Pre-Game Talk: Red Wings @ Hurricanes: Let's get off on the right foot guys

[Ole Gil]

That coaching staff though.

Now that the talent in Detroit has come back to the pack, we'll see how great that coaching staff really is.

 

[HisIceness]

Hopefully this season opener will be a lot better than the last one.

To somewhat quote Samuel L Jackson:

"Enough is enough, I have had with these mother****ing **** efforts in these mother****ing season openers."

 

[Wolfpuck]

We always play beatable teams in our home openers, and we always lose.

So, if we play the Red Wings....

Nope, we still lose.

 

[Mr America]

So for some reason, Hunter Garlent is on the depth chart:

Did we invite him to our prospect camp or something of that nature? Seems like he went undrafted this past year. Hard to believe, given the connection he has with the franchise...

****, didn't see this here. Then again I should have known with the thread drifts this site gets.

 

[raynman]

Now that the talent in Detroit has come back to the pack, we'll see how great that coaching staff really is.

We're gonna have to agree to disagree. They have a solid goalie, decent top 6, a bit of bottom 6 depth, maybe some question marks on the D but DeKeyser was solid in the playoffs before a broken wrist. I don't see them finishing lower than 3rd in the Atlantic.

 

[Buenos Necas]

****, didn't see this here. Then again I should have known with the thread drifts this site gets.

It's all good man, deserves it's own thread anyway

 

[Mr America]

It's all good man, deserves it's own thread anyway

Certainly worth with the characters that post here!

 

[rocky7]

As much as I like Westgarth (unlike you other guys), why on earth would they dress
Him against Detroit? That the last team you put him in against.

Now that Rutherford has wet his depends over fighting only a year after trading for a heavyweight,
Do we imagine he sends Westy packing and continues to let the Canes get pushed around? Do we
return to the softness of the Laviolette days?

in your way of seeing the situation, how is it that Kevin Westgarth can prevent the other guys from getting "pushed around"? he like other so-called enforcers are totally ineffective and a waste of $ and a roster spot in my estimation. do you seriously believe that anyone is afraid of him and will alter their game because Westgarth or any other goon is on the bench? Detroit is coming to play hockey and trying to grab 2 points. they hope Westgarth plays so they can score if he's on the ice or will end up giving them a PP. being a soft team or not, has nothing to do with players such as Kevin Westgarth imo.

 

[Unsustainable]

I can't wait, my first NHL home opener I think I will be attending.

 

[Frank Booth239*]

in your way of seeing the situation, how is it that Kevin Westgarth can prevent the other guys from getting "pushed around"? he like other so-called enforcers are totally ineffective and a waste of $ and a roster spot in my estimation. do you seriously believe that anyone is afraid of him and will alter their game because Westgarth or any other goon is on the bench? Detroit is coming to play hockey and trying to grab 2 points. they hope Westgarth plays so they can score if he's on the ice or will end up giving them a PP. being a soft team or not, has nothing to do with players such as Kevin Westgarth imo.

Well, I did say that Westgarth should not play against Detroit, right?

But against Toronto?

I mean, they took our former enforcer, Troy Brodie, and made him like their 4th enforcer. They had 5 fights their first game. Rock on.

Don't we need somebody other than Gleason who can throw bombs?

 

[Blueline Bomber]

No. We don't. Enforcers are a dying breed and a waste of a roster space.

 

[Anton Babchuk]

How about against Toronto we just don't dress Westgarth and instead dress someone kind-of sort-of-useful like Sutter, then we have the upper hand on Toronto who is wasting a spot in the lineup to play Colton Orr three minutes?

 

[Frank Booth239*]

Alrighty then. I guess I should hope they go ahead and ban fighting because it seems like it will only benefit the Canes. In the meantime, look forward to more abuse.

 

[Anton Babchuk]

Alrighty then. I guess I should hope they go ahead and ban fighting because it seems like it will only benefit the Canes. In the meantime, look forward to more abuse.

Yeah because the big scary Kevin Westgarth fighting Frazer McClaren and Colton Orr last year really helped Skinner not get concussed. Oh, wait.

You like to see men punch other men in the face and are twisting reality to argue in favor of it. That's what this is all about. You along with everybody else has yet to explain how having Kevin Westgarth who rarely touches the ice fighting a guy who rarely touches the ice off the face-off in some stupid staged fight has any effect on whether or not his teammates get "abused."

