StormJH1

All this talk of $1.5-2M, its no wonder people slag off KH so much when they have such unrealistic expectations.  He is an UNRESTRICTED free agent.  Y'know, those guys that desperate GMs give huge contracts to?

 

If we can get him for $2.5M that would be amazeballs.

I can't believe that we're still talking about this.  Refs on the ice thought it was the right call.  The CBC announcers thought it was the right call.  The NBC announcers thought it was the right call, and now Fraser thinks it's the right call.  The only people that don't think so are the Detroit fans.  We all need to get over it and perhaps ask ourselves why our team consistently gets outplayed in the third period.  Despite having frequent leads.  And despite at times overwhelming play in periods one and two. 

 

If you think that call was what lost us the game, ask yourself this: "Why did he have a breakaway in the third period at all?  Why haven't we had any?"

Ray Ferraro on Vancouver's team 1040 this morning talking about Nyquist. He says unfortunately Filppula will have a market value of 5 million and Detroit will not be able to keep him. Nyquist will be his replacement.

 

 

I'm thinking maybe not as good on defense but definitely a more potent offense of threat.

Tatar replaces Nyquist on the third line. i hate to see Filppula go, but I think we can live with it.

I agree he is not at Fil's defensive ability YET, but he definitely has the potential.

 

That shift last night where he stole the puck from Kane TWICE was awesome!!!!

I never listen to that channel, but it seems the state radio programs never cover the Wings, and when they do discussion does die off.

I think part of it is that the hosts aren't knowledgable about the NHL.  Why would I call in if my point will go over their heads?

With the Lions being interesting again and the Tigers doing well, hockey has fallen off the radar. There used to be Wings updates on store signs around the state, now I never see any reference to them.

Sad, but even in northern states hockey is secondary or tertiary to football and baseball.

The thing I don't get is why the NBA gets more coverage when I think they post similar ratings and attendance to hockey. I guess because the radio stations are based out of urban centers.    

Foster was on Chicago Radio today and basically said all your bullets except for flat out calling them bandwagon fans.

Don't forget kindls progression. The two of them have made our d look not so horrid post lids

I have to be honest, I don't understand the argument here.  Abby's hit was pretty clearly bad, the only argument should be on how many games.  I thought it was worse than the hit on Eller, different result though.  You could argue whether the head was the principle point of contact, but it was blind side and he launched himself way in the air + had head contact.  I didn't see Shanny's video, but pretty clear suspension to me.

Is it wrong that after all the "world is ending" threads that would have plagued the forums, the thing that worried me most about missing the playoffs was the lack of Photoshop Wars?

I don't even understand how Howard f-ed up twice in a row. I don't even know what to say about it. 

 

Don't care about Howard having a terrible game. Wings would be sitting in 11th or 12th without him. In a must win and considering the opposition the Wings should of had a stranglehold of this game after the first 20 minutes..... end of story.

To all the people predicting a Chicago beating, do I need to remind you of the 2006 Oilers? or the 2003 Ducks? or even the 1994 Sharks and 2001 Kings? We've been on the receiving end of so many first round upsets that I'm surprised some of you are so pessimistic. Maybe it's finally our time to be Cinderella. Get in and anything can happen, even beating the almighty Hawks.

For real. You would think Murph has had a couple of Mel Gibson moments from the way people around here talk about him. The way I see it is there is nothing that suggests anything other than the fact that murph is just awkward on camera.

 

Absolutely and the proof is in the pudding. I'm sorry but there is zero percent chance Larry Murphy taped that Nashville intro while under the influence, yet he still was rambling, mumbling, and falling over his own words. He simply just had a little trouble getting what he wanted out sometimes. I can do the same thing time to time, I can understand this. Anyone does. He just did it at a more accelerated rate which makes me think he actually had a problem. I don't think awkwardness played a huge role, but it could have been influential. He did play professional hockey in front of millions, and has been on the air for over 10 years now, I can't say he still has the jitters being in-front of the camera.

 

I think the biggest thing is what VM just said. I would HATE for these rumors to get into the media and run rampant.  

Going to a local bar with a couple of Wild bros. Busting out my Fedorov jersey OH YEAH!!

 

These two teams usually play each other tough.

 

Hopefully we can get the 2 points tonight. *fingers crossed*

Fleury had a couple of decent years and one great one.  Typical NHL goalie, which is why you don't give long term contracts.  I'm not as much concerned with what Howard will make as I am how long the term is.  There is no benefit to locking players up for life.  It's okay to renegotiate contracts every few years.  You may get a steal going long term, but you're more likely to be saddled with a bum a few years out.  

not to stray away from the NHL but it wasn't mandatory in NASCAR to wear what's called the HANS device until they lost Dale Earnhardt in 2001.  Sure it was always an option and available, but drivers hated wearing it and drivers like Earnhardt and Tony Stewart among others refused to do so.  Even after his death the device met with a lot of resistance, but today there isn't a driver who would think twice about NOT wearing it.  NASCAR and US Motorsports just made it mandatory within all sanctioned stock events and the "kids" "grew up" using the device and now it is like second nature to them...even the old guys that were around before 2001 now have been wearing in for over a decade and it has become a part of their car, not just a cumbersome restraint system...

 

The same would happen with the NHL if they adopted the visor and Kevlar protection, it about 5 or so years, nobody would even think about what it was like without it...

who was it back in the early 90's that wore what looked like football shoulder pads with a protector that was behind his helmet? If I figure it out and find a picture, I will post it....I think he played for the Sabres, but am not sure....

I would say the injuries have been impactful, but by no means completely to blame. I thought going into the season this was maybe a 6-8 seed team if things went right. Needless to say, almost nothing outside of a couple players has gone well and now it appears just getting in at all will be quite challenging.

I think the biggest problem in relation to the injuries is the sheer number of them. A couple at a time you can maybe survive, but 7-9 guys out on average is unbelievable and would be tough to overcome for even more talented teams. For the Red Wings, it has completely put players in positions and roles where they don't belong.

Helm, Franzen and Smith are major losses IMO. With even just those three playing, I think it puts the Red Wings closer to in the playoffs than out. One of Bertuzzi or Samuelsson being healthy would be nice too since Babcock won't use Tatar in the top-six and either of those two is better than Cleary and Abdelkader. Granted, that's why you don't rely on multi-year contracts to spare part veterans to fill important roles.

Overall, I don't see the Red Wings making the playoffs without some good fortune in the health department very soon. Even if that's the case, I doubt they get out of the first round anyways. Being a borderline mediocre playoff team is the worst spot to be in the parity driven NHL. The Red Wings have a lot of work to do this summer/years ahead attempting to infuse some new talent onto the roster and creating an identity going forward.