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Put…the…pipe…DOWN
by IwoCPO on 07/31/07 at 04:52 PM ET
Comments (19)
Helene St. James, most likely out of boredom, has created a firestorm. The boards are buzzing. Rumor sites are blasting “Forsberg to Detroit?” headlines…all due to this sentence:
General manager Ken Holland has told Forsberg’s agent, Don Baizley, that the Wings are interested in adding the Swedish superstar to their lineup.
My opinion on this matter is well known by now: he’s not coming here. Not now, not ever. The Wing lineup is sturdy enough. The Cap money is in the bank, collecting interest for March. And there is little doubt in my simple mind that whatever Holland told Baizley (and when) comes with a caveat from Bandwagon Central. And that caveat is this: “whatever the Wings offer, we raise them a dollar.”
But that’s just my opinion. In the interests of offering you as many views…as misguided and pathetic as they may be when they are in contrast to mine…I present to you Floppa-mania.
The Scoreboard Message Board (Wings)
All in all this is all really intriguing. We certainly need a first line center, and a healthy Forsberg is as good as it gets, but that’s a BIG if with the health aspect.
Plus it’s unsure at this point if he feels it’s okay to play with the Wings, he mentioned when he went to nashville that it would have been a bit strange for him to play with the Wings after all the history there. He doesn’t want to be regarded as a “traitor” with the Avs especially, he still feels close to that club and their fans.
No, we don’t need a first-line center. We have one. No, wait…we have two. Forsberg, in the Hell at 32 degree fantasy of a BS scenario, would center the second line. In reality, he’ll be on the Dive first or second line rubbing tummies with either of his pals Joey or Milan.
Of course they want him. He fits right in a soft euro,he is 40 something,injury prone, and over the hill. Bring him on in Kenny.
Ahhh, yes. The “soft euro” argument. Yeah, tool bag. He’d join our core of soft Euro’s like Holmstrom and Zetterberg. Notoriously soft. Lilja: horribly soft. Kronwall? Injury prone, of course. But “soft”? Christ, even Datsyuk isn’t soft. Even Samuelsson, that frigging streaky bastard, isn’t soft. “Euro soft” is the stupidest stereotype this league has. Nice job Don.
Rumor has it that the news of Peter Forsberg’s successful foot operation now has several clubs around the league interested in signing the 34-year old. Supposably, the Detroit Red Wings is one of them. Now I’m not sure if Ken Holland has enough room under his salary cap to fit Forsberg, who I’m sure won’t take the first offer that comes along, but it sure tickles my mind to see him in playing in red this coming season.
Yep. It tickles my mind too buddy. Tickles my mind and my tummy. Tickles me to the point that I just may, you know, vomit.
The Calgary Puck forum has a post on it too. Not surprisingly, the provincial fans are taking a common sense approach: he’ll be back in Denver by Christmas.
Those are just three links out of at least two dozen more, all of them referencing St. James’ blog entry. All because, “Holland has told Forsberg’s agent, Don Baizley, that the Wings are interested in adding the Swedish superstar to their lineup.”
I’m not even mentioning the frigging hundreds of Swedish hockey blogs all screaming about a Floppa/Lidstrom tandem for ‘07-‘08; which brings up another point. Nick Lidstrom’s on record saying he’s not close with Forsberg. As a matter of fact, NONE of the Wing Swedes are. Hell, they may hate his ass for all we know.
Not…gonna…happen.
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Comments
There is no way the Hockey Gods would allow floppa in a Redwing sweater. The organ-I-zation already has to worry about one key player with health problems (paper groin) they’re not going to pay any signifant amount of cash to gamble on another possibility.
Posted by cementslinger from Midland MI on 07/31/07 at 06:24 PM ET
During the playoffs Helene St. James had a story claiming Detroit wouldn’t get past Calgary…and then another saying they wouldn’t get past San Jose. But, as we all know she was wrong. I stopped reading her articles after that and I would suggest you all do the same if your looking for reliable Wings coverage.
