skacore

you can't earn a spot in this line up there's only 2 ways you can crack it 1) run out of waiver eligibility and make the team by default 2) threaten to go back to your home country if you don't make the team you can't just step in and score 2 goals in 2 games in the SCF or something then make the roster next season, wtf you think this is?!

so you're suggesting we pretend Maltby's lackluster 08-09 season didn't really happen to make him look better? hey if we go way back he was once on Team Canada so that probably means he's still that good, right? he's getting older and worse, this year will be no exception

here's another couple stats: DET reg. season PK: 78.3%, 25th out of 30 DET playoffs PK: 73.2%, 14th out of 16 ouch looks like Malts sure did a good job there that took me 2 minutes, your post took half an hour lol

I'd be willing to bet Helm could naturally whoop most guys on our team despite the size difference. A Canadian boy who went through the meat grinder known as the WHL, he's obviously rock solid from the way he hits and has shown he's got incredibly quickness and will. I doubt he would need many lessons to become a good fighter.

he probably ate frosted mini wheats out of the cup this very morning

lol STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS... they won the f***in cup dude get over it... they beat the Wings in a 7 game series... period... they have the right to be called the STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS

it would be entertaining but not a chance in hell Hollweg plays for Detroit... I'd have to side with the "other guys" and call him a no talent hack who brings more flaws than gain to the team... and Roy is a boring fighter but yeah beggars can't be choosers I guess... he's still a nutcase but can play a reg. shift

my god I would ******* love Ott in Detroit... he is going to be the next level of an agitator bank on it... he is such a valuable player and has put on a lot of muscle since he first entered the league

yes, definitely... I think it will become a bit of a trend in the next few years to be completely honest... Anaheim was a dominant team when they won and they were still very solid this year and pushed us to the very limit and they're even in a bit of a rebuild you could say, yeah they lost Pronger but they've really done well to solidify their team and their top line is just ridiculous and going to get so much better, I'd expect them to contend for years to come Flyers are another team that I think are going to take the next step this year. Pronger really helps the D corps and I could see them battling through a few playoffs rounds and end up in (at the very least) the conference finals I've posted this a couple times already today but the Penguins have made some minor moves this offseason to get a lot bigger and tougher and they're the defending champs, they obviously see some sort of value there. They acquired Mike Rupp who is 6'5 230ish and was NJ's heavyweight last year, he can play a regular shift on any team's 4th line. They also signed Carolina's part time enforcer Wade Brookbank who is also around 6'4 220-230ish, but I doubt he'll be a full timer for them, just get some games here and there when necessary. On top of that they have one of the best enforcers in the league in Eric Godard (6'4 230). So yeah I think a lot of teams (not all) are really trying to get some big boys who can play and intimidate and I'm really looking forward to some of the battles that are gonna take place this year.

I'm on the Bertuzzi band wagon as well... as small as it may be but in my heart I am still hoping Holland surprises us all with a meathead like Andre Roy

I don't think it's fair to call them (or "me", or "us", whatever) "spoiled fans" because I definitely do not see it that way. Maybe it is just me but I'd rather see a blue collar team battle their way into the playoffs and exceed expectations when they get there. The wings could go 82-0 with an entire roster similar to Team Sweden but that wouldn't do it for me, in the end the NHL is an entertainment business and without fans and merchandise the league is not going anywhere. Of course teams are always going to stride to be the best they can but hockey is a physical game and fighting is a tradition in the game, Holland constantly states in interviews that he'd love to have a player that can play and fight but they aren't easy to find.... and he's been saying that for half a decade now. Attendance is awful, the Joe is pathetic, the team is GREAT, but there is a serious lack of old time hockey that so many fans have grown accustom to. But if you are satisfied with what the Wings put on the ice every night more power to you... that's great because you'll be entertained 82 nights a year and then some, personally I'm not... I've been a die hard Wings fan since the early 90's and my room is decked in Wings merc. (from when I was younger).... I play the Wings in every EA sports game... I have no reason to bash the team or players on the team aside from the fact that I hate the direction they are going and the product they put on the ice... and I know some people like it, but I also know there are some who don't... and I think both sides will continue to preach until they feel they are satisfied.... if I fell in love with my potential wife and we got married then all of a sudden she stopped giving me BJs, I'd be pretty pissed off too I have no reason to hate the Red Wings... but going into the 09-10 season right now, with these rosters intact, I am soooo much more inclined to watch my home town Maple Leafs instead of Red Wings on NHL center ice on any given night... I know no one cares but that is just how things have worked it's way out... hockey has always been known as a man's sport from where I come from... get the adrenaline pumping and watch the best players in the world bash the s*** outta each other then score some goals to boot... you just don't get that with the Wings anymore

