Echolalia

Good points although I do want to clarify that when I said player X may/may not replace player Y, I didn't refer to their skill set as much as their role on the team. I think my wording implied otherwise...

Thats a fact? Anyway... If the wings hold serve at home, all they need to do is win just one game on the road. .500 is not red wing standard, but it also demonstrates that we win enough to be able to take at least one of four in someone else's building.

Absolutely too soon. I don't want to say definitively one way or another becuase frankly I don't know the state of his condition, but the way his arms flailed on the ice is a sign of severe brain damage. Voracek might be messed up pretty badly right now.

I have to watch to replay again, but Kronner commits to his hits pretty early on and that poses a problem in these situations. When he commits to his hit, it's usually while the puck is in mid pass along the boards to the winger. Theres a good second or two as Kronwall transfers his momentum from skating backwards to skating into the zone. If a player presents his head in front of his body, eyes only in the puck after getting the puck, kronwall is already on top of him. If we give the winger the benefit here, and say kronwall can still pull up and avoid the hit, the winger gets a breakaway because at this point all of kronwall's momentum is going the opposite direction of the play, and hes pinched in from the blue line. Letting up on a hit in those situations would lead to breakaways. For Kronwall, when he decides to engage in the process of starting the hit, he either commits to the hit and risk the injury and the suspension if the Winger happens to never pull his head up, or avoid the hit and give the winger an excellent scoring opp. The way the rules are set up really discourage these types of hits (not headshots but hitting wingers as they approach the blue line). I never really thought about it before this instance because everyone up until this point (at least since the rules cracked down) got their head up in time to avoid getting it blasted off their body. If you compare this hit with his others, they're all the same on Kronwall's end of things. The only difference here (and the Havlat hit, before the rules changed) is that the victim never pulled his head up between corralling the puck and Kronwall hitting him. Every other Kronwall victim lifted their head up before getting blasted. Instincts do the rest and suddenly the vitctim's head doesn't get touched at all, but he still suffers a devastating hit. Voracek never looked up after getting the puck, drove himself head-first straight into a freight train, and we all saw the consequences. I'm all for eliminating headshots. I hate seeing injuries, and this hit for me is tainted because I think Voracek's injury may very well be quite serious. But he got on train tracks, saw the train coming, and barreled into with his head down. You don't do that. As for Voracek, the way his arms flailed out after the hit seemed indicative of decerebrate posturing, which is quite serious and implies severe brain damage. I hope Voracek the best, and would love to see him back on the ice soon.

The vulnerability aspect of this hit is no different than any other Kronwall hit. Im not using that as defense for the hit, but I don't know that Shanny can use that as the principle reason for enforcing a suspension. I have to watch to replay again, but Kronner commits to his hits pretty early on and that poses a problem in these situations. When he commits to his hit, it's usually while the puck is in mid pass along the boards to the winger. Theres a good second or two as Kronwall transfers his momentum from skating backwards to skating into the zone. if a player presents his head in front of his body, eyes only in the puck after getting the puck, kronwall is already on top of him. If we give the winger the benefit here, and say kronwall can still pull up and avoid the hit, the winger gets a breakaway because at this point all of kronwall's momentum is going the opposite direction of the play, and hes pinched in from the blue line. Letting up on a hit in those situations would lead to breakaways. For Kronwall when he decides to engage in the process of starting the hit, he either commits to the hit and risk the injury and the suspension if he happens to never put his head up, or avoid the hit and give the winger an excellent scoring opp. The way the rules are set up really discourage these types of hits (not headshots but hitting wingers as they approach the blue line). I never really thought about it before this instance because everyone up until this point ( at least since the rules cracked down) got their head up in time to avoid getting it blasted off their body.

Toronto fans show up in the Joe like its the last game on Earth. I remember a thundering "Let's go red wings/go leafs go!" chant a few years ago when the leafs came to Detroit. I'm really excited about how the Winter classic will end up. Our fan bases seem to bring out the best in one another.

I sure hope so, but from all I've gathered I expect them to be solid top 6ers (although I know nothing at all about Tvrdon), but cracking top 3 still seems like a stretch for me.

I think that's a fair assessment. I dont see any of those players as being top line material (except smith i can see being a top 2 dman). We have depth in our farm system, but no marquee players. In other words, we have a replacement for Filppula, we have a replacement for Hudler, but when Dastyuk and Zetterberg and Franzen retire, there's no young blood that can fill their skates, at least at the moment.

The brad may goal was embarrassing. He shoots the puck, puck goes cleanly into the net, clearly behind the goalie, ref waits a second before blowing the play dead under the assumption that the goalie had stopped the puck. And the whole time the puck was sitting in the net.

