haroldsnepsts

Smith with a bad turnover, ends up in the back of the net. Not much Commie could do there to help.

Love seeing Nick talking that animatedly with the young guys, passing on some wisdom to Smith.

Kindl got undressed. And Ericsson not looking around to see who's coming. I'm all for playing this pairing a ton in the preseason, but I'm not crazy as them for a pairing when the games start counting. Miller coasting on the backcheck too. crap. Mursak's down. Leg bent awkwardly under him as he slid hard to the boards. ick.

Nyquist has missed a couple golden opportunities there. Especially that last one when the Hawks decided to stop playing for some reason.

It's good to catch preseason games so i can adjust to all the new guys and their numbers. Like Mick said, I keep thinking Maltby's out there. Whichever Wings player that just was, PLEASE don't go don't to block shots in the preseason.

Hopefully he stays healthy, because the last two seasons he seemed more physical and aggressive early on, but then seemed to take steps backward when coming back from injury.

So we've already got the excuse in case Ericsson gets more icetime, though Kindl is allegedly much better? Last season it was some inexplicable love Babcock has for him. Now it's his contract that's getting him the icetime. Holland had $2.75 mill sitting in the pressbox several games last season in Hudler. Everyone talks about how Holland is the best GM in the league and Babcock is one of the best coaches. Yet they'd play an inferior player either because of a man crush, or because of the size of his contract? They'll play whoever they think gives this team the best chance to win. If Kindl is outplaying Ericsson, at the very least he'd move to the 4/5 spot with E moving 6/7. And right now he has to focus on earning a regular spot in the lineup, whether it's Commodore's or Ericsson's.

Agreed. This hit is only news because it was made by the dirtiest player in the league. It doesn't really warrant more than the 2 minute penalty.

Of American-born players, Mike Modano ranks: 2nd in games played at 1,499 1st in goals with 561 2nd in assists with 813 1st in points with 1374

Your posts almost make me regret defending Osgood when people were diminishing his accomplishments in the thread about his retirement. I guess I'll have to wait until Hudler goes back to Europe in a few years, then in his farewell thread I can talk about all the players who were much better than him.

There's a great video clip of Shanahan explaining the suspension too. Great start.

Great to hear. Though he should probably avoid saying he wants to be a dirty player in the press. He should use the more vague and acceptable "gritty" or "edgy" or "Pronger."

This line of reasoning always confuses me. Kindl is "far more sound" than Ericsson, yet Babcock inexplicably only plays him 13 minutes a game in 48 games. Whereas Ericsson plays the full season at almost 19 minutes per game. And Kindl didn't see a second of playoff time. If he's far more sound, why would the Red Wings utilize him that way? They had Salei battling with Kindl for the final spot, so it's not like they're going to give it to Ericsson just on experience or reputation. And as you mentioned, Holland gives Ericsson a big raise, in spite of having a more sound player in the minors ready to fill his role? Those are some pretty terrible decisions by Babcock and Holland if what you're saying was true. The reality is Kindl is not more sound than Ericsson. That's not to say he won't develop and become that. But so far, he just isn't. More than anything, Kindl needs to prove himself and secure a permanent spot in the lineup. Then we'll see how he develops.

Cooke's hit on Savard was a completely legal play at the time. Rightly or not, concussions that way are still considered a part of typical hockey play and within the bounds of the game, even when they may eventually end a player's career. Being chased down from behind and suckerpunched, particularly after open threats by players in the media, is not considered a typical hockey play. It's also important to remember that the Avs and Canucks had played one another after the Naslund hit, without incident. It was a tie game, and Colin Campbell and Bettman were in attendance. The Bertuzzi incident happened in the second game after the Naslund hit, late in the game when the score was well out of reach for the Nucks. It makes it seem awfully like premeditated vengeance.

Agreed. And from a management perspective you just paid one of your players to injure the other. Not surprising that teams would have a policy against it.

Agreed. Both claims are ridiculous. Including Moore's parents wanting money for emotional pain and distress. I think Moore does deserve money coming his way, and more than the $350,000 Bert's lawyer offered him. Somewhere in the millions, but nowhere near the 30 or 40 he's looking for. If I were choosing I'd probably figure Moore's salary as a 3rd/4th line guy for 6 or 7 seasons. Then maybe tack on an extra million. Would he ever have been in the league that long? who knows. But he didn't have the opportunity to find out. And I'm not saying all that money should be coming from Bert personally. I'd love to see the Nucks and Crawford get dinged for some of it.

He's already screwed. By all accounts other than the members here at LGW, E had a decent season and bounced back after his awful performance last season. Yet by the talk here he was the worst D-man to ever lace up skates. With this contract, short of him playing like Lidstrom, there's no way he's not getting bashed. His contract is definitely some overpayment, but Holland was in a weak negotiating position at the time and the cap went up. Plus for free agent defenseman, overpayment seems to be the rule rather than the exception. Hopefully he takes a big step forward and earns his pay. If he maintains his current level, which I think is likely, it's definitely overpayment.

I don't think it's that hard to understand. People are cutting Bert a lot more slack now that he's a Red Wing. And I don't think this is a new lawsuit, or that Bertuzzi has paid any damages to Moore at this point. Everything I've read just refers to Moore's lawsuit finally getting a court date. Nothing about it being new. It's an extremely misleading thread title by the OP. The first part of the article he linked to says:

Funny how much Bert wearing the Winged Wheel has changed prevailing opinion on this site. Something tells me if he were still a Nuck people here would be calling for his head. Here's a trip down memory lane when news broke Bertuzzi was suing Crawford. Very different reaction from members here. Not coincidentally it was the season after he left Detroit for Anaheim. As for the lawsuit, this doesn't sound like a new one. This is the same lawsuit as before, it's just now there's actually a court date. So it's news because it's finally moving forward. Do you have a link for this? Because the civil trial is just now getting a court date, I don't think Bertuzzi has paid Moore anything, has he?

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fgw-russia-hockey-20110911,0,7608072.story

Here's the video embedded. Surreal and heartbreaking. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AI8YPm_tYXA&feature=player_embedded#!

The Ducks should at least consider taking it out of circulation. I know he didn't play with them last, but he's the franchise leader in games played for a defenseman. He was more closely a part of that franchise and community than any other.

I know what you mean. I was thinking "f***! sorry for all those times I blamed you for our s***ty GAA! or said that we didn't need Salei anymore. go back and re-sign them!"

That's exactly what I said out loud at work as I was reading the story, right when I got to Brad McCrimmon and Ruslan Salei's names.

He's not just "having headaches." He has a brain injury. One could also argue that in light of today's tragedy, maybe we should all take a break from hating on players for petty reasons.