Dabura

Gary confused Chicago with Orlando. It was an honest mistake.

Seriously, saying you don't want to/never wanted to go to the Wings is the new bitching out Dylan for going electric.

"I had another year on my contract and I was excited to play with my teammates and my friends and do it for all the right reasons ... to win hockey games. That was always the focus." Then it's a good thing you joined the Wi--oh, wait....

You talk as if this is a team of pansies, and that the likes of Mac and Downey somehow "make it all better." I'll give you the entertainment point, since that's pretty subjective; if you love fights, then yeah, you're probably going to get bored watching this team in the regular season. In terms of this team's actual needs and weaknesses, fighters really don't factor in all that much. Mac is old, slow, and (I imagine) not very intimidating as an enforcing presence. Which happens to work out just fine, as he wasn't brought back to be a fighter anyway; his current role is that of a grinding roleplayer-slash-mentor with a wealth of experience and hometown name recognition. Downey doesn't exactly strike fear into the hearts of opposing goons. He's here because he's good for morale...in the regular season...and only in the regular season.... The team as a whole is pretty tough and has enough talent to win (and in entertaining fashion) without dropping 'em. We all love a good hockey fight (or two, or three, or four...), and I personally like Mac and Downey as much as the next guy. But let's not overstate the important of something that really isn't centrally important beyond its entertainment value. (While I actually love hockey fights, it's worth noting that fighting is arguably one of the reasons why the sport can't for the life of it connect with a wider viewing audience.)

Nah, that's what I get for being lazy with my posts.

Heh, sorry, I meant $. That's good to know, though.

Even in the regular season -- How many fighting majors did the Wings actually garner? And did this result in an especially boring season?

In theory, this would simply be a flat-out better line, mostly by virtue of its defensive prowess and general versatility. Additionally, it would be the second line -- point being, it wouldn't be facing the top shutdown guys the opposition can offer up. Further still, it would have solid support along the blue line in Kronwall and Stuart. About Hossa's defensive game -- I might give Draper the edge. But really, if we're talking overall two-way games, Hossa is the more complete package, as he's a tremendous threat in the o-zone and very responsible in the other two zones. Draper's solid in the latter two, but has limited effectiveness in the o-zone -- beyond, of course, grinding in the corners and netting the occasional garbage goal.

This past postseason was a blast, and I can't recall a single balls-to-the-walls Wings fight taking place at any point during the run. You L-O-V-E hockey fights. So do some other LGWers. Cool. Great. The Wings don't need fighters beyond Downey and/or Mac in order to win, and they can certainly be entertaining to watch without resorting to fisticuffs. Debate over. Huzzah.

The only problem with that is, Hossa could be a one-year guy. So then we'd be losing both. I think Flip'll come back, though. Kenny probably wants to give him 2 and Flip probably wants something like 3.

Hossa as Bane in the next Bat-movie. Bank on it.

If I'm ever a father, I'm naming the kid Hammershield. Even if it's a girl.

You have to admit, "Hammershield" sounds pretty badass.

Bingo.

Not really, especially with Hudler's postseason performance, Hossa joining the ranks, and some big fat re-signings on the horizon.

I'll break up the monotony with some hardcore disagreement. I think "need" is overrated. Sure, the Wings don't need Hossa, but I like to think he's going to be more than Datsyuk Jr., or what have you. Holland was looking to give the top-6 a more balanced (and in turn, a more dangerous) scoring attack. To that end, he picked up one of the most lethal scorers in the game (boasting a scoring "edge" that, frankly, Datsyuk doesn't really have and Zetterberg is only starting to sharpen), and arguably the third best two-way forward, right behind the Euro Twins. Kind of an extravagant way to patch up a second-line scoring problem, but in this day and age where it's harder than ever to win it all (let alone repeat!), it's better super-safe than sorry. I've always assumed he'll be playing with Flip and Mule. I honestly think it'll do wonders for him, as he'll have an excellent setup man in Flip and a power-forward-type crease-crasher in Franzen. On paper at least, that line has all the ingredients necessary for mad-crazy ownage. Not to mention a ton of help on the back end, the likes of which he definitely hasn't enjoyed before. I could easily see the added defensive help lead to a more aggressive offensive game from him. Which would be nuts.

Thanks for the drastic oversimplification. Let me know when you're ready to have an intelligent conversation about this.

Calm your ass down, will ya? I never said Sundin is impervious to wear and tear and injury in general. My point was, in short, that your talk about Sundin needing protection from an enforcer like McCarty (who's not even much of an enforcer at this stage in his career) because he's a fragile playmaking center is laughable. The guy is big (BIG) and tough, and he battles night in and night out. If Corey Perry wants to start s*** with him, fine -- Mats can just sit on him.

I agree with most of what you said in your post. But regarding this point, I don't think the Wings had a pure goal-scorer like Hossa before he signed. Datsyuk is a playmaker at heart who's had to fight his own instincts in order to put up the big point totals. Hank is, yes, a beast, but I'd actually rank Hossa's instincts as a pure scorer over his. Mule...is a bit of question mark right now, I suppose. You also have to consider the fact that Hossa hasn't worked with a supporting cast like this one before, whereas the aforementioned Wings have been able to reap the benefits of being a Wing for...well, their entire respective NHL careers. Point being, I think Hossa's going to surprise quite a few people this season.

I'm not talking about Anson Carter and the Sedins. And no, it's not "basically the same thing."

Sundin is not a "playmaking center" who is likely to end his season "on a stretcher." This isn't Val Filppula we're talking about; Sundin is a reliable, durable, 6'5 goal-scoring machine who works his ass off every shift of every game. McCarty himself would probably laugh at the thought of him "watching Mats' back."

I don't think anyone honestly believes Bertuzzi will regain his pre-"incident" form. I could see him doing pretty well on a line with Iginla.

He ended last season as the hottest goal-scorer in the league. Had he not had those head problems, he might have won the Conn Smythe. He'll be going into this season with (in all likelihood) Hossa on his line. It's good to be Mule right now.

They kind of did, though. Well, not "waste" in the literal sense. But had Hossa not come out of left field and made a completely unexpected offer to Kenny, the Wings would likely still be courting Sundin. Right now, barring an act of divine intervention, he won't be a Wing. Not this season, at least. Eva makes a good point, but the great thing about the Hossa signing is that it left/leaves the Wings with elbow room. Mats at 2-3 (which he won't go for...barring divine intervention) would be cutting things way too close for comfort, imo.

To be fair, he's pretty much destined to be the undisputed #1. At the moment, however, I agree with you: he doesn't have much of a defensive game; he doesn't kill penalties; he whines and runs his mouth like no one's business -- basically, he just scores. A lot. His overall game will undoubtedly improve with experience, but at the moment, I can't honestly rank him as the best forward in the world, as he's primarily just an explosive goal-scorer. And as Stevie Y taught us, there's more to being a great forward (and leader) than scoring in bunches. His temper tantrum in front of Hank summed it up nicely.