joshy207

Garth Butcher Bob Beers (my all-time favorite)

It'll go at least 6 and every game will be close...

There's a major difference between a leg injury and a head injury. If he really does have post-concussion syndrome, he would be taking an enormous risk by playing. One good hit--not even to the head, as we've seen with Lindros--could not only end his career, but could damage his brain permanently. Is that worth the risk?

Neither do I, I like the fact that most teams use discretion in retiring numbers. But Linden was the face of that franchise for YEARS, and still is. Imagine Yzerman was still playing... he wouldn't be the Wings' best player, but he would be the most recognizable, the heart and soul. *And no, I'm not saying Linden is/was on Yzerman's level as a player or leader.

So you're saying Stan Smyl was better than Trevor Linden? Teams can retire numbers for whatever reason they want. The Hall of Fame is for greatness.

I'm sure you're right. Maybe they should have a screening at the door, a test to keep the crazies out... haha. The Wings really do need to open the doors more often. I agree that it's a shame you can't get closer to the players, even for a hello and a handshake. But I think too many of those "crazies" have made the players and the team a little gun-shy...

maltbymaniac... These are the kind of people I was talking about, the ones who make fools of themselves, irritate the players and other fans, and make it so the team doesn't want to have this kind of day more often.

In hockey, seconds are announced for goals or penalties. Soccer rounds them off to the minute...

No conferences at all, that could work too... check out my divisions: Smythe (West) Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Phoenix, Colorado Norris (Great Lakes) Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit, Columbus, Toronto, Buffalo, Pittsburgh Patrick (Northeast) Ottawa, Montreal, Boston, NY Rangers, NY Islanders, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington Adams (South) Carolina, Florida, Tampa, Atlanta, Nashville, St Louis, Dallas The only 80's division that's really split up is the old Adams; most of the others are intact. The new Adams would be the all Southern teams. 1 vs 4, 2 vs 3 in each division in the first round, winners in the second round, then take stevie for president's idea and seed the division winners.

And if "if" was a fifth, I'd be drunk. What is your point?

Thanks to some good breeding and the lockout, this is a rookie class for all time. Similar situation to the '79 draft, when the NHL absorbed 4 WHA teams and the NHL dropped its draft age from 20 to 18. Some of the guys getting drafted already had a year or two of pro experience, almost every 1st rounder had a long, productive career... and Gretzky wasn't even included in the draft, as Edmonton was allowed to protect him. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1979e.html

You could have every matchup in every round of the 1-16 format be an East team vs. a West team. That would mean more travel, not less, for Western teams as well as Eastern teams. In theory, yes, mixing conferences will balance the travel. But travel is expensive and it wears on the players. It isn't necessary to do this. Is it fair for Detroit to have to go to the west coast in all 3 rounds? No, not really, but that's the way the league is set up right now. 1-16 might lead to the same scenario... or it could be Boston going to the west coast 3 times. The best way to eliminate that possibility is divisional playoffs. Under my plan, the farthest Detroit would have to travel in round 1 or 2 would be Dallas or maybe Denver.

Please don't take this as me picking on you, because that's not at all what I'm trying to say here... but I think this is part of why the Wings don't open themselves up to the public more often. We all get so star-struck and autograph-hungry that sometimes we forget they're just regular guys and they're there to work. On the other hand, the Wings' brass and marketing department (or lack thereof) forgets that these guys are also public figures, people look up to them and really appreciate an open practice or an autograph. Lucky for them, the team has been so good and so popular that they haven't had to rely on public appearances and open-door policies to attract business. However, that's not exactly the case anymore, as we've seen way too many empty red seats at the Joe this year. There needs to be a happy medium. The team needs to lift their Iron Curtain more often--just about every practice should be open, except when the coaches decide otherwise and at playoff time. The players should be made available at public appearances more often (and at lower prices!!) and maybe there could be some more in-depth media programming, not just the fluff they have now. The fans could reciprocate by being a little more reserved at these events... which I think would happen if an open practice wasn't such a rare occurence.

1-16 format can potentially create a TON of travel and it negates the point of having conferences. As it is, the 6 divisions are useless. The only change to the playoffs should be a return to Divisional series. The league needs to revert to 4 divisions, each conference having 1 division of 7 teams and 1 of 8 teams. Maintain a heavy intra-division schedule, because now those games would actually mean something. 1st plays 4th, 2nd plays 3rd, winners meet in the division final. Talk about rivalries! The old Norris days, the Battle of Alberta, the Battle of Quebec, the always-competitive Patrick division... that's when playoff hockey was truly special. Now it's just random... Detroit vs Phoenix, Nashville vs San Jose, Montreal vs Tampa... doesn't mean s*** to anybody. Put some meaning back in the season and the playoffs.

