haroldsnepsts

From the article it's hard to tell if that actually happened. The article mentions Homer by name, but there's no direct quote of Campbell doing it. That's not to say it wasn't the case. If it was, that's an incredibly unprofessional by Campbell and the NHL to single out Homer (even though everyone would be thinking it anyway). And have there been that many recent pre-game altercations that they needed to warn about it? What, wasn't there one last season? and that's the first one I can remember in a while. I think the Canadian bias has reduced a lot over the years, but yeah, honestly I have to agree that it's still there. Homer would probably get more credit for his toughness and battling if he was a Canadian boy, instead of people having the attitude he's some cheater that the league hasn't been able to get rid of. Much like Lids would likely already be considered second only to Orr among greatest defenseman all time, and might have another Norris.

That would be a disaster. Stuart had a really bad run right before the Olympics, but he seems to have recovered. But comparing his plus minus to Meech, Leino, Abby, doesn't really mean anything. They weren't asked to do what Stuart was during that stretch. He's no Nick Lidstrom, but who the hell is? He's a solid middle pairing guy, and hopefully you'll like him more when he puts someone through the boards. Come playoff time, guys are skating with their head on a swivel when Stuart and Kronwall are on the ice.

Hopefully Howard because that bodes well for the Wings playoff success. If you're a betting man, it's hard to go wrong picking Z.

Honestly it doesn't sound like mockery to me at all. Yes, it's derivative. But as others have said, imitation, flattery, etc. They're in the playoffs for the first time in eight years, back when people there probably didn't even know there was a hockey team in Phoenix. It's hard for me to get offended for fans trying to be excited about it, even if it's ripping off a Wings tradition. Like it or not, hockey is there. If it gets more popular in phoenix, it's better for the NHL. They get made fun of for not having fans, now people are offended for the fans trying to be excited for the playoffs? What exactly can they do that's acceptable to us Wings fans?

True, but we can still hold out hope. Bert had a good season for the price tag, but seriously, before the playoffs someone needs to remind him he's 6'3" and 245 lbs. He should be going through guys, not trying to go around them.

Stuart was a great pickup for the Wings. solid middle pairing, and provides a much needed physical presence to the Wings defensive corps. And as people have mentioned, he really stepped up for this team in the first half of the season when they were struggling with injuries, and just trying to right the ship in general. Thank you LA Kings for letting him go (though with all their young talent at D, I can't blame them).

Couldn't have happened to a better guy.

Mine would. Though I guess I currently don't hate the Caps. I just think Green is overrated in regards to Norris talk, and honestly seems like a douchebag, which just makes him winning it even worse.

I think we all just need to take a moment to acknowledge that the Ducks won't be in the playoffs. Oh how we'll miss watching Perry act like a little *****, or constantly having to hear about Niedermayer's smooooooooth skating. Not to mention watching Getzlaf decide to show up and score at will with 3 Wings players al over him.

My condolences.

Don't get me wrong, I hate them both. Hartnell especially. Lilja is a better fighter than Fischer? I don't remember Fischer dropping the gloves that much, but him being pretty good when he did. I admire Lilja's stepping up and trying to drop them, but honestly he hasn't done much in a fight I saw that was very impressive. I mean, I think the most impressive thing is him trying to learn to fight at the elite level of the sport, because I'm betting he hadn't done it much before that.

Bucci gets it right a lot more often than he gets it wrong. His predictions are typically informed and pretty accurate. I get a little tired of his music references (probably moreso because I don't agree with his taste in music), but he's definitely a huge hockey fan and supporter, almost to the point of being the lone reasonable voice on ESPN. I think he gets grief for saying some hard truths about the Wings over the years. He predicted the Ducks upsetting the Wings in the first round, which irritated the crap out of me at the time, then turned out to be right, but he definitely appreciates the talent and heart of a lot of the Wings players over the years.

I think they listed him as a healthy scratch, but I could definitely see it being his knee after that shot he blocked. Or they didn't want him getting tuned up by Carcillo or Hartnell and get concussed again, since he's one of the only Wings who will drop the gloves.

This starts to get a little beyond my understanding of the CBA, but I thought since he signed when he was older than 35, any buyout still counts against the cap. Like no matter what the situation is other than a trade, if he's older than 35, the team has to eat the cap hit. Not positive though.

And what should the Wings do with Osgood in that scenario? It's unlikely anyone would trade for him, and if he retires or gets waived, his salary still counts against the cap. So there goes a good chunk of any spare millions from Lidstrom's new contract. Even if a team were interested in Ozzy, I think it would essentially have to be somewhere Osgood would want to go to play. After all his years in Detroit, it sets a bad example if Holland were to trade him somewhere he didn't want to go. So if Osgood retires or is waived, that's over a million dollars down the toilet.

