Hank

I love 4-on-4 hockey myself. I know a lot of tradiionalists would hate it, but I think if the NHL had a chance to go to it full time, they should do it. Last week Pit and Philly were playing and there was nearly 2 minutes of 4-on-4 hockey during the 2nd period. It was some of the best hockey I'd seen in 3 years. Both teams were going back and forth, hits, shots, great saves. It was tremendous. The PA and most of the fans would rally against this, but with the size of and speed of players this would open the game up further. It would also make it extremely hard to play any sort of trap - which most teams have found ways to implement despite not being able to hook and hold. Anyway, that's a topic for another day. Sorry.

I agree. The shootout was a great idea. There were far too many boring games in the past where both teams did whatever they could not to lose a point in OT. As much as I hate giving out 3 points after 60 minutes, I do like how there's a clear cut winner each and every game.

I like the shootout though. I've seen far too many boring-ass games where the only thing worth watching was the SO. And in the end, a hockey game is supposed to be entertaining. The thing I hate with giving a point for an OT or SO loss is so many teams are content to hold on and play boring-ass hockey for 60 minutes just to get that extra point. The Rangers are an excellent example of that. Even Chris Drury said a few weeks ago that it felt like the entire team worked hard just to get to OT. And it was like that in the old days too. I remember coaches saying stupid things like "A road tie is better than a home win". WTF???? Players and fellow coaches used to say that Roger Neilsen's gameplan every night was for a 0-0 tie and once either team scored, it screwed everything up for him. I think a lot of coaches are like that. They're very happy with 1 point instead of 2. They see nothing wrong with kissing their sister. With 0 points for any sort of loss, I think you'll see a lot more teams gunning for that regulation win. I agree with Echolalia that I'd be happy with a team getting 2 points for an OT win and 1 point for a SO win, with the loser getting nadda. Excellent point. I forgot about Edmonton last year. Funny thing is, a good friend of mine - who's an Edmonton fan - despised the shootout coming out of the lockout. Suddenly last year he loved it. Go figure.

19 points in 4 games is impressive but it was also in the Q where playing defense is a sin.

He only did damage to the fans blood pressure.

But those same guys are outdated. They don't think you should have or show any kind of fun in the game until you're holding the Cup over your head. That's a pretty depressing view of sports. It's amazing to me how many threads or comments get started here asking "How come the NHL isn't more popular?", or "We need to get on ESPN" and yet they bash players like Ovechkin who play the game like a kid would. A.O. isn't trying to show off. I don't believe so anyway. When I watch him play the one word that comes to mind is "JOY". This guy plays the game like a kid playing on a backyard rink. He genuinely loves coming to the rink each and every day. And he celebrates every goal like it's the greatest thing that's ever happened. I have no problem with his 'antics'. It's contagious and I think if every player had the same attitude it would draw more fans. P.S. Doesn't anyone else find it odd that Don chose to wear a very subdued or normal suit when he decided to go off on Ovechkin. Perhaps even Don himself would have seen the irony in a man wearing a suit that looked like it was raped by my grandma's couch lambasting someone for being a hotdog. I believe it has something to do with the pot calling the kettle black. Don Cherry is the BIGGEST showboat pro hockey has seen over the past 30 years. I love Don but he's a complete hypocrite in this case. You can't go on HNIC looking like a damn circus clown and then blast players for craving the spotlight.

I believe he was traded from the Sens to the Islanders because he made it clear, behind closed doors, that he had no intentions of signing with Ottawa. That's how Redden became a Senator. Anyway, Hossa felt terrible about it. Berard has spoken about the incident and how Hossa visited him frequently in the hospital and was calling him all the time to see how he was doing. It wasn't until Berard got his career back on track that he stopped checking in on a regular basis. And Berard wanted it that way. He kept telling Hossa that it was alright and it was only an accident. He didn't feel it was necessary for Hossa to continue calling or seeing him. But Hossa did anyway. It was a bad accident but I think it's fairly clear that Hossa was careless with his stick - hence the immense guilt.

I remember that play like it was yesterday. Hossa was extremely careless with his stick when trying to spin around and swipe at the puck. It caught Berard in the eye and the rest his history. Berard, up to that point, was going to be a sick dman. Two years prior, he won the Calder trophy with a 48-point season finishing 9th overall for defensmen scoring. And that was on a bad Islanders team during the dead-puck era. And he was strong too. He could hit, skate like the wind, drop the gloves on occasion and had great offensive instincts. There's a very good chance that if that incident never occured, we'd be mentioning Berard in the same breath as Neidermayer, Phaneuf and Mike Green.

