Twig on the Wings

Welcome to our world...

2010-06-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

So I hear the World Cup has some crappy refs. Sorry to hear that. Well, I've taken the time to piece together some examples of why we feel your pain. Since this is a Red Wings blog, the pieces are numerous. I'll give a brief explanation if one is needed, but basically, these are perfectly clean goals being waived off because the ref either claimed to have lost sight of the puck for a short time, or because of phantom interference.

The most famous disallowed goal would be Hossa's goal in Game 3 of the second round of the playoffs. Rather than tying the game and having a shot at OT, the Wings lost and it took 7 games to beat the ducks rather than possibly 5. A lot of injuries occurred in those extra two games against the thuggish Ducks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9gkrh9NE5E&feature=fvw

Another important playoff goal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyBwtgmyTUQ

And here's one from the Stanley Cup Finals:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LO_hW_4F4Y&feature=PlayList&p=AA70A70FD269CC59&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=4

Important thing to remember is the ref is claiming that the goalie was unable to make a save because the Red Wings was hanging all over them. Being in the crease is legal. Touching the goalie is legal. Knocking the goalie over is not legal, nor did it happen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO3_MHvYrLU&feature=PlayList&p=AA70A70FD269CC59&playnext_from=PL&index=2&playnext=5

Note how even the impartial announcers say it's a bad call:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7qTMC7B8Js

Whether this one is legal or not, you gotta love the crowd's reaction. It's obvious how tired Red Wings fans are of goals being called back:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcoCL7MZlNY

This one still has Red Wings fans pulling our hair out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v0HSV6yIYQ&feature=PlayList&p=AA70A70FD269CC59&playnext_from=PL&index=1&playnext=4

And here's Babbles' post game reaction:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKJaZ5avKtQ

Now, sometimes controversial goals count. Like when the puck goes in even though it had just gone out of play or was clearly, CLEARLY batted in with the player's glove. But those goals occurred against the Wings. What was the reaction in the NHL War Room in Toronto after those goals were scored?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9sRAlGnHYQ&feature=pyv

Thought so.

We feel your pain, World Cup fans. But if these clips are any indicator, instant replay will not solve your problems. Stupidity and corruption trump logic. Sorry.

Keep planning that parade...

2010-05-10T19:13:00.001-07:00

After 8 wins, the Sharts fans are congratulating each other and planning sleep-overs, picnics on the beach and parades. Way to go. Nothing like jynxing yourselves half way to your goal.

Think you'll get all those power plays against the Hawks (assuming they close out Vancouver)? Think Murray will be aloud to blind-side Kane while your sally little team skates away with the puck?

el. oh. el.

No. Having every possible break and still getting outscored in a series and still moving on is a step forward (I guess), but the Sharts are still the Sharts.

But hey! You beat the Red Wings! That's worth some kind of banner, right? Whatever helps you catch up to this:

Good luck with that...

2009-10 Review: The Forwards

2010-04-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

Though I have basically tossed this blog to the gutter because I really hate writing about the Wings when they lose, I still wanted to keep it up and running so I can at least prove how smart I am when I compare the season preview to the season review. Just before the season began, I wrote what I was hoping for from each player. I do believe I fell short on quite a few offensive predictions, but whatever. Let's get this rolling:

Abdelkader:
If Abby gets 15 goals this year, that's great, but I'm expecting between 5-10 goals. Abby's value to the team will be based on his +/- rating. A rating of +10 would mean he's had an amazing season, but I'm guessing he'll break even.

Abby wasn't quite ready for the big league, but he will be soon enough. He looked great in the games I saw him play in Houston. 3G, 3A -11.

Bertuzzi:
I'll be happy with 15 because of his low salary, but we need him to score 20. What I don't want to see is dumb penalties.

Called it. 18G, 26A and 80PiM, mostly for offensive zone hooks and holds with 2 minutes left in regulation and a 1 goal game. Still, 1.5 million? Sold!

Cleary:
Dear Dan Cleary,

Since Detroit lost roughly 80 goals worth of offense over the summer, your fans would greatly appreciate it if you could score 20 goals or more and have a +/- of about +20 or so. Wings fans want to see the 2008 Cleary. Please leave the 2009 version in Newfoundland.

Sincerely,
Some Guy

Mainly due to injury, he fell short of the 20 goal request, but he really broke my heart at -3. I know he could have done better. So does he. 15G, 19A -3

Datsyuk:
Keep doing your thing, Pav. Another season of 30 goals, 65 assists and a +40 rating is all we ask of you. Shouldn't be an issue for the best player in hockey, right?

27G, 43A, and a +17 rating. Not bad on the goals, but the assists had a lot to do with all the injuries his teammates suffered. If Mule didn't hurt his knee, he would have had more.

Draper:
This year, the only stat I'll be looking at is his +/-. He's been a combined -15 the last two seasons, so some improvement in that category is in order. At 38 and on the 3rd or 4th line, I'm hoping for +1, but even -5 will be acceptable if he continues to be the best faceoff man in the NHL.

He finished -2 with 7G and 15A. And of course, Babbles put him on the wing so he didn't really take faceoffs anyways.

Filppula:
This season could be a real money-maker for Flip. With 80 goals worth of offense gone, Filppula could get his name out there if he gets anything in the area of 25+. In the end, I'm hoping for 20 goals and 30 assists as well as a +10 or better.

Is it just me or do I suck at predicting +/-? He finished with a -4 rating and 11G, 24A in just 55 games. Blasted injuries! He looked great (and I'm not talking about his hair) before he got hurt.

Franzen:
If Franzen has a 40G season up his sleeve, this would be the year to pull it out. 40G, 30A and a +/- of whatever is what I'm looking for from the Mule.

He only got to play in 27 games, yet he still scored 10 goals and added 11 assists. That's on pace for 30+, not the 40 I was hoping for, but coming back from a torn ACL or MCL or whatever it was, it's still a great stat. I expect fire for the playoffs.

Helm:
This season, look for him to score between 10-15 goals. His regular season +/- is a bit lacking, but when you don't score much, it may seem worse than it is.

11G, 13A, -2. Not bad at all. Great year for Helmer.

Holmstrom:
Homer can still score 30 goals in a season if he's healthy and plays on the right line. Really, the only thing Holmstrom needs help with is out of his hands. No one else in the entire league takes more punishment than Holmstrom. I'm not sure why other players are allowed to give such cheap and dirty hits while the Ref turns a blind eye, only to call a penalty on Holmstrom when he's finally had enough and pushes back. It's really pitiful.

25G, 20A (despite missing 14 games due to injury) and zero help from the refs. Called it!

Leino:
Leino has great hands, but he's not very big. If he can survive an entire season without injury, he can score 20-25 goals. Leino is the guy who teams forget about when they're trying to figure out how to shutdown Datsyuk and Zetterberg. He brings depth to your lineup.

Didn't call it! I was so far off on Leino, but so was the Red Wings front office! He has been sent to Philly in exchange for... a guy who's name escapes me. Still, if Leino doesn't improve drastically, I'd say we made out like bandits.

Maltby:
Malts will always be a fan favorite, but he's nearing the end of his career. He's really not a threat to score and he doesn't kill penalties like he used to, though he still has a place as a mentor for guys like Helmer and Apple-Gator. Look for Malts to be a healthy scratch from time to time this season. I only hope that when he does retire, he retires a Red Wing.

Pretty much called it, but it was hard to be a healthy scratch when guys were dropping like flies all year.

Williams:
Depth scoring and staying healthy will be the key to success for Willy. I'm willing to bet that he'll be on the power play quite a bit, so 20 goals is not a stretch. Considering his paycheck, 15 goals or more would be perfect.

Thanks, injury bug, for making me look extra dumb on this one! Had he not missed half the year with a broken leg, Williams would have probably been in the 10-15G range, which is what I was hoping for.

Zetterberg:
Hank's numbers dropped a bit last season, but I'm not the least bit worried about that because his shooting percentage changed very little. He just needs to shoot more this season. The more Zetterberg shoots, the more he scores, the more we win. A lot has to do with whoever he plays with, of course. If it's Pavel Datsyuk, he can score 45+ goals, but if it's someone else, he'll probably net 35.

I blame injuries! Again... He was 4th in the league in shots taken, but only scored 23. I blame injuries!

Well there you go. How did I do? Seemed that most of the guys that stayed healthy were on the money, but not all (Leino). I guess I won't be giving up my day job, then. At least not to become a full-time basement-dweller.

Red Wings 3, Sabres 2 OT

2010-03-14T07:22:00.001-07:00

Wings won in OT? I know... I was shocked, too. Aside from a sloppy 10 minutes in the second, I saw something I have not noticed in a long time: Puck possession. Even when a Sabres player had the puck and tried to enter the zone, the Wings were ready and took the puck right back.

9 straight games with a PP goal. 10 games since Franzen has been back. Oh what could have been.

Screw you, NBC and VS

2010-02-18T22:37:00.000-08:00

I've pretty much hit the end of my rope. "But Twig, the NHL is on a break. What happened that set you off?" I'll tell you: The NHL is on a break, but the agenda is not.

"Rafalski shoots, he scores! Brian Rafalski, who of course plays for the Detroit Red Wings who lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals last year..."

Was it absolutely 100% necessary to remind us all what happened last year? Believe me, I will never forget. If that cup was removed from the record books and mentioning it was punishable by death, I would still see that little punk with his meat hooks on our cup on our ice cheesing for the camera like he FINALLY got a date for the prom. Screw you, Rosby.

I know why you do it. You want to inform all the hockey fans that quit watching because the Red Wings domination made hockey boring. You want them to know that it's OK to be a fan again because the great red beast has been vanquished! Screw you, NBC. Don't forget, all they did was even the score.

Or maybe it's because Little Gary insisted that you stick to your scripts? All things Pittsburgh, amazing. All things Red Wings, old, slow, sad, broken, uninspired and pathetic. Close? Tin Foil Hat? Already planted securely on the top of my head.

VS! Screw you, too! That game against St. Louis... You know it. We know it. Biased. The best way to describe what we were watching was FS Midwest. I can handle watching other teams announcers. I expect them to be biased. What I can't stand is when you sorry morons pretend to be impartial. Just say it from the beginning. "Folks, we're supposed to be impartial, but if you're a fan of the Detroit Red Wings and the vast majority of you watching probably are, you're not going to be happy tonight because we're going to trash your team every chance we get."

Hey Gary! Want to actually make some money with this "league" and get some people interested in the sport? Sign on with a network that does NOT have Pierre McGuire on their payroll. That "man" can not let go when he falls for someone. Big save by a young goalie? He starts to get all hot and bothered. Great pass by a rookie? Goosebumps.

Chris from NOHS said it pretty good today when he said that he used to look forward to games on network TV. I remember those days too. I remember thinking "So many people are watching this game and seeing such great hockey for the first time all year and here I get to see this all the time!" Kind of like being the first kid to play the latest Nintendo game (Yup, I'm an 80's kid) and all your friends at school are jealous. It was the same feeling for me. Now? Dread. Why? I'm embarrassed. And it's not because they're struggling. Heck, most of the games they have played on VS and NBC have been great games even though they tend to lose them. It's because I have to listen to you douche bags tell me what you think of my heroes. Well, screw you!

NBC and VS, you are hereby boycotted. Oh, I'm gonna watch. I'm just gonna use some sort of feed online or the radio. I will also be boycotting all of your sponsors, unless one of them happens to be Kellogg's or something else Michigan related. Don't like Kellogg's? Well, screw you!

Little Gary is ruining hockey and you're helping. You have gone too far.

Wings 3, Puppies 2

2009-12-14T18:58:00.001-08:00

A regulation win. Ericsson got hurt early in this one and it didn't look good. Still, Newbury with his first as a Red Wing, Meech with the game winner and is it just me or did Eaves look a bit like Brett Hull out there? He scored 20 before...

Just sayin.

PK was good. I love seeing hustle and blocked shots on the PK.

PP was good. Even though the Wings didn't score, they had pressure and chances. In the long run, I'd rather they go 0-4 and look good doing it, than go 1-4 because of a lucky bounce after playing uninspired.

Jimmy Howard was good. I'm starting to like him as a goalie.

Notice a theme? It was a good game. Not great, but good enough to get the job done. Now let's just hope for a miracle so we can have Ericsson in the lineup.

Wings vs Puppies

2009-12-14T15:37:00.001-08:00

Big game tonight. Let's see how long Bert can keep this up. 4 goals in 2 games. 2 OT winners. Franzen-like. I won't get ahead of myself, but yeah... Franzen-like...

Bandwagon

2009-12-14T11:32:00.000-08:00

I remember not all that long ago when being a Red Wings fan automatically meant you were a bandwagon-fan. Who knows, maybe it still does, but the fans of Detroit are witnessing something we have not seen in years. The season is almost half over and the Wings are fighting for a playoff spot.

Yet, Detroit is still in the top 10 in average attendance. 6th at home, 8th on the road which means all those Red Wings fans in Phoenix and Nashville that are supposedly only fans because they win a lot, are still watching games even though Detroit is struggling.

I also remember 2004. Back then, you couldn't find a Penguins fan unless you went to Mellon Arena itself during a game and found a few true fans in a Jagr or Francis jersey. Now? Stupid hockey blogs all over the net are crawling with "fans" who swear up and down that they have been Penguin fans since the 80's and they say so in ALL CAPS so it must be true...

Chicago fans are no different. 2006 and 2007, they were 29th in the league in attendance. 2008? Word spreads that they have a couple nice draft picks and they bump up to 19th. 2009, they mistakenly believed they could beat Detroit and soared to #1.

I don't necessarily mean to attack fan bases, I just want to know where attendance would be with other teams if their entire second and third line was on the IR list. If a fourth line forward who should probably be in the AHL is on their teams second PP unit.

They'd be 29th in the league in attendance, that's where.

Thanks, D-Mac.

2009-12-07T19:04:00.001-08:00

Where were problems like this one when I was in school?

