Irrational like/dislike of players through your time as a fan

[Hammettf2b]

Likes:
Helm ( I will defend Darren Helm to the death. He may be overpaid which is not his fault, but damn do I enjoy watching him play)
Kozlov
White (thought he brought some good offense the first year he was here)
Hicketts

Dislikes:
Ouellet (never saw the hype on this guy. He was slow as molasses and I found myself yelling at the tv at him lol)
Abby

 

[ShelbyZ]

Mike Vernon literally had one good playoff with Detroit in 1997. Then we traded him right after winning the Conn Smyth LOL!I remember fans hating him before we finally won the cup. I went to a red wings rally @ JLA in like 1995 and I was a kid took a picture with Vernon and we were literally almost the same height lol!

IIRC, the trade was made for budgetary reasons and the fact that if Osgood and Vernon were both around the next offseason they would surely lose one to the Preds in the expansion draft for nothing. Behind the scenes, the front offices hate for Vernon after all the arbitration stuff certainly had something to do with it, and it also symbolized Hollands rise to the throne and reigning in Bowman's control of personel by getting rid of the coaches guy (Vernon), and replacing him with Hollands guys (Osgood and Hodson). Oh and speaking of Hodson, IIRC 97-98 was the first year he was subject to the waiver draft, and Holland thought he was too good to risk losing... That had some bearing on the Vernon trade as well.

The Red Wings also had a promising Norm Maracle close to NHL ready in addition.

The whole getting something for Vernon in the expansion draft ended up being nearly a wash. They sent Vernon and a 5th to the Sharks for two 2nds. One of which they used in the Wendel Clark deal (which ended up netting them another 4th as compensation), and the other they traded down for a late 2nd and late 4th. Instead, they lost Doug Brown in the expansion draft and after a few weeks sent the Preds a 3rd, 4th and the other Petr Sykora to get him back.

 

[FMichael]

Great topic!

Dislikes over the years...Slava Kozlov (because he looked f-ing clueless 99.9% of the time his last 2 seasons as a Red Wing, and with Bowman benching him sorta proves my point)...The late 'desperate additions' of Wendel Clark, and Ulf Sammuelsson (although Chelios worked out better than expected)...Abdelkader, and Nyquist seem more, or less worthless right now so I'd love to see both moved, but we all know that won't happen...David Legwand (I get it was a move to make to bolster our 'C' position, and help assure our chances to make the playoffs)...Uwe Krupp, and his team of dogs...And last, but not least - Holland himself when he created the royal f-up of bringing back Hasek AFTER he signed Cujo.

Now for as my #1 Like...Brendan Shanahan...Just end this thread now...HE WAS THE CATALYST THAT LED US TO 3 CUPS !!!!!

 

[ShelbyZ]

And yes, I remember all of them. Chevy, Riendeau, Ing as a backup, Essensa (so bad he got loaned to an IHL team), Ranford, etc. etc.

Fun Fact: Not only did the Wings have to bury Essensa in the IHL for two years (away from their own farm team), they paid $1M of his $1.3M salary to play back up goalie for the Oilers in the last year of the extension Bryan Murray gave him...

 

[ShelbyZ]

What was the outcome of the legal battle?

The only thing that seemed to come out was that they settled for an undisclosed sum in 2003. I'll bet the whole thing was put under some sort of hush agreement to keep any reputations from getting tarnished or further tarnished depending on who it favored...

 

[ShelbyZ]

...The late 'desperate additions' of Wendel Clark, and Ulf Sammuelsson (although Chelios worked out better than expected)...

Crazy to think that was almost 20 years ago... There needs to be a thread in here on the 20th anniversary so those of us who witnessed it can reflect lol.

