Lou_Siffer

NO, just like i dont regret giving up Joey Harrington (or Artose Pinner!) Just because someone comes back and plays good against you doesnt mean you shouldve kept him.

Hypothetically, I highly doubt theyd go for Kronwall if they're giving up Erik Cole. I think you'd more likely be looking at a Kindl +, +, youth package trade. I dont think the Wings can afford to move Kronwall anyways. Lebda obviously can go, but you'll get a very small return.

Good point, Smith is the perfect compliment to having Timmonen.

I wouldnt say cheaply..not by a long shot! I think Philly won that trade actually. Jason Smith is damn good, and brings them the leadership they really need. Which explains why he was made captain! Lupul was good in Anaheim and has potential, he didnt work in Edmonton for whatever reason but he's a really good gamble to take on. In terms of trade return....Smith/Lupul >>>> Kronwall. It would obviously have to be something pretty good in addition to Kronwall (not just a draft pick)

Its definitely confirmed...its even in todays newspaper. Babcock says Downey will play "when it helps the team win". Ok yeah...like the 2 you mentioned are doing that! Koci is the biggest guarantee in all of sports. When he's in...you knows he's fighting at least once! He's great.

Downey's ready to go. He couldve played yesterday but was a healthy scratch. On a sidenote, they showed David Koci up in the press box sitting by Martin Havlat. That is one dude i'd want NO part of!!

I love when obscure teams like USF make noise, so i'll be rooting for them to go unbeaten and be in the title game. However, I think they lose at Rutgers. The Knights have 2 losses already, but prime time...Thursday night....just has all the classic makings of a loss for USF.

Has anyone mentioned yet that Pudge got his option picked up? I just hope this doesnt hinder any possible acquisitions...thats been my key problem. As long as it doesnt then im fine with it. I seen a very interesting rumor about the Tigers being interested in trading for Ibanez. This would be GREAT i think. Not only because this guy always seems to kill us going back to his KC days, but i believe he has 1 year left on his deal for only 5/6 mill. That is all we need, no use signing an outfielder to a multiple year deal when you have Maybin. This would be such a perfect fit....plays Left, hits Lefty...by all accounts is a good character guy as well. Make it happen DD! Oh as for the reason why Seattle would trade Ibanez, they have a young outfielder who they need to make room for (Adam Jones i think his name is...no not Pacman!) Would probably cost a couple good pitching prospects, but hey you gotta give to get.

No, definitely not. Fighting is what hes in the league for...so what you're asking is to take away his best quality. I mean, if you take away Dallas Drake's 3 fights, would so many people be happy with him in the lineup? Hell no! He hasnt done jack aside from that, but see how everyone here loves the Drake? Its not so much that we love Aaron Downey, its a player of his style that we love. If the team traded for say, DJ King for example, i could care less if Downey was gone. If anyone thinks Downey isnt good enough to fill that fighting role, then blame management since he was their choice! But he's whats there, so thats why im in full support of getting him in there. Im under the belief that we need guys who are willing on this team, not only from an entertainment perspective (which is a big issue for me) but also from a team psyche and moral perspective. Fighting has always been something thats brought teams together. Putting Downey in to go along with Drake and thats a massive step up in the right direction! I'd be thrilled! Its infectious too, i bet you'd see everyone step it up a notch with those 2 in the lineup. I dont think its a proper strategy to play a squishy soft style in the regular season and then hope everyone kicks it into gear in the playoffs. Just because it happened last year with some of the guys, it didnt happen in the previous years so can you really say you have 100% confidence that it will? Play with an edge in the regular season and thered be no worries you'd see the carryover come playoff time. I'd still like to see a bigger guy with some toughness on the 2nd line, as a Flip/Hudler/Sammy line is pretty putrid imo, but i know thats hard to find. The thing is, it will be nothing but a benefit to have Downey in over Ellis, or Kopecky. For so long the argument of guys against having an enforcer was that there was no room on the roster for one. Well, now thats clearly not the case. Who knows, maybe Downey could even get a few points, you never know till you try him out! At least he'll hit and fight along the way...while Ellis and Kopecky will chug along and do nothing.

Burish didnt actually fight Boogaard,...the fact that he's still alive is evidence to that fact Burish definitely slipped though, i'll have to see it again but it looked like a draw. Must say im quite impressed by the Drake's activity! Get Downey in there and i'll actually have something to look forward too! Before they showed the replay i thought Drake knocked him down, but it wasnt the case.