2009-12-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

Maybe I wouldn't have hated school so much if math class involved Red Wings equations. This was in a comment in A2Y today:

Anybody + Anybody + Bertuzzi = Anybody + Anybody + Turd

Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 12/07/09 at 11:39 AM ET
I believe this problem is more complicated than simply algebra. You see, your equation gives,

Anybody + Anybody + Bertuzzi - Anybody - Anybody = Turd

The Anybodies cancel, leaving us with

Bertuzzi = Turd

However, I do not think this adequately explains the true reason for Bertuzzi’s play. I believe the real character of this quandary can be expressed as a derivative.

Let us write our original equation as f(x) = Bertuzzi(x), where x = that element which made Bertuzzi such a valuable player early in his career and f(x) represents his total on-ice effectiveness.

The following equation represents a certain key moment in his career, where x was subject to an exponential increase in intensity and an additional constant was added to the equation, with disastrous results.

g(x) = Bertuzzi(x)^2 + Moore(x)

From this point onward, the Moore constant never leaves the equation.

To account for Bertuzzi’s change in play, we must take the derivative of g(x) and subtract it from the original equation.

g’(x) = 2Bertuzzi(x) + Moore

Subtracting from f(x), our new equation for the play of Todd Bertuzzi is written

h(x) = Bertuzzi(x) - (2Bertuzzi(x) + Moore)

As you can see, h(x) > f(x).

Integration will be required to completely understand the behavior of h(x), but first we must re-write it as a function of time. This requires a lengthy digression into various obscure realms of mathematics, including differential equations, the specifics of which are too complex to adequately explain here. Suffice to say that our new equation is,

j(t) = Bertuzzi/(t)

Integrating the foregoing, we have

∫Bertuzzi/(t)dx, with endpoints at 0 and 15, representing each year Bertuzzi has played in the NHL.

The antiderivative of j(x) is Bertuzzi(ln(|t|). Evaluating this equation at both end points gives us

Bertuzzi(ln|0|) = promising rookie

Bertuzzi(ln|15|) = poopie

Subtracting the equation left endpoint from the right, we have a total area of

promising rookie - poopie = suck

As you can see, the relationship between time, x, and suck become quite clear once we’ve applied the proper mathematical model. Some corrective is clearly required, and given the comparatively high value of the “poopie” term, I suggest an elephant laxative, or failing that, a hefty meal from a badly-maintained Taco Bell.

It’s the only way.

Posted by Quarkstar from Out there on 12/07/09 at 02:09 PM ET

Now, I personally think Bert has improved a lot over the past few games and is earning his $1.5 million, but that doesn't mean this isn't funny.

Where I've been...

2009-10-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

It's been tough writing about what's wrong with my favorite team. I still watch every game, but the Wings are under siege from the media right now because of their slow start and I'm a little tired of trying to think of reasons why they're wrong. Until I get my motivation back, check this blog out: http://animaldrew.blogspot.com/.

Nightmare on Helm Street. It's a great blog that is updated constantly by Animal Drew and Chris. Both play hockey, which automatically makes them smarter than anyone on ESPN, but Chris is 'a stupid goalie'.

Anyways, that's where I've been hanging around.

Avs 4, Wings 3 SO

2009-10-17T18:42:00.000-07:00

Up 2-0 to start the 3rd period, Detroit managed to lose a point. Lots of chances to finish it off, including Hank's point blank shot that was stopped and the double minor, but it wasn't meant to be. Osgood looked great until the shootout. Bertuzzi was very good, Hank was awesome and the Leino, Filpulla, Williams line was jumping. Abdelkader got his first goal. Duchene, the 3rd overall pick this year, got his first career goal for Colorado.

Good to get a point, but terrible to blow a 2 goal lead for the 3rd time this season in just 7 games. Yes, we could easily be 6-1. Hope the younger guys are learning that you can't let off the gas in the third.

Pavel should be back the next game, which is Thursday at Phoenix.

Red Wings 5, Kings 2

2009-10-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

MUCH better effort tonight from Detroit, though it took 25 minutes for it to happen. PK was very good, Ozzie was great and our offense looked like it's supposed to. No Pavel? No problem; at least in this game. Bertuzzi looks more and more comfortable in a Detroit uniform, picking up an assist on a goal by Maltby. Zetterberg got his first goal of the season, Abdelkader got his first career point with an assist on the first goal by Ericsson and Lidstrom picked up 2 assists, giving him 1,000 points. He's only the second Swedish player (first defenseman) to achieve that milestone, the fourth Red Wing.

I wish more games could be like this one, but sometimes I'm not sure which team is showing up to play.

Red Wings 2, Sabres 6

2009-10-13T17:46:00.000-07:00

Terrible all around. Ozzie wasn't good, but what could he do? Buffalo had their way around the net. Miller was good, but he didn't really have to be. Detroit had few great chances. Where are Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Bertuzzi? Sure, they got into the Sabres' zone a few times, but few good chances. Filppula seemed somewhat interested in winning, but that's not enough. After 2 periods, everyone on Detroit had at least a -1. Lidstrom and Ericsson were -2 after 2 periods.

Having Franzen in the lineup would not have mattered. Osgood got hung out to dry in the second.

Hopefully, this is the worst game I see all year.

Wings 3, Caps 2

2009-10-10T19:50:00.000-07:00

This was a great game to watch! Detroit looked like they did in 2008. Datsyuk was all over Ovie tonight and Osgood was great when he needed to be (except for the first goal). Ovechkin, Semin and Backstrom were the three top scorers in the NHL coming into this game and only Ovie got on the board with an assist.

Datsyuk looked great, Bertuzzi looked a lot better playing on a line with Pav and Z, Filppula was physical and the PK was great despite a bad break on the one goal it allowed.

If Detroit can play this way all year, they can win the Central.

Muskegon Lumberjacks Jersey... why the Pens?

2009-10-10T08:31:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled when Muskegon changed their name from the Fury back to the Lumberjacks in honor of the team that used to play in the LC Walker Arena. I was instantly in the market for a jersey, but when I clicked on the Jersey, I couldn't help but notice something:

It was one of the Penguins old jerseys.

Now, I understand that most minor league teams just take a NHL jersey and slap their own logo on it and call it good, but the Detroit Red Wings fans are in a bit of a feud with the Pens right now and I would guess that I'm not alone in my feelings that I don't want to wear something that someone might mistake for a Pens jersey. Take yourself back to 1996 and pretend the Fury changed their colors and took on the Avalanche jersey and tell me how many you would buy.

The Lumberjacks did wear a third jersey for a few games last December, but they only sold those actual jerseys worn in the game in an auction. That's fine; minor league teams do that all the time. Heck, Ilitch probably makes a killing selling the Red Wings old jockstraps at Hockeytown Authentics, so why not? Well, they're a smaller market that only reaches West Michigan, so it's probably not cost-effective to mass produce a third jersey. But why not just ripoff another NHL team with similar colors? The Boston Bruins have similar colors. Close enough for a third jersey, anyways.

I love my local minor league team and will support them no matter what their colors are or what their jersey looks like, but unless they make a change in the future, I'll just stick with a hoodie.

Franzen out 4 months with torn ACL

2009-10-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

Not really much to say about this other than try to look on the bright side:

This is going to give Abdelkader and other younger players the chance to shine. Also, if your team is going to be plagued by injuries, October is the month to get it over with.

Get well soon, Mule.

Red Wings 3, Blackhawks 2

2009-10-08T19:28:00.000-07:00

Not a bad first win of the season for the Wings. PK looked much better, though still not perfect. Powerplay was good. Osgood was awesome in the first period, keeping Chicago off the board after they carried the majority of the play. He made the big saves that Detroit needed him to make, including a breakaway chance by Madden in the third. With a SV% of .941, he was the first star of the night.

Patrick Sharp got the Hawks on the board first with a goal at 1:23 of the second period. Detroit responded on the power play when Lidstrom's pass hit off of Madden's skate and went in the net at 10:36 of the second. Then at 16:15, Draper took a pass from Maltby and beat Huet top shelf to make it 2-1. Franzen made it 3-1 at 17:49 when he tapped Datsyuk's shot past the goal line, on the power play.

The third period got a bit scary as the Hawks out shot the Wings 15-4 and made it 3-2 at 10:24 with Versteeg scoring on the power play. Detroit was much lazier and sloppier in the third as they seemed to assume they had the game in the bag already. They've led by 2 goals in every game so far this year and have only one win, so that will need to be addressed.

Brad May fought Radek Smolenak and beat him pretty good. Way to make your presence known, Brad.

Speaking of Brad... Brad Stuart put a hurtin on quite a few Blackhawk players tonight, including Tomas Kopecky. I would say that he was Detroit's third star tonight. He was great on the PK, physical and disciplined.

Lebda sat out after taking a heavy hit in Sweden, giving Derek Meech his first action of the year. Meech was +1 in 11:20 of ice time.

Ericsson left the game in the third after blocking a shot with his ankle, again, so hopefully he's alright.

Williams was very good tonight, even on the power play. He was fast and created quite a few chances with his speed. I didn't care for his slash that led to the third period goal, but he had an assist on Lidstrom's goal.

Bertuzzi seems bored and lazy at times. He's huge, yet any contact against him and he falls to the ice and stays there lazily poking at the puck until it's too far away. I think he'll contribute as the year goes on, but he's going to have to look alive pretty soon.

Should be a good game on Saturday against the Caps!

Red Wings sign Brad May

2009-10-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

After his tryout during the preseason, I lost track of Brad May and assumed he was let go, but apparently not. Detroit signed him for one year at $500,000. Now, I assumed that the Wings would sign Cloutier if they had any cap space left, but Holland must be confident that either Osgood and Howard can do the job, or that Cloutier could not. Now, I'm not a bettin man, but if I were, I'd put my money on the latter.

ESPN actually covered this today and, for the first time in ages, did a better job than CBS in covering the story. (Of course, they managed to misspell 'Detroit' in the headline. Detriot? Spell-check much??) Anyways, they have a quote from coach Babs saying: "It was pretty interesting, we had May in a couple of games in exhibition, and no one got hacked or whacked or touched, and then we don't have him and we get run." "You get tired of watching it." He went on to say: "Our guys, I think, do a real good job of competing hard, but we don't have a team that twists off helmets at stoppages, and when you start seeing it all the time, it's just nice when you've got someone to look after that stuff."

So very true. Red Wings players have always been battered and beaten after whistles, because players rarely have to pay for it. The refs allow it and Detroit doesn't have an enforcer so why not take liberties? Well, Brad May, it's up to you to put a stop to the cheap shots. Let's paint the ice of Joe Louis Arena with the blood of our enemies! Just try not to end up in another one of these pictures. How embarrassing...

Osgood in the HoF?

2009-10-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

If Chris Osgood wants to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame, he needs to start playing like a Hall of Famer. For years, people have said that he only wins because of the team he plays for. I would remind them of Curtis Joseph, a great goalie in his prime, who failed like it was going out of style when he played for Detroit. Osgood isn't the best goalie or an average goalie; he's the right goalie. He fits in Detroit's style, and seems to be at his best when the pressure is on.

Well, the pressure is on. After a poor outing by Osgood and a sad showing by Howard, the Red Wings are 0-2. The two things I've mentioned over and over in my preview posts is that Detroit needs to improve their PK and their goaltending can't be an issue. According to those two games, they didn't and it is.

There are 80 games left to turn it around, so no need to panic just yet, but Detroit's standing at the end of this season could be the difference between Osgood making it into the HoF or not.

Blues 5, Red Wings 3

2009-10-03T14:38:00.001-07:00

Get a lead, blow a lead. Get a lead, blow a lead. This is starting to remind me of last season, but it's worse now, because it's BOTH goalies doing it. It's a team game, yes, but once again, no big saves from Howard and plenty from Conklin. PK is looking sad on paper, but it will always look bad when your goalie won't make a big save. If this keeps up, we'll see Daniel Larsson in about 15 games.

Allowing four goals is not the end of the world, but allowing four goals by the time the game is half over can be. That allows your opponent to play their game, which happened to be a very tight defensive game.

Blues 4, Red Wings 3

2009-10-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

I can just hear Keith Jones now:

"Mason, Mason, Mason. Blah blah blah."

Then Brian Engblom jumps in with:

"Osgood, Osgood, Osgood."

Well, they're right. Mason won the game for the Blues. The Red Wings looked really good to me and only allowing 23 shots isn't bad, but Osgood wasn't there when they needed him to be. You need your goalie to pull off a few miracles every now and then. Mason did all game long and Ozzie didn't do it once. If Detroit keeps playing the way they did today, they will win the Central Division, but only if Osgood improves. That was not good enough.

Ericsson left the game early, so hopefully he's ok. Lebda scared me pretty much the whole game and was -2.

Malts and Draper had wheels today. It would be nice if that lasts a while. Thoughts about the game? Comment below.

Tim Thomas is...

2009-10-02T08:35:00.000-07:00

A condom, apparently. OK, I know Semin's name is spelled a bit different, but honestly, the NHL couldn't think of a different headline for this save? It wasn't even that difficult of a save, which leads me to believe that some guy at NHL.com has been waiting all summer to write that.

2009-10 Preview: Jimmy Howard #35

2009-10-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

He's only won 1 game in his NHL career and that was back in 2005-06. His GAA and SV% are decent, but I still feel nervous when he plays. I would love to be wrong about Howard, though. It would be great to see him outplay Ozzie and become a fan favorite out of nowhere...

I see this season ending in one of two ways:

Ozzy and Howard both struggle because Osgood feels no pressure to fight for his starting job and Howard caves under the pressure of picking up Osgood's slack, or Howard plays so great that Osgood feels the need to pick up his play, or lose the starting job.

I have my fingers crossed for the second scenario. You just never know in this sport. Howard could pull a 'Jonas Hiller'.

2009-10 Preview: Chris Osgood #30

2009-10-02T07:03:00.000-07:00

Ozzie played great in the playoffs last year. He also played great in the playoffs the year before. As long as he doesn't have another breakdown in the regular season, the Wings should be able to win their division and make another run at the Cup. I'm really not worried about Ozzie. He seems to be at his best when people write him off.

