livediehockey80

In order: 1997...The first Stanley Cup win in like 42 years. When Mike Vernon raised his arms after the final seconds, I screamed with tears of joy. Seeing Stevie Y hoist the Cup was an unforgettable moment. Guys like McCarty, Vladdy, Malts, and Draper came up big in that series. I was living in euphoria for a like week after the Cup victory. I felt like a "curse" was lifted from the franchise. 2008...The Wings proved that they can win in the salary cap era. They also proved that you can win with European hockey players. Lidstrom lifting the Cup was a huge deal for international hockey players. I have never seen the Wings play so well as a TEAM than this 2008 bunch. This is a tribute to the leadership of guys like Lidstrom but also great coaching by Mike Babcock. 2002...The uber-All Star team was expected to win the Stanley Cup and they delivered. It was great to see guys like Cheli, Hasek, and Robitaille get the Prize. Oh yeah and that horses ass named Brett Hull too. 1998...The Wings repeat with great contributions from Yzerman, Ozzy and Shanny. Seeing Vladdy on the ice in Washington was a special memory. By the way, the Red Wings are the last NHL team to have repeat Stanley Cup victories. The record is 10 years and counting.

Seriously, Pittsburgh is lucky to make it out of Game 5 with a win. Unfortunately, we had some meltdowns along the way tonight. Kronwell, Stuart and Ozzy had better get their s*** together for Game Six at the Igloo. Huds made a stupid penalty in the 3rd OT but that's in the past and we can't dwell on that. Hank, Malts, Filpy, Helm and Captain Lids worked their asses off tonight though. Too bad that their effort and RESULTS didn't translate into a win tonight.

Drunk and pissed off but tomorrow is another day. Albeit, a little hungover tomorrow! Can't wait for Game 6 on Wednesday!!!!

Great game by Marc-Andre Fleury. Seriously, the Pens players should kiss his ass for the next day. The Pens don't give up and they fight hard every shift. Nonetheless, I am still confident that the Wings will win the Stanley Cup. Oh yeah...some coaching hints for the Red Wings for Game 6: CRASH THE ******* NET Oh yeah, we out shot Pittsburgh like 2 to 1. BUT. BUT. Pittsburgh had much better scoring changes because their guys had plays in the crease. Evidence? Tablot's goal in the 3rd period with like 34 ******* seconds left in the game. Make plays in front of the net, guys. None of this shoot from 35 feet away s*** and hope that Fleury gives up a fat, juicy rebound. Get the puck in front of the net and let Homer, Mule, etc. put the damn puck into the net. If you have to set up plays from behind the net...do it! Hey, Babcock...CRASH...THE...NET...Have your guys feed the puck to the crease area. Spread that Pittsburgh defense and block Fleury's field of vision. My 96 year-old grandmother can stop those shots from like 35 feet away if there are no bodies in front. Fleury didn't break a sweat tonight after 53 shots on goal.

I can think of a few cities where Red Wings fans will have a hard time getting tix: Calgary Edmonton Montreal Toronto Ottawa Vancouver Philadelphia NY Rangers Other than those locations, members of the Red Wing Nation and the Michigan Diaspora represent pretty well. BTW...there's a reason why I listed every Canadian market. The Wings are not that popular north of the border. Respected but not well liked. Second, Canadians love their damn hockey and they will pay up for tickets--even if they are broke and starving. Third, I don't see many Michiganders getting work visas in Canada. Plus in America, people have a myriad of sports entertainment options during the fall and winter months. Philly and New York sports fans are the most passionate about their local teams. Wings fans would typically get a very rude welcome. A few F bombs directed at you, a beer bath, sexual accosting of your girlfriend/wife and physical threats will prevent any Wings fan from entering Wachovia Center or MSG. Trust me, you won't see much Red or Winged Wheel jerseys in Philly or NYC. And Philly is worse than NYC! I always tell East Coast Wings fans to visit safer locations such as the Washington Capitals, Carolina Hurricanes, Pittsburgh Penguins, or New Jersey (relatively speaking).

Here is the question: is it the talent on the ice or is it the "System"? There has to be "system" in place because the roster between the 1990s and now are almost completely different (exceptions to Draper, Maltby, Holmstrom and Lidstrom). Yet, the Wings keep piling up wins in the regular season. The "System" argument means that you can plug any half-decent player into the Red Wings system and he will be a productive player. Look at Dan Cleary. Do you really think he would be a good point machine if he played in Toronto or with Columbus for example? Mikael Samuelsson is another example. Frankly, he was a mediocre forward before he came to Detroit and I was surprised that Kenny wanted him. I could throw in Johan Franzen as another example. There was the "left-wing lock" system during Scotty Bowman's reign here. Is Babcock using the exact system or does he have a hybrid system in place? I think Babs puts more emphasis on defensive play than Bowman. Anyway, the transition from Bowman to Lewis to Babcock was the most SEAMLESS, successful example in recent NHL history. The "System" even trumps the coaches themselves. The "System" will continue after coaches and players move on. When Lidstrom retires, I think the team will suffer in the standings because the guy is that talented. However, I think the Wings will continue to roll with winning season for many years. The Red Wings winning "streak" from the early 1990s to 2007-08 (and beyond) is one of the greatest achievements in all professional sports. If the Wings had three or four more Stanley Cups during this era, we would be comparing Detroit to the Canadiens, Celtics, or NY Yankees.

