TNBT

Hey guys, it's been a long time since I have been around. I'm hoping to get my first legit hockey jersey soon, and my favorite all-time player is Sergei Fedorov. The easiest way I can come up with to get a Fedorov Wings jersey is to go to the online store on the Wings site and customize one with his name and #91 on it. That brings me to my question: I know there have been a couple of little changes to the jersey since Fedorov was on the team, such as the C or A being on the other side of the front of the jersey. What I need to know is have there been any real important changes to the jersey from when Fedorov was here to now? Basically, if I customize a current style jersey with Fedorov's name and number, will it look the same as if I had got the jersey back in the 90's when he was here? Or has the jersey changed that much that it would be stand out as being a current jersey rather than being the same as the one the team wore back in the 90's? Thanks for your help. If I can't work out a way to get a Fedorov jersey, then I may end up with a Jonathan Toews jersey, with the Blackhawks being another favorite team of mine.

Thanks for the link to this sportsk.com site. They seem to have a lot of stuff. Can anyone tell me how good their products are? If they're good quality, then I might just get myself a Reebok jersey customized if I can't find and old one.

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm interested to hear what some of these "horror stories" about NHL.com are. I've been thinking of getting some stuff from their online store for a while now, so it would be good to know what some of the problems with them are.

So how many more years before he has a realistic shot at making the Wings roster?

That was crazy. I don't know how they didn't see that when it happened. I thought their job was to watch the play... Anyway, at least they have video replay to help them make decisions. It would have been handy for whatever team it was that got screwed in the soccer World Cup when a clear goal was wiped away.

Has Filppula ever been in a fight? If so, I'd like to see it.

I'm somewhat of a Rangers fan, so it's great to see them get the win. Sounds like it would have been a crazy game to go to.

For sure. I like the way this team goes about drafting and signing players in general too. Even the "skill players" we go after are usually all at least a little defensively responsible and gritty.

Good to see Ericsson playing well. I got NHL 2011 yesterday, so I am trying to organize my lines and defensive pairings. With a fully healthy team, what pairings would we be most likely to use?

I'm really looking forward to seeing what this kid can do in the future. He has great toughness and grit, and it seems he can actually play good hockey too.

I agree. I love collecting sports memorabilia, because you know it's only going to go up in value if you get a decent players autograph. I have a puck signed by Alex Delvecchio, a basketball signed by Michael Jordan and Dr J, and a Carlton Football Club (Aussie rules football) jersey signed by pretty much the whole team from back about 10 years ago. I keep looking to find some Production Line stuff, or something signed by Abel, but it's tough to find. I'd suggest you hang onto your photo, but if you really want to sell it, and you have some sort of COA, I'll make you an offer.

Probably not, but we have the depth to do it, so why not? It's not a guarantee that they will all play exactly 20 minutes each night either. It may average out to that, but if we're in a close game in the 3rd period and Lidstrom has already played 20 minutes, Babcock wont care - he's going back in. I think this could be a good thing for this team as it means the older guys get plenty of rest, and the young guys get more minutes than they would on most teams, which will only help their development. By young guys I am referring to Ericsson and Kindl and/or Smith if they get called up.

I'm really excited to see Callahan develop as well. I agree that we don't need to go crazy and start drafting goons with every pick, but it would be nice if we added a few more bigger and physical guys. As for the draft, I was hoping we'd trade up for Dylan McIlrath, but he went 10th (I think) to the Rangers. That kid is going to be a really good player. As for Downey, I think it has all been said. We have Abdelkader, Helm, Eaves, Miller, Draper, Maltby and Ritola who will all play before Downey, so I don't really see any spot for him with the Red Wings. He said he'd be happy wherever he plays, as long as he's in the organization, so maybe he can get some ice time in Grand Rapids or below?

I agree with the Nyquist talk. I am VERY excited to see he and Tatar develop. If Sheahan develops like we all hope he will, those three may form our first or second line in a few years.

Are those the lines that you would like to see? Or what you expect to see?

I wasn't much of a fan in the early days, but I think we were all expecting something different than the player we got. I started to warm to him a bit as he started to play well, but it's a shame he got injured. Good luck to him and his family, I hope he makes the team and does well. As for jerseys, all I have so far is Red Wings jerseys, so I think it's time to update my closet with some jerseys from the other teams that I like. I think a blue Staal Rangers jersey will be next.

I'm always hesitant to change something that works, and the old pairings have worked fine for us. However, I do think that these new pairings will work really well. It gives the top two pairings one offensive-minded guy (Lidstrom and Rafalski) and one tougher, more physical guy (Kronwall and Stuart). I'm not sure about the Ericsson with Salei. They're both solid players, but as far as I can tell, neither are particularly mobile.

I haven't kept up to date with the team lately, but I am happy to hear that some of the young guys I was high on have been playing well. Tatar sounds like he just has major skills, and will be an exciting player for us. Smith has all the skill and poise in the world, so it's great to hear that he is looking better. He and Kindl coming into the rotation in the next couple of years will be a big boost. As for Andersson, I've been interested in this kid for a while. He has the size and a solid all-around game, and from the original post, it seems that he has improved his skating too. I agree with the Franzen comparison, and I hope that he continues to grow and add that offensive touch to his game like Franzen did.

Sorry to hear about your cousin mate. As for Pat Burns, I read somewhere else that he had passed away as well, but that it was a false report. Either way, I don't think the guy has much longer left. Good luck to him and I hope he's not in too much pain.

I agree with Happy Pancake. Sergei Fedorov is my favorite all-time Red Wing/hockey player. I would have loved it if he had spent his entire career in Detroit. If he had, I think he would have had better numbers and would have been considered a better player during his final years. The reason for that is that the Wings just have an amazing system. We have some great players, but the overall system is so good that it makes everyone look better, and helps to cover up for each others mistakes. I think pretty much any player would look better with the Wings than they would elsewhere.

It's a shame to see him go, but hopefully he will reach his potential somewhere. He was always a nice enough guy whenever I spoke to him, so there are no hard feelings from my part.

This is another kid that I am really high on at the moment. Both he and Tatar seem to be set to be great players for us in the top-6 and both appear to be absolute steals, given where they were drafted. I can't wait to see both of them get bigger and stronger and break into the Wings lineup in a couple of years.

I'm not sure if it has been posted yet or not, but there was an interesting article about this kid on the Wings website. My link I don't know a huge amount about him, but I'm really starting to like the idea of him lining up on a 3rd or 4th line for Detroit somewhere in the future.

I'm a big fan of McIlrath, and I would have loved to see him slip to our pick. He went to the Rangers however, who are pretty much my second team.

I just made that sig using Paint. I wish I had PhotoShop and knew how to use it. Then I'd be adding Maltby, Draper, Lidstrom, Fedorov, etc etc.