haroldsnepsts

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Everything posted by haroldsnepsts

  1. haroldsnepsts

    Kozzie returning to the Wings?

    Kozlov has always been streaky. I think you're overstating any extent to which he was in Bowman's doghouse. He wasn't exactly a two-way forward, but the guy was clutch in the playoffs. And I also don't get how you can think it's so stupid to bring Kozlov back because he has a bad work ethic and is past his prime, yet think Fedorov is a good idea. Kozlov is usually good for 20+ goals and 50+ points in the new NHL. And he has 42 goals and 37 assists in 118 playoff games. I like Kozzie and thought if they got him cheap, the Wings should pick him up. I'm not so sure now. They do need a sniper, but honestly they really need size. This team played much bigger than it was this playoffs, but picking up another small skill forward isn't really one of their top needs, even if he was clutch in the postseason.
  2. haroldsnepsts

    Serious Talks Of Expansion...And The Wings Moving East

    I thought ya might be. But you can never tell on this forum.
  3. haroldsnepsts

    Serious Talks Of Expansion...And The Wings Moving East

    Except the NFL plays one game a week and is 100 times more popular in the U.S. than hockey.
  4. haroldsnepsts

    Serious Talks Of Expansion...And The Wings Moving East

    It would be ridiculous to expand the league considering there are already a few franchises on the brink of moving.
  5. haroldsnepsts

    Bright future for Ducks, Wings need size, duh

    Who cares where they're from as long as they fit the Wings needs?
  6. haroldsnepsts

    Was Pronger really the missing piece?

    Honestly when I think about it, I have to admit would love a Detroit team built like the Ducks. Rough and tumble, winning games, dropping the gloves. F*ck the rest of the league attitude. I can't really pretend I'd frown upon that kind of stuff for Detroit considering the Bruise Brothers days and how much fun it was to watch the Wings. I'd love them to be a big, nasty, tough team that knows how to win. The major thing I wouldn't want was all the stupid crap they whined about through the season and the playoffs, mostly Pronger and Burke. And I still don't think I'd want Pronger on the team. He's a great defenseman, but I'd be embarrassed to have him and his elbows pulling that crap and then blaming it on the canadian media.
  7. haroldsnepsts

    Ratings for Stanley Cup finals down 20 percent

    The NHL. The most popular fringe sport in the world. Just behind dodgeball, and that basketball game where they use trampolines in the floor.
  8. haroldsnepsts

    Thanks for screwing us all, Mr. Bettman

    I only disagree with you on points 1 and 2. 1) This is a common point brought about Bettman that I wholeheartedly disagree with. That's like saying Illitch does what the Little Caesar's franchise owners tell him to do. Ultimately Bettman is responsible for the state of the game. The owners run franchises in the National Hockey League. Yes he is there for the owners, but if he had any passion, leadership and knowledge for the game he would be able to minimize the damage a few cheap-ass short sighted owners are doing to the league. He should be able to convince a few of these idiots that in the short term some of the decisions may not seem advantageous to their franchise, but would increase the overall popularity and health of the league. Which in the end would definitely help their franchise. Bettman is the highest ranking executive of the NHL. If he's not ultimately responsible for the state of the NHL, who is? 2) A cap was probably an eventuality since many owners had proven they don't know how to run a successful franchise. Again, a better commisioner probably could've gotten the job done without costing a full season. (Goodenow is a big part in that too) Furthermore the cap was WAAAY to restrictive. Once they broke the union, it became a money grab by the owners. Extremely restrictive cap, linkage, welfare system, terrible schedule that saves travel costs... A cap with more wiggle room should reward franchises like Detroit, Colorado, etc. where the owners have built a popular, successful franchise. Instead of placing the same limitations on them as owners who needed a minimum spending limit so they would at least pretend they were trying to be competitive. As I've said before, parity is not necessarily a good thing. The Wings are a popular team across the country, especially a few years back. That's not entirely because of Michiganders who've moved. People love winners. They love the powerhouse teams. The epic battles year after year between Colorado and Detroit. That familiarity and those powerhouse teams makes the sport more popular. Being able to spend more money doesn't guarantee that the big market teams will always win. (rangers) But it gives the successfull franchises the opportunity to have a strong team for more than a year. It rewards them for actually having a popular, successful team.
  9. haroldsnepsts

    Balsillie wants a Cup run IN NASHVILLE!

    Good news for Nashville. But isn't the Tennesean the paper that locals say is a joke and is wildly inaccurate?
  10. haroldsnepsts

    Thanks for screwing us all, Mr. Bettman

    For the record, I hate Bettman but to think he's somehow rigging these specific teams to win is tinfoil hat territory. He's just created a system where people like Illitch who built successful franchises now have their payroll restricted to a massive degree and have to help finance the idiot owners in the league via the welfare system. It may be counterintuitive, but having a few powerhouses is better for the sport than having different teams play for the Cup every year.
  11. haroldsnepsts

    Will the ducks be here next season

    Could be. But so would Luongo.
  12. haroldsnepsts

    Congrats Ducks

    That's for sure. The NHL does very llittle to reward its fans these days.
  13. haroldsnepsts

    Thanks for screwing us all, Mr. Bettman

    Bettman does blow. But I wonder how many trashing Bettman were the same ones calling the players greedy bastards during the lockout and siding with good ol Gary? Enjoy the welfare system and parity that is the new NHL.
  14. haroldsnepsts

    Congrats Ducks

    The Ducks winning the Cup has already taken a back seat to Paris Hilton's release. I hope they enjoyed their 10 hours in the spotlight. For California it's about as big a deal as an indoor lacrosse team winning the title.
  15. haroldsnepsts

    Was Pronger really the missing piece?

