Outsider

No. Sorry. You just gave away your age with that comment, kiddo. That may be true in today's "Bling is king" "Ghetto cool" type of world. Kids. Go figure. How many "haters" does Lidstrom have? I wonder how many "haters" Yzerman had. Sakic? Bourque? Modano? Those guys have/had a few things going for them. And for the record, you couldn't explain anything, to anyone, "for hours". It would only take seconds for one to grow sick of you and walk away. Maybe that's why you're here......

No, pumpkin. Crosby is hated because he's a whining little ***** boy. Yes, he's talented, but he's no kind of "leader". The boy is a cheap shot artist and perhaps the WORST diver the League has EVER seen. And that's saying something. He's a smarmy, smug little troll with a "Daddy says I'M the prettiest, and the smartest, and the bestest, and Daddy is ALWAYS RIGHT, so there!" attitude which makes just about EVERYONE OTHER than Penguins fans want to vomit. The fact that he's shoved down everyone's throat, non-stop, only exacerbates the contempt he's held in by fans AND by HIS OWN PEERS. Ovechkin is an all world talent. Nobody "hates" Ovenchicken. Hell, Crosby isn't the "best player in hockey." He's not even the best player on his OWN TEAM. Malkin is. See any League wide contempt for Malkin, amongst fans OR his peers? Nope. You're dillusional if you think that the only, (or even the MAIN), reason why so many people can't stand Sidney is because "he's soooo good", therefore there's some kind of jealously factor involved. Of course....that's the same smarmy, (yes....that word keeps coming up to describe him....it fits him VERY well!), little attitude that Sidney himself has. Isn't it? Oh.... And the reason that the hockey media follows him around is not ONLY because he's "just that good". It's ALSO because Bettman needed a "face" for the NHL, much like the NBA has a "face". And it wouldn't be NEARLY as easy to market a couple of RUSSIAN FACES, faces who BARELY SPEAK ENGLISH, to the Canadian and American markets. Enjoy the Cup while your Team has it, pumpkin. However, you might want to exercise a little humility in the face of their first victory in nearly two decades after YEARS of tanking it in the Regular Season so they could stockpile high draft picks year after year. Or perhaps you're proud of the way your Team was "built", by years and years of FAILURE, both competitively AND economically. Easy to say now that the ends justified the means. Time will tell, I suppose. Hey! It worked when they threw the Season in order to draft Mario! Why not try it again? Right? As quickly as it comes..... It can GO, just as easily. So remember this: It took their BEST, "most focused" effort to beat an injury riddled Team, including major injuries to their Norris Trophy Defenseman and Captain, AND their Hart Trophy Candidate and Selke Winning Forward, coupled with an almost completely HALF ASSED EFFORT by nearly everyone on the opposing Team...... ......to win by ONE goal in a 7th Game. They took advantage and capitalized on the opportunity. Congratulations to them. Now.... Don't you have some celebrating to do? Somewhere? With someone? Or does hanging around here thumping your chest somehow make it more "real" for you?

Believe it or not, I don't have the words to express how proud I am of this Team. Despite all my (many, MANY) criticisms, I can't believe they got as far as they did this Post Season. They had EVERYTHING stacked against them. And they just kept Winning. Past the 1st Round. Past the 2nd Round. Past the 3rd Round. I kept waiting for the injuries to catch up. For the exhaustion to set in. It took until Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals for this Team to FINALLY succumb to the many slings and arrows thrown their way ALL SEASON and ALL POST SEASON long. They got NO breaks this year. NONE. Amazing. They were simply amazing. What we, as fans, have to look forward to is equally amazing. Let the Pens go on and on about Cindy and Genny, and their imminent "dynasty". What we have before us is the next generation of the Detroit Red Wings, born and bred into the best Organization in the NHL, trained and mentored by Stanley Cup Champions 3 and 4 times over, indoctrinated in the lessons in Sacrifice, Hard Work, Humility, Dignity and TEAM as handed down by Steve Yzerman, and carried on by Lidstrom, Chelios, Maltby, Draper, Osgood, and Holmstrom. We are witnessing the young veterans Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, Kronwall and Cleary, as they instill the values of what it means to wear the Winged Wheel in the "babies" Helm, Ericsson, Filppula, and Abdelkader. The support of Players like Rafalski, Stuart, will help. Hopefully Lilja will be back and will build on his solid 2008-2009 Season, (we really, REALLY missed him on the PK this Post Season). We'll lose some Players this Off Season. That's inevitable. But Kenny will make the RIGHT choices for this Team, and they will be stronger next year. The future of this Team looks as bright and promising as the recent past has looked. And THAT is an amazing thing. Rest up, boys. Heal up. And come back stronger than ever. Because NEXT year, we take BACK what is ours! LET'S GO RED WINGS!!!!