I'm more worried about Howard...

2009-10 Preview: Henrik Zetterberg #40

2009-10-02T06:54:00.000-07:00

Hank's numbers dropped a bit last season, but I'm not the least bit worried about that because his shooting percentage changed very little. He just needs to shoot more this season. The more Zetterberg shoots, the more he scores, the more we win. A lot has to do with whoever he plays with, of course. If it's Pavel Datsyuk, he can score 45+ goals, but if it's someone else, he'll probably net 35.

If Lidstrom retires after this season, he could be the next guy to wear the 'C'.

2009-10 Preview: Jason Williams #29

2009-10-01T10:45:00.000-07:00

It's too early to say 'I told you so!' since it was only preseason, but guess who had one heck of a preseason? That's right, Jason Williams. The same Jason Williams that no one seemed to want on the team. Now, I know the biggest complaint about him was how he whined about not playing a few times, but he's older now. More mature. Hopefully he'll keep quiet when he's a healthy scratch (if that happens) and just support his team like any other player would.

Depth scoring and staying healthy will be the key to success for Willy. I'm willing to bet that he'll be on the power play quite a bit, so 20 goals is not a stretch. Considering his paycheck, 15 goals or more would be perfect.

2009-10 Preview: Kirk Maltby #18

2009-10-01T10:40:00.000-07:00

Malts will always be a fan favorite, but he's nearing the end of his career. He's really not a threat to score and he doesn't kill penalties like he used to, though he still has a place as a mentor for guys like Helmer and Apple-Gator. Look for Malts to be a healthy scratch from time to time this season. I only hope that when he does retire, he retires a Red Wing.

2009-10 Preview: Ville Leino #21

2009-10-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

Leino has great hands, but he's not very big. If he can survive an entire season without injury, he can score 20-25 goals. Leino is the guy who teams forget about when they're trying to figure out how to shutdown Datsyuk and Zetterberg. He brings depth to your lineup.

2009-10 Preview: Tomas Holmstrom #96

2009-10-01T10:18:00.000-07:00

Holmstrom sure took a beating in the playoffs, but he's used to that. His numbers has slipped a bit over the last 2 years, but he missed so many games because of injury.

Homer can still score 30 goals in a season if he's healthy and plays on the right line. Really, the only thing Holmstrom needs help with is out of his hands. No one else in the entire league takes more punishment than Holmstrom. I'm not sure why other players are allowed to give such cheap and dirty hits while the Ref turns a blind eye, only to call a penalty on Holmstrom when he's finally had enough and pushes back. It's really pitiful. I would love to see Crosby play under the same rules as Holmstrom.

2009-10 Preview: Brad Stuart #23

2009-10-01T10:07:00.000-07:00

Stuart took some heat last summer after two mistakes led to two Pittsburgh goals in game 7. It's too bad that it happened at that time, but it does happen. Bad bounces and missed calls happen. Stuart is still one of our better defensemen.

This season, improve the +/- a little. With only 26 PiM, he's very disciplined considering how physical he plays. I believe he has a little bit more offensive ability than what he showed last season, but since he won't see a lot of time on the power play, 5 goals would be good. Stuart will be killing penalties. If he can win battles along the boards and clear the puck, we win games.

2009-10 Preview: Darren Helm #43

2009-10-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Is there a faster skater in this league? I don't think so. Darren Helm is quickly becoming my favorite player and he has yet to score a goal in the regular season. Goals win games, but plays like these can win you the Cup. And though he has yet to score in the regular season, who cares, as long as he keeps doing this and this in the playoffs.

This season, once Helmer recovers from his injury, look for him to score between 10-15 goals. His regular season +/- is a bit lacking, but when you don't score much, it may seem worse than it is. Helm can kill penalties, and the Red Wings need to improve on that this season or possibly lose their division for the first time in forever. If he can help bring the PK back to the top 10 or so, score some goals and check a few guys that I don't like, I may just have to buy his jersey.

2009-10 Preview: Brian Rafalski #28

2009-09-28T09:12:00.001-07:00

Rafalski was on fire last night with 4 assists against the Penguins. OK, so it was only preseason and the penguins best players weren't out there, but if it's a glimpse of things to come, this could be his best year. We could use a "best year ever" or two this season.

Rafalski is an offensive minded defenseman who's +/- got an amazing boost thanks in large part to being Lidstrom's line mate. Not that Raf doesn't have defensive skill, it's just not his strength. This season, I would like to see Rafalski as a Norris finalist (along with Nick, of course). To accomplish this, he'll need between 15-19 goals, 50 assists and be at least +20. I think the main reason Rafalski wasn't mentioned for the Norris last season isn't because he doesn't have better numbers than Lidstrom, it's because he plays on the same line as Lidstrom. This season, I want to see Rafalski out-shine Lidstrom. Way easier said than done, but if he can (and I think he can), this is the year to do it.

2009-10 Preview: Johan Franzen #93

2009-09-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

I was concerned that Franzen's molten hot streak in 2008 may have been a fluke and he would return to his average self the next season, but he didn't. Yay! He was second on the team in goals (34) last season and with Hossa out of the picture, he may be the best goal scorer on the team. While I hope that the rest of the team puts a great deal of emphasis on defense, I want to see Franzen light the lamp at all costs. Goals, goals and more goals from the Mule.

If Franzen has a 40G season up his sleeve, this would be the year to pull it out. 40G, 30A and a +/- of whatever is what I'm looking for from the Mule. I would also like to see more hits and less dives. He's huge, so he should be pulverizing the other team and... he's huge, so why would a little love tap from Ryan Getzlaf make him crumble to the ice like he'd been shot? (Of course, Getzlaf deserves to be in the box constantly and that weak call makes up for the blatant crap he always gets away with.)

2009-10 Preview: Derek Meech #14

2009-09-28T08:38:00.000-07:00

Another young guy with plenty of room for improvement. Meech was -12 in just 41 games last season, and -5 in one game against Nashville. His offensive totals (2G 5A) were fine for a 25 year old defenseman, but -12 is not going to cut it.

This season, Meech has to tighten up in his own end. If he plays 60 or more games, scores one goal and ends the season at -5 or better, I would call it a good year for Meech, though I would love to see +1 or better. There's just something about that "-" sign...

Sporting News: NHL Player of the Decade

2009-09-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

No surprise here.

2009-10 Preview: Valtteri Filppula #51

2009-09-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

How best to describe Filppula... streaky? Yeah, that's the word. I think he could score 30 goals if he were more consistent, but that hasn't happened yet. Still, how many teams out there would love to have 40 points coming from their third line?

This season could be a real money-maker for Flip. With 80 goals worth of offense gone, Filppula could get his name out there if he gets anything in the area of 25+. In the end, I'm hoping for 20 goals and 30 assists as well as a +10 or better.

2009-10 Preview: Andreas Lilja #3

2009-09-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

Most Wings fans hate this guy. Personally, I think he's good for the team. I'm not about to spend $150 on his jersey, but he's good in his own end. Good penalty killer. GOOD, not great. Sometimes, I think that maybe Red Wings fans are a bit spoiled. Not every player is Nick Lidstrom or Pavel Datsyuk. Now, I mentioned before that Holland had said he might move a defenseman sometime around training camp. If the choice is Lebda or Lilja, I'd take Lilja (unless he doesn't recover from his concussion), because he's better in his own end.

Lilja was +13 this past season before getting a concussion. That's great, but his 66 PIM are an issue. A few of those minutes are from fighting, but most came from little hooks and holds. This is the "New NHL" so a 'free hand' is now considered 'Holding'. Most of the other guys on the team have gotten the message.

The two stats I'll be watching the most this season will be his +/- and his PIM. +10 and 50 penalty minutes in 75 or more games will be a good season for Andreas Lilja.

2009-10 Preview: Kris Draper #33

2009-09-22T08:41:00.000-07:00

Jack of all trades, master of none? Not exactly. Drapes is the master of whatever you need him to be the master of. Need depth scoring? He's been that guy before with 24 goals in 2003-04. Need a guy who can play shutdown-defense? Draper can do it. Kill penalties? Call Kris. Gotta win an important faceoff? Kris Draper.

This year, the only stat I'll be looking at is his +/-. He's been a combined -15 the last two seasons, so some improvement in that category is in order. At 38 and on the 3rd or 4th line, I'm hoping for +1, but even -5 will be acceptable if he continues to be the best faceoff man in the NHL.

P.S. Bring back the 'Birthday Bandit' videos!

2009-10 Preview: Nicklas Lidstrom #5

2009-09-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

Let's be honest with ourselves... Nick could show up to all 82 games in his PJ's and sit on the bench with a bottle of Jack Daniels and he would still be a finalist for the Norris. If he played goalie, he would still be a finalist for the Norris. If he played baseball... you get the idea. He's just that good. So what do we need from Lidstrom this year?

Another 60-70 points and a +/- above 35 would be great.

Is this his last year? I hope not, but he'll be 40 in April and this is the last year of his contract. Larionov and Chelios both played extremely well after 40, though Chelly may have gone a bit far considering he was still playing hockey when most GM employees his age were full-time fishermen. Even if Nick does retire, Detroit's defensive core will be among the best in the league.

2009-10 Preview: Pavel Datsyuk #13

2009-09-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

Keep doing your thing, Pav. Another season of 30 goals, 65 assists and a +40 rating is all we ask of you. Shouldn't be an issue for the best player in hockey, right? Assuming Pavel stays healthy, he should finish as an MVP candidate, once again. Aside from the 95 points, I want to see more hits from Datsyuk. Like when he flattened Malkin. Just as long as he stays out of the box.

Wow! Easiest preview, ever!

2009-10 Preview: Brett Lebda #22

2009-09-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if Brett Lebda is going to be a Red Wing much this year. He's definitely a good player and belongs in the NHL, but after hearing Ken Holland say they would probably 'move a defenseman' around training camp or preseason, I can't help but wonder if Brett will be the odd man out. It could easily be Meech or Lilja, but Meech is still young and could get better and Lilja is very defensive-minded, which will be key this season. I think it will come down to whether or not Lilja has fully recovered from last season's concussion.

In the event that Brett stays in Detroit, he's going to have to improve on something. Stay at home! I don't mean: 'Don't show up for the game.' Basically, stay on the blue line and stop fore-checking like you're a forward, because no matter how fast you are (pretty darn fast), we hate seeing 2 on 1 after 2 on 1 because you got caught pinching.

Brett, if you finish this season at +10, but have no goals and no assists, I'll buy your jersey and wear it all summer. Of course, a few goals wouldn't hurt, but the +10... that's required.

Brett Lebda high-sticks two players at once, a new record.

2009-10 Preview: Dan Cleary #11

2009-09-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

I'll admit, some time during the second round against the Ducks, I was trying to send ESP messages to Mike Babcock, begging him to scratch Dan Cleary in favor of... just about anyone. Play after play, Cleary would skate into the offensive zone, then coast into the corner with his head down, get plastered up against the wall, then slowly get up as Anaheim skated off with the puck. Then he scored the series clinching goal in game 7, put a whooping on Chicago and had a respectable series in the Finals. If my ESP message had reached Babs, we could have lost in the second round, which is why I get paid $0 to write articles for friends and family, most of whom don't even like hockey. So, now that I have managed to distance myself from any credibility, here's what I think Dan needs to do this season to help the Red Wings:

As I have said in previous articles, this season needs to be all about defense and that system fits Dan Cleary, perfectly. 2007-08, when Detroit won the Presidents Trophy and the Stanley Cup by smothering their opponent with team defense, Dan Cleary scored 20 goals in 63 games. Last year, when Detroit played poor defensively, Cleary scored 14 goals in 74 games. More games, less goals. The most troubling stat, however, is his +/-. He went from +21 to EVEN.

Dear Dan Cleary,

Since Detroit lost roughly 80 goals worth of offense over the summer, your fans would greatly appreciate it if you could score 20 goals or more and have a +/- of about +20 or so. Wings fans want to see the 2008 Cleary. Please leave the 2009 version in Newfoundland.

Sincerely,
Some Guy

2009-10 Preview: Niklas Kronwall #55

2009-09-13T11:09:00.000-07:00

This is the last year of Nick Lidstrom's contract and at 39 years of age, possibly his last in the league. What does that mean for the team? Someone will have to step up and be the new #1 when Nick does decide to retire. Rafalski? Yeah, he'll be there, but he's an offensive defenseman and Kronwall has the tools to be great all-around. So what we need from Kronwall this year is:

Shutdown defense in our zone and some offensive touch in theirs. Emphasis on 'some' because, again, this has to be a defensive-minded team if the Red Wings want to be successful. I think Kronner is capable of netting 10 goals and adding 35+ helpers this season. Kronwall was a +25 the year the Wings were a defensive juggernaut, but only +2 last season when the team was offensive-minded. The Wings need Kronwall to produce about 45 points this season and finish with a +/- of 15 or better. Wouldn't hurt if he played disciplined, too, but that hasn't really been an issue with him in the past. Keep 'Kronwalling' people!

Don't be surprised to see Kronwall paired up with Rafalski on the first power play unit if the score is lopsided for either team in any given game, but he'll spend most of his power play time with the second unit. I do expect to see him on the first PK unit and coach Babs will probably match him up against some teams top lines. He was amazing when Lidstrom was out against Chicago in the playoffs.

This is a big year for Kronwall. Let's hope he exceeds expectations.

2009-10 Preview: Todd Bertuzzi #44

2009-09-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

Big Bert is back in Hockeytown. How do you feel about that? Well, most people are ticked off that he's a Red Wing again and even more are angry that he's in the NHL all together. If you're one of the 10 people on the planet who don't know what happened, click and read. Regardless of what you think of him, he's ours and he's cheap. Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk hockey:

Todd Bertuzzi can score goals. At least, he used to be able to score goals. He really hasn't been the same since the incident, but 15-25 goals is above average. After losing 80 goals worth of offense over the summer, the Wings needed help scoring and because of the salary cap, Bertuzzi got a job. All I'm looking for from Bert is 20 goals and 30 helpers. I'll be happy with 15 because of his low salary, but we need him to score 20. What I don't want to see is dumb penalties. This is the NHL so we can expect plenty of phantom hooks and holds, but I want to rip my hair out when someone retaliates and makes my team shorthanded.

