TheBadOne

First off... WE AIN'T FOUND s***! Why didn't the Wings do well with guys like Ulf and Hatcher? Well, by the time Ulf got to Detroit, he was skating into the twilight of his career. Both he AND Wendel Clark came before the 1999 Playoffs to add toughness, but they began showing their age. Neither one of them made it 50 games the following season before opting for retirement. I don't even think Ranford did either. As for Hatcher, he hasn't been the same since his injury. Think about it, he hasn't broke 100 PIM or 20 points in the regular season since he singed with the Wings, and he didn't really put up great numbers when he played for the Mechanics. As it stands right now, Hatcher is largely a player in decline. Calgary has guys who fight, but aren't laden with enforcers. Frankly, they were too caught up in the antics of trying to get the Wings to fight that they forgot they were contending for the Stanley Cup until they were shaking hands with the Wings and wishing them well in the next round of the playoffs. San Jose did play a physical game, but given the nasty series they had with Nashville prior to facing Detroit, they probably didn't want to fight any more than the Wings wanted to. And if that's a series that's going to come down to which team is better technically, the Wings were just a better all around team. While an enforcer is not the end all to Detroit's solutions, it would have ultimately made some difference in the WCF. It can't be entirely encouraging to watch Shawn Thornton throw around Danny Markov and remember how both Lilja and Franzen were both beaten up earlier in the season by the team. The Wings did win that game and they won the game where J.S. couldn't stop a beach ball. But while Anaheim had the ability to play as physical of a game as the Wings could, they were able to operate with the confidence of knowing that they could throw their weight around however they'd like. If there was a Boogaard, a McGrattan, or a Peters sitting in the press box at first, would it have been as bad to have that kinda guy on hand than to have deadline acquisitions that disappear in the playoffs? Probably not. Maybe Bertuzzi coulda fought, but his fighting hasn't been at the same level as it was before the Steve Moore incident, for which I can't entirely blame him. I agree 100% that Wings fans are spoiled by a successful team, myself included. However, this is an area that the Wings have been deficient in since they last one a Stanley Cup, a team that had homegrown fighters like McCarty, Avery, and even Fischer all while having Shanahan wearing the "A". Yeah, those guys were around the following two seasons (save Avery) until the lockout occurred, but at the same time, both McCarty and Shanahan were starting show their age a bit, and Fischer was out most of the 02-03 season after being injured. In fairness, neither Ryan Barnes or Darryl Bootland panned out like anyone would have hoped, so I'll give the Wings credit for trying. At the same time, the Wings didn't have anyone in development that was able to be tough and skilled. The guys they went after for that role were either unproven minor leaguers or tough guys who were past their prime. Had the Wings did the level of scouting that Anaheim did to acquire younger players from other teams to build a mix of grit and toughness, it could have only helped to address what they've been lacking in for a while now.

I live in Phoenix now and have been hoping that they'd go after Aebischer for a while now. I'm glad he's the guy they went with. Also, I don't know if I'm ready to discount the team just yet. Granted, they've not had much success the past few years, but if they can have their draft picks start playing an effective role, they could start to look at lot like Pittsburgh soon. Oh, and I'm stoked that Gratton, Boyton, and Carcillo.

... check out the featured article of the day. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page

Never thought I'd say it, but there's an instance where bad publicity is just that. And if you're a hooker with AIDS, illegal or not, that person should be locked up for longer than 3 years... though I guess if you're a fan of Darwin, you'd probably disagree with that. Funny note, we (being the IT staff) just busted a guy in Denver at my job using company e-mail to solicit prostitutes. I can't help but wonder...

