Soft means a little something different to me. Sure I am a Wings fan but keep in mind when I first was hooked on the game the Wings were Yzerman and not much else. They would have bench clearing brawls all the time and the bruise brothers (Kocur and Probert) were running around scary.
However there is something to be said for paying the price to make a play. It isn't all just fights and delivering the punishment. The Wings do plenty of hitting when the situation calls for it. They play the game hard and honest and they will go to the areas a lot of players won't and pay the price to do it.
If they were nearly as soft as many people want to believe they wouldn't win as often as they do. This isn't just getting helped out by the refs or whatever conspiracy theory will follow. It is because they play through pain and the prepare in a way that won't deter them from doing what they want.
This is under the hockey fights board and they have not been big with fighting for a while. But when the time has called for it when they think they should answer, they have not been found wanting on many occasions either. They will only be pushed so far and really since they don't provoke a lot of things they shouldn't be fighting all the time. They do usually give the league the first option to actually enforce the rules like in the Weber incident. Some might frown on that, but I am sure they thought losing Weber was a net gain, it was a smart decision if the NHL actually followed their own rule book. In any event don't see them allowing a Miller incident or something along those lines either and that isn't how I look on the Weber one if someone wants to bring that up.
However as Newfy pointed out I would be careful this year with this attitude.
Tootoo, Smith, Ericsson are guys that can all really throw. Ericsson has never really had running mates, hard to send a game into that place if all you have backing you up is Abdelkader. However with Abdelkader and Bert as now backup guys instead of people expected to answer, they have five guys that are willing guys. I think they will be a little more bold.
Also curious with Ericsson lined up next to Kronwall after a big hit, the first time a fighter tries jumping him what will happen. I am not calling him a heavyweight but with his reach and strength he doesn't lose a lot. He doesn't go much either, but have a buddy who was an enforcer in the AHL and said Ericsson crushed him after he beat up Downey a couple years ago. His statement "That big ******* Swede can throw bombs, wasn't expecting it but that was the toughest fight I have had in over a year."