Just in time to get the losers in! Friday: Washington @]NY Rangers Chicago @ Detroit Colorado @ St Louis Calgary @ Dallas Vancouver @ Edmonton Boston @ Los Angeles Saturday: Washington @ Buffalo Pittsburgh @ Toronto Carolina @ Montreal Ottawa @ NY Rangers NY Islanders @ Philadelphia New Jersey @ Atlanta Tampa Bay @ Florida Calgary @ Nashville Dallas @ Chicago Columbus @ Colorado Edmonton @ Vancouver Minnesota @ Phoenix Boston @ San Jose Sunday: Minnesota @ Anaheim Detroit @ Los Angeles

Nice!

This at least brings back some hope that they arent just against using him. It also helps that as expected...Ellis and Kopecky havent done jack (especially Kopecky whos been absolutely invisible).

DJ King is my boy! He's a darkhorse candidate for champ this year...I really like him. Static- I saw that Horton/Asham fight, Horton smacked him around pretty good....i think thats the worst ive seen Asham go down in probably...hell i cant even recall.

Oh, so theyre playing the Visa card now??? GET YOUR F'N VISA! (as an American i cant express myself any stronger on this)

Ok, its definitely him! What sucks is i thought of him way early on but didnt do the year math right! I thought he had only played 11 years so i ruled him out....whoops! Good question! I like stuff where you have to think and the answer isnt easily accessable. Oh, the record is the game winning goals for the playoffs. Richards broke Sakics

Rhett Warrener? Final answer!

You've managed to give me a headache on this one nn

Yep..that too!

Maybe it came across different on tv, but the only big hit i recall seeing is two Edmonton players colliding with each other. Cleary threw one pretty good one, maybe thats one that youre referring to, and that was basically it. I didnt notice Hemsky getting run..

As soon as i seen #8 on the ice it felt like a punch to the gut...since i knew then Downey wasnt in. I quickly downed my beer and headed immediately to the concession for more. Even at 8.25 a piece i knew i was going to need it! A kind of interesting comparison i thought up as for the whole euro thing not selling to the fans, is with wrestling. Remember the days where WCW continuously marched out these all world skilled guys from Mexico and Japan...and no one gave 2 flying s***s about them? Everyone turned over to RAW. The point is you've gotta have personality and character for people to care, like its been pointed out this team is filled with so many bland guys. I mean, can you even imagine somebody calling up a store and saying..."Hi, do have any Mikael Samuelsson jerseys in XL?" The guy on the other end would probably be dumbfounded as to who that even is! This is supposed to be our second line forward and the fans could care less about him. Zetterberg has a little charisma to him, but Datsyuk has zippo. He's all flashy plays and thats it. Offers absolutely nothing for the fans to connect with off the ice. Holmstrom is probably the only guy who's an exception and the fans have really taken to...because of the way he plays and takes abuse. Its a blue collar city here, we like guys who get knocked down and come back for more! Of course marketing is also a problem, as we dont even get the chance to know these guys at all. But its more- so the roster.

Calgary has lost their identity, i agree completely with that. They clearly havent been the '04 team up front, the only physical forwards they even had in last years playoffs were Iginla and Wayne Primeau (not that he's much of one..). In 04 they had guys like Simon and Oliwa as regulars, as well as a couple others im sure that i just cant think of right now! They were tough and very physical on paper back then, and it showed. They definitely need to add a few guys throughout the year. I can guarantee you Downey fighting wouldve at least given the crowd a burst of life.

As long as your willing to say that at this point in time, Kopecky is no better than Downey in the lineup. Same production, but one will hit and fight. If you're argument is based strictly on potential and wanting to get him action, then although i dont agree i dont really have a problem with it. But using that argument with Matt Ellis doesnt fly whatsoever....

oh come on, hit stats are the biggest load of crap of all time. They count the smallest shove into the glass. I made it a point to start counting the hits, and when they showed the between period stats it was more than double what i counted.

eva - You're the biggest numbers guy around here....as of now Kopecky has 1 pt in 33 career games, including playoffs. Would you be giving Downey this same leniency for that? I highly doubt it. If you'd at least criticize him for his distinct lack of any production whatsoever to this point, then you might come across as not just being against fighters. Our problem is we're talking about a guy putting up fighter statistics but not fighting....and the same goes for Ellis.