arnoldbuck 0 Report post Posted March 16, 2007 Was just reading this and it made me think. It hasn't just been be the last two years, it has been for at least 5 season, even before our 02' run, that critics and voices from all over said Detroit was done. Too old, not mean enough, etc. and we just keep on winning. We have had our share of playoff upsets, yes, but so do 28 other teams every season, only they don't have the other success to go along with it. I am sure every else here agree's, all that matters from here on out though is getting our team healthy. I have seen several threads pop up over the last few weeks about what our line-up should look like when everyone returns. If/when we do have everyone back, damn we are looking good. Surprise, surprise: Detroit Red Wings again the class of the NHL (CP) - Mike Babcock has seen this scenario play out before. Hockey observers predict at the start of the season that the Detroit Red Wings will finally start to struggle, then coach Babcock's team goes out and proves them wrong. Again. "Every year at the start the experts make predictions, but I don't think people in the game can even make those predictions," Babcock said Friday from Vancouver. "They said the same thing about us last year at the start." And the Red Wings won the Presidents' Trophy. Even without the retired Steve Yzerman and the departed Brendan Shanahan, Detroit is doing it again. The Wings are the class of the NHL with 99 points in 71 games and are in position to finish first overall for the third straight time. That says something to Babcock. "I hear people talk about the President's Trophy not meaning anything," he said. "Well you know what? It means over 82 games you're the best team in the league and it's hard as hell to win. "It's not what we're all interested in winning, but when you have it you still like to have it." They'd also like to again raise the Stanley Cup in June. Before that can happen, the Red Wings need to get some good news from the sick bay. Forwards Henrik Zetterberg, Daniel Cleary, Todd Bertuzzi, Valtteri Filppula and Tomas Kopecky are all currently out with injury. Babcock would take the eighth seed in the Western Conference in exchange for those players being back in his lineup. There aren't any easy opponents in the playoffs and teams need some good fortune to get to the Stanley Cup. Detroit knows that all to well after finishing first overall last year and losing to Edmonton in the first round of the playoffs. "If you look at the West last year, the top four seeds fell in the first round and it's even tighter this year," said Babcock. "Where you finish to me is not near as important as how healthy you are. "Our No. 1 goal is to get healthy. There's not one team in the top eight right now, including ourselves, that I'd be all that excited about playing. They're all that good." The Red Wings are getting a taste of that this week. After beating rival Nashville in consecutive games, they flew across North America to Vancouver. They'll face the Canucks on Saturday, travel to Calgary and play the Flames on Tuesday before returning to Detroit and hosting Columbus on Thursday. It's a brutal stretch of schedule that Babcock has embraced as a good test for his team. "It gives us a better dry run (for the playoffs) than we could ever set up," he said. "Good teams with real good goaltending and lots of travel. "That's the challenge. That's the same as it is at playoff time." And ultimately, that's what every year is about in Hockeytown USA. Babcock was pleased with GM Ken Holland's additions of Bertuzzi and Kyle Calder at the trade deadline. The Wings want to wear opponents down with toughness. "I thought Kenny did a good job of getting us more players to play on the inside than the outside," said Babcock. "We're trying to be a harder team to play against." Calder, in particular, has thrived. The 28-year-old was having a miserable season in Philadelphia but has received a new lease on life in Motown. Calder has two goals and eight assists in eight games with the Red Wings. Detroit is also 6-1-1 during that stretch. "I consider him to be a Ryan Smyth-type player," Babcock said of the gritty Calder. "He's tenacious on the puck. He just keeps coming. He works hard. He does the dirty work. "And he's got enough hands around the net to help create some offence. To me, guys like him are contagious." Just like winning seems to be in Detroit. The Red Wings last finished a season with less than 100 points in 1998-'99. They've created a franchise that should serve as a model for almost all others. Personnel changes, injuries, trades, retirements. None of it seems to slow the Red Wings. "The expectation is success," said Babcock. "We don't talk about the Presidents' Trophy. We don't talk about finishing first. We don't talk about any of that. "We talk about getting better. That's the environment and the atmosphere that we have here." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edicius 3,269 Report post Posted March 17, 2007 Just saw that over at TSN too...and I have to say to them...SHHHHH! You're gonna ruin it! No one's supposed to be paying any attention to us! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
datsyukismyfriend 4 Report post Posted March 17, 2007 cool article, thanks. i for one have definitely been impressed, especially this year. at the beginning of the year i wasn't too confident that we'd even make the playoffs, and at best i thought a 5th or 6th seed. and our dismal start of fortified that sentiment. but this team continues to win and continues to be an elite force. it's been a great time to be a fan. it's going to be tough when this team eventually takes it's inevitable turn for the worse and isn't the super power it has been for so long. but hopefully kenny is putting us in good possition so that doesn't happen for a long time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
superstarsingh 23 Report post Posted March 17, 2007 Just saw that over at TSN too...and I have to say to them...SHHHHH! You're gonna ruin it! No one's supposed to be paying any attention to us! haha I agree! Let us move in silence. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HockeyCrazy3033 168 Report post Posted March 17, 2007 What is this class you speak of? WE ARE UNDERDOGS!!! Seriously though, Wings are amazing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Tunbo Batman Report post Posted March 17, 2007 unbelievable team. simply great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DyingAlive 27 Report post Posted March 17, 2007 haha I agree! Let us move in silence. As long as this franchise is as good as it is. The Wings will never move in silence. Top notch teams are always looked at. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kylee 727 Report post Posted March 17, 2007 i think my favorite this year was when some NHL blogger said that the Wings would implode from the inside because most of the Red Wings didn't respect mike babcock and that would lead to their huge demise... heh and i totally agree with babs on getting everyone healthy, of course i want to see Z and bert back ASAP, but no at the cost of re- aggravating an injury. so when thinking things through, let the guys sit out as much as they need to get healthy for a play-off run. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kp-Wings 3 Report post Posted March 17, 2007 i think my favorite this year was when some NHL blogger said that the Wings would implode from the inside because most of the Red Wings didn't respect mike babcock and that would lead to their huge demise... heh You are thinking of Andy Strickland, who is a Blues fan anyways. I think it's kinda weird seeing the media actually compliment the Wings. Anything Red Wings related in the media is usually some offbeat Kara Yorio rant. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Tunbo Batman Report post Posted March 17, 2007 Krak'a Yoyo is a joke. Oftentimes tho, you'll find positive stuff about the Wings. "Pundits" and "experts" are always on our back, proving that they really don't know anything about the game, but the official site and various bloggers like us. Also, Buccigross seems to have nice wordds for us from time to time, and Jacques Demers (RDS) is in love with us. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
arnoldbuck 0 Report post Posted March 17, 2007 Krak'a Yoyo is a joke. Oftentimes tho, you'll find positive stuff about the Wings. "Pundits" and "experts" are always on our back, proving that they really don't know anything about the game, but the official site and various bloggers like us. Also, Buccigross seems to have nice wordds for us from time to time, and Jacques Demers (RDS) is in love with us. It is always easy to pick on the guy on top. And when you are the Detroit Red Wings ... people cant ignore you. This isn't just some team that had one or two good runs, this is a team that everyone in the league new was going to be good for the past ... 12-13 years. We are, and have been for so long the top-dogs. Perhaps not the Stanley Cup Champs, but one of the best teams in hockey. Since the mid-90's, the NHL has undergone some huge changes, players have come and gone, Championships have been decided, but with all the Change, our Logo has remained among the cream-of-the-crop in the league. (gives me that funny feeling in my tummy) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
