AIK'91

i'd hardly call toews overrated. He's a great captain and knows how to lead a team at such a young age. Im not saying he's comparable to Yzerman yet, but something about the kid is special. On the other hand, Kane is overrated and so is Keith. I'd love to see Toews win a cup someday, but not Kane.

I agree, Toews is a great player.  Obviously not on Yzerman-level, but good nonetheless.

However, Keith is definitely not overrated.  Underrated if anything.  He is simply one hell of a dynamic defenseman at both ends of the rink.  He has one of the quickest first few strides in the entire league to go along with terrific hockey sense.  

And Kane I hate. Enough said.

1. Mike Comrie won't sign that cheap.

2. Even if he did, he's not the kind of player I would want on "my team".

3. You forgot Draper.

4. Or conveniently made him disappear.

5. Despite all this talk about signing Asham, I think he's going to stay in Philly.  I mean, unless it's for a bigger payday (which won't come from us), why leave a team you've gone this deep with--a team with which you have a solid role already established.

6. Even if he hit the FA market--after these playoffs--he'll get more than $1M from some team.

7. We need a veteran defenseman to compete with Kindl.  If not Lilja, some other cheap veteran at least.

8. Lastly, how many FA-related threads have you created in the last 24 hours?

Gretzky must have been in Russia and saw Pavel play as a kid.

I don't like it. Although I mostly hate rap, so that might have something to do with it.

Just putting this out there though (as an observation, hopefully not a prejudiced statement)...of all the rappers, the NHL chose maybe the only prominent Caucasian one out there.    Now, obviously this isn't on purpose or anything.  But, inadvertently, the connotation doesn't exactly break any stereotypes about the league in general.  

In order to grow in the coming decades, the NHL has to do a much, much better job of getting minorities interested in hockey.  Surely this commercial will have virtually no impact either way, but I would think even if only a few people notice what I just did, that's not helping the league at all.

Now, Stevie's by far my favorite player of all time, ever since I was 3 years old.  And I have no qualms with still wearing his jersey around.

But, if you were to go to a Wings game next year, would you still wear #19 to the game even if you had the jersey of another current player?  I was just thinking this would be kind of awkward.  It would somewhat be like supporting another franchise while attending a Wings game.    

If it was anyone else who left the organization, I wouldn't even think about it--his jersey wouldn't be worn.  This case is different obviously.  In my mind, the Red Wings and Yzerman are still one and the same.  Since Yzerman's done so much for Detroit and Red Wings fans, I feel really bad for the fact that I'm even thinking about not wearing his jersey to a game.

Has this crossed anyone's mind at all though?


EDIT:  I guess it's too late to backtrack now.  I already screwed myself with this post.   

So I should probably just better explain what I was thinking at the time I posted this.  Of course, it's ridiculous to not wear Stevie's jersey.  He's done everything for this organization.  Like for a lot of people, he's maybe the main reason I love hockey so much.

For the longest time, I only had an Yzerman jersey.  And I still wore it often to games the past few years.  But I wore it less after he retired; not because I didn't have the same emotional attachment, but more so because I thought at games it would be better to support the players on the ice now.    

So, what I'm saying is, if on gameday, you had an option, would you now be slightly more inclined to wear a Datsyuk or Zetterberg instead, while obviously still having the same utmost respect for Stevie.

Possibility that Williams plays Game 5...?

If so, there is the very real possibility that Babcock is on drugs.  Seriously.

Ummm... I know there is an emotional attatchment to Nick Lidstrom, but Datsyuk is easily our best player.  Datsyuk is one of the top 3 players in this league, hands down.

Easily our best player?  With Zetterberg, he's not even necessarily our best forward every game. Sure, Pavel plays a flashy game and is absolutely phenomenal at both ends of the rink.  He's probably the league's most exciting player to watch, especially one-on-one.  

But, Nick quietly gets the job done.  He's the steadying influence of our team.  He shuts down the other team's best players and makes those crucial outlet passes (the key to our puck possession style and transition game for years now).  Also, there isn't another D-man better at holding the line.  It's just all the little things he does that make him night-in, night-out our best player.  Datsyuk would say so himself.  And so would Zetterberg, Yzerman, and Ken Holland, etc.

I admit though, for the first time ever, he has started to have the occasional bad game.  But in many respects, he's still the same Lidstrom we've seen for years.  The same Lidstrom that continues to be our best player.

Perhaps nobody else is admitting that Nick is our best player out of fear for having to ponder what this team will look like once he hangs 'em up.

What really gets me about him is the amount of times he goes offsides to kill a play. LEARN THE RULES DUMBASSS YOUR SUPPOSED TO BE A VETERAN! That being said at least he gives it 100% and he grinds it out. I think we have bigger problems then him.

Now, I don't want to pin any of this on one player.  Our team f***ed up.

But, regarding Ericcson...I'm 5'7'' and I think I could win a battle against him.  If it isn't after the whistle, that is.

Williams has to come out though .  I'm tired of seeing his attempts at playing ice hockey.  Brad May should be in the lineup.  He's known to bring intensity in the playoffs.  It's not like he's a liability; he can skate a regular shift and still be responsible defensively.

Realistically adding a 6-7 million center is easier to fit than a 9.5 million dollar winger.

Realistically we would never get either one of them.

Interestingly, all 8 seed numbers are now represented:

#1-3 (West)
#4 (East)
#5 (West)
#6-8 (East)

WTF, the pens playoff slogan are "Out for justice". What are they out for justice for?

Clearly, they realize there's no justice in this world.

I mean look at what Matt Cooke got away with on that hit to Marc Savard.

They've endured enough injustices through other teams' goals being waived off, playing with six skaters and having to take so many powerplays all the time.

Wow, can we say shut out?

Not anymore, you just jinxed it.

What a dive by McKee.

That's a disgrace to hockey.

Regardless of the extent of his injury, there's a good chance he'll be MIA come next week anyways.

With all our injuries this season, he should definitely have a shot at being nominated.  But I can't see anyone other than Dave Tippett winning it this year.

Besides, as Babcock says, the best coach in the league is the one that wins the Stanley Cup.  That almost makes the Jack Adams seem irrelevant.

I'm still pretty new here, so hopefully I'm not breaking an unwritten rule by creating a new topic--and a relatively irrelevant one at that.

Anyways, in the past few days of Spring-like weather, every time I step outside, my mind immediately races to playoff hockey.  Although we're obviously still battling for the playoffs this year, I was wondering if this happens to anyone else.

Walking around campus today, it's like I often almost automatically start thinking about when the next playoff game begins.  Then, of course, I realize it's only March.  However, this is the first time I have ever lived outside of the metro-Detroit area (I go to college near Chicago), and I sadly realized I won't have anyone to take in and enjoy each and every game with.  

I guess that's why I joined this forum.  To talk about hockey.  Maybe not with live people, but at least with people that share a passion for the game of hockey.  So I suppose what started out as a discussion about the correlation between the weather and playoff hockey has become an acknowledgment of our mutual bond.  Hockey is such a niche sport that there aren't many casual fans to discuss it with.  Before that used to bug me; but now, I can't say I mind much.  When you talk with a hockey fan, like on these forums, you know you're likely talking to a die-hard follower of the game.  That's why, to me, we're the greatest fans of the greatest sport in the world.  So, in essence, thanks.  Thanks for being hockey fans.  I look forward to discussing whatever the Wings hold in store for us from here on out.

(And now after rambling about nothing, I have to go back to studying for my final tomorrow)