I see him on the third line with Filppula and Leino which could make that line pretty impressive if Bertuzzi plays physical enough and he'll probably get some time on the second unit of the power play, but with all the depth Detroit has, he'll probably be rotated in and out to give power play time to younger players. At least, that's what I would do...

2009-10 Preview: Jonathan Ericsson #52

2009-09-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

I knew Ericsson was going to be good, but I didn't expect him to be so good, so soon. He's only 25 now, so I see him getting even better in a couple of years. We're not worried about what happens in a couple of years, however. This is a preview of this coming season, so lets get to it:

Ericsson showed off some of his offensive skills during the playoffs, but his strength is his defense and his positioning. With Lidstrom nearing the end of his career, I would love to see Ericsson on the power play from time to time as well as being paired with a veteran. Lidstrom will most likely stay paired up with Rafalski and Kronwall and Stuart are a great match, which leaves Lebda or Lilja. Earlier in the summer, Holland said that he would most likely move a defenseman around training camp or preseason and based on the Wings past decisions on who they keep and who they let go (Kept Chelios and let go Quincy) I wouldn't be surprised if Lebda is job hunting October 1st.

Despite his offensive skills, I don't see him getting more than 5 goals this year, mainly because he'll spend the majority of his time as the 5-6 defenseman. Maybe 8 if he gets the power play minutes I'm hoping for. Add in about 10-15 helpers and a +/- rating of 5 or better and it's a good year for Ericsson.

2009-10 Preview: Justin Abdelkader #8

2009-09-12T11:59:00.001-07:00

With training camp and the preseason just around the corner, it's about time I give my two cents on who needs to do what for this team to contend for the Cup. I'll be reviewing in alphabetical order and alternating between forwards and defensemen. I'm hoping to be done by the time the regular season starts, but we'll see. Anyways, here's the first:

Abdelkader (spell-check just had a heart attack.) Ab... dull... kay... dur, or just say apple-gator and Wings fans will know who you're talking about.

Justin Abdelkader got quite a bit of attention last year when he scored two goals in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals, but it's important to remember that he wasn't drafted to light the lamp. If Abby gets 15 goals this year, that's great, but I'm expecting between 5-10 goals. Abby's value to the team will be based on his +/- rating. A rating of +10 would mean he's had an amazing season, but I'm guessing he'll break even.

Team success this season will depend on defense. The 4-3 wins have to be a thing of the past if the Wings are going to win the Central Division. We're looking at 3-2 and 2-1 games this year and that's where a guy like Abdelkader comes in handy. Think D first and create offense from turnovers and power play chances.

More to come soon and, as always, go Wings!

Best Corn Field on the Planet

2009-09-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd share this article and picture I found on the Red Wings website. Hockey season is coming fast!

Canadian Love and Hate

2009-08-23T04:24:00.000-07:00

I remember one evening a few years ago when I was driving from upstate New York to Michigan. I drove through Canada, like I always did, but this time it was special because it was during the NHL playoffs. I pulled into a truck stop to fill my gas tank, went inside to pay and could hardly believe my ears. There were people talking about hockey in that building! I felt so out of place, yet totally at home. Conversations about hockey are a rare occurrence in the states so I made up my mind to join the discussion. I walked over to the table where a Leafs fan was telling another fan about an amazing goal he saw earlier that night and proudly asked:

'Hey, do you happen to know the score of the game that my team played in?' (yeah, that's exactly what I said. I don't know if I thought he was a mind reader or if I just wanted to be asked who my team was, but that's what I said.) Of course, he wasn't a mind reader so he replied, 'Who's yer team?' It was a simple enough question, but I hesitated. Hmmm, should I say 'The Red Wings' or maybe just 'The Wings'? I decided to say 'Detroit' because it was a truck stop in the middle of the night and saying 'Detroit' might make them think that I'm from there and therefore very tough, just in case he was planning on kidnapping me and filming 'Deliverance 2'. 'Yeah, they won.' and he went back to his conversation with his fellow Canadian.

I've always loved traveling through Canada. Despite the hassle at the border, the exchange rate, liters instead of gallons, Kilometers per Hour and the fact that my cell phone switches to roaming, I can look past all of that because there's a chance I can talk hockey with perfect strangers. Also, McDonalds gives away hockey cards in their Happy Meals.

And yet...

When the Olympics start, it won't matter who's playing against Canada, I'll be pulling for their opponent. I'm not sure why that is, but it might have to do with the typical Canadian fans arrogance. I know all about that arrogance, after all, I'm a Red Wings fan, but it is wonderful to see the hopes and dreams of cocky fans destroyed, especially in their own backyards, playing their own game.

Also, I'm really getting a kick out of the Stanley Cup losing streak they have going on. 1993 was the last time a Canadian team won the cup. They've come close quite a few times (including 2004 when I really think the Flames won in 6), but they continue to disappoint. Now, while I'm enjoying the losing streak and hope it goes on for generations, I confess that I was pulling for Edmonton when they played Carolina and I had my fingers crossed that the Flames could beat Tampa Bay in that game 7, but that's just because I can't stand seeing the cup go to a team who's fans really don't care about hockey. It's just something to do until football season starts up again.

So where do I stand on 'Make it 7'? I say make it 29 if you want! Just as long as Detroit stays in Detroit. Since I don't live in Michigan right now, I'm forced to get NHL Center Ice in order to watch all the games. (Of course, when I do get back to Michigan, I'll still order Center Ice because I love watching all hockey games, even the ones my team isn't playing in.) When Detroit isn't playing, I try to find a Canadian team playing at home, especially if it's against another Canadian team. Calgary vs Edmonton or Toronto vs Ottawa are a couple of the best match ups you can find in sports because it doesn't matter who's building the game is played in, the crowd is divided and hostile. I think the closest you can get to this kind of atmosphere in the states would be Philly vs Pittsburgh, but only Philly fans are hostile and Pittsburgh fans resort to sobbing in the bathrooms saying, 'Leave Sidney alone!' In short, the best non-Red Wings hockey out there is played in Canada.

Make it 7. Give Canada an outdoor game every year. Fire Bettman. Did I miss anything? Oh yeah... Go Red Wings! or Go Wings!... Go Detroit!!

Oh, what could have been...

2009-08-22T02:37:00.001-07:00

This time last year, Canadians were mourning the loss of their second national anthem. 'The Hockey Theme' was the intro to Hockey Night in Canada for 40 years, but CBC's license for the song expired and negotiations for a new license failed. So, there was a contest to come up with a new song, with the winner being 'Canadian Gold'.

Now, I loved that old song and insist that it be played at my funeral to a string of photos and videos of my life, but honestly, Canadian Gold is way better.

Of course, there were other possibilities, many of them humorous. Since I like a good joke, here are my top 5 Hockey Night in Canada Theme Song Rejects:
#5

"Come on in, come to the place where fun never ends! Come on in, it's time to party with Hockey Night in Canada."
#4

That one made it in just for taking me back to the 80's.
#3

Do the Mario! Just like that!
#2

This one could easily have been first because I really like the song, but you'll see why it's only second...
#1

I was browsing YouTube to kill some time when I decided to look up the old Hockey Night in Canada theme and maybe recall some of the finalists from last years contest when I found 'Potential New Theme #6'. I played it, expecting to hear some sort of symphony. I just about spewed pop all over my screen when I heard 'Hello Canada and hockey fans from the United States and Newfoundland... TROGDOOOOR!!!' It's also very epic to watch hockey highlights to the lyrics 'Burninating the countryside! Burninating the peasants!'

That video was the inspiration for my post today. There were quite a few others on YouTube, including a Full House version. Search 'hockey night in canada - potential new theme' for the rest.

Huh... Bertuzzi, eh?

2009-08-18T23:07:00.000-07:00

Yup, he's a Red Wing again. I know I'm going to take heat for this, but I'm ok with it, for the most part. Honestly, Big Bert should not even be in the league. Most people would agree to that. However, he is in the league and he has the ability to score. If he gets 20 goals at $1.5 million, I say it's a win. What I don't like is having someone with such a dirty reputation on our team. As if we don't get made fun of enough for our city.

This is going to be an interesting year for Detroit. In the event that all the 'IF's' actually happen for Detroit, then I see us as a cup contender. If not, then probably a first or second round exit.

What bugs me about all of this is when Detroit fans decide to get ticked at Ken Holland. I've said it before: Welcome to the salary cap. If this was 2003, Mike Ilitch would have opened up his wallet and POOF! Hoosa would have stayed and we probably would have added another star. Well, it's 2009 and POOF! We have retreads up the ying-yang. Relax, Red Wings fans. The rest of the league has the same issues as us right now. Notice all the one year contracts? Since the cap didn't go up a whole heck of a lot, it looks to me like GM's around the league are pretty much holding their breath and waiting to see what happens next year. If this was NHL09, most teams would be simulating until April just to get to the next season ASAP.

Still, I'm really looking forward to this season. Anything can happen in hockey so don't be surprised if Detroit brings the cup back home.

Did I Miss Something?

2009-08-11T17:38:00.000-07:00

ESPN has done it again. This epic fail of a sports network has reported that Jason Spezza has been invited to try out for the Canadian Olympic team. That much is true, but since when did the Ottawa Senator's move to Washington? And is that Washington state or do the Capitals have a new neighbor? Great going, ESPN. Does anyone there even watch hockey? The worst part of it is you can see by the screen shot that I took that this error has been online for 2 hours. I wonder how long it will take to fix, if it's fixed at all?

Welcome Back, Jason

2009-08-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

OK Wings fans, like it or not, Jason Williams is back. Why having a 28 year old potential 20 goal scorer on your team is so terrible I may never know, but he's ours. I know, he said something disrespectful about coach Babs once or twice. Sure, he took a bad penalty or two in his day. Fact is, he is young and he can score. The real reason he's on the team? He's a right handed shot. Since Sammy left for the Canucks, we were left with one righty on the power play. You really need two. Having a lefty play the left point on a power play reduces the threat of the entire left side of the ice. It all but eliminates the one-timer, giving defenders and the goaltender the ability to cheat to the right side, knowing they will have an extra second to get across in the event of a cross-ice pass. Sammy was less than perfect on the point, but he forced the PK to respect his half of the ice due to the threat of the one-timer.

Williams has manned the point before, so he has the experience. He has the right handed shot. He just has what it takes.

Sometimes, sports fans remind me of hungry kids. They know they want to eat, but when mom offers PB&J, they throw a fit because that's not what they wanted! Sorry, Jonny, but all we have is PB&J. Sure, it would be great if we could order pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but it just doesn't work that way. It's this, or nothing.

Not everyone is Nick Lidstrom. Not everyone is Pavel Datsyuk. Welcome to the world of the salary cap.

Moscow or Bust

2009-07-31T13:14:00.000-07:00

So Hudler is off to Russia. All that remains to be seen is, if he comes back to the NHL, will he be considered property of the Red Wings.

I’ve been surprised to hear a lot of Wings fans giving Hudler a hard time. So, lets put ourselves in Hudler’s skates and see how we would react. (Remember, Hudler was offered a about half of what the KHL offered him.)

There’s a knock at your door. You go answer the door and find a guy with a funny accent and a contract in his hand. He knows that you make $20 an hour at Company A, but he’s there to offer you $40 an hour, tax free, to work at Company B. You know you’d take the money.

Rather than get all angry at someone for making the most logical decision of their lives, I decided to take a look back at the good times of Jiri. Here are my top 5 Jiri Hudler moments:

The clucking idea kind of sounded funny but I did find another video that actually showed it happening and it was a bit weird... anyways, on to my second favorite Jiri moment:

That was the game winner that gave Detroit a 3-1 lead in the 2008 finals.

By far my most favorite Jiri Hudler moment. "Let's go Red Vings! Let's go Red Vings!"

Good luck in Russia, Huds. Hope we see you in two years.

Some of my favorite motivational hockey posters

2009-07-19T00:14:00.001-07:00

Minor League Jerseys Gone Wrong II

2009-07-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

I would love to say that I had such a huge response over the last set of Minor League Jerseys Gone Wrong that I had to do another one, but I'd be a liar since my 'readers' tend to consist of immediate family with nothing better to do. Besides, it's the middle of July and there's not much else to write about. So here is yet another collection of jerseys that prove that maybe, just maybe, Capitalism doesn't ALWAYS work.

This is amazing to me. The Muskegon Lumberjacks (then the Fury) had pink ice for valentines day before but, having been raised in Michigan, I know that yellow snow is a bad thing. Yellow ice is no different! This is what happens when McDonald's sponsors your local team. This was just a one time thing, thankfully, but I hope that the McDonald's in that area were boycotted.

Speaking of Valentines Day:

How intimidating it must be to square off with a toothless guy in pink and hearts. This is the type of jersey I'd expect to see if San Fransisco had a hockey team. At least the second one left out the pink. Still, I hope Hallmark is happy.
Welcome to da hockey game, mon! Who are the five best hockey players of all time? Think about it... Dylan. Dylan. Dylan, Dylan and Dylan because I shoot hot fire!

Even the Refs aren't safe. I'm guessing this is Amsterdam? Kidding!
Finally, if anyone suddenly found that their tablecloth had gone missing:

Look no further than the Milwaukee Admirals. I actually like these, but not on players during an actual game. Was this "Country Kitchen Night" or "Salvation Army Appreciation Night"? I think I would buy one if it was in red, blue or green so it was more of a flannel jersey, but I still hate to see things like this worn by Pros.

Know of a jersey I should mention next time? Let me know in a comment and I'll put it in with the next batch.

This just in: The Detroit Red Wings are Finished!

