CloudConnected

While I love the "Jump the Shark" reference and the Fonz, I have one problem with this one. Yes, the Fonz in a Wings jersey is jumping over a shark. He conquers the shark, so that's great. But, "Jumping the Shark" is a term used when a show has run its course, has no more ideas, and it's about to end. I hope the negative connotation of this pic doesn't apply to our Wings. "Heeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyy"

The only way I could see him getting his job back for sure is if Lebda's still out and Quincey is playing. Quincey looked alright in there, but he just can't log the minutes at this point that Kronwall can. Kronner being back would be a huge help to Lids, Cheli, Matt, and Dany. On top of that, we can take Sammy off of the point on the powerplay, because Kronwall can move the puck there.

Either way you look at it, that boarding call on Sammy had to be called. It was a dangerous hit, even though Sammy was helped along by the Flames defenseman. And Bertuzzi had Shaq syndrome on that one. He's so big that he doesn't have to lean on anybody with that much added force to make them go down. Yeah, it looked like Yelle helped that out, but Bertuzzi was in an awkward position. The only call that really pissed me off was Lang's.

It has to be Hasek this series. Yeah, he wasn't overly worked, but he made monumental saves in the undecided moments in the biggest games in the series. He stopped breakaways, robbed cross-crease passes and played with an edge. If we had Manny back there like last year, we'd most likely be headed to game 7. Dom closed the door when Calgary could have still snuck in, and for that he's our MVP. As almost everyone has said, Cleary and Mule were our two brightest forwards in the series. I also have to give shoutouts to Hank, Homer, Filpulla, Draper and Maltby. They finished checks lift and right and constantly controlled the play whenever they were on the ice. Also, our entire D played controlled hockey and limited Dom's work. Cheers all around.

Have to agree, Lilja played very well this series. He was steady, which is all we ask of the guy. Hopefully the switch has turned on for him.

Yeah, I'm a little miffed at no Langkow suspension, just because of the concussive aftermath. If Lebda didn't get hurt, then I could see this outcome. But the fact that the cheapshot knocked out our speediest defenseman for a game makes me a little irked about that ruling.

What??? You haven't been watching the games if you think that. Franzen's been great. And to those who say Hudler did nothing, he had a great backcheck that took away a scoring chance. He kept the puck moving in the offensive zone, and he didn't shy away from contact. He had a solid game. I say keep the lineup as it is, but if you take anyone out it's Sammy. Yeah, he even played well today with his finishing checks, but he's still terrible at the point on the powerplay.

Haha, calling that ***** wave he did a spear is a little much, and most everyone here was calling him an idiot for taking the penalty. It was a little bump by Iggy, a part of the game. Hasek lost it and waved his stick at Iggy. Everyone here was pissed that he lost it and took the penalty, putting us down 5-3. I suggest you take the same attitude toward your players.

To me, running a goalie means coming in full speed down the wing and putting a shoulder into the goalie. They should be going quickly, hence the term "Running the goalie". Bumping a goalie around the edge of the crease is just a hockey play, and it's been happening both ways. It happens in every series. It happens in the regular season, and it happens in the postseason. It is a penalty, and more often than not, the Wings get called for it. If you were a true hockey fan, then you would know that the goalie has sparingly been run by either team all series. Bumps, pileups (including defenseman), and poking at the puck while it's in the crease are not "Running the goalie". The fact that you defend McClennan is deplorable. 95% of the people on this board would condemn our goalie for doing that, you should condemn yours.

You're not watching. We're going into traffic areas, we're winning battles in the corners, we're hitting and taking hits to make plays. That is heart. The problem was going down 5-3 twice in one game. They scored both times, once during and once just after. Poorly called game both ways, and the state of the Wings' special teams doesn't invite a game with lots of penalities.

That's a brawler line? Nah, they'd be taking so many penalties that the Wings would be outshooting them 97-35 through two games....wait....that sounds familiar.... Seriously though, the Flames haven't been overly dirty by nature. They're just getting frustrated. The two things that I've seen that was a little different than normal playoff hockey was the glove-on punch to Zetterberg and Stuart yanking on the guy when the ref had him tied up. Other than that it's your normal borderline stuff that made Vladdy so beloved to us in the past and makes us like Cheli now.

