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Toughness?  Winners Are Tough

by IwoCPO on 02/13/07 at 09:07 AM ET
Comments (4)

Dateline: San Antonio. 
Subj: Toughness

72 and sunny here on the River Walk.  Well, I haven’t actually been to the River Walk but I hear it’s cool.  The Alamo? Now that’s a sight to behold.  Well, I haven’t had a chance to visit it, but I’ll bet it’s, you know, historic.

Brooke Army Medical Center?  Never heard of it?  You should have.  I spent an hour there yesterday and met a few heroes.  This isn’t the forum for it, but I’ll say it anyway:  you have servicemembers all over this nation recovering in hospitals just like Brooke.  Every single one of them I met yesterday, no matter how badly injured they are, have only one wish.

All they want is to re-join their units, get back to the sand or the sea.  So whether you lean to port or starboard, to these guys (and girls) it’s nothing but a sideshow.  They know their missions and they’re dedicated to it, despite the misgivings of many of our countrymen.

So, we were talking about toughness.  We we discussing toughness as it relates to getting shoved around a hockey rink and how we need “to get tougher before the playoffs.”  Did we need that toughness the night before against Calgary?  Traditionally, the Flames are grittier, more prone to violence and “tougher” than Detroit.  Yet, 50 shots later no one was talking about “an infusion of toughness.”  Naturally, a garbage team like Philly manhandles the Wings on the back end of a two-in-two and the hue and cry returns.

So, you want toughness.  You want Wunderkind Kenny Holland to deal for it, grow it, acquire it.  What’s your definition of “tough”?  If you’re one of the people bellowing for it today, enlighten me.  Who’s the tough guy you want brought in?  What’s the dramatic impact one player is going to have, one tough, gritty player? 

Toughness is not a deadline acquisition.  Grittiness is an organizational theme that starts with the scouting, continues through minor league philosophies then is realized at the NHL level with a team patterned around that style of play.  The Wings fall nowhere in that description.

I guess what I’m saying is this: Holland’s going to make a move, but giving up 5 in the third in Philly and watching his team get molested is not going to prompt him to revise his search criteria. 

——-

Been a long couple of weeks, but it would appear that I’m back in business as far as posting goes.  As Jes Golbez pointed out, I should be ashamed for letting my real job get in the way of my posting regularity.  Jes, the bastard, is right again. I feel dirty. 

Would have been kind of nice to put Bubba in the rearview where he belongs last night.  It’s such a pleasant, consistent image…Bubba getting smaller in the mirror.  Would have been nice to put a little pressure on Bubba and see how he responds to second place for the first time in months.  Didn’t happen, but we all know there are 5 nights that will determine so much down the stretch.  The division, seedings and first-round matchups.

The Diggers tell me this morning that Hasek will start testing the wrist this week.  Osgood is two weeks away and MacDonald’s been exposed.  Does that mean Kenny’s looking at goalies on the trade front?  That idea makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little.  But…

More to follow.  Did I tell you it was 72 and sunny?

Filed in: | Abel to Yzerman | Permalink
 

Comments

Welcome back sailor. Thanks for the update on the real heroes, there is never a wrong place for that. They know what toughness and grit really are. As always I thnk you for your service too. Re the Wings, aren’t we forgetting that this is the team that many said wouldn’t even make the playloffs? We should be pleased at what we have seen them accomplish even though we hope for more. I personally hope they don’t sell the farm (the future) in any upcoming deal.

Posted by Grouchy Hippo on 02/13/07 at 12:35 PM ET

Welcome back.  Hats off to everyone at Brooke.

I really hope Holland doesn’t swing some kind of goalie trade.  I get shivers thinking of that.  Hopefully Dom will be healthy very, very soon.  Otherwise, what do we have left?  Howard?

Posted by hockeychic on 02/13/07 at 02:56 PM ET

I agree with Hippo.  If the price is too high, Holland should stay with the team he has.

“Foppa” makes you want to hurl?  Read this:

As far as the Flyers are concerned, Denis Gauthier’s decision to drop the gloves and slug Andreas Lilja after Lilja cross-checked Simon Gagne—in the first period—was the play that set up their furious third-period rally:

February 13, Morning Call: ‘‘Gauthier stood up for his teammate, we killed it off and even got a goal [by Richards] during the penalty kill,’’ Forsberg said. ‘‘That shows a lot.”

“He took it into his own hands,’’ beamed Hatcher.

‘‘We’ll kill off those four minutes any time,’’ Umberger said. ‘‘Denis sent a message.’‘

Umberger made a bold statement about the Flyers’ confidence in the third period:

‘‘We were laughing and joking out there,’’ Umberger said. ‘‘It felt like we could do anything we wanted.’’

Posted by w2j2 from Alpena, Michigan on 02/13/07 at 03:00 PM ET

Welcome back, Bill.

I agree completely with you about the team’s toughness.

I’m starting to doubt that the Wings will be able to swing a major deal. It looks like the asking price will be too high for any of the glamorous options, given the Wings’ lack of overall organizational depth. They know they can’t just piss away their future for a rent-a-player. I’ve said all along that it’d be great if they can con the Flyers or some other team into taking a Williams-or-Lang-plus-Lilja package. That doesn’t seem very likely, though.

I know you’re not Hudler’s biggest fan, but to be fair, Babcock hasn’t given him much of a chance. I think the Wings would be foolish to deal him without seeing what he’s capable of with more minutes. Not every prospect is going to make an immediate impact like Zetterberg or Datsyuk.

The only way McDonald was exposed was that he isn’t used to playing three games in a row. It was exhaustion that led to that third period, both for MacDonald and for the skaters. It’s more of a stamina problem than a personnel problem. They always struggle on the second game, it seems.

I don’t think the Wings will necessarily be looking for a goalie. Kulfan’s pessimism notwithstanding, I think Hasek will be back within the week, as Babcock is looking for him to play in Dallas or Phoenix. Osgood may dress as soon as Wednesday, it looks like.

Of course, Hasek’s injury could turn out to be more serious than it sounds. In that case, grab a bucket…

Posted by Matt Saler from Grand Rapids, MI on 02/13/07 at 03:11 PM ET

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