Red Wings rivals?

[stevie for president 42]

Ok contrary to the beliefs of Bettman, St. louis, Colorado, and Chicago are NOT rivals. The closest thing the wings had to a rival was nashville. it was more of a both teams were good in the same conference and really needed to beat each other.

ok enough with the preface. Nashville's D is among the worst in the NHL, and now they trade away in my opinion their MVP. Also, i hear their salary will be at the basement, around 33 million. They are basically being reduced to an AHL franchise.

Now that they are out of the picture, who could even be considered the biggest Detroit rival? I say Toronto. we see each other 2 times every 3 years, not 8 times in one year, but still...again contrary to bettman...id say they are our biggest rivals. Any thoughts?

On a side note, now that Nashviille is out of the picture, can anyone compete with detroit in the central? the jackets and blues wont be as bad as last year but thats not saying much and im not convinced chicago has gotten better. did detroit already win the central unless huge signings are made during free agency?

[Yzerfan1999 81]

I think it would be hard to consider the Leafs a rival. They played for the first time in how many years on CBC this past year and it was pretty much the most tame and boring game I saw all year. They would fit more into the traditional Wings rivals like Colorado, Chicago, and St. Louis.

I think Calgary is getting up there in terms of a rivalry. Two chippy playoff series in the last couple of years. Same goes for Anaheim.

[Gordie Howe hat trick 110]

I think it would be hard to consider the Leafs a rival. They played for the first time in how many years on CBC this past year and it was pretty much the most tame and boring game I saw all year. They would fit more into the traditional Wings rivals like Colorado, Chicago, and St. Louis.

I think Calgary is getting up there in terms of a rivalry. Two chippy playoff series in the last couple of years. Same goes for Anaheim.

Couldn't have said it better myself. But then you also have to consider all O6 teams as traditonal rivals, I know I do.

Edited June 26, 2007 by Gordie Howe hat trick

[Wings3:16 318]

I see Calgary being our next rivalry...these playoffs I just prayed that we at least get past THEM...

[Flip-check 6]

It blows to say the Wings don't have any rivals, but they don't. Calgary and Anaheim may spark something this next year (Yzerfan's right, they're the closest imaginable), right now though assigning rivalries is a reach though.

It nearly makes me want to go back to that Ottawa/Sabres game at the end of last season. To expand the whole question we got here: Who in the hell in the NHL even are rivals anymore?

[Guest jaytan]

I can't bring myself to care about Nashville. As far as rivals.... Colorado, Toronto, Chicago, St. Louis.... Maybe Anaheim for a couple of years.

[Production Line 1]

Detroit wins the central, no other team is close...Like I said before Toronto is gonna want back in our conf and div...find an excuse to tranfe...

[Kass 7]

After they fired their coach last year St. Louis really picked up their game, to the point where if they had played like that at the start of the year they would've made the playoffs. That resulted in some pretty interesting match-ups and close games. Who knows, they might replace Nashville as our competition.

[WingMachine91 0]

guys, i think that u toss away the colorado rivalry too easily. the red sox and yankees have been playing each other for like 80 years. do u think that a fight starts in every game, or they are both great every year? no, but that doesnt mean u just stop disliking them. same for carolina and duke. longtime rivals but some years arent as good as others. i think the reason we dont have any is cause we easily toss away a team after they arent that big of a challange. just wait, i can see colorado getting good again next year, witht he right signings, and then all we need is a close playoff series and were back in the saddle. so instead of picking one, lets just let it come to us.

plus, i do like the point about calgary. i do have strong feeling of hate towards them as a team and their fans as human beings. haha well maybe not that bad. but we'll see

[DaKineMaui 8]

Nash what? What Ville? What what?

It's da Leafs. Then da Hawks.............then da Habs. Then the rest.

Yes, the entire NHL is in dire need of repair. Again.

[rage 24]

Nash what? What Ville? What what?

It's da Leafs. Then da Hawks.............then da Habs. Then the rest.

Yes, the entire NHL is in dire need of repair. Again.

Yep. All thanks to your boy Bettman.

[NC WINGS FAN 5]

Ever read the Chicago Blackhawks fan blogs? They are always trashing our Redwings calling them the "Detoilet Deadwings" It's obvious they still consider us a rivalry. Having said that, the Blackhawks will always be a rivalry and so will Toronto. The Colorado, Calgary, and Anaheim rivalries will burn out as time passes due to geography. To a lesser extent, I will always consider St. Louis a rivalry unless they move us east. Maybe Montreal for those who remember the 50's and 60's.

