NeverForgetMac25

Yet they've consistently been a profitable franchise....which is the one and only claim I made. While the brass in charge of the on-ice product since the lockout (dis-including this year) has been poor, the management in charge of running the business side of things has done a very good job considering the aforementioned.

I'm not arguing that the hockey market in Miami isn't embarrassing....in fact, I was the one that initially inferred it in this thread. What I'm saying is that while the market isn't great, the team had pulled some decent attendance numbers during the 90's. This isn't a matter of Miami not caring about hockey, because a little more than a decade ago their attendance numbers weren't how they've been since. Is it really so hard believe that a complete re-branding may create a short-term spark? If you can't see that based on the Panther's attendance numbers in the past then this debate isn't worth continuing.

While I tend to agree with some of these southern teams, Tampa Bay begs to differ. Their management has done an excellent job well before Stevie showed up at running a profitable and viable franchise. Obviously, their Florida counterparts haven't had that kind of success, but saying it can't be done is far from accurate given TB's financial success. Besides, all I said was "create a spark" (which it very-well could), I didn't claim they'd be the next Detroit.

Because despite being what you deem a "cool logo and name" the money is far from pouring in. Revenue sharing is Florida's best friend these days and a re-branding may create a spark that they haven't found in well over a decade.

Florida Panthers

Getting swept this postseason and looking like s*** in the process won't help him in that regard.

It's part of the game. You receive 3 bonus per pick for the Conference Champions and Stanley Cup Champion.

:rotflmao: Who does he think he's kidding?

:violin:

I can't begin to say how tempted I am to throw quotation marks around the first word of the thread title.

If its one thing the Wings have in spades, its scoring depth. I'd prefer to see them spend it on defense, where it belongs.

Here's your Mid-Round 3 Scoring Update, with bonus points already awarded if you picked Vancouver to win the Conference. Rank, Player, Mid-Round Score 1 edicius 99 2 The Edge 86 3 STICK 83 3 Aussie_Wing 83 5 RippedOnNitro 81 5 redwingcapt 81 7 NeverForgetMac25 79 7 HankthaTank 79 7 Dano33 79 10 55fan 78 10 #19=Legend 78 12 SpiritFan 76 12 blues_demitra38 76 12 Wings_Dynasty 76 12 I Red Wings I 76 16 germanwing 75 16 Gordie Howe hat trick 75 18 UKWING 72 19 Creasemonkey 70 19 atodaso 70 19 SeeinRed 70 22 -=Red_Force=- 68 23 ACallToArms 67 23 azshark 67 25 nate94gt 66 25 matt198913 66 25 Echolalia 65 25 T-Ruff 65 29 GoWings1905 64 29 Firehawk 64 31 hooon 63 31 Z and D for the C 63 31 Howard He Do It?! 63 31 Zeowingsfan 63 35 Toefuzz 62 35 Cevari 62 37 stevieisthebest 61 37 Din758 61 37 Hockey13Playa 61 37 GMRwings1983 61 41 wingsgirl001 60 42 3chrisosgood0 59 42 sibiriak 59 44 hockeychik25 58 44 Mgreenberg 58 44 wingsequallife13 58 47 KillerB14 57 48 Namingway 56 49 CupChamps979802 55 49 Zohan Franzen 55 51 Skiminok 54 52 russianswede919293 53 52 Vladimir316 53 52 Detroit #1 Fan 53 55 Shaman464 52 55 TimD. 52 55 8 Legged RedWing 52 58 Nightfall 51 58 pjgj13 51 60 CaliWingsNut 50 60 creedie 50 60 Vladifan 50 60 dat's sick 50 60 kylee 50 65 ricky0034 48 65 wingslogo19 48 65 number9 48 65 ToMaToToWnWinGsFaN_24 48 69 lookalive07 47 69 HockeyCrazy3033 47 69 The Nephilim 47 69 L3T5G0W1NG5 47 73 ChitownWingsfan 46 74 WingZNut13 45 74 Swayze 45 74 aflac9262 45 74 CrossCheck24 45 78 evilzyme 44 78 P. Marlowe 44 78 MulesWillFly93 44 78 Wings3:16 44 82 allyourphil 43 82 RusDRW 43 84 eva unit zero 42 85 clearlybetter11 41 85 zombi 41 85 Dominator2005 41 85 servo 41 85 crotty99 41 85 Wings4Life19 41 85 Jersey Wing 41 85 stactum 41 85 FinRedWing 41 85 juice71285 41 95 Anijuice 40 95 TheDetroitRedWings 40 95 shaeb30 40 98 Mister Wiseman 13 39 98 CrimsonFlame 39 98 StevieY'sguy 39 98 HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 39 102 Off the Post 38 102 swerner 38 104 SaCkaveli20 35 105 mule 33 106 nosyt612 31 107 dirtydangles 28 108 Lenny Nero 27 109 Greatness=PavelDatsyuk 23

