I have a couple friends who are Tampa Bay Lightning fans. When the team was founded and horrible, he bought partial season tickets. Then, you could tell who the true hockey fans were. They were the people who showed up to games when no one else wanted to see the team. For years this was the case. Then, they started getting good, and the bandwagoners jumped on. The team won the cup and that was the height of their attendance. Shortly after they won the cup and started to decline, the bandwagoners left, and the true hockey fans were left again. Last year, the bandwagoners started jumping back on. During the time when the team sucked was the best time to go to a game and mingle with the true fans. If you tried to mingle with fans in the cup year or last year, it was a disaster. People were morons, saying certain teams sucked and they were critical of the team and players on it. I am a firm believer that the bandwagon fans are easy to spot. The Red Wings have been so good for so long that many bandwagon fans have been on the wagon for 20+ years. Yet, you can easily see the fans on the Detroit bandwagon, even on this very forum. They don't have positive things to say about the team. They take winning for granted. They are critical of everyone on the team, and yet have nothing positive to say about anyone at the same time. The person who wrote the paragraph the OP quoted is a true hockey fan and a Hawks fan. The Hawks fans, as a whole, are morons. The true Hawks fans that aren't riding the bandwagon, are classy. Same goes for Wings fans.

I agree with your assessment. I really think it will take some of these players that are coming back from injury a little time to get their groove back. At the same time, that won't stop their detractors from crapping on them while they aren't producing. Some of the members of this forum really make me sick sometimes. The negative nancys, the bandwagon fans that say they love the team in one breath and that they are sick of watching the team the next, and so on. These are not fans, and this forum is no longer populated by true fans of this team. There are too many whining entitled dorks that I am, quite frankly, sick of. The only thing that keeps me around these forums are the members who do have that passion left to root for their team through thick and thin. Those members are hard to come by though. Which is why, when the Wings fall on hard times, the bandwagon fans will hopefully jump off and run to another team and ***** on their forums.

I thought the Wings played well considering what they had. Conklin played very well.