amen, fill all the needs of a solid hockey club and everyone IS happy, I think that's been the request from the "fight fans", "grit slappys", "goon lovers", etc. for the past little while, just a couple ingredients missing until this great team can be considered that complete package

what am I supposed to admit exactly? would I rather the Wings be more like they were in the 90's? f*** yeah... and I know the Wings have been bottom of the fighting chart for a while, you don't necessarily need #'s to satisfy fans, just show a backbone and stand up for yourselves... McCarty has more fights than goals in his career, where exactly is this argument headed?? lol

yeah McCarty was primarily a scorer and dropped em once in a blue moon lol

This is what Holmstrom brings:

Someone said that fighting had no effect on the Wings in the 90's, the frigging Detroit Red Wings of all teams... we are well known for the brawl against the Avs and to go on and dominate from their on out, yet the fights had NO EFFECT... And what direction has the game taken exactly?? Fight numbers are up and the Stanley Cup Champs just added 2 legit heavyweight enforcers to their squad this offseason (Mike Rupp and Wade Brookbank) I really don't see this whole new decade, no fighting NHL like people have mentioned... it's just the Red Wings while other teams seem to be stockpiling up on toughness

What are you even talking about? You said "I've been a fan of the Wings since the late 80's. Based on your theory, what do you make of that? " Originally I said that if the Wings played like this throughout the 90's we wouldn't be considered "Hockeytown" and would have much less loyal fans, then you said that. So I'm saying that one of the toughest players to ever come through Detroit seems to have rubbed off on you a bit since you decided to make your username after him. I don't understand what else you're asking.

I think most people who make Downey's influence on the team out to be some sort of miracle are just countering the people who like to pretend he wasn't there at all. The fact is he did go through training camp, preseason, and the majority of the regular season enforcing for this hockey club, and they went on to win the Stanley Cup in a much tougher fashion than previous years since the lockout, it's not as simple as 1+1=2 but something, somewhere worked out for the better.

Your username is from our long time enforcer...

97: Shanahan, McCarty, Konstantinov, Lapointe, Pushor, etc. 98: Shanahan, McCarty, Lapointe, Kocur, Pushor, etc. 02: Shanahan, McCarty, 100 mill payroll of NHL superstars... ^^^^^^^ that is toughness lol... It's honestly a disgrace that someone can sit there and say fighting has had absolutely nothing to do with the Red Wings' dynasty... ask any hockey fan what there favourite memory was from the 90's and I'm sure 90% will tell you this:

Since a lot of people are tossing out names and most of them are somehow related to Europe or the European leagues, I found a player from the KHL that looks really intriguing. He has good size, put up good points last year, he must have good playmaking skills because he led his team in assists last year (could replace Hudler) oh yeah and he could s***pump 99% of NHL players

The Stanley Cup Champions, who already had Eric Godard (one of the best enforcers in the league) on their '09 team just picked up New Jersey's '09 enforcer Mike Rupp, and Carolina's '09 enforcer Wade Brookbank before going into '10 to defend their title. Your thoughts on the subject, sir???

I think people put too much attention into the world FIGHTING.. what most fans really want is just a team that sticks up for themselves and doesn't back down, if a fight is necessary then by all means... the teams we had in '97 and '98 would outplay teams, outhit teams, and intimidate them while doing so... we still outplay teams but we have to turn the other cheek and hide behind the linesmen because we have nobody who can do anything themselves... we would never be considered "Hockeytown" if we iced a team like this throughout the 90's until today, that's for sure

1 year of winning the cup with a pretty soft team (that still had Drake, McCarty, and Downey on it) and suddenly 100 years of hockey history goes out the window... you no longer need grit, size, or toughness to be successful in the playoffs. I think a lot of posters here became Wings' fans after watching a Pavel Datsyuk MTV cribs episode or something... Nevermind the fact that we are blessed to have 2 of the best all around forwards in the world, the best D in the world, and probably the most clutch goalie in the world, that's not why we're a good team, it's because we plug holes with guys like Lebda, Samuelsson, Williams?, Meech, Kopecky, post lockout Maltby... right... If every team iced a team like the Red Wings do in the regular season, the NHL would go out of business in a few years because fans all over North America would slowly lose interest

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