Welcome to Round 3 of the Playoff Picks Game. Picks are due Saturday (5-14) at 7:55 ET. Scores through Round 2 will be updated within this OP tomorrow morning. If anyone is still interested, the rules to the game are located at the bottom of this post. Here are the Matchups based on their respective ranks: WEST: (1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (2) San Jose Sharks EAST: (3) Boston Bruins vs. (5) Tampa Bay Lightning NOTE: Please copy and paste the following template when making your picks. This truly cuts down on the time it requires to tally up scores and I greatly appreciate it. Bold the team you're picking to win, and then write the series score directly after in this manner: -- BOS/TBL: 4-2 Round 3 Template: ________________________________ VAN/SJS: 4- BOS/TBL: 4- ________________________________ Rank Player Round 2 Standings 1 edicius 82 2 SpiritFan 76 3 UKWING 69 4 The Edge 68 5 ACallToArms 67 5 azshark 67 5 redwingcapt 67 8 NeverForgetMac25 66 8 STICK 66 8 HankthaTank 66 8 matt198913 66 8 Aussie_Wing 66 13 55fan 65 13 Echolalia 65 13 #19=Legend 65 13 T-Ruff 65 17 Dano33 64 17 RippedOnNitro 64 19 Wings_Dynasty 63 19 Z and D for the C 63 19 Howard He Do It?! 63 22 stevieisthebest 61 22 Din758 61 22 blues_demitra38 61 25 germanwing 60 25 nate94gt 60 25 wingsgirl001 60 25 I Red Wings I 60 29 3chrisosgood0 59 29 Toefuzz 59 29 sibiriak 59 32 hockeychik25 58 32 Gordie Howe hat trick 58 34 Namingway 56 35 CupChamps979802 55 35 Zohan Franzen 55 35 -=Red_Force=- 55 35 Creasemonkey 55 35 SeeinRed 55 40 Skiminok 54 40 KillerB14 54 42 russianswede919293 53 42 atodaso 53 44 TimD. 52 44 8 Legged RedWing 52 46 Nightfall 51 46 pjgj13 51 48 CaliWingsNut 50 48 creedie 50 48 Vladifan 50 51 Firehawk 49 51 Zeowingsfan 49 53 hooon 48 53 wingslogo19 48 53 number9 48 56 lookalive07 47 56 Hockey13Playa 47 56 GoWings1905 47 56 dat's sick 47 56 kylee 47 56 L3T5G0W1NG5 47 62 ChitownWingsfan 46 63 WingZNut13 45 63 ricky0034 45 63 Swayze 45 63 Cevari 45 63 CrossCheck24 45 68 evilzyme 44 68 P. Marlowe 44 68 MulesWillFly93 44 68 Wings3:16 44 68 The Nephilim 44 73 GMRwings1983 43 73 allyourphil 43 73 Mgreenberg 43 76 eva unit zero 42 76 aflac9262 42 78 clearlybetter11 41 78 zombi 41 78 servo 41 78 Wings4Life19 41 78 wingsequallife13 41 78 stactum 41 78 FinRedWing 41 78 juice71285 41 86 Anijuice 40 86 Vladimir316 40 86 TheDetroitRedWings 40 86 RusDRW 40 86 shaeb30 40 91 Shaman464 39 91 Mister Wiseman 13 39 91 CrimsonFlame 39 91 HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 39 95 Dominator2005 38 95 Off the Post 38 95 swerner 38 95 crotty99 38 95 Jersey Wing 38 100 Detroit #1 Fan 36 100 StevieY'sguy 36 102 SaCkaveli20 35 103 ToMaToToWnWinGsFaN_24 34 104 mule 33 105 HockeyCrazy3033 32 106 nosyt612 31 107 dirtydangles 28 108 Lenny Nero 27 109 Greatness=PavelDatsyuk 23 The format this year is the same as last, so please make sure you fully understand the rules below before making your picks. For those of you that aren't familiar with the game, here's how it works: Each round you will pick a winner for each series. For every correct series winner you predict, you will receive 4 points for the first round matchups, 8 for the 2nd, 12 for the 3rd, and 16 for the Finals (0 if you pick the incorrect team, 3 points if you picked a 4-3 series and the other team won in 7 games). Also, to aid with tiebreakers you will pick how many games the losing team in each series will win. Given that the team you picked to win actually does win the series, you will then have the opportunity to receive up to 3 bonus points. For every game you are off for the losing teams actual win total, I will subtract 1 bonus point. After each round, every player will then re-pick again based on the teams that made it through to the next round. Whoever has the most points at the end of the season, wins Playoff bragging rights. As was mentioned earlier, if you pick a series to go to the 7th game and the series does but the team you picked ends up losing, you will receive 3 points rather than 0. Lastly, pick who you feel will represent each conference in the Stanley Cup Finals as well as the Champion. This will be worth 3 points per pick if you're correct. Feel free to post any questions, and remember that your Picks must be in *before* the first puck drops of the first scheduled game each round.

