Kirk Maltby to announce he is retiring

[CenterIce 83]

Best of luck, Maltby!

I wish he had retired so that Ritola could have been retained, but it wasn't reasonable to expect him to do so.

Even if he did retire, his salary would have still counted, since he signed his deal after his 35th birthday.

[FunkedUp 29]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5wAD0mJLkA

[ogreslayer 1,069]

I wish he had retired so that Ritola could have been retained, but it wasn't reasonable to expect him to do so.

Maltby's decision had no bearing on the Wings having to send Ritola down to GR & go through waivers at all. It was a decision on only being able to keep 2 out of the 3 from Eaves, Miller, & Ritola. One had to naturally assume that unless he set the world on fire, Maltby wasn't going to stay with the big club. If he had, we would have been talking about keeping only 1 out of the 3 above.

Edited October 12, 2010 by ogreslayer

[cusimano_brothers 1,655]

Dan McGillis. Oh, what a phenomenal trade that was!

[seeinred 1,488]

Adieu, Kirk Maltby. You'll long be a part of Detroit hockey lore. The Grind Line... those were the days.

[Barrie 900]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5wAD0mJLkA

I like how Malts looks at Cindy dive and just continues to the net.

I'll miss ya Kirk! You played your annoying role to perfection.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Thanks for everything Maltby. There isn't a young hockey player in the world who wouldn't love to have had the career Maltby did. 4 Stanley Cups is an amazing achievement.

[thegerkin 189]

So bummed to hear this Malts was as much a part of the Wings identity as anyone. He will be missed. Thanks for the years of service in the trenches, Malts!

[Nightfall 871]

Thanks Nightfall. I was around when the Wings weren't making the playoffs every year and I remember when we made the playoffs in 1988. I just remember how excited I was ( I was only 9), I thought then that this team was going to do something special, then followed up the next year with 19 wins and didn't even sniff the playoffs and I wondered what was next. We all now what happened, but I always kept the faith in this team. I think may people on this board were not around during the DeadWings era, because if they were, we would not see these crazy comments about players like Malts and Drapes and yes, Even Lidstrom (which just baffles me)!

I will always remember Maltby in the playoffs, right when we needed a big goal, everyone would pick Stevie, Shanny, Kozlov, Feds, ect and who ended up with a goal..... Kirk Maltby! As far as I'm concerned, Malts was one of the best faces of the organization that there ever was. Will the #18 go to the rafters, probably not, but he will always be at the top of the lists of players with the biggest heart and dedication. We'll miss you Malts!! GO WINGS!!

Thank you man.

Your post reminded me just how much of a new fan I am compared to those who were around in the 70-80s when they were called the "dead wings". I didn't get exposed to hockey until 1994 when I went to college at Ferris State. As of that moment when I went to a live college hockey game, I was hooked. I started watching the Wings that season, and getting swept in the finals by the Devils was horrible to experience.

You are right, the older fans of the team who have been around for a while have a whole new appreciation for members of the team who gave so much. Things like loyalty are hard to find in sports these days. In the working world, if someone gets cut from their job, its distasteful and backstabbing to do. In the sports world, if someone gets cut from a team, its a necessity because they want the team to win, win, and win some more. I want to win just as much as every other Wings fan. At the same time though, I praise the loyalty of the Wings organization.

[softshoes 83]

Maltby>>>>>>>Miller

Thanks Drew you redundant useless SOB

Wish Malts all the best, never forget the time I urinated beside him in cheli's chili.

Man, you can't buy memories like that. You can only rent them.

Best of luck Kirk. You earned everything you got.

[Barrie 900]

Home movies of Maltby scoring the last goal of his career, Feb 13, 2010 vs. Ottawa.

Yes, that's me holding the camera!

Edited October 12, 2010 by Barrie

[Konnan511 1,736]

Why'd he resign if he was going to retire anyway? And then he cleared waivers. That just got my hopes up. I don't want him to retire. I specifically told him, "I really hope you resign...I hope to see you out there again" But did he listen to me? NO! I'm so upset right now. Well, I hope he made the right decision for himself. Best of luck to you Malts. I'll miss reading your lips as you drop F-bombs. Thanks for all the years.

That's a double negative.

Congrats Maltby on a great career as a Wing! In honor, my avatar will be of us in TC trashed lol.

[brandon27 111]

Congrats to Maltby. Nice little career he put together for himself. best of luck to him in his new role as a scout!

[Vladifan 680]

Our mouthy little grinder even made the front page of the sports section of the USA Today, god love him.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/default.htm

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Thank you, Kirk! It was a GREAT run!

[tdinc 45]

4 Rings, A classy Guy all around. Original Grind line.

Good luck Malts

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

about damn time

You are not the best poster in LGW history. In fact, you are probably the opposite of best.