You can thank Brian Burke and his ignorance towards the Cap for their steep decline. Heck, Burkie even said on XM that it's not his job to figure out the cap. He just signs and trades players until the capologist tells him to stop. And yet somehow this guy makes the top of the GM list every year? Give me a break. Ken Holland, Doug Wilson and Doug Riseborough are lightyears ahead of this clown. In fact, I wouldn't put Burke in the top 25. He's all smoke and mirrors. The 05 Anaheim team was built by Bryan Murray. And then he was handed Scott Neidermayer on the platter simply beacuse Scott wanted to play on the left-coast with his brother. He made a great deal for Pronger - I'll give him that. But all the players that helped that team win the Cup were drafted or traded for by Murray and his scouting team.

Can anyone confirm if he's back with his wife? I'd be far more proud of him if I heard he's getting his life straight. I hope so - for his, his wife and his kids sake. Keep up the good work Mac.

Unfortunately, on the open market Franzen could probably get close to $6M/year. Maybe closer to $5.5M. Look what Malone got. And Connolly. There are guys out there getting over $4M per year who haven't scored 30 goals in their career. Franzen would have scored over 40 if he was healthy all year and he's not 30 years old yet. Plus he's big, can play centre or LW and loves to go in front of the net. He's got a lot of tools that coaches and GM's love. Again, I'd compare him to Malone only with more offensive touch. So I'm sure he'd get at least $5M/year on the open market. If not more. If he does re-sign with Detroit (and I think he will), he'll probably get between $4M-$4.5M. The Wings will be fine for next year, but in the 10-11 season, be prepared to watch a lot of regulars hit the road. Bye-bye Cheli, Maltby, Drapes, Osgood, etc. We'll have Lidstrom, Rafalski, Zetts, Dats, Franzen, Kronwall and probably Hossa. After that, it'll be a bunch of kids from Grand Rapids and some cheap FA signings. I'm actually looking forward to this. I can't wait to see some of our young kids up with the bigs full-time; Leino, Helm, Aebdalkader, Ericsson, Axelsson, Emmerton(?).

I think it has a lot to do with the fact, that every player and coach knew when the TV timeouts were coming. So they'd ice it knowing that. The NHL caught on so they stopped doing TV timeouts after icing calls. But all this did was lose revenue for the league. So it's going back in. Regarding the 'staged fights' I couldn't agree more with this rule. Most of the staged fights are boring and useless. It's two guys who like each other and agree to dance. And a great, great majority of the time the fight is boring. Heavyweights know how to tie up and avoid punches. You'll be lucky to see 2 punches landed. I'd much rather see a fight break-out between two guys when someone is genuinly angry. The Weber-Leilja fight was great because you could see how pissed off Weber was. Not only that, but most of those types of fights happen between two guys that don't know how to throw-em like a seasoned pro - so it's more entertaining since less defense is involved. What the NHL is trying to do is get rid of the circus side show fights, and allow for more heat-of-the-moment tilts. In my mind, that's a step forward.

I only saw it as a joke. I wasn't offended by it.

Yup, I think he was one of the top 10 forwards of all time. Maybe even players of all time. I just grew tired of his on-again, off-again career near the end: - "I'm coming back!" - "No I'm not" - "Which team am I going to?" - "I'm making a comeback!" I'm glad he finally ended it so we can celebrate the player he was and not be bogged down with a weekly report letting us know he isn't sure if he's going to play again or not.

Just like it's hard to make a Jason Bonsignore into a Steve Yzerman. Just because you're big doesn't mean you're automatically going to be better than a smaller player. Size is the reason why Tampa Bay took Chris Gratton over Paul Kariya. How did that work out? I'm sure you can come up with examples of a bigger player outshining a smaller player. But in my mind, the Wings need a potential 50 goal scoring North American star more than another big, skilled European. The ticket sales and TV ratings say as much.

Tavares. That was easy. I know that there's an excellent chance Hedman will be a better pro but the Wings desperately need a North American offensive superstar. Tavares has potential to be that. If we had Tavares, attendance and TV ratings would go way up.

