24 replies to this topic

[irishock]

Alright, he hasn't officially retired, but with the season pretty much in doubt, he's probably done as a hockey player.

Would you like to see him return to the organization in some capacity? What are your favorite memories of Homer?

[GMRwings1983]

Favorite memory is that time he screened the goalie on the powerplay, and deflected a Lidstrom shot into the net.

It was awesome!

[darkmanx]

Favorite memory is that time he screened the goalie on the powerplay, and deflected a Lidstrom shot into the net.

It was awesome!

or that time that he fell down.

[LeftWinger]

Over 1000 games in a Wings jersey...played his entire career here in Detroit...huge, HUGE piece to the puzzle in the playoffs each year. How many players have played their entire career in one city for over 1000 games? Not many.....Howe, Yzerman, Lidstrom, Delcvecchio....Draper has but he played for Winnipeg before....So Homer is one of 5 players to play their entire 1000+ game careers in Detroit...3 of those 5 have their number's retired, soon to have Lids join them...I am sure #96 will not go to the rafters, but something has to be said of Holmstrom's RARE stat...you cannot ignore the 1000+ games for one team his entire career.

[The Axe]

Over 1000 games in a Wings jersey...played his entire career here in Detroit...huge, HUGE piece to the puzzle in the playoffs each year. How many players have played their entire career in one city for over 1000 games? Not many.....Howe, Yzerman, Lidstrom, Delcvecchio....Draper has but he played for Winnipeg before....So Homer is one of 5 players to play their entire 1000+ game careers in Detroit...3 of those 5 have their number's retired, soon to have Lids join them...I am sure #96 will not go to the rafters, but something has to be said of Holmstrom's RARE stat...you cannot ignore the 1000+ games for one team his entire career.

Holmstrom had a good spurt here. I will give him his props for his dedication.

[martinezsvsu]

he took a beating for us every game. thanks homer

[frankgrimes]

That guy took the art of effectively screening a goalie to the very next level.

A great piece of the whole puzzle and a warrior for over 1.000 games.

Very glad to have seen him play, way to go Holmström!

Sent from my BlackBerry

[55fan]

He almost won the Hottest Red Wing Poll of '08. He led up until the last minute whereupon Lilja made a last-minute point grab. But he got 2nd, which is respectable considering that he beat Hank, Lids, and Kronner.

He also gave us some fine photoshop moments and unforgettable sound bites.

He was a man amongst boys in front of the net. He gave his body for the team, bearing more abuse than a hunter at a PETA convention.

I would like to have him stay on and work for the team doing interviews with the guys for some sort of internet television thing.

[irishock]

The first goal of Game 7 vs Avs, was a crazy deflection.

Over 1000 games in a Wings jersey...played his entire career here in Detroit...huge, HUGE piece to the puzzle in the playoffs each year. How many players have played their entire career in one city for over 1000 games? Not many.....Howe, Yzerman, Lidstrom, Delcvecchio....Draper has but he played for Winnipeg before....So Homer is one of 5 players to play their entire 1000+ game careers in Detroit...3 of those 5 have their number's retired, soon to have Lids join them...I am sure #96 will not go to the rafters, but something has to be said of Holmstrom's RARE stat...you cannot ignore the 1000+ games for one team his entire career.

He won't get his jersey on the rafters, but I think #96 should not be allowed to be worn again.

[FireCaptain]

And then it got called back for goaltender interference - yeah, that was wicked!

haha

Favorite memory is that time he screened the goalie on the powerplay, and deflected a Lidstrom shot into the net.

It was awesome!

[Wings4Life19]

Can anyone think of another player that had a career that was anywhere close to want Homer had? I don't remember anyone else that didn't have a ton of skills yet spent most of their career on the top line and played regularly on the power play. He took a beating every game he played yet rarely missed any. And to me I always thought he was going to fall down every time he skated with the puck. We have to thank Scotty for seeing what a unique talent he was and putting him in situations that made him successful.

