Training Camp: Day 3

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Eva, you're the nicest gun on the planet. Can I come over and rob you blind, steal your girl and kick the snot out of your dog just for good measure? I mean, seriously, you wouldn't do anything about it so why not?

Remember Lebda getting rocked last year? Remember Franzen getting rocked and carted away? Remember J. WIll getting rocked and carted away? If memory serves those hits were clean so there was no powerplay time. That being said, you'd prefer to not have Downey, a guy who has proven he'll go with some big boys (Oliwa, Worrell, etc...) in the lineup to at least make a challenge and stand up for the team. Instead you'd rather his spot be occupied by somebody with more skill, who can't fight or do anything about that situation other than shake his head and breathe a sigh of relief that it wasn't him that just got checked through the ice? At least the way I want things to be a guy like Downey is an option to do something about that situation. What is your 4th line, minimal minutes guy with better skills going to go out there and do? No powerplay from any of those clean hits so I don't want to hear about us beating them that way.

And tell me, this 4th line guy that would be in Downey's place some games if not most games, how much skill are we talking about. Do we have a bunch of guys bustling with NHL top 6 forward skill sitting down there on the 4th line?

We have alot of guys who finish checks and won't back down from a shoving match. True, we got some grit. But you can go ask any NHL coach and they'll tell you flat to your face 2 things, that you can never have enough solid defenseman and you can never have enough or too much grit. Our team is pretty balanced overall. But its one glaring, missing piece is having somebody who is solely focused on ramming the opposition players, pounding on them and being willing to drop the mits for whatever reason, good, bad or indifferent. I don't know what league you are watching but every other team I see has guys ready and willing to drop the mits. I don't know why you think the Wings can go completely the other way and not have any deficiencies.

And let's get something straight. I'll never confuse grit with toughness. Grit is Johan Franzen. Grit is Chris Chelios. You aren't tough in my book unless you can take a right cross to the jaw, get pissed off and fire back 3 into the other guys eye socket without hesitating. If you can't fight or aren't willing to do so, you aren't tough in my book. And blocking a shot, crawling to the bench and then getting back out there is not the kind of tough i'm talking about either.