up2here

"It's great. In Phoenix the other night, the 'Go Wings, Go' was pretty nice - louder than it is at home...I probably shouldn't have slipped that in." Red Wings coach Mike Babcock when asked about the plethora of Detroit fans in the stands during road games Hopefully this can incite the fans to be louder and become that 7th man that they have been in the past.

Just wondering if anyone knows why Mickey hasnt done the last two FSN games? Does he not travel or something?

I agree,he's a dictator.Now please list the 850 other reasons for our records.

Heres something to back your statement up. This is an excerpt from a The Hockey News Player Poll from April of this year on which building is the toughest to play in on the road: What is the toughest building to play in on the road? 1) Detroit Red Wings (41) 16.4% 2) Calgary Flames (37) 14.8% 3) Montreal Canadiens (25) 10% 4) San Jose Sharks (21) 8.4% 5) Philadelphia Flyers (14) 5.6% 6) Toronto Maple Leafs (13) 5.2% 7) Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils (12) 4.8% 8) Ottawa Senators (9) 3.6% 9) Buffalo Sabres, Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators (7) 2.8% 10) Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers (6) 2.4% 11) Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins (5) 2% 12) Tampa Bay Lightning (4) 1.6% 13) Vancouver Canucks (3) 1.2% 14) Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals (2) 0.8% 15) Atlanta Thrashers, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings (1) 0.4% Heres a link also: The Hockey News

While I'm sure if Tucker played here we would all love him and that he is not a P.O.S., the point you make about him and McCabe running their mouths off at Refs is a good one. The Leafs wont get any marginal calls from a Ref who is sick and tired of hearing them. Pat Quinn was the worst though and I'm sure Tucker and McCabe learned from him.

I knew someone would post it. All kidding aside he is growing on me,as long as its just 4th line <10 mins ice time.

I know this was more than 10 years ago but Oates for Federko(For one season).OUCH!

Well that explains it,thanks.This is my first year with the Center Ice package,and youre right Murphy is no Redmond.

Yashin is playing in Europe because no NHL team would pay his lazy a$$ what he thinks its worth. No way he signs for 500k.

Aaron Downey.

It is still too early but that time is getting close. I'm afraid that I dont see that desire in him,maybe he's been through too much?

Unfortunatly I think we may to live with these mistakes from time to time.At Kronwalls age I dont see the trend reversing,but hopefully he can make up for it with some offense and physical play.

Lilja gets no break from me.Im pretty sure hes also to blame for the Polar ice caps melting.

Always liked Mats,goes about his business and doesnt say much. Now that he has the record he can see about getting his dolphin-like teeth fixed. Marcus or Mats?

I have a theory that probably has been brought up here before but I thought was worth discussing again; having the Wings in Western Conference in the Central Division is hurting attendance. The rivalries that the people in the Detroit area have historically followed are dead. We need more games against Montreal,Boston and most importantly Toronto,it also doesnt help that the Blackhawks have basically iced a team of kittens for the past 5 years. I understand the importance of fostering NEW rivalries but is it worth losing Detroit? I know there are a few theories for why attendance is dropping off and while its not time to panic yet ,18000 a game is still very good, there is reason for concern if the trend continues.

Excellent post but theres one thing youre forgetting. People in Detroit have been watching the Wings play Toronto,Boston,Montreal and Chicago on a regular basis for 80 years. Now 3 out of 4 of those teams we only play once every 2 years. Its not a slight against hockey fans in Minnesota at all, I think they are probably the most passionate in all of the USA, but their NHL tradition is not the same and its probably easier for those fans to accept new rivalries. I also agree with you that rivalries are born in the playoffs but why give up on rivalries that already exist and have existed for 80 years?

Cajanek cleared waivers yesterday which means he is now free to sign with any team at half his salary(1 mil). Might be worth a look for the Wings he can play Center or Left Wing and is only 32. When the Wings played the Blues last year I seem to recall him showing some talent. TSN Scouting Report

Yes Forsberg is in the "Competes hard,gives it his all" catagory while Bertuzzi is in the "Lazy,punch guys in the back of the head" catagory, and it was Steve Moores jersey that was soaked in blood.

Thats correct,TSN reported that the Blues want someone to take him off their hands so they would likely be calling him up. I should have added that to post.

Looked average? We you watching the same game I was? If it wasnt for Bryzgalov the score would have been 6 or 7 to 2. The number 1 line combined for 12 of 45 shots and 2 points. Im no more concerned with the top line than I am about any of the other lines. With that being said one more top 6 forward certainly wouldnt hurt but thats true of almost every team in the league.

Ken and Mickey mentioned during last nights game that Draper would be playing mostly RW this year. Then during the game they said a few times that Kris was 6th in the league in faceoffs last year and I know that he has been in the top ten in that catagory for most of the last few years. My question is why would you move a guy who is that good at faceoffs to the wing? This one has me puzzled..

I just hope our face-off numbers dont suffer too badly because of it,maybe Kopecky and Flip can pick it up. They can still use Draper for key faceoffs I suppose.

True,but then why not just let him play center?

Maybe it was just me but I got the impression that he never bought into Babcock's "Leave it all on the ice" coaching style. Todd is a good player but not worth the money he got in my opinion.

It certainly was a nice move and I noticed he uses a fairly long stick for a forward which helped. However I wasnt all that impressed with his play in the rest of the game,he wasnt awful but he wasnt a standout either. We'll see what happens over the last two games.