If you think about it he was a big reason that our defenses through the years put up as many points as they did. Who knows how many fewer points they would have if Homer wasn't as good at screening goalies and defecting pucks as he was.

[Johnz96]

He would easily have the record for most goals waved off that shouldn't have been if they kept such statistics.
I think he is still a more effective player than some of the forwards we have signed.
We will miss him

[Nev]

Over 1000 games in a Wings jersey...played his entire career here in Detroit...huge, HUGE piece to the puzzle in the playoffs each year. How many players have played their entire career in one city for over 1000 games? Not many.....Howe, Yzerman, Lidstrom, Delcvecchio....Draper has but he played for Winnipeg before....So Homer is one of 5 players to play their entire 1000+ game careers in Detroit...3 of those 5 have their number's retired, soon to have Lids join them...I am sure #96 will not go to the rafters, but something has to be said of Holmstrom's RARE stat...you cannot ignore the 1000+ games for one team his entire career.

And I'm pretty sure no-one else had as tough a 1000 games either. Guy was an absolute warrior for us who took a pounding shift after shift, and always came back for more.

Its made me sad the last few years seeing him slow down and the beating he took - not on the ice, but on this forum from short-memoried ungrateful fans (ditto Maltby + Draper).

IIRC he's also an American citizen now, so he'll be staying in the US whatever the future holds.

Edited by Nev, 03 December 2012 - 02:55 PM.

[ogreslayer]

Sort of like when Gretzky retired & the NHL painted 99 behind the goals, when Homer finally hangs them up the Wings should at least play a game with 96 painted in front of the crease to honor him.

[The Axe]

Sort of like when Gretzky retired & the NHL painted 99 behind the goals, when Homer finally hangs them up the Wings should at least play a game with 96 painted in front of the crease to honor him.

Cool idea.

[MotorCityMadness]

Sort of like when Gretzky retired & the NHL painted 99 behind the goals, when Homer finally hangs them up the Wings should at least play a game with 96 painted in front of the crease to honor him.

Or in the crease

[55fan]

Or in the crease

In-a da crease; out-a da crease.

[LeftWinger]

Can anyone think of another player that had a career that was anywhere close to want Homer had? I don't remember anyone else that didn't have a ton of skills yet spent most of their career on the top line and played regularly on the power play. He took a beating every game he played yet rarely missed any. And to me I always thought he was going to fall down every time he skated with the puck. We have to thank Scotty for seeing what a unique talent he was and putting him in situations that made him successful.

If you think about it he was a big reason that our defenses through the years put up as many points as they did. Who knows how many fewer points they would have if Homer wasn't as good at screening goalies and defecting pucks as he was.

Yep....Ciccarelli.

Its kind of like Dino's career, just less goals. Dino wasn't that fast or talented skill-wise, yet he was always getting abused in front of the net and banged in the garbage goals on rebounds. Honestly, Homer probably had more re-direction goals than Dino, but Dino was a bit tougher and fought for the puck more AFTER he got knocked on his ass. That is where Dino got a ton of his garbage goals, from his ass.

[Datsyuk Fan]

Or in the crease

Or put it just outside the crease and call it inside.

[RedWingsDad]

I always loved how Holmstrom had the spring effect when getting cross checked... undoubtedly helped save his back somewhat and prolong his career. Instead of trying to stand firm against the cross check he would just roll with it and spring back into place... probably pissed off the aggressor even more. lol

What a champ... I still fume a bit when I think about how rule changes really blunted his game the last 3-4 years... specifically the non-sense goalie interference calls made when the goalie initiated contact outside of the crease.... grrrrrrrr

The wings should make a one time Holmstrom award and have a whole game dedicated to it. The award would be for all the goals he deserved that got called off... they could play a montage of examples on the big screen and for the TV audience.... and just for the sake of fun they should jokingly display his actual goals next to an estimation of deserved goals. I dream.

Edited by RedWingsDad, 05 December 2012 - 11:04 AM.