 

[jprenkert]

Hated:
Mikael Samulesson
Danny Dekeyser
Brent Gilchrist
Boyd the void Deveraux
jason Williams
hasek (anything after he came back from Retirement and played diva)

Liked:
Filppula
Tatar
T Bertuzzi
Hasek (cup run/fav goalie of all time)

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

I irritionally loved Mathieu Schneider. Dunno what it was, but absolutely loved him. I also irrationally loved Tomas Holmstrom as early as 1998. Everyone else I loved from those days, everyone loves, even some of the less obvious draws like Dougie Brown. Everyone loves Dougie Brown. Loved Filppula, still love Filppula.

I don’t think I irrationally hate anyone. Definitely soured on Abdelkader a little sooner than everyone else, I remember arguing with a lot of people on here the day he signed that god awful contract. We all hated Cleary for sticking around as he did.

 

[Caffeine]

Likes:

Helm Is not obvious like currently because of his current contract and his injury history but he just never quits on play
Tootoo Didn't play much and was bought out but always loved him. Love that story abt him being Eskimo and from Rankin Inlet /NU
Jonathan Ericsson I don't understand the hate he gets. He might be overpaid and overused but he is solid D
Alfredsson I think this is not obvious. This signing was questionized because of his age and him declining
Brunner Will always remember his overtime goal vs Anaheim 2013 playoffs
Drew Miller Lack of skill was obvious but would give his all and everything every shift

Dislikes:
Weiss Did produce some points but with eyetest u could see that he was finished as hockey player
Quincey Just hated his brainfarts and hated when Holland traded for him
Cleary Was finished long time ago but was still always brought back for one more year, someone needed to tell him its about time to retire
Brendan Smith Was so happy Holland managed to get rid of him and for decent return
Hudler Small soft euro winger

 

[Nut Upstrom]

Most Red Wings on my dislike list are players I loved in my youth. A part of coming of age is learning that your heroes are human beings - some of them are human beings of the scum bag variety.
I tried to avoid the obvious names.

Dislike:
Dino "Double-Deuce" Ciccarelli: Scumbag rapist
Slava Fetisov: Bravely stood up to a corrupt and oppressive government to open the door for Russians to play in the NHL. He now serves as a minister to a corrupt and oppressive government regime and pals around with the megalomaniac dictator. Talk about taking a dump on your own legacy.
Chris Chelios: Just a complete douche bag. Hated him with a fiery passion when he was a Hawk and I was never able to get over that. I'm glad he helped us win but he'll always be a douche in my eyes. Take that shitty chili and stay in Chicago (I've never actually tasted his chili. Refuse to eat at that place when I am in town.)

The dislikes above do not seem so irrational in my eyes. So my more irrational dislikes are:
Brendan Shanahan: Of course I loved Shanny in the day. Loved hearing them play that Irish jig at the Joe, but everything about him and his leafs now rubs me the wrong way.
Tkachuk, roenick, Hull: It was very difficult to root of USA hockey during the years these arrogant, entitled people represented the country. I just pulled for whatever team had the most Red Wings. Liked Hull a little more when he became a Red Wing, but when I see him now the old dislike is back as strong as ever. Thank goodness the other two were ever Wings.
Jarome Iginla: I hate seeing his name in all the "most respected" threads on the main board. He was a dirty scumbag who took cheap shots on unsuspecting players when he was losing.


Likes:
Dougie Brown: Heart and soul Red Wing and always seemed like a good person. Admire how he befriended Fetisov when the Soviet first came over and I think it says a lot that he is now god-father to one of Fetisov's children. His tying goal in game 3 of the 98 finals is probably my favorite of all time. My memory of that was screaming so loud that my brother had to shut me up so I would not wake neighbors.
Slava Kozlov: My younger brother's favorite Red Wing. A shame it took him to get the Dominator. Followed him throughout his post-Detroit career.
Val Filppula: The third Wings jersey I owned (after Yzerman and Lidstrom). Val's my dirty.
Thomas Holmstrom: I wanted his number in the rafters after he retired. Silly, but he put his body through hell for this team.
Mattias Nordstrom: I always really liked that guy. Defenseman on the Kings, solid, big stay at home who was a total class act and team player. Always wish we had brought him to Detroit.
Doug Gilmour: Slightly before my time, but I got to catch the end of his carer. Loved the way he played.
Norm MacDonald

 

[jprenkert]

I forgot about Douggie Brown. Loved him and was a great 3rd/4th liner.