    Before this playoffs, I said I wouldn't mind having Pronger on the team. I hate the guy, but as you pointed out, that's how I felt about Chelios. He brings a lot of toughness and solid defense to the blueline. But after his cheapshots, and just his bad, his whining about the canadian media being responsible for his suspension, I've had enough of this guy. And more on topic, no I don't think he was the missing piece. He helped for sure. But Anaheim proved they can win big games without him each time he got suspended.
  16. haroldsnepsts

    Will the ducks be here next season

    Agreed. I think Giguere is the biggest X factor for next year. If he's still with Anaheim and what it costs them to keep him there. Assuming he'd make more than $6 million next year, that's almost $20 million dollars for three players. (Niedermayer, Jiggy, and the gap-toothed crybaby). And as I said in another thread, the rest of their blueline is pretty much UFA's except for Beauchemin and the aformentioned indie rock hair, and the cheapshotting whiner. There's also the off chance that Pronger will once again ditch his teammates for whoever he thinks has the best shot at winning the next Cup, then blaming his leaving on his wife and family.
  17. haroldsnepsts

    Will the ducks be here next season

    Yeah, it all comes down to how many guys they manage to re-sign in the offseason. It seems like half the team is either a RFA or UFA.
  18. haroldsnepsts

    S. Nierdermayer

    When there's no clear choice, but one of the candidates is the captain, you give it to him.
  19. haroldsnepsts

    Congrats Ducks

    I wouldn't have thought Giguere was strong enough to carry Pronger like that. As others mentioned, this'll be a big deal in Southern California for a few days, max. Then it'll be back to the Dodgers and Kobe speculation.
  20. haroldsnepsts

    Will the ducks be here next season

    Wait, where's Emilio Estevez in that picture? I can't seem to pick him out. Well at least he'll have his name on the Cup. That's quite an honor.
  21. haroldsnepsts

    who should Detroit target the most in free agency?

    Agree on all points. I don't know the that the Wings could make it happen, but I sure like the idea of having Homer on one power play unit and Smyth on the other.
  22. haroldsnepsts

    who should Detroit target the most in free agency?

    I think Giguere will bring a steep price. probably too steep to bring the michelin man to Detroit. And maybe even too steep to stay in Anaheim. Pretty much their whole blueline is UFAs and Pronger and Niedermayer eat up $14 mill between the two of them. Assuming Jiggy gets somewhere north of $6 million, that's over $20 mill on three players. Plus up front Selanne, Thornton, and May are UFAs, with Penner, Moen, Shannon, and Parros as RFAs. http://www.nhlnumbers.com/ana.html The Ducks have a lot of signings to take care of this off season. Whether they win the Cup of not, it'll be interesting if this team stays mostly together for another run or gets dismantled in the offseason. I'm guessing the Wings are gonna target Bertuzzi, hopefully on a short term contract. They'll probably let Lang walk, and Todd's salary won't be what it was. On paper he fits a lot of what Detroit needs. The big question is if he'll be what they need on the ice. coming off such a long injury and playing on a new team, it's not surprising, but this playoffs didn't reveal much about his potential with the Wings.
  23. haroldsnepsts

    who is the gritty forward you want?

    The only good thing about having Hartnell on the Wings is then we wouldn't have to worry about him cheapshotting them.
  24. I find that hard to believe. Derian Hatcher anyone? He could be called for a penalty practically every shift on the ice. I'm not saying it's okay. I'm just saying that to pretend that the Wings are a bunch of angels is innacurate and hypocritical. Cheli is a wily veteran who still pushes the rules. Maltby jabs, jaws, agitates. And we've had a lot of guys who at moments have shown poor judgement. A lot of players have moments where they've lost their cool and cheapshotted someone. It's never okay, but when it's a pattern like with Pronger that I lose respect. I'm not one of those guys who says "keep your head up" anytime there's a blow to the head, or thinks hockey should be all about gooning it up. But I'm also not going to pretend that the Wings somehow are above all that sort of stuff because the organization is so classy.
  25. haroldsnepsts

    Alfie Goes Unhinged

    Sorry,I didn't mean so much that the CBC was objective. What I should have said was "less definitive." they at least waited to see the replay before suggesting Alfredsson had done it intentionally. I honestly don't think pulling out of his windup had anything to do with hitting Niedermayer. It's not like he wound up stopped, changed angles right at Niedermayer. He wound up at the blueline, stopped, took a few more strides, then fired the puck. Again, he may have intentionally fired it at Niedermayer, but I don't think he pulled up the first time in order to get a better bead on him. Ive watched the highlights on youtube and espn, and it's still not clear enough for me to say he did it on purpose. he picks his head up and looks before he fires it, so it very well may have been intentional. but I also still can't even tell if the puck hit the stick of the Ducks player in front of him. And all that being said, the title of this thread is hilariously melodramatic. Unhinged? He fired a slapshot that hit Niedermayer in the shins.