Which club has the most grit?

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Youve put one of the NHL's softest teams in between two of the toughest/gritty. Bravo.

No kidding.

Matt Bradley is their enforcer on most nights. That's not good.

I'm surprised I'm the only person that mentioned St. Louis. Even with King injured, they've got a lot of gritty players on that team.

[Rivalred 630]

Coyotes... There is a lot of sand in the desert.

[Chunkylover 26]

The Detroit Red Wings.

I'd say the Wings are inordinately gritty based on their lack of any really big players high-end players. Tell me Hank, Pavel, Filppula, Cleary, plus Helm and now Eaves aren't gritty going into the corners against guys like Pronger and constantly coming up with the puck. It doesn't take much for Chara to be considered gritty based on his natural gift of size, but for a shrimp like Datsyuk to put him on his behind is grit.

Philly isn't gritty, they're stupid. Anaheim isn't gritty, they're undisciplined. Toronto isn't gritty, they're just plain bad. Calgary is somewhat gritty, but they don't know who they're supposed to be: tough pylons, or finesse European puck-hogs, and thus they accomplish neither.

Colorado is tough, but I think they're kind of riding an adrenaline high. Phoenix is showing true grit and resilience. Nashville is another gritty team both in their playing style and their team attitude.

[Guest zackmorris]

Grit is such an overused term. I think it's just the lingering, although slowly dying, memories of old time hockey.

If I had to answer I'd say maybe someone like Philly. They're like Anaheim, just without being classless goon ****** bags.

The Wings have to be up there. We've shown the ability to adjust our play based on our opponent. Remember when Calgary came out talking s*** like they'd leave us plastered to the boards and we ended up out-hitting and out-muscling them all series? Helm, Abby, Cleary, Stuart, Kronner, E, Maltby, Draper, those guys are gritty as hell. Pav and Hank even step up their already underrated physical game.

I'll never forget Franz winding up to smack Malkin and Datsyuk laying the haymakers to Gary Roberts. I was so proud of them that day.

Edited February 5, 2010 by zackmorris

[titanium2 867]

If I had to answer I'd say maybe someone like Philly. They're like Anaheim, just without being classless goon ****** bags.

Philly? as in the team that has Pronger? Isn't a classless goon ******?

[Guest zackmorris]

Pronger is, but when he left Anaheim he didn't take the goonery with him. It's a team thing. Pronger's a cack but the rest of Philly don't really act like that for the most part. Unless there's something I'm missing, which is possible.

What made Anaheim douchy was the fact the whole organization were classless cowards. From the GM who defended the Ducks cowardly play (Burke) to the ******* coach who encouraged it and defended it himself (Carlyle) to the players on the ice. Even a regularly decent Scott Niedermayer along with his brother and a few other players joined in on the goonery. That was truly a ****** bag team for the ages. I guess it kinda paid off though, as all the slashing and hacking helped them beat us in 07 when the refs swallowed the whistles to let the losing team back in it.

Edited February 5, 2010 by zackmorris

[StevieY'sguy 1]

I'd say the Wings are inordinately gritty based on their lack of any really big players high-end players. Tell me Hank, Pavel, Filppula, Cleary, plus Helm and now Eaves aren't gritty going into the corners against guys like Pronger and constantly coming up with the puck. It doesn't take much for Chara to be considered gritty based on his natural gift of size, but for a shrimp like Datsyuk to put him on his behind is grit.

Philly isn't gritty, they're stupid. Anaheim isn't gritty, they're undisciplined. Toronto isn't gritty, they're just plain bad. Calgary is somewhat gritty, but they don't know who they're supposed to be: tough pylons, or finesse European puck-hogs, and thus they accomplish neither.

Colorado is tough, but I think they're kind of riding an adrenaline high. Phoenix is showing true grit and resilience. Nashville is another gritty team both in their playing style and their team attitude.

Philly is gritty, Anaheim is gritty, St. Louis is gritty... the Wings are not gritty in the same sense that these teams are..but it's humorous to watch you tilt the odds in the Wings favor so that they come out on top in a category they have no business being mentioned in....