I disagree. That situation happens all of the time and it's a rarity that you see someone dropping the gloves and throwing multiple haymakers in the back of a guy's head when he's facing the other way. If Tootoo were to go in and tackle Clowe, jump on his back, tie him up, whatever, then I wouldn't have even batted an eye at the situation. But it's chickens*** to try and drop a guy with blows to the head when you're not engaged with him. The Robidas hit was chickens***, this was the same.

It was a sucker punch because Tootoo starts throwing haymakers before he and Clowe square off. You watch 99% of the other players in the league in that situation and it would be a wrestling match until they got separated from the crowd. Tootoo just decides to try and take Clowe out while Clowe isn't even paying attention to him, he's punching Clowe in the side and back of the head. Yeah, Tootoo has to go in and help out his teammate because there were two Sharks going after Hartnell. That's all well and good, but you don't just start throwing haymakers. This just another example of why Tootoo is the posterboy for the type of player in the league that everyone wants to banish. He has no respect for anyone else and would just as soon injure someone as play actual hockey. He's a disgrace.

The thing is, I don't want Datsyuk blocking shots. When I see a skill guy step in front of a shot, I remember Shanahan blocking one when we were up three goals against LA and him breaking his ankle. We went on to lose that series without him in the lineup( and him playing on a broken ankle the last game). Let Lilja or whatever defenseman block shots, I'll let Dats score for us any day.

A note on how far Maltby has fallen off: Last night when Hasek got a penalty, the Wings sent Maltby into the box to serve it for him. You would have never seen that when Malts still had his game. He's isn't even a top 5 penalty killer for us anymore. He's behind Franzen, Draper, Datsyuk, Calder and Filpulla. I can see him being brought back, but I don't think it would be a smart thing to do. Give Kopecky, Cleary and Franzen more ice time. Edit: I was at the game last night, so if there was a reason Malts served it rather than anyone else, let me know.

Spot on. There's been a lot of Kronwall detractors on this site, but he logs a lot of minutes for us, hits and blocks shots. Can Lebda and Lilja handle the extra load on top of what they're already asked to do? That is the main question with the playoffs around the corner. Hopefully they both step up.

That's a pretty solid list there. I can see that happening, but I'd add Grigorenko to the list too. My money's on him making the team out of camp.

HAHAHAHA, all I could do is laugh when I saw this thread. Personally, I think we should unretire Gordie's #. He was marginal at best...haha

Merchandise sales are great for the Tigers because the Tigers have the best Logo in Detroit. The Olde English D is classy and subtle, and the Navy and White is the easiest to wear out. I love and want to wear Red Wings shirts and hats, but everything is bright red and it can get kind of gaudy. Same goes for the royal blue and red for the Pistons and the Honolulu blue and silver for the Lions. I can rock my olde english D hat with about anything, I'll always have a couple of them on hand at my place with different shades of blue due to wear and fade. That said, I agree with the main heirarchy that people have been saying. Lions Tigers Pistons Wings That's not my personal taste, but for many Detroiters it is. And this doesn't make us bandwagon jumpers either. The Lions sell out every game, and are covered more than any other sport in Detroit. It's the success of the NFL that makes it this way. The Tigers don't have any competition in the summer because they are the only ones playing. Hockey and basketball compete with each other because they have the same season, so naturally they'll split coverage. The Wings are fine, and they're always #1 with me.

If the Wings were to get a new Arena then they could well be #1. The Joe, while a very tough place for a visiting team to come in and play, is not the cleanest or most modern establishment. If they were to get a new rink, then I could see the Wings leapfrogging the other two Detroit teams.

I totally agree it's so hard to compare against eras. Supplements and training have come so far in the last thirty years that it's nigh impossible to say who would win. I mean, the Broad Street Bullies played in an era where the preferred pregame meal was a hearty steak. One could argue that if these Anaheim guys were around back then then they would be a fraction of the size they are now. And one could argue all of the Flyers could add twenty to thirty pounds of muscle with modern training techniques and supplements. It's all speculative, but I would have to hold out to see if Anaheim's toughness were to win them anything, because Philly won their titles on their toughness.

