Kenny, Get an Enforcer Now!

[beepbeep 3]

Enforcers don't "discourage" cheap shots, if anything they promote it.

Ryan Suter is far from a "goon".

Hossa has fought before, it is his decision. I'm sure if Lilja was out there it would have been him though(Also if I'd bet Franzen would fight if he wasn't coming off a hand injury).

With that said I like fighting and would love a Chris Neil type player, but finding those players are hard. And I agree that in a perfect world I would wish Kopecky would go back to how he was over a year ago.

Franzen fight? LOL , Him and sammy are 2 big girls. Never attempt to throw a punch until an official in between them and the player that's smacking at them.........

[arnoldbuck 0]

Just wanted to chime in and send out my appreciation for the Brits and Aussies having a laugh. I like to see that. I'm on reading break, and Actually reading! Sucks and i need a laugh.

Guess I better say something relevant. ... umm, way to go Hoss, just dont hurts your precious hands.

[ben_usmc 253]

Stuart's got a NTC? Didn't know that. Sorry man. Well hey, 3.75 is a ton for him when Kindl/Ericsson will be ready next year.

BTW Chelios is freaking awful, he's developed Larry Murphy syndrome in his last couple years in the league coughing it up and making mistakes more often than not. He's not patient anymore... he gets the puck and just fires it away (usually to another teams' player)

yeah Holland has been giving NTC's like condoms at high school

Edited February 20, 2009 by ben_usmc

[Carman 387]

Franzen fight? LOL , Him and sammy are 2 big girls. Never attempt to throw a punch until an official in between them and the player that's smacking at them.........

Ugh, I honestly don't know why I said Franzen, I don't think Franzen has ever successfully punched anyone. My bad haha.

[maltbymaniac 13]

i would swear the roof is about to come off the joe that 2 times a year we get into a fight.and to be honest this no enforcer crap is getting old. WE NEED A DAMN FIGHTER.f***

Edited February 20, 2009 by maltbymaniac

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Brad Stuart's a big ass guy. Why the hell doesn't he ever drop em? Trade him to Colorado for Ian! (Free up cap space to keep Leino and Helm, Ericsson to take his spot next year, or this.)

Stuart should be ashamed of his Western Canadian roots. The guy is 6'2, is a big hitter, and never fights.

Who knows, maybe he used to beat the s*** out of people when he was a kid, and has reformed his aggressive ways.

[topshelf14 1]

so 1st who are you giving up to get these players, because we already need cap space how can we add more? Someone has to leave, are you willing to give up scoring just for a fighter? 2nd what are trade options for these players, Ian will resign with the Av's I would bet on that. Chris Neil, Sens won't want Draper/Maltby/ or Kopecky. So we give up Sammy a proven scorer and playoff producer that is good in his own end and wants to be here? Why would the Blues trade to the same conference and would they really want any of those 3, besides what besides punching does he offer that Kopecky doesn't can he play the PK has he ever shown any signs of any deking?

I appreciate all your questions ben_usmc it provides me with something to do on a non-Red Wing night.

First of all Sammy is not getting traded at all, he has 0 value for teams that are sellers at the deadline due to his UFA status at the end of this year. Second, I would be willing to part with the following players in order of preference: Filppula, Stuart.

Filppula although a great find for the Wings is expendable and for us to be able to re-sign both Hossa and Franzen cap space will need to be freed up somewhere. I think trading Filppula now will provide us with a player like a Laperriere and maybe a pick.

Stuart does not have a NTC according to nhlscap.com, and he is another player that is being paid to much for the role he plays on this team. He is easily replaceable especially with prospects like Ericcson and Pyett in the minors making much less money over the next 2 years.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

It's already pathetic with Kopecky, Draper, and Maltby back there with a combined -23! How can it get any worse? Do you really think that if you took a guy like Maltby, or Kopecky out of the lineup and replaced him with a McCarty or Downey it would make not only the 4th line worse but the team worse?

Those players on the 4th line are NOT there to generate offense at all, so I think if an enforcer was placed on that line instead it wouldn't make much of a difference in the score of the game, more in the possible injuries to our star players.

Leave Draper out of it dude- Downey's not one of the top faceoff men in the NHL.

Face it guys- Downey's played horrible in Grand Rapids. Go read what the people who watch every GR game thing of his play so far:

http://www.griffinscentral.com/

I love what he could provide up here- what he did provide last year, but he hasn't shown that play this year in the AHL (where by all rights he should be a far more dominant player).

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Stuart should be ashamed of his Western Canadian roots. The guy is 6'2, is a big hitter, and never fights.

Who knows, maybe he used to beat the s*** out of people when he was a kid, and has reformed his aggressive ways.

We don't need Stuart to fight- we have Lilja! You of all people should know that Lilja provides more than enough incentive not to f*** with the Wings.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Franzen fight? LOL , Him and sammy are 2 big girls. Never attempt to throw a punch until an official in between them and the player that's smacking at them.........