Wish Buttman would allow us to restore (The Lifeblood of the NHL) those old rivalries (Toronto Montreal)

[redwingfan19 293]

The nhl is always trying new things how bout getting rid of confrences and just have divisions? an Original 6 division would kick ass!

[stlwing14 0]

Being in Saint Louis, the Note and their fans still very much consider the Red Wings a rival. As the Hawks do, even though both teams have been a punching bag for the Wings for years and years.

The Red Wings don't have really any rival right now (unless the Preds somehow stay as good or in a weird twist of fate improve), assuming rival means an intense mutual hatred and the two respective teams play at a relatively similar level of talent/etc.

If rivalry remains just mutual hatred, well the whole league hates us, but our rivals would be the Hawks, Avs, Blues, and Leafs.

On the bright side, we aren't having to put up with eight games against the Miami Cats and Atlanta What's That Bird.

[Guest jaytan]

It seems like the Hawks consider us their main rival while we only think of them as a rival due to geography and Original Six status. While the Wings had a bad stretch in the 70s, Chicago doesn't really have much to be proud of over 80 years. It's kind of like how Michigan State hates Michigan in football, but the Wolverines really care a lot more about their game against Ohio State.

[eva unit zero 271]

an Original 6 division would hurt the league

[glasgowcelticwing 18]

The nhl is always trying new things how bout getting rid of confrences and just have divisions? an Original 6 division would kick ass!

Having an Original Six Division would kick ass and be totally awsome. But it will also suck for everyone else , and decrease the intrest in any other division there would be. So sadly this will never happen.

[drsingle 0]

Ok contrary to the beliefs of Bettman, St. louis, Colorado, and Chicago are NOT rivals. The closest thing the wings had to a rival was nashville. it was more of a both teams were good in the same conference and really needed to beat each other.

ok enough with the preface. Nashville's D is among the worst in the NHL, and now they trade away in my opinion their MVP. Also, i hear their salary will be at the basement, around 33 million. They are basically being reduced to an AHL franchise.

Now that they are out of the picture, who could even be considered the biggest Detroit rival? I say Toronto. we see each other 2 times every 3 years, not 8 times in one year, but still...again contrary to bettman...id say they are our biggest rivals. Any thoughts?

On a side note, now that Nashviille is out of the picture, can anyone compete with detroit in the central? the jackets and blues wont be as bad as last year but thats not saying much and im not convinced chicago has gotten better. did detroit already win the central unless huge signings are made during free agency?

I'm not going to comment on the rivals aspect as that's been beat to death on this board by many, including myself. I am going to address this pretty stupid statement I've bolded. It was probably an exaggeration, but exaggerations tend to turn into a perception believed by many.

How can anyone believe that a team that has Radulov-Legwand-Erat and Sullivan-Arnott-Dumont as their top two lines think that is an AHL-level franchise? If you throw Kariya into the mix, you just get stronger (and he's rumored to be signing a two year, $9 million contract very soon). Mason did very well last year. It's up to him to prove he can be the man, but I can tell you that the team in front of him loves him and has a lot of confidence in him.

I hate losing Vokoun, but it appears that the team has the depth to handle that move. I hate losing Timonen and Hartnell as well, but we all (Predator fans) knew that we would be losing at least one, if not both, of those guys prior to last year even starting. I'm looking forward to Shea Weber being given an increased role on this team. I actually wouldn't be sad to see Marek Zidlicky traded as well. He was a liability to this team offensively and defensively last year.

Did you all believe that the Red Wings were an AHL level franchise just because Shanny, and his 81 points, left prior to last season? What about the loss of Stevie? Of course not. It was obviously a challenge to be conquered, but you knew you still had the talent to be successful. Shanny's points were spread around as was the leadership void.

Will the Predators have the same success? Who knows? It's a tall order, but they are still a very solid team. They will have depth issues if any major injuries occur.

I love to talk hockey on the message boards, but uneducated opinions like these are a little annoying. Sorry for the rant, but like I said, exaggerations lead to ignorant perceptions. You all know that I have never just stated stuff that I didn't try to supprt with at least a somewhat logical supporting argument. Yes, I know this is Red Wings board, but this is also the general hockey discussion and the topic involved the Predators.

Thanks for reading.

David Singleton

PredNation.com

Edited June 26, 2007 by drsingle

[SweWings 45]

I hope Kariya plays on the wing for Sundin in Toronto. Not the best winger for him perhaps but damn what an improvement...

