haroldsnepsts

Pens blackhawks going to a shootout. 1) they need to go to 10 minute OT before going to the joke that is the shootout 2) Crosby is unbelievably fast and strong on the puck. Man I wish I got to see this kid more.

Admittedly, I haven't seen Jimmy play in the AHL, but I don't think you can tell a whole lot just by looking at the stats there. The AHL is not the defensive minded game that the NHL is. It sounds like he's not ready yet, but I haven't heard anything about him being a wash.

The Wings are coming up on what, their 60th game? you know the dog days of summer? that part of the season is the dog days of the NHL. You're in a safe playoff spot, it's late in the season, but there's still a fair number of games before the playoffs. It's a grind right now.

you must get good haircuts.

Pens Blackhawks going to OT It's nice to actually get to see Crosby and Malkin play. it'd be nice if they'd actually play Detroit and a few teams in the west...

It wouldn't surprise me. sounds like a case of trying to do to much when you actually get in the lineup.

and how praytell will we afford Kipper? and who will you part with to bring him here? and where have you heard any talk about doing anything to the cap? do you mean "raising" it, based on increased revenue? because "razing" it means demolishing it.

He's definitely been troubled by injury. The thing that gives me hope though is it hasn't been a lot of little nagging injuries. It's been a couple of freakish big ones. (broken leg and a torn ACL if I remember correctly). Hopefully that's behind him. I'm watching the Pens Blackhawks game on Yahoo. Holy crap Crosby and Malkin are scary good.

Hatcher definitely gets more grief here than he deserves. Most of the memory people have of him is after his ACL surgery. He was never a fast guy to begin with, but after a major layoff like that, it's gonna take him a while to get back into game shape. Hatch was big, a solid D man, and as nasty as they come. All that being said, I have not seen him play since he left Detroit, so I don't know what kind of condition he is in. And I'm definitely not advocating Detroit bring him here. If he were the Hatcher of old (which seems unlikely), yes he'd be nice to have. But the Wings have more pressing needs up front.

yah, that's kinda how I feel about him. I guess it'd be okay if he were sort of a throw in that we got cheap. But if he's "the move," then I've pretty much had it with Holland.

I guess I wouldn't mind Nolan as an addition to someone else we pick up. But if he's it, man am I gonna be disappointed.

Jesus who doesn't have a hockey blog these days???

True. I just meant that the ideal is to have a team with several guys who are physical to play against and will drop the gloves when needed. Someone like Fedoruk would help for the 9 minutes a game he's on the ice, especially in the regular season. But come playoff time I don't see him having much of an impact. So I feel like the unfortunate reality is this problem can only be addressed in a small way this season.

Exactly. Which is why no one guy will solve the problem. But hopefully it will at least be a step in the right direction. Team toughness is key.

I don't know that the Wings can afford to waste a roster spot on a pure heavyweight, but they do need to replace the team toughness they lost over the years in McCarty, Shanahan, Lapointe, and even the size and occasional fighting of guys like Ward and Fischer. And of course, the nastiness of someone like Konstantinov. Have any of those players been replaced with someone comparable in terms of toughness? (and I realize Shanny and Mac were shadows of their former selves in that regard the last few seasons in Detroit)

pretty much. They went from not making the playoffs, to having Demers come in and they made it to the conference finals two years in a row. They came back from being down games to one against Toronto to go on to the conference finals that year in 86. That comeback was like the Stanley Cup for Red Wings fans. And to be clear, I don't think the Wings need out and out enforcers on the team, but they do need players with grit and toughness. Look at a team like Anaheim. They're fast, big, and tough.

10 other owners shot it down. The vote was to change the schedule to a new format, and it got 19 of 30 votes.

They were no longer the Dead Wings then. The 1986-7 team with Probie, Dave Barr, Snepsts, Kocur, Gallant and Norwood finished second in the Norris division (though admittedly it was a weak division) and made it to the Conference finals, only to lose to eventual Cup winning Edmonton Oilers.

He's the last guy we need? a big winger who scores goals and is willing to go to the net? If not Tkachuk, then who do we need?

Man the owner of the Preds got himself a sweet deal. He gets welfare from big NHL teams like Detroit in the form of "revenue sharing" and he has the city comitted to buying up the empty seats to his games. must be nice.

Like who though? Bert? and people keep saying Tkachuk is overweight. Is that based on him reporting to camp overweight at the start of last season? He's got 18 goals and 21 assists on a team that's been mostly terrible this season. He's big, has good hands, and a nasty streak. And I'm guessing the Wings can get him for a lot cheaper than Floppa or Bert, and doesn't have the injury problems they do. I wouldn't mind Tkachuk coming here for a playoff run.

I can't believe this discussion is still going on. Like I said, Z is a great player and one of my favorites on the team. But we're talking about trading him for a 19 year old phenom here. If the opportunity came up, you do what's best for the team. As for trading players "against their will," that's how the NHL works. A downside of being a professional athlete is that you can get traded away to a different city at a moments notice. The upside is playing the game you love and making millions of dollars doing it.

I guess my point is that Macdonald has played 8 games in the NHL, and I don't think anyone considers him the future goaltender for the Red Wings. Maybe not even as a backup. But Dom is out and Ozzy is out, so there it is. Joey gets the nod. I understand being disappointed of upset with his play, but it still seems a little out of proportion for a guy who's spent his career in the AHL. No one is banking on him to be "the guy" but people here seem to be reacting like he's supposed to be. As for tonights game, I'd be more concerned about the guys in front of Joey. Those are gonna be the ones on the ice come playoff time, not Macdonald.

Why is everyone bashing Mac like he's our starting goaltender?

I like Hank and think he's the guy for the Wings to build the team around, but if we could swap him for Crosby, I'd do it faster than you could say "Hank."