52 replies to this topic

[redwingfan19]

I wouldnt want Colton Orr. Give me Mike Brown or Jay Rosehill from the leafs, Orr just isnt a guy that could work with the wings system I dont think. Brown and Rosehill can be every day lineup players who are good on the forecheck and also fight.

And yea I do remember that rumour and they did sign May, when a wings rumour gets started on that site it usually has some truth to it because the only time people will talk about the wings otherwise is to chirp them.

I would think though that Holland is shopping for a Colton Orr type but looking to add a Mike Brown type to the bottom 6. There was a guy on here saying that he heard from a source that Eaves wasnt playing much because the bottom 6 guys were being showcased. Millers game right now could probably add a tough 4th liner who can play a bit.

He may be looking more at a guy like Moen since Motreal is garbage and he can actually play hockey.

Or maybe trading Kindl, and bringing up Smith could help address this problem. Move Kindl for Moen or someone like that and put Smith in his place and all of a sudden the team is much tougher. Speaking of which, do you have video of smiths last fight with Rouseel UK?

NHL Fight Club is your best friend. They have all the AHL fights up within a day or 2 whereas hockeyfights.com takes forever to get them up if at all.

oh and smith needs to be on this team right now.

http://www.nhlfightc...ago-wolves.html

or perhaps you are just an idiot?




regarding the issue, i agree with the folks that just an enforcer isn't the answer. we need defensemen that will make guys pay for driving the net by either tackling them and/or punching their face in. aside from lidstrom, every single dman we have should be willing to do whatever it takes to protect howard and drop the gloves at the slightest hint of taking liberties.

Care to elaborate? Did you even read my prior post?

[LeftWinger]

minus 6 neg on my post for speaking the truth. guess some of our fans run away and are gutless too.

Ya, some users will just neg you and not debate the reason's why. The Wing's have been "soft" for a while. Even when they had Brad May, they didn't play him enough to be considered tough. They need a full time player(s) that will fight every night if they have to while defending their team. Everytime we play St. Louis Backes runs around and knocks players around like he is on a mission, and he NEVER has to answer for it. You are right, teams know that they can rough our players up without any recourse. Ericsson is here for his size and (what was presumed to be) toughness, but he does nothing. More times than not, our players just watch as opposing teams take liberties against their teammates. How many times does Pavel have to defend himself? Howard? Zetterberg getting kneed? Come one! If Aaron Downey was stil playing and on this team, Kesler would have been eating teeth for dinner.

The problem is, and I wouldn't trade the 2008 Cup for anything, but Holland said it in the game 6 post game interview when he said, "Who said you couldn't win with Europeans?" That is his bag now, if not soft Euro's, then soft Euro-type players. When he does draft or sign a North-American style hockey player, they get minimal playing time or get stuck in GRR for 6 years until they are groomed to NOT be that type of player. Which is why Smith will not provide any changes to the toughness of the team, which is why Holland will NEVER try to acquire Weber at anytime. Which is why Hudler is still on this team, forget that nobody wanted him, just sit him for someone who is gonna actually throw a body check. Which is why Mike Commodore gets ZERO playing time. Which is why Holland didn't offer Wiz a contract or Jovo or Willie Mitchell. There is a reason why this team's D is leading the league in scoring and it isn't because the clear the front of the net. I will take the wins, but at what cost if Jimmy or Datsyuk or Zetterberg cannot play 100% because of a "Back Injury" or "Upper Body Strain" what then?

I was never a huge fan of McCarty, but at least he did what he was paid to do. Hell, even Maltby dropped the gloves every so often when he felt he needed to. Last year, when Brad Stuart (who at the time was arguably your best defender at that point of the season) was elbowed in the jaw in calgary, Abdelkader just looked at it happening and did nothing. That was unacceptable and last night's goal when Jimmy got ran, goal or not, penalty or not, Hansen should have at least been eating Louisville for the evening. For player like Bertuzzi to just watch it happen makes me sick. Holland needs to stop drafting the small skilled players or the big skilled players, we have enough of those here and down in GRR to last 20 or so years, he needs to draft and acquire big players that are gonna bruise the f*** out of someone if they take liberties on his teammates. You may not like Avery's antics off the ice, but all be damned if someone is going to get away with this crap while he is on the ice. Too bad Holland is going to stay with the same formula, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see the same lineup tonight in Calgary. They are good, borderline great, but they are soft, and until they address that issue, teams will continue to do what they are doing to them night in and night out...

