Doctor G

Keep it!! It has been a great part of the game for many years and it will always be one of the most exciting parts of the game. Even though the Red Wings do not fight much, I still enjoy a good bout.

I wasn't saying Peters was in Crowder class, but Peters was showing great potential as a heavyweight. Then this year he failed terribly at it. Now with Crowder, he had 1 very good & 2 poor seasons with the Devils. He looked like he was going to be a great heavy. He then went to the Wings and had a poor year with of course hurting his back. Then he was out of hockey a while. He came back ans had a couple ok seasons, but he was never the same. Peters has had 1 good season and several ok seasons. Yes Peters wasn't hurt, he just didn't turn out to be the fighter we all hoped. That is were he compares to Crowder.

Peters was a very big disappointment and I also have to throw in McGratton. Both of these guys fell off greatly. A little reminiscent of Troy Crowder back in the day when he was about to be the man. Of course Crowder gave up cocaine and hurt his back with the Wings.

This is very true; I have been to 2 games in Toronto. One at old Maple Leaf Gardens & the other at Air Canada Center. Their fans are great, I would put them at NO# 2 on the list. I agree with Montreal at NO# 1, it is such a great city and a fantastic place to watch a game. The atmosphere is so different and their fans are great to talk to. I recommend anyone go there to watch a game, you will have a great time.

I don't think Kopecky is the only one on the Wings that get cheap shots. Other teams still believe if you play rough and tough, the Wings will fold. The Wings are made up of mostly Europeans and rightly or wrongly a lot of teams believe this is the way to play them. As we get closer to the playoffs we will see a lot more of this physical play against the Wings. Side Note: OsGod your Avatar is so disturbing on many levels. You see a sexy body in a french maid outfit and get just blasted by that God awful face. I might be blinded for a few days, but I will recover. You hace a wicked sence of humor and it was very funny.

I have always believed, you make your point better when not swearing. Anyone can swear, thats easy. But we come across better to our fellow posters in disagreements, when we refrain from swearing. I will get off my high horse now.

They tried to come to terms with a deal, but couldn't. Now some in the Blackhawk front office use to work for the Cubs front office, so they are trying to set up something at Wrigley. It would be great if the Wings were a part of this, 2 original 6 teams going at it at a famed stadium such as Wrigley. I would buy tickets in a heart beat.

I think you guys are missing some things here. It is a great compliment to the Wings organization to have 3 of your people to be considered for running a team such as the Leafs. If by chance the ownership leaves you alone and you can turn that team around! WOW you would be King of the hockey world. Now if Cliff Fletcher is smart the one he should target is Jim Nill. He has great hockey knowledge, he has had some great teachers, he would be easier to get than Ken Holland or Stevie Y and he is a lot younger than Scotty. It will be interesting to see what happens with that soap-opera they call the Maple Leafs.

Very true GMR, but guys like that do exist in this league anymore. Dave Brown was asked why he did not throw as many punches as some of his combatants, he said he didn't want to waste any energy on a uselessly punch, he was looking for the best way to hurt someone. Philly had some of the nastiest people to ever come into the league, they have had that mentality since they began in the NHL. Thanks to Youtube GMR you can revisit a yesteryear gone buy. We are in a kinder, gentler NHL now.

Opie, the practice jersey is pretty nice, I like it. Maybe not for a regular game, but pretty good for practice and for a fan to wear it.

Yes he deserves the respect of even getting a chance to play at this level. To even to be alive shows the man has a great will and strength. But I believe these injuries are to hard to overcome to play at an elite level. He has shown good hands, but his first step is to slow. Now I believe his top speed is good enough, but getting there takes to long. But I hope I will be proven wrong and he becomes an solid NHL player. The Red Wings are doing the right thing and give this man a chance to prove he belongs here. I do not blame him wanting to go back home and make a great living for his family. Igor knows better than anyone else that an athlete's playing career is fleeting. Why should he play in the minor league in a foreign land? I also say good luck Igor, may he have a long successful career.

Odd post, interesting question though. The answer for Chelios is no, he wouldn't do that. Very few refs would want to be involved in that type of mess and most do not want to lose their job. The only thing that comes close is a ref and player getting into a verbal altercation. The one ref who would give it was Paul Stewart and he was very colorful in a lot of his responses. Being a former player he would not take much BS. There were a few linesmen that would be very aggressive in stopping fights. But most of these guys have retired and have been replaced by robots. So if you are really looking for an answer it would probably have to of happen way back in history, an amateur game or over in Europe.