Some of these have already been said, but here goes: Kelly Buchberger's low-profile, old-school Cooper 2000 lid containing Michal Handzus' flow. A face with Gretzky's vision through Rocket Richard's coal-black eyes, Tim Hunter's beak, and Lanny McDonald's 'stache. Theo Fleury's heart/bravado in Chara's body with Mike Gartner's wheels. Sam Gagner's dangles using Scott Stevens' enormous paws. Gretzky's passing, Sakic's wrister, Brett Hull's one-timer and his dad's cannon. Hits like Konstantinov, fights like Probert, leads like Yzerman. And he sports #9, greatest hockey number of all time.

Yeah... parity and the third point awarded in OT/SO games. You don't have the weak team(s) that only have 15 wins or 35 points right now for those two reasons. The lowest win total in the league right now is 28. There are no "easy" games anymore. Heck, look at the Wings, they're barely over .500 in their own division, which is made up entirely of teams that most likely won't be in the playoffs. Fortunately Detroit does well against the better teams!!

How about, "This is Detroit hockey, we don't need no stinkin' playoff slogan!!"

Where do you live? There may be hockey shops near you that can get the lettering.

The Jackets' practice rink is attached to Nationwide Arena, it's called the Dispatch Ice Haus. If the Wings do practice, it'll be there, probably either at 9:30 or 11:30 (my guess is the latter). I looked at the rink's ice schedule online but it didn't show anything on Saturday before 1:30. http://www.thechiller.com/page725.cfm

Thanks for the correction!

I was watching Center Ice at the bar last night (no volume so I couldn't hear it) and they were showing clips from some of the old barns, mostly O-6 arenas. They showed some of the video from the last game at the Forum as well as pics of empty rinks. A few of them had such steep seating, even the top-row fans were right on top of the action. That's another thing that's missing from today's arenas.

Chicago's WWW patch is for William W. Wirtz, their owner, who passed away at the beginning of the season. Equipment manager Paul Boyer and his staff handle the repairs and name/number sewing for Wings jerseys. The names are on a separate piece of fabric (nameplate) so they can be added or removed as needed. They carry nameplates for every player under contract to the organization and a few spare jerseys (numbered) in case of emergency call-ups on the road. Each team used to get 2 "sets" of home and road jerseys a year, one at the beginning of the regular season and one at the halfway point. Teams making the playoffs would get a third set which they would then wear through training camp the next year. I don't know how many jerseys each player would get from that set though. There was one game in the early 90s where Calgary was on the road and Theo Fleury's jersey was torn beyond repair. The team didn't have another one for him to wear, but a fan who happened to be wearing a Fleury jersey gave it to him to wear for the rest of the game. I also remember watching a Wings-Leafs game in the 80s where a player's jersey was torn badly, so he went to the locker room and put on a different numbered jersey with no nameplate. I think he was on the Leafs, can't remember for sure though.

Those old rinks all had character. Very few of the newer rinks have anything that makes them special or unique. No organ, no balcony, no smaller surface... the Boston Garden's boards started tapering inward at the blue lines, the old rink in Vancouver had almost square corners... everything is so cookie-cutter today. You see the same thing in the community rinks, half the time you can't even tell what rink you're in because so many of them are identical. I hate it.

Great news!!! Perfectly stated here...

Fuhr was so acrobatic in net because he had to be... goalies in those days were absolutely horrible positionally and didn't get their whole bodies in front of the puck. Watch clips of old games, 1960s-1980s, and see how the goalies stopped the puck--they'd throw an arm, stick, or leg out and *hope* to stop the puck. Today, goaltending is no longer an art form, it's a science. The position has been broken down and analyzed so much, like hitting and pitching in baseball, that goalies make tiny little mechanical adjustments to improve their play. Goaltending now is at its all-time best. There are goalies now that are stuck in the ECHL, can't even make the AHL, that would have been stars in the NHL 30 years ago. You want to legislate an increase in scoring? Make goalies stay on their feet, like they had to do 90 years ago. All that said, goalies' pads today are too big. The supposed "crackdown" on equipment size a few years back wasn't nearly enough. Each goalie should be measured individually and then told what size equipment he can wear. Pad length right now is capped at 38"... so 5'9" Manny Legace can wear pads that are 6" too long for him? Nice effective rule. The rule should limit pads to a specific height above the kneecap. Same for pant size and chest/arm pad size.