 

[ShelbyZ]

Doug Brown is probably one of the most forgotten players from the 97 and 98 Cup teams.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Crazy to think that was almost 20 years ago... There needs to be a thread in here on the 20th anniversary so those of us who witnessed it can reflect lol.

That was a hell of a TDL day. Sad that Clark and Ranford sucked. Chelios was thought to be dead in 1999 or almost done. He literally played a dozen years after that.

 

[turkleton85]

(Ir)rational Dislike:

Danny Dekeyser (everything...contract, play, soft and weak....)
Abdelkader (same, + superstupid facial tough -guy expressions, that are especially ridicolous when he just got beaten down )
Hudler (irrational)
Tatar (irrational)


(Ir)rational Likes, besides the obvious ones as a wings fan:

Franzen (what skill and power this guy had - maybe my favorite player besides dats, Z and Lidstrom)
Witkowski (pure entertainment and toughness - and not such a bad player in my eyes)
Jurco + sproul (always hoped they would develop into stars)
Mantha (Franzen syndrom)

 

[Ricelund]

Likes
- Mikael Samuelsson - always thought he caught more flak than he should've. Of course he shot too much but he scored some big goals.
- Danny Markov - solid, physical, willing to protect his teammates, knew his role.
- Ruslan Salei - similar to Markov.
- Robert Lang - he pissed a lot of people off but I still remember the day the Wings traded for him and his goal against NSH in the '04 playoffs.



Dislikes
- Jason Williams - never liked his game. Loved when Holland traded him for Calder's expiring contract. Hated that Holland brought him back in '09. As a side note, in his memoir, Sean Avery mentioned that Williams is one of the weirdest guys he's ever met.
- Kyle Quincey - it was less about his play and more about how Holland handled him over the years.
- Stephen Weiss - what the hell happened to him? I had high hopes originally and then he fell off the face of the earth.

Also...

Jonathan Ericcson - This guy is going to play 13 seasons with the Red Wings. Such an average player did not need to be on this roster for so long. Still boggles my mind to this day. It's possible he passes Brendan Shanahan for most games played with the Red Wings before he's traded, slotting him at #17 just behind Red Kelly. If he's brought back on a multi-year deal next offseason he'll likely finishing in the top 10.

I've never disliked Ericsson as much as some people have but this is pretty shocking.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Dislike(most of these I would argue weren't that irrational):

Lebda - Still don't understand how he was on the team as long as he was. I guess the Wings needed a D-man who could rush up ice with the puck then panic at the littlest pressure and turn the puck over now that he's way out of position? (A role now partially filled by Jensen).

Kindl - great tools except a total unwillingness to take a hit to make a play. It's like he played just enough of a physical game to make the Wings lineup and then coasted. Such a frustrating player.

Tootoo - On paper there's a lot to like but I disliked the way he played the game most of the time. Wearing the Winged Wheel didn't change my dislike for that. Jumping guys in fights. He'd throw a big hit but couldn't manage to do it and stay in the play.

Ulf Samuelsson - Barely a wing as he only played 13 games with the team, but that's 13 too many. f*** that guy.

Kopecky: My hate for him is probably the most irrational. Falling down constantly. Ending up on the wrong end of highlight reel hits. And gifted so many garbage goals by playing with the likes of Hossa. He had more puck luck than any player I've seen.


Like (again not that irrational but maybe against the grain?):

Cleary - It's a shame his career has been tainted by Holland's ridiculous contracts with him at the end. But I remember the Cleary who was a solid 20-20 guy that could and would do anything for the team to contribute.

Ericsson - It's not even so much that I irrationally like him as much as I don't irrationally hate him. He somehow took the whipping boy spot left by Lilja. Contract aside the Wings got a big stay at home Dman from a converted forward that was dead last in the draft. That's a win for the team. And were he not forced to play over his head the last 6 seasons he'd probably get a lot less grief.

