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Everything posted by gcom007
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Way too many sour grapes to go around these parts lately...
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Good move for Carolina. That team consistently surprises me in that they seem to be pretty good at putting together solid teams without a big hoopla...
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Osgood will be starter until he retires or blatantly signs an extension as a backup. There are no more questions after this season.
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I've said many times before that Hossa was at the very least roughed up pretty bad in the playoffs. He took a few hits in the first couple rounds that clearly left him in a lot of pain as he struggled to skate off the ice. There was one in particular from Pronger I believe where Hossa was held up by another guy behind the net that was particularly brutal not to mention cheap and that came after all the other major hits I remember. I was thinking then that there's no way this guy can be even close to 100% out there after taking that many huge hits. And that was well before the finals and even semi's when everyone was crying about his production. And on top of that, he had a couple rough incidents towards the end of the season. And why is it that he took those hits? He was the target. Why? Because the guy is one of the most potent scorers in the game. And because of that he got ran more times than any Wings player in the first couple rounds. Lots of guys took some hard hits, but Hossa took numerous brutal hits, some cheaper than others. I couldn't believe he even skated off after some of them. I'm not surprised at all to see this and it doesn't color my opinion. I still think Hossa was a great asset to this team and is a great asset to any team, injury or not; he'll heal. In terms of the playoffs this last year, I think along with injuries, pressure and then pressing too much towards the end he just struggled to score like he did in the regular season. But he was still strong for us in our end and 6 goals and 15 points isn't exactly the worst he could've done in terms of output. While Hossa may not have done as much as we would have liked, we probably wouldn't have gotten near as far without him if we had all the same injuries. Even when he was pressing and not scoring, he was creating pressure in their end, wearing guys out and helping on D. We lost as a team because we were just too beat up as a team. It happens. It sucks, but it happens. We probably got farther than we ever should have considering all of the injuries this team had. Continuing to single guys out is silly. The reality is, we came up 2 goals short in Game 7 despite it all. That's still something worth being proud of and worth remembering. And we'll be back...
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Besides "no," didn't Forsberg himself say that he would not play for the Wings? Wasn't Holland in the mix to bring him in a few years back and he said that the rivalry runs too deep. But again, no. Absolutely not.
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Before we built the team we have now, when Bowman was the guy running the show, we shipped out plenty of "loyal" guys in order to put the team together that Bowman wanted. A lot of people hated Bowman. Fans didn't care for him much at all at times. Rumors of an Yzerman trade to Ottowa didn't help that no doubt. Players also didn't care for him because he wasn't a Dave Lewis "2nd Father" type of guy. He's also won a lot of Stanley Cups and he put together the core of the team that won us three Cups.
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I was expecting rumors about this to start popping up at some point. I'm indifferent. I doubt it will happen but I don't know how it would go if it did. It'd be a gamblers move to some extent. If I was Holland, I'd like to know that I've got a healthy Lilja for next year before I sign a forward with all of our remaining cap space.
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Absolutely. Way too many homers posting drivel about Chicago lately. I'm a Wings fan first and foremost and always will be, but I can still recognize and admire when other teams are doing things right. Chicago is a team that has done a lot of right things and while their situation looks rather shady now, I don't doubt that they'll find some reasonable way out of it. They'll make compromises next year just like everyone else who's a contender has been doing lately. It happens when there's a cap. But they'll still be strong after however they look. I said it in the WCF and I'll say it again now: I expect Chicago to win a Cup sometime in the next 5 years.
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Duds, eh? They made it to the final 4 last year. I can think of a lot of other teams that would've liked to be there. Are you really this illogical or do you just post like this for fun?
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I've got to say, I'm more scared of Bowman's than Tallon. Bowman's with even more power now? I don't know what they'll do or if they'll go in different directions or try to remedy things they thought that might've gone wrong, but I have little doubt that what they do will be, at least mostly right. Nobody's perfect, but Bowman's not far removed even if his son is the "official" front man. I figured Tallon would keep making this team stronger, but Bowman will most assuredly make this team stronger by the time the playoffs role around. They will be a great challenger this year. Don't doubt it. Enjoy the ride. Competition is a good thing.
