clutchngrab

Bert has been everything and more that the Wings management has expected - especially for the price. We have a couple of trophy winners who can't say the same.

31 is not past prime in the NHL.

Sure, if you say so. Just remember how brutal Fisch was for a few years before he "matured". This is Big Rigs first full year. It will be a bit rocky.

I think you are romanticizing Fischer. He definitely had his ups and downs. I remember when he was considered the biggest head case on the wings. Ericsson will be better than Fischer ever was.

classic Homer! Can't skate but damn he is good in front of the net.

oopsie

I hope you are talking about wine-making because I think it is 50-50 whether this team makes the playoffs.

Getting players to play the way they are supposed to is precisely the coach's job. Thanks for confirming that. Making adjustments and responding to situations between and during games is another part of the job. The fact of the matter is that games 6 and 7 were lost and the coach bears some responsibility. I guess you can always argue how much, but the SF loss definitely brought Babcock down to earth.

I'm not saying Babcock is a bad coach. I just don't think he is as great as everyone makes him out to be. He was clearly out-coached in the SF finals last year. Blysma adjusted and Babcock did not. I also believe he has a stubborn streak about line combos when some of them obviously do not work. Let's be honest, with the talent the wings have had over the his reign, there should be success. Sometimes a coach isn't really challenged until things go south like they appear to be this year. So we'll see how things go and if he get an effort out of this team.

Umm well, that's the head coach's responsibility. Personally, I think Babcock is highly overrated.

Actually now that the dollar sucks ass and will for an indefinite period of time, I would say any strong market in Canada - say Quebec City.

While I would love an NHL team in Portland here is why it won't happen: 1. Paul Allen owns the Rose Garden which is the only place an NHL team could play. He has stated in the past that he is not interested in the NHL. Portlanders will not cough up free ride money for sports franchise owners to build stadiums or rinks. 2. We have a WHL team (the Winterhawks) which struggles on and off for attendance. Portland is no different than anywhere else outside of the northeast and the northern midwest - hockey is not part of the general culture. 3. At the end of the day, love of hockey is learned at a young age. In the Portland metro area there are a grand total of 2 ice rinks and one indoor roller rink. How can you sell this sport when the hearts and minds of the kids are not there? In the Northwest Seattle makes more sense. Though it makes as much sense as Phoenix due to the regional appeal of hockey. Bettman thought he could change that, but the reality is that hockey always has been a regional sport and always will be until youth hockey programs are strong in the markets the NHL wants to penetrate.

Bettman's lap ***** speaks

Per Capita Easy Answer is Sweden

No one until the trade deadline and then Holland will get Rafalski to waive his no-trade and ship him off to a playoff team.

As long as one of our top 2 offensive players is saddled with Bert and Homer, and Rafalski does little to justify his paycheck, then we may lose as many as we win.

That's always possible, especially in a 2nd rate poorly run league like the NHL. The chances of getting caught are minimal. But I don't want to go on record that this is my personal belief.

When the rules are specified in such a way as to negate the logical and common sense conclusion to an issue, then you have a problem. The real problem is accountability. What was intended as an opportunity for refs to make the correct call after the fact has turned into a place where they can try to hide their incompetence. In the best world, Toronto should be able to overrule the intent when it is obvious that it should not be a factor in the call. Unfortunately, that won't happen because of the 2nd rate nature of the NHL and its blatant protectionism of its s***ty officiating. Can't show up the refs.

I used to get Center Ice for a number of years and stopped for the following reasons: 1. Too expensive when mostly all I care about is the Wings. 2. Center Ice Blackouts when the Wings were on NHL Network. This really pissed me off. 3. Overall dissatisfaction at the level of incompetence and of how the NHL is run by the leadership (Bettman and the PA). 4. Overall dissatisfaction with the officiating and degradation of the game over the years. For all these reasons, I will do my best to not support the NHL with my money until changes are made.

Your the clown who apparently thinks its OK for athletes to do what they want as long as they perform. It's a good thing our society in general doesn't share your values.

There was no intent - May score on the SHOT. LaRue just didn't want to be overturned by Totonto and that's what is maddening. Ass clown ego tripping ref.

Yeah, but they didn't have that many great chances and they didn't bury the ones they had in the 1st. This win was solid goaltending + an offensively challenged team.

Bert is an enigma rapped in a riddle. He skating and back-checking better than he ever has in his career. Of course he still flounders in his own end, but that's to be expected to a point. The thing that completely baffles me is how does a power forward goal scorer completely lose his shooting touch? Obviously he still has some hands, but shot selection and timing have completely left him. It's kinda weird, actually.

Oh yes - Stuart and Kronner were very good tonight. Plus, if I don't notice Brett Lebda, then he is doing his job as the 6th man.