To be fair- Sammy's a piss ant when it comes to after the play "chats". He draws a decent share of penalties that way... kind of like a poor man's Maltby that has better hands.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Double.

Edited February 20, 2009 by Drake_Marcus

[Echolalia 2,961]

Do you really think that if you took a guy like Maltby, or Kopecky out of the lineup and replaced him with a McCarty or Downey it would make not only the 4th line worse but the team worse?

Yes I do, that's why I brought it up. At the very least Draper Maltby and Kopecky know how to play hockey. Downey and McCarty's hockey skill is terrible. That's why they only ever play four minutes per game. They aren't trusted.

Oh and you say that they'll prevent injuries from happening. The last time I can remember one of our players getting injured as a direct result of the opponent's physical play was when Lidstrom was injured last year, and Downey was in the lineup, so obviously Laperierre didn't think much of Downey's presence.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

1. Ian Laperriere is a UFA after this season and the Avalanche will be sellers at the deadline. With a cap hit of only 1.15 million I think he provides some fighting ability (12 fights this year) some scoring touch (7-10-17). A classic 4th liner in my opinion that would help our team go into the playoff's a better team than what we have.

2. Chris Neil - UFA, 1.1 Million, he is one of the league's best fighters, oh and he would bring energy everytime he stepped on the ice, unlike a Kopecky/Maltby.

3. Brad Winchester from St. Louis. I know this one is a little far-fetched but at 600K he's a steal. He scores, fights, and is young (27) so he could be Red Wing for years.

Not sure what we would have to give up for such a small, but valuable piece of the puzzle. But landing a player of this caliber would definitely provide us with enforcer/useful minutes on the ice.

All three are actual hockey players. I'd love to have Laperriere on the fourth line... he's a tough guy that hits and can score. But he's scored quite a bit more than usual lately so he might fetch a higher price than he would have earlier in the year.

Edited February 20, 2009 by Drake_Marcus

[mjlegend 155]

Ms. Bardot, Brad Stuart was a stud D-man in junior, a pure offense-type who fought a few times but Regina didn't really need him to do any more of the fisticuffs (they had Kyle Freadrich and Barret Jackman handling most of that).

Not all Western Canadian 6'2" defencemen are fighters (see: Eric Brewer).

[steveyzerman 0]

Ok, after watching last night's game I am sooooo on board for going out and grabbing an enforcer at the trading deadline. I mean to see Hossa be the only one to stand up for Hudler made me sick last night. There is no way Hossa or any other superstar on our team should be throwing down with some goon on another team. I appreciate what the HOSS did but it should not be his job at all. At that point in the game it would be nice to see an enforcer/fighter like a Chris Neil come in and do what he needs to do to remind other teams that running our players will come with some consequences.

Who needs an inforcer when we have Hossa?

[topshelf14 1]

Yes I do, that's why I brought it up. At the very least Draper Maltby and Kopecky know how to play hockey. Downey and McCarty's hockey skill is terrible. That's why they only ever play four minutes per game. They aren't trusted.

Oh and you say that they'll prevent injuries from happening. The last time I can remember one of our players getting injured as a direct result of the opponent's physical play was when Lidstrom was injured last year, and Downey was in the lineup, so obviously Laperierre didn't think much of Downey's presence.

I definitely agree that Downey and Mac are useless when in the lineup, thats why I titled this thread, "Kenny, Get an Enforcer Now!" I am implying that the ones we have in our system are not legitimate NHL players. They don't belong! But players like Laperriere or Neil do belong in the NHL. And if Laperriere was on our team he wouldn't have injured Lidstrom

No my whole point here is that there are available players out there that can truly help this team, just as Stuart helped us last year at the deadline. If we stand pat with what we have, we will still be a force in the playoff's, but to add a player that has grit, energy and scoring ability at the deadline it would make us a Juggernaut going into April. Echolalia, would you trade Filppula or Stuart for one of these kind of players?

[Vladifan 680]

Ok, after watching last night's game I am sooooo on board for going out and grabbing an enforcer at the trading deadline. I mean to see Hossa be the only one to stand up for Hudler made me sick last night. There is no way Hossa or any other superstar on our team should be throwing down with some goon on another team. I appreciate what the HOSS did but it should not be his job at all. At that point in the game it would be nice to see an enforcer/fighter like a Chris Neil come in and do what he needs to do to remind other teams that running our players will come with some consequences.

There seems to be a whole lotta posters here who think Hossa was standing up for Hudler. Am I the only one here that thinks Hossa's fight with Suter had nothing whatsoever to do with coming to Hudler's defense? I do not mean to take anything away from what Hossa did, but I don't think it had anything to do with what was going on with Hudler. Again. Suter ran Hossa and Hossa took him on.

[I Sandemic I 0]

To be fair Downey has sucked in GR this season. When hes fought hes been good, but hes hardly done it enough to be considered a top HW in the AHL.