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Definitely makes me think it was the Bowman angle more...
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This is odd. Not sure what to make of this. There's got to be more to it. It can't be as cut and dry as some are likely to make it out to be as so many of the moves that have been made couldn't have been surprises to anyone who matters in the decision making process in the organization. It might be as simple as them just wanting a Bowman to be the man. Some of the jokers crying "meltdown" are digging more than a little too deep into this one.
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Honestly...thinking about this the last couple of days has kinda blown my mind. It's weird thinking about the mid-90's now. I remembered Game 1 against the Av's in '96. The beginning of the end of that era occurred when Coffey put the puck in our net and we lost game 1. It feels like yesterday but we're talking 13 years now since then.
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So making up peoples opinions for them on LGW's isn't enough, now you've decided for Lidstrom that he's retiring as well? I'm sure he'd be flattered...
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Ummm, I did not forget. I said that in the original post. From the original post: Obviously other guys will come in and get points, but if you expect four rookies to put up the kind of numbers that Sammy, Hossa and Hudler put up, I think you're being foolishly optimistic. Ericson's a defenseman for one thing so obviously he won't be netting too many goals. Helm and Abdelkader could surprise people this season with descent production but they're more likely to have typical rookie years with the ups and downs and lessons and all that. Leino is the biggest wild-card. He's got the most potential to score, but it's absolutely not a given that he's going to consistently find that knack in his first full season in the NHL. If he nets 15 goals, I'll be thrilled. He's got the skill for certain to do so, but if he only manages to put up 10, I sure won't hold it against him. All these guys are coming in as rookies and their role is going to be far more defined than it's been for them thus far. They're going to be roster players and are going to be expected to contribute. That brings a kind of pressure they haven't really been exposed to yet coming up for brief stints due to injuries. I'm thinking Helm and Ericson are going to be most ready to contribute to the overall success of the team this year, but they're also guys that aren't as likely to score as much as Abs or Leino likely will in time. Again, I'm not saying that I don't hope all these guys have great years. I'm certainly not saying that we won't make up a single point of the 206 we lost. And I'm absolutely not saying that we're screwed. But this is likely to be the toughest regular season this team has had in a long, long time. P.S. We really, really, really, really need Lilja to be good to go for the start of the season.
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I personally hope he doesn't play for team Sweden. I really don't think his body will be able to handle the regular season, Olympics and a playoff run. And I guess selfishly I'd like to see him finish strong for the Wings.
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I would be very surprised if Lidstrom retired. The guy can still play at an elite level. He may not be as incredibly great as he was 5 years ago, but he's still incredibly great... I could certainly see Homer hanging them up after this year and perhaps Maltby. I would think Draper would go then too if not for his contract still counting against the cap. Unless Holland somehow can conjure up a magic trick to get Draper's contract off the books for '10/'11, I'm thinking Draper finishes out his career with this contract perhaps in a limited role. That said, depending on the cap situation and who all is available, I could see Maltby sticking around for 1 more year to finish with Draper and if Holmstrom has a strong, mostly injury-free year, I could see him doing the same. Maltby is a lot of people's whipping boy, but he's cheap and still can serve a purpose. Age hasn't seemed to have affected his game as much as it has Draper's. Either way though, I think we've got two seasons max left with Homer, Maltby and Drapes. Osgood's contract is up at that point too. He's shown no signs of slowing down considering he's coming off his career-best playoff outing, but if he hits the numbers he's aiming for in the next two years and we've got some kids that are knocking on the door, perhaps Osgood decides to go out with the crew as well. I kinda doubt it though unless his play severely drops off. He's a driven guy and still seems to have what it takes to be a top goalie in the league and his game isn't going to be as affected by age as more acrobatic goalies. I think he'll likely stay on for a couple more years after this contract is up, but time will tell.