2009-07-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

Or are they? After Juri Hudler announced that he would be signing with Dynamo of the Russian KHL, talk has sprung up all over the league about the Wings being done for. It's not just that the Wings lost players, it's who they lost and where they went. True, Hossa went to Chicago and Samuelsson is off to Vancouver, but lets take a look at the numbers and see if that really hurts. Hossa scored 40 goals last season and added 31 assists for 71 points. In signing Hossa, the Hawks had to unload their other top Right Winger, Martin Havlat, who scored 29 goals and added 48 helpers for 77 points. So Chicago is more formidable now that they have a guy who is older than Havlat and scores less points than him? Now let's take a peak at the playoff stats from last season. Havlat, 5 goals, 10 assists in 16 games. Hossa, 6 goals, 9 assists in 23 games. Havlat was the leading scorer for the Hawks in the playoffs while Hossa fell apart like a game of Jenga in an earthquake. As for Sammy, it all depends on where he gets put in Vancouver. I don't think they'll put him on the power play like Detroit did, which has a lot to do with how he got the numbers he had last season. Also a no-show in the playoffs. And Hudler? Have a good time in Russia. I don't care if he scores 100 goals over there since it has no affect on the Wings. The only actual question mark I see is our goaltending. Losing Conklin to St Louis, has the potential to be bad if and only if Osgood stumbles again and Howard proves to be a liability. I don't see either being the case, but anything is possible.

As a Wings fan, I have had four great summers of celebrating a championship and the rest being told that my team is done. After losing in the first round to the Kings in 2001, all I heard about was that the Wings were done, too old, too slow... So they signed Hasek, Hull and Robitaille and steamrolled their way to the Stanley Cup the next year. The introduction of the salary cap in 2005 was supposed to be their undoing, yet somehow they emerged as the model team under the cap. Then, in the 2006 off season, Detroit had another exodus. After an embarrassing first round loss to the Oilers, the Wings lost Stevie Y to retirement, starting goalie Manny Legace to the Blues and Shanahan to the Rangers. They had the best record in the NHL that year and were expected to plummet in the standings. Well, they dropped a little, I guess, and finished tied for the best record in the NHL. Wow, what a fall from grace!

This is what everyone forgets: The teams management and coaching staff are just as important as the players. Mike Babcock is still one of the top coaches in the league and only gets better as the years come and go. Ken Holland? Best GM in sports. And he's ours! I'm not going to say that the Red Wings are guaranteed to be a contender for the Cup again, or even the playoffs because you never know what an injury or plain bad luck can do to a team during a year, but I do know that Detroit's management will do what it has to do to stay on top year after year.

The way I see it, Detroit got younger. This should be an exciting year with Helm, Abdelkader, Leino, Ericsson and Howard all playing in Detroit full time. So much for the team being old. I believe that those four skaters from Grand Rapids will be able to put a dent in the 80-something goals they lost from Hossa, Hudler and Samuelsson.

Saku Koivu is the Worst Goalie of all Time...

2009-07-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

Browsing ESPN today for free agency signings, I decided to read the details of the Saku Koivu signing with the Ducks when I noticed that, according to ESPN, he had a terrible record as a goalie? Amazingly, he started in 64 games but only won 16 of them. The stat that stood out the most was that he only gave up 44 goals in 65 games, yet only had a save% of 4. That means that he rarely ever faced a shot in a game and when he did, it would go in. I guess he only stopped one or two shots all year? In case you didn't know, the 16 wins are actually his 16 goals. Losses=Assists, Ties=Points, SV% = +/- and his 44GAA are really his 44 penalty minutes.The point of all this is Saku Koivu is actually a FORWARD, a very good one, and the article has been up for a couple of days now, which means that ESPN has had this unbelievable error posted on their website for well over 24 hours and have not fixed it. Oops.

Who wants to Buy a Spoiled Brat?

2009-07-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

Because the Ottawa Senators have one they're trying to unload. Dany Heatley has requested a trade, and while this is old news to some people, I finally decided to put in my two cents on the situation. First and foremost, this is not the first time Heatley has requested a trade. It's not exactly uncommon for professional athletes to ask for a trade if things are not going the way they had hoped with a certain team, but most would give the team more than a season or two to decide weather or not they were worthy of their efforts. Before I get ahead of myself, let me bring you up to speed on Heatley's past and why he's in Ottawa in the first place.

In late September 2003, Dany Heatley, then of the Atlanta Thrashers, was driving his Ferrari with his teammate Dan Snyder. Mix millions of dollars with a little bit of alcohol, add a fast car and you get disaster. Heatley's car split in half after crashing into a wall. Both were ejected. Healtey survived despite a broken jaw, a minor concussion, a bruised lung, bruised kidney, and torn ligaments in his knee. Snyder died six days later due to a fractured skull. Amazingly, the Snyder family and the Atlanta Thrashers were supportive of Heatley. After his recovery, he finished the 2003-04 season with Atlanta, but requested a trade. He wanted to get away from the painful reminders of the crash. The Thrashers traded him for Marian Hossa and Greg de Vries.

Heatley had great success in Ottawa, even breaking some of Marian Hossa's team records. Things seemed to be going well for Heatley as the Sens climbed up the standings over the next couple seasons. He played on the top line with Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, the famed 'CASH Line' (team Captain Alfredsson, Spezza, Heatley). After making it to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2007, Healtey signed a new 6-year contract extension with the Senators worth $45 million. This is where it starts to get ugly. After his lowest production since his rookie season and the Senators finishing 11th in the Eastern Conference, Heatley suddenly wants out and he's only one year into his new contract extension. When first reading this, you may think that Heatley is a competitor who just wants to win and since Ottawa isn't winning right now, he wants out. Problem is, his reason for wanting out all stem from the hiring of Senators Head Coach Cory Clouston who is nicknamed the 'baby-faced drill sergeant' because he actually makes his players hustle during practice. Clouston coached just 34 games in 2008-09, but his record of 19-11-4 was very respectable, especially in the middle of a losing season. This record was achieved with some sacrifice, however, as Heatley was moved to the second power play unit.

So to recap, Heatley is mad for being expected to EARN his millions of dollars and can't believe he is being punished after failing to do so. I guess someone forgot to tell him that you don't get paid for what you did in the past, you get paid for what you're expected to do now.

Amazingly, a team actually answered the call for Heatley's trade request, however, that team was not good enough for Heatley who insists on having his cake and eating it to. That team was the Edmonton Oilers, who insist that the trade is still possible despite Heatley refusing to waive his 'no trade clause' to go there. The other few teams that were reported to have been high on Heatley's priority list have since aquired the services of more dedicated players and are no longer in the market for a half-hearted Left Wing. Ron Hextall of the LA Kings, one of the teams Heatley approved of, had this to say of the possibility of acquiring Heatley: "I'm going to spell it out to you as nicely I can. He was in Atlanta, had an unfortunate accident there and asked to be traded. OK, given the circumstances -- there was a young man killed -- I can live with that. He goes to Ottawa, he's on a pretty good team, they go to the finals, signs a big contract ... bang, all of the sudden now he's got to be traded again. 'Not only do I have to be traded, I have a no-trade clause. I want to pick where I'm going to go.' Well, there are some issues there. That raises huge red flags for us." Well said.

This is the problem Heatley has created for himself. He is a very talented player, but his attitude and sudden changes of heart make him an unwanted asset to a team that is trying to contend for a Cup. Only a rebuilding team would be interested in taking a chance on him now, but he is obviously not interested in rebuilding. On the Senator's side, they have mega bucks going towards a guy that does not want to be there. What a happy locker room that will be. I expect one of three things to happen in the next year:

1. Heatley accepts the Edmonton offer and goes to play in front of the fans that he has already disrespected.

2. Healtey stays in Ottawa and plays the best hockey he can play in order to attract a better team for next year when he can try to request a trade in a more mature manner. This is the most viable option for him at this point.

3. Clouston puts Heatley on the fourth line until he breaks and decides to be a team player. This is unlikely because it's in Clouston's best interest to play Heatley to the maximum of his abilities since his job actually depends on it, but as a regular Joe Blow, it would be great to see the spoiled brat squirm just a bit. Agree? Disagree? Leave me a comment.

The Best Player Ever and the Best Player Now

2009-07-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

One of the most annoying debates on hockey threads these days is: 'Who was the best player of all time?' The reason it's so annoying is the blatant Homerisms used by the fans in order to claim that their hero is the best. Like, 'Lemieux was better than Gretzky, because Gretzky had Mark Messier. Who did Lemieux have?' Jaromir Jagr, anyone? Sure, Jagr came later in Lemieux's career, but even when Lemieux had Jagr, he was regularly getting outscored by Gretzky. There's only one way to fairly make this argument. It's time to look at numbers.

Goals, Assists, Points: The Great One, The Great One, The Great One. 894 goals, 1,963 assists, 2,857 points. All NHL records. In fact, Gretzky had more assists than Lemieux had total points (1,723). That statement alone is pretty damaging to Lemieux's case. Of course, this is exactly the point where Mario's supporters get angry and say, 'Gretzky played more games! Of course he scored more points!' True, Mario only played 915 NHL games because of injury while Gretzky played 1,487.

Points per Game: Guess what... Gretzky! Lemieux supporters swear up and down that Mario averaged over 2 points per game for his career and Gretzky didn't. Well, they're half right. Gretzky did NOT average 2 points per game. Then again, neither did Lemieux. Mario's 1.88 points per game is amazing, but not quite as amazing as Gretzky's 1.92. So even if Mario Lemieux had played as many games as Gretzky, he would not have had the same point totals. Then comes, 'Um, hello? Cancer!?' True, Lemieux battled cancer and still played.

Durability: Mario Lemieux. With all his back troubles and cancer, the fact that he was still tops in the league year after year shows just how awesome he was. However, you still have to look at the points per games played and Gretzky edged him out, anyways.

Records: I'm not going to list every record Gretzky owns, because it's too many. However, the main ones, most goals, assists and points ever and most goals, assists and points in one season all belong to Gretzky. He had four seasons where he scored over 200 points. Lemieux had none.

It seems clear to me that, unless you're just a blind Lemieux homer, Wayne Gretzky was the best hockey player of all time. By far. But what about the best player now? Well, let's take a look:

While no one agrees on the actual best player, most agree on the finalists: Sidney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin. Of course, Pavel is the oldest so everyone will say that in the end, the other three will over take him in total points and accomplishments. Very possible. However, we're determining the best player NOW. So let's take a look at the different stats that will tell us who the best player is:

Goals, Assists, Points: Ovie, Malkin, Malkin. Surely, Ovechkin is the better goal scorer of the four, and Malkin is a better passer, but he also has better teammates to pass to. Then again, Ovie plays Left Wing. Wingers are not typically setup guys. They shoot. He shoots a lot, actually. Of the 4, Ovechkin has the lowest shooting percentage at 10.6%. Crosby has the highest at 13.9% and Datsyuk was second at 12.9%. Sadly, Pavel's shooting percentage doesn't get mentioned because by this point, the fact that he had the fewest total points between the 4, he tends to be left out of the discussion. I recently read an article written by a Flyers fan who was trying to make the same case that I am now. He had an interesting stat that goes along the lines of the points per game we used to decide the best player ever. TOI (Time On Ice). He writes:

Ovechkin lead all NHL forwards with an average ice time of 23 minutes per game.

Malkin was second in this category with 22:31 minutes per game.

Crosby ranked third in the league with 21:56 minutes per game.

Pavel Datsyuk ranked 46th in the league amongst forwards at 19:12 minutes per game. In fact, teammate Henrik Zetterberg ranked higher at 32nd in the league with an average of 19:52 minutes per game.

What all this means is, if Datsyuk were to see the same amount of TOI that Malkin had, his points would likely go from 97 to 111 based on his points per game. That would move him from 4th to 2nd in total points. If he played the same minutes as Ovechkin, it would be even higher. I hate to use "what if's", though, so let's take a look at their defensive abilities. Since it's a big patch of ice, I think it matters who is better by his own net.

Now, I have actually had to explain +/- to a few Penguins fans before, even though they claimed to be huge hockey fans way before Crosby and Malkin ever came into the league. Just in case there's someone out there that is unfamiliar with the stat, it's meant to show how often a player is on the ice when scored against vs how often they are on the ice when they score. Power Play goals don't count, but shorthanded goals do. Crosby was +3, which means that when he is on the ice at even strength, the apposing team is just as likely to score as his team is. Ovechkin was +8 so not much better. Malkin is the better 2-way forward between him and Crosby at +17, but Pavel Datsyuk takes the cake at +34. When he's on the ice, he can shutdown your best player and still be a threat to score.

Finally, a lot of people dislike that Datsyuk keeps winning the Lady Byng Trophy for 'gentlemanly play'. This doesn't mean he isn't physical, it just means he doesn't commit penalties as often as most players. He only had 22 penalty minutes (while playing defensively against his opponents best player), while the next lowest of the four finalists was Ovechkin with 72.

There is no doubt that Pavel Datsyuk is the best hockey player in the world right now. Think of it this way: A student gets an A+ in math, but a C in Science, C- in English and a D in History. Another student gets an A- in all his classes. Who's the better student?

Konstantinov

2009-07-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to put this video of Vlady up so that anyone who wasn't up to date on his status would know.

Red Wings Signing Update and Free Agent Tracker

2009-07-03T20:30:00.000-07:00

Mikael Samuelsson signed with the Vancouver Canucks for $7.5 million over 3 years, today. He was really streaky and prone to turn the puck over. The only thing he added, other than depth, was his right-handed shot on the power play. If he was a lefty, he wouldn't have been anywhere near the power play. Then again, I can remember him scoring a few big goals. However, Detroit doesn't spend 2.5 a year for a few big goals. Good luck to him in Vancouver. Now I'll be interested in seeing if the Wings go with two lefties on the point with their second power play unit, or do they try to sign someone just for that purpose? I'm guessing two lefties. That will cripple the power play somewhat, but nothing severe.

Sammy's signing in Vancouver also gives the Red Wings just that much more cap space to sign Hudler, who was the higher priority anyways, in my opinion. Hudler could very well become a 30 goal scorer even though he plays on the third line.

