Now that Detroit's Dallas Drake finally had the Stanley Cup ring he so desired, it was a good time for him to call it quits and sail off into the sunset after over 1000 NHL games.He also took the time to take a little well-deserved potshot at NFL QB Brett "I Can't Pronounce My Own Surname Correctly" Favre.
"I'm a little disappointed in Brett right now," Drake said. "If he comes back I want him to come back and play for Green Bay. But no, you don't have to worry about me doing that."
I was rather surprised that the Wings bothered to pick up Drake last season, given his age (almost 40!) and the fact that he is long removed from his best days on the ice. The guy put up only 12 points in 2006-07.
As we know, the Wings collective is great at assimilating all sorts of players into their lineup, and Drake performed adequately in his fourth-line role, giving the Wings experience, defensive presence, and leadership. Certainly, Drake had to be doing something right to justify his regular spot in the lineup while producing about as much offense as Luke Richardson.
While Wings fans may remember Drake fondly, I'll always remember "Dirty Dallas" as being one of the nastier players in the NHL. Drake had a penchant for leaving his feet to make a hit, and leaving the scene of the crime before he could face the music.
While Dallas Drake has my respect as a warrior and tough little bugger, I don't think the NHL will really miss his headhunting ways.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-16-2008 @ 3:05AM
Steve Watts said...
Your stupid article regarding Dallas Drake shows how little you know about hockey. Apart from scoring, DD was a great defensive player who played with passion, and was a great leader. His role in the Wing's success this year was huge, and will be difficult to replace.
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7-16-2008 @ 11:00AM
Skapanza said...
I'm a little sad to see Dallas go. I remember playing against him when he was in St. Louis and the Wings seemed to play the Blues every year in the playoffs. I disliked him, but I liked watching him to play. He threw himself wholly into the Wings in the playoffs, and was especially noticeable counter-attacking Dallas' physical play in the WCC. Dirty? Maybe, I've seen him make some questionable hits, but he'sno Chris Pronger or Chris Simon. The plus side is, a opening in the lines might give speedy Darren Helm a chance to get some serious playing time during the regular season.
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7-16-2008 @ 12:41PM
Jes Golbez said...
"Your stupid article regarding Dallas Drake shows how little you know about hockey. Apart from scoring, DD was a great defensive player who played with passion"
Wow, thank you for the kind words. Would you have the balls to say that right to my face? Unlikely.
If you bothered to read the post, you'd see that I already mentioned his defensive and leadership abilities. Amazing how defensive people can be over some honest criticism.
As for Drake not being Pronger/Simon, I'd disagree. The main difference is that Drake got very little media attention for what he did. Leaving your feet to deliver an elbow is dangerous, and Drake was fortunate that he didn't get punished more than he did.
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7-16-2008 @ 8:10PM
steve watts said...
Give a hebe who never put on a jock a forum, and this is the crud we get. I think your boss should switch you to tennis coverage.
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7-17-2008 @ 10:17PM
Doogie2K said...
Ooh, you pissed him off something good, Golbez. He's breaking out the racial slurs!
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7-19-2008 @ 3:30PM
lcleejr said...
first of all i had to see who wrote the article, jes who. then i did a little research. ok, he's a big mouth. no big deal, so is don cherry but most of us love grapes. but babbling about dallas drake, jes you passed on chelios to go after drake. that was sneaky, most that saw that drake was retiring probably looked and then went on to something else. drake played hard and was rewarded for it. drake a dirty player maybe but he did add toughness to a soft red wing team
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