There ya go. Fixed it for ya....

And if that's the case, it will be a signing that Wings fans will regret.

Yes, yes..... Let the dynasty talk begin. By all means. After ONE Cup, and Won in such a dominating fashion, too..... Hopefully the Penguins won't have to fire their Head Coach and trade for 4 or 5 Players at the deadline just to make the Play Offs again NEXT year, too.... Dynasty? Arrogant prick, that writer is. Try DEFENDING ONCE first, genius. You actually had the gall to post this without being EMBARASSED by the jizz spume this tool wrote? And for a publication the people actually READ, too....???? Wow. Just wow.

LOL.... No worries. This is nothing more than a fan emulating the class and dignity of the team in general, nad the captain in particular, that they support. It's rather fitting, actually. Do you honestly expect children to conduct themselves any better than "neener neener neener!"?

Don't you have other teenagers to go pop your zits with? Come ON.... There have to be at least a FEW bandwagon, didn't-know-the-Pens-existed-until-two-years-ago types around SOMEWHERE!

LOL.... Not to mention the fact that the Captain of the Wings is probably among the MOST respected Players amongst his peers, and knowing that Nick, with his humility and grace, lifting the Cup gives opposing Players a "Yeah....well, of course. I can see that." feeling. The kidtain of the pens, on the other hand, is one of the LEAST respected, least liked Players amongst his peers, and THIS evidenced by their OWN Player poll. That smarmy little child-molester-'stachelette mug of his is going to get GROUND into the ice at every opportunity next year. ESPECIALLY if he continues with his diving act.

Whoa there! I never said that I believed that the Wings should have been the Winners. No sir. I most certainly did not. I stated in the Game 6 GDT that their effort in THAT Game is the reason that "better" Teams LOSE Championships. You can't SPIT on the Hockey Gods and then expect to skate the Cup. HELL NO! And that's EXACTLY what the Wings did. They took a 2-0 Series lead, and then played "meh....we got this....we can turn it on whenever we want to" hockey in FOUR of the remaining FIVE Games. They played sloppy AND arrogant hockey. And as I stated in the Game 6 GDT, if there is ONE thing that Providence cannot STAND, it is arrogance. They made it back to the Finals, despite all the crappy officiating, despite all the injuries, despite the targets on their backs.... And then they COAST? No. You don't Win the Stanley Cup by COASTING! Uh uh. No sir. They WERE the better Team. And, again.....I LOVE this Team....But: They did NOT deserve to Win. Not this year. Not with the effort they put out specifically in Games 6 and 7. No way. No how.

Well....see there...? There IS a positive to this, after all. Now, if only Monday would come so you have to go back to 7th grade, that would be TWO positives. <Come onnnnnn Monday...!!!>

Again.....Bulls***. The better Team does NOT always Win. Are you telling me that the 2005 Oilers were "better"? No. No they were NOT. Nor were the 2003 Ducks. Not by a long shot. Again, the better Team dosn't always Win. The Team who WANTS it more Wins. The Team who puts forth maximum effort, and gets the most contributions from the most available sources, Wins. That's not "pride" talking. That's the truth. There are "upsets" in EVERY sport for a reason. And they're not called "upsets" because the fans have too much pride to admit that they're just "upset" that their Team got beat by a better Team. The better Team LOST this Series. They've no one to blame but themselves, and THEY will have to LIVE with that fact all summer long. As Maltby said last night: "That's why you have to get off to a good start. You can't rely on your star players. You've got to have a whole group out there. You can't rely on the power play. You've got to go out and can't just assume they're going to get that goal or get us going." Read between the lines: Unlike last year, where they were balls-to-the-wall on EVERY SHIFT. It WON them the Cup. This year they were "waiting" for stars who couldn't, or just plain wouldn't, show up. It COST them the Cup.

