when you make that a summer of partying, it makes it very difficult to get back into the routine necessary to fight through a tough season.

Ahhh, yes, but you see, we are professionals.  Do not try this at home.

Mix that with the fact every team is gunning for you…

What else is new?  Add in the annual load of crap from Little Gary and welcome to our world. 

Hangovers are for one-trick ponies without leadership.

Can I get an Amen?!!!

Posted by Rumbear from it's not a hangover, it's a charactor building hea on 09/07/08 at 09:30 AM ET

What a hack, he misspelled Filppula. Or is he just acting like a blogger?

Posted by shep from california on 09/07/08 at 10:02 AM ET

Amen!!

...and a Oh Snap! thrown in for good measure.

We also have a mix of young players looking to establish themselves and veterans not interested in closing out their career on a losing note.

During the parade, all the first time winners said they realized why the older guys are so hungry to win it every year.

Oh, and Mike Babcock is a cannibal

Posted by Osrt on 09/07/08 at 10:04 AM ET

What a hack, he misspelled Filppula. Or is he just acting like a blogger?

hey, who doesn’t?

Posted by Pharazon from England on 09/07/08 at 10:21 AM ET

Let’s not forget that the Wings are the last team to repeat as SC Champs, but with Steve Yzerman’s humility and play with 100% effort every shift leadership that was no surprise.

The good news is that the overriding characteristic of this team is selfless, team-first hard work.

And I think it is a great addition to this to have Hossa jump on board for less money.  Everyone knows why this top 10 forward is coming to play with them.  I do believe this is a great motivator on top of their inbred team-player attitude.

Posted by RWBill from jabbing a six inch sewing needle into my eye. on 09/07/08 at 10:26 AM ET

And here are a couple of non-news events being reported as news.

1) Datsyuk and Z being split up.  So what else is new?  This is a weekly occurrence.  With the addition of Hossa maybe they will be able to stay apart for longer, but do not be surprised, in fact I would be shocked if we don’t soon and often see a line during games of Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Hossa.

2) Tick-Tock and Uncle Mike’s statements that they have no Master Plan (for defensemen) and they will sort it out on the ice in training camp.  What?  They’ve watched these players develop since they were first picked up on amniocentesis, and they expect us to believe they’re going to learn something new about these players in a camp and in meaningless pre-season games?  I don’t buy that, and you know what?  I don’t care, I’ll just Joe Biden my time and see what shakes out.  It will be genius, whatever they do.

Posted by RWBill from jabbing a six inch sewing needle into my eye. on 09/07/08 at 10:39 AM ET

I would be shocked if we don’t soon and often see a line during games of Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Hossa.

I am really looking forward to seeing that line combination.  With Homer’s contract up at the end of 2010, Franzen coming on strong, and Hossa to (potentially) re-sign, I think Homer could be another casualty two years from now.  Would Hossa take a back-loaded deal to remain in the flock?  If so, Homer could be a goner in a couple years…

2010-2011 Wings forwards?

Z-Dats-Hossa
Mule-Flip-Cleary
Kopy-Draper-Abbadabbadoo
Leino-Helm-Happy

It’d likely take a freakin’ miracle to make it happen, but I’d be pretty comfortable with that line-up.

Posted by mudshark from Divetown, Colorado on 09/07/08 at 01:03 PM ET

Mudshark, not that I’d complain about that lineup or anything, but if Huds is still bound for the 4th line in 2010-11, he’s not with the Wings any longer. Hopefully Leino works out better than that too.

Plus, I really don’t expect to see Z/Pav/Hossa together much at all. Desperation line is all I’d expect. Mike likes a netbanger on every line, and it’s quite useful to keep the D occupied while the skilled players skate circles around inferior forwards.

I’ve never understood the hangover theory either. At least not as far as motivation goes. Most of these guys are pros because they refuse to settle for 2nd best. They’re willing to work to remain the best, and in most cases, pride wont allow them to just coast.

Still, the extra little boost of morale and drive from a teammate working his butt off and who’s never won can’t hurt.

Posted by Nate A from Dark side of the moon on 09/07/08 at 03:16 PM ET

Yeah, probably right about Hudler.  I have a hard time ever seeing him get regular time in the top six simply because he’s so damn small.

As for line combos, I don’t see Babcock avoiding the Z-Dats-Hossa line.  We’ve got the depth to ice three solid lines below this one (and the second line with Franzen and Flip is pretty damn good, even with William Tell riding shotgun), and Babs likes to shake up the combos.  We may see more Flying Circus backed by Mule-Flip-Hossa toward the end of the season, but you have to put three of the top ten scorers in the NHL together when you have them, right?

Posted by mudshark from Divetown, Colorado on 09/07/08 at 05:04 PM ET

Steve Yzerman, at today’s Fan Fest: “Well, on Friday we had the parade, and on Saturday we had a team party, and on Monday, Kenny Holland and Jim Nill were back in the office, getting ready for the draft.”

