haroldsnepsts

Yup. good old Gary got handed the reigns and promptly crushed all momentum the NHL had from the Rangers dramatic win. More on topic, I'd be surprised if this is true about ESPN. A year of crappy ratings and a Stanley Cup finals featuring a U.S. team no one outside of Orange County cares about and a smaller market Canadian team probably didn't inspire them to get the NHL back on their station.

apparently in this forum, yes. And since Boyd and Williams were gone, Lang was next line. Looks like Sammy is most likely to take Lang's place.

Your Lang bashing is so f-ing tired and lame. Of course, any other 2nd line center also might not have scored at all and the Wings would've lost. If there were a 2nd line center who could've done better in Lang's spot, Babcock would've had him on the ice. He's gone. It'd be nice if you got over your obsession with hating him. Especially since you tend to go off on people here who regularly trash Wings players other than Lang.

and away we go...

In one of his playoff matchups, Buccigross talked about how the Wings were very talented, but didn't have much of a personality. I tend to agree. And I don't mean personality like we need Roenick or anything. But this team didn't have a strong identity or reputation yet. though in this last playoff run, I think they started to forge one. I just gotta say, though he's not a very good fighter, I give Lilja a lot of props for dropping the gloves. Clearly fighting has not really been a part of his game in the past, so he's basically learning how to fight at the absolute highest level of the sport in order to help fill a role the team needs. That takes some balls. I'd also like to clarify that my new obsession with wanting toughness has little to do with the UFAs we lost. I didn't really think Bert was the solution. He could've helped out if he stayed healthy and found his old game, but honestly I think the odds of that happening were pretty low. It's just that I'm tired of another year going by where the team keeps getting smaller. Even looking at their top prospects, very few are guys over 6 feet and 200 pounds. You don't need giants out there, but the Wings are definitely undersized. When your whole team is that way, it puts you at a disadvantage. They're easier to knock around. They're easier to knock off the puck. They're easier to keep away from the front of the net. It's not going to be any one player. It's gotta come through drafting and through signing. But holy hell, it'd be nice to see a step in that direction. Whether people realize it or not, the Wings have lost a lot of size over the years. The Wings don't need a true enforcer, but for chrissakes let's get some size and toughness back on the team. Yes, Zetterberg and Dats and all the other guys proved they could take a beating and dished out some hits. That's great. I'm all for that. But it's not their primary role. You also need the big bodies out there banging away, and dropping the gloves if need be.

Nice tribute. As I've said before, Lang gets way too much bashing around here. That's some nice evidence that he actually does skate, has a good shot, and can be strong on the puck.

Gretzky wasn't big, he wasn't particularly fast, he didn't have an exceptional shot, yet he absolutely dominated the game. He's one of those rare players that just sees and understands the game better than everyone else on the ice. I hated the guy when he played, but there's no way he should be any lower than #2.

So the team did nothing under Yzerman? I don't see how comparing him to Borque makes sense. And winning 6 Cups is amazing. But of those 6, Mess won 2 as captain. Plus Stevie is unmatched for the length of time he was on the Wings and their captain. In my book that does count for something. Mess was on the oilers, then the Rangers, then Vancouver, then back to the Rangers. Messier had the great performance with the Rangers in '94. Stevie had a great performance on one knee in '02. I think a reasonable case could be made either way for who's the greatest leader.

That's why I said arguably. Because honestly I think a case could be made that Yzerman was better than Mess.

8th all time in goals 7th all time assists 6th all time in points 3 Stanley Cups Olympic gold medal Lester B. Pearson Conn Smythe Selke Masterton Arguably the best captain to play the game, easily one of the top two. Yzerman was one of the greats, but honestly I still couldn't see placing him anywhere above #5.

The Wings were definitely the only team who gave the Ducks a run for their money. But I think part of that injury was lack of size. I was referring mainly to the hockey media like TSN, ESPN, etc. most hockey analysts thought the Wings would beat Calgary. Us Wings fans were a little shellshocked from the last few years to predict anything. Not a chemistry problem necessarily. But when someone gets run at, all the Wings on the ice just stand around. that's very different from virtually every Wings team when Stevie was here. Maybe I should clarify. If a guy gets a clean hard hit, I don't mean there should be retribution Bertuzzi style. I mean guys should try to hit him back. He should have a bullseye on his chest the rest of the game. Though honestly if someone hit Z or Dats with a hit that wasn't penalized yet injured them in some obvious way, I would want a Wings player to go after them.

