toby91_ca

For the record, over the past 2.5 years, the Wings record against the Ducks is 6-4...so, the Ducks do not always beat them. IMO, they do have trouble with them and it is probably because they are a big physical team, tough to play against. This is just a general opinion and not based on any statistical analysis. I thought in the last game they played against them, the Wings were getting knocked down a lot. Definately depends on the game. Getting outshot is generally not a very good indicator. Think about this scenario: Team A is getting dominated by Team B. Team B is simply controlling the game and not allowing Team A any chances at all. Because of this, Team B is going to shoot the puck on net every chance they get....which is usually a weak shot from a long distance, not quality scoring chances. End result in this game is likely Team A outshooting Team B, but Team B is clearly the better team and more often than not, Team B wins the game.

Really?

Pretty sure he meant the second one "this year" after Lidstrom.

Which I think is a silly argument. Fedorov is 2nd all time in playoffs points, 4th all time in regular season pts (would have easily been 3rd had he stayed). He has the individual awards. There is an argument for Fedorov, none for Shanny.

Yeah, that makes no sense. I could make a ton of arguments for Fedorov over Shanahan, it isn't even close. I'm not even sure what argument you could even make for Shanahan (missing piece for the 97 cup??? That doesn't seem like a very solid argument to me).

Depends on what myth you are talking about. If you are arguing against people saying Detroit's record is inflated because of their devision, I can't support you. There is absolutely no question that if Detroit was in a more competitive division, there regular season records wouldn't have been as good, but by no means would they be nearing missing the playoffs. I can't help but wonder if they would be more prepared for the playoffs if their division was better (maybe it is this year).

I think you have confused the topic.

Compare Fedorov's accomplishments to the few guys that have their numbers retired here. If he had of stayed with the Wings his entire career, you would have a hard time arguing against having his number retired here. I think the first criterion is that you have to be a hall of fame player. In Draper's case, you don't have to bother talking about any other criteria since he doesn't get past the first one.

He won't even get a sniff at the Hall of Fame and I think retiring numbers should be for players that are not just ordinary hall of famers, but the top notch hall of famers. Depends on the team of course, but for the Wings, I have about the same chance as Draper. Not a knock on Draper, but he simply has no chance of having his number retired.

It's too bad things didn't work out differently for Fedorov. If only he had remained a Wing his whole career. Even if he stayed only one more year, he would only be behind Howe and Yzerman on the team's all time scoring list. He's 2nd on the team's all time scoring list in the playoffs I believe (behind Yzerman, but has a better ppg).

Not sure I would classify any of those guys as being in serious slumps, maybe some slow starts, but it's very early. I've seen a handful of Pens games this year and Crosby looks amazing, he was just having bad luck in terms of the points not coming. The last game he played, he made a play that would have been one of the best assists of year, no question, but his teammate didn't convert. Just little things like that...it will turn around. He is still on pace for 98pts, so he hasn't vanished. I haven't seen much of any of those other guys, but they are still not falling of the map. Jagr is on pace for 109pts, to be honest, I expected less than that coming into this season. Ovechkin is only on pace for 82 pts, but he is on pace for 55 goals. I don't think Ovechkin will ever be the type of guy challenging for an Art Ross, so 80-110pts or so is good for him. Thornton is only on pace for 82 pts, but he'll pick things up. So many players will have inflated stats this early and others will have stats that don't look good enough, just the way it goes when you are looking at stats after only 5-10 games.

I'm not sure. I think the Ducks probably had the better team, but either way, the teams were close (on paper). In terms of luck and bounces, people just have to accept the fact that games are sometimes decided that way. Everyone has to remember that the guys out there playing the game are human, they are not robots. The games are won and lost on the ice, not in some room with people comparing rosters.