Kansas City Thrashers Las Vegas Thrashers Utah Thrashers Hmmm...any one of these names has a nice ring to it. Say good-bye to hockey in Atlanta (AGAIN and hopefully forever). Hmmm...Detroit Red Wings getting moved to the Northeast Division sounds down right awesome.

In my opinion, the biggest reason for the ticket sale drop off is the local economy. Michigan is going through a terrible period with layoffs at the white-collar and blue-collar level. Few people have disposable incomes to blow on season tickets...let alone a single game ticket. Illitch made one big strategic blunder: he didn't adjust his ticket prices after the lock out. He really thought that fans would pay ANYTHING to see the high-flying Wings kick ass in the league. Reality check for Mr. Illitch, when people are saving money because they are un-employed or facing possible pink-slips, the last thing they will do is splurge on hockey tickets. The Red Wings should have offer more price incentives for fans to fill the seats at the JOE. What kills me is that I live in Washington, DC. We have had the hottest economy in the nation...thanks to out-of-control federal government spending on defense and homeland security contracts. High-skilled, good-paying jobs are so plentiful here that you can quit your job one day and get a new job offer (with a higher salary and benefits) the following day. Per capita wise next to NYC and SF Bay area, the Washington, DC area has the most affluent population in the country. Yet, no one visits Capitals home games. There are so many empty seats at the Verizon Center because no one really cares about hockey in DC. If people in DC had the passion of Red Wings fans, the arena would be sold out every night.

If there was any justice in the NHL...there would be some serious relocation of franchises. Hamilton Predators Winnipeg Thrashers (Renamed as the Jets if the Coyotes surrender copyrights to name and logo). So Long Atlanta. Wisconsin Panthers (Home games played in Milwaukee) Panthers are not native to the Wisconsin region...perhaps call them the Wisconsin Lakers, Bull Moose, or Warriors. I don't know. The Panthers need to leave Miami. Quebec Coyotes. (Renamed Nordiques if the Avalanche surrender copyrights to name and logo). Bye Phoenix. Salt Lake City Capitals. (Since SLC is the capital of Utah...the name can stay). Bye Washington, DC. New Division Re-alignments: EASTERN CONFERENCE: Atlantic Division Boston Bruins Carolina Hurricanes New Jersey Devils New York Islanders New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Pittsburgh Penguins Tampa Bay Lightning Northeast Division Buffalo Sabres Columbus Blue Jackets Hamilton Predators Montreal Canadians Ottawa Senators Quebec City NHL Team Toronto Maple Leafs WESTERN CONFERENCE Midwest Division Chicago Black Hawks Dallas Stars Detroit Red Wings Minnesota Wild St. Louis Blues Winnipeg NHL Team Wisconsin NHL Team Pacific Coast Division Anaheim Ducks Calgary Flames Colorado Avalanche Edmonton Oilers Los Angeles Kings Salt Lake City NHL Team San Jose Sharks Vancouver Canucks

My money is on either the Florida Panthers or Chicago Black Hawks.

For now on, only the following teams are allowed to play in the Stanley Cup Finals: Detroit Red Wings Toronto Maple Leafs Montreal Canadiens New York Rangers Philadelphia Flyers Colorado Avalanche Boston Bruins If you were going by fan following.

The Ducks have a dismal number for their fan base. Pathetic. Red Wings fans are more numerous, that's for sure. Take heart though Ducks fans: You can take solace in knowing that Detroit is the biggest, most depressing s***hole city in the entire country. At least SoCal people aren't getting pink slips and home foreclosures like every two seconds. The pure definition of urban blight=Detroit, Michigan. Moving trucks out of Michigan are still out-pacing California's like 2 to 1.

The Ducks are instant Stanley Cup favorites for 2008 (assuming they re-sign Giguere). Who will compete with Anaheim? Red Wings, of course. I think Avalanche are poised to make some serious noise in the West next year. Those mother#*#@ers! The Preds will be in the hunt. The Sharks will be tough again, next year. The Canucks will be good. If they get a quality forward, they will be better. I think age will finally catch up to the Stars and you will see the decline in Dallas. Don't be surprised if the St. Louis Blues sneak into the 8th seed next year.

Expansion is not going to happen. In a perfect world: Panthers would move from Florida to Kansas City. Predators move to Winnipeg. Thrashers move to Las Vegas. Oooooh...the Wings are so moving Eastbound. I will get struck by lightning twice and win the Powerball Lotto before this ever happens.

Congratulations to Anaheim. God...it must really suck to be a Los Angeles Kings fan right now. Zero Stanley Cups since 1967 and your neighbors in the OC gets Lord Stanley in 14 years. One of these days, a historic NHL team will win the Stanley Cup. I can't imagine what a victory parade in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Buffalo, Philadephia or in New York (for the Rangers) would be like. I thought the crowd in Ottawa was ten times louder than Anaheim. THE BETTER TEAM WON AND THE BETTER FANS LOST. All well...the NHL doesn't award Cups to fans after all.