 

[Blueline Bomber]

Pretty much that.

Westgarth isn't going to prevent opposing players from taking cheap shots. Those players that intentionally play dirty and go for those cheap shots are going to do so regardless of who's on the opposing team.

 

[Zezima]

Westgarth will never be on the ice with Skinner so how can he protect him? Westgarth is only "useful" in post-dirty hit moments of spiteful revenge and his actions are not only dangerous but generally inconsequential.

The only type of enforcer who is useful is one who has purpose outside of physicality and actually plays more than 6 minutes a night. The closest thing we have to that right now is Tim Gleason, a skeleton in skates whose often senseless fights matter as much as Ruutu's third period goals.

 

[Boom Boom Apathy]

Did Westgarth have any fights last year that weren't just a meaningless bout with a tough guy from another team? I think he may have fought Cowen after he legally destroyed Skinner, but that's all I can remember.

 

[rocky7]

and even that revenge game turned out to be a fiasco and they lost anyway I believe. it didn't teach Cowen a lesson or anything. it was just hype by fans and media. pointless. if anything crank the guy cleanly so he hears footsteps all game and beat them on the score clock.

 

[FlyingSquirrels]

I see most posters here are anti-fighting? Or do you like fighting in certain situations?

I for one wouldn't mind a guy like Downie or Prust. Can play the game yet kick someone's ass. I think team toughness is important but the era of designated heavyweight is by the board.

 

[Blueline Bomber]

It's not so much anti-fighting. It's anti-useless players.

If we grab someone like Downie, Prust, Lucic, etc., guys that can fight and play hockey, good. Hell, even the Sutter we've got uses his ice time better than...

Westgarth
Brookbank
Bodie
Etc.

 

[Zezima]

It's not so much anti-fighting. It's anti-useless players.

If we grab someone like Downie, Prust, Lucic, etc., guys that can fight and play hockey, good. Hell, even the Sutter we've got uses his ice time better than...

Westgarth
Brookbank
Bodie
Etc.

I'll echo this sentiment. I want the Canes to get bigger and tougher as a team, not just our 4th line/13th forward.

I'm sympathetic to the anti-fighting argument but I don't necessarily agree. Most fights guys aimlessly swing at each other, land one good punch and then fall down. Hockey is a highly violent sport, and legal fights are a testament to that, but you're probably more likely to get really hurt by a puck to the face/hit from behind than a half-blind punch. Hockey is a sport and sport is a form of entertainment. I don't take issue to extreme violence in any other forms of entertainment i partake in and for me hockey is no different.

edit: But to clarify I wouldn't be upset if it was made illegal. My real stance here is "I don't care." If injuries like Parros' become more common then the issue probably deserves more scrutiny.

 

[vwg*]

Westgarth sucks as an enforcer and is exponentially worse as a hockey player. He has negative value when he's on the ice. No other enforcers are scared of him and even if they were, it's really not going to stop anyone from running one of our players.

 

[Cardiac Jerks]

I'm all for fighting in hockey, but this staged crap put on by guys who can barely skate isn't keeping anyone honest. Guys like that shouldn't be in the league. We need a guy who can play as well as fight.

 

[cptjeff]

Alrighty then. I guess I should hope they go ahead and ban fighting because it seems like it will only benefit the Canes. In the meantime, look forward to more abuse.

Enforcers don't prevent your team from getting abused. Only team toughness does that. You need tough guys who can also play hockey. Like Gleason. Or Scott Walker. Or Rod Brind'Amour (who fought something like twice in his career). Fighting isn't a magic pill that makes your team tough. You have to have guys who are willing to take a shove, and shove a guy right back. You have to have guys who can come out on the next shift and rub a guy into the boards with excessive force. And you have to have those guys up and down your lineup- one guy willing to do that who only gets 2 minutes a game and only picks on guys in his weight class doesn't scare anyone.

The Canes lack team toughness, which is why we get pushed around. It's not about having an enforcer, or not fighting enough.

 

[Ole Gil]

I think the theory is, when the other team puts out their goons, you can put our your goons, then Scott doesn't end up lined up against Phil Kessel.

To which people say "Who gives a crap, just score goals and take the penalties!" The problem being that in a 5-1 game, penalties and goals don't keep goons from cross checking people in the head.