Here's a Free Agent Tracker from ESPN. Quite handy.
http://espn.go.com/nhl/freeagents/_/oldteam/det

Minor League Jerseys Gone Wrong

2009-07-02T14:17:00.000-07:00

Everyone loves going to see their local minor league hockey team. If they only care to see a good fight, even someone who does not know the rules of the game can enjoy the minors. The tickets are cheap and you can get a pop and a hot dog for under $5. However, team owners need to make money somehow and since they usually don't have huge TV contracts and big name sponsors, they get creative with their marketing. One of the ways they do this is having the team play a game or two in a special jersey that they then auction off to the highest bidder. Some jerseys are just a subtle change in design or an alternate logo on the chest. Others... well, you'll see.
Disco Night! WooHoo! I don't know who this team is, but I'm sure I could find out. However, out of respect for the brave souls that had to wear this in front of thousands of people, I'll try to keep it a secret.
Shiver me timbers! These be the worst uniforms I be seein in a sea turtles age! This guy looks like he's thinking, "Aaaaar... Where be me agent? I'll be cuttin him down for this and be sendin him to Davy Jones' Locker. Aaar..." Poor team. They will always remember this as the day they ALMOST looked cool during a hockey game.This one is great. It's not everyday you see the players out-dress the coach. Complete with boutineer and all.Amazingly, this is NOT the third jersey of the Seattle Thunderbirds.Ha ha ha. Western Night with the Quad City Mallards. How humiliating. I wish I could have seen the looks on their faces when they were handed these abominations and told, "Hey, they're not that bad..." Just so you know, if you have to say "It's not that bad..." it IS.

Free Agency has begun!

2009-07-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

Sad day for the Red Wings? Depends on who you ask. I personally think we can win without Hossa, since we did a year ago. Then again, I don't like the idea of a division rival (Blackhawks) getting stronger. I just hope that his contract causes Chicago to have to lose depth. In the end, I have no hard feelings towards Hossa. He was a lot of fun to watch for the year that we had him. Even he said "If there wasn't a salary cap, I would still be in Detroit." I assumed this would happen after we signed Franzen and the cap only increased by $100k. Hey, if the Wings don't win, I have no problem rooting for him, but I hope he finishes second best every year. Should be a lot of fun reading all the "Red Wings are done" articles since we lost a player we have proven we don't really need.

Of course the Wings would have been better with him than without him, but let's take a quick look at the two teams that I think are the biggest losers so far: The Montreal Canadiens and the New York Rangers. These two teams have been in a heated battle all day long to see who can spend their way into mediocrity the fastest. This has been the Rangers cup of tea for years and yesterday it seemed that they had seen the error of their ways when they actually found someone to take Scott Gomez off their hands. That someone was the Montreal Canadiens. Gomez was making $7.5 million a year but only scored 16 goals and 42 assists in 77 games. Montreal saw those numbers, saw that salary and said, "I'll take it!" Then New York made the next move. They signed Marian Gaborik from the Minnesota Wild for 5 years at $37.5 million. That's $7.5 million a year. The same 7.5 million that they just freed up by unloading Gomez. But what's wrong with Gaborik? Injuries. He has played 502 games in his 8 years, which means he misses an average of 20 games a year. He only played 17 last year. He's as injury prone as Eric Lindros, who almost died in the shower of his hotel once. Come to think of it, guess who he signed with a couple years after that... the New York Rangers! Still, Gaborik's numbers are amazing when he's healthy. The issue is, there was another Right Wing available with less risk. Marian Hossa. I have no doubts that New York tried to get their meat-hooks on Hossa, but Hossa wants to win and that won't happen in New York. That's the Ranger's own fault. They have the fan base and the revenue, but their front office is run by chimps. Before the 2005 lockout, it was common to pay too much for talent because there was no salary cap. You could just buy more. Now that there's a limit to how much you can pay your players, every dollar must count and that's why I think the Rangers and Canadiens are falling apart. They buy big names and get small returns. New York picked up Donald Brashear, but at less than $1 million a year, it doesn't matter since he's just an enforcer. Montreal was not to be outdone by New York's gamble and their enforcer. They added Michael Cammalleri from the Calgary Flames for $6 million a year for 5 years, although this actually makes sense since he scored 39 goals 43 assists for 82 points. Just don't expect him to play in his own end since he was -2 last year and -30 for his career. Then they signed Brian Gionta. Remember him? He scored 48 goals once! Not anymore. He racked up 20 this year along with a respectable 40 assists for 60 points and was a +12. He'll be getting $5 million a year for 5 years. Montreal still wasn't done. They also added D-man Jaroslav Spacek for 3 years at $3.8 million a year. Spacek put up respectable numbers for a defenseman on a losing team, but 3.8 a year seems high to me. If Detroit were to request his services, I would expect him to make under 3, but hey, what do I know. Finally, Montreal took the untakable. They signed the unsignable, bought, the unbuyable. The Montreal Canadiens are now the proud owners of their very own Hal Gill. With a salary of $4.5 Million over two years, he is not meant to score goals and he doesn't. He is a Defensive Defenseman. At 6' 7" his greatest strength is his long reach. His greatest weakness is everything else. It is for this reason that the Montreal Canadiens have been awarded the 2009 Twig's Worst of July 1st Award! This less than prestigious award is given to the team that appears to fail the hardest by paying too much for too little.

Hockey Tatto Art 2: PASS or FAIL

2009-06-29T22:57:00.001-07:00

PASS. Nothing quite like a hockey fan. This guy is obviously from the north and probably Canadian. Can't be from the south or it would just say "Breed Apart" with a picture of his cousin instead of a goalie mask. (Ouch, I went there)

FAIL. Big, fat fail. The location is OK since it's a female leg, but... It's an Avalanche tattoo! Way to have the worst team in the Western Conference permanently drawn on your leg. You must be so proud.

PASS. Nice coloring and I like the idea. Not a huge fan of Team Canada, but I do respect their fan's passion.

FAIL. First of all, what did I say about getting non-original six tattoos? Don't do it! They'll change their logo in the blink of an eye in order to generate revenue. Even team colors are not safe. Sadly, not only does this poor fool have an outdated logo on his shoulder, it's BACKWARDS! Way to go, Ace.

PASS. Darren McCarty can have a tattoo of a pink bunny on his arm and it's a PASS. Go ahead and tell him otherwise...

BOTH. OK, I like Star Wars as much as the next guy, but Yoda and Hockey don't really mix. "5-hole, will I shoot. Mine, Stanley's Cup will be." Sorry, I don't buy it.

FFFFFFAIL. Most epic fail of them all. Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but someday, Crosby won't be "Sid the Kid" even if he still acts like one down the road. That's right, someday Sid's peach fuzz will turn gray. And what happens if he gets traded? We all know how well Pittsburgh fans handle losing players. A million people acting like a woman scorn.

Red Wings 2009 Draft

2009-06-28T00:09:00.000-07:00

The 2009 Draft is over and, yet again, the best drafting team in the world has been over-looked. The focus was on the top three picks, with no mention of Detroit, who didn't even make their first choice until the second round. Since I don't know a lot about each player right now, I'll just give the basics and try to include a video of them doing their thing.

32nd overall: LANDON FERRARO. A Center from Red Deer of the WHL, the word on this kid is that he's probably awesome. Probably. He puts up pretty good numbers but plays for a bad team and doesn't have the best line mates. The thinking is, if he gets put on a good team with good players around him, he'll be good. Kind of reminds me of the thinking behind Yzerman when he was drafted. Not that the kid will be a Stevie Y, but I look forward to watching him try. Based on this video, I just might like the guy.

Number 13

60th overall: TOMAS TATAR. Another Center who currently plays in Slovakia. Tatar has a weird name, but has a lot of potential.

75th overall: ANDREJ NESTRASIL. Center/Right Wing. Only video of him was over ten minutes long, had some guy speaking a language I don't know and wasn't very interesting. Hockey's Future, a web page dedicated to rookie prospects, had this to say: "Nestrasil's ability to make plays at high speed allows him to surprise his opponents and catch opposing defensemen flat-footed. At 6'2 and 194 pounds, Nestrasil has decent size, but he still has some work to do in adapting to the physical style in North America and playing a more complete game."

90th overall: GLEASON FOURNIER. First D-man the Red Wings chose this year. A French-Canadian who scored 28 points in 66 games with Sebastien Piche's Rimouski Oceanic. Once again, I turn to Hockey's Future to tell the tale: "Talented offensively, the problem for Gleason Fournier is that he is a defenseman first and foremost, but sometimes he doesn't play like one. Able to make quick decisions with the puck and move it well, he sometimes struggles in his own end, especially when under pressure. A valuable tool on the power play, at 6'0 and 174 pounds, he would benefit tremendously if he can get larger and stronger on his skates in the coming years." Kind of sounds like Mathieu Dandenault.

150th overall: NICK JENSEN. He's a Defenseman from Minnasota, currently playing in the USHL in Green Bay. No usefull videos found, but the St. Cloud Times had this interesting story about his draft day experience: "In the fifth round, the Detroit Red Wings picked defenseman Nick Jensen, who is expected to play a second season at Green Bay of the USHL before coming to SCSU next fall.
Jensen, who returned from a trip to Texas for a cousin's wedding late Friday, slept through the draft proceedings until a phone call woke him up with the news.
'I was in the car for about 15 hours, so I pretty much came home and passed out,' said Jensen, who is from St. Paul. '(The Wings) called last night, asking me questions. They wanted to get to know me a little better and they were wondering who else was following me. I'm as excited as anyone. Detroit is one of the best programs in the NHL, winning the Cup and going to the finals a lot. And most of my mom's family is from Michigan, so they were really pleased.'" I have to say, though, if I knew I could possibly be Drafted into the NHL at any moment, I would not be sleeping. I look forward to seeing what he's got.

180th overall: MITCHELL CALLAHAN. Nice hockey name. Strange hockey hometown. He's a Right Wing from Whittier, CA. That's 'California' not 'Canada' in case you were wondering. He's a small guy with a mean streak. I don't see him scoring more than 10 goals a year on a good year, but I do see him being a fan-favorite if he makes it to the NHL.

210th overall: ADAM ALMQVIST. He's a Defenseman from the HV-71 jr team. He scored 36 points in 41 games as a defenseman, which is quite good. He does need to bulk up a bit though. I don't think we'll see or hear much about him in the next few years, but I wouldn't be shocked if he ends up being yet another late-round gem for the Wings.

Sorry about the music in the videos. Congrats to all seven new Red Wings and good luck.

2009 NHL Draft

2009-06-27T22:39:00.000-07:00

First off, I must say that as a guy who used to have dreams of playing in the NHL, it's nauseating to see kids born in the 90's getting drafted. Now that that's out of the way, this year's draft was probably one of the best I've seen as far as competition over the top players. In the past few seasons, there has been one player that was clearly the best in the draft and was going #1 for sure. This year, the top pick was in doubt because the Islanders (who got the first choice this year) are terrible in all aspects and could use a star in any position. They picked John Taveres, a Center from the London Knights of the OHL. Victor Hedman then went to the Tampa Bay Lightning. This was one of the best fits for a team since Tampa Bay needed a good D-man more than anything else. Third pick went to Colorado and since I hate Colorado, I won't talk about them except to say that the guy they took, Matt Duchene, actually grew up an Avalanche fan. Seeing the picture of him standing in his room full of Avalanche merchandise made me feel like I had just seen Medusa and was turning into stone.

Thoughts and notable events during the first round of the draft:

Someone should have told some of those guys to take the cardboard out of their new team hats. That looked so dumb.

Pronger to the Flyers. I can't even begin to explain how pumped I am over this. Get that goon out of the West and into Sidney Crosby's backyard. Penguin fans think Detroit plays dirty... just wait. As much as I hate Pronger, I like it when a player ends up on a team that he fits. One of two wonderful things will happen with Pronger in Philly: He plays against Pittsburgh and actually gets called for his cheap antics for once and becomes the bum defenseman everyone knows him to be, or he destroys Crosby and all the Penguin fan's heads explode over all the unreal no-calls. Welcome to our world, Pittsburgh.

Please, no more NHL Drafts in French Canada. Having to hear everything in French and then English was so annoying.

Amazing that Brian Burke (GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs) got booed louder and longer than Gary Bettman.

Speaking of Brian Burke, having him wear a wire as he walked around and talked to other GM's was a nice try by VS to spice things up and make the draft more interesting. If only hearing a bunch of guys in suits talk about conducting business was interesting.

Finally, is it just me or is Pierre "Datsyuk scored because of a gust of wind" McGuire the worst hockey analyst? Not to mention the creepiest?

Skip ahead to around the 1:48 mark. Prepare to be uncomfortable.

Hockey Hall of Fame tribute

2009-06-23T14:34:00.000-07:00

The Hockey Hall of Fame allows up to 4 new players every year. A player has to be retired for at least 3 years before being considered for the Hall of Fame. Three former Red Wings made the cut this year. Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille. Brian Leetch also made it in. All four candidates were selected in their first year nominated. Steve Yzerman, without a doubt, was the biggest name on the list this year. Only 5 players in history have scored more points than him. He won the Cup 3 times as a player and took home the Conn Smythe Trophy for the 1998 playoffs MVP. He also won the Lester B. Pearson Award in 1989, the Frank J. Selke trophy in 2000, the Bill Masterton Memorial trophy in 2003 and the Lester Patrick award in 2006. Brett Hull joins his father Bobby Hull, becoming the first father-son duo in the Hall of Fame. His 741 goals are ranked 3rd all time. He has won the Stanley Cup twice, including once as a Red Wing, and received the Lady Byng, the Hart and the Lester B. Pearson award. He spent most of his career as a member of the St. Louis Blues, but never won a championship there. Luc Robitaille has more points than any other Left Wing in NHL history. His 668 goals rank 10th all time. He is mostly known for being a member if the LA Kings, but played in Detroit for 2 seasons with the hopes of winning the Stanley Cup. He did just that in 2002. After winning the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year in 1987, he went on to play in 8 NHL All-Star games. Brian Leetch is the only defenseman and non-Red Wing to be inducted into the Hall of fame this year. He won the Cup in 1994 with the New York Rangers and was awarded the Conn Smythe trophy that year for the playoffs MVP. He is the only American-born player to win the award. He also won rookie of the year honors in 1989 and the Norris Trophy for the leagues best defenseman in 1992 and 1997. The Hall of Fame ceremonies will be held November 6-9.

