Echolalia

Sammy has been playing too good to be bashed this year (which is bittersweet), but if he's out against the Blackhawks I think his presence will be missed out there.

I think Kopecky is doing all that the Wings should expect of him. When he's on the ice he's skating as hard as he can from point A to point B, he finishes all of his checks, and he's been keeping his defensive play very basic, along the lines of if he gets the puck in our zone, he clears it out immediately instead of try to dillydally with it and start a play up. Maltby and Draper I can agree with you on, however we can't send them down to the minors without clearing waivers, which they definitely won't be able to do, and its too big a risk to trade them away to bring up young talent on the assumption that they will be able to do better based on a handful of nhl games and their experience in the minors.

Keep us updated on any news please

This is a really cool idea, but I don't have the resources nor the time to do it. I am interested in what the final comparisons will look like; especially from someone who is as unbiased as possible about it. edit: Although it would require an extreme amount of comitment as a whole from the members, I think to expand on this idea it would be cool if a member "sponsored" another team, until all 30 teams are being actively scouted. The amount of information we could pick up on other teams would probably make up one of the largest sources of nhl info on the net. There are so many things that stats don't tell that we would be able to follow.

We can't bring anyone up at this point due to capspace problems, and its unideal to trade anyone away at this point because this is a proven Stanley Cup winning team. We already have all the pieces, its just getting them to work. What I would do is shuffle the lines now while its early in the season and we aren't that desperate yet, to reward who is playing the hardest, regardless of how talented they are, and punish those who aren't hustling by getting fourth line minutes, or even sitting them, despite only dressing 11 forwards. I'm thinking Zetterberg needs to be sat out for a game, because he's been nonexistant out there for far too long. I know it sounds radical, but something has to give. If we lose, so what. These games aren't about winning. Its about sending a message to the players that aren't playing up to expectation. Filpulla has also been playing without heart. He needs to be sat too, or be put on the fourth line with Draper and Maltby. On defense I would pair Lilja up with Lidstrom for the first defensive line (assuming Lids is back). Lilja has been playing some of the best hockey of his life right now. Rafalski will be with Chelios on the second line, and Kronwall and Stuart will take up the remaining time. It'll probably be a disaster on the ice, but a message will be sent, and if they do lose, it will put the Wings in a position in the standings to start playing with desperation. I'll also be keeping Conklin in net. He's done all he's expected to do as a backup. Even when Osgood gets healthy; "nope, Osgood. I don't trust you in net. Prove to me in practice you more capable than Conklin to be our last line of defense". It sounds crazy, but now is the time to do something while we have the room to do so; not assume that things will suddenly change in the playoffs, or start doing something to motivate them a week before playoffs.

Its not a karma thing. We're losing to every team we don't show up to play. Whether it be the Predators, the Penguins, the Bruins, or the Leafs. The Wings don't give it 100% for 60 minutes, they're losing, because the other team sure as hell is going to be giving it their all when they come to play the Stanley Cup champs.

Its been mentioned in the World Junior Championship thread, but it is a cool goal none the less.

I really love this quote.

Agreed wholeheartedly

If he got hurt on that last shift the guy has a stoneface for injuries. He looks unfazed. Even back when Laperierre got him, his face was completely stoic, even though he couldn't support his body on his leg.

Those pads are so awesome. Those need to make a permanent appearance next year if he's still a wing.

What a bummer. She was an icon.

Tavares had a sick goal in the last game, and if I'm not mistaken, the Wings 1st round pick is minding the net for the US (but don't quote me on that)

I don't know that its necessarily more boring to watch than the West, but I don't teams are as strong, generally, compared to teams over here, at least in my opinion. The East has great individuals (becoming had), with Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, Semin, Kovalchuk, Lecavalier. These are some of the most exciting guys to watch, in my opinion, and that's their selling point. We get crowds with team play, not individual effort (although Hossa and Towes are making strong arguments). Whether you like seeing Ovechkin take on three Canadiens single-handedly, then roof the puck following a triple-deke, between the legs fake for a goal, or prefer watching Datsyuk deke out a defensman, pass to Zetterberg for a one time pass back to Datsyuk for a deke-then-pass to Homer for the bang in on a now open net, is totally up to you. They're both entertaining in my book. There was a good quote that someone mentioned last year I believe that went something along the lines of "The East has strong individuals, the West has strong teams", and I think that's really the best way to describe the contrast. Anyway that ended up being a lot longer than I wanted it to be. Just ignore this post, I'm listening to Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds anyway, so I'm not even following discussion anymore...

As much as everyone hates Bettman, I really think these past couple years have been some of the most productive in history in terms of aiming for growth.

Red Wings are what than everyone else?

no problem. I did understand it actually, but I can't pass up an opportunity like that. Also kudos to you for not taking it (or anything on these boards) personally. We need more people like you, minus the drunk-threads

Has Sundin made his debut yet?

Columbus is for real, son.

The sort of hatred that fans bring out I think is good for the game. The players definitely feed off of it, the fans feed off of it, and it makes the games a bit more passionate, because at that point they're playing for more than just two points. Anyway, Blues fans I thought have always been the worst.

FSN+ was a terrible idea. I'd rather all those games be on Versus.

MAnnn tha's so aw.sonme but LIds has to b4tter it up rite I meen hes liek the besst hockey plaer evar rigt'> besiders ofcurse yzaman hes always thea besst /.

I'm too much of a ***** to bet, personally, but I'm also a victim of rising college tuition prices, and possibly more student loans for medschool, if I get accepted.

The problem is corporations are still lunging for the season tickets, so Illitch is still making a profit. Why should he change anything if he's still breaking bank every night. Its almost become something of a fad, even in this recession, because businesses can use good tickets as an incentive or a perk for their employers, that is relatively cheap for the business. My buddy's parent works for GM and gets awesome seats on a regular basis, and doesn't pay a cent for them. Guess how valuable thats become since their family wouldn't be able to afford that kind of entertainment in this economy. Thats not to say that it would be bad business to increase fan capacity in a new arena, and I'm sure that's something that will be looked at, however, i don't see a substantial drop in tickets as a result. If anything, I assume Illitch will hike up the prices, because there will be an added incentive to go see the new arena, and to help deter the cost of putting a new arena up.

When you play hockey you learn to pick your fights. I would never square off against an enforcer, because I would get my ass kicked. I would, however, be willing to tango with standard sized guys, as I have a chance of winning, and a substantially small chance of not skating away from a potentially devastating blow. If Zetterberg were to get into a fight, I hope its against someone like Perry, not Chara. Having said that, its entirely the player's responsibility to know who they can handle, and who can handle them. Cleary not backing down from Pronger, although amazingly admirable, was stupid. Pronger wanting to fight Cleary was stupid, and very *****-like. If you're an enforcer, you take on other enforcers, not 5'10" players with 180 pounds to their frame. Like I said, its both players' responsibilities, and if everyone is conscious of this, there will be generally few injuries from fights, and maximum enjoyment from the crowd also.