swedishconnection

 

Someone can feel free to tweet this if they like...

 

 

 

 

NOOOOO!  BEEERRRRNNIIIEEEE!

That's what happens when your team sucks so bad for so long and you get all the top draft picks and can draft Kane, Toews, etc. Decades ago he says? Hm we won the cup not to many years ago and made the playoffs sense. Wasn't Chicago the team who sucked for decades? Didn't Chicago fans just start showing back up at the games in about 2007? Because If i remember right they couldn't give away tickets for a solid 10 years. Chicago band wagon fans please shut up and enjoy your 2-3 more years of being good before your team goes to crap for another 10 or 20 years while we win cups. Thanks

 

Just to be frank here - pot meet kettle.  The Wings went through the same drought period the same way the Hawks did.  How many sold out games were there at the Joe in the early 80s?  When we started winning over the last 20 years the butts came back to the seats.

 

Also, speaking as someone who grew up in a hockey-less Chicago during the 80's-90's, the games were NEVER EVER televised.  I didnt even know the Hawks existed.  All of my friends were Bears and Bulls fans and that is where loyalty ended.  When I moved to Michigan it was one of the greatest times of my life because all of the people around me took pity and showed me hockey.  This is why I am a wings fan.

 

I dislike the Chicago fans lack of knowledge - but there is a whole generation that has a good reason.  It is a good thing for the sport that people are picking it up in that market again.

Wings are used to the travel.  Are the Ducks?  I'd much rather play a team we won a season series against this year than Chicago, who is a powerhouse.

Remember all the times we were on the other end of this and most of us said "Dont pick your poison"?

I am all about keeping the streak - however it happens.  Take a look at our lineup all season... to me success was just getting in.

Not sure if this has been posted yet but here's Tootoo's first fight.  I hadn't seen it because I only caught the third period. 
 
What's with the refs jumping in so fast??
 
So far he's squaring up when he fights, bringing energy, hitting guys, no cheap stuff...   I'm coming around on Tootoo.

I am coming around a bit as well.  It has been tough the last 5-6 years, as some of the players that I hated most have joined the team (Bertuzzi, Drake, Tootoo).  The biggest thing that has impressed me is when he pulls up on dangerous hits.  Like tonight - he could have had a very dirty, from behind hit on the defenseman.  Instead of ending the guy's career he pulled up and skated right past him to stay in the play.  Love the energy- and I am even more glad the man is more than a mindless, headhunting, cheapshotting douchnozzle.  If he keeps this up during the remainder of his contract years, he will be more effective than some of our previous spark plugs.

As long as the Wings dont sign Jarkko Ruutuu or Matt Cooke I will be okay.

 
first of all 14 shots on net. Second, remember our 7-1 loss to the caps last year to end our 5 game winning streak that started the season, and sparked a 6 game losing streak? Of course you don't, because wings fans have terrible memories of when we play awful and put it out of their minds. That way every time they have a real bad game we can go OMG WERE DOOMED!!! I'VE NEVER SEEN THE WINGS PLAY THIS BAD EVER. Give me a break, every team plays like amateurs from time to time.

I understand your need to fire back with a generality towards people with the same sentiment as me, so I definitely do not take it personal.  However I have been on these boards since 2006 and have always had a positive outlook on the team.  I assumed (wrongly so) that since what I was saying was coming from someone with a proven track record of "glass half full" that it would carry with it inherently larger meaning.

My point is that I am not merely one of those "OMG" fans as you had put it, but that even a reasonable and even-keel Wing Nut like myself can look at the last effort and feel like there was nothing positive in it.  I do actually remember the losses you described, and I remember loosing a few in blowout fashion to Columbus over the years.  Still, even with those sores of hockey games - my original point remains - that I cannot seriously remember a game that was as poor as the last against St. Louis.

I agree with a previous poster regarding our passing - it was simply non-existent.  Had we been more on form the game may not have looked nearly as terrible, (yes that is a silly statement to make), but I recall several passes into skates or just out of reach that directly resulted in turnovers.  I really hope we have a better performance tonight.  Even if we dont - I will still be there and watching and cheering as best I can.

Guys one data point does not make a trend.  Wait until we have a few more games to judge the team. 

The main concern that I think most of us have is that the game vs St. Louis was probably the worst game from start to finish that we have seen.  I've seen bad games; Ive seen terrible periods; but never have I seen such a game where a puck-possession team never (NEVER!) had the puck more than 7 seconds.  Seriously, seven (7?) shots on net all game?  

This must be how Columbus fans felt in their first season in the league.  I am not going to jump off a cliff here, but I dont think I have ever seen a game where there was nothing positive to work off of.  I really hope we can use this as a giant wake up call.  I want to see the Wings turn it around.  What we saw the other night was the furthest thing from Red Wing hockey that I have seen in the last decade.