Agreed. Especially about Eaves and Miller. two of the top three PK guys, will end up with 20 points a piece, and brought good energy and hitting to the bottom lines. All for around 500k a piece. The thing is they're both RFA's too, not UFAs. Miller off the waiver wire, and Eaves getting signed - those were two very good pickups by Holland that became huge with all the injuries. The only minor point I'd disagree with is Bert. I've sort of stated my case on him. He's fine now for the money, but it's frustrating how the big problems with his game seem to be mental. Take fewer bad penalties, especially in the offensive zone. Play more physical and be less cute with passes. Shoot the @#$%@ puck!

absolutely. Giving up maybe 10 points of offense for a much better defenseman. Green is a great offensive defenseman, in a system that utilizes his talents well. That doesnt mean he's the best all around. To win the Norris in spite of his average defensive abilities, his offense should have to be in the Paul Coffey stratosphere, which it isn't. It'd be nice for Lids to at least get a nomination this year. Keith should probably win it. But more and more sportswriters seem enamored by the points column, so there's a chance Green could in spite of it being a disservice to the spirit of the award. doughty should at least get a nomination, now that people on the east coast actually saw him play in the Olympics and realized how good he is.

Looked like a definite charge. I think an elbow too. I'd have to see the hit again, but that's my memory of it. Leaving his feet and elbowing Helm in the face. There's a lot of tough guys in this thread. Having your nose broken may not be that big of a deal, but still flying into corners and hitting guys when you have a broken nose is another thing. It's not just the broken nose, but still playing a physical game. Not that surprising from a hockey player, but still pretty gritty.

Which is an attempt to dismiss or justify what Clarke did. That somehow what Mikhailov did was worse. But Clarke was ordered to injure Mikhailov and followed through. That's so much worse. Clarke was a dirty player through and through. What's really sad is his comments since the incident. Still trying to downplay and justify his dirty act. As if taking out the oppositions best player for Game 7 didn't have an impact. The guy's a jackass. Here's Clarke in a friendly game against Czechoslovakia shortly after the game where he broke Mikhailov's ankle.

Agreed. It's hard to make an apples to apples comparison. Different eras, and honestly different styles. But if you're going by careers, Igor takes the cake. The KLM line, and he's won everything championship there is to win in hockey. Three Cups, two Olympic Golds, four Wold Championship golds, Canada Cup gold, and two golds in the world juniors. honestly it's less about picking one over the other, but it's fun to look back and see what kind of player Igor was before he came to the Wings.

I voted No, for pretty much all these reasons. Love him or hate him, the reality is the Wings are paying his salary next year unless he gets traded, which as Doc mentions is unlikely based on his age and his play this season. So the best possible scenario is Osgood transitions into the backup role and starts playing well for those 15 or 20 games they rest Jimmy.

I just don't think Drapes is tradeable. $1.25 million for a 38 year old who plays 11 minutes a game and has limited abilities. Ozzy either with the way he's played this season. And it's too soon to give up on E. He's signed through next season too, so they might as well see which Ericsson shows up next year.

But the reality is that Ozzy is under contract for next season. So short of a trade, waiving him, or Ozzy retiring, he's going to be in the lineup next year. I can't see Holland doing either of those things given Osgood's history with the team and Holland's loyalty, and I can't see Osgood hanging them up yet. The best situation is for Osgood to get his act together - not to steal the job from Jimmy - but so he can be a reliable backup and get some wins for the team while Jimmy is resting, along with mentoring him on the circle of hell that is being a goaltender in Detroit. EDIT: and I think because of his age at the last contract, even if the Wings were to waive Ozzy or he retired, his salary counts against the cap. You must be new here, but that's a beautiful dream.

Great to see the Wings made it again. It was definitely a spot I hadn't been in in a long time, watching the games to see exactly what the Wings needed to do to make it into the playoffs. As for how they'll do, I have no idea. I feel like this team could get on a run and go to the Cup finals, or they could look out of gas and uninterested and be first round fodder. Here's hoping for the former. I'm just glad they overcame all this adversity and made it in!

I hear you. Though him letting in that first goal surely didn't help matters. I mean, you'd think they're pulling for him, but that's got to be really demoralizing right out of the gate. As I said in another thread, if there's any silver lining, it's that he seemed to find some composure and made big saves in the third. Maybe he's getting his s*** together??