80 replies to this topic

[evanbartlett]

Will the NHL even host this game if Crosby is still hurt?

Haha, I thoroughly enjoyed this.

[titanium2]

Any chance Lidstrom's wife is pregnant... Or... Some other kind of excuse he can use to not play in it?

[Yzermania]

on LeBrun's twitter, he said he thinks the wings most likely asked the league to not pick zetterberg...and people are complaining datsyuk isn't there? if the league is picking the remaining players, why would they pick someone who most likely won't be able to play? Who really cares? all star games haven't been fun since the 90's.

[chet1530]

of course the wings only have one player... the guys picking the teams are from the penguins and blackhawks

[up2here]

Just when you think the ASG couldnt get worse, it somehow does. They were definately making sure each team was represented but that doesnt explain why Perry, Kesler and Sharp were picked over Hank. There were already Ducks, Hawks and Nucks represented. Hank has more points than all but 5 all-stars and hes not there. Complete joke.

[nosyt612]

I think LeBrun has to be right, there is no way the league just missed Zetterberg and put in Kelser, Kane, Sharp and Erricsson ahead of him when those teams were already represented. As for Howard he is 29th in both save percentage and gaa, he shouldn't be in the all star game.

[ogreslayer]

Gotta admit I would have been psyched to see Helm in the 'Fastest Skater' competition though.

I really want to see Helm compete in the shooting accuracy event myself

Edited by ogreslayer, 11 January 2011 - 01:42 PM.

[dragonballgtz]

To bad Lidstrom got selected, I would rather him get some rest.

[GoWings1905]

What is Price's GAA and SV% versus Howard?

It's not even close. I don't see how anyone could suggest Jimmy Howard deserves to go to the ASG.

Wins: Howard 22 - Price 21

GAA: Price 2.31 - Howard 2.78

Save Percentage: Price .921 - Howard .907

Price has 4 shutouts, Howard 2.

So besides playing for arguably the best team in the league and accumulating wins, Carey Price is destroying Howard.

[edicius]

Shanny confirms that some players requested to not be selected for the ASG.

@NHLShanny:
Without mentioning teams/players, the answer is yes. NHL was approached by certain players thru their GM. Battling injuries & need to heal.

Funny how that's okay this season.

[Barrie]

on LeBrun's twitter, he said he thinks the wings most likely asked the league to not pick zetterberg...and people are complaining datsyuk isn't there? if the league is picking the remaining players, why would they pick someone who most likely won't be able to play? Who really cares? all star games haven't been fun since the 90's.

I was thinking this too. Doug McLean said on the radio today that there are a lot of guys that would rather take the weekend break than play. Some players are disappointed when they get picked.

[legaleaglewingsfan]

If the Wings and Nick want him to rest we have the flexibility to do so with the Devils the game before and the Sens the game after the break it wouldnt be hard to comply with the new rule of sitting the game before or the game after, either way he would get a week to just relax and rest up. I wouldnt mind that since we have a crazy busy schedule at the beginning of February with 4 in 6 and one basically every other night until Feb 13th. But just MHO there and why I am not a coach or admin in the Wings organization.

Edited by legaleaglewingsfan, 11 January 2011 - 01:56 PM.

[Rivalred]

Shanny confirms that some players requested to not be selected for the ASG.



Funny how that's okay this season.

Yes, but it is a step forward in the right direction. Hank's back has to be still be bothering him.

Thank jeebus that Shanny is in the political cogs of the NHL now. Hopefully he can do more.

[Drake_Marcus]

of course the wings only have one player... the guys picking the teams are from the penguins and blackhawks

I have to disagree with this line of reasoning. The Penguins and Hawks may consider the Wings rivals but I'm sure they have respect for guys like Lidstrom, Zetterberg and Datsyuk (and that our guys have respect for their top players). Playing against someone gives you a pretty good idea of their talent and skillset. For example, after the 2008 finals when Crosby was asked who the top player in the league was he said (and I'm paraphasing here) that Ovechkin was the best 1-on-1 but the best overall hockey player was Zetterberg. That opinion was obviously influenced by the fact that he fought Zetterberg on every shift during the finals and got owned by him.

As for comments that the Wings didn't want Zetterberg picked for the game-- I can see that. Zetterberg always seems to be nursing an injury of some sort so that week off will do wonders for him. On the other hand I'd rather they send Zetterberg than Lidstrom. Lids has less tread left on his tires so it only makes sense to limit his milage any way you can.

What would be cool is if they still honoured injured guys like Datsyuk during the game. Dats was having an excellent season before his hand injury and could still participate in the media events during the All-Star weekend. When the top defensive forward in the league puts 39pts uo in the first 33 games it's a shame to leave him out of the festivities. Plus it's not like Datsyuk should be worn out right now... sending him to the All-Star weekend would probably be a welcome change of pace from training, training, training and waiting around for his hand to heal.

Regarding the notion that Howard and Franzen were snubbed: they weren't. Howard doesn't deserve to make the All-Star team this season (and I'd rather his agent didn't have that bargining chip anyway). Jimmy's GAA and Sv% both sit at 29th overall and he's only 14th in SO. It's hard to justify sending a guy who's not even top 20 statistically based on the fact that he leads the league in wins by 1. Franzen's only 47th in scoring right now, sitting behind guys like MacArthur, Hedjuk, Clowe, Williams, Ladd and Dubinsky. His best stat is scoring and even there he's only tied for 11th overall. His numbers this season are all that spectacular. If he had cracked 20 goals by now he would've had a better chance.

[Selliria]

You'd think that with the players being disappointed when picked to go and the rising number of fans who find the ASG a total joke, Bettman would at least look into reconstructing the whole idea.

It's clearly broken.

Edited by Selliria, 11 January 2011 - 02:34 PM.

[Drake_Marcus]

Anyone notice that Marc Staal made the team? That's just stupid. He's had a good season but he's not one of the top 12 defensemen in the league by any stretch.

[Original-Six]

lololol elias and backes really?

lololol Dont forget Hemsky,Kessel and Flury. What a JOOOOOOOOKE....

[Tommy_Like_Wingy]

To bad Lidstrom got selected, I would rather him get some rest.

lol @ people saying this

The ASG is like a glorified free skate. Their practices are 10x harder on them than the ASG will ever be. Nick will be fine.

[toby91_ca]

From a Wings perspective, the only disagreement I would have is not selecting Zetterberg, but I think I'd have to believe the notion that a specific request was made by Holland not to pick him.

Someone on here actually suggested Howard should have been "automatic"....really? Why? I think that is probably the biggest joke, not the players selected.

Someone also mentioned no Kovy...assuming he/she was referring to Kovalchuk and if that's the case, not sure why they are thinking, he's been absolutely terrible this year.

Looks like they did try to get as many teams represented as possible, which explains guys like Kessel getting picked, but they still didn't get every team represented, I don't see anyone from Phoenix, Buffalo, Florida or NYI, but I could have missed them.

[titanium2]

lol @ people saying this

The ASG is like a glorified free skate. Their practices are 10x harder on them than the ASG will ever be. Nick will be fine.

Mental rest. It's an obligation to someone else as opposed to staying at home with the family.