Opie

Did Eva just compare a sure fire, first ballot hall of famer to Hudler, not Hudler to the HOFer, but the HOFer to Hudler?

Really?

C'mon man! Your man love for Hudler just got silly, just plain silly!

Ha ha ha, that is reeeeeee-DONK-ulous!

You definitely tried to be clever with the Detroit who comment and that backfired and that is what got Shoreline going.

But sure you were just commenting on a thread a Wings fan started.

I think Babs will alternate for a while and let the two of them sort it out.

Dave Tallon won a cup, I would consider it a success, was it a potentially dangerous way to do so yes, but he won Chicago a cup something that hadn't happened in a very long time! Many die hard fans probably appreciate that. I mean it is not like the are the leafs right now.
If he had not won a Cup it would have been worse, but look at the fan base he built for that team, bandwagon or not, die hard or not, Jersey sales are up, ticket sales are up, and they hoisted the cup.

Perfect example of the ends justifying the means!

What if I win the lottery tomorrow, what if after Howard sucks/gets hurt and Ozzie tears a groin, what if Howard went on to be a Calder candidate and help the team go from 9th to 5th, what if Howard gained valuable experience, what if Aliens landed on the planet tomorrow and had the best goaltender in the Universe who wanted to play for the Wings.

What if Babcock put in Ozzie for a 3 game stretch after the Olympics and he was as good as he was last regular season, the team loses 2 of the 3, Howard's confidence goes in the s***ter and the Wings finish 9th, how would you feel then?

What if, what if, what if, what if.

All I know is none of what you were/are worried about happened and like in almost all sports, a coaches decisions are almost always going to be seen as great or horrible, there is no middle ground any more, you appear to be offended or bothered whichever term you like the most, by Ozzie being sent to the pine.

Howard helped take this team to the playoffs and you are complaining about could have beens.

And even in the Sharks series I would have a hard time complaining about Howard's play, did he have a bad game, meh yeah but the special teams let the Wings down far more than Howard.

Look at the box scores from the playoffs and see how many teams needed to score 4 goals to win, so yeah he gave up three a game, he still had a better GAA then the cup winning goaltender.

Are you seriously still second guessing a decision that could not have worked out any better than it did?

Babcock in all of his delusions got this team to 5th place, 4th was completely out of the realm of possibility, there was no realistic way the Wings were catching the Yotes unless they lost all of their games after the Olympic break.

The way Babcock coached this team took them from 9th to 5th in a flash.

Say what you want about the situation and your personal feelings towards who you wanted to see in net, but his decision worked!

Plain and simple it worked, and all of you saying Osgood could have done the same as Howie are doing the same as those who say he couldn't, GUESSING!

None of us know if Ozzie would have been better or worse than Howard in that situation because he was not put in it. All we can go on is what happened.

Babcock had to weigh Ozzie's last two regular seasons vs what he was currently getting from Howard.

Now Howard COULD have collapsed and the team would have been stuck with a rusty goaltender but that is not what happened, and any other thoughts about the situation are conjecture.

Going from puck possession DET to dump and chase ANA definitely hurt his numbers.

Let him get 400 first please!

I don't like the idea of Ericsson being the vet on any pairing, I think it will hurt his development as well as the other member of the pairing.

A Hnidy or McKee adds a vet presence and a very solid D man, plus Hnidy is a tough SOB!

Let Smith play the year in GR, IMO!

Again the hope is Abby can step up and fill the third line role, where as Modano's skill and even last season's stats show he can fill the third line role.

Remember this time last offseason when Helm, Abby etc where going to replace the scoring lost by Hossa, Hudler, and Sammy.

How did that work out, banking on unknowns to provide what was lost?

This is the Detroit Red Wings, hoping on making the playoffs is not how things are done.

Hoping Abby can all of the sudden become a scorer at the NHL level is not what the Wings are in the Business of doing.

Modano is still a .5 ppg player, Abby is not.

A top pairing defenceman (in Colorado) and a current 3rd pairing defenceman in Detroit and going forward, a 2nd pairing on this team. Holland doesn't like the look of our depth on defence, well imagine a 3rd pairing of  Quincey and Ericsson and having Kindl as our 7th. Brilliant. So keeping Chelios was a mistake, whether you like to admit it or not. He was a mentor fine, but get him on the associate coaches staff to perform that role. On the ice he waa regularly a healthy scratch.


