haroldsnepsts

The slash deserved a penalty, at best. It was a one hander and a half-assed one at that. He started coming around swinging pretty viciously, but slowed up. I hate to play this card, but if you seriously think that slash deserved a fine or suspension, your loyalty to the Preds is clouding your vision. Nashville makes a big deal about the stick swing because they're grasping at straws. Tootoo was way out of line. Modano's slash does nothing to change that. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQ5l40daTdM And to make this more on topic, here's what Modano had to say about not having his goal announced, and the Tootoo incident.

That's only because they have the nerve to have affordable ticket prices, so it doesn't count, remember?

why are people getting bent out of shape because not everyone gives Yzerman the respect we think he deserves? The thing about homerism is that part of it is because it's your favorite team, so you're biased. But there's a legitimate part of it because you actually get to see the players more than most other hockey fans and have a more informed opinion. I'm just thankful that we drafted Stevie and I got to watch him play for the Wings his entire career. He's everything that's good about the NHL.

The fact that the Wings went courting Dom and were looking at other goaltending options when they already had Ozzie signed is a pretty good indicator of how they feel about him starting. I'd be surprised if Ozzy had the starting job next season. It doesn't sound like Howard is ready, so I'm guessing once again it will be the goalie carousel here in Detroit.

don't get me started...

are you actually criticizing Tampa for having affordable ticket packages?

While I think its a little crybabyish for the Lites to come out and say that crap, it is hard for me to like Nashville knowing they're the biggest welfare recipient in the league AND they voted against changing this horrible schedule. And there should have at least been an announcement about Modano's goal.

Agreed. Tootoo is one of those guys who doesn't even need a stick for the way he plays the game. And it's not surprising that he's worst on the team in plus/minus with a -12.

Oh, that kinda sounds right. Actually I found the poll. Ruutu and Tootoo are tied for the #2 spot at 13% of the vote each, still well behind Avery. I've never liked Avery, but am surprised to see him ranked above guys like Ruutu and Tootoo and Tucker (oh my). http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?page=07playersurvey

In a player's poll ESPN did a while back, they asked who the dirtiest player in the league was. Avery was first, then Tootoo. I think he's just jumped up to number one.

you'd rather that Devellano drafted Lafontaine like he wanted to, instead of settling for that other guy?

Exactly. I don't think any reasonable hockey fan would say Datsyuk sucks. But he's asking for big time money, and he hasn't put up big time numbers in the postseason. And the Yzerman comparisons are ridiculous. The major difference being Stevie had proven year after year he could score in the playoffs. Datsyuk hasn't done that yet. The funny thing is, even when Stevie was producing in the postseason, people were still questioning his abilities in spite of his performance. Thinking maybe he just doesn't have what it takes to win it all. It's tough to be one of the teams leaders. That's why they get the big money. They have big expectations placed upon them. To date, Datsyuk has not performed up to expectations in the postseason. To claim otherwise is kidding yourself.

I will be very surprised and extremely disappointed if the NHL added two more franchises in the next 5 years.

You'd think that would be the case, but take a gander at the two posts right above yours.

counting down until someone attributes Brodeur's success entirely to Jersey's defensive system...

You sure you're not thinking of Iginla?

Was that the goal where Joey was along the right side boards, looking like he was going to go wide on the defenseman, then cut hard inside, bringing the puck through the stick and skates of the d-man, and ripped a hard wrist shot from near the faceoff circle for the goal?

Everyone who was bitching or questioning the Calder for Williams trade can apologize to Kyle now.

Oh, I think you're right. I was thinking it was a teammate because it was an accidental collision where neither was looking. The point still stands though. Hate the preds, but I think it's lame to root for a guy to be injured, even when he runs into a teammate. Though honestly if it happened to Tootoo when he was tring to hit someone...

was it karma when Shanny ran into his own player?

I just wanna say that I can't watch the game at the moment, and this GDT is better than any radio feed or game recap out there.

True. 5 at a once in the regular season seems like premature fish slinging.

Well, risking losing your respect (if you had any for me ), I gotta disagree. Mainly because the Wings get away with an awful lot of octopi on the ice in the postseason without a penalty being called. As for the catfish. Lame. And derivative of a team they "hate." The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

I see the giveaways, but he's still nowhere near Lilja. I try not to complain about Lilja because he's already such the whipping boy around here, but every game I see he makes a startlingly bad play. A giveaway at the blueline that leads to a breakaway. Taking a horrible penalty. Looking lost out there. Kronwall is nowhere near Lilja. I never said anything about Kronwall's offense, other than his potential. All I can say is this one last time: It's his first full season in the NHL (he's played a career 106 games). He makes $1.14 million (compared to Lilja's $1 mill). He has the potential to be a great defenseman for the Wings for years to come. In the salary cap era, I think they did the right thing in locking him up long term and hoping he meets his potential. With Fischer gone, the only defensemen they have under 30 years old are Lebda and Kronner. Who's going to fill the ice time of Chelios (45), Lidstrom(36), and Schneider(37) when they retire or aren't re-signed? It'd cost too much to replace all those guys by bringing players in from other teams. Have you seen what a solid d-man usually goes for?

What does Kronwall have to do with Wallin? I don't care what Kronwall did in the AHL either. I think calling his play horrendous is a bit of an overstatement. The Wings were poor defensively as a team the last few games. Kronwall was no better. He's not the Lilja-like defenseman people in this thread are making him out to be. And the comparisons to Lebda are apples to oranges. Give Lebda 6 more minutes a game and put him against the better lines and see what his numbers look like. And to correct something that has been misstated several times in this thread, Kronwall is not making $3 million a year. He currently makes $1.14 million, and is worth that amount of money. Next season he makes 1.5, then it jumps up to $3 million in 2008/09. So he's still got all of next year, then at the start of the 2008/09 season people can accurately start complaining that he's not worth $3 million. Like I said before, he's got the skills but he hasn't put it all together yet. I think the Wings are smart in locking him up long term because if he lives up to his potential, Kronwall will be a bargain compared to what it would cost to bring in someone of equal value to the team.