Aaron Downey Cut by Coyotes

[Guest micah]

This sucks! He's such a great guy. Aaron can come back to Detroit and I would be happy to help nurse his broken heart.

My wife would fight you for him. She always said he brought some much needed hotness to a very ugly team. LOL - Chelios, Datsyuk, Homer, Hudler, Draper, Maltby...

[Opie 308]

Unfortunate news.

[Pretty Irish Girl 0]

I don't feel bad for him. He had a good carreer, is well respectyed by his peers in the trade, has a hot wife and can hang his hat on the fact that his reg, season presence helped his last team win a Cup, something they couldn't manage a year later without him. That's not nothing. Nice carreer Aaron,and thanks for being one of the good guys. Your willingness to do whatever was in the best interest of the team, be is rot in Grand Rapids or invite 225lb men to try to outpunch you, was an inspiration to us all. You might not have had the skills that some other Wings had, but you were willing to do absolutely anything you could for the good of the team, something you can't say about a few other Wings. Enjoy whatever comes next!

I agree with just abut everything you said, except I think that Aaron should have the choice of when to end his career and I know he isn't married.

[Pretty Irish Girl 0]

My wife would fight you for him. She always said he brought some much needed hotness to a very ugly team. LOL - Chelios, Datsyuk, Homer, Hudler, Draper, Maltby...

Tell her to bring it on! I'm a scrappy Irish girl, I have no problem fighting for him! LOL

[Shaman 713]

Miach it wasnt Downey that won the wings the cup in 08 nor did his presence mean a lick of anything in the playoffs, Id say the following things are much higher on the list

Less injuries

Less 7.45 Million dollars of the best Playoffs choke money can buy

Less Bettmans rushing the finals for many weird and conflicting reasons

Less Defensive gaffs at the worst time

More Drake in the line up, real grit not a boxer on ice. (Drake style players are what the Wings need, not Aaron Downey).

More Dats showing up (though you could say his injury stiffled him this last campign).

ALOT more hunger on the part of the wings.

I am sure there are a lot more, but these are the ones that come to my mind.

Edited September 21, 2009 by Shaman464

[Guest micah]

ALOT more hunger on the part of the wings.

Hunger is contagious. Downey was hungry. When he was up, his companions got to see a man who was willing to do anything in his power to help the team. No laziness, no concern for self - just "what can I do to help the team?"

Downey was a good guy and good for the team. With him on the roster, they won the Cup. Without him, they didn't. Maybe his presence in the regular season wouldn't have resulted in anopther Cup.....but it certainly wouldn't have hurt their chances...not anymore than Eric Godard's hurt Pittsburgh's anyway.

Aaron downey should be proud of himself and the game he played.

[55fan 5,133]

Pretty sure Downey is single.

Great character guy. I miss him. Can we hire him as a fight coach? There's no cap on coaches. He could get out there and skate and teach guys to fight, do interviews... you know, the stuff we love...

Just a thought. I wish him luck wherever he goes.

[Guest micah]

Pretty sure Downey is single.

You ladies are right. My bad, I was thinking of Brad Norton. I owe Downey a HUGE appology for getting him mixed up with Norton. If you're reading Aaron, I'm very sorry. I never got anything you did on the ice mixed up with Norton, only who you did off the ice. Sorry.

[jollymania 162]

Hunger is contagious. Downey was hungry. When he was up, his companions got to see a man who was willing to do anything in his power to help the team. No laziness, no concern for self - just "what can I do to help the team?"

Downey was a good guy and good for the team. With him on the roster, they won the Cup. Without him, they didn't. Maybe his presence in the regular season wouldn't have resulted in anopther Cup.....but it certainly wouldn't have hurt their chances...not anymore than Eric Godard's hurt Pittsburgh's anyway.

Aaron downey should be proud of himself and the game he played.

He should be proud he made the NHL despite having only one skill, I will admire anyone for that, he should not be proud of the game he played, it stunk. He was a good fighter, he can be proud of that, but his "play" was not noteworthy in the least.

[Guest micah]

He should be proud he made the NHL despite having only one skill, I will admire anyone for that, he should not be proud of the game he played, it stunk. He was a good fighter, he can be proud of that, but his "play" was not noteworthy in the least.

Fighting and message sending are a part of hockey. They were the part that Aaron Downey played well, a part than many others refuse to play because they are either mentally or physically incapable of doing so - just as Aaron was incapable of leading the league in scoring. There's no shame in being a role player.