[Guest zackmorris]

^The Wings have shown to be a gritty, hard checking hard working team when they need to be. It's just not our reputation but reputations are sloppily handed out in sports.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Philly is gritty, Anaheim is gritty, St. Louis is gritty... the Wings are not gritty in the same sense that these teams are..but it's humorous to watch you tilt the odds in the Wings favor so that they come out on top in a category they have no business being mentioned in....

True.

People here have a way of making this team appear tougher than what it really is.

[Guest zackmorris]

^I wouldn't talk. Unless there's a bench clearing brawl every game you're not satisfied.

We hung with some goons and won. We're not gritty and we're not operating under any one specific style. We've shown that we can adapt on the fly and do it well and that counts for grit of some type.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

^I wouldn't talk. Unless there's a bench clearing brawl every game you're not satisfied.

We hung with some goons and won. We're not gritty and we're not operating under any one specific style. We've shown that we can adapt on the fly and do it well and that counts for grit of some type.

If you ask fans around the league, I doubt the Wings would show up on the list of most gritty teams.

[Guest zackmorris]

Who cares what other fans think?

[Chunkylover 26]

Pronger is, but when he left Anaheim he didn't take the goonery with him. It's a team thing. Pronger's a cack but the rest of Philly don't really act like that for the most part. Unless there's something I'm missing, which is possible.

Philly players aren't jerks to other teams, they're jerks to each other, see: the Carter-Hartnell incident.

Philly is gritty, Anaheim is gritty, St. Louis is gritty... the Wings are not gritty in the same sense that these teams are..but it's humorous to watch you tilt the odds in the Wings favor so that they come out on top in a category they have no business being mentioned in....

No Philly is stupid. They take stupid penalties and make stupid plays. And no, Anaheim is undisciplined. Slashing, goal-tender interference, and boarding are not signs of grit, they're illegal plays. St. Louis... I don't know, I didn't mention them in the first place. Jackman plays like he wants to be a Duck. Face-washes after the whistle aren't gritty plays.

Guys like Holmstrom put up with constant slashing and cross-checking yet keep going back and getting the job done. That's grit. And the only penalties he takes are the ones called by Dan O'Halloran. It isn't hard for someone like Getzlaf or Pronger to be physical because they are huge. Zetterberg is a midget compared to them but he hangs with them and more often than not comes out on top because has grit.

Didn't you read my original post?

[Chunkylover 26]

True.

People here have a way of making this team appear tougher than what it really is.

Right now they certainly are not mentally tough, but come on game seven of the '09 Western semi-finals the grittier team won.

The real problem is that people here have a way of making over-generalized statements in an attempt to discredit an opposing opinion instead of interacting intellectually.

I gave arguments in support of my post, you've accused me of some nebulous transgression that isn't applicable to the situation because I never made any claims about team toughness or exalted them to any level, let alone one that is beyond their true station.

[StevieY'sguy 1]

Philly players aren't jerks to other teams, they're jerks to each other, see: the Carter-Hartnell incident.

No Philly is stupid. They take stupid penalties and make stupid plays. And no, Anaheim is undisciplined. Slashing, goal-tender interference, and boarding are not signs of grit, they're illegal plays. St. Louis... I don't know, I didn't mention them in the first place. Jackman plays like he wants to be a Duck. Face-washes after the whistle aren't gritty plays.

Guys like Holmstrom put up with constant slashing and cross-checking yet keep going back and getting the job done. That's grit. And the only penalties he takes are the ones called by Dan O'Halloran. It isn't hard for someone like Getzlaf or Pronger to be physical because they are huge. Zetterberg is a midget compared to them but he hangs with them and more often than not comes out on top because has grit.

Didn't you read my original post?

Philly may be stupid and Anaheim may be undisciplined but that doesn't mean they are not gritty...those teams see it fit to take the less sexy way to win a hockey game as opposed to the highlight reel, slightly more finesse way that the Wings and other teams such a Pittsburgh do. It's a philosophical thing as much as anything else and given the rosters they have at their disposal, it is probably their best choice. The Wings likewise have a roster that wouldn't fit their style of play very well either. I'm not calling the Wings p*ssies but all i'm saying is if you walked into a bar of fans that was wise to the NHL and not just the Wings fans and said that the Wings were one of the grittiest teams in the NHL you would look like a moron.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

^The Wings have shown to be a gritty, hard checking hard working team when they need to be. It's just not our reputation but reputations are sloppily handed out in sports.