And before you say something like, "Well I'm sorry that I don't act like a Red Wings homer like everybody else in here." That's not the point.

Of course Maltby's playing days were coming to an end.

This isn't the time/place for that though. It's about celebrating Maltby's career and what he gave to this organization for such a long time.

Edited October 12, 2010 by SouthernWingsFan

[Johnny Law 15]

Dude night in night out for many years and many cups went out and put it all on the line. What he perhaps lacked in talent he made up with hard work and 100% commitment, that's not a slight if your in the NHL your one of the best 700 players of hockey in the world.

The DRW and all wings fans were lucky to have Maltby, his skills were not score sheet type skills and will be hard to replace.

[KrazyGangsta 79]

Good to see he retired rather then playing with the Griffins, even tho he could helped out.

This guy was a very important key of the success of this franchise. He played a crucial role, shutting down the opposing top lines.

Shame on all those fans that are being negative about this situation. The reason he signed the contract was to compete for a roster spot, didn't work out but we can never blame the guy for trying.

Hope all the best in the near future Maltbs, maybe he could now join us on LGW and discuss hockey.

[crotty99 302]

I never watched hockey during the grind lines prime but I still appreciate everything Maltby has done for this team in the past.

Congratulations on an amazing career!

Edited October 12, 2010 by crotty99

[Electrophile 3,554]

Its pretty amazing when you think about it. Detroit basically had the same 4th line players for about 15 years. The Wings still had about 1/4 of their 95 runner up team. Talk about longevity/team loyalty.

That's why we have one of the best, if not the best, organizations in the NHL.

[dobbles 252]

When I read some of the posts in this thread, I am just appalled. Here is a guy that gave his heart and soul to the organization. He was a penalty killer and a grind liner. You don't win four Stanley Cups by accident. Detroit knew what they had here and they treated him well for many years. In return, he gave everything he had to the organization.

Yet, some of the fans on this forum piss on him and other players. Even Lidstrom is a target by some people, which is disgusting being as that we are all fans of the Red Wings here. This isn't the HFboards where there are asshats a plenty out there that like to start flame wars with other teams and fans.

I expect people here will be supportive of their Red Wings and the management. After all, they deserve to have our support being as that they haven't missed the playoffs in 25 of the last 27 seasons and the last 19 in a row. The players have shown that they care about playing in Detroit by giving it their all season after season after season.

Here is Maltby, a player who has given it their all for years. 75% of the posts here have the right attitude, which is supportive and remembering what Maltby brought to the table. The rest of the posters here are true morons. If not for the fact that they don't remember what Maltby did for the organization, but because he is a Red Wing. He will take a job in the front office because the Red Wings care about their players and the players care about playing here. I don't see this kind of commitment from many organizations out there.

Support your Red Wings guys. They are your team. If you don't like the team, go bandwagon on the Sharks and Hawks. I heard they need more fans on the bandwagon these days.

Happy retirement Maltby! You will be missed.

i want to respond to this in hopefully a thoughtful and respectful way. let me first say, i am not as far out as many of the people that were sick of maltby. however, i was against the signing this summer. also, i definitely do not advocate any bashing of lidstrom because he is still very important to the team. if anything, i think any negative comments were over the summer wishing he had taken a bigger pay cut.

to me, the reason many people get upset when these guys keep hanging on is because it is not for the good of the team. had maltby stuck around this year it would have meant losing another player. while someone like drew miller might not be the key to stanley cup success, he has more long term and short term upside than maltby.

the problem is that the wings organization will be loyal. so if players aren't willing to accept their best days are behind them, then they linger on for longer than they need to. when this happens, many fans can turn against the player. chelios lingered, maltby lingered, and draper is getting pretty darned close.

i am appreciative of what kirk maltby has done to help the wings over the last 15 years. it doesn't mean i had to be happy over his contract this summer. to say anyone who disagreed with your opinion is a moron is just silly and juvenile.

with all that said, i wish maltby a happy retirement. there ended up being no negative impact to the signing, so no ill will on my part going forward. (not that maltby or anyone cares about my ill will!)

[wingnut22 81]

this saddens me But I wish him nothing but the best. Thanks for the great years Malts!

[redwingslady87 130]

about damn time

Normally I'm not one to say something about posters making statements like yours, but come on... Grow up and show some respect. Malts played his heart out for 14 years with us, and making the decision to retire was very obviously a difficult thing. Is that what you want people to say about you when you retire? That it's "about damn time"?

[Guest best poster in LGW history]

Is that what you want people to say about you when you retire? That it's "about damn time"?

i guess it would apply if i was hanging on to a job that i could no longer do competently when i should have retired a year or two ago and was getting paid more than younger employees that would no doubt do more for less.

i'm sure they'd say "about damn time".

hope that helps.