[GMRwings1983 8,793]

He should be proud he made the NHL despite having only one skill, I will admire anyone for that, he should not be proud of the game he played, it stunk. He was a good fighter, he can be proud of that, but his "play" was not noteworthy in the least.

Are you talking about Kopecky, because if you are you're wrong.

Kopecky doesn't have one single skill.

[Guest E_S_A_D]

You ladies are right. My bad, I was thinking of Brad Norton. I owe Downey a HUGE appology for getting him mixed up with Norton. If you're reading Aaron, I'm very sorry. I never got anything you did on the ice mixed up with Norton, only who you did off the ice. Sorry.

He does read here. He's very active on the internet and with internet businesses in general, aside from his future potato farm.

[BeeRYCE 2]

Bring him to a hopeless team like... Oh wait, the Coyotes already cut him. Damn, I don't know, hell, bring him back to the role he played here. Let him play on the Griffins.

[Broken 16 381]

I don't feel bad for him. He had a good carreer, is well respectyed by his peers in the trade, has a hot wife and can hang his hat on the fact that his reg, season presence helped his last team win a Cup, something they couldn't manage a year later without him. That's not nothing. Nice carreer Aaron,and thanks for being one of the good guys. Your willingness to do whatever was in the best interest of the team, be is rot in Grand Rapids or invite 225lb men to try to outpunch you, was an inspiration to us all. You might not have had the skills that some other Wings had, but you were willing to do absolutely anything you could for the good of the team, something you can't say about a few other Wings. Enjoy whatever comes next!

Get real... lol.

[DMAC 25 18]

please kenny sign him, may not be the most skilled but come playoff time we could use an enforcer like him

[uk_redwing 495]

please kenny sign him, may not be the most skilled but come playoff time we could use an enforcer like him

Why not...we have the cap space atm with Lilja out. Not gonna happen in a million years though.

[Carman 387]

Sign him as a strength and conditioning coach, and get him behind our bench. Get it done Kenny.

[uk_redwing 495]

Sign him as a strength and conditioning and fighting coach, and get him behind our bench. Get it done Kenny.

Fixed

[DMAC 25 18]

Why not...we have the cap space atm with Lilja out. Not gonna happen in a million years though.

nope i wish it would though but insted of having a enforcer they want to have ericcson do the fighting b/c lilja probably wont now

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

He should be proud he made the NHL despite having only one skill, I will admire anyone for that, he should not be proud of the game he played, it stunk. He was a good fighter, he can be proud of that, but his "play" was not noteworthy in the least.

How exactly did Downeys game "stink"? He hustled all over the ice, hit anything that moved, and if someone did something to a that Aaron didnt like, he picked up for them. Was constantly praised by Mike, Nick, Z, etc. And on top of that, was never a minus player, and even managed 5 points in 54 games, which for a guy with Downs skill, is pretty fair.

I dont you'll tell me that he cant skate, and I know you only like Kronwall type hits, but heres the thing, Homer cant skate either, but he has other talents that keep him in the game, and Downs hits along the boards and on the forecheck are the type of things coaches love, I just like guys that finish checks, not guys who dish out a big one every once and while. Downeys game was GREAT, energized the fans every night he played, and that's not arguable. He was voted the fan favorite in more games then I can remember. I cant believe a guy who sacrificed for our team, and was such a great guy, could be slandered by fans. It's ridiculous, I dont care if you hate enforcers, fighting etc. Downs battled for this team, and contributed everything he could, and you know what? He got his name on the cup, regardless of play time.

[GMRwings1983 8,793]

How exactly did Downeys game "stink"? He hustled all over the ice, hit anything that moved, and if someone did something to a that Aaron didnt like, he picked up for them. Was constantly praised by Mike, Nick, Z, etc. And on top of that, was never a minus player, and even managed 5 points in 54 games, which for a guy with Downs skill, is pretty fair.

I dont you'll tell me that he cant skate, and I know you only like Kronwall type hits, but heres the thing, Homer cant skate either, but he has other talents that keep him in the game, and Downs hits along the boards and on the forecheck are the type of things coaches love, I just like guys that finish checks, not guys who dish out a big one every once and while. Downeys game was GREAT, energized the fans every night he played, and that's not arguable. He was voted the fan favorite in more games then I can remember. I cant believe a guy who sacrificed for our team, and was such a great guy, could be slandered by fans. It's ridiculous, I dont care if you hate, fighting etc. Downs battled for this team, and contributed everything he could, and you know what? He got his name on the cup, regardless of play time.