Glen Hanlon - the goalie wars when I became a fan were Hanlon or Stefan, and I was a Hanlon guy.

Lee Norwood - A fairly unremarkable Dman during the Dead Wings era but I remember him having to be restrained by several teammates and assistant coaches to keep him from coming off the bench when someone went after Yzerman.

Zetterberg - Obviously a great player and obvious choice but I still think Z doesn't get enough credit. A playoff warrior who scored important goals but isn't generally thought of as a clutch playoff scorer. An elite two-way forward who shut down the other teams superstars but never won a Selke because he didn't have Datsyuk's gaudy takeaway stats. Took the mantle of captain of a storied franchise on the decline. Strapped the team on his failing back for season after season. In his final season was second on the team in points even though his back was so bad he couldn't even practice for half the year but all people talk about is the cap circumvention. Babcock would say how Z had the deepest tank he'd ever seen. I know what he means. The guy was giving 100% all the time.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Likes
- Mikael Samuelsson - always thought he caught more flak than he should've. Of course he shot too much but he scored some big goals.
- Danny Markov - solid, physical, willing to protect his teammates, knew his role.
- Ruslan Salei - similar to Markov.
- Robert Lang - he pissed a lot of people off but I still remember the day the Wings traded for him and his goal against NSH in the '04 playoffs.

Dislikes
- Jason Williams - never liked his game. Loved when Holland traded him for Calder's expiring contract. Hated that Holland brought him back in '09. As a side note, in his memoir, Sean Avery mentioned that Williams is one of the weirdest guys he's ever met.
- Kyle Quincey - it was less about his play and more about how Holland handled him over the years.
- Stephen Weiss - what the hell happened to him? I had high hopes originally and then he fell off the face of the earth.

Also...

I've never disliked Ericsson as much as some people have but this is pretty shocking.

I never had particularly strong feelings about Salei or Markov but otherwise 100% agree with your list and reasoning.

 

[ShelbyZ]

That was a hell of a TDL day. Sad that Clark and Ranford sucked. Chelios was thought to be dead in 1999 or almost done. He literally played a dozen years after that.

IIRC, there was chatter about picking up the option year for Clark, but he literally aged 10 years in that Colorado series...

 

[kook10]

Dislikes - Verbeek, Dandenault, Steve Thomas, Kopecky, Brendan Smith, Jiri Fischer (but I forgave him for being so stupid when his heart stopped)

Likes - Dougie Brown, Mat Schneider, Abdelkader, Filppula

 

[ShelbyZ]

- Jason Williams - never liked his game. Loved when Holland traded him for Calder's expiring contract. Hated that Holland brought him back in '09. As a side note, in his memoir, Sean Avery mentioned that Williams is one of the weirdest guys he's ever met.

Had to look up it and damn, now I've got a copy on the way from Amazon...

Or, when Avery runs down former Red Wings teammate Jason Williams, whom he calls the “roommate from hell” and writes: “I can honestly say that I would not have shed a tear if he choked on a bone at the rookie’s dinner and we lost him. He was a kiss-ass, one-dimensional automaton.”

 

[GMR]

I've never had an irrational dislike of any Wings player. From reading these responses, most posters haven't either. Just about every response has some reasoning behind it.

Now with opposing players, I have countless players I've irrationally disliked.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

Likes:

Tootoo


Dislike:

Jason Williams Pt. 2
Samuelsson Pt. 2
Lilja
The last 3 years of Cleary.

 

[Frk It]

Danny DeKeyser is a soft/trash defenseman that looks like some weird bootleg version of Johnny Depp and I’m sick of having him on this damn team.

There I said it...

 

[Winger98]

Likes:

Petr Klima. I have no idea why but I've always liked the guy.

Dislike:

Schneider. He wasn't what Rafalski was, and I really preferred Rafalski.

 

[Sparty]

At first I liked deKeyser just because of that lowercase E on his jersey, I'd say that qualifies as pretty irrational.