Outsider

You can add the Islanders to that list, as well. They're owned by a crook who's only purpose in buying the Team is to steal the land immediately surrounding NVMC, something which every owner has attempted for decades, thus far without success. The Isles are barely at the salary cap floor, are last in the League in attendance, and claim to have been losing upwards of $10-15M per year since Mr. Crookedy bought the Team. He's purposely destroying the Team in order to get the fans to put pressure on local politicians to force his development plans through, so he can get his hands on the land. If he's successful, God help Islanders fans. Tampa is in financial trouble. As are the Panthers. The only reason that these Teams have not failed, outright, is because they're being propped up by the stronger Teams in the League. Bettman has been a miserable failure, and he's brought the NHL to the brink of destruction.

LOL. Awesome photo. Funny... Gretz is only 364 days older than Cheli. The difference in appearance is shocking.

And who is it, do you think, who makes travel arrangements for Nick Lidstrom, his wife, and their four sons, if they were to decide to go to....say.....Hawaii for the All-Star Break? Or perhaps to Disneyland? The Bahamas? And how simple do you think it would be to switch all of those plans, for a family of 6, and all within less than 24 hours notice of the League advising that "you don't have to play, but you have to show up"? Do you actually read the s*** you post?

I'm not sure which of the two in that photo is scarier. At least Farley is supposed to look bad.... <shudder>

Pfffft. Not even close, esteef. Elbows are down, and there's not so much as a trace of blood on that stick. <smirk>

Kira....I'll have to respectfully disagree with your nomination. The Captain is too understated, too humble, and far too respectful, for the job at hand. It needs more flash. More "BANG!". And a bit more showmanship. Brendan Shannahan would be my choice. Smart. Savvy. Irreverant. And with aspirations. Oh yes.... Yep. Shanny would make an excellent Commissioner. As a matter of fact, I'll go so far as to say that Shanny will make and excellent Commissioner. Let Shanny be the face. And keep Stevie where he belongs, where he's always belonged.... The brains, and the heart, behind the operation. Silent, but deadly.

Doesn't matter to the League Offices. All that matters is that they can officially say that Sidney Crosby holds the League Record for All Star Votes. The fact that they are as happy as pigs in excrement over such a hollow, meaningless, artificial "record" is yet more testament to the fact that Bettman and Co. are completely out of touch with this Game, and it's fans. The NHL is rapidly becoming a sideshow.

I find it funny, ("funny" peculiar, not "funny" ha-ha), that Colin Campbell commented on the fact that it was "unfortunate" that the League was "forced" to implement this type of thing, due to the fact that there were too many of the Games star players who were skipping out on the event, without good reason. Here's a clue, gentlemen: Put a HOCKEY MAN in the Commissioner's seat, rather than a weasely little rat-faced lawyer. A man who knows, and LOVES, the Game, the Players who play it, and the Fans who watch it. A man who will truly have the League's best interests at heart, rather than a man who's sole mission has appeared to be to drive the NHL into obscurity, and to make it the laughingstock of professional sports. Put a hockey man in the Commissioner's seat, and allow him to market and promote our beautiful Game the way it should be marketed and promoted - to it's strengths, not as though he's trying to make it a cheap imitation of some other League/Sport. A man that the Owners, the Players, AND the Fans can get behind and trust, really trust, with the future of our Sport. Gary Bettman is boo'ed because he's a carbuncle on the butt of hockey. He's the human equivalent of something hockey fans look down at and disgustedly attempt to scrape off the bottom of their shoes after having stepped in it. Put a hockey man in the Commissioner's seat, and watch the Pride come back to an "event" which used to be a showcase of the best our Sport had to offer, but has, (under the watch of Gary Bettman), become a joke, a farce, and now, (apparently), yet another way for him to exert his petty little illusion of control over the players who make this Game the greatest on the planet.

Happy birthday, ya grouchy old bastard. Much love and respect.

LOL. I wasn't only referring to their faces. Some, (most), of those young ladies would be far better served spending less time at the tanning salon and McDonald's, and more time at the gym. Eeeesh!

To call Brian Burke "pond scum" would be an insult to pond scum. You're surprised by his comments?

Operative words, here. Now.... Go back and look at the photos.