Kris Draper, at today’s Fan Fest: “Most teams have a strength and conditioning coach.  We don’t because guys get it done themselves.  When you see Steve Yzerman on the bike after the game, you think, ‘If he’s doing it for 20 minutes, I’d better do it for 40,’ and that’s carried on, the kids come in and see Lidstrom, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, those guys working out after practice, after games...”

Yeah, partying, partying all summer long.  As of Friday, Holmstrom, Draper, McCarty, Lidstrom, Conklin, Osgood, Datsyuk, Rafalski, Maltby, they’ve all been skating in Detroit, I know that Zetterberg had skated with Rogle in Sweden, Hossa was skating in Slovakia, Filppula and Selanne work out together and skate together in Helsinki, Hudler came back from LA, where he was training with Chelios and Cleary at T.R. Goodman’s gym in Venice Beach, to have his “day with the Cup” in the Czech Republic…

Who’s left out?  Franzen, who usually works out with HV-71 when they have their training camp in mid-August?  Abdelkader, who was skating at MSU in early August?  Kronwall?  Stuart?  Lilja?  Samuelsson?  Downey?  Lebda?  Meech?  Helm?  Quincey?

Downey was taking part in a charity game on Saturday night, and Meech and Helm were doing the same in like, July or something, Kronwall’s been known to skate with Djurgarden, Stuart works out in San Jose…

Am I missing something here?  Yeah, somebody doesn’t show up in peak shape on the 19th when the guys get their physicals, and I’m sure the rest of the vets are gonna be real happy about that, and Babs will be even happier. 

This team doesn’t need inspiration.  They just get to work.  Today I heard Gordie Howe, Steve Yzerman, and Kris Draper all talk about how proud they feel when they put on that Red Wings jersey, and Jim Nill talk about how the Wings expect their young players to take their playoff experiences and really step up their performances this season, and Draper say how much he was looking forward to training camp and getting out there and competing, knowing full well that Babs was gonna put the boys through the ringer like he does every year.

Hossa’s gonna have to work his butt off to get with the program, not the other way around.

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 09/07/08 at 06:11 PM ET

While most of the A2Y-19 know their hockey pretty well, I still get a kick out of you guys trying to outsmart the people that are paid to worry about these things.

Everyones line combo’s seem to overlook one important fact.  Most of the line shuffling is caused by the opposition, and that varies from team to team, home game/road game etc.  Trying to avoid certain matchups that the opposition coach is dead set on, and shuffling combo’s due to PP and PK exhaustion etc.
Good coaches also go with players that are hot. Constantly adjusting for the guys just having an off night, even though they are trying their usual 110%.

Posted by HockeyTownTodd from upset when blogs don�t live up to my expectations on 09/07/08 at 07:45 PM ET

So since they are experts and we aren’t, what can we actually talk about that won’t give you a ‘kick’, Todd?

Posted by HockeyinHD on 09/07/08 at 07:52 PM ET

In a way, the hangover stuff makes no sense.
But at the same time, don’t you think the Penguins and the other teams beat by the wings/penguins on their trip to the finals will be even more determined to win this year than they were last?
I think most of the hangover theory stuff can be explained just by the fact that most teams lose all of their free agents before the start of the next season.
I definitely disagree with the idea that players are less motivated after they win, or stop training as hard after they win.
But if you look at the 92-93 pens, you see that even though they were the best team, they got beat in the playoffs easily. I think that this was more because they took the other teams too lightly after winning 2 strait cups and then winning the Presidents trophy in that season, they thought that they were the best and would breeze though.

Because of the fact that the Wings didn’t lose anyone of great importance and actually gained a great player in Hossa, and they don’t seem any less motivated, I think they have a great chance of winning again UNLESS they take the other teams to lightly, thinking that they should win easily, or their goaltending falls apart.

Posted by Kevin from Pittsburgh on 09/07/08 at 07:57 PM ET

Hossa’s gonna have to work his butt off to get with the program, not the other way around.

so true george, so true…

Posted by yzer19man from Chicago on 09/07/08 at 08:29 PM ET

I think that it’s pretty safe to suggest that Kris Draper will centre the Wings’ third line, with Kirk Maltby on one of his wings, and I think that the Lidstrom-Rafalski and Kronwall-Stuart tandems will remain intact.  As far as other line combinations go?

I rarely consider them, save the fact that certain combinations tend to stick together (Babs has tried to get Pavel and Hank away from each other for three seasons now, with little luck, for example). 

It’s more about chemistry to me, and I would imagine, who plays well--I like the fact that Babcock wants to put his best players out against the opposition’s best players, there’s no avoidance, it’s get them over the boards and out-compete them, so I disagree with HTT there, you attack, you put power against power and checking against checking and you dare them to avoid you…

But the lines almost always change several times before combos work.

