haroldsnepsts

After this past season where Wing players (mostly Downey) actually suck up for their teammates, I'm surprised so many people don't want Downey or some enforcer here. He played an extremely limited role but did it well. Have people already forgotten what it was like to "let the powerplay be our enforcer" and watch Wings players get run with no repercussions?

I wouldn't. And never did. He goes beyond someone like Maltby. The guy has a lot of good qualities as a player, but so much garbage that comes with it. On the Wings right now, they play as a team and no one is bigger than the team. Avery is pretty much the opposite of that. He's a total distraction.

Agreed. I think Hossa will only be a steal if he decides to stay in Pittsburgh for less money. Otherwise I think he's going to get a crapload as a free agent.

That's my main problem wth this guy's tone. Of course scouting has a huge amount of luck involved. It's hard to predict how these kids will develop. But when you consider all the players the Wings have picked up in late rounds, all from Europe, most from Sweden, there's probably more going on there than just being luckier than everyone else. as others have said, those who work the hardest often seem to have the best luck.

So Burke is the best GM in spite of signing Bertuzzi, trading McDonald, losing Penner, and getting nothing for Bryzgalov, yet the Wings are completely lucky for finding Lidstrom, Holmstrom, Zetterberg, Datsyuk late in the draft. of course there's an element of luck involved. Some kids develop, some don't. But it goes beyond luck when one team has repeatedly found great players late in the draft, all from Europe. It's a slight to Anderson. I think it's kind of funny that the guy basically dedicates a whole article to trying to downplay the Wings drafting. Seems like a weird subject for a draft related article, unless you have some dislike for the Red Wings, or weird man love for Burke.

Agreed. Hopefully this will be a wakeup call, because I think he is a talented goaltender. And a helluva fighter.

I disagree with that. It's been cited several times how he was late to practice, had a poor work ethic, and seemed to think his job as the starting goaltender was a given. Sure some of that may be a bad fit with the team, but no matter where you play, that kind of crap is unprofessional.

Two years and $6.75 million for a guy who's played well for a total of maybe a season and a half in the NHL, and was bad last year, AND has had multiple incidents that show he has a poor work ethic and is a bad teammate. No thanks. The Wings are all about second chances, but they're smart enough to do it on bargain basement prices. With people who generally want to turn things around. I'm not sure Emery's there yet. I see L.A. is trying to undo some of the damage Crawford did, since they put Cloutier on waivers.

Agreed. People can explain away a lot of the crap moves he made this past year, but I can't see any justification for that one. He throws $4 million at a guy like Bertuzzi but can't get Penner signed until he's ultimately cherrypicked. I wonder what kind of numbers Penner would've put up with Ducks had he stayed. Great GM's don't get blinded by their man love for certain players. Oh, I forgot about trading McDonald for Doug Weight a minor leaguer and a late round pick. there's no way Burke was the best GM this year.

Which is why I said the part about two 1b goalies. I certainly wouldn't want my playoff hopes pinned to Legace. Maybe they're hoping Mason will play more like he did in '07? or are content just to get to the first round of the playoffs until they can find a real starter? not sure.

Damn. I've always kinda hoped that Mayers would eventually find his way onto the Wings, but now he's in that black hole that is the Maple Leafs.

Exactly. I think by signing Mason the Blues potentially have a 1A 1B goaltender situation. Or at the very least, two 1B goaltenders.

I don't think what Teemu did was as bad as Niedermayer's screwing around. Selanne was a free agent, under no contract to anyone. Niedermayer on the other hand was under contract. He used to be one of my favorite defenseman when he played in New Jersey, but I have to say, all that screwing around last season made me lose a lot of respect for the guy. We'll see how big of a soap opera it becomes this year. Hopefully he'll do the right thing and inform his team today, even if they did give him more time.

I'd like to see that highlight reel, because I think you're on crack. "outplayed by the other goaltender" is typically what people say when the Wings lose a series and can't figure out why other than to scapegoat the goalie. The problem was not Joseph. The Wings wouldn't have made it past the Predators had Joseph not bailed them out when Legace was faltering. He held Calgary to one goal in both game 5 and game 6. You lose two games in a row 1-0, seems like the problem is on offense. He also held them to two goals three other games in that series. When your offense includes Datsyuk, Hull, Shanahan, Yzerman, Zetterberg and your boy Robert Lang (I'm surprised you don't think the loss is all his fault), the .939 save percentage Joseph had that postseason should've been plenty to get past Calgary, who once you got past Iginla, had Shean Donovan with 18 goals. Not exactly an offensive powerhouse, but they scored when it mattered. The Wings didn't. To be clear, I don't want Joseph back here. But the Calgary loss was not due to "atrocious" goals he let in. He didn't completely stand on his head and steal the series for us, but he certainly didn't cost us it either. EDIT: and we're also talking about a Calgary team that made it to game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The simple reason they beat the Wings is that they were the better team.