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I hate to say "told you so" again, but I recall being ripped on a week or two ago for suggesting that Holmstrom has been on his last legs in a sense for awhile now. There's only so much abuse that the body can take and Holmstrom is really pushing the limit as is obvious based on his frequent injury struggles. I love the guy but I wouldn't be shocked at all if he hangs them up after this coming season. He more than likely will battle the same injuries this year and everyone's going to be tougher to recover from. There's no doubt the guy's got as much heart as anyone just to hang in there as long as he has considering his role, but everyone has their limits. It'd be nice if the Wings could afford to give him some extra rest here and there in the coming regular season in order to save up some steam for the playoffs. With the way he's been starting and finishing the last couple years, it's clear that his body can't handle an entire regular season and long playoff run at this point. He's an incredibly valuable asset to this squad when he's on his game so it just seems like it'd be wise to keep him healthy for the playoffs so he can contribute when it's most important; all the more so if this truly ends up being his last season. I'd hate to see a repeat of this last year. He deserves to finish strong and help his team go the distance.
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I don't think many people think next year is all "doom and gloom" at all. I'm sure some do, but not the majority. But I do believe a lot of people are recognizing that while we're getting weaker, other teams are getting stronger which is going to make for a tougher regular season. Discussing the future with the perspective that it's going to be tougher does not equate to "we're screwed" in any way. That is simply how you're interpreting it and your interpretations tend to be wildly subjective. And who around here isn't excited to for the kids to come up? Most of us have been waiting for these guys for a long time. I am extremely excited personally to see what they can do and I think they're really going to be solid Wings for a long time. But I don't think they're going to necessarily have rookie years that are comparable to guys who have 3-4 years NHL experience. I expect them to have rookie years with ups and downs while they adapt to the NHL game. Maybe they'll all rise above reasonable rookie standards and that'd be great, but it would be unreasonable to expect that from the start. It's not about being pessimistic or negative at all. It's about trying to be objective. I would rather discuss the Red Wings on a discussion board from an objective perspective than gravity to "doom and gloom" or "overzealous" extremes. I'm not a bandwagon fan, but I'm no slappy either. I call it how I see it. Always have, always will. My thoughts are oftentimes not well received around here and I can't tell you how many times people have disagreed with me. However, the fact remains, I'm usually right. Search for it if you care to.
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Wow? Really? Actually, wait, I think I remember saying that in the original post which you quoted. Oh, yep. Indeed I did.
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No, the issue is most people are reading half of the original post as opposed to the entire post which ties the topic together. If people would have read the entire post they'd see that I addressed what the new kids might bring to the table. If people thought for about two seconds about the last section and the very last line which states "This is nothing to minimize," they would ideally recognize that while I'm not quite serving up hope, I'm not serving up rabid doom and gloom by any stretch either. As I've said numerous times, this thread is a response to two ideas that have been present on the board in recent weeks: 1) The idea many around here had that we absolutely wouldn't lose all of our free agents. I wrote numerous times beforehand that I believed there to be a very good possibility that we would in fact lose them all. 2) The idea that we are somehow a better team now that we don't have Hossa and Samuellson. I find that particular perspective to be foolish especially in light of losing Hudler as well. As I said in the original post and in numerous other replies here for awhile, I'm well aware and quite excited about the new kids coming in, but it is unrealistic to expect too much from them in their rookie seasons. I certainly hope they all have very successful years for their sakes and the team, but to expect them to move in and even come close to replacing the offensive depth we've just lost in their rookie seasons is not only ridiculous, it's simply not a fair to judge the players. All in all, I struggle to see all the "complaining" and "doom and gloom" people are alluding to. I never said that we're screwed nor did I rip on anyone for leaving or on Ken Holland for dropping the ball. Again, my final point stands as my perspective on the matter: losing these guys is nothing to minimize. If that spells "doom and gloom" or sounds like "complaining" to anyone, I would suggest going back to school to work on reading comprehension and critical thinking skills.
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Try this: http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry1752749
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I don't really blame Hudler for wanting to venture off to Russia for a bit. It's another experience and great money. The Wings can't afford what he feels like he deserves which is rather fair of him especially considering Flips contract last year. So eh, we'll see how this shakes out. I expect him to be in the KHL next year. I don't like seeing him go, but life goes on.