These last few years, Dats has never seemed shy to throw his weight around.

[Krayzie_Bone 58]

Philly or Toronto id say. Vancouver seems to have grit at times.

[Free_Candy 38]

You will always find grit teams wherever Burke goes. Flyers have a respectable amount of grit and do wear the Broadstreet Bully label quite proudly but I personally think the mystique of that as part of the team's history seems to play up more than what is actually fact at times though.

[newfy 695]

Lets be honest here people, the wings are not even close to being the grittiest in the league. They have some grit sure, but get real. They don't compare to Calgary, Philly, the Ducks or Vancouver.

Stupid penalties? Thats a result of hard nosed players playing with emotion. You know what hard nosed players, playing with emotion bring to the table? Grit

And whoever said who cares what other fans think.... Umm other fans aren't usually as biased towards the wings as we are here on lets go WINGS. Just saying

[Guest zackmorris]

Lets be honest here people, the wings are not even close to being the grittiest in the league. They have some grit sure, but get real. They don't compare to Calgary, Philly, the Ducks or Vancouver.

Stupid penalties? Thats a result of hard nosed players playing with emotion. You know what hard nosed players, playing with emotion bring to the table? Grit

And whoever said who cares what other fans think.... Umm other fans aren't usually as biased towards the wings as we are here on lets go WINGS. Just saying

My point was they also don't know a tenth as much about our team as we do. That wasn't even his point.

It's worse in hockey. So no, it doesn't matter an ounce what other fans think of us. We know what we are.

Edited February 6, 2010 by zackmorris

[StevieY'sguy 1]

My point was they also don't know a tenth as much about our team as we do. That wasn't even his point.

It's worse in hockey. So no, it doesn't matter an ounce what other fans think of us. We know what we are.

a bunch of homers with tunnel vision when it comes to talking about the NHL as a whole

[j.hoop 64]

im gonna say philly, but their grit only equates to stupid penalties, undisciplined play, and team wide breakdowns at critical moments in the game. and this isnt clouded by my dislike for them, my brother in law is a flyers fan and he tells me every night. he thinks most of the team doesnt even like one another, but thats a different thread.

[Chunkylover 26]

a bunch of homers with tunnel vision when it comes to talking about the NHL as a whole

Except for you right?

Maybe the disagreement comes from the fluidity of the term grit. I say it is an example of grit on the part of the Red Wings to play tough against a team like the Ducks. That the Wings prevail given their natural disadvantage exhibits a greater amount of grit than it takes for the Ducks to exert their physical giftedness on their opponents.

Grit is fighting through the obstacles and opponents, not necessarily limited to the occasional fight with the opponent. May, Eaves, Janik, and Ericsson are (I believe) the only Wings to have fought this season, but they aren't the only gritty Wings.

The Ducks are not incapable of finesse either.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Now that Leino has departed it certainly isn't Detroit. This Tollefsen guy is just another soft Euro.

[StevieY'sguy 1]

Except for you right?

Maybe the disagreement comes from the fluidity of the term grit. I say it is an example of grit on the part of the Red Wings to play tough against a team like the Ducks. That the Wings prevail given their natural disadvantage exhibits a greater amount of grit than it takes for the Ducks to exert their physical giftedness on their opponents.

Grit is fighting through the obstacles and opponents, not necessarily limited to the occasional fight with the opponent. May, Eaves, Janik, and Ericsson are (I believe) the only Wings to have fought this season, but they aren't the only gritty Wings.

The Ducks are not incapable of finesse either.

No, there are some people on this forum that are fair and informed when in comes to talking about the NHL and not just the Wings but i consider myself an NHL fan first and a Wings second and it just gets annoying after a while.

I wouldn't necessarily say that the Wings are at a "natural disadvantage" to Anaheim... granted they are a bigger, stronger team but there is something to be said for smaller, faster, more finesse teams like the Wings. No Anaheim is not incapable of finesse just like the Wings aren't incapable of the rougher (IMO "grittier") style of play, but i certainly wouldn't say it's their calling card either.