What makes you think Holland hasn't tried to package Franzen for Ryan/Nash or Yandle?  Franzen for Nash should be a pretty good staring point for Columbus considering that Franzen produces better points/game than Nash over the last two years and does it with less PP and ice time.

Oh, and Franzen makes almost half of what Nash does.

Wait, now I am confused.  Why are we looking to trade Franzen again?  I know that is all I have been hearing all summer - but according to this post Franzen is the better deal...

And all a Sharks fan has to do is come in and remind you that the Sharks have knocked the Wings out the two seasons prior to this year. The Sharks are actually closer to being an elite team again than the Wings are right now.

Thats a very arbitrary remark.  I look at it no different than Bab's assessment:  Two teams who lost a series 4-1 and are out of the playoffs in the first round.  Neither team should be considered an "elite" playoff team.  Their stars didnt play any better than our stars. Their bottom 2 lines played like ours.  I dont see to much difference between them.

I was pissed he didnt do it on the second goal just to stick it to Hartnell.  Whats the old addage?  ...The greatest form of respect is mockery?  Or something to that tune.

A lot of the things Filppula does on the ice doesn't show up on the score-sheet and he also is one of the few Wings who steps up his game significantly in the playoffs, but with that said a break out year is anywhere north of 50 points and I think he'll reach that mark this season.

This is exactly my thinking.  I am still not sure what has happened since we won the last cup, but our defense has been very suspect and it has nothing to do with Lids or his age.  Players like Fil that are versatile are the glue that holds the team together.  Where were the wings in terms of overall scoring compared to the rest of the league last year?  I can say with confidence that we had one of the most balanced attacks in the NHL.  That being said - we dont really need Fil to be that star player.  His personality suggests that he is comfortable being the excellent supporting player and team first guy.  If he's not that superstar, and the Wings dont need the offense, why force him to be someone that he's not?  Personally I love having a guy that can skate, backcheck, win faceoffs, play LW or C, and provide decent support.

I agree.

The past two seasons, especially last year, I questioned the teamwork of this club. It seemed like no one trusted anyone out there and it showed up in our GAA. You had some players trying to do to much and others not doing enough. Multiple times during intermission interviews did we hear about trust not being there, people trying to do other peoples job on the ice. A couple of games after we would see the Wings play as good as they can but after that back to the normal inconsistent untrusting teamwork.

On topic:
What is a "breakout year" for Fil in terms of points?
60+ points


How many points will Filppula score in 11-12?
45-50 points is my guess. The only thing stopping Flip from being a legit 2nd line scoring center is consistency.

This is what I was talking about.  I am not sure if it was just not knowing what their Defensive partner was going to do, or not expecting a pass, but something was a fraction of a second off.  With our rotating D last season no one had a chance to get into a groove and just play.  The D corps seemed to slow down their thinking a bit, and make the safe play off the boards to get it out.  That has NEVER been the best option in the Wings' system.  This is also partially due to the bad defensive positioning of some of our forwards coming back - not backchecking hard enough or being available for a pass.  Lids said it best; "I think we just need a bigger commitment to team defense.  We need to get back to that and it will help our game." <<<-- In my opinion that is where Fil can be a leader - backchecking and commitment to defense.

all justified ridicule aside guys, is it fair to say that Raffi Torres ruined Jason Williams career?

Only if you want to concede that Eaves's career was ruined by Armstrong.

Jason was nothing special up to that hit.  After the hit he was still nothing special.  Logic tells me that it didnt change anything.

I wonder what 10 teams Heatley didnt want to go to? I would have thought Minn would have been on that list.

1. Ottawa
2. Ottawa
3. Atlanta
4. Atlanta
5. Florida
6. Islanders
7. Phoenix
8. Winnipeg
9. Ottawa again
10. Atlanta again

Probably less than half the amount.


Also in the article...

The other thing to discuss is about the CBA and Revenue Sharing.  I was reading a blog the other day about how teams like the Panthers receive revenue sharing money (from teams like DET, MTL, TOR etc.)  And now in this market they are able to out-bid the same teams for players that both "small market" and "original 6" are vying for.

Doesnt make sense that they can be out-bidding us with OUR OWN MONEY, does it?  This is not to say that I am saddened by our inability to acquire the players mentioned - quite the opposite.

Well, Minnesota is cold and is not a contender.  The Sharks are definitely getting better with the addition of Burns and now with this trade (although Setogucci certainly will be missed).

I'd say that this worked out pretty Neatly for Havlat.

I see what you did there...

I was disappointed when he left, so I'd love to see him back. I will miss Ozzie though.

I totally feel the same way.  When ConkBlock left it stung a bit.  If he can get it through his head that hes a fantastic backup, but a below average starter then he may just be able to play hockey for a living and make decent money (compared to us on the internets...)