... most especially when they come from sportswriters in opposition cities. Here's yet another song of praise to hockey's model franchise, this time from Vancouver sportswriter Ed Willes. The lede grafs:
Over the last 16 seasons, the Detroit Red Wings have enjoyed the most under-appreciated run in NHL history, finishing with under 100 points exactly once in that span and winning four Stanley Cups while establishing the gold standard for organizational excellence over two full generations of hockey.
Are they a dynasty in the traditional sense of the term? That's another question for another time. But what's beyond dispute, aside from the Wings' record, is their influence on the contemporary game.
In addition to all those wins and all those rings, they've created the template for the modern NHL. As luck would have it, that template -- built on the bedrock values of skill, commitment to conditioning, organizational depth and drafting acumen --is precisely the model the Vancouver Canucks have employed as they've fashioned the NHL's best record this season (ed: a mere one point lead on The Beloved Wings.).
So have the Canucks basically done to Detroit what the Japanese car industry did to Motown -- taking their blueprint and improving on it? We won't know, of course, for another five months but, in the meantime, there was the evidence to consider from Saturday night's marquee matchup between the kings and the men who would be kings.
"It always does," Kevin Bieksa answered when asked if the road to the Stanley Cup final still runs through Detroit in the West. "It has for the last two decades. They're an elite team and you can just imagine how much better they'll be when they get all their guys.
Was sorry to hear about the loss od Stuart. Never like to see anyone get hurt. This is a comment of Jay Feaster's from today's Calgary Herald.
ReplyDelete"We strongly disagree, not only with the length of the suspension, but also with the fact that Tom was suspended," Flames general manager Jay Feaster said in a team-issued press release. "While we are sorry the player was injured, we maintained in the hearing the hit was a legal check. The player was batting at the puck and Tom hit him in the chest and finished his check through him. He did not target the head, and we do not believe the head was the initial point of contact. We respect the difficult job Colin Campbell has to do in these situations . . . we simply do not agree with the decision."
I didn't see the game or the hit, so I can't express an opinion. But then Kostopolous is a three-time offender.
You can see the hit here, Deb. I think it was a dirty play, with intent to injure. But then I suppose I would.
ReplyDeleteAlso from today's Calgary Herald:
As for those perfectly fine with the manner in which the hit was delivered, well, imagine Mike Milbury reacting “in his day” to some chowderhead laying Rick Middleton out in similar fashion. Geez, they might still be brawling.
More to the point: Picture for a moment, say, Mark Giordano or Jay Bouwmeester down on all fours Friday night, raspberry jam oozing from the mouth and the remainder of his regular season lopped to nothing.
They’d be yowling for disembowelment, followed by the installation of the death penalty around here.
I can't help but think shit like this would be a lot more rare if the young Joey Kocur or Bob Probert (or someone like them) were playing for the Wings.
Probert. Now there was a hell of a player. Not many messed with that one.
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