Lou_Siffer

This is silly, if a player who scores a goal to win a game can jump around and celebrate...why cant a goalie do the same? If a baseball player hits a walk off homerun in the World Series, should he just trot around the bases like its not that big a deal simply because its game 1, 2, or 3?

CBC just showed Brian Burke waving to me after the goal! Sweet!

He's not. Im also lazy but i checked on Neil's status looooong ago

If it aint Neil...it aint happenin'!

Hell yeah, personally i thought it was an over the top performance!

Hey wait what was Rod Marinelli just doing on CBC? EDIT: Nevermind that was Mark Messier

Bring back Xena

Im re-using my Getzlaugh really quacks me up joke.

The Godfather? Ive always thought of him more as Mr Spacely

That didnt stop Rocky Balboa from fighting in 4 more movies.

There was also another fight previous to that where he actually got the slam, I want to say maybe Scott Walker. I recall him doing it multiple times. But in any case, im not trying to make this into another Maltby bash thread, just using it to illustrate my point about Bertuzzi not really wanting to fight it out with Phaneuf.

I assumed he was retiring.

Actually, and i have a feeling that all fight fans will back me up on this, going for an immediate takedown in a fight is more indicative of that player not really wanting to engage with the other. An example of this offhand would be Kirk Maltby. The last few "fights" of his i can recall featured him instantly trying for the slam. Or when Holmstom took down Rivet as he getting up off of Zetterberg. Thats definitely not something i hand a win out for if said player lands no punches. I wouldnt go so far as to it a ***** act, but its certainly not something you get rewarded for. Bertuzzi was not 100%, and probably didnt want to be tossing blows in what would be a sure battle with Phaneuf. So he just took him down.

You're not disagreeing with me. The comment thats bolded is something ZDH wrote that i was referring back to. Pittsburgh/Ottawa was the most physical series ive seen so far.

Hellooooo! Ive been away the past month or so in hell (otherwise known as having no internet access) but now im finally back in action! Im sure theres already a ton of threads like this but since i was one of the bigger doubters around i figured its ok to start my own. Now before anyone gets the idea that this will be an eating of crow speech...well...you got another thing comin'! lol. I was definitely wrong on some things but in the grand scheme of things, the Wings did end up going down to the Ducks, who i picked the day of the Pronger trade to win the Cup. I do think the better team won. So anyways with that being said, the point of this thread is that i would like to say that what the Wings did accomplish shocked the hell outta me. I went into the playoffs thinking there were 3 teams they'd have a real problem with, and they did manage to knock off 2 of them. I give them alot of credit for that! Calgary i wasnt gung ho about since they werent the same team physically as '04, but I honestly thought there was NO WAY in hell they could beat San Jose. If they had beaten Anaheim, it wouldve been the trifecta and an all you can eat crow buffet for me! I think what Babcock got out of these guys was truly remarkable...I'd re-sign him up for a 20yr contract! He took a team that on paper was not very gritty imo, and got them to play really hard. Now imagine what could be done if a few naturally gritty, physical guys were thrown into the mix! Dan Cleary for the first two rounds, was a force to be reckoned with and gets the Lou_Siffer playoff achievement award (its just a ribbon that says "I tried" with blood stains on it) He brought a game and intensity i had never seen out of him before. I never thought he was a keeper until now, he proved me wrong. He seemed more or less invisible to me in the Ducks series but much props. He should keep the beard also. For the life of me, i can not understand why Maltby was re-signed for 3 friggin years...just plain stupid. Cleary is the NEW Maltby! This makes zero sense. He's totally on the downslide and with Cleary and Franzen, you have two-thirds of a new grind line (with the 3rd guy being an Asham type via free agency). Now you have Maltby still in the way and taking up a spot. This was the chance to move to the future and let him go as well as Draper when his contract runs out. But..ugh..whatever! Anyways, back to the positive. Hasek was outstanding and stole some games I thought, I'd bring him back for sure for one more year with a "reasonable" 1 year contract. You still have to consider him a risk so i wouldnt get crazy with the dollar amount, but i know he'll obviously get a raise. Danny Markov is another guy that got into my good graces by fighting Shawn Thornton, doesnt matter that he lost. The willingness to battle even when you're over your head is what counts. You could say he had no choice in that situation, but alot of guys wouldve just turtled. I'd still prefer someone like Sarich, but i wont be angry if he returns. A few others like Filpulla, who's name i still cant spell right, i left impressed with. Now im sure i'll catch some heat for this, but I aint gonna lie...I'm happy to see Anaheim in the finals. Theres really no way i cant wish for good things for this club. They are the epitome of a team i want to watch as a hockey fan. They have both a GM and coach who value having a hard hitting, tough, fighting team. Its a team attitude that i LOVE and desperately want here. To see a team like this who led the league in fights win the Cup will bring a smile to my face if it happens. So even though you guys are upset about the Wings, for fans of physical hockey, this was the best team to lose to! Now, what do i have to do to blackmail Bryan Murray into dressing McGrattan... Anyways, nice to be back.