Posted by John from Michigan on 07/31/07 at 06:56 PM ET
I think all these wannabes should wise up and start reading your blog.
Posted by John the Red Wings Fan from East Lansing, MI on 07/31/07 at 07:46 PM ET
You have to admit that if Forsberg came here, the nation of Sweden would have to change its colors to Red and White. 8 Swedes, including Lidstrom, Forsberg, and Zetterberg… it would be kind of cool.
But this having been said, *#$%@& Floppa, and *#$%@& the Dive.
Posted by Pete K from East Lansing on 07/31/07 at 07:54 PM ET
How cute, you have slappies of your own sitting around fluffing your pubes and regurgitating your little pet names.
You’ve got Jim Rome clones.
Anyway…
There is no way the Hockey Gods would allow floppa in a Redwing sweater.
There was also no way that they would allow Chris Chelios in a Wings jersey either. How’d that one work out?
In a league where Brad May can wear an Avs uni the season after he bragged about a bounty being placed on an Av’s head (and then his boneheaded ex-Wing teammate went out and attempted to murder said Av)...anything can happen. If Foreskin wants to be a Wing, he’ll be a Wing.
And despite what the idiot Avs slapdicks like to think, Forsberg doesn’t give two shits about them and couldn’t care less if he played for an Avs rival or not.
If he wanted to come back to Colorado for next-to-nothing, I’d welcome him with open arms. Unlike Detroit, we’re too deep to give him a spot on a scoring line without sending someone who doesn’t deserve it to the 3rd line. And he’d have to play wing, there’d be no way around that. But I’d take him back for next-to-nothing. If he wants to make some good coin ($2m+), he can go play for Detroit if he wants. I couldn’t care less.
Best player in the game when he’s healthy. He’s never healthy.
Posted by Thomas on 07/31/07 at 11:28 PM ET
Once again Thomas we are blessed with your terrific hockey knowledge. You know I’m becoming less and less of a Wings fan every time you post something. Keep up the good work.
Posted by Josh from Mich on 08/01/07 at 01:36 AM ET
Nobody is trying to get anybody to stop being a fan of whatever team they follow. Just trying to get people to base their opinions on sound logic as opposed to blind Kool-Aidism.
Posted by Thomas on 08/01/07 at 02:01 AM ET
I love the mentality that if you believe anything that the Owner, GM, coach or player says, you’re drinking the “kool-aid”. But if you don’t believe them, ever, you’re being an objective realist.
Posted by Heaton on 08/01/07 at 06:17 AM ET
Thomas:
If sports are supposed to be fun, then if someone enjoys being an optimist about their team, why the hell should you care? If you really want to encourage logic, then worry about something important—like rational stands on crime, immigration policy, science education in schools, etc. and forget about sports. If you could reduce the influence of the religious rigth on science and research policy I for one would be much obliged. Now THERE is an area badly in need of logic.
Besides, any team’s level of suckage won’t be obvious until the teams actually start playing games. Until then there is no real evidence of any kind, only speculation.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 08/01/07 at 07:17 AM ET
Sounds like Helen St. James has been reading Eklund.
Posted by TheFreak on 08/01/07 at 08:31 AM ET
I love the mentality that if you believe anything that the Owner, GM, coach or player says, you’re drinking the “kool-aid”. But if you don’t believe them, ever, you’re being an objective realist.
And if that were what I do, your comment would be relevant.
With regards to the Avs, the GM rarely says anything, the owner never says anything, the coach is an absolute imbecile, and the players are just irrelevant entertainment when they speak. The Avs have made it policy to be tight-lipped at the top, so there’s really no Kool-Aid to drink. The last time I remember Kool-Aid being served was when Lacroix told fans that he signed Turgeon and Brisebois to replace Forsberg and Foote. Now, I never saw an actual transcript of that quote, and something may have been lost in translation (English is his second language), but I don’t think anyone actually believed that Turgeon and Brisebois would fill Forsberg and Foote’s roles. Replace their production? Perhaps.
