Wings a second tier club

[Henkka 0]

These Melrose "analysis" should print to paper and ge tto walls of Red Wings locker room. Some extra motivation for the boys.

I'm just fine that we are not mentioned as the first favourite. It's so much easier to be the underdog and prove at the playoffs that you morons like Melrose were absolutely wrong.

[J-Swift 0]

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

What a moron. He couldn't have possibly been more incorrect in his comparison of Rafalski and Schneider. How anyone could look at replacing Schneider with Rafalski as being a wash is beyond me.

Wasn't Melrose the one predicting our doom after the lockout ended? It's funny how "The Hockey News" can call us the best team in the West, but Melrose calls us a "second tier hockey club" because we shed a little dead weight.

I also like the part where Melrose calls us as good as we were last year, but then questions whether we can go head-to-head against teams like San Jose and Anaheim. Umm, did he miss last year's playoffs?

[isbister 0]

Barry Melrose is a Cun_!!! You fill in the missing letter Redwing Faithful.

[Yzerfan1999 81]

Who cares what Melrose says.

He had a mullet up until last year for gods' sake.

That should tell you guys something about his complete ignorance.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

<----Melrose (the dude on the right)

[BlakChamber 8]

I also like the part where Melrose calls us as good as we were last year, but then questions whether we can go head-to-head against teams like San Jose and Anaheim. Umm, did he miss last year's playoffs?

Umm, the Ducks beat the Wings in last years playoffs.

I love the (expected) amount of overreaction. He just said there were 5 other teams he thought might be better than the Wings. Unbunch the panties and step off the ledge.

[J-Swift 0]

Umm, the Ducks beat the Wings in last years playoffs.

Really? I had no idea.

Had it not been for an untimely penalty call and a little bad luck, we'd probably have been Western Conference champions, if not better. Regardless of how Game 5 went last year, I think we proved that we were more than capable of competing with a bigger and tougher team like Anaheim.

Not to mention we not only beat both Calgary and San Jose (both teams who Melrose props up in this article), but went toe-to-toe with them in the physical aspect of the game.

You can make all the "unbunch your panties" comments you want, but to give the Wings zero credibility for what they did last spring is stupidity.

[Heaton 1]

I love the (expected) amount of overreaction. He just said there were 5 other teams he thought might be better than the Wings. Unbunch the panties and step off the ledge.

Yep and he's a moron for saying it.

[puckbags 863]

There are about 4 or 5 analysts each year who give the same regular season prediction about the Wing's every year and every year they are wrong.....But one year may it be this year, next year or 5 years from now the WIng's might not be as good and they will act like the messiah of hockey predictions!! Barry the Mullet head Melrose happens to be one of these guys!!

[Guest nutz2u]

If Schneider is better defensively than Rafalski, then we are in deep s*** because in my opinion Schneider stunk. Never liked him and was glad he was not resigned.

[Earthhuman 8]

The best part- the people he pointed out that needed to step up had (in the first game):

Hudler- 2 assists

Franzen- 1 goal, 1 assist

Cleary- a goal

Samuelsson- a goal

Kronvall- an assist

They ALL had at least a point.

Edited October 1, 2007 by Earthhuman

[therock48880 14]

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.

This is what I was just thinking. I think he sometimes talks faster than his mind can think and maybe that's the explanation for the Schneider/Rafalski comments (they were completely backward, which makes me think he may have misspoken). Other than that, he was pretty much right on. It may be hard for people to believe, but the Wings aren't among the powerhouses in the Western Conference right now. However, they still have tons of money to spend at the trade deadline and that could change everything. But as things stand right now, they probably ARE a second tier team in the West.

Umm, the Ducks beat the Wings in last years playoffs.

I love the (expected) amount of overreaction. He just said there were 5 other teams he thought might be better than the Wings. Unbunch the panties and step off the ledge.

Notice he said 5 teams the MIGHT be better. Relax people. It's not even October yet and people are flipping out about preseason predictions. As the Wolverines prove, preseason predictions mean nothing.

[shannyfan1414 0]

I see he is smoking crack again.

[J-Swift 0]

If Schneider is better defensively than Rafalski, then we are in deep s*** because in my opinion Schneider stunk. Never liked him and was glad he was not resigned.

My only concern with Rafalski is that it'll take him a little while to adjust to the Wings system after playing with New Jersey for so long. In terms of defensive ability, however, Schneider is not comparable to Rafalski.

[Albeh 1]

Same tired old Melrose line of ... err... horse hockey.

I don't know why any of us bothers to read him.

[BlakChamber 8]

Really? I had no idea.

Had it not been for an untimely penalty call and a little bad luck, we'd probably have been Western Conference champions, if not better. Regardless of how Game 5 went last year, I think we proved that we were more than capable of competing with a bigger and tougher team like Anaheim.

Not to mention we not only beat both Calgary and San Jose (both teams who Melrose props up in this article), but went toe-to-toe with them in the physical aspect of the game.