[sleepwalker]

I agree with Howie, it is getting absolutely ridiculous. I hate to be one of those guys piling on Shanny, but since his lack of call on Lucic, it seems to have turned into open season on goalies ever since that moment to a level I can't recall in recent years.


Its gotten so bad recently, that in the latest issue of THN, not only is the cartoon about goalies getting run, but they also did a full article about it as well.

[LeftWinger]

or perhaps you are just an idiot?




regarding the issue, i agree with the folks that just an enforcer isn't the answer. we need defensemen that will make guys pay for driving the net by either tackling them and/or punching their face in. aside from lidstrom, every single dman we have should be willing to do whatever it takes to protect howard and drop the gloves at the slightest hint of taking liberties.

That is the answer, but that is also where the problem lies. Every defensman we have is in the mold of Lidstrom. Of all of the defensman, who do you expect to do what you are asking them to do? Keeping Lids out of the equation, I can name you 5 other's that aren't: Kronwall, Stuart, Kindl, White & Ericsson. That leaves noone. So until Babs puts away his pride and give Commodore a legit shot at playing or Holland gets off the soft-euro train and actually gets that type of defensman, then it isn't going to happen and Jimmy will wind up hurt one day and then we'll be stuck with Conklin/MacDonald for the playoffs. That is until someone runs one of them into an injury. Don't get me wrong, it's fine to have some of your defenders in the mold of Lidstrom, as a matter of fact, you NEED them, but draw the line at Lidstrom, Stuart, White and Kronwall. Ericsson is hot garbage and even though Kindl has been very solid, he is just another soft European player. I am not bashing just the Euro's, if they had a Euro that would hit and defend his team, that would be great, but Holland likes a certain type whether they are Euro or North American, and that is what we have. I am not saying Commodore is the answer either, but JHC, let's see if he is, eh?!?! I don't believe in Smith personally, but if he is the answer, let's bring his ass up here, sit Ericsson, and let's see if he can make his presence felt. We cannot argue with the teams record, but one of these times Datsyuk or Howard gets hit, they aren't going to get up...

[BryceWings]

I agree. Howard has been hit way too many times already this season. And he's always the one to go after the guy. They need to start going after guys big time. Strike some fear. Hudler can use some of that UFC training.

[dobbles]

That is the answer, but that is also where the problem lies. Every defensman we have is in the mold of Lidstrom. Of all of the defensman, who do you expect to do what you are asking them to do? Keeping Lids out of the equation, I can name you 5 other's that aren't: Kronwall, Stuart, Kindl, White & Ericsson. That leaves noone. So until Babs puts away his pride and give Commodore a legit shot at playing or Holland gets off the soft-euro train and actually gets that type of defensman, then it isn't going to happen and Jimmy will wind up hurt one day and then we'll be stuck with Conklin/MacDonald for the playoffs. That is until someone runs one of them into an injury. Don't get me wrong, it's fine to have some of your defenders in the mold of Lidstrom, as a matter of fact, you NEED them, but draw the line at Lidstrom, Stuart, White and Kronwall. Ericsson is hot garbage and even though Kindl has been very solid, he is just another soft European player. I am not bashing just the Euro's, if they had a Euro that would hit and defend his team, that would be great, but Holland likes a certain type whether they are Euro or North American, and that is what we have. I am not saying Commodore is the answer either, but JHC, let's see if he is, eh?!?! I don't believe in Smith personally, but if he is the answer, let's bring his ass up here, sit Ericsson, and let's see if he can make his presence felt. We cannot argue with the teams record, but one of these times Datsyuk or Howard gets hit, they aren't going to get up...

oh i agree with what you are saying. i just think our dmen should be expected to stand up for him. a huge dude like ericsson should be expected to protect howard and if he doesn't he should get called out by babcock, teammates, holland, fans, ken and mick or whomever... same goes for stuart and kronwall. both are guys that are physical players. they can't be shying away from after the whistle stuff. the defensemen we have are good players, i just think they should be expected to stand up for their team. and the people that matter don't hold them accountable.