[scotzman 29]

The Blues, the Hawks and the Jackets all play chippy against us. Nashville may have unloaded some of their players, but they hate us as well. I guess what I am saying, is all the teams in our division think of us as their biggest rivalry. When you're the best team in the division all the other teams want a piece of you and measure success by beating you.

I think the Blues are the team I hate the most that we play in our division. They like to thug it up against us. Add to that list, Anaheim, San Jose and especially Calgary now.

We have some good rivalries going on if you think about it.

The original six rivalries are all but dead and gone now... the tradition is still there, but the desire to destroy them is non-existent. Guys love playing the Leafs because a lot of them are from the area or grew up watching the Leafs.

[glasgowcelticwing 18]

I'm not going to comment on the rivals aspect as that's been beat to death on this board by many, including myself. I am going to address this pretty stupid statement I've bolded. It was probably an exaggeration, but exaggerations tend to turn into a perception believed by many.

How can anyone believe that a team that has Radulov-Legwand-Erat and Sullivan-Arnott-Dumont as their top two lines think that is an AHL-level franchise? If you throw Kariya into the mix, you just get stronger (and he's rumored to be signing a two year, $9 million contract very soon). Mason did very well last year. It's up to him to prove he can be the man, but I can tell you that the team in front of him loves him and has a lot of confidence in him.

I hate losing Vokoun, but it appears that the team has the depth to handle that move. I hate losing Timonen and Hartnell as well, but we all (Predator fans) knew that we would be losing at least one, if not both, of those guys prior to last year even starting. I'm looking forward to Shea Weber being given an increased role on this team. I actually wouldn't be sad to see Marek Zidlicky traded as well. He was a liability to this team offensively and defensively last year.

Did you all believe that the Red Wings were an AHL level franchise just because Shanny, and his 81 points, left prior to last season? What about the loss of Stevie? Of course not. It was obviously a challenge to be conquered, but you knew you still had the talent to be successful. Shanny's points were spread around as was the leadership void.

Will the Predators have the same success? Who knows? It's a tall order, but they are still a very solid team. They will have depth issues if any major injuries occur.

I love to talk hockey on the message boards, but uneducated opinions like these are a little annoying. Sorry for the rant, but like I said, exaggerations lead to ignorant perceptions. You all know that I have never just stated stuff that I didn't try to supprt with at least a somewhat logical supporting argument. Yes, I know this is Red Wings board, but this is also the general hockey discussion and the topic involved the Predators.

I agree with you that saying that the Preds are far from being an AHL franchise , but it still worries and confuses me why a team with so much potential would seem to be being dismantled . I don't know if the Preds will be a contender next season , but I for one hope they are. they provided the Wings with much needed competition in the Central and IMO helped the Wings be playoff ready this season. For me a Wings V Preds rivalry is a good thing.

[drsingle 0]

I agree with you that saying that the Preds are far from being an AHL franchise , but it still worries and confuses me why a team with so much potential would seem to be being dismantled . I don't know if the Preds will be a contender next season , but I for one hope they are. they provided the Wings with much needed competition in the Central and IMO helped the Wings be playoff ready this season. For me a Wings V Preds rivalry is a good thing.

It certainly appears that Leipold will be the owner for at least a little while longer. At this point, he wants to lose as little money as possible. If he could do that, while still contending for a playoff spot, then that makes the franchise even more attractive for purchsae- particularly if it's going to be relocated. Poile is doing what he can to make both of those goals happen: be near the salary floor and still be competitive (in that order).

If Kariya is amenable to re-signing with Nashville, the movement of Vokoun (along with allowing Timonen and Hartnell to leave) certainly allows Nashville to re-sign him and still stay at the floor.

If the team changes hands during the season, and the new owner(s) want to increase salary, they could certainly do so prior to the trade deadline. That is getting way ahead of ourselves though.

Thanks.

David Singleton

PredNation.com

[scotzman 29]

No matter what Nashville is doing, they are still rivals in my eyes. They will still have Tootoo and Arnott, so they will still have an element to hate. Bring 'em on!

[glasgowcelticwing 18]

No matter what Nashville is doing, they are still rivals in my eyes. They will still have Tootoo and Arnott, so they will still have an element to hate. Bring 'em on!

This is what I like , and what rivalry is all about . The wanting to be the better of the two team's . The hatred competition with the Preds and their fan's. We have this with the Preds right now so we should make the most of it .

[Echolalia 2,961]

The Leafs will always be in a rivalry with Detroit. Even though our skill is much higher than theirs and we only see them every other year, you can always expect the fans for those games to be insane, and the players to give it their all both physically and mentally.