Yes, but remember that Detroit has played more games than a lot of the other teams. If you go by PPG, Zetterberg is actually the only guy in the top 40. (he's number 2)

You know, I don't get the hype with the Rangers. I don't see how so many have them as cup favourites. Their defense is sub par and where is this so called firepower. They added Drury and Gomez in the off season and lost Nylander....did they really add a lot of firepower here? Those two guys signed for a ton of money, but that doesn't mean they bring boatloads of firepower. Drury had a career year last year at 69pts (guy has never hit 70pts) and up until 2 years ago, never scored 30 goals in this league. Gomez has a career high of 84pts, I think next best is 70 pts. He did score over 30 goals a couple years ago, but other than that....last year he had 13 I think. These guys are great players, no question, but I just don't see how everyone now thinks they are so loaded with offense just because of these signings....especially with the loss of Nylander. Jagr is another year older and on the decline (still one of the best, but there will be some decline) Shanahan is on the decline. I just don't get it.

I think the fact that some refer to him as Nick Jr. is part of the problem. Expectations are simply too high.

And like it or not, most viewed him as the front runner last year before his injury.

If he remains healthy, I think he has a chance at top 10, but there are a lot of other great players in the way of that. Well yes, that's obvious as well But, even if he played 82 games and you prorate his ppg over 82 games, he still didn't come anywhere near the leading scorers last year.

No one probably posted it because they knew it was way too early to even talk about. Check and see who the leading scorer was last year early on. I think Sykora might have even been up there early on. Could Zetterberg lead the league by year's end? Sure, it's possible, but the more likley outcome is no. However, I do think he'll be closer to the top this year than last for a couple reasons: 1) I think he'll simply be better this year and 2) I think the Wings will lean on him a little more to provide it this year than in the past.

Pretty much my thoughts as well. If everyone agreed about everything on here, I wouldn't bother coming because what is really left? News? I can get that where I normally get it.

I agree that someone needs to provide the physical play, but I think he'll always be prone to injuries because he is not a big guy and it's tough to keep up that style of play when you are smaller. I'm not sure if there are many times that he has taken himself out of the play that has directly resulted in a goal, but that's not really the point. I just remember (enough times to mention it at least), that I would be watching and thinking "what are you doing, that was just a poor decision to go for the hit.....blah, blah" I know most, if not all of his injuries may be flukes and not directly the result of him throwing a check, etc., but his body gets worn down by that style of play, which leaves him more likely to suffer injuries through unreleated incicidents, if that makes any sense.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't think he picks his spots very well. ? Do you want to elaborate? I don't understand what you mean. I generally do not have a problem with what people post. Just because I have a different opinion sometimes doesn't mean I have a problem with someone else's. Actually, a lot of the time I agree with someone else's opinion and I just throw out other ideas. In this particular case, I think a lot of people like Kronwall a lot with a big reason being that he's always looking for the big hit. I like that about him as well, but in my opinion, he can sometimes take himself out of position (goes out of his way for the hit)........+ that style of play is likely a big reason why he has missed so much time due to injury. EDIT: And by the way, I'm not the type to just post a smiley face or to say "yeah, I agree." If someone says something that I agree with, I generally don't see the point in wasting my time saying that I agree with whatever they said. If I post, it's normally because I agree, but have other things to add, or I disagree and want to express my opinion.

And takes himself out of position in the process, even when he does connect for a big hit.

So, I agree with all that, but here is my main issue with some of the views on Draper. This has been my view on Draper prior to the 03/04 season and probably the view of many: Draper was a very speedy guy, great on faceoffs and a great penalty killer, a grinder, he was definately a valuable piece of the team. He was the type of guy that would get you 10-15 goals, 15-30pts. Then in the 03/04 season, he scored 24 goals and had 40 points (injury reduced number of games as well). He also won the Selke that year. So at that point, there were many, not all, who probably inflated Draper's value beyond where it should really be. He's very good at what he does and the team needs players like that, but some have rated him much higher than that due to his 03/04 season due to his scoring that year. Now that he has come back down to the 10-15 goal range, some still keep him up at the inflated status and simply say that scoring isn't his primary role on the team and if he does, that's just a bonus (which I totally agree with....if Draper has 0 pts, he's still valuable, but IMO, just not to the extent some have placed him since 03/04.)

Some definately at least read the boards on occasion.

I don't get your point. I would hope that you can choose to not fulfill your contract at work at anytime if you feel like it, I know I can, your employer can't force you to work. It would be different if Niedermayer was continuing to be paid, but he's not.