Dude, do you not even realizing what you're posting? from you: The Wings were prepared because they faced 2 physical teams in Calgary and San Jose. Ottawa faced Pitt, NJ and Buffalo who do not play physical at all. Obvious translation: None of Ottawa's 3 series were physical up till this point. Hence you saying they werent prepared for a physical game against Anaheim. No other way to take it.

Very much agreed Kp. Wouldnt it be a good idea to actually have some grit getting groomed in the minors rather than have to search for it outside the organization at the deadline every year?

I guess its a stereotype thing. When you think of a team with alot of europeans, you think about them having a total finesse game. While a Canadian dominated team would be labeled as the hard, gritty variety. As a fan, I much much prefer the latter so naturally i just always lean towards the team with the most Canadians. Its just second nature. Do you know what i mean? Plus, theres all those years of being a Don Cherry fan in me

If only he was a goalie.... "Reeeeeeeeetola!!!!! Reeeeeeeeeeeetola!!!!" Opposing fans would have so much fun chanting his name they'd end up with, coincidentally, a sore throat.

Someone shouldve skated out as Sub-Zero and attacked him. How cool would that have been? It wouldve given me chills had i been there.

HAHA! Nice one Hank

Every team gets fluky/cheap goals though, hell the Wings had some as well...and even were the beneficiaries of one that completely turned the tide of a series. Not to mention the 2 off Beauchemin in game 1. I guess im just a little annoyed that the perception most seem to have is that the Ducks are just the luckiest team in the history of the NHL and dont belong in the Finals. Yet theyve only lost 4 games total so far. You dont accomplish this without being a great team no matter how many bounces you get. I know you arent knocking them, just speaking in general here. Funny that for someone who accused me of not watching games in another thread, you go and say the Pittsburgh/Ottawa series wasnt physical.

The thing with Maroth, its like he'll never be more than that .500 pitcher with the mid to high 4 era. Which dont get me wrong, is more than acceptable for almost every team but when you're a team with the quality of arms the Tigers have he more or less becomes in the way. In the way of free agent pitchers, and in the way of young arms with potential. The Tigers have Bondo, Robertson, and Verlander. Barring an injury Miller will be in the rotation next year...so thats 4 right there. What if Rogers wants to come back? What if another young guy with potential is knocking on the door? See what I mean about Maroth kinda being in the way and the odd man out? It doesnt make sense to throw him in the pen when you can actually get something decent in return for him via trade. Why make him a long reliever? And he also doesnt have the pitch makeup that would really make him a good middle or late reliever either. Plus he's not the whining type, but you know thats not a role he'd be happy with anyway. With Casey, given his track record, i'd be willing to wait till the deadline to see if he can bust loose. We dont need homers out of him, all we need is defense, making good contact (not striking out) and a .285+ avg. At the very least, he still can be useful as a defensive late inning replacement.

Bullpens a tough call, i dont know who's available. Plus theres so many obscure names out there that none of us probably even know! I have no idea how he's doing this year, but Farnsworth mouthed off to the media about Clemens being treated like a god a few weeks ago. Georgie may not have liked that, and the Yanks of course need starting pitching...maybe we could bring ol' Farnsey back!

Since the topic was brought up, I think next year is the Pens year for the Finals.