Well, I did some additional research, and I think you got me. From USATODAY.com PLAYER NOTES: â€â€The Wings expect to sign restricted free agent D Derek Meech this summer. He'll be their seventh defenseman, as he is out of options and can't return to Grand Rapids (AHL) without waivers. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/...otes.htm?csp=34

Taken from RedWingsCentral.com "Meech had a breakthrough year in 2006-07, establishing himself as an AHL all-star and showing he has what it takes to play in the NHL. That said, the Red Wings have a glut of blue-line depth -- with fellow prospect Kyle Quincey is ahead of Meech on the depth chart -- and it will likely be tough for him to crack the NHL roster in 2007-08. He doesn't have to clear waivers to be sent to the minors, and may end up back in the AHL depending on how things shake out in the off-season." http://www.redwingscentral.com/prospects/meech.html

I'm not usually one to post on this forum (even on this topic, MOST everyone had good argument, for and against the idea of an enforcer), but this is one I have to sound off on. It just sucks I'm late to the party Don Cherry said it best that Detroit isn't a tough team, they're a difficult team. Bertuzzi didn't bring toughness, he brought difficulty (except when he bodyslammed Phaneuf... that was cool.) Same as Drake will do now. So given the level of talent on the team, do the Wings go and get an enforcer, a one-dimensional player who can only fight, or do they find a young player or a specialist of sorts to utilize in certain situations... Sorry to say it folks, but yes, they need an enforcer, in addition to more people in their regular lines willing to drop the gloves. To those who've pointed out the Wings still finished first in the Conference, yes they did, but we can't deny the fact that Nashville was the team's only suitable rival in the Central Division. That isn't to say the Wings didn't have to work against St. Louis, Columbus, or Chicago, but that there are other divisions out there where finishing first would have had a higher level of satisfaction because of better quality teams. Also, the other high-quality teams may have an enforcer, but they also have other people who are able to drop the gloves if need be. The fact is that other teams in the league know of Detroit's lack of enforcement and take liberties with it. Even Schneider told the local media before he went to Anaheim that he was sick of other teams bullying the Red Wings because no one would do anything about it. If a team can play tough like Anaheim, yet not take stupid penalties at bad times like Calgary did, then that level of intimidation is absolutely going to play a factor in ruining the mental game of the Red Wings. However, the Wings themselves really aren't that far from having a tougher team based on who they have right now. Looking at the offensive lines, Kopecky has the right size for fighting (and judging by some of the video clips I've seen of him fighting in GR, he isn't half bad at it.) If the roster spot's available for a fourth-line forward, then it would be a good idea to pick up McCarty, who didn't work out in Calgary because he never left Detroit as far as I'm concerned. Besides, he should retire as a Red Wing anyway. Defensively, Quincey and Meech is still not required to clear waivers in order to be re-assigned, and given the level of defensive depth, it might be better for them to play a full season in GR than to be a 7th D-man. Signing Markov would be nice, but if the Wings don't, then again, they can work with what they have. Lilja surprised everyone by getting into two fights last year and actually winning the one he had against Patrick Sharp. This was better than what happened earlier in the season, when Denis Gauthier jumped Lilja. Nothing happened to that turd Gauthier and as a result, the Flyers, the worst team in the league, still managed to beat the Wings 6-1 because of the level of intimidation. If Lilja can find a fighting aspect to his game it could open up a new dimension to his play and make him even more valuable as a Top-6 defenseman than he is already. As for the 7th D-Man, why not Ference? Frankly, the Wing's defensive depth is that good to the point where if the guy was dressed occasionally, then it could only help. With Lidstrom, Rafalski, Chelios, and Kronwall in the Top 4 (and Lebda chasing them for one of those spots), there isn't much to worry about on the blue line. If the guy can win a fight or two in the pre-season, then I'm all for it. All I know is if someone else does gets signed to play defense, then there's a defensemen who's gonna get moved. So as I said, the Red Wings need an enforcer. That enforcer is Joe Kocur. Before everyone either dies of laughter or completely dismisses me, I think that considering his experience as an assistant coach, there wouldn't be anything wrong with him acting as a consultant for the Red Wings and essentially helping the other players develop their fighting techniques. It's been done in the minors, and the Boogaard brothers have their own enforcer camp they have during the summer. Why not have one of the best in the business show you how it's done? Hell, people take karate lessons and don't have to necessarily use them on a day to day basis. Way I see it, the Red Wings don't have to come out of the gates and start swinging, but if someone does take some liberties, they can at least be adept to defending themselves and reverse whatever psychological effects that opposing enforcers can have on the team. That's what I have to say about that.