NM. just saw the date on the original thread. A lot of threads being bumped for crow-eating lately.

you must just be jealous that Zetterberg isn't the clear #1 on the team anymore. or you hate russians. which is it Eva?!

It does seem like the right move in order to stoke the fires of the goalie wars around here next season.

To me, Chelios went from okay in the playoffs to outright bad. He's a wily veteran, but is very slow and not really that physical anymore. I do agree that it depends on what happens with Stuart and Lilja. If both those guys are back, we don't need Chelios.

I also have to question any claims about Chelios being cool with being rotated in and out of the lineup or being used sparingly. Cheli is a competitive guy who wants to play. Both he and Babcock have been pretty up front about how Chelios is constantly wanting more ice time and hates getting sat during the regular season.

No, but the Wings have a logjam around the bottom pairings in their lineup. And even though one of the kids may make more mistakes than Cheli, they've actually got a future on the team, and probably better footspeed.

I was one of the ones who "blathered" on, but don't think I have crow to eat. I'm not sure I ever said he wouldn't win it. Merely that Madden is more deserving. I also said that Datsyuk could definitely be the most dominant defensive forward in the league if that was the role he was called upon to do. But it's not. That's not an argument against his defensive prowess at all, but in my opinion it's a factor if he's the best candidate in the NHL for the award. That's not a knock on him, it's just not his role on the team, versus someone like Madden. As I've said over and over, it comes down to the interpretation of the award. And right now it's more about being a great two-way forward than a defensive one. I just always preferred the Selke go to the more unsung guys who often don't get enough attention for their great play. Guys like Draper. Like the guy who won it four times in a row when they created the trophy, Bob Gainey - a rabid defensive specialist.

oh good god. yes, because not everyone thinks Datsyuk is the best defensive forward in the nhl, it must mean it's because that they're afraid Z isn't the clear #1 on the team. Because there couldn't possibly be any other reason. Isn't this where you'd normally play the homer or slappy card? Of the three nominees, I don't think Z should've won it either.

Exactly. He's not metrosexual, he's Eurosexual.

Time on PK per game: Z : 2:09 (3rd on the team) Dats : 1:47 (7th on the team) Madden: 3:35 (1st on his team) Madden had 49 hits, 50 blocked shots, and a 53% FO percentage when he took the lionshare of his teams faceoffs. Dats had a great 54% on faceoffs, but only took 833 of them, 3rd on the team. Madden took 1463 faceoffs. PK, hits, blocked shots, faceoffs. As I've said ad nauseum, if he's the best defensive player in the league, why is Datsyuk 7th in PK time on his own team? Why is he not the first choice for 5-on-3s? The common response is that it's not his primary role. Which I agree with and which is why I think there is a better choice for the award. These are not knocks on Datsyuk, but I'm trying to have a league wide perspective here. he is not, in my opinion, the top choice for best defensive forward in the league, though he is absolutely one of the best forwards in the league. it's just an opinion. Again, flame away. I've stated my case and await the abuse.

Good lord. God forbid I criticize your angel. Yes, it's me Don Cherry. You should see the suit I'm wearing right now. Datsyuk is an incredible talent. He can stickhandle in a phonebooth, embarrass goalies on breakaways, make passes where you don't even understand how they ended up on a player's stick, catch unsuspecting players and knock them on their ass. I give him credit for all that and much more. But when you're talking about the Selke, all I think is that *gasp* he was not the best in the league, and too much weight was given to his takeaway stat. As I said, it comes down to interpretation of the award. For me, takeaways are great but not the be all end all. In fact, a really good illustration of defensive forward happened this playoffs. If it's the Stanley Cup finals and your team is on the short end of a 5 on 3, you absolutely need to keep the puck out of your net and you're picking a forward to put on the ice, who do you put out there? Your absolute best defensive forward. Datsyuk would be a very good choice, but he's not even the top choice on his team. And furthermore, as I said, I think Madden was more deserving. He takes key faceoffs, he kills penalties, he blocks shots. He better embodies the defensive aspects of the game. To me, that's the Selke. Don't get me wrong, if I had to pick a player for my team between Madden and Datsyuk, it's not even close. It's Dats by a landslide. but that's not what I'm talking about here.