GMR are you ready to be banned from Red Wings games for life??

Okay I love this kid. He should not be in the AHL any longer, and he needs to be playing 15-20 min a night. Ericsson can handle that work load despite popular belief, Quincey sure as hell can handle that work load, Kindl has really stepped it up now that his job is on the line, and he has shown he can handle that work load. I don't see any reason why next year we can't have 3 defensive lines averaging 20 min each/night.

Paul Kariya seemed to destroy us whenever he played. Respected him immensely and hated whenever he was on the ice. A true wing killer.

I'm of the group that doesn't think fighting does all that much in the game aside from getting fans out of their seat, but my opinion isn't shared by all, including some NHL coaches and GMs. Banning fighting in feeder leagues is going to take away an asset in prospects that some fans and NHL staff members value, which is discouraging to hear. At the same time, the nervous system is still developing in these prospects and I don't know if it's worth the long-term risk of brain damage that blows to the head can cause. I imagine that if fighting (ie shots to the head) can cause a negative response in fully grown adults, it really can't be good for kids who are still developing neurologically.

This is why Suter is so crucial to the Wings' future. He can contribute offensively to alleviate Lidstrom's retirement, and he's also hard in the corners and around the net, which frankly I believe the Wings severely lack on defense. Stuart provides it, White can provide it but doesn't with the regularity and effectiveness that Stuart does, and Ericsson tries to and sometimes does well, but it's inconsistent and often ineffective. Other than that we really just let other teams own our perimeter and hope Jimmy can make a save with at the most a favorable rebound.

I think Stuart has been our best defenseman this year, which i'm entirely prepared to receive flak for. He doesn't have the offensive prowess of lidstrom, kronwall, or white, and those stats certainly won't paint a sexy picture of him, but I think what he has been providing in our own zone has more than made up for that. I can certainly see the appeal for lidstrom because of his contributions across all 200 feet of ice, but again, Stuart's play in his own end and what he brings to the table are things that I don't see other guys on our team capable of replacing, and if we end up beating a big, powerful, cycling team like the ducks, sharks, or bruins in the playoffs, it will be largely because of him.

Actually a 1 in 4 chance is pretty significant considering 16 teams make it into the postseason

Lidstrom hasn't even been the best defenseman on our team, IMO, let alone the entire league. I don't know if he would win the Norris even if he was playing hockey ala lidstrom 2002, though. I feel like there are too many influential people who see Lids as inferior to Orr and have to justify that by not voting for his tying Norris trophy. It doesn't matter either way, though.

I don't remember much of when Smith played for the Wings last. The one thing I remember is that he didn't carry himself like a rookie on the ice, and his head was up and constantly analyzing his surroundings. I don't remember much physicality from him though. Not sure where all those claims are coming from, unless he's been tough down in GR?

Wow I didn't know that Drew Miller was claimed off waivers. And from Tampa Bay no less. What a steal that was.

I did hear that it definitely has to do with his wife's daughter (Stuart's stepchild) and her connection to her biological father, but I didn't know that there was any legal binding involved. I was always under the impression that Stuart and his family did not want the daughter to grow up in a different state than her biological father.

Not a good year for coaches...

Looks like Neil was smarting after that one, too

Yes please! I was really bummed to see him leave, although at the time he really deserved to be playing regular minutes in the NHL instead of playing a few games here and there between grand rapids stints. He's had time to develop in the NHL into a solid defenseman and I'm happy to have him back, if true. A first round pick might seem heavy for someone that we had just a few years ago, but I think it's worth it, given the position were in, the fact that Quincey is still young, still has upside, and draft picks are never a guaranteed NHL player; even 1st rounders. I'll take it.

I can't remember an incidence when Holland did what rumors and fans predicted/hoped/expected. His trades are always completely out of the blue. In any event, i would love to see Malone or Morrow wearing a Wings sweater next week, especially after watching the game against the sharks. We need physical, smart, effective contributors just for the occasion that we vs the sharks in the playoffs. Also, I'm scared to death what this team will look like when Stuart is gone. I'll probably get a lot of flak for this but I think he's been our best defenseman this year, lidstrom including. It seems like he singlehandedly stops a goal once every three games, and he's the only dman we have who is really effective in the corners against players like the sharks when the cycle is established, or during a tight dump and chase. I would love for holland to pick up a defenseman with a similar playing style to Stuart.

I'll take Kubina if Yzerman includes Malone in the deal as well. Kubina and Malone for kindl, emmerton, and a low pick. Tampa Bay gets some young talent to work with, clean up some cap space, and we get veteran leadership and grit to help us in the playoffs. I think it's a fair deal for both sides