With regard to the Wings, Bill usually approaches the Wings the same way I approach the Avs. The notable exception was when he took in Holland’s entire shaft and made some wild-ass prediction about Flop-ola getting 25 goals. But I think that’s because he just doesn’t know what Flop-ola was drafted for, what type of role he’s capable of playing, and what his abilities are. Whatever. He’ll see.
Being an objective realist isn’t a wholesale dismissal of everything a team says. It’s looking at the facts and drawing your conclusions from them and eliminating optimism, pessimism and bias from the equation.
If sports are supposed to be fun, then if someone enjoys being an optimist about their team, why the hell should you care?
Because pom-pon wavers get on my nerves.
If you really want to encourage logic, then worry about something important—like rational stands on crime, immigration policy, science education in schools, etc. and forget about sports.
There are plenty of people out there doing that. Precious few take on that task in sports.
If you could reduce the influence of the religious rigth on science and research policy I for one would be much obliged. Now THERE is an area badly in need of logic.
Interesting, bigoted stance.
The religious right has precious little influence on science and research policy in the US. The only three issues where the religious right and science intersect is the teaching of creationism in K12 education, cloning and stem cell research.
With stem cell research, the point is moot. It has already been shown that adult stem cells are just as useful as fetal stem cells for purposes of research. That fact was quickly swept under the rug by the media, and nobody really talks about it anymore.
With cloning, I guess I don’t see the point on either side. The religious right doesn’t want cloning because they see it as playing God, but it’s really just another form of the test tube baby. The goal is to splice here and there to eliminate certain traits and diseases, and that’s really no different than the polio vaccine. Then again, the other side is whacked-out as well. Why would you want to clone a person in the first place? If it’s for research, that’s disgusting. It’s everything that is unethical about animal testing multiplied 100x. Creating humans to research upon? Useful, but unethical.
We have prisons full of humans who actually DESERVE to be researched upon. Lobotomize them and research away.
As for the teaching of Creationism, that belongs in schools. It’s a viable theory, just like Evolution. It has its holes, just like Evolution. It hasn’t been proven, and neither has Evolution. It is logically sound, just like Evolution.
I guess I don’t see your point.
Besides, any team’s level of suckage won’t be obvious until the teams actually start playing games. Until then there is no real evidence of any kind, only speculation.
Um, wrong.
If what you were saying was true, then you’d think the Wings’ chances for winning the Cup would be 1:30, and the Preds’ chances for winning the Cup would be 1:30 as well. You don’t believe that. And why don’t you believe that? Because the Preds have gutted their team and you know that the chances that they will be as good or better next year than they were this year are lessened by the loss of their key players. That’s evidence, and we have it right now. We don’t need to wait for the season to start to know that the Preds will be worse off.
Sounds to me like you don’t know the difference between “evidence” and “statistical data”. And you are harping on the religious right about obstacles to science and research???
Posted by Thomas on 08/01/07 at 01:34 PM ET
Thomas,
Would you please find somewhere else to bother people. Maybe you and your little cross dressing buddy should try to hook up with that sick em effer that’s been watching little kids play in the parks. He would probably not mind listening to you bullshit.
Posted by Jay from s.c.s. on 08/01/07 at 02:49 PM ET
Being an objective realist isn’t a wholesale dismissal of everything a team says. It’s looking at the facts and drawing your conclusions from them and eliminating optimism, pessimism and bias from the equation.
Which you seem incapable of doing.
Posted by Heaton on 08/01/07 at 03:18 PM ET
Thomas needs a hug, and a nap.