You can make all the "unbunch your panties" comments you want, but to give the Wings zero credibility for what they did last spring is stupidity.

I don't believe for one second that the Wings were a penalty call and a little bad luck away from going to the Cup. That's revisionist history.

I don't know if you're saying I'm not giving the Wings credit for what the did last spring, or if Melrose isn't, I was was very impressed by the Wings in last year's playoffs, and considering he only picked 5 teams he thought might be better than Detroit, I don't think that's exactly saying the Wings suck.

I mean, Melrose bad...grrrrrr....

[LeftWinger 5,153]

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.

...just an FYI and I am in no way making or poking fun at you or of you. The Jr. Wings were never associated with the Red Wings, as a matter of fact the Jr. Wings were a Karmanos organization (formerly the Ambassadors and currently the Plymouth Whalers.) Barry Melrose was the head coach at Adirondack in the 90's, never the coach of the Jr. Wings. Adirondack has long since gone defunct and the Wings farm club is now, of course the Grand Rapids Griffins. In between they shared a minor league affiliate with the Ducks in, I believe, Cincinnati. They have also had some players under contract with the Toledo Storm (also defunct I do believe.) But you are correct about Melrose being bitter about the Wings not promoting him to the Detroit job, which he was being groomed for, but along came Scotty. Beam us Up! Melrose will never give the Wings their just deserve because of this. Too bad because it just makes him look like an ass even more than he already does...

[clutchngrab 12]

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

That's because he was basically s***-canned out of the Wings organization.

[Wings_Dynasty 267]

Barry Melrose is a Cun_!!! You fill in the missing letter Redwing Faithful.

T

Barry Melrose is Eklund with a mullet, TV time, and a radio show. Nothing more. He was a s***ty coach with a s***ty haircut. And now he's a s***ty analyst with a s***ty haircut.

And yeah, the Wings didn't pick him to be their coach and he hates them. Plus, they have a lot of Euros and no fighters, which pisses all of the Canadian talking-heads on ESPN and HNIC off.

[J-Swift 0]

I don't believe for one second that the Wings were a penalty call and a little bad luck away from going to the Cup. That's revisionist history.

I don't know if you're saying I'm not giving the Wings credit for what the did last spring, or if Melrose isn't, I was was very impressed by the Wings in last year's playoffs, and considering he only picked 5 teams he thought might be better than Detroit, I don't think that's exactly saying the Wings suck.

You can believe whatever you want, but for Melrose to suggest that Detroit can't compete against teams like Anaheim and San Jose, when that's specifically what he did last spring, is pretty dumb.

Melrose props up San Jose, Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, and Vancouver, while managing to single out practically half the Wings roster as "having to be better". Somewhere in the article he managed to leave out that it appears as if Anaheim has lost their captain and playoff MVP, while San Jose has lost Scott Hannan. Apparently "nobody can have a bad year", which I'm pretty sure is what analysts said about the Wings last year, and they still managed to get by in the first part of the season with Datsyuk and Zetterberg not doing very well at all.

I mean, Melrose bad...grrrrrr....

Yeah, that's right. The only reason I have an issue with an analyst who calls the team that advanced to the Conference finals and had the best record in the West "second tier", is because he works for ESPN.

[eva unit zero 271]

...just an FYI and I am in no way making or poking fun at you or of you. The Jr. Wings were never associated with the Red Wings, as a matter of fact the Jr. Wings were a Karmanos organization (formerly the Ambassadors and currently the Plymouth Whalers.) Barry Melrose was the head coach at Adirondack in the 90's, never the coach of the Jr. Wings. Adirondack has long since gone defunct and the Wings farm club is now, of course the Grand Rapids Griffins. In between they shared a minor league affiliate with the Ducks in, I believe, Cincinnati. They have also had some players under contract with the Toledo Storm (also defunct I do believe.) But you are correct about Melrose being bitter about the Wings not promoting him to the Detroit job, which he was being groomed for, but along came Scotty. Beam us Up! Melrose will never give the Wings their just deserve because of this. Too bad because it just makes him look like an ass even more than he already does...

Just for reference...

Bowman never impacted Melrose's chances of being coach in Detroit. Melrose coached Adirondack from 89-90 to 91-92, winning the Calder Cup in 1992. His performance there earned him a job with Los Angeles, where he would lead the Kings to the Cup Finals in his first season. Bowman was hired as the Wings coach the next season, while Bryan Murray would take off that hat and become full-time GM for one season before being fired. Bowman's first season as Coach/GM in Detroit was also Melrose's last season as an NHL coach.

[Guest Yzer19]

I wouldn't pay any attention to this article. It sounds more like another one of those articles planted by the Wings to make it seem like the Wings are underdogs and they aren't. They did it all last year too, when in reality it wasn't the case. Of course when the playoffs roll around and the Wings keep winning then they will play the Wings are so much better without the veterans card again. It's a pattern that I am noticing.

Edited October 1, 2007 by Yzer19