Helm up, McCarty tp GR (+ line combos vs Habs)

[Winther 6]

Nope, Meech would get claimed.

Ah, i see.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

lol. Right.

So ya, back to my original point:

Here's to having a well rounded squad!

It's not needed against a fast-skating team like the Canadiens. Laraque isn't going to useful tonight, because the Wings aren't going to give him reason to drop the gloves. Helm helps keep the puck in the offensive zone with his forechecking.

So...LOL all you want, but Helm makes the team more well-rounded in terms of what they need against *this* Canadiens team. Why aren't people seeing this?

[up2here 41]

Ya that sounds about right, I mean thats what we need, another mid sized, offensive minded winger - we don't have nearly enough of them.

Here's to being a well rounded squad!

You mean the "well rounded" squad that won the Stanley Cup? Lets not lose sight here people. Who knows better Ken Holland and Mike Babcock or a bunch of GM wannabees?

[Guest E_S_A_D]

As for Laraque, there's a reason why he was let go by the Penguins, he doesn't fight anymore or at least he doesn't fight for real anymore.

Oh that's right, they let him go and got really soft... they signed one of the top HeavyWeights... Eric Godard due to contractual issues that Laraque wanted way too much money for his role.

Do your research before you tell someone to get a grip.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Lol, TOTALLY AGREE!

It's obvious it's going to take a Hossa, Datsyuk, Zetterberg caliber injury from a big hit from a guy like Janssen or someone for the Wings to wake up and listen to their OWN Captain, Nick Lidstrom. Lidstrom has said repeatedly the team plays more relaxed and likes knowing they don't have to keep their head up QUITE as much with a Downey type player on the ice.

What a joke.

Talk about taking a slight compliment and running with it. I'm fairly confident Lidstrom was referring to that sort of thing happening against a heavy hitting team, not the Canadiens.

[CrossoverThrash 0]

Lol, TOTALLY AGREE!

It's obvious it's going to take a Hossa, Datsyuk, Zetterberg caliber injury from a big hit from a guy like Janssen or someone for the Wings to wake up and listen to their OWN Captain, Nick Lidstrom. Lidstrom has said repeatedly the team plays more relaxed and likes knowing they don't have to keep their head up QUITE as much with a Downey type player on the ice.

What a joke.

It would be a joke if janssen actually hurts one of them without feeling it more himself

[Guest E_S_A_D]

It would be a joke if janssen actually hurts one of them without feeling it more himself

huh?

[Heaton 1]

Laraque isn't even playing tonight.

[12Newf 0]

This does suck. It's a direct result from McCarty fighting Darcy Hordichuk up by a goal the other day. The Wings are now officially, as if there wasn't any question, the softest team in the NHL again. Darcy Hordichuk was interviewed in between periods and said "McCarty said, sure I'll fight, I owe you one from the playoffs". Too bad, it earned him a spot in Grand Rapids.

The only cool thign is that this OFFICIALLY makes it easy for me now to know where to spend my money over the 10 days off for the Holidays from work... The Griffins, not the Red Wings.

yeah i hate hockey too, i just loves me some fighting.

[whatNext? 0]

Nope, just a good portion of us are realistic. The majority of us don't feel a guy that fights is the end-all answer that a bunch of the grit-slappies seem to think they are. Against the fast-skating Canadiens, replacing Mac with Helm is a great move. Mac struggles against faster teams, and Helm excels against them. Great move my Babs.

lol. Yes this was definitely 100% Babs - not the front office whatsoever.

And yes, that is exactly what we need, another mid sized winger. I mean we simply do not have enough of them:

- Draper

- Fippula

- Hudler

- Kopecky

- Samuelsson

- Maltby

And Now:

- Helm

Now combine that with our lucrative d-man, yes I am referring to the likes of:

- Meech

- Lebda

and clearly you see just how well rounded a hockey team we are. I mean this is genious, I do love it. Helm brings that speed that we so desperately need.

GREAT MOVE

[Winther 6]

It's not needed against a fast-skating team like the Canadiens. Laraque isn't going to useful tonight, because the Wings aren't going to give him reason to drop the gloves. Helm helps keep the puck in the offensive zone with his forechecking.

