From Steve Macfarlane of calgarysun.com..."The first thought on many Flames fans' minds? Good riddance.
News of Bertuzzi's second stint with the Wings had barely been posted to the web before e-mails began to arrive suggesting the 2008 Stanley Cup champion's downward spiral has begun. "
Here we go again. Downward spiral by adding a depth player capable of .666 points per game? Oh yeah, the Wings are in a tailspin! It's getting ridiculous just how much it seems that the Canadian media and some Canadian fans hate the Detroit Red Wings. Everybody loves to predict their downfall, but guess what? It never freaking happens. Oh of course there's the juvenile Penguins fans that like to point out the drought that we went through, but ever since Holland took the reins this team has done nothing except win.
The fact that Holland made this deal makes it a good one. If he went to any other team in the league, it would be a bad signing. But if Kenny Holland says this is a fit in Detroit, then by god, it's the right thing to do. Any Wings fan claiming to know better than the greatest GM in hockey should just shut up and watch...there's a reason HE has that title. But anyway, back to the article....
"Known more for giveaways courtesy of silly blind passes than a tendency to carry the puck end to end, the fans in Hockeytown may quickly discover during Bertuzzi's second stint wearing the winged wheel that he doesn't make regular appearances behind his own blueline." -
Show me one player in this league (besides Ovechkin) that plays that drop-in hockey, always-cherry picking style. I'll chalk this idiotic over-generalization to a knee jerk reaction just so I can keep analyzing the article instead of pitching this post altogether. Saying that someone in the NHL isn't going to cross his blue line (especially with coach Mike Babcock) makes you sound completely ignorant in the ways of professional hockey.
"Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk are two of the most talented two-way stars in the game. Maybe they'll rub off on the big lug. "
What's this? Something true? Couldn't be. Let me read it again. Ok, finally something knowledgeable. You can find this quote under "buzz phrases that everyone already knows". Yeah Pasha and Zata are the two best two-way players in the league. But it won't be just them rubbing off on Bertuzzi. You can look to the whole team to do that. You think Bertuzzi will watch Monty Babcock's Flying Circus, Dan Cleary, Darren Helm, and the rest and NOT being inspired to play defense? How about with Mike Babcock in his ear if he doesn't? How about Kenny Holland probably already had this talk with him. If Jarome Iginla and Darryl Sutter couldn't motivate someone to play more in the defensive zone, then that's their fault for not being better leaders. Quality leadership is what we have in Detroit.
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That's why this signing is going to work.
Well said, AnimalDrew. Everyone seems to forget that Holland has personally vouched for Bert's character. Do these "experts" think Holland would sign a slacker with no intentions of playing his ass off within the Wings' system? Do they forget that Holland is GM par excellence? Do they forget that Babcock is at the, um, Helm? Babcock won't put up with any crap and Bert knows it.
ReplyDeleteWait, Bert scores .666 points per game? Sounds like the Devil to me. Maybe that "curse" has something to it . . .
--Seaner
This teams has a record for 18 consecutive seasons for making the playoffs. no other team in sports has that. when another fan of another team wants to talk trash about the greatest team in sports, i simply laugh at their stupidity and show them this fact. when another team can come close to this i might pay attention to them. until then, bow to the greats baby!
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