And, in my opinion, it's the reason why Bettman has been so unsuccessful in marketing the NHL. Because he's not marketing the NHL. He's attempting to market individuals. That's not how this Game works. This is the ultimate Team sport. And it should be the TEAMS which are marketed, first and foremost, not the individual Players. Players come and go. As great as they are, they come and go. They become injured. They slump. They get traded. They just flat out don't live up to expectations, sometimes. (Hellllloooooo? Rick DiPietro?). Look at the embarassment of riches that the Wings have lost, to Free Agency, to injury, to retirement. It hasn't had a negative impact on this Team. That's because of the philosophy, the culture, within the Wings Organization. The King is Dead. LONG LIVE THE KING! Because it's not about the individual Player. It's not about personal glory. Steve Yzerman proved that. It's about the Team. It's always been about the Team. It may not be as "sexy" as choosing ONE Player, ONE "face" to represent the NHL, but it's the ONLY way to market a Game, and a League, where on nearly every beautiful goal scored, it is the goal scorer himself who immediately turns to his Teammate(s) and gestures: "You - That was all you, buddy!" And that is something that Gary Buttman, with his NBA background, will never understand.

I haven't read every page in all of the related threads, but I'm wondering: 1) Does anyone honestly expect that Ken Holland, (after he was made aware of the "attendance exemption" on Friday), should have called Dats and Lids and told them to change their plans and get on a plane? Pfffft. Not bloody likely. Not only do you not "tell" these guys to change their plans, you don't even bother to make the call to "ask" them to consider it. These are two class guys, who leave their guts on the ice for their Team, their Fans, and their League, every night. If they've decided to skip the festivities and accept the consequences, you do not second guess them. You trust their judgement implicitly. These are not selfish players. If they say they can't go, for whatever reason, then they can't go. Period. 2) With regard to the rumor that the League contacted the Wings requesting "replacements" for Pasha and Lidas, but were rebuffed: I have a feeling that this little snafu, (the suspensions), stems largely from that. Bettman got a little pissy that the League's premier, flagship Franchise gave him a backhanded "mmmmnothanks" to his request that they send a rep from the defending Cup Champs to play in his little farce of a game. Of course, this might have also something to do with the fact that Buttman recently declared, loud and clear, that the Red Wings, and the proud, (if embattled) city of Detroit couldn't even hope to be awarded an All Star Game until the Wings got a new arena, because the League "likes new arena's" rather than "old" ones. Fair enough, Mr. Commissioner. You can continue to send the All Star Game festivities to the shiny, new, empty arena's in the deep south, while the Wings continue to Win Games that matter here in their broken down, "old" Arena. 3) Is this an "official" suspension? As in Official? Because if it is, should'nt that suspension come with no pay for the game these Players are being "suspended" for? Players are not paid for games for which they've been suspended. And if they are, (indeed), to be paid for a game in which the League has mandated that they must not play.... Who's pickin' up the tab for their paycheck for that game? Cuz I'm calculating about $82K for Pavs, and about $91K for Nick, for a Game that the League has mandated they not participate in, but for which they are to be paid. 4) In light of the petty ***** slap that Buttman has delivered to the DRW, (and make no mistake....that's exactly what it is, and precisely what it was intended to be from the start), I'm hoping that Kenny Holland has formulated his "final answer" to the League's question as to whether or not the Detroit Red Wings would be interested in opening up the 2009-2010 Season in Sweden. "....mmmmmnothanks." *click*

Mike has always had political aspirations. It's why he went back to school at Yale after he retired.

Amen. The Game is fine. Anyone who can't appreciate Hockey for the beautiful, graceful, brutal game that it is... Doesn't deserve it. If they don't get it, as it stands, they never will.

Exactly what I posted elsewhere. Love/hate, indeed.... Wings fans love to hate him when he loses, and they hate to love him when he wins. Been that way for the past decade+. I'm sure he's quite used to it, by now.

With all due respect: Firstly, you don't get to be "in the class of Brodeur" by having two "really good years". Brodeur is in Brodeur's class because he's had fifteen "really good years". And three Stanley Cup rings. And an Olympic Gold Medal. And four Vezina's. Secondly, I'd like to see Luongo win something, anything.....at all, (Hello?....Bueller?.....Bueller?), before he's placed in Brodeur's "class".

It's Osgood's fault. Had he been holding his clipboard with a little more confidence, most of those shots would've deflected off into the corners. Of course, it could also be that he's wearing his baseball cap too tight and low over his eyes. And he's probably chewing the wrong kinda gum, too, I'll bet. Makes the Team in front of him doubt his ability to blow proper bubbles without getting gum all stuck to his face. Gets them all tight and nervous just thinking about it. Regardless, he sucked tonight. No doubt about it.

That was totally unnecessary, man. What are you, some kinda sadist? My eyes are bleeding after reading that. Nice, man. Reeeeal nice.