Fine, I will. You smell.

http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/index.ph...t&p=1549740 To me, that means we're not allowed to argue any points against the Wings or their enemies without being insulted. I'm not sure where it was determined that you can't argue points without adding insults but you see to be adamant that the two go hand-in-hand. That's why nobody likes you and everyone you've ever met thinks you're an *******. Sorry if my humor isn't coming through with this post. Darn this internet and the anonymity it provides!

Oy vay, you're all over the map. When did I ask for sympathy? And didn't you just say that you would talk to someone in person exactly how you are here? And now you're going back on that? I understand that perception's are hard to pick up on since we're typing and not talking face-to-face. All the more reason for what I've said how it's not necessary to follow up any counter arguments with unwarrented insults.

Excellent post.

LOL. Touche. That's a good answer.

You speak of rationalities and yet you find it ludicrous that Lemieux couldn't beat up everyone on this team outside of Lilja? Who on this current roster - the same one that will be dressed for tonight - could beat up Lemiuex in a hockey fight? I can't think of one. That's the whole reason why I, and a few others, find it funny when Wing fans call him a coward. That was the whole point of this thread - to call Lemieux a coward. And some people decided to play devils advocate and point out that outside of Lilja there isn't one 'coward' on this team that would drop the mitts to protect anyone. I decided to use some rationality and look at what Claude has done in his career. I'm not clouded with personal feelings and ra-ra emotions towards everything that is Red Wings to recognize that the guy was a pretty darn good player in his day. And someone that would, on occasion, back up what he did on the ice. The same could not be said for two current pests on our team - Maltby and Sammuelson. But as odd as this may sound Kaz, I agree with what you told me in the prior post. If you can't be 100% positive to all things Red Wing then don't bother coming to LGW. Heaven forbid someone critique this team or give props to anyone outside of Detroit - even if they're hated for something that happened 12 years and 4 Cups ago.

KAZ, anyone older than 20, would know that Chelios was a much worse antagonist and enemy of Wings nation than Claude. Claude had one vicious hit on Draper. That was it. Yes, it was horrific, but if you look over all the crap that Chelios caused this team it really pales in comparison. And yet, where's the outrage for Cheli being a great Wing now? And if you really did talk to perfect strangers like you do here, I can imagine you don't have many friends. If that really is how you are, then you have the personality of a rattlesnake bite. But something tells me you're nothing like your online persona. Most people aren't.

That takes a lot of b@lls to say what you just wrote. I'm sure you'll be hammered for voicing that opinion. But I agree with you as well. There are lots of things to love about this team, but I too want a more physical lineup and one that features a top North American offensive star. I also fell in love with the Wings as a kid based on the team they had in the 80's. Sure, they sucked at times, but they were rough and tumble and still had some good offensive tools to keep things interesting. That's why I hardly find myself watching Wings games during the regular season. I've been enjoying watching other teams like Boston, Washington, Chicago, etc. When the playoffs roll around, I'll be tuning in to every Wings game I can find. But right now, they're not as entertaining to me as they once were. I respect anyone that feels otherwise, but for me, I would be very happy if we could add more grit and a player similar to Jonathan Toews or Rick Nash.

I'm asking this with 100% sincerety; what are you talking about? At what point did I threaten physical violence? I never once stated ANYTHING about 'beating anyone up'. The 'attacks' I was referring to were how you referred to me having the comprehension of a 12 year old. Why did you feel the need to insult me? I understand that people aren't going to agree with everything I say and I'm cool with that. Most people are. But why do you, or other people on this board, feel the need to not only voice their disagreement but then throw in insults at the same time - for no reason. I would have had no problem with your post at all if you simply said "Claude Lemiuex is a thug and I don't believe any Wings fan would ever accept him in Detroit". Bang. Done. Why the need to throw in "I hope you're a 12 year old for thinking the way you do". Finally, my point about hiding behind a computer screen is a simple one. 95% of the arguments on this site would never, ever take place in real life. The amount of bickering or pure vicionsness I've seen on here at times never occurs in any of the day-to-day Wings-related conversations I hear or take part in. Normally, people would be kind and courteous. But on here, because we're all not face to face, and we're sitting in our homes and protected by our anonymity, we feel it's safe and cozy to attack anyone and insult them as much as we want. All I'm asking is that if you don't agree with someone, that there's no need to toss in a few derogatory remarks with it. Your opinion will be respected a heck of a lot more if you present it with respect. I've gotten angry over some stupid arguments on these boards too, but I normally don't go out of my way to insult anyone when I don't agree with what they're saying. Especially if they've didn't attack me verbally in the process of presenting their view.