I disagree that this team was as close to the Cup as you make it sound. They remind me of the Wings before they got past Colorado and before they got their ass handed to them by New Jersey in the finals. More often than not, a Cup winning team has to go through wars like that and gel as a team to make it to the Cup. This was a great playoffs and I was so happy with how far these guys went, especially because they are undersized and play a generally non-grinding game in the regular season, but I feel like that next step is still a big one. And honestly I don't think they have the lineup at this moment to win the Cup (but I'd love to be wrong). And for the record, we were expected to beat Calgary. And most people called San Jose a 7 gamer, with the Sharks on top. That's not "no chance." In your example, you're correct. No amount of beatings would bring Datsyuk back into the lineup, but I think it helps team morale and chemistry. That they've got each other's back. I don't think it's a coincidence that the Wings won the Cup after they beat the hell out of Colorado that game in March of '97. Those guys went to war together. I don't think fighters prevent anything at all. I just like a team that if someone is going to run one of our guys, even a clean hard hit, that player is aware he is going to have to answer for it. Drake left the game? when? when it was over? he scored later on that same game. And the Williams hit could've easily been ruled a charge. Torres looked like Fred Flinstone trying to start his car he took so many damn strides to hit Williams. If you don't see what fighting Pronger would've done or meant, I guess there's really no use trying to explain it. I miss the days when the Wings weren't so classy. Maybe the new slogan for this season should be "Detroit Red Wings: turning the other cheek."

I think a lot of people would change their tune the first time they saw an opponent try and take Datysuk's head off, then a Wings player went and beat the hell out of the guy.

Look for the number of Wings fights to go from 10 down to maybe 3 next year (even if Norton's were all losses). Good luck Lillypads, you're gonna need it.

How is it ignorant? Because I disagree with you? Who has stood up for someone? When Drake charged Lebda, how exactly was that dealt with? or Pronger putting his elbows through the back of Homer's head? There was no penalty on those plays, and if memory serves, no one on the Wings did anything. Pronger actually getting a suspension a couple days later is small consolation when Holomstrom is bleeding out of his head. If we had this lineup when Lemieux cheapshotted Draper, we'd probably be hearing crap about how he got a suspension, so justice was served. I'm tired of this "classy" "Wings play by the rules" nonsense. If someone takes a run at one of our guys, you beat the hell out of him. In the late 80s if someone took liberties with Stevie, you can bet sometime that game (if not immediately) they'd be having a conversation with Mr. Probert about the matter. Hell, a lot of times Yzerman wouldn't hesitate to lay the lumber on someone himself. I'm tired of watching our guys get hacked, whacked, charged and cheapshotted, with almost no one sticking up for themselves or their teammate.

Several players on the 1997, 98 and probably even the 2002 Red Wings would've gone after Drake or Torres after their cheapshots. I won't get into it all again, you can check the signature. I'm not looking for a fight every game. I just want guys that will stick up for their teammates.

Agreed. Why require that 60 per cent of each team's active roster include players with American or Canadian citizenship or players who played at least half of their developmental hockey in North America? So the teams will have to put less talented players on their roster to meet some arbitrary requirement and lower the quality of product on the ice? how about putting more resources into developing talent in Canada and the U.S. and promoting the sport to youngsters instead?

The problem is I'm guessing it's the last thing the players would want. they have to play from september (including training camp) through potentially June if they make it to the Cup. After winning the Cup, I remember Yzerman saying several times how he couldn't wait to take the pads off.

If I'm understanding the situation correctly, no matter who buys the team (unless it's at bargain basement prices) Leipold is going to make out like a bandit thanks to the city of Nashville. He bought the franchise for less than $60 million ten years ago, claims to have lost $70 million but doesn't mention that the city of Nashville covers those losses, and now looks like he's going to sell the team for possibly around $190 million? Say it sells for even $180 million. He will have made a profit of $120 mill in ten years time. Not a bad return on your investment.