So...LOL all you want, but Helm makes the team more well-rounded in terms of what they need against *this* Canadiens team. Why aren't people seeing this?

Because people are stupid, and only want to see lots of fighting. Its hard to use the brain you know! Uuuh more fights! Like thats so useful.. I like watching a good fight now and then, but i also think there needs to be a good reason. This showoff fighting has no point.

Its not the end of the world, like Heaton and NFM has said McCarty's style doesn't fit this game, he (or Downey?) will be back sooner than later..

[wingfan1991 221]

great to see Helm in .. love the kid. sad to see Mac get sent down!

[up2here 41]

Is E_S_A_D really Don Cherry? I sense a hockey knowledge that applied 20 years ago. Someone remind me which "not tough enough" ,"not well rounded enough", "plays in a weak division", "too old" team won the Stanley Cup 5 months ago?

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Laraque isn't even playing tonight.

Gee, I wonder why!

[Winther 6]

lol. Yes this was definitely 100% Babs - not the front office whatsoever.

And yes, that is exactly what we need, another mid sized winger. I mean we simply do not have enough of them:

- Draper

- Fippula

- Hudler

- Kopecky

- Samuelsson

- Maltby

And Now:

- Helm

Now combine that with our lucrative d-man, yes I am referring to the likes of:

- Meech

- Lebda

and clearly you see just how well rounded a hockey team we are. I mean this is genious, I do love it. Helm brings that speed that we so desperately need.

GREAT MOVE

We won the STANLEY ******* CUP with this team. Sure we may need a Drake-type player, i agree with that, but otherwise that comment is just stupid. Those players you listed really played a "soft" game last spring right?

[whatNext? 0]

Because people are stupid, and only want to see lots of fighting. Its hard to use the brain you know! Uuuh more fights! Like thats so useful.. I like watching a good fight now and then, but i also think there needs to be a good reason. This showoff fighting has no point.

Its not the end of the world, like Heaton and NFM has said McCarty's style doesn't fit this game, he (or Downey?) will be back sooner than later..

Lol. You should be really careful calling other people stupid. While your humorous post may fly around this forum, which I see it definitely does, it wouldn't in just about any other hockey outlet available.

I may be in the minority on this board, actually I know I am - but your argument outside this arena would most likely be laughed at by fans of the game.

[Guest E_S_A_D]

Because people are stupid, and only want to see lots of fighting. Its hard to use the brain you know! Uuuh more fights! Like thats so useful.. I like watching a good fight now and then, but i also think there needs to be a good reason. This showoff fighting has no point.

Its not the end of the world, like Heaton and NFM has said McCarty's style doesn't fit this game, he (or Downey?) will be back sooner than later..

It has nothing to do with the fight itself. Sure, they're entertaining, but it's for protection. If you've known anything about the origins of hockey, fighting was a direct result of protection for star players. Howe was one of the nastiest fighters there was in Old Olympia Stadium. Take out protection and self policing and there will be some of the worst stick work you've ever seen.

It'll quickly become a Sean Avery dominated league.

[Heaton 1]

Gee, I wonder why!

He pulled his groin actually.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

lol. Yes this was definitely 100% Babs - not the front office whatsoever.

And yes, that is exactly what we need, another mid sized winger. I mean we simply do not have enough of them:

- Draper

- Fippula

- Hudler

- Kopecky

- Samuelsson

- Maltby

And Now:

- Helm

Now combine that with our lucrative d-man, yes I am referring to the likes of:

- Meech

- Lebda

and clearly you see just how well rounded a hockey team we are. I mean this is genious, I do love it. Helm brings that speed that we so desperately need.

GREAT MOVE

Clearly you don't understand the opponent the Wings are playing tonight or the type of forward Helm is. It doesn't sound like you're going to either.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

It has nothing to do with the fight itself. Sure, they're entertaining, but it's for protection. If you've known anything about the origins of hockey, fighting was a direct result of protection for star players. Howe was one of the nastiest fighters there was in Old Olympia Stadium. Take out protection and self policing and there will be some of the worst stick work you've ever seen.

It'll quickly become a Sean Avery dominated league.

Why does this Wings team need protection from *tonight*....against the Canadiens minus Laraque?

He pulled his groin actually.