There is a fine line to walk if you are a Union President. Yes you shouldn't be an obstructionist and you want to keep negotiations flowing smoothly. But under no circumstance do you have that type of an exchange between the PA director and the NHL commissioner or one of his deputies. This sounds very underhanded and their relationship a little too friendly. This might be the start of some very disturbing information coming out about the leadership in the PA. Now to be honest I do not blame Bettman for this, yes his e-mail was in very poor judgment. But it sounds like he found a pasty in Saskin and he manipulated the situation. His job is to make the owners very successful and he is the type to take advantage of every situation. The Director of the PA has to have the players' best interests and make sure there is a free market. If I was a player I much rather have Bob Goodenow then Ted Saskin leading the union. These two men are polar opposites, hopefully the new union chief will be somewhere in the middle.

You gotta love the Harry Neale's quote in that clip " I watched Kovalchuk shadow box and the shadow won everytime." The Buffalo announcers are always entertanning, I do not get to hear them much though. The play-by-play guy always calls a great game.

I like King to Lou. The guy can really throw good punches and he isn't afraid to take 1 to give 1. I didn't know Horton could handle himself like that, but after watching that fight he looked very good. Who do you guys think are the up & coming fighters? I am really looking forwarded to this year. It seems there a lot of teams that want to be more agressive. Hockeyfights.com and Youtube should be busy this year with some good clips.

Right you are, those 2 fights are not for the weak of heart. Also the night in St. Louis when Probert fought Todd Ewen 3 times. Those were classics. There was an all out brawl with the Maple Leafs in the 80"s, back when Probert and Kocur first join the team. Brad Park was coaching the Wings and Probert headbutted Bob McGill. I didn't see the game only heard stories of it. I have been trying to find that clip, but nobody has it. I thought it would be on youtube, but no luck.

Nice move on the goal, not spectacular but nice. I am going to hold off my evaluation of Mr. Grigorenko until he plays a few regular season games. He has potential, but the minor leagues have a bunch of guys that used to have the label potential attached to them. We will have to see, it looks like he improves with every game. If he keeps improving, he could become a valuable part of this team. One way or another we will learn the fate of Igor this year. Come this winter he will be either an asset to the Wings or he will be back in Russia. I will say this, if Kirk Maltby can not be the player he used to be, the Wings might as well give Igor his minutes.The Wings could be the only team in the league to have a few skilled guys on the 4th line. If they are not going to have an enforcer or if Maltby can't contribute the way he use to, might as well get the most talent out there on the ice at one time. I would like the 4th line to have a couple of tough guys, but I am not that delusional. The Wings are not that type of team, they do not have that philosophy. So you might as well get the most guys out there that can put the puck in the net.

After looking at this a few times the hit was dirty. Not as bad as Pronger, but along the line of some of Dion Phaneuf hits. What the hell was McAmmond thinking watching his pass. Any player knows, around the net your head better be on a swivel or it will be handed to you. But anytime a player leaves his feet should be an automatic suspension. There is no reason to leave your feet or hit another player in the head. There seems to be a lack of respect for each other and I don't understand this. Yes this league is emotional, tough and physical, this of course is why most of us love it. But you can be tough without being dirt. I do have to say if the Flyers can get Downie under control they will have a very good player. Do not forget the Flyers LOVE very tough or even borderline dirty players. So in the Flyers eyes this might enhance his chances of making the team.

What do the first 2 on your list have in common; Mr. Black Death to a franchise himself- Mike Milbury, he makes Matt Millen look almost smart. Alright neither of these 2 gentlemen will ever be a member of Mensa. Chicago has to be in the top 3, they have been bad for a long time. Some of the new franchises haven't been around enough to be horrible. But give some of them time, they are trying hard to get there.

This trade also made me wonder. I have only seen Johnson in a handful of games so I am not ready to say he will be a great defenseman, but he has all the talent in the world and YOU do not make that trade. As far as the Thorton trade, that is why Boston is one of the worst run organizations in hockey. They have been bad for a very long time. Jeremy Jacobs (Bettman's butt buddy) is a terrible owner and their GM's have been horrible.

To me Sopel seemed to lose a step last year and had to many errors in his own zone. He had such promise a few years ago, I wonder what happen? So I elect Downey by default. But I don't think either will be here in October. Although I do like Downey's game: he hustles, plays a solid defense, and is actually a pretty good forechecker. He isn't a liability as some people think. Now everyone knows he isn't going to score, but there could be a place for him on this team. I just don't think the coaches will take a chance on him, unless they use him like Montreal did. Put him in a few games here and there.

Love the map Zata. Looking it over made me wonder which teams are going to last and which are going to move. The reason I say this is because more teams than Nashville are losing money. Also this league more than any other plays musical chairs with cities. But I like all the cities you named for expansion. Now if there is a expansion team in the northwest does anybody know if Paul Allen would be involved? He would be a good owner, I liked to see Cuban & Balisille be involved with other teams. Supposedly the Maloofs would like to be involved with the Vegas team, things could get interesting. Edit: not sure on spelling of Balisille & Maloof, so my apologies to them all if wrong.

Jwo; Ruth England is a stunner. Sorry for my ignorance, but whom is she? She has this natural beauty about her.