Zetts

Well as long as this thread's gone to the crapper anyways... I think we should start calling Holmstrom "Ryan", as a tribute to Jake Ryan. It's even shorter to type. And we need a nickname like this after Rex's departure.

Actually, Osgood doesn't win during the regular season anymore, thus the issue. And when he does it's becoming increasingly rare that he's the reason the team won. And no, calling him blind is not my attempt to avoid anything. It's an accurate observation. There's no arguing with the guy, as the, what, 20 pages is it now, of the Osgood thread would suggest.

Considering he's one of the most successful coaches in the league, I'll stick with his (unbiased) opinion over a blind Osgood homer. Babcock's goal is always the same: to win. And he does it.

...now I feel bad for liking mango wine coolers.

I'm a full time University student working two jobs and volunteering. I'll have ill-will all I want, we're not all swimming in spare time.

At least the one thing that I'm sure that we can all agree on is that he's a better playoff performer than Crosby.

I didn't think he was particularly bad last night. Still, I'd be shocked if Osgood wasn't in next game.

I agree, driving after 1 drink isn't the same thing. It's just something that I still think should be avoided.

It just seems stupid to me to drink at all before you drive. I don't know about other people, but there are days where I can drink like a tank and days when 1 drink will be affecting me. Even being below 0.08 can still lead to someone technically being impaired (and charged, at least where I live). Seems smarter to drive with 0 BAC It's never been an issue to me one way or the other though. In Alberta you take an initial road test to get your license. A year (or two?) after that, you can take a graduated test, to upgrade your license. The main difference is that with my class of license your BAC has to be essentially 0. Since I've never bothered to upgrade, possibly due to laziness, I've always stuck to a zero BAC when driving. It's really not too hard at all.

I've never done it either. Not the brightest choice. To me, drunk driving suggests a ridiculous egotism. Essentially, the person doing it feels that saving a bit of time is more important than other people's safety.

...and this is still more on topic than a lot of posts these days.

What's to stop Chris Chelios from just fooling a breathalyzer though?

Yeah, a lot of excitement is out of the Wing's game. Unfortunately we're built as a skilled type of hockey team, and most of the skill is gone through the offseason or injuries. So we play a mashed together dump and chase that we're only marginally effective with. We need more enforcers! Seriously though, with Zetterberg and Cleary back soon the PP will get some more zip.

Canada's Junior games never disappoint. That was some exciting hockey. It really is a shame that Eberle is Oiler's property. That means I'm going to have to hate him when he's in the NHL. And it looks like it would be so fun to follow his career. Oh well.

Oh for...everyone just call him Holmstrom and shut up about it. Or perhaps this is when a new LGW nickname should be born that everyone acknowledges is wrong, but uses to avoid arguments. Anyways, I say 2 million. Maybe a little over, to around 2.3 or so. He's proven he can still play. Anywhere in that range (or if he's feeling particularly generous, lower) would be great. Oh wait, what are the chances of Jake Ryan visiting this thread? If he does, just for his sake, I change my answer to $6 million. (Just kidding Jake! )

I really hope so. My impression though, is that ACL injuries aren't something you come back from in top form. It takes quite a bit of time (like 6 months or longer after the recovery period) to get pretty close to where you were before.

It was nice when we had so much depth that Datsyuk could get matched up against some garbage D on the other teams. Because of that, some of the stuff that he could do was absolutely eye-popping. Unfortunately, with how closely and well he's covered now, it happens much less.

I now have this image of a poor, forlorn Jiri Hudler curled up in a corner crying his eyes out after some of the stuff said here. In all seriousness I'm sure none of them have even heard of most fan forums. If, as a player, you start to get into this stuff, it can only pull you down, and I'm sure they know that. Of course, particularly for some of the younger players, the temptation is there...

The thread subtitle, "starting to get ugly" more accurately refers to this thread itself than Osgood's situation.

They've had some really talented young players for a couple of years. It was only a matter of time before they got things figured out. I think they'll be a pretty significant force for a while now. I thought losing Williams might have affected them more by changing up a really good top line, but it looks like they're for real this year.

Sadly there's people on here who still want him traded.

It would be funny if anyone requested a trade to Edmonton.

I think that his career will come to an abrupt end without a Stanley Cup. Oh, wait... Edit: I like this one too:

I think it's disgusting that our starting goalie has to be prodded "in earnest" to play well. We need him. He should be self-motivated. Like I said before, a lapse in play is one thing, but the length this seems to go on for is obscene. This argument about the opponents is irrelevant. He should be able to play against any team. He's supposedly a starting goaltender. Any issues with a lack of starts throwing him off is a further lack of professionalism. Nearly every goalie rides the pine when they get cold, and they have to earn their spot back. It's harder, but it's part of their job. Osgood just seems to rely on other people faltering to get his job. And look at that, Howard is playing Phoenix, a top 4 team on Saturday. http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20...lower-body.html One more thing. Babcock doesn't have a vendetta against Osgood. If Osgood was playing well enough, he'd be starting more. End of story. Personally, I trust Babcock's analysis of what he wants from his goalies.

They do seem to have that ability. But I think a lot of that success is on Hasek and Jagr, who at the time were two of the most dominant players in the game. Hasek won't be there, and Jagr isn't as good as he used to be.