On this forum, if a guy can't score or skate well (whatever that means), he's considered a terrible player.

The guy did play with great energy, and was a tenacious forechecker, but when people have been watching the pussiest team in the league for years, they don't seem to realize why that matters in hockey. Everyone here has an unrealistic expectation of what an enforcer should be. Now someone will come on here to tell me that Tootoo, or some other guy like him is an enforcer. Don't waste your time folks.

Basically, you're not exactly preaching to the choir around here.

Edited September 22, 2009 by GMRwings1983

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

How exactly did Downeys game "stink"? He hustled all over the ice, hit anything that moved, and if someone did something to a that Aaron didnt like, he picked up for them. Was constantly praised by Mike, Nick, Z, etc. And on top of that, was never a minus player, and even managed 5 points in 54 games, which for a guy with Downs skill, is pretty fair.

I dont you'll tell me that he cant skate, and I know you only like Kronwall type hits, but heres the thing, Homer cant skate either, but he has other talents that keep him in the game, and Downs hits along the boards and on the forecheck are the type of things coaches love, I just like guys that finish checks, not guys who dish out a big one every once and while. Downeys game was GREAT, energized the fans every night he played, and that's not arguable. He was voted the fan favorite in more games then I can remember. I cant believe a guy who sacrificed for our team, and was such a great guy, could be slandered by fans. It's ridiculous, I dont care if you hate enforcers, fighting etc. Downs battled for this team, and contributed everything he could, and you know what? He got his name on the cup, regardless of play time.

I love Downey. He's all heart, always made a huge effort on the ice, and sounds like a great guy.

That being said, let's be serious. His game does stink. Homer can't skate, but he can skate a ton better than Downey and has way more offensive skills. Downey can't do the things Homer does in front of the net, or in the corners. Holmstrom's skating seems bad because he's on the top line. Downey would look ridiculous with top linemates.

Downey's skating did hold him back. I loved guys like Kocur and McCarty, but Downey had more limited skills than all of them. In a cap world, it's hard to justify giving a roster spot to a guy like that.

It'd be nice to see him catch on somewhere, but it's not surprising he hasn't.

That being said, I wish Holland would dedicate more resources to guys who do actually have some skills, and don't hesitate to drop the gloves. So we'll see them playing more than 4 minutes a game for less than half a season.

[GMRwings1983 8,793]

I love Downey. He's all heart, always made a huge effort on the ice, and sounds like a great guy.

That being said, let's be serious. His game does stink. Homer can't skate, but he can skate a ton better than Downey and has way more offensive skills. Downey can't do the things Homer does in front of the net, or in the corners. Holmstrom's skating seems bad because he's on the top line. Downey would look ridiculous with top linemates.

Downey's skating did hold him back. I loved guys like Kocur and McCarty, but Downey had more limited skills than all of them. In a cap world, it's hard to justify giving a roster spot to a guy like that.

It'd be nice to see him catch on somewhere, but it's not surprising he hasn't.

That being said, I wish Holland would dedicate more resources to guys who do actually have some skills, and don't hesitate to drop the gloves. So we'll see them playing more than 4 minutes a game for less than half a season.

Downey did fine on the 4th line in the role that was given for him. He was a very good 4th line enforcer for us. Scoring from an enforcer isn't expected, even in today's NHL.

[Guest micah]

Aaron Downey and Eric Godard, unsung Stanley Cup Champions. Guys who do everything their team asks of them, even if it means sitting out the" important" games. These men know their roles. They are true profesionals, and true men. Their presence through the regular season set an example for their teammates, reminds them that there are men out there who are willing to do absolutely anything in their power to help the team.

Why do they have their names on the Cup? Because they earned the Cup.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Downey did fine on the 4th line in the role that was given for him. He was a very good 4th line enforcer for us. Scoring from an enforcer isn't expected, even in today's NHL.

He wasn't a very good fourth liner, though he was a pretty good enforcer on a team desperately in need of one.

The reality is his hockey skills are extremely limited. And in the new NHL it's hard to take up a roster spot with a guy who plays 4 minutes a night for half a season.