That was Sylvain Turgeon. And Sylvain put up 30 to 45 goals while playing with good linemates. Doesn't really matter though, because Eva left out some players who have had good seasons that Daigle played with throughout his first four years, like Daniel Alfredsson, Marty Straka, Pavol Demitra (even though he hadn't really broken out yet, he's skilled), and Shawn McEachern. Cunneyworth put up twenty to thirty a few times in his career, too. Maybe a case could be made that Daigle had a little contribution to why his linemates weren't scoring in bunches? Daigle couldn't make the players around him better, which he was supposed to be able to do. That was one reason why he was drafted first overall. And Dan Cleary, while a bust from his draft status, is still in the league as an above average grinder on an elite team. Daigle can't even stay in the league. Who's the bigger bust?

I was not aware. I figured 50 in 44 games played is just that, but that makes sense. Fair enough.

So yeah, everyone of those guys I just named weren't included. I was just surprised no one mentioned them on three pages of the thread. I know they're not going to make the list, but I just wanted to throw them out there. I think Sundin is in the same breath as at least a few of the players you named. Not all of them, and I would agree that he would have trouble making the top centers since 80. But don't poo-poo his being mentioned, because he has been a damn good player for about 12 or 13 years. Richter behind Osgood and Moog? Really? I can see arguments for the other two, but I just don't see where you're coming from there. Leetch was at least a little better than Coffey defensively, but that doesn't say much at all. Coffey was the better player for sure, but Leetch isn't a punk. Vladdy was great for a few seasons, but I was being facetious. There are a lot of Vladdy guys on these boards who put him in the top ten alltime. As far as Zubov goes, he should have gotten a lot more consideration for the Norris than he has. Blake won with a minus rating. Hatcher, who Zubov carried all year, got more consideration than him too. He's quietly been an elite powerplay guy and good all around defenseman his entire career. Just giving some credit where it's due. It doesn't help that Zubov played in the same era as Bourque, Coffey, Lidstrom and Cheli. Gilmour was good on the draw, great defensively, and made every team he was on better. I wasn't putting him on the list, but if people were throwing Crosby and Jokinen out there then everyone I named at least deserves mention. And I never said the players I named should be on the list either. But you took some offense to all of them. And Beezer wasn't that clear cut ahead of Richter. Richter was pretty clutch, and Beezer never delivered.

You left Neely off of the 50 in 50 list, he got 50 goals in 44 games, and ended the season with 50 in 49 games. Great point about Bossy too. You listen to a lot of the 90's players and they all credit Bossy as an influence on how they wanted to play the game. That said, I leave Bossy off because he only played ten years, the same reason I'm leaving Neely off. And Neely is one of my alltime favorites. Here's my list, and I can't put it in order. Gretz- Consummate scorer Yzerman- Consummate all-around player Mario- Most dominating physically in this era Bourque- Best all-around defenseman in this era Lidstrom- The only thing Bourque's got on him is the physical game Roy- Hate the guy, but great goalie Hasek- 6 Vezinas speak for itself Messier- Nasty, fast and skilled. Great leader too. Shanahan- Durable, nasty, great hands and a good leader. Brodeur- Great goalie who will be the most prolific when he's all done. Other guys I'm surprised I haven't seen mentioned: Mats Sundin- I love the guy, and he's carried Toronto even when they have had no business being in contention. Doug Gilmour- One of the best two way forwards of all time. He was great and fun to watch. Brian Leetch- Played elite hockey in New York for years. Mike Richter- Silver Medal for the US, Canada Cup, Stanley Cup, and he was solid. I'd put him ahead of Joseph and maybe Belfour. Sergei Zubov- Quiet guy who's played nothing but stellar hockey since 92. Grant Fuhr- Backstopped the Oil and the Blues to their best seasons. Vladdy- It's a Red Wings board and no one's mentioned Vladdy? I'm not going to, but I've seen people here put him in the top ten all time defensemen. Chris Pronger- Dominating beast of a man. Borderline dirty and one of the best first passes ever.