scotzman

The thing I love about these videos is all the stuff that it thinks you may like to look at... like this young Darren McCarty fight in Pre-Season 93-94 against the Hawks...

Souray seems like a lot of hype... why did it take so long to sign him? Maybe teams realized he's not the answer. We'll see how good he is playing on a not so good Edmonton team. By the way, I like Rafalski... not that you couldn't tell.

I think you are missing my sarcasm... RFA, UFA... who cares.

Since he was a Group III RFA with Anaheim, looks like we finally got Burke back for signing Bert and Schneids!

I liked Kopecky exchanging blows with that dude... very nice. I would love to see the guy play like that with the Wings... bring that edge kid!

Anyone who wouldn't be interested in a healthy Forsberg is obviously delusional. Therein lies the problem... if he is healthy and wants to play for Detroit, you have to do it.

Agreed... most of here in the States came from Europe too. My Dad came here from Scotland, does this mean I'm soft? Just remember unless you are a Native American, you ain't exactly from here either. I think there are more "North Americans" who play a gritty game, but that does not mean all North Americans are tough or all Euros are soft. As more and more Europeans are coming to the NHL, they're learning to play the North American style of hockey. By the way, Holmstrom, Franzen, Samuelson and I would even say Datsyuk and Zetterberg can hold their own... they may not fight, but neither did Yzerman. Was he soft?

I guess I really wanted Bert back... that would have been a success to me, but that is my own opinion. I really liked the possibility of him... not what he showed (nothing) in the playoffs, but the possibility of what he could show. Oh well. We're nitpicking a little I guess... I am not bashing Holland. I think the thing we're missing in my previous post is: I THINK KENNY WILL PULL THROUGH IN THE END. All I did say was that signing one of the four guys he wanted had to be tough to swallow. Should he have given them whatever they wanted? No. If you read what Bert is saying and what Kenny is saying about his contract, the money was very similar, but the years were not. Todd wanted 2 years. Kenny wanted one. So Todd's agent called Burke. I do think this team is still in need of a bigger forward (top six) of some kind... so does Kenny. We are still going to have a great team. The other thing about the money is, this is the way things are going to go from now on. Don't you think people are going to throw mad dollars at Zetterberg when he is an UFA (let's hope he never gets the chance)? This is how people are going to play it, so we have to play that way to a certain extent also. We already have... Dats and Rafalski both got huge contracts, not like Gomez and Drury, but big money. Again, Holland will keep this team in the running, I just wanted a little more... but I'll live.

Dude. Whether the FA prices were too high or not, Holland specifically stated that he wanted Hasek, Schneids, Bert and Markov back. He lost 3 of the 4... that has to be considered falling short of expectations. I still think we have a great team. I still think that Kenny will improve this team now or at the deadline, but the facts don't lie. Kenny went 1 for 4, plus, he still hasn't addressed the "need" that he speaks of every off season as of late. Grit and Size. I know that is easier to say than to accomplish, but it still has not been addressed.

I'll never understand why this is so taboo. Many other pro sports do it. Lowe made a brilliant move here... he is making it known that this is a weapon that a small market team can use to compete with the "Big Boys" (not exactly against a big bad giant, but it made a statement). Kenny should grow a pair and fire back at the Ducks for pillaging our UFA's... Locking up Penner would be a great move for this organization.

As stated by many and spoken about in other threads throughout these boards, Kenny is back to stating the same problems with this team that he just doesn't seem to be able to solve. We always seem to put a great team out there, but we've lacked "grit and physical play" for a lot of off seasons now. When is enough of this same old mantra from Kenny enough? We need a guy like the McCarty of old... the Shanny type player is not available on the market right now unless Kenny makes a trade (Shanny is not going to sign here again) so we are limited to projects (Yashin, O'Neill, etc.) and low end forwards or people with checkered pasts. Kenny doesn't want to make a knee jerk move, but he really can't be happy with the way things worked out this off season.

Hooray! Dom signed... Now what?

Well, I would like to say that I do believe Holland will add some guys, but whether or not you are willing to face reality, he has lost 3 guys he tried to resign and is having a pretty tough time signing one of the guys that wants to be here. The Bert and Schneids deals just seemed like they could've been done. I liked the idea that both of them would be gone in two years. Reality does not automatically mean negativity. Trust me when I say I love this team and have loved for over 30 years, so don't start preaching to me about negativity, not supporting the team or not loving them.