Gofigure....however it wouldn't be surprising to see him healthy-scratched against this Wings team anyway.

[lets go pavel 2]

lol. Yes this was definitely 100% Babs - not the front office whatsoever.

And yes, that is exactly what we need, another mid sized winger. I mean we simply do not have enough of them:

- Draper

- Fippula

- Hudler

- Kopecky

- Samuelsson

- Maltby

And Now:

- Helm

Now combine that with our lucrative d-man, yes I am referring to the likes of:

- Meech

- Lebda

and clearly you see just how well rounded a hockey team we are. I mean this is genious, I do love it. Helm brings that speed that we so desperately need.

GREAT MOVE

You're right, we'd be much better off with DMac on the ice so the Canadiens will have someone to skate around ... the 3 minutes of icetime and the intimidation factor (I think i hear their knees knocking now) would be much more beneficial than having a guy with jump, energy, speed, and an agressive forecheck. I like Mac as much as the next guy, but tonight's game isn't one where he's got much to offer ... he'll be back soon enough.

[whatNext? 0]

We won the STANLEY ******* CUP with this team. Sure we may need a Drake-type player, i agree with that, but otherwise that comment is just stupid. Those players you listed really played a "soft" game last spring right?

Way to look at the point of the post the way you want to see it, opposed to what ya know - the reality of it.

You fail to mention that both Drake and McCarty were on the roster, making it a little more WELL ROUNDED then it currently is.

That is what I was trying to point out.

And yes, some, not all, of the players I listed were soft. That is not a bad thing, and that is not saying that they were just as important if not more then anyone else on the roster in winning the cup - it's simply the reality of the game they play. Hudler isn't a grinder, he is a talented ass goal scorer who we need in the lineup every night though - a guy who played a highly important role in our amazing year, which as we all know culminated in a Stanley cup.

That said, my point was that I am amped we are keeping the squad WELL ROUNDED, that's all.

Check yourself before you sound silly again

[Guest mindfly]

Look for Helm to go back to GR soon

By Bruce MacLeod - Red Wings Corner / November 26, 2008

Darren Helm's stay in Detroit won't likely last long. The Red Wings front office wants the 21-year-old to play and play a lot of hockey. With Dan Cleary possibly back in the lineup on Friday and Tomas Holmstrom coming back in a couple of weeks, Helm won't get that opportunity in Detroit.

"Even if he plays four minutes a night (rather than sits in the press box), I'm not happy," said general manager Ken Holland. "I want him to play hockey."

Holland said that the reason for swapping Helm and Darren McCarty today was that the team is coming off a western road trip and into a three-game-in-four-night stretch.

"We need energy," said Holland.

It's just for these games probably, we need the energy

[Guest E_S_A_D]

Clearly you don't understand the opponent the Wings are playing tonight or the type of forward Helm is. It doesn't sound like you're going to either.

Are you really this clueless? Laraque isn't the only tough guy on the team, he would've been a healthy scratch likely anyhow... Look at Montreal's fight totals- Each one of these guys can be scrappy and sure as hell can hit.

2008-2009 Regular Season Fighting Majors Leaders

Rank Player Fight Totals

1 Georges Laraque 4

2 Francis Bouillon 2

3 Tom Kostopoulos 2

4 Steve Begin 1

5 Michael Komisarek 1

6 Maxim Lapierre 1

7 Guillaume Latendresse 1

[whatNext? 0]

You're right, we'd be much better off with DMac on the ice so the Canadiens will have someone to skate around ... the 3 minutes of icetime and the intimidation factor (I think i hear their knees knocking now) would be much more beneficial than having a guy with jump, energy, speed, and an agressive forecheck. I like Mac as much as the next guy, but tonight's game isn't one where he's got much to offer ... he'll be back soon enough.

OK, so say, I dunno - when we play the Ducks who should we send down in lieu of bringing up tougher guys. I mean give me a break. By the rationalization being used we would be bringing up "tough guys" (Downey, McCarty and some would say Adbekater sp?) whenever we played teams such as:

Anaheim

Vancouver

Calgary

Chicago

Colorado

Dallas

Edmonton

Philly

If that's how it's going to be then great. But we both know that never, ever, ever, ever, would happen.

Here's to a well rounded team!