If I were Ken Holland... - Let Dom retire and find a suitable replacement to work in a tandem with Osgood. If Anaheim re-signs Giguere, then I'd look to sign a FA (Backstrom, Aebischer, or Garon would be good enough for our system) or pick up one of San Jose's goalies, which for any team can probably come cheap considering they want to unload one of them before the start of next season. - Keep most of the defensive corps. Everyone takes it for granted that Chelios will re-sign, but I hope that he does. If Schenider is willing to re-sign, that would be great. Otherwise, we can shop around for replacements. Same goes for Markov, though honestly, I'd like to find a defenseman who's willing to fight. My seven defensemen would be Lidstrom, Schneider, Kronwall, Lebda, Chelios, Markov (or a replacement), and Quincey. The Pain Train, unfortunately, is the odd man out of that equation and can either be claimed on waivers or traded. Also, if St. Louis would trade Jackman for Kronwall, I'd take it. - The top two scoring lines would consist of Zetterberg, Holmstrom, and Samuelson on one line, with Bertuzzi (for a far lower price than $5 M), Datsyuk, and Filppula on the other. The "grinders" would be Draper, Maltby, and Cleary. The 4th line would be decided by who makes it out of camp. Hypothetically speaking, it would consist of Grigorenko, Hudler, and Kopecky. However, that can changed based on who's available, who underperforms, and which teams are interested in whatever players we have on roster. I'd sign D-Mac and either George Parros, Shawn Thornton, or Trevor Gilles (what can I say, Anaheim knows what the hell they're doing) as our reserve forwards. We're playing with grit, but we need someone who can get the team rilled up with a fight... and win. - Keep Babcock and his staff. They took a team that no one thought would make it past the first round and had a decent run at the cup. Good for them.

Since the UHL season kicked off last weekend, Big Snake has put up 5 points (2 goals -3 assists) and 26 penalty minutes in three games. If he keeps it up, hopefully he can make the AHL next year.

First off, with all due respect to Jim Howard, we really haven't seen him perform at a level outside of collegate hockey or exhibition games and I fear that without any true professional experience, he might not even be ready to handle backup duties at an NHL level. We have one of the hottest goaltending prospects out there right now and instead of developing, he's sitting on the bench and looking pretty while Ozzy and MacDonald heal. I'd rather see our AHL All-Star Goalie in a backup role and then have Howard come back and be our main man, but it just isn't working that way right now. That being said, I think that MacDonald would be all the rave right now if he wasn't sidelined due to his back injuries. But he was and like Osgood, hasn't had a chance to compete for his spot in the goaltending depth due to his injuries. It suprises me how many people underestimate his abilities and I think that he would be a very solid backup guy for whomever is our go-to guy in the future, if not in a Vernon-Osgood like tandem with either Howard or another one of our prospects. I just hope he can regain his form and continue at the pace he was going at: from signing as an undrafted free-agent to being one of the best goalies in the AHL. Liv needs to get into the system. I'm to understand he's off to a decent start this year in Sweden, and I think that with a little bit of professional experience in North America, he could a tough customer to deal with. He could be the X-Factor in this and determine where Howard and MacDonald fit into the depth system if he can outperform or underperform his peers. MacIntyre needs to seize his opportunity as a starter in GR in order to prove to the management that he can also be capable of being beneficial to the future of Detroit. I don't see him leaving GR or Toledo for a few years though, but I think that as long as he can show the proper amount of work ethic and talent, he could find himself getting to the NHL. As for Koopmans... well, all I got to say is that he's got a lot of work ahead of him if he wishes to clear the massive depth in front of him. If he can manage to surpass everyone else that I mentioned above, then he's definitely earned starting honors.