As previously stated, Jimmy Devellano told the Windsor Star that the Red Wings would be interested in adding someone like Forsberg or Selanne as a “short-term” solution down the line, but in Forsberg’s case in particular, his health is a major issue. When this story was re-hashed in Aftonbladet, the author reminded fans that Forsberg said he had three options: 1. retiring; 2. playing for MoDo; 3. returning to the NHL. Moreover, from every indication I’ve read thus far, he would prefer to play with the Philadelphia Flyers, and then the Avs.
Given that the Red Wings management had some rather loud and insistent voices of dissent regarding the possibility of re-signing a less than 100% Todd Bertuzzi, I find it difficult to believe that the Red Wings would seriously pursue Peter Forsberg unless they received multiple assurances that he would be able to put his right foot into a skate securely after his second ankle surgery, and even then, they’d ask him for a discounted rate, say $2-3 million U.S. At this rate, the Red Wings have a much better chance of going after Selanne, should he choose to return, or biding their time and seeing how their young players perform until the halfway point of the season, at which point they will probably pursue Sergei Fedorov.
Posted by George Malik from South Lyon, MI on 08/01/07 at 03:20 PM ET
Being an objective realist isn’t a wholesale dismissal of everything a team says. It’s looking at the facts and drawing your conclusions from them and eliminating optimism, pessimism and bias from the equation.
Which you seem incapable of doing.
I’m the only one here doing that, kiddo.
See, for some unknown reason, you seem to think that this is a Wings blog. It’s not. I look at the Wings with indifference. They make some good moves, and I praise them for them. They make some bad moves, and I criticize them for them. Their fans add some useful information from time to time, and then they post a bunch of inane drivel 99% of the time.
Just because you and your Kool-Aid mustache don’t want to accept what I am saying as the truth doesn’t make my comments any less true.
As for the mindless troll from the post before yours, well, I am not going anywhere, and your bigoted attempt at humor (equating an Avs fan posting a comment on an NHL blog with child molestation) says more about you than it does me.
I add more to this site (by inciting discussion) than anyone other than the four people who post the articles, so you should be grateful that I would grace you with my presence.
Posted by Thomas on 08/01/07 at 03:49 PM ET
Tommy, I like you. You’re an interesting young man. You, admittedly, have some tendencies that aren’t popular with most of American society; but that’s ok with us. We’re all about diversity here at Abel To Yzerman.
Notice I threw the blog title in there. I did that for a reason. I’m aware that sometimes it can be confusing when some of my posts show up on the front page of Kuklas Inc. It can lead to dizziness and even sadness when you try to distinguish between A2Y and Kuklas. In some respects, there is no difference. A2Y is a page attached to KK, so it’s technically all part of the same empire.
But, and here’s where you should pay attention, this post—like many others—is actually an Abel To Yzerman piece of art. A2Y is, exclusively, a Wing blog.
It’s hard to figure out, I know. Most other people have wrapped their heads around the concept. But, for some, it takes a bit longer. Have no fear. We have patience. I’m sure you’ll get it.
Posted by IwoCPO from Sunny San Diego, bitches on 08/01/07 at 04:14 PM ET
Watch it Chief, he’s already lobbed one über-intimidating and cred enhancing “kiddo.”
Dear God, man - don’t be next.
Posted by TeamDub from The Fifedom of Finkbeiner on 08/01/07 at 05:24 PM ET
Just because you and your Kool-Aid mustache don’t want to accept what I am saying as the truth doesn’t make my comments any less true.
Yet, you have no sound fact to make your comment, that Ken Holland is the worst GM in the league, to be truth.
It is only an opinion of yours. A comment, yes. Truth? Not likely.
Posted by cementslinger from Midland MI on 08/01/07 at 06:37 PM ET
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If anyone pays this guy over 2 mill per considering his unfortunate injury bug he’s had the past few seasons arent thinking right. Incentive loaded sure, make the top one GAMES PLAYED.
Posted by yzerman19 from Nashville on 07/31/07 at 05:52 PM ET