blueadams, if there's a point to this thread you may want to make it before it gets yanked.

Who gives a playoff picks thread a 1-star rating?

VAN/SJS: 4-3 BOS/TBL: 4-2

Where would possibly make you ascertain something like this?

Thanks for posting that article. My favorite part: His game has no excess, just artistry. Somehow he's flashy but not showy, confident but not cocky, and along the way he helps folks remember what being a "fan" is supposed to be like.

Here's a little Mid-Round scoring update for all those playing in our game. These scores reflect the three series' that have been completed in the second round. Obviously, the outcome of Thursday night's game will have a big impact on the scores. Until then, enjoy. Rank Player Mid-Round Score 1 SpiritFan 76 2 edicius 71 3 UKWING 69 4 redwingcapt 67 5 STICK 66 5 HankthaTank 66 5 matt198913 66 8 55fan 65 8 T-Ruff 65 10 ACallToArms 64 10 Dano33 64 12 NeverForgetMac25 63 12 Wings_Dynasty 63 12 Howard He Do It?! 63 15 #19=Legend 62 16 Din758 61 16 blues_demitra38 61 18 germanwing 60 18 nate94gt 60 18 wingsgirl001 60 18 Z and D for the C 60 18 I Red Wings I 60 23 3chrisosgood0 59 23 Toefuzz 59 24 stevieisthebest 58 24 hockeychik25 58 24 Gordie Howe hat trick 58 24 The Edge 58 29 azshark 56 29 Namingway 56 31 CupChamps979802 55 31 Echolalia 55 31 Zohan Franzen 55 31 -=Red_Force=- 55 31 Creasemonkey 55 31 Aussie_Wing 55 31 SeeinRed 55 38 RippedOnNitro 54 38 KillerB14 54 40 russianswede919293 53 40 atodaso 53 42 TimD. 52 42 8 Legged RedWing 52 44 Nightfall 51 44 Skiminok 51 44 pjgj13 51 47 CaliWingsNut 50 47 creedie 50 47 Vladifan 50 50 Firehawk 49 50 sibiriak 49 50 Zeowingsfan 49 53 hooon 48 53 wingslogo19 48 53 number9 48 56 lookalive07 47 56 Hockey13Playa 47 56 GoWings1905 47 56 kylee 47 56 L3T5G0W1NG5 47 61 ChitownWingsfan 46 62 WingZNut13 45 62 ricky0034 45 62 Swayze 45 62 Cevari 45 62 CrossCheck24 45 67 evilzyme 44 67 P. Marlowe 44 67 MulesWillFly93 44 67 Wings3:16 44 67 dat's sick 44 67 The Nephilim 44 73 GMRwings1983 43 73 allyourphil 43 73 Mgreenberg 43 76 eva unit zero 42 76 aflac9262 42 78 clearlybetter11 41 78 zombi 41 78 servo 41 78 Wings4Life19 41 78 wingsequallife13 41 78 stactum 41 78 FinRedWing 41 78 juice71285 41 86 Anijuice 40 86 Vladimir316 40 86 TheDetroitRedWings 40 86 RusDRW 40 86 shaeb30 40 91 Shaman464 39 91 Mister Wiseman 13 39 91 CrimsonFlame 39 91 HadThomasVokounOnFortSt 39 95 Dominator2005 38 95 Off the Post 38 95 swerner 38 95 crotty99 38 95 Jersey Wing 38 100 Detroit #1 Fan 36 100 StevieY'sguy 36 102 SaCkaveli20 35 103 ToMaToToWnWinGsFaN_24 34 104 mule 33 105 HockeyCrazy3033 32 106 nosyt612 31 107 dirtydangles 28 108 Lenny Nero 27 109 Greatness=PavelDatsyuk 23