Catch a lot of Griffins games on the tube in da U.K.?

[ben_usmc 253]

I appreciate all your questions ben_usmc it provides me with something to do on a non-Red Wing night.

First of all Sammy is not getting traded at all, he has 0 value for teams that are sellers at the deadline due to his UFA status at the end of this year. Second, I would be willing to part with the following players in order of preference: Filppula, Stuart.

Filppula although a great find for the Wings is expendable and for us to be able to re-sign both Hossa and Franzen cap space will need to be freed up somewhere. I think trading Filppula now will provide us with a player like a Laperriere and maybe a pick.

Stuart does not have a NTC according to nhlscap.com, and he is another player that is being paid to much for the role he plays on this team. He is easily replaceable especially with prospects like Ericcson and Pyett in the minors making much less money over the next 2 years.

But we aren't deep that down the center, also the only one I really see us getting for Flip is Neil. I still don't think Lappy will leave the Av's nor do I want him he is a middle weight at best. If we are getting an all around player/fighter you narrowed it down to 2. So in essance if we trade Flip for Neil would 2 mill be enough to sign all 3? That hurts our depth down the middle, and who's to say Neil sticks around, if he doesn't we are right back in the same spot with one less player. Also isn't Ott. looking for draft picks we at least would command a 2nd for Flip at the contract we have him signed for. I'm not completly saying it's a stupid idea, just showing things aren't as easy as they seem. Nor is it always smart to have a knee jerk reaction.

[RedSea 31]

Filppula isn't going anywhere this season, if at all. I wouldn't mind seeing him moved in the offseason to free up some cap space, but to gut our depth this far into the season for a somewhat talented fighter would just be retarded (no offense).

If we really wanted a fighter, then Kenny might be willing to give up that 2nd round pick for Neil. But we survived the playoffs last year with McCarty providing the only fight of the playoffs. With as much as I and other of you folk would like to see a heavyweight in a Wings uniform, I just don't see it happening this year.

Isn't Ericsson a pretty good fighter? He's a big boy and he fought at a Griffins game I was at last year (if I remember right he did pretty well). He'll be in a uni next year.

[ben_usmc 253]

Filppula isn't going anywhere this season, if at all. I wouldn't mind seeing him moved in the offseason to free up some cap space, but to gut our depth this far into the season for a somewhat talented fighter would just be retarded (no offense).

If we really wanted a fighter, then Kenny might be willing to give up that 2nd round pick for Neil. But we survived the playoffs last year with McCarty providing the only fight of the playoffs. With as much as I and other of you folk would like to see a heavyweight in a Wings uniform, I just don't see it happening this year.

Isn't Ericsson a pretty good fighter? He's a big boy and he fought at a Griffins game I was at last year (if I remember right he did pretty well). He'll be in a uni next year.

http://www.redwingscentral.com/prospects/ericsson.php

"Plays a physical game ... Hard worker with good competitiveness ... Willing to stand up for his teammates, fighting when necessary"

I could have sworn it used to say "has a good right hand too" but I couldn't find it.

Ablekader fights also, and I believe Kindl fought once or twice. Actually a lot of our incoming youth is either pretty damn big 6 ^ or will drop the gloves if needed. Also Kosolov used to be a bruiser in his old league, but from what I've read hasn't been quite physical since coming over. I'm sure that has to do with transitioning though.

Edited February 20, 2009 by ben_usmc

[esteef 2,679]

To answer the OP, fact is we do have an enforcer in Aaron Downey. Unfortunately there's a guy right now on the 4th line who's taking up his roster spot.

Just got to this!

esteef

Edited February 20, 2009 by esteef

[spyder 0]

We don't need a designated enforcer, just tell all the players to stand up for each other and pop the guy who did it a few shots. Anyone on the ice can do it, its not that hard. The wings are so used to skating circles around the other guys they need a kick in the balls to remind them this is hockey and not basketball. Everyone should be willing to fight, no exceptions.

Edited February 20, 2009 by spyder

[RedSea 31]

http://www.redwingscentral.com/prospects/ericsson.php

"Plays a physical game ... Hard worker with good competitiveness ... Willing to stand up for his teammates, fighting when necessary"

I could have sworn it used to say "has a good right hand too" but I couldn't find it.

Ablekader fights also, and I believe Kindl fought once or twice. Actually a lot of our incoming youth is either pretty damn big 6 ^ or will drop the gloves if needed. Also Kosolov used to be a bruiser in his old league, but from what I've read hasn't been quite physical since coming over. I'm sure that has to do with transitioning though.

That's good to hear, we need someone to stick up for our teammates that isn't making $7.45 million to score goals. Lilja is a pretty good fighter but he doesn't seem to go looking for revenge.

[Mors 201]

To answer the OP, fact is we do have an enforcer in Aaron Downey. Unfortunately there's a guy right now on the 4th line who's taking up his roster spot.

/thread