I don't agree. I think if they'd met the Ducks in the first Round they would've taken them in 5, 6 max. What made that Series drag out was the fact that the Ducks had alot of faith after beating the #1 seed, (yeah.....I know....it was the Sharks, but still), and the Wings were a bit complacent after steamrolling the Jax. A bit more adversity, earlier on, might have forced them to not believe their own press so much.

And that is the crux of it. Last year? They were inspired to Win for Dally. And so they followed Dally's lead, played the Game the way that Dally played. Heart. Grit. Not-so-much-talent-but-lay-EVERYTHING-on-the-line effort. This year? They were inspired to Win it for Marian Hossa. And so they followed Hossa's lead, and played the Game the way Hossa played it. The difference was quite evident. QUITE evident. The Cup was there, RIGHT THERE for the taking..... And they didn't step up. Period. A nobody like Talbot stepped up. Why? Because he obviously wanted to prove to Marian Hossa that heart means more than skill when the CUP is on the line. Message received. Loud and Clear.

Luongo is not the type of goaltender for this Team. Period.

No. I refuse to accept that. And I refuse to accept that because it's BS. They didn't lose to the "better" Team. They lost it to themselves with lack of CONSISTENT effort, and a cavalier attitude.

Ya know.... You can say whatever you want about Maxime freakin' Talbot, and what a talentless hack he is, (and he IS), but facts are facts..... He LED his Team, on his LIMITED talent, in a Game 7, ON THE ROAD, against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, to VICTORY, when the STARS on his Team could NOT produce, for whatever reason. He skated the Cup on OUR ice, and PISSED on Marian freakin' Hossa's decision to leave the Pens for the "best chance" to Win the Cup. Just as he SAID he WOULD! And he EARNED that, while a man with TEN TIMES his talent, making MORE THAN TEN TIMES HIS SALARY..... Did DICK ALL in defense of both the Cup, AND his decision. Go ahead..... Rip on a nobody like Talbot and hope to re-sign a "superstar" like Hossa. There's logic for ya.

I'm sorry. I LOVE this Team. But I'm not buyin' it. If they had "nothing left", they would have gotten WORSE as the Game(s), (both Game 6 and Game 7), wore on. Instead? They DOMINATED in the 3rd of BOTH Games. The FACT of the matter is that they fell back to the pattern they'd been successful will ALL SEASON LONG. Take the first 40-50 minutes off, then turn it WAY UP for the final 10 and let "talent" and "skill" take over. They pulled a Hossa. Plain and simple. It COST them the Cup. And Kirk Maltby all but came RIGHT OUT AND SAID IT in his Post Game interview.

Alright....maybe ONE positive...... Nobody from the Wings died, or suffered a career ending injury. Other than that? NOTHING positive. NOTHING.

Not fair, Matt..... You posted while I was composing.

OOOOHHH! MORE fun.... After Hasek left, Osgood was under contract to the NYI, had just led them to the Post Season for the first time in 7 years, and was named Team MVP at the end of the year. Cujo, on the other hand, was an UFA, looking for an easy shot at the Cup he couldn't get CLOSE TO anywhere else. Once the lockout was over, after Cujo had been jettisoned, Osgood WAS signed by Detroit....and while SOME OF YOU refuse to remember the ACTUAL FACTS, choosing to rely on "revisionist history": Osgood was brought back to ostensibly COMPETE with Legace for the #1 spot. If you'll go back to coverage AT THE TIME it was generally accepted that Osgood would win that "competition" in a WALK, and that the ONLY reason that it was only being CALLED a "competition" was as a nod to Legace's MANY YEARS of loyal service as a backup, without having ever been given a shot at the #1 spot. Osgood was INJURED, TWO DAYS INTO TRAINING CAMP that year, and was relegated to the bench for the first MONTH of the regular Season, as a result. Meanwhile, Babcock, in his first year as "BOSS" of the Wings, decided to put his "stamp" on the Team by naming Legace the "Starter" while Osgood was still down in Grand Rapids on his conditioning stint, and before he'd had a single chance to hit the ice in a game for the Wings that Season. The "competition" ENDED before ONE of the two "competitors" had a single chance to make a case for the spot. We all SAW how that turned out, didn't we? I think THAT, more than anything, was a mistake that Babcock KNEW he made. More than ANY since he came over from Anaheim. And THAT is why he did NOT stick his foot into the SAME bear trap THIS Post Season, depsite how poorly Osgood's REGULAR SEASON went. LESSON LEARNED. STICK WITH YOUR STARTER. Your BACK UP is a CAREER BACK UP for a REASON.