If You Were Ken Holland This Off-Season?, What Would You Do??? Kick my own ass for losing 5 out 6 of our own FA's (two by choice, I know)... then complain to the media about the price and years that everyone wanted. Then prepare for the the end of the year speech where I talk about adding more grit in the off-season and all the power play opportunities we squandered.

One of the best and possibly accurate posts I've ever read.

Comrie... I would take a chance on him (for the right price). Guerin... same thing... really intrigues me (for the right price). Hall... take a fly on the kid. Penner... get the kid an offer sheet Kenny! Burke is making you his biatch!!

I would be surprised if Holland signs any of these guys... Not sure why people are down on Guerin, he had a great season last year in St. Louis/SJ with 36 goals. He's big and would definitely fit in well on one of the top two lines. He is getting a bit old though... Not against Comrie, but again, he doesn't make us bigger or grittier. I would love to see Holland get aggressive and sign Penner to an offer sheet. We may be hoping for a big gritty player until the trade deadline when more teams are out of it.

Wings sign (G) Adam Berkhoel, (D) Brad Ference... Who Cares?

Why do people keep thinking Whitney is coming here? Give me a frickin' break... there is no way he is the answer. That would be pure desperation... He just signed a three year contract with the Canes for $10.65 Million. He's 5'10" and 178 lbs. Just what we need! He had 32 goals last year on a stinker Canes team... the most he has ever scored is 33 in the NHL. Again, he must be the missing link. Kozzie... well, again, the size and skill are not what we need, but if that is what gets people excited around here...

I think Kenny knows what he wants to do and therefore knows what he's doing, but that does not mean that he is doing a great job thus far. IF Hasek resigns, Kenny has lost 5 out of 6 FA's. 5 out of 6!! Lang and Calder can be chalked up as his decision not to resign (Calder would have looked pretty good at this point). Schneids, Bert & Markov all bolted, partially because Kenny wouldn't budge. Bert wanted 2 years... it wasn't so much the money, it was the length. Are you telling me he couldn't have worked something out before Bert had his agent call Burke? Plus, Schneids ended up making less than the guy we signed for 5 years and $30 Million!! Tell me how that makes sense... he may be younger, but we just tied up a bunch of money in this guy. At least Schneider would be gone in two years! This has to hurt a little. You can't tell me he was hoping to lose 5 of the 6 guys. I agree that the contracts have been outrageous, but we need to replace Lang and Bert, plus add a depth D-Man. On top of that, as mentioned before, the lack of size on this team is getting ridiculous and if Kenny can't see that, he may not be as sharp as we think. I am not panicking. I still trust Kenny, but look at the facts... things are not working out the way anyone planned. Not even Kenny.

...especially with the rumors floating around of Hasek getting 2 years and $10 Million from the Kings. That would really send us into rebuilding mode. Hasek is really starting to scare me. The guy is mental and mental people do crazy things, like take $10 Million from a crappy team.

With the luck we have had thus far with our own FA's this seems very possible to me. I even think some players may be shying away from signing with us if Dom is not in the fold... Eklund also has us trying to land Raycroft. Please NO!

No kidding... if that is our line up... oh my, kill me now. Looking at it on paper really shows what huge holes we have to fill... Lang, although lazy and sucking, provided some hint of possible offense. Bert while slow and bumbling and giving up pucks, gave some hint of possible scoring touch and toughness. We never saw what Calder really had to give. Markov was nothing special, but had a little bit of grit. Seeing Sammy and Franzen on the top two lines scares the hell out of me. Cleary definitely deserves a spot on the top two, but even that is a little scary. Okay Kenny, I believe in you, but this is looking a little weak my friend.

Everyone freaking out about Bert leaving and acting like he was the "Franchise" is making me laugh my butt off. Would I liked Bert to stay? Yes. Not for what I'm sure the Ducks paid him though. Trust Kenny... when has this guy ever not put together a Stanley Cup contender? If you can name a year so far and really believe it, you are completely clueless about hockey. Even when the Wings faltered in early rounds of the playoffs, we were favorites to win it all. The whiners and nay-sayers are all too spoiled... I am so glad to be out of that amazingly negative town where I can just enjoy the Wings and not buy into all this bull crap. ...and anyone who is saying the Wings were beaten down physically in the playoffs this year just has on blinders. The Wings kicked butt this season and in the playoffs without Bert adding much of anything.

I think I hate him... I am so pissed that these douchebags left the Wings for the Ducks... I am officially wondering what Holland is thinking/doing.