off the top of my head and in no particular order (except #1): 1)New Commissioner. Realistically it has to be someone with the business acumen to run the league, but ideally would be someone who's also passionate about the game. 2)72 game schedule. 82 games is too damn many. This will also help with #11. 3)No shootouts. I don't want to hear any whining about ties. This is my NHL. OT would be 10 minutes of 4 on 4. No points for losing. Ever. Two for win, zero for loss, one for a tie. Lose in OT? No points for you. 4)Hold at 30 teams. Let the struggling markets either get their act together, or get moved. Getting rid of franchises is too expensive. 5) Greater leeway in the cap structure. By running a successful, profitable franchise, the owner should be rewarded by being able to use that money on his team. Besides, a giant payroll does not necessarily equal success. 6) Bye bye instigator. 7) Crack down on hits to the head, and reduce or possibly ban the use of hardshell shoulder and elbow pads. 8) Reduce goalie equipment size. The catching glove can come way down, the blockpad a little, the leg pads a little, and the chest and arm protection can definitely be reduced. No more MIchelin men. 9) Lose the "rivalry" schedule of playing the same damn team 8 times. We know it's really just a b.s. excuse to save on travel costs. Go back to a schedule that somewhat approximates the old one. 10) Market the game! Fire every advertising agency that has ever come up with a crap-ass campaign for the NHL. Hire the biggest baddest coolest agency and spend a crapload of money marketing the game and its players. Show non-fans why the game is great. Run an ad during the super bowl letting football fans know that after the game, they can still watch a few months of hard hitting smashmouth sports with the NHL. 11) Get the season over sooner. Shorten and move up training camp. Seriously. Reducing the number of regular season games will help, but people will be more likely to watch playoff hockey if it doesn't go all the way to June. 12) Look into widening the ice surface. Players are bigger and faster. even the slightest increase would go a long way in improving the action of the game. Edited for numerous typos and grammar

The preds were an exciting team to watch. As for not getting featured on television you could definitely expand that argument to the entire NHL. the league's marketing is so piss poor it's infuriating. As for Leipold, part of it is that he's got just about the sweetest deal anyone could ever hope for, AND he got virtually everything he possibly could've wanted out of the CBA (except perhaps a greater portion of welfare for the Preds). So when I hear him complaining about anything or making veiled threats, my immediate thought is STFU already! If you can't run a profitable franchise with all the help you're getting, it's your own damn fault and maybe that's just not a viable market for a team.

The author of that article goes a little overboard, even for me, but touches upon a lot of points why it's hard for me to care or root for a franchise succeeding in Nashville. The Predators got a free arena (thanks to the taxpayers paying the $145 million cost) A free renovation on that arena to add luxury boxes (local taxpayers once again). A free practice arena. The city of Nashville kicked in at least $20 mill of the team's $80 mill expansion-franchise fee. (some sources say it was $25 mill) The city of Nashville absorbs all operating deficits. The Predators get 100% of ticket revenues, board advertising revenues, scoreboard reveue, luxury box revenue, parking revenue, all the team merchandise revenue, revenue from the sale of the arena's name, and 40% of concessions. PLUS they got the largest revenue sharing payment in the NHL of at least $10,000. Combine that with Leipold's incessant whining about not being able to compete pre-lockout. And his whining about how he is tired of losing money. They've got the sweetest of all sweet deals a franchise could possibly have. how much more help do you need? So if I'm understanding this correctly, he bought the franchise for $80 million. er, scratch that. He bought it for under $60 million (when you include what the city chipped in) in 1997. Sure the franchise is losing money, except the city absorbs those losses. And Balsille put in a bid to buy them at $238 million a mere ten years later? Must be nice. Leipold is a leech on the NHL and the city of Nashville and I'm sick of him. That's why it's hard to root for the Preds staying there. Getting rid of Tootoo would make it a little easier too.

I'd be surprised if they finished second, but I hope you're right. It'd be nice for them to actually have a respectable team again and for the Central Divisison to get tougher, even if it makes life more difficult for the Wings.

But if you read the link, it even goes beyond that. I agree that stats can be misleading that way, but the article points out a massive difference between when a team plays on the the road and at home. Basically it comes down to the statkeeper in the building more than the players on the ice. Like the edmonton oilers averaging 8.7 giveaways on the road, which is pretty close to the league average of 8.3, yet at home they somehow average 24.6 per game, while visitors average 17.1? The stat keeper in edmonton must love recording giveaways. Look for Lang's giveaways to drop substantially next season, but not because of any change in his play. At home the Chicago Blackhawks averaged a mere 3.6 giveaways per game, with visitors averaging 2.8 in their building. So the stats guy in Chicago either has a seriously strict definition of what constitutes a giveaway, or he just doesn't feel like keeping track most of the time. By that stat, the Blackhawks must be the best puck possession team in the NHL!