The goaltenders job, as ANY hockey man will tell you, is to STOP THE INITIAL SHOT. Anything after that? It's a CRAP SHOOT, and a bonus. Especially on an odd man rush. Period. Not to mention the fact that that GWOTG was scored by a confirmed Wings killer, (whose name you've repeatedly misspelled, by the way.....). And Osgood WAS better this year. There were MANY games this PS where the Wings had no business being in early, and Oz was the ONLY reason they weren't down by 2 or 3 goals after the FIRST PERIOD. To argue that he wasn't "any better" is both asinine AND disingenuous. (Not surprisingly). Not for nothin', but the Wings "released" Osgood for a six time Vezina Winner. As Draper was quoted as saying, at the time..... "Look who it took to replace him. That's no knock on Chris Osgood." And finally..... Yes. Some of us JUST KNEW. It's a fact. Whether YOU would like to believe it or not is quite irrelevant, really. And for you to state that it's "not true" that we knew, based on nothing more than our gut feeling after watching the guy for nearly TWO DECADES, is more of the smarmy, overly aggressive arrogance you display in every one of your posts. Some of us JUST KNEW. HOW did we know....? Well....now that's another question, entirely. Isn't it? How do YOU know that you will wake up tomorrow and your house will be in the same spot it occupied when you went to sleep the night before? Do you have proof? Statistical evidence to back it up? How do you "know" that you're going to love your children tomorrow? Facts? "Numbers"? Or do you just "know", based on years, and years, and years of historical evidence in support of the repetitive nature of that occurence? None of what you write makes you a "hater". That lies in what is BEHIND what you write. It kinda peeks through, from time to time, (quite often, in fact), before trying to disguise itself as "logic" or "facts" or pseudo-objectivity again. It's kind of "catty", actually. Kinda like how women "compliment" each other: "Wow....you're BEAUTIFUL for a big girl!" or "I could NEVER pull off an outfit that slutty." or "You look GREAT for your age." It's not even remotely subtle, to be quite honest with you.

Perhaps true. But Wings fans weren't jizzing all over themselves because they'd recently won ONE CUP, from an injury depleted Team, and postulating all that would be possible for their "budding dynasty", only 5 years removed from being a BOTTOM DWELLER and tanking a few Seasons in a row in order to stock up on first and second overall picks for half a decade running.

You're citing 4 years with BAD TEAMS, out of a 16 year NHL career as proof of mediocrity. Roberto Luongo has been in this League for 9 years. He's brought his Team to the PO's twice.

You're a hater, sb. Pure and simple. You see only what you want to see. And what YOU want to see is Deader burying that rebound. What you FAIL to see is the play leading to that rebound, the save made on the initial shot, and the fact that, (at that point), there were far too many spectators in Red and White on the ice, and only ONE guy who showed up to oppose them. "Numbers" lie all the time, soonboomer. A much wiser, more learned man than I, and DEFINITELY a much wiser and more learned man than yourself, was famously quoted as saying: "There are lies, DAMNED lies, and STATISTICS". NUMBERS LIE ALL THE TIME. Case in point? Chris Osgood's "numbers" from THIS Post Season vs LAST Post Season. Refute it. And for the record...... It was Ken Holland who stated that had Hasek not "fallen into our lap", they NEVER would have replaced Osgood. And it was Scotty Bowman who stated that if the Wings had "ANY idea" that Hasek would retire after one year, they "NEVER would have let Osgood go". You keep hating, though..... His TEAMMATES, his COACH, and the GM who scouted him ALL know better than you ever will. So you go 'head and sit there in front of your monitor and cast aspersions. The guy you obviously find so deficient has stood the test of time, and against far fiercer opponents than you will ever prove to be.