It's an organizational tool for viewing purposes. The bolded names are the "start" of each rank. I.E. If there are a bunch of people with a score of 55, the first one gets bolded and then the first player with a score of 54 gets bolded, and so forth and so on.

I mentioned in the Round 2 thread that I was unexpectedly away from my computer for those two days. Other than that, I've always started the thread with plenty of time for users to get their picks in.

I can't recall how many times I've said this team needs absolutely nothing in order to beat any other team in this league. The skill is there, it has been for the past how many years. When they play to their ability (as they did last night), there's no team in the league that can skate with them. When they forecheck in all three zones (as they did last night), lopsided shot-counts present themselves and its only a matter of time (typically) before the other team cracks. This isn't an "I told you so" thread (though it may seem like one), rather its a thread to show how complete this team really is and when they truly want a game, they can dominate it from beginning to end. Win or Lose, thanks Red Wings for an incredible series and for showing the hockey world what kind of metal your made of. I welcome anyone's thoughts in regards to what this team may or may not need this coming offseason. Keep in mind, I say this team "needs" nothing, which is completely different than saying they shouldn't bring anyone else in.

I like playing the teams in the West, I don't like the travel.

:rotflmao: Me? Blindly hating on players for not being the ideal guy they want? Who the hell are you kidding eva?! You've been here long enough to know the type of poster I am and clearly know I'm not one of those people. I'm the one who stood up to the ignorant bandwagoners stating Lilja was awful when he actually turned his game around. I've always had clear expectations of what players can and can't do, especially when you factor in their alleged role on the team. You state I'm hating because I point out facts you don't like. You talk about his points and then disregard his +/- as being unimportant. Given how stat-happy you are, you'd be the first person on LGW to use that argument if Hudler had a better number. The fact is, Hudler is lazy on defense, slow and soft on the puck. He's an incredible talent when it comes to vision and distributing the puck, but that's not what Babs needs on the top lines if Hudler can't hang on to the puck or backcheck. Simple as that.

He also said we could've won any the first three as well. The point is, when the Wings play like they did last night, they're as good as any team in the league *right now*. Did you miss that point of the OP?