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wingsownnhl43

Detroit gets tougher in 1997

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Who started this thread, Don Cherry? How exactly was this team less tough than the 2008 version that won the Cup against largely the same Pens team? Darren Helm led the world in hits--he was running guys left and right. And we didn't get manhandled nearly to the degree that the Ducks went after us, and we won that series anyway.

The whole point of the Red Wings is that we don't engage in that stuff, and that stuff does NOT determine Stanley Cup championships. If you haven't gotten that message by now (that you can win with European players, and that a team with 11 fighting majors all year can play like an elite team and come a few shots away from a Stanley Cup), then I really don't know what team you've been watching.

Ask the Minnesota Wild how all of their toughness has paid off for them. In the past two seasons, they've employed goons like Derek Boogaard, Chris Simon, Todd Fedouruk and others, and not only have they not advanced past Round 1 (since 2003), but their top players routinely get run by opposing hacks all year round. Fighting does not deter cheapshot injuries any more than it wins games.

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Guest micah
Who started this thread, Don Cherry? How exactly was this team less tough than the 2008 version that won the Cup against largely the same Pens team? Darren Helm led the world in hits--he was running guys left and right. And we didn't get manhandled nearly to the degree that the Ducks went after us, and we won that series anyway.

The whole point of the Red Wings is that we don't engage in that stuff, and that stuff does NOT determine Stanley Cup championships. If you haven't gotten that message by now (that you can win with European players, and that a team with 11 fighting majors all year can play like an elite team and come a few shots away from a Stanley Cup), then I really don't know what team you've been watching.

Ask the Minnesota Wild how all of their toughness has paid off for them. In the past two seasons, they've employed goons like Derek Boogaard, Chris Simon, Todd Fedouruk and others, and not only have they not advanced past Round 1 (since 2003), but their top players routinely get run by opposing hacks all year round. Fighting does not deter cheapshot injuries any more than it wins games.

Eric Goddard is a member of the Stanley Cup Champion team. Maybe he was the ingredient that made the Pens', though clearly outskilled on paper, look far more motivated then the Wings. Maybe Downey had a bigger influence on the Wings of '09 then you think he did. Maybe Lids and Pavel would have been less hindered by theirinjurries had they watched a hungry 4th liner play through broken hands and broken noses all year long without missing a step. Maybe.

The Penguins are stanley Cup champions, AND they fought more than twice as often as the wings, ANd they regularily played a guy in the regular season who served no purpose but to bounce his hands off people's faces. Goons neither win championships nor lose them, more often than not they don't play in the playoffs. They do give the fans something to cheer for the first 3/4 of the season when the team isn't trying (according to Mike Babcock, who should know).

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Guest E_S_A_D
Well, if we stick with our current 4th line of Maltby-Draper-Kopecky we can gurrentee there will be NO scoring from that line. So adding Neil would only be a plus.

As for the third line, all three of those players can score so theres no worries there.

When can we FINALLY give up on Kopecky??!?!?!???

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