Congratulations to these four outstanding players on their careers and inductions into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Hockey Tattoo Art. Pass or Fail?

2009-06-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

We, as hockey fans, are a crazy bunch. Even the most mild hockey addiction can leave a person glued to the TV as two teams they don't really even care about clash in an epic battle over 2 points. Even a casual fan can be subject to staring at their teams web site in the middle of July, hitting the 'Refresh' button over and over, waiting for news that their favorite player has signed with their favorite team. Then there's the fan that loves his team so much, he needs to pay someone to permanently draw a picture of said team on his body. Now, there's a right way and a wrong way to do that. This post will explore the 'Pass' and 'Fail' world of Hockey Tattoos.

FAIL. It's great that someone loves their team enough to display their logo on their skin, but this is a typical bandwagon move. It says that they're not a fan of the team so much as they're a fan of that years team because they won. Sometimes a logo/cup/date combination is acceptable, but only if that team has always had a strong fan base and that logo/cup/date tattoo is their reward for years of loyalty. Sorry, Tampa Bay fans, but that's just not you guys.

PASS. A fan of hockey and Snoopy. Can't go wrong with that combination. It's pretty generic, even though Snoopy appears to be wearing the New Jersey Devils colors. Even if this persons favorite team moves, folds or he jumps on a bandwagon, this tattoo still works.

FAIL. This guy did the right thing at first. Just got his team's logo tattooed. Then the Caps pulled a fast one on their fans and switched logos and colors. Probably should have just left it. Everyone got the point with the first tattoo. Any hockey fan would recognize it. Sadly, he fell victim to marketing and bought the new logo. Honestly, if you're not an Original 6 team, don't do the logo thing, period. Original 6 logos won't be changing any time soon, but the other 24 can change at any given time. Allow me to suggest "Let's Go Caps" in front of crossed hockey sticks or a goalie mask. Avoid the colors and the logo is you're not a fan of one of the Original 6!

BOTH. I like the idea of honoring your favorite player and all, so that part gets a PASS. However, having an ugly, bald dude permanently drawn onto your skin is a FAIL no matter who it is.

PASS. "Forever Habs" gets a PASS because it celebrates a fans dedication to his team and it's tradition of winning. No specific dates. No Cup totals.

PASS. Kept it generic. Like the Canadiens tattoo above, the wearer left out specific dates and cup totals. This tattoo is a celebration of any given Red Wings team, not a specific, successful team.

I'll try to do more tattoo PASS/FAIL articles in the future. It was a lot of fun to research and write about and something tells me this summer will consist of a lot of FAILS coming from the Pennsylvania area.

The Chuck Norris Trophy

2009-06-19T13:14:00.000-07:00

Quick disclaimer, just in case... I didn't come up with the idea for this award, nor did I do the photoshop to make the trophy. Anyways, now that that's out of the way, here are my finalists and my pick for this years Chuck Norris Trophy, awarded to the player with the best playoff beard (hint, would you believe Crosby didn't even make the final cut!?):

Finalist #1, Johan Franzen. Franzen grows a pretty good playoff beard, no doubt, but that should be expected from someone named Mule.

Finalist #2, Henrik Zetterberg. Hank's playoff beard is slightly better than Franzen's as far as bushiness goes, but lacks the reddish color that makes Franzen look more like a viking.

Finalist #3, Kris Draper. As I showed in a previous blog, Chuck Norris would play Draper in a movie so you would think that Kris would be a lock for the award, but he missed some games with injury. Very not Chuck-like.

Finalist #4, and your winner is Dan Cleary. I mean, cleerly, it's Cleary. (try saying that 5 times fast) Color, bushiness and Dan's durability in the playoffs put him over the top. Congratulations, dan Cleary. You are the 2009 Chuck Norris Trophy winner.

2008-09 NHL Awards

2009-06-19T12:08:00.000-07:00

Hart Trophy: Alex Ovechkin won it this year over Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk. Since Ovie is my favorite player that's not on the Red Wings, I can appreciate him winning it. I guess I just wonder what the award is all about? It's the NHL's MVP, but it tends to go to a guy who either leads in goals or assists or both. Thing is, there's already a couple of awards for that. The Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy goes to the player with the most goals and the Lester B Pearson goes to the player with the most points. So... why did Ovie get the Hart when he's kind of one-dimensional? Well, it goes to "the player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team." Clearly, the Washington Capitals would be trash without him, so based on that criteria, the NHL chose right. Sadly, Datsyuk is the more complete player between the 3 and probably the best player in all of hockey right now, but since the Red Wings can still win without him, he doesn't see to fit the bill. haha. Anyways, congrats, Ovie. Now ditch the Caps and sign with the Red Wings!

James Norris Trophy: League's best defenseman in 2009 was Zdeno Chara. No complaints here. As a Wings fan, I say it's Nick Lidstrom, of course, but Chara was due. Ultimately, I'm just glad it didn't go to Mike Green from Washington because, #1, he's all offense and no defense and #2, he was TERRIBLE in the playoffs whereas, Lidstrom and Chara stepped it up a notch. So, Congrats, Chara. Enjoy it while you got it, because I don't see Nick having another "off year".

Frank J. Selke Trophy: Once again, the leagues best defensive forward was Pavel Datsyuk. Awarded to a forward who demonstrates the most skill in the defensive component of the game. Based on that phrase, it doesn't seem to suggest that the player has to have offensive finish to win it, but most of the winners tend to be able to score. Really, I don't even recall the finalists because I knew it was going to Pavel. Unless another forward steps it up quite a few notches, it'll be a few more years until Datsyuk has more Selke Trophy's than anyone else. (Bob Gainey has 4)

Vezina Trophy: Tim Thomas was the best goalie in the NHL this year. Good for him. Yet another of my favorite non-Red Wings. I mean, the guy hunts bears! Kind of strange since he plays for the Bruins... but whatever, congrats to you, Tim Thomas!

Calder Trophy: This years rookie of the year went to Steve Mason. No one was shocked there. He could have easily won the Vezina, but a Calder trophy is nothing to scoff at. Congrats to you, Steve Mason. Now, I know you'll be playing the Wings a lot this year with you being in the Central and all with the Blue Jackets, but I wish you nothing but the best. Really, I think you're a great goalie! So good, you don't even need to warm up or stretch before games. Try it when you play the Wings next! And don't hold back on those kick saves. I'm sure your groin can handle it...

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Went to Steve Sullivan this season for overcoming a fragmented disc in his back that sidelined him for nearly 2 years. The trophy can only be awarded once. One of the other finalists was Chris Chelios... again. He keeps being nominated because of his age, basically. It is pretty amazing that he's still going, but hard to pass up Sullivan after he missed so much time. Congrats to you, Steve Sullivan.

I know this is wrong, but I can't help but cheer for the players here:

2009-06-18T00:04:00.000-07:00

NHL 2008-09 The Movie!

2009-06-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

Many hockey fans considered the 2008-09 NHL season to be the best in years. Hard to debate that with the winter classic, the Cup Finals going 7 games and Bettman's anointed one getting the trophy. So who would be the cast of NHL 2009 the Penguins Strike Back? I held auditions (not really) for the most important parts and had many takers. In the end, I came up with the most qualified cast ever to appear on the big screen:

Gary Bettman will be represented by Pee Wee Herman. Pee Wee was chosen for his similar looks, complete lack of hockey knowledge and apparent interest in young boys(charges were dropped), making him the perfect Gary Bettman.

I searched high and low to find just the right actor to represent Sid the Kid, but none of the male child actors were willing to participate in the 'punch the guy in the nuts from behind scene' so I went with the next best thing. Sidney Crosby will be played by Hannah Montana.

What about teammate Evgeni Malkin? Well, I found that it wasn't easy finding a Hollywood actor as high up on the 'ugly tree' as Geno, so I'll be taking clips from the 1922 horror movie 'Nosferatu'. Malkin will be represented by Count Orlock.

The part of Penguins Coach Dan Bylsma will be played by Matt Damon.

Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock will be played by two different actors. Mel Gibson will represent Babcock during wins and Clint Eastwood will play the 'losing babs'.

Hendrik Zetterberg will be played by the guy in this clip, because he has the beard and I didn't have to buy a Zetterberg Jersey since he had one already:

It wasn't easy choosing a Pavel Datsyuk. I narrowed it down to 5. Who do you think it should be?

Kris Draper can lead a horse to water AND make him drink. That's why Chuck Norris gets the part of Drapes.

Of course, not all teams can make it all the way, but all teams made a difference in the 2008-09 NHL season. The biggest difference makers will be represented in the film. Here they are, with their respective actors:

Alexander Ovechkin. Ovie gets to represent the entire Washington Capitals team (since that's pretty much how the second round went) and play himself.

It was easy finding a suitable Matts Sundin. I needed someone who could sit around and do nothing while waiting for money, then continue to do nothing once the money arrives. This cue ball will do perfectly.

Who can forget Sean Avery and his off-color remarks about his former girlfriend? I only took one audition for the part of Sean. The role went to Sean Penn. Given Penn's loud mouth that never says anything useful and his previous experience playing a retard, all he really needed was a haircut to be the perfect Sean Avery.

Martin Brodeur showed some real highs and lows this season. After breaking Roy's record for most wins, he went on to lose in the first round of the playoffs. Who could represent a cocky Frenchman with a tendency to flip out when things don't go his way better than Russel Crowe?

The entire 2008-09 San Jose Sharks will be played by these four people:

And finally, this years Colorado Avalanche. I found their representative right away, but I don't think it's appropriate to put a picture of a dead horse on my page.

So there you have it! The cast and crew are all ready to go. I hope you enjoy the film as much as I enjoyed choosing the cast!

Thank You Detroit Red Wings.

2009-06-13T10:07:00.000-07:00

Once again, we Red Wings fans have been blessed with a great year of hockey. True, it ended sadly, but I'd say it was a good year. A learning experience for our young guys. Losing is the best teacher, right? Look at the Pens this year vs last year. Rather than dwelling on the failure of two games, I'm using this post to look back on the good times of this year. Remember having the banner raised during the home opener? And the Winter Classic? I know I always will. It was great to see the Wings and the Hawks playing outside in the cold. Didn't hurt that the Wings won big despite trailing 3-1 after the first period. Remember Datsyuk and Lidstrom getting suspended for missing the All-Star game because of an injury? That really seemed lame to me, but I guess rules are rules (unless you're Malkin lol). Also, who can forget how Ozzie played in the regular season vs how he played in the playoffs? I really felt that we'd be lucky to get by the first round with the way he had been playing. He went from the worst goalie in the league, statistically, to a playoff MVP candidate. I love being wrong, sometimes.

Thanks for putting on one heck of a show, Red Wings. What a season it was.

Tough loss

2009-06-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

Congratulations, Pittsburgh. Once again, the Red Wings and Penguins show the rest of the NHL what a finals should look like. Sadly for me and the majority of my readers, the Wings wound up on the short end this year. Games 6 and 7, Detroit did not bring their A game and Pittsburgh did. Hard to win when you only play one period.

Still, I’m proud of my team. How can I complain when they’ve practically been a contender since the Reagan Administration? Year after year the Red Wings have been a great team and this year is no different. Could be worse, we could be the Sharks or Avs! Of course, at the end of every series, the injury report comes out and we find out just how hurt people were. Usually, you find out that so-and-so who couldn’t score on a soccer net had a pulled groin or whatever. So far though, the Red Wings have not resorted to excuses. When asked about his foot, Pavel Datsyuk said, "It's too late to talk about injuries, foot or no foot, it's fine now. I look forward not backward." Hard to read a quote like that and not respect the guy. Same went for Rafalski, Hossa and Lidstrom.

Speaking of Hossa: The media and fans can pretty much play in traffic as far as I’m concerned. He’s a goat because they made him a goat. I can’t even imagine having to play through what was clearly going through his head every time momentum shifted. Watch replays of him losing the puck and you’ll see how he puts his head down and just tries to do too much. Also, watch when the Wings score when he’s on the ice. It looks like the weight of the world was just lifted off his shoulders. At least for a second. I honestly thought he played just fine in the first 3 rounds, but the better Pittsburgh did and the more the media asked dumb questions, the more he tried to do too much. I hope he stays in Detroit because I think Stanley Cups will continue to be won here and I think he’ll do awesome if he’s allowed to just do his thing, but you never know.

Hossa drama and the pressure it's put on him

2009-06-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

After the clock wound down to 0:00, I was left with my head flooded with emotions.

That WAS a great game and my team was in it until the end, so I had a little tiny amount of pride welling up inside. We were still only one win away from repeating and that was worth being happy over... then again, Crosby is one win away from getting his meat hooks on the Cup and it would be in OUR building if he does. I felt more bad feelings than good, but I was ticked when I thought about Hossa. I have defended his low point totals and lack of hustle for the last two months. I'd talk about how he was still creating chances, how when the game was close, he would skate hard (usually) and how he's still good in his own end. Well, Detroit didn't give him $7.5 million to create chances and poke-check the puck on the other end of the ice. He's here to score goals. Remember last year? He and Crosby were all Pittsburgh really had for offense. I think the issue is simple. He has finally cracked under the pressure of facing the team he left. It's been like the story line of a crappy teenage love story where the jock rejects the average looking girl for the really hot, yet stuck up, cheerleader, only to later find that when the average girl takes off her glasses and unties her hair, she's the hottest girl in school! Oh no! The jock chose wrong and the average looking girl wins!

Calm down, Marian. You still have one more chance to prove just how ugly that chick really is...

