MSMarine

Sigh... I'm no bashing anyone... I started my involvement in this thread by stating this wasn't any player, team... But lamenting the general acceptance of players now not playing sick/hurt. This is freaking hockey, after all, the damn warrior sport, and it's sad that it's now become as bad or even worse than other sports with regards to nursing.

no, that kinda makes my point, that you can play w/ a seperation. So then the only issue becomes relative importance of the game as the motivator to play/sit. On that note, you never know how important these games are. Each could be an elimination game as terminal to a season as SCF game 7 loss if we miss the playoffs come Apr. The points count the same in DEC as they do in MAR. And you are typically most contagious in passing on the flu in the 12 hours before you are syptomatic, so the damage Rafa could do has likely been done

I've seen this posted, but I think any ortho will tell you that a seperation is a seperation and that the degree really only refers to how much the initial displacement was and how long it will take to completely heal around it. Any tear or anything permanent changes the classification I'm not lauding myself, hell I said I didn't want to play and was made to...but other athletes, everyday people who do physical jobs while sick/ injured, and old school hockey players. Have I had the flu? Who hasn't?

seems most are taking issue with the seperation, and it I'd irritating to me because that is an issue I can relate to and I know how many athletes play through with them...but the flu was the catalyst.. You should get your balls clipped if the flu keeps you off the field... Bj Penn just won a MMA championship with the flu, Steve Young set Super Bowl passing records with the flu, there are just too many examples to list.

I'll buy that to a point, but the fact still remains you have modern examples in other sports.

I've thrown a football with a seperation, which has a greater range of motion than shooting a puck. What a seperation does it make it easier to seperate again until the surrounding tissue heals and the ligaments firm back up, but as long as the shoulder is in place there is no pain and no structural damage. Again, the best example is Emmit Smith against the Giants in 92, 27 carries (each time hitting 250 men at 15 mph and then hitting the ground with 600-700 pounds on top of you) after seperating his shoulder AND tearing a ligament, true longterm damage. Now that's old school hockey mentality there..

This will get me flamed, but I don't mean this as an indictment on our players as it applies to all teams it seems.... When did hockey players get so lame? Miss 4 weeks with a seperated shoulder? Ask Emmit Smith and any number of football players about not missing a quarter of a single game with that injury.. Hell, my HS coach told me I might as well sent the bench the rest of my JR year if I didn't play the next week with a seperation on my THROWING shoulder. Micheal Jordan played 43 minutes, hit 7 3's in one half and made a video replay of all time over Craig Ehlo with 103 fever and a full blown case of the flu...and it goes on and on.

It's not the best measurement by any means, but just too show a gross representation of how good Abs is at producing scoring chances and shots on goal, I picked a few guys and looked at their shots on goals and chances relative to their Time on Ice- Bertuzzi 16:36 TOI a game, 109 SOG....TOI 597:52, Average Min played per SOG- 5.48 Cleary 18:22 TOI a game, 69 SOG.....TOI 551:15 Average Min played per SOG- 7.98 Helm 14:34 TOI a game, 62 SOG......TOI 432.39 Average Min played per SOG- 6.97 Maltby 9:59 TOI a game, 26 SOG......TOI 279.53 Average Min played per SOG- 11.45 Abdelkader 10:45 TOI a game, 56 SOG TOI 354.57 Average Min played per SOG- 6.33 Obviously, the lower the number the better. What this shows is that Abdelkader is significantly better at putting the puck on goal than Cleary and Maltby, moderately better at doing so than his peer Helm, and not far behind Bertuzzi despite not having the benefit of playing with a creator like Dats and the Power play ice time Todd gets. These numbers aren't meant to suggest he is better than any of these players, only to indicate that he seems to have a nose for putting shots on goal. I think you will see him get better at finishing his chances as he gets more and more involved with the team and starts sharing the ice with some of the better players on a more consistent basis. And hell, scoring is only part of his game.

It's really only been mentioned once in the thread (the timely goal scoring of Mac), but I think that Abs has a bit of the "it" factor with him...something you really can't teach or predict. The guy just comes up huge in big games. I mean, damn...the National Championship winning goal with less than 20 seconds to play...two much needed insurance goals in the Stanley Cup Finals...all at the tender age of 22 or whatever the hell he is. The guy is going to be a major part of this franchise for a very long time, and is going to be spectacular in the playoffs throughout is career is my only real prediction on his behalf. He also does seem to have a good nose for the net, he has just seemed to barely miss out on a least 5-8 other great chances this season. With a little more seasoning in the NHL I think you'll see him get better and better at finishing, and along with his future increases in TOI I wouldn't be shocked for him to be a 25/60 point player one day. Wouldn't be shocked, at all. The guy is going to be somebody pretty special within the next 3-5 years.

I guess that is the key with Doc, you gotta like those sayings.. "roughed up for his troubles", etc

yeah, I guess I can see Doc as homerish, but I seldom watch the Devils.. When he is calling the playoffs he has always seemed very neutral, if not preferential to the Wings. It's pretty obvious he is a true historian of the game and recognizes that we have been the capital of hockey in it's recent history.

Doc Emrick is the High King of hockey announcers. To me, there is no comparison...though him calling game 7 has given me that unwanted memory and brought him down just a notch. Seriously, I think he is absolutely perfect...technical, accurate, and great humor and timely one liners to match a distinctive voice. I also like Gary Thorne, and miss the tandem of he and Clemment. A really good team that seemed to call alot of our memorable games on the old hockey night national broadcasts.

Lids is still an above average D, and I think he'll play 2-3 more seasons at a moderate discount. I don't know what Holland will do, but I do know this- we will sign a Hossa type free agent deal this offseason. This is still a top team- injuries notwithstanding-that is noticably a 35-40 goal offensive powerhouse from again being the best team in the league . Babs comment this week further illuminates managements internal thoughts on the team. Whatever happens, 6 Mil or so will be cleared and designated for a dynamic free agent. Bet the farm on it.

Lidstrom gets off the snide tonight. Detroit 3 (Lids, Z, Abs) Nash 2 Missing it due to a Christmas party, and when I don't watch they win.

First of all, want to say hey to everybody. I've followed this board about a year on a fairly regular basis. I'm a diehard Wings fan from MIssissippi, where I you grow up without the opportunity to ever grip a stick. Strange that I became a diehard fan of hockey in the first place, but that's a story in itself. Haven't felt like I could contribute much and haven't felt the need to post until today, and figured I bust right in starting a new thread with my thought. I'm not happy with the RESULTS of this season to date, as I'm sure is the sentiment of most. But I am optimistic because of the PLAY... I have seen 22-23 of the 30 so far and I'd wager the Wings are carrying the play 75 percent of the time... Sure we've laid some eggs (Hall of Fame game) but even with this depleted lineup I consistently see us controlling the game on most occassions, results notwithstanding. What this all means, to me at least, is our worry is premature. We are on a good run of bad luck both in the injury and goal department. That luck will turn and once we are back to full strength after the break we will again be one of the top teams in hockey.