I do agree with most of this, but how about giving Ritola a full season to accurately measure if he's got solid 3rd line NHL potential before throwing him under a bus for 12 months of Modano? I hope you're right, I hope we trade Miller, keep Ritola as a 13/14th forward, but I'm not sure.

The Wings brass loves these golden oldies, guys who have achieved so much and want that last little bit more. How successful has it been? In recent years for Chelios at the expense of Quincey, and even the most biased Wings fans could see it wasn't worth it. We're about to repeat it, this time Modano for Ritola.

I am sorry I read the bolded part and forgot everything else you said, how successful has it been?

Where should I start, the last four years alone include 1 WCF, 2 SCF, 1 SC, and beyond that one of the most successful franchises in the history of the modern sports era.

That is how successful it has been. Players are willing to come to, or stay in Detroit for less money than they would anywhere else. This is the best franchise in sports for the last 20 years, 4 cups.

Again Quincey does not crack the top 4 in Detroit, and as a bottom pairing guy seeing 10-15 minutes a night as opposed to the 20 he saw in LA or COL his numbers drop dramatically.

When Lids retires, Holland signs another top 2 D-man, which Quincey is not, thus moving him down the list, he does not have the physical side to replace a Kronwall or Stuart. Maybe he could replace Ralf, but that would be a weak top 2, and the PP would suffer IMO.

He'll be traded before opening night! We're not going to carry 15 forwards. And yes, he would be claimed off waivers. Young, hard working skillful forward, on a dirt cheap THREE year contract.

Laughable that you'd want one year of Modano over say, 5+ years of Ritola. He's hardly an unknown btw, we did sign him for 3 years, obviously rate him. Taking that known commodity in Chelios over Quincey worked a treat didn't it.  

I am sorry how many cups did Quincey help the Wings win?

Cheli was a mentor as well as D-man.

And what exactly did the Wings lose in Quincey?

The Wings top 4 is solid, Quincey breaking into it would have taken an act of congress or a complete falling apart by Stuart or Kronwall.

Then look at his salary, how would the Wings have kept him with out sacrificing depth.

In order to keep Quincey the Wings would have to lose Kronwall or Flip.

Besides IF Modano is signed the Wings could easily trade the very affordable contract that they just gave Miller. Ritola could be the scratch, as Meech could also be traded.

And how do you know it is 5+ years of Ritola, bigger names have hit the NHL and busted, lesser names have hit the NHL and been huge stars, the odds are Ritola is some where in between and is an ok to decent 3rd liner, which in a year the Wings will have an abundance of that.

So Modano this year, Mursak next year, Tatar the year after, still with Abby, and Helm and you also want to keep Eaves and Miller, Plus Cleary, Bert, that is an awful lot of 3rd 4th line guys for him to compete with.

Maybe just maybe the Wings front office knows more about the situation than either or I, maybe just maybe.

And it is not that I want 1 year of Modano over 5 years of Ritola, it is that I want the proven over the crapshoot. Ritola may not even be in the league in 5 years.

This isn't a team with no prospects in the system.
Eaves is not a long term Wing, Tatar will be ready next season and Mursak just to name a few, what do you do then.
Eaves and Miller, and Modano for that matter, are not going to be long term wings. Nothing says Ritola is gone but if he is how is he any less of a gamble than Modano on the third line.

Because Ritola has proven what in the NHL?

Modano is still a .5 ppg player.

Forward depth is a good thing, very good thing in today's NHL.

I agree 1.5 is a lot for Modano, but what are the odds he produces more than or the same as Bert?

UK do you know what I read from your posts right now!

I put 40-50 because I think there will be an adjustment to the size of the ice surface.

I also think Hudler will feel a need to prove himself, to prove that he is still a Red Wing.

Not saying I feel he does, because I have no problem with him spending the year in the KHL, it was the only way he was not wearing another uni in the NHL.

I don't think he will jump right in and start scoring tons.

He will have new linemates which also takes an adjustment period.

I think next year is the year he puts up his best season in the NHL.

EDIT: Also the Wings are not the same team that he put up 57 points on, he will be relied on, counted on to score. Dan CLeary is not what he was 2 seasons ago (injuries or whatever facts are facts) Flip is better but I don't think they will be on the same line, though I think they should.

Probably the top guy on my list of wants for the D in Det.