Wings a second tier club

[NEEDMOREGRIT 12]

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article.../709300669/1053

Hes right

/discuss

[rwfan007 18]

"And (Brian) Rafalski, (Mathieu) Schneider, Rafalski might be a little better offensively. Schneider is bigger, stronger and maybe a little better defensively."

uhm, what?

[SweWings 45]

same old story...Detroit has nothing left to prove with the exception i spose of having a bad season...will they? i doubt it...

[Legendary D In 03 50]

Melrose saying Hudler has to step up? He played 5 minutes a game and still managed 15 goals. This guy is up his tree.

Word,

LDi03

[SweWings 45]

"And (Brian) Rafalski, (Mathieu) Schneider, Rafalski might be a little better offensively. Schneider is bigger, stronger and maybe a little better defensively."

uhm, what?

ditto...i read that and sort of went

[Mors 201]

Melrose is a jerkoff...has been, continues to be.

[pjgj13 30]

For reasons like this, he will NEVER be a coach in the NHL.

[RainingBlood 8]

For reasons like this, he will NEVER be a coach in the NHL.

umm he coached the Kings to the cup finals in 93. But where does he get that Rafalski is better offensively. As a passer yeah, but a goal scoring Defenseman he is not. Defensively I put Rafalski in the top 10 in defenseive defenseman. Schneider might crack maybe the top 15. I just have no idea where Melrose get's these ideas.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

umm he coached the Kings to the cup finals in 93. But where does he get that Rafalski is better offensively. As a passer yeah, but a goal scoring Defenseman he is not. Defensively I put Rafalski in the top 10 in defenseive defenseman. Schneider might crack maybe the top 15. I just have no idea where Melrose get's these ideas.

I know. I snickered as soon as I read that he thought Schneider was better defensively but slightly inferior offensively. That's literally the exact opposite of reality.

Schneider's only flaw was his defensive lapses.

[isbister 0]

Who cares what Barry Melrose had to say? When its all said and done, the wings will win the west and be contenders in the playoffs.

[CloudConnected 0]

How can he say that Detroit is a second tier club, then go on to name Calgary, Colorado, and Vancouver as phenomenal teams? And Hudler is a guy we've been counting on for a long time now? Since when have we counted on him? It's his second year, and by some accounts he almost didn't make the team last year.

It must be really easy being an ESPN hockey analyst. All you have to say is that "The young guys need to step up. They need to get better." And when it comes to actual analysis, like the Schneider-Rafalski debate, you call Schneider better defensively? Rafalski just played for New Jersey for how many years? You don't play in New Jersey if you're a sieve. I don't know why anyone listens to this guy.

[hillbillywingsfan 794]

geez you guys fall for this all the time. look its another moron posting another stupid artical just to see the reaction. and it worked. you can tell these types when they start a thread they will just sit in it and watch without posting anymore.

all he had to say is "he's right"?? what? come on we all know that he's not. and he was probably just wanting to see how many posts he could get out of it.

LOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Edited September 30, 2007 by hillbillywingsfan

[Spinner 6]

What a Melrose, oops I meant moron. I guess it's the same thing

[Donaldjr2448 43]

Guys and Gals, You got to remember that Melrose is still pissed at the Wings for not making him headcoach when Brian Murray was fired! The Wings instead went with a guy by the name of Scotty Bowman, OOPS!!! See Barry was the Junior Wings coach in the late 80's and early 90's. Guys like LaPointe and I think McCarty played for Melrose when the JrWings were around, now there the Adorondick Wings. He is still not over it.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

I take nothing that Barry Melrose says seriously. He can't stand the Wings and he's made that apparent for the last decade.

[edicius 3,269]

I'll steal a comment from that article...

Isn't Barry Melrose a second-tier analyst?

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

As someone said earlier, Melrose has hated the Wings for a long time, and I don't know if that is because we're a mostly European team, or because he has some grudge towards the organization stemming from his days here. Also, how can anyone who considers themselves a hockey expert work for espn, which is a network that despises hockey?

[Datsyukian Geek 2]

We hear this garbage every year, even though we're the most successful franchise in North American sports (Most consecutive post-season appearances of any team in any NA sport)

[auxlepli 17]

Also, how can anyone who considers themselves a hockey expert work for espn, which is a network that despises hockey?

Even if ESPN loved hockey, it still doesn't cover it. So how would he know? I'm sure he still follows the NHL, but because ESPN doesn't cover hockey, include it on its highlight show in a significant matter, or even have a 30-minute show per week, he can do it casually and still get paid. His opinion IMO is as valid as anyone else's on this board. I'd say we watch, listen and read more about the Wings and hockey than he does. His experience brings something to the table, but it's not much. Maybe 15 years ago yes, but not anymore.

Edited September 30, 2007 by auxlepli

[Kp-Wings 3]

Why the hell does everybody care what Barry Melrose has to say? The guy is such an idiot that he continues to keep his crappy 10 second a year job at ESPN. They don't even cover hockey anymore, even in SportsCenter, and yet he still shows up to work everyday. Either they must give him a really nice paycheck, or he likes doing slave labor jobs for the analysts who cover the NFL.

There is a simple reason Barry hates the Wings, which was stated earlier: when Bryan Murray was fired, it was believed Melrose would replace him as head coach. The Wings went with Scotty Bowman instead (thank God). He's been a pissy ***** about the Wings ever since, and goes completely out of his way just to bash them. He hates Mike Illitch, and the Wings organization in general.

Something I find funny about that article: last year around this time, he said Schneider was horrible defensivily, and would only be effective if paired with Lidstrom. Now he acts like Schneider is some kind of defensive Norris-Trophy God on skates. I guess if someone no longer plays for the Wings, he can fit into the ever dubious catagory of "Barry's Best".

[ltgator333 3]

Melrose is once *again* (as if he needed to) proving that he is a complete D-bag and has not a clue what he's talking about. The dude got his credibility out of a cracker jack box.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Ummm....Hudler does have to step up. He's the guy the Wings are counting on to be that second-line scorer and fill that gap they have between the top two scorers and everyone else. Anyone who thinks his goals-to-ice-time ratio will automatically translate to whopping amounts of goals when he gets his 16, 18 minutes a night is off their rocker. Hudler needs to step up and show he can handle the pressure of actually being counted on to score and play the big-time minutes instead of being looked at as a nice little bonus feature.

Everyone here is such a psychologist who swears they know exactly the reason why Melrose supposedly hates the Wings.

[DaKineMaui 8]

I won't bother clicking the provided link BUT:

OO! OOO! LEMME GUESS! LEMME GUESS! Did he and ESPN also pick the Flyers to go all the way this season?

aloha

[edicius 3,269]

Imagine if the Wings had signed Forsberg. What ever would Melrose have done? *gasp*

[BringHomeTheCup! 0]

I don't think you can really argue too much with what Melrose had to say there. The Wings really aren't the team to beat any longer. I think you'd have to put the Sharks, Ducks, and Sens before Detroit.

You have to face the music as a Wings fan. Melrose was right on with a lot of what he said. The Wings are deep enough to allow anyone to have a bad year. Hank and Pav can't do it alone. Melrose may not like the Wings, but a lot of what he said was true.