Now, let me take a minute to explain how dumb the media, the penguins and possibly even Hossa actually are if I'm right and it's all been the pressure I described. First of all, let's say Hossa stays in Pittsburgh. Now you have $7 million a year for multiple years going towards Hossa, you're closer to the cap and you still have to sign Malkin and Fleury. No room left for Fedetenko, Guerin or Satan. Odds are, Malkin is gone for peanuts. Peanuts, for the guy who has scored more points in these playoffs than anyone, by far. Maybe Malkin stays, but now Staal has to go. There goes whatever depth Pittsburgh thought they had. Probably can't afford Fleury now so who's your goalie going to be? Point is, if Hossa stays, Pittsburgh probably does not make the playoffs. Certainly does not go far if they do. His signing made both teams better. Even if Detroit loses game 7, Hossa chose right. I just hope he remembers that on Friday.

Game 6 recap and what's next for game 7

2009-06-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

I can't even express how badly I wanted to be writing about a Stanley Cup victory right now. All the anti-Bettman, anti-Penguins photo shop ideas I have, all the below-the-belt one-liners I had been hoping to use... stuffed back into the box from which they came to be shipped back to Detroit for a game 7. (See what I did there? lol) No point in dwelling on it though.

Let's look at what I said the Wings needed to do to win and see what they actually did:

Stay out of the box. Yup, can't complain there. Only short handed twice and both were killed off with no problem. The Wings did a good job clearing pucks and Ozzie was there when we needed him.

Score on the power play. Nope, 0-2 ourselves with some real close calls. In the end, I'm encouraged because the PK looked good and the PP did also, despite the goose egg. I would be unhappy if neither looked good.

Score a garbage goal or two. Not really. Draper's goal looked pretty good to me. Off a rebound but Fleury really had no chance on it. I was hoping for something along the lines of Fleury knocking the puck in himself like he's been prone to do from time to time. He was good though. No garbage goals.

Match the Pen's energy, performance in net and let your depth take over. NOPE, yes and kind of. Being out shot infinity to 3 in the first period of a cup clinching game is just so sad. Yes, Ozzie was great and gave us a chance to win. And our depth got us on the board, but theirs gave them the win.

OK, Mr. Smarty Pants, what do you suggest they do now? Honestly, same keys to victory apply here. Now behold as I copy and paste like I've done this before:

1. Stay out of the box. The easiest penalty to kill off is the one you don't commit. Then when you do get short handed, kill it off like it's overtime!

2. Score on the power play.

3. Score a garbage goal or two to try and rattle Fleury.

4. Match Pittsburgh's energy. Match their performance in net. Let your depth take over.

If Detroit does these things, they can survive the onslaught of chances Pittsburgh is sure to have.

Good luck, Wings.

Game 5 recap and a look ahead to game 6

2009-06-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

After game 4, the media and so called 'experts' were fitting the Penguins for Stanley Cup Championship rings as well as verifying the spelling of their names for engraving on the Cup, because the Red Wings were too old, too tired and the Penguins were just too energized to lose another game. Marian Hossa was supposed to be searching for a small desert island to exile himself to after the inevitable loss to his former team. The Red Wings could be heard bickering in their locker room for hours about who's walker belonged to whom. Then when word came that Red Wings superstar and league MVP finalist Pavel Datsyuk would be playing in game 5, it was said that he would not be a factor. Too much rust! He's less than 100%! He'll be a liability out there!

Ever-dedicated, injured Pavel Datsyuk searches for ways to skate without using his feet...

Well, it turns out that a rusty, below 100% Datsyuk is better than 99% of the league. Early on, Pittsburgh looked pretty good. Osgood held them off the board for the first 10-12 minutes before Detroit took over. After receiving a pass from Brian Rafalski, Datsyuk carried the puck over center ice and into the Pittsburgh zone where he sent the puck towards Dan Cleary. Cleary used Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik as a screen as he beat Fleury to put Detroit up 1-0 at 13:32 of the first period. After that goal, Detroit never looked back. After an early second period goal by Filppula, Pittsburgh began to show signs of frustration as they took penalty after penalty for elbowing, slashing and roughing. Probably the most controversial call came when Max Talbot of the Penguins tripped Pavel Datsyuk. After missing 7 games with a broken foot, the slash on Datsyuk's skate seemed to have malicious intent. Talbot said after the game, "I went for the puck..." Riiiiiight. Since the puck was absolutely nowhere near Datyuk's skate, Maybe Talbot should take a tip from Pavel himself:

The Wings needed to do 4 things to win game 5. Get Pavel Datsyuk back, work hard and win battles, commit as few penalties as possible, kill the ones you do and score when they have the man advantage and stop turning the puck over. They did all 4 to the extreme and that's why they won 5-0.

So what about game 6 in Pittsburgh? It's going to be loud and the Penguins should be full of energy. Fleury will be better in net, almost for certain. I also don't see Pittsburgh gooning it up like they did in game 5 even if they get down early. So what's the plan?

1. Stay out of the box. The easiest penalty to kill off is the one you don't commit. Then when you do get short handed, kill it off like it's overtime!

2. Score on the power play.

3. Score a garbage goal or two to try and rattle Fleury.

4. Match Pittsburgh's energy. Match their performance in net. Let your depth take over.

If Detroit does these things, they can survive the onslaught of chances Pittsburgh is sure to have.

As a Red Wings fan, I want to see Hossa win the Stanley Cup. I don't care if he wins it in Pittsburgh or Detroit, but I would prefer Pittsburgh because I can't handle another game 7, lol.

What went wrong with the Wings in game 4 and how to stop the bleeding.

2009-06-05T16:01:00.000-07:00

So what's the deal here, Red Wings fans? Series is tied 2-2 and the Wings have looked bad for 4 games. If not for some lucky bounces in games 1 and 2, the Pens would have skated the cup last night. I wince at the thought. As a hockey fan, I have had Crosby's image forced in my face for 4 years now. Even when the Pens lose, there's his smiling face reminding me why "a free hand" is suddenly "Holding" after years of players having to actually work to get points. (Don't get me wrong, the kid is awesome and he does work hard. But pre-lockout rules and I don't see him getting 70 points in a season.) After the Red Wings won the cup last year AGAINST Pittsburgh and Crosby, I added the commemorative DVD to my collection and what am I greeted by? An NHL ad telling me about an upcoming feature of Crosby where cameras would follow him around and show us what it's like to be the face of the NHL. And for some reason, I can't skip past it! For some reason, it's the one part of the DVD that you can't fast forward or skip past. All i can do is hit mute and close my eyes! Look, I can handle the Wings losing in the cup finals. It happened in 95 and I survived. For every cup victory, there's been two that they really should have or at least could have won. The problem with losing to Pittsburgh is that with the NHL and Bettman forcing Crosby on us after he has won nothing, imagine what we'll see when he wins. Just imagine seeing him hoist the cup during every possible highlight for the next 20 years. Do any non-Pittsburgh fans want this? Very few if any. Then again, do Red Wings haters want to see 5 cups in the last 12 years? Lesser of the two evils in my opinion!

Ok, how do we prevent the NHL poster boy from actually accomplishing something? Here are my thoughts:

1. Pavel must play in game 5. Zetterberg has been great against Crosby despite his 2 points Thursday night, but Malkin has had way to much room out there. He needs Pavel in his face, keeping him off the score sheet. Even if Pavel doesn't actually score, he will be a huge lift for the team in their own zone.

2. No more turnovers! It's never ok to turn the puck over to a fast group like Pittsburgh, but in our own end? That's begging for disaster.

3. Hustle. Helm should be wearing an A on his sweater at this point. He's not the only Red Wing that's trying, but he is definetly setting the standard. Watch the goal by Staal and notice at the blue line that Rafalski has perfect positioning. Then watch as Staal starts skating hard and Rafalski does not. A lot of people are saying "Ozzie should have had that one." Maybe, but Ozzie should not have had to face it in the first place.

4. Special Teams. Really? Our PK is 50%? How can you have a PK that bad with the names we have out there? I'll tell you: Not clearing the puck! The half that we actually killed off, The Wings cleared pucks and denied entrance to their zone. The half that we let in, we didn't clear the puck. Sure, a few offsides here and that that went uncalled didn't hurt either, but give me a break...

5. Officiating. Keep it the way it is!

That's really all I have at this point. I think if the Wings will solve 4 of those 5 points, we'll take the series in 6. If not, then we'll be stuck with the image of Crosby lifting the cup over his soft, protected head for the next 20 years... OMG... GO RED WINGS!

Getting over Hossa

2009-06-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

Let me take you back to the trade deadline of the 2007-08 NHL season. The Pittsburgh Penguins were well on their way to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they knew they needed a winger for Sidney Crosby to pass to. A winger who could put the puck in the net. So, they turned to the struggling Atlanta Thrashers who were looking to unload Marian Hossa in the final year of his contract. Pittsburgh traded a few of their younger role players for the Slovakian superstar and it was a match made in Heaven. Pittsburgh steamrolled their way to the Stanley Cup Finals where they ran into the brick wall that was the Red Wings. Now, with the season over, it was time for free agents like Hossa to make decisions. He was given long term offers to play in Pittsburgh and Edmonton. Pittsburgh offered him around $7 million every year for around 7 years and Edmonton offered him $9 million a year for even longer. I honestly never imagined he'd sign with Detroit because I didn't hear any talks about him being offered anything from the Wings. All the talk was, "Will he take the money in Edmonton, or will he take a pay cut to stay in Pittsburgh..." Then came the free agency signings. The first day, nothing significant happened. Still a lot of rumors about who will go where and for how much, but nothing was certain. The next morning I logged onto the net to see if the Wings had resigned their few free agents that were in question still when my jaw hit the floor. "Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings Sign Marian Hossa." I remember pounding my fists on my desk and laughing out loud about our good fortune. It didn't take long to get the impression that the Pens fans took it very hard. Quotes like, "I feel like I just caught my GF cheating with my worst enemy..." were abound. So, a player who played about 20 games for your team is on the same level as your girlfriend? Get a life, maybe? Penguins blogs were littered with anti-Hossa articles that really sounded like a scorn lover aka "psycho chick with an umbrella trying to break his car windows"

"It wasn't so much that he left, it was HOW he left..." are you kidding me?

"It's ok, we signed Satan. He's just as good..." (Sha-tan, not... you know...) Rebound relationship maybe? Satan is no where near as good as Hossa. Even in Satan's "prime" he was no Hossa, but it sure was fun to read all the denial. Hossa wore #18 in Pittsburgh but 18 was taken already in Detroit so he took 81. Satan took 81 in Pittsburgh and it really added to the whole "Hossa replacement".

The Penguins season was all but over until they fired their coach and hired Dan Bylsma (Grand Haven, MI native!). Once they finally got some direction behind the bench, they took off. Fast forward now and it's Detroit and Pittsburgh in the Finals again and the media is all over Hossa. I don't blame the media but what I still can't believe is the Pens bandwag... (sorry) loyal fans still all over how they hate Hossa.

Any idea how much this jersey, that this guy will probably never actually wear, costs? $185 before shipping. Obsess much?

How much of a hater do you think this loser was when Hossa was playing for them?

And this came from the Pittsburgh Hossa fan page. HUGE fans of Hossa, eh?

Easy for me to say, right? He came to my team. But let's not forget the times the Wings have had someone move on to "greener" pastures. Here's my top 5 Wings moving on moments and how the fans handled it:

5. Bob Probert dropping the puck for game 4 against the Blackhawks in Chicago. He played for both teams but his better years were with Detroit. It was in Chicago, but the media made a big deal of it as if he had chosen his favorite team and turned his back on the Wings. I didn't see it that way and most of my fellow Wings fans brushed it off. Odds are, he was paid to do it. We won that game anyways.

4. Shanahan to the Rangers. After losing the first round to the Oilers and having Yzerman retire, I was not in the mood to read, "Shanahan signs with Rangers." Later finding out that he was offered the same amount of money and years to stay in Detroit, I was kinda pissed. A few days later, he said that he left because he was at the end of his career and wanted to make room in the Wings roster for younger players, and he likes New York. So in the end, I was happy to know he did it for himself and the team. No one in Detroit boos him.

3. Lapointe to Boston. Pretty much wanted to get paid since he had won 2 cups with Detroit and Boston had the money he wanted. Again, never heard anything bad said about him after he left.

2. McCarty to the Flames. That wasn't his fault at all. He wanted to stay but Calgary picked him up. I put it at #2 because of the reaction of the Wings fans the first time he came back for a game against the Wings, the crowd cheered everything he did as if he was still a Red Wing. Now that's class.

1. Fedorov to Anaheim. At the time, Anaheim sucked and Sergei wanted to be the star of a team. As in, the ONLY star since he had to share billboard space with Yzerman, Shanahan and the rest... I still like him for the effort he put forth in the cups he won with the team, but he does get booed sometimes in Detroit. Other than that, I can't think of a Red Wing who left that has been booed. ESP one that only played 20 games for us. lol

So how does Pittsburgh get over their broken hearts? I suggest they take a page from one of their very own. I have had the pleasure to meet some great hockey fans on both sides of the coin on various threads. One of the best statements I have read about the issue was made by m_mckinley:
"The whole make Hossa feel dumb about leaving this is ridiculous...the Pens would not have been in the spot they are if they signed him...we'd have had 3 players and probably would've dealt Staal. Hossa knew that we'd be very limited in our ability to add other pieces by signing him. He made the best decision for himself and owed us nothing. In the end his decision made both teams better...their should be no ill-will toward him. Period"

If that doesn't work, I suggest trying to be like Red Wings fans: When things are bad, don't let yourself get too low. When things are good, don't get yourself to high up there cuz the fall hurts worse. Remember the good times you had with Hossa. Try to forget that you paid $150 for a rental players jersey. (soooo dumb) Realize that "who wouldn't want to play with Crosby?" isn't a reason for a player to sign with your team. Mostly, try cheering for your team's players rather than booing someone else's... unless it's Pronger. Hope this helps and Go Red Wings!