[LeftWinger]

oh i agree with what you are saying. i just think our dmen should be expected to stand up for him. a huge dude like ericsson should be expected to protect howard and if he doesn't he should get called out by babcock, teammates, holland, fans, ken and mick or whomever... same goes for stuart and kronwall. both are guys that are physical players. they can't be shying away from after the whistle stuff. the defensemen we have are good players, i just think they should be expected to stand up for their team. and the people that matter don't hold them accountable.

...and that is the problem. They don't and they won't. Ericsson, Kindl, Kronwall, Stuart, White. None of these guys could clear the net if they were paid to! Oh wait...anyhow, Kronwall and Stuart have great open ice hits, good offensive upside, but they are poor at clearing players from the front of the net. Ericsson and Kindl are even worse at it. You cannot expect your #1 & #2 guys to do it, so they need to acquire a couple of players that WILL. I would LOVE to see what Commodore can or cannot do for about 10 games, hell, even though I am not sold on him, bring Smith up for a 5-10 game stint. If they aren't what this team is starving for, then acquire two or three defenders that are. I am fine with 3-4 of the type we have, but having all 6 players trying to be scorer's from the blue line and not making players pay the price in front of the net and for sure not making them pay if the take liberties, it is gonna hurt this team in the long haul... It's nice having the highest scoring defense, but I'd rather have the number one scoring offense and the hardest defense to play against. But maybe that is just me...

[rrasco]

I was just rewatching this on my DVR and did anybody notice the shove Hansen gave Lids? Even before Jimmy got to him. At first I was thinking maybe that was why Jimmy went after him, but he was already headed his way. I don't think that helped calm Jimmy down at all though. I mean, it wasn't anything much, but I just don't understand why he would get up and shove a guy like Lids.

[LeftWinger]

Eddie Belfour has a house in Saginaw I believe, lets call him in to teach Jimmy some "moves."

[GMRwings1983]

Abdelkader has been a huge disappointment in general this season. I'm not sure what it is, but he's just sort of disappeared into the woodwork.

In other words, he's very expendable.

I said last season (during his awful playoff) that we should get rid of him. He doesn't give us anything we don't already have. I'd rather see his roster spot taken by an enforcer.

He's our worst bottom 6 forward right now. Doesn't score points, and doesn't fight for his teammates. Why is he on the team again?

Edited by GMRwings1983, 22 December 2011 - 08:23 PM.

[cusimano_brothers]

Whoever owns the biggest stick should do the most swinging; that'll get people's attention real quick. Let's just call it "The Great Equalizer".

[HelmFan]

In other words, he's very expendable.

I said last season (during his awful playoff) that we should get rid of him. He doesn't give us anything we don't already have. I'd rather see his roster spot taken by an enforcer.

He's our worst bottom 6 forward right now. Doesn't score points, and doesn't fight for his teammates. Why is he on the team again?

+1
I was getting negg'd earlier in the year for suggesting abby wasn't good enough to be playing on the first line ! (how dare I).

Now you're getting pluses for saying he's not good enough to be on the team. Crazy!! ( I agree, and have thought so for a long time)

[GMRwings1983]

+1
I was getting negg'd earlier in the year for suggesting abby wasn't good enough to be playing on the first line ! (how dare I).

Now you're getting pluses for saying he's not good enough to be on the team. Crazy!! ( I agree, and have thought so for a long time)

Don't sweat it. My popularity here is overrated, although I do agree with what I posted obviously.

Abby plays hard, but he just hasn't cut it. Helm, Cleary, Miller, Connor and Holmstrom have outperformed him. Eaves hasn't played that much, but I'd still take him over Abby at this point.