Dabura

No, they can't. Not right now, at least.

I read the part where you said you know how dangerous it is, and then I read the part where you said, "What's the big deal?" So, you want me to understand that you have an intimate, passionate understanding of the situation, but at the same time, you want me to tell you why it's such a big deal? Cool.

I've got to think the memory of that PK lingers fresh in their minds.

That Sammy! Some nerve! "Osammy Bin Laden"! There aren't. The guy makes peanuts relative to the kind of play and production Babs has squeezed out of him. He's a third-line checker who's been called upon to serve as a top-6 scorer, and he's risen to the occasion. The stats are there. Now he's being asked to play a role he's much more comfortable with, as he showed this past postseason when he played the best hockey of his Wings career on a line with Drake and Draper. It's amazing how much pure B.S. people can pull out of their asses when talking about this guy. It boggles the mind.

The "big deal" is it's a dangerous, boneheaded play and a pee wee mistake -- and at training camp of all places; against a team mate of all people; in especially poor taste relative to the guy (Draper) who could, conceivably, go a long way in deciding Downey's future with the Wings; and in contradiction to those things which Downey absolutely needs to prove he has if he, being an enforcer who's good for nothing but enforcing (and "boosting morale"), is even going to get a whiff of quality playing time -- good judgment and restraint. I didn't reference the Lemieux hit for the purpose of discrediting Draper's reaction. If Downey nailed Flip from behind, Draper was justified in reacting the way he did. That Flip wasn't seriously hurt is basically irrelevant; there's no place for checking someone into the boards from behind, especially at training camp. You just don't do it. People wailed on Sammy for months about hitting Cleary with a puck, and that wasn't even a conscious action on his part.

Draper was flipping out right when it happened -- i.e., before the "jammed thumb" diagnosis. That means his problem was with the hit itself.

You have it backwards, buddy: you don't check a guy into the boards if you can set the number on the back of his jersey square in your sights. That's dumb hockey, and that's why Draper didn't ***** Flip out. ("Hey goalie, people throw rocks. It happens! Suck it up!") Or maybe you're willing to argue that Lemieux was in the right when he blindsided Draper?

"You gonna finish that waffle?" "I don't like waffles." "FWAAAAHHH WHAAAAAT?!!!"

At the same time, nothing wrong with education. Because I'm lazy, can someone post pics?

Man, the Pens are screwed. Maybe they'll take Lilja.

You don't need to be Mike Babcock to see truth of the matter, which is that Leino is not gunning for a position on the second or third line. It's the fourth line he's shooting for. Leino himself would probably tell you the same. I've seen the guy play -- and these are full games I'm talking about, not YouTube clips and obscure scouting reports translated into broken English. He obviously has talent, a whole lot of it. But like I said, he's new to NA hockey, his defensive game has holes, and conditioning is surely going to be a concern (if not right now, then certainly by the end of an 82-game regular season, especially if he's playing top-6 minutes every other night). Our third line would be the first or second line on more than a few other rosters. Leino isn't cracking that block, and he's not expected to. I'd love to be proven wrong, but I'll be amazed (literally amazed) if I am.

The point is that if you're facing into the boards with your numbers out, you shouldn't have to worry about someone ass-ramming you from behind. It's almost like seeing someone throw a rock at a goalie's head and yelling at the goalie, "Keep your head up, mate!" I'm all for "playing with fire," but Draper, whether he was overwrought or not, said it best: there's no point in making a move like that in training camp. You can play with fire and zeal and passion and all that, but you've got to be smart and careful about it. It sounds like what Downey did was not smart. Unintentional? Surely. But not smart. So no, I don't think he should be praised for it.

Also, something that hadn't occurred to me earlier: while it doesn't sound like there's any question that Downey's hit was an unnecessary blindside, perhaps Draper "went ballistic" (as opposed to, you know, "getting upset") because of the Lemieux hit. Not saying Draper was in the wrong, just that that probably factored into his reaction. Another consideration: Draper's anchoring the fourth line...and Downey's battling for a spot on that line...and Draper is, of course, close with Mac...and it sounds like Leino showed up to play...

Good stuff. I know I've been "bashing" him a bit, but honestly, I'd love to see Leino make the cut -- as long as he's up the challenge, that is.

You can't be serious.

I believe he was referring more to GMR's comment about Lilja.

Screw that. Wings need to send a message. All the other teams need to know that if a Wing hurts another Wing, well, someone's gonna have to pay. And it will probably be a Wing. Which means, you know, the other team's guys can just sit on the bench or whatever while we settle this once and for all. Grrr!

* 1. In the East...against the Devils. 2A) Avery waved his stick in front of Brodeur's face and talked s*** in the media. It rattled the Devils to their fragile little core. I can't say he would have had the same impact against the Wings. 2B) Avery's boneheaded tactics wouldn't cut it against the Wings in a best of seven, and his stats would be considerably lower than the numbers he put up against NJ. Tootoo has never forced the Wings to implode, but every time he plays the Wings -- who are generally extremely difficult to rattle. Certainly mentally tougher than the Devils -- he makes his presence felt, hitting anything that moves, taking runs at players, skating his ass off, chipping in with a point here and there, and generally pissing people off. Pound-for-pound, the only thing Avery's better at is running his mouth in the media.

Wow, the Blues' one is actually pretty sharp. Not bad.

...That said, the Stars are still a threat.

Everyone seems big on the Avery acquisition. Honestly, if anything, he's going to do more harm than good for the Stars over the course of a best-of-seven with the Wings -- specifically, in putting his offense-challenged team on the PK. Either that or he'd be a complete non-factor. Tootoo's a better, more effective pest, and the Wings have seen quite a lot of that guy. And let's not forget: Avery was a Wing. They know all about him.

chrisdetroit, Dude. Stop what you're doing, take a deep breath, remove the thorn from your side, take another deep breath, then take another deep breath and read. As for the list, I actually hadn't looked at the rest of it beyond the #3 spot. I agree: it's pretty s***ty, which is strange because he articulated his case for Hank as the #1 quite well. Ultimately, Nick Lidstrom is the best player in the world. But because that's a borderline cliché at this point, I'm fine with someone calling Hank #1 -- as long as Nick isn't behind, say, Ovechkin and Crosby as well. Like he is...here...

I'll probably be hammered tonight. I'll tell you guys if the article makes any more sense in that state.

If Leino makes this team, mark my words, it will be a fourth-line spot. He's new to NA hockey, his defensive game is relatively shaky, he's probably not going to be in the best of shape relatively speaking -- he's not gunning for Hudler's spot, or Cleary's, or Flip's. Anyone who thinks otherwise is delusional. Or what, you honestly want to give him top-6 minutes or put him on a checking line? Yikes! Helm's headed for GR, I imagine. Kopecky has a spot, which is fine because he's a better overall pick than Downey or Mac. Between Downey and Mac, the former might be the slightly better choice, only because he's pretty good at one thing (and only one thing), whereas Mac...is over the hill.

Watch out Wings -- HERE COME THE COYOTES!!