Kevin, if there’s a team that knows what it’s like to have the bullseye on your back, and there’s a braintrust in place that knows what it’s like to shoot for the moon at the trade deadline and not get a payoff.  I believe they have the will.  Will they stay healthy?  That’s what I worry about.

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 09/07/08 at 08:55 PM ET

Datsyuk and Z being split up.  So what else is new?  This is a weekly occurrence.

Here’s what Khan(!) quotes Babs as saying about breaking up Hank and Pavel: “Not maybe, for sure. They’re not playing together. Now with Hossa, the kind of player he is, and Franzen coming into his own, it would be crazy to play them together. They’re both happy at center, anyways.”

As the Chief has pointed out many times, both Babs and Tick Tock are lying liars, but Babs does seem determined to split them up this time...at least for regular shifts.

Tick-Tock and Uncle Mike’s statements that they have no Master Plan (for defensemen) and they will sort it out on the ice in training camp.

I haven’t seen any comments about letting the defensemen sort things out in camp other than his general statement that “...if you’re good enough, you get to play. If you’re not, you don’t.”

But Khan(!) again quotes Babs as saying this about the forwards, “The balance goes deeper now. Filppula is a second-line center in the NHL, and now him and Drapes will be our third- and fourth-line centers. But who’s on the third and fourth line? I don’t know. I’m just going to watch (at training camp).”

The Deep Digger Captain really outdid himself this weekend by coming up with yet another bit of “inside” info when he quotes Babs as saying this about the power play: “We’ll figure that out as time goes. I wrote the line combinations down many times on a napkin this summer and have gone through it over and over. We’re going to play them all (in preseason). Nobody that comes to camp is going to say they didn’t get a chance. The best players play, regardless of contracts.”

The “everybody gets a chance” philosophy will be helped by the fact that the Wings will play nine preseason games in just 12 days. So I’d guess there will be lots of split squads of half propects and half regulars, especially in the back-to-back games.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 09/07/08 at 11:04 PM ET

Will they stay healthy?  That’s what I worry about.

Damn you, George. Now I’m going to lay awake all night worrying about that.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 09/07/08 at 11:09 PM ET

I dont know if anybody’s thought about this yet but how do you think Hossa will handle all the travel in the Western Conference? Will it take a season of adjustment?

Posted by DerekW on 09/07/08 at 11:10 PM ET

You have to have eight veterans in the line-up.

Otherwise, I’m gathering that the nine-in-twelve will equal a lot of playing time for Quincey, Meech, Downey, McCarty, Leino, Howard, and I know that Emmerton’s name was mentioned about four times by Nill today...so there are gonna be a lot of kids playing lots of minutes.  The exhibition schedule is insane.

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 09/07/08 at 11:19 PM ET

OMG is this Mikael Samuelsson about 50 seconds in?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQLVuFp1jCk&feature=related

Posted by DerekW on 09/07/08 at 11:34 PM ET

I would be shocked if we don’t soon and often see a line during games of Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Hossa.

29 NHL teams just shit themselves…

Posted by cementslinger from Saginaw on 09/08/08 at 08:39 AM ET

OMG is this Mikael Samuelsson about 50 seconds in?

He’s probably trying to locate the last shot he took “on net”.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 09/08/08 at 10:06 AM ET

I would be shocked if we don’t soon and often see a line during games of Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Hossa.

And what about desperation power play lines?  I just about went nuts considering

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Franzen
Lidstrom-Hossa

Here’s to hoping that we won’t be seeing Samuelsson on the point on the power play any more.  Not with a cannon shot like Hossa has.

Posted by ludmeister on 09/08/08 at 11:38 AM ET

He’s probably trying to locate the last shot he took “on net”.

Was the errant shot followed by Charlie Buckets hitting the deck gushing blood n spitting chicklets?

Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 09/08/08 at 12:39 PM ET

He’s probably trying to locate the last shot he took “on net”.

Was the errant shot followed by Charlie Buckets hitting the deck gushing blood n spitting chicklets?
And I’d rather not see William Tell on the PP period.

Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 09/08/08 at 12:42 PM ET

Thanks for the suggestion
youtube açıldı yalanları
israil ahmedinejadi kaçırma haberi

Posted by asantes on 09/09/08 at 04:58 AM ET

Here’s to hoping that we won’t be seeing Samuelsson on the point on the power play any more.  Not with a cannon shot like Hossa has.
Posted by ludmeister on 09/08 at 12:38 PM

That’s what I’m thinking also, maybe Homer instead of Franzen.  Sammy was point on the 2d unit, doesn’t seem likey that the Lids-Rafalski combo on the PP blue line would be split.  No wonder Babs keeps having to write out the possibilities over and over, there’s almost no wrong answer.

Posted by RWBill from jabbing a six inch sewing needle into my eye. on 09/10/08 at 11:25 AM ET