Actually Osgood was making $3.5M, with 2 years left on his contract at $3.75M and $4.0M, and Legace was making $550,000. But hey! Who's counting? And it's only a guess on my part, but my "guess" would be that many posters who talk about how Osgood was "traded" were probably still in/barely out of grade school when it happened. It was some time ago, after all, (relatively speaking), when you consider the seeming young age of alot of the posters here.

I'm going to have to agree wholeheartedly here, with both gcom and with norrisnick. How quickly some forget. And ya know, gcom... I seriously doubt that Oz feels duped after last years Cup Parade and the subsequent celebrations. I don't think he's got that in him. He's always been a Wing, through and through, in good times, and in bad. I don't think he'd allow a few fair weather types to color his perception of the fans he's always said were the best in the NHL. Here's to a strong second half of the Season for the Wings in general, and for Oz, in particular.

Wait a minute.... You mean something along the lines of a goaltender coming out to the blue line to take a player out at the knees in order to stop him on a breakaway? Is that the type of "Most of the times it works" type of play you're talking about? With all due respect, this was NOT Overtime in a Game 7 of the WCF. It was game 42(?) of the regular season, against Dallas. And all they lost..... Was a point. A point they didn't deserve in the first place, and which was only garnered by the strong play of the guy you're slamming for playing the last shot, (in your mind), "less than perfectly". Any questions you have about Osgood's ability to get the job done when the Games really matter should have been answered last Post Season. And if they weren't? I'd submit that you weren't paying attention while he was busy Winning YOU the Cup.

Well then.....where to begin..... Fair enough. If you missed half the Game, how can you comment on it? By the time you got home, the goaltender who was minding the nets for your Team was probably exhausted, after having been besieged for the better part of the Game, while most of the rest of the Team was busy getting their nails done. Or were you expecting him to be fresh and rosey into Overtime, as the Wings were giving up more shots in this Game than they had in any Game since 1989. For the record. That's 20 years. Yes. Twenty Years. Who are you to pass judgement on how any of these guys played? Like I said, lace 'em up and strap 'em on. Barring that, at the very least recognize that the guy you've chosen to roast, and his play tonight, on any of the goals scored against him, was the last thing that you, as a fan, should be criticizing. His play, (along with that of Datsyuk), is the only reason the Wings got a point, at all. Again....fair enough. Recognize that you don't have any say in the matter of Wins and/or Losses, any more than you have any say over trades, or salary, or who stays and goes with this Team. So recognize this also, if you will..... As much as you "hate losing", to the Stars, or the Leafs, or the Preds, or the Sharks, or anyone else for that matter.... Your "hatred" pales in comparison to that of the guys who actually leave their blood, sweat, and guts out there. They lost the game. You lost nothing. Just phantom bragging rights to say that the guys you cheer for got beaten by the guys someone else cheers for. Did he play it "as perfectly as possible"? Undoubtedly no. The guy had, at that time, faced nearly 50 shots, and been on the wrong side of a shooting gallery out there from the drop of the puck to start the 2nd period. When he saw the opposing player busing through TWO of his Teammates, he probably wasn't thinking of the most "logical" way to play the puck. He wasn't thinking at all. He was just stopping the puck. Try to remember that the guy doesn't play in a vacuum, either. Could he have played it better? I don't know. I'm not a goaltender. And I certainly wasn't the one who fought off 45-50 shots tonight, in a game where my defense left me hanging out to dry no matter how many great saves I made. I'll tell you what though.... Had Lebda not turned the puck over right in front of Osgood, or had the TWO Wings, (Flip and Lebda....again), who got turned inside out on the original rush, when Osgood made the initial save, (a save which was called "miraculous" by the Versus announcers), only to have TWO Stars fall on top of him, had either of them played it at least decently, let alone "as perfectly as possible", or had Kronner been able to keep track of the one man he was responisible for, (Daley), not even "as perfectly as possible", just "decently"...... Then we wouldn't be discussing how Osgood was caught out of position on the GWG, after having made a "miraculous" save on the initial shot. Fair enough?

You're kidding. Right? "A taste of the same." Son, your wit is about as sharp as a mitten. You're not going to get much of a rise out of anyone with the intellectual equivalent of "Your mama's so fat...." or "Knock Knock" jokes. All you've succeeded in doing is showing your arse to the entire board. Look around. Bravo. If that's what you were going for, you've done admirably well. This has been fun, but before it goes any further, I'll respectfully withdraw. It's not right that I should enter into a battle of wits with an unarmed person. It violates my sense of honor.