Open thread: Winter Classic Alumni Game
Yzerman. Howe dropping the pick. Grind Line.
The only real problem here is that these guys should be playing the Avalanche alumni. But I guess that could be violent, so this is ok.
December 31st, 2013 at 4:33 PM ^
Chelli celi was great.
December 31st, 2013 at 4:34 PM ^
Goals by Doug Brown and Chris Chelios, both on Felix Potvin.
December 31st, 2013 at 4:35 PM ^
Lanny McDonald scores on Chris Osgood, now 2-1.
December 31st, 2013 at 4:36 PM ^
Sergei Fedorov makes it 3-1!
December 31st, 2013 at 4:36 PM ^
Shanahan makes it 4-1!
December 31st, 2013 at 4:39 PM ^
I may have wet dreams thinking about that lineup. So many awesome things they did while in the red sweaters.
December 31st, 2013 at 4:40 PM ^
This is awesome, so many childhood memories flooding back to me. Of course the wily veteran role player Doug Brown got the first goal.
December 31st, 2013 at 4:40 PM ^
I got a little misty eye with the Russian 5.
Cheli is the man. Both of my defensemen idols are out there right now, Cheli and Lidstrom.
December 31st, 2013 at 4:42 PM ^
Lidstrom could play tomorrow if he wanted to.
December 31st, 2013 at 6:50 PM ^
Yes, Vlad was my favorite player ever...I am not ashamed to say I cried a bit too.
December 31st, 2013 at 4:53 PM ^
It was great to see Stevie Y. and The Perfect Human, again! Let's Go Red Wings!
December 31st, 2013 at 5:02 PM ^
We need St. Nic back for a playoff run.
December 31st, 2013 at 5:03 PM ^
Detroit has arguably six of the top twenty five defensemen in the history of the game skating for them today: Howe, Murphy, Coffey, Fetisov, Chelios, and Lidstrom.
December 31st, 2013 at 5:30 PM ^
Not sure if he is top-25 in my book, but Rafalski would not be out of the discussion either. 7 of the top 40 is a safe statement.
December 31st, 2013 at 5:04 PM ^
were miced up! Agreed about misting up when Vladdy was out here with the Russian 5, Yzerman, Lidstrom, et. al. Just a great event bringing back so many memories.
December 31st, 2013 at 5:09 PM ^
It should be Wings-Avs, but it's really cool seeing all these former wings players. Fedorov and Lidstrom can still play for the current wings if they want to.
December 31st, 2013 at 5:35 PM ^
There was an era when the Avs of Claude Lemieux and Patrick Roy/Joe Sakic mattered but Leafs / Wings is generations of rivalry.
As a kid the table hockey sets here were Habs/Leafs but the sticker set you could buy to cover the Habs was the Wings.
December 31st, 2013 at 6:25 PM ^
I have no real objection to the Leafs being here; in fact, my Dad is from Toronto and I've followed a lot of these guys, and my family and I have a healthy rivalry here. I watched game 7 in '93 in Toronto with them, sort of a great experience kinda.
It's just that with guys like Osgood and the grind line and Shanny and Dino, you feel like they really should be facing down Roy and Foote and Farceberg again.
December 31st, 2013 at 6:26 PM ^
Well the era when the Avs were relevant was around the time I started following hockey. Tell me you wouldn't rather see those lines:
Federov, yzerman vs.Forsberg, sakic
Osgood vs. Roy
Vernon vs. Roy
Hasek vs Roy
McCarty and lemuiex
Lidstrom and foote
December 31st, 2013 at 6:28 PM ^
Well fedorov...before my phone spell checked
December 31st, 2013 at 8:14 PM ^
That's five players from avalanche. It was pretty cool to see some of those leafs. Some great players laced up the skates in blue tonight. Not to mention the former wings playing for the leafs
December 31st, 2013 at 7:45 PM ^
and we had the wings and the canadiens, although both had their 'color' (red) jerseys. go wings!
December 31st, 2013 at 8:11 PM ^
Avs have only been around for what 20 years? Yes there was a heated rivalry but you weren't going to get nearly the amount of people traveling from Denver as you are from Toronto/London/Windsor. Hell all the highway stops on the 401 (highway that runs from Windsor up through Toronto) are covered in leafs shit. Just across the border in Windsor and Essex county we are nearly split down the middle, half Red Wings fans and half idiots. Tomorrow you have two of the largest NHL fan bases meeting up in Ann Arbor to celebrate the game we love.
December 31st, 2013 at 5:16 PM ^
A team of Washington alumni would get destroyed by a team of NHL alumni. Terrible idea.
December 31st, 2013 at 5:19 PM ^
Nick Lidstrom!
December 31st, 2013 at 5:23 PM ^
Nice f-bomb from Osgood.
December 31st, 2013 at 5:33 PM ^
Im enjoying how NBC apparently doesn't realize "fuckin a" is swearing. I heard a few times now on the replays of the "mic'd up"
December 31st, 2013 at 5:46 PM ^
This is basically just the CBC feed right?
December 31st, 2013 at 5:47 PM ^
"Fuckin Brownie lobbying for ice time. Holy Christ. Fuck me" - Mickey Redmond, live on television.
December 31st, 2013 at 7:27 PM ^
"It's fucking freezing" very clearly. My kids thought it was hysterical.
January 1st, 2014 at 11:12 AM ^
I laughed my ass off when I heard that.
Lookout!
December 31st, 2013 at 5:49 PM ^
Holmer still has the hands.
December 31st, 2013 at 5:56 PM ^
Wings win 6-5 in a shootout!
December 31st, 2013 at 6:16 PM ^
Let's hope tomorrow's result is reversed!
Go Leafs Go!
December 31st, 2013 at 6:16 PM ^
What a great memory. Cheers to a victory tomorrow
December 31st, 2013 at 6:30 PM ^
Very cool event. Great to see so many of the players I loved watching back out there.
December 31st, 2013 at 6:53 PM ^
Kudos to Kocur for weaing Probie's jersey during intros. Great to see Vladdie with Fetisov, Larionov, Federov & Kozlov. Nice touch by Bowman to start the Russian Five with Doug Brownov.
Great pass by Mickey Redmond to set up Federov. I didn't know he had a Russian hat with Redmondov on there.
I get people feeling the past rivalry with the Avs, but for me this was an Original Six and old Norris division showdown. Really missed this an other Original Six matchups when the Wings got moved to the West.
Really glad Stevie Y made it. Good to see so many of the alumni, including the Grind Line.
Another nice touch by Bowman putting Homer first in the shootout, and holy shit, where'd he get that move for the game winner?!
December 31st, 2013 at 7:29 PM ^
I think many of the comments reference the Avs/wings 10 year era but I agree with your Norris Division reference.
Where was Reed Larson, anyway?
December 31st, 2013 at 7:59 PM ^
Fuck that was awesome. I don't care who you are there is no way anyone could convince me those guys didn't have a good time out there. And the fans, albeit freezing their asses off, had a good time too. This is why hockey continues to be played outdoors. The players like it the fans like it and tv likes it.
December 31st, 2013 at 8:39 PM ^
Seeing the Grind Line on the ice together again tonight made me a very happy man. I think I'll be wearing my McCarty Sweater tomorrow.
January 1st, 2014 at 11:55 AM ^
Would have decked Domi just for old time's sake.