In Holland We Trust - "IHWT".
The final Wings roster appears to have been firmed up by Wile E. Ken-otye (E. Pluribus Holland, Super Genius) and I was lucky enough to intercept the P.O. slip on its way to ACME. It appears Ken-otye has gotten a hold of the Earthquake pills and has done a little shakin.
Here are the surprise purchases and returns:
The “Hopalong Casualty” Package: Chelio, McCarty and Howard are on IR
The “Going Going Gosh” Package: Aaron Downey has been “released” put on waivers.
The “Portable Hole” package: Leino, Helm and Ericsson have been sent to Grand Rapids.
I view this purchase order with mixed emotions. I liked Helm so much in the playoffs and he has had a great pre-season, He’s one of my favorite youngins but as we all know, making the Wings roster is tougher than catching a road runner wearing nothing but a set of bed springs and a cape.
.
Truth is I expected Helm in the Joe on October 9, and I do like him better than Hudler and Kopecky. But well, crud. There are greater forces at work than I. I steadfastly stand by the motto: IHWT.
I also think Leino is gonna be amazing, and I really wanted to see him make the team. Grand Rapids is probably disappointing for sure. Don’t worry though he’s not going anyway where, Babs gushed about him:
“This is the best player I’ve been involved in sending to the minors, I can tell you that,” Babcock said. “He’s got a nose for the net, goes to the net, dominant on the cycle, makes great passes. He’s a Red Wings type player. Leino, I think he’s going to be a scoring machine.”
More interesting is the choice of D-Mac over Downey. I waited all summer, through camp and pre-season to see how Darren McCarty would fare. I have been pulling for Big Mac all year now since the first back order slip showing him going from Flint to GR came through. I never once imagined that the team would choose between D-Mac and Downey, I expected they’d both be around. If someone had posed the question to me before now, I probably would have said “Oh the Wings will stick with the kid” (though it might have broken my heart to admit it.)
However, when the acme anvil fell,
Wile E. Ken-otye stuck with the Big goofy “sexy” grinder. You know, sexy in the way Bugs Bunny in a dress was sexy. (Ok ok- I’m not really puck bunnying this up- I’m giving my radio show co-host, V, grief for a comment he made last Saturday.)
Ahem. Now where were we…
Letting the younger (though a bit over zealous) enforcer go, well its vintage Wings decision making. It either means that once more we have a classic demonstration of Wings loyalty and reward for longevity and hard work, or it means Downey, while enjoying his role as an enforcer, was not quite the skater and scorer that D-Mac has always been. For all D-Mac’s enforcing, he remains a highly skilled full service player who can do it all. As we saw with Sean Avery, The Wings seldom have use for a pure thug.
Enforcers and my disappointments for a couple youngin’s aside, this Wings team is the slickest sickest fastest fomo team from here to Gardinia, I’d bet my Rocket Powered Roller Skates on it…
IHWT. Got get that printed on a shirt, wonder if ACME has a size small…
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