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People seem to think that by adding talent to the top, everyone just bumps down the depth chart and their role changes. Nope. This isn't a video game. Glendening, Andersson and Miller are doing a great job in their checking/shutdown role through the first few games. So much so that they've earned more playing time. They've had some of the toughest matchups and have shut down the opposition from scoring. Limiting goals is just as important as scoring them. Look to the top-9 guys if you have issues with the amount of goals being scored.

Yeah Myers hasn't put it together yet due to his poor development - might never. We are actually developing our kids and they want us to do the dirty work for them. Myers would be a beast by now if Detroit had drafted and developed him - such a shame. Same could be said for Adam Larsson.

3 comments deep and nobody has mention that Glendening isn't a defenseman yet. He's a center.

Our zone coverage has been really good. Our passing and transition game from the back end has been horrible, to the extent that our beat writers were discussing our "turnover problem" by about game 3 of the season. Two of our loses are directly attributable to massive defenseman turnovers that led to goals. Also our defense has produced a combined 7 points, so anybody ready to pat them on the back for "creating offense" should think again. So let's not sing kumbaya just yet eh boys?

Could be, but Chris Stewart blows, I live in Buffalo and I dunno if you've watched him or not but he's not worth trading for honestly

1. Smith - creating offence, jumping up in on the play, leading the rush, cut down on mistakes and turnovers, making good decisions. 2. Kronwall - still in his peak, playing more careful as the leader of the d group, a few more mistakes than we are used to but that comes from playing the hardest minutes 3. DD - very steady, moving the puck well, not making mistakes, not producing offensively yet and this needs to come along soon hopefully 4. Quincey - haven't really noticed him which is a good thing, hasn't made any crazy stupid decisions that I've noticed, not much offensively 5. Kindl - he has been sheltered a lot it seems, hasn't been too bad after the first couple of games, still not doing much to contribute 6. E - has been slow, error prone, softer than usual, zero offence, average defence - either he is having a slow start or he isn't aging well All in all I would say Smith, Kronner, and DD are all mainstays for the future. I wouldn't mind picking up a Petry/Myers and then adding Ouellet and one of Jensen/Marchenko for next season. The following season we will probably see Sproul make the jump and then we have to make some tougher decisions. Sproul definitely needs to make this team eventually with his tools. I wouldn't mind shipping E out at the end of the year while he still has some trade value. Kronwall - Smith Dekeyser - Petry/Myers Ouellet - Marchenko/Jensen Lashoff

I think the defense has been stellar. 1. D.D - I agree he's very consistent in his own zone. He's responsible, a big body, heavy on the puck, moves the puck well, and has high hockey IQ. He's so dependable in many ways which is why I list him as the Wings best D-man. 2. B. Smith - He's constantly improving his play in his own zone. Paired with his offensive gifts he's growing into a critically important piece of this team. I feel Smith has potential to get even better. I would like to see him put up more points and convert more opportunities into goals. 3 KFQ - He looked dumb last night, but so far a solid year for the whipping boy. I'm quite surprised. If he continues to be responsible in his own zone his durability and dependability becomes a huge asset. He's playing with heart lately which is a bit unusual for him. 4. Kronwall - Ever since Nick left he hasn't been as responsible with the puck in his own zone. He's so gifted athletically and is dangerous offensively such that he probably deserves to wear the "A" anyway. But how good of a year has it been for him compared to years past? Not stellar. I didn't think he was great last year, either. 5. Ericsson - His tree-root legs have been noticeable. If he's hesitant to use his body and afraid to take guys out of the play then his value really diminishes. I wonder if he is afraid to let loose because it's not "Red Wings"-style hockey. Is he being warned by the staff about instigating fights, igniting emotions and taking penalties? Why else is he not using his body like he used to? I put him #5 because I still see him cancel guys out in his own zone. 6. Kindl - He just doesn't seem to add much value. I guess, at times, he's looked good skating and moving the puck. He is a turnover machine and he seems to lack confidence to play in the NHL. I'm surprised he still gets opportunities. I think he's improving... slowly

This You can't be occasionally physical.... and there are plenty of clean, hard hitting def. When your most physical defs are Smith and Q... you are in trouble.

Agreed I've been a huge kronwall fan thanks to his his but they've become to rare

Emelin is a constant hard hitting def and his hits are clean. I'm saying that Kronwall isn't going for the hits, once in a while... Who?

TBH, that's not true. I was at the home opener and he went after the big hit but didn't pan out. He went after the big hit last night also. When the opportunity arises, he goes for it. May not always be successful but teams still have to keep their heads up when he's out on the ice.

That's how awesome he is

I wonder how much of E's issues are finger related. More mental than physical

Can't cite this often enough. Not only is Miller good at was he's supposed to be doing he is also very cheap capwise which gives the team the possibility to sign better top-6/9 guys.

And yet again, it becomes painfully obvious to me why the political discussion section of this board was axed...

Looking forward to Franzen coming back. It'll help our offense. Don't really understand a lot of the thoughts in this thread... PK/GA is near top of the league and PP/GF is near bottom = trade/waive/sit the 4th line penalty killers! Yeah ok....

This, and I'm surprised that zone entries are an issue with this team, and I disagree with the way that our coaches are trying to establish the offensive zone on the power play. The past decade or so, the Wings' identity has been all about meticulous puck possession, and precision-passing, and being very patient with the puck and waiting for a hole to briefly open up somewhere and exploit it. We had the personnel to thread the needle on every play, and the intelligence to position ourselves one step ahead of the opposition. That's how the Wings dominated the previous decade. The past few years, while our roster has been largely the same, some key players retired, others got older and more broken-down, and all of a sudden the "well-oiled-machine" that was the Red Wings wasn't functioning like we expect it to. Thankfully the kids came in last year and the team was able to keep the playoff streak alive, but wait, these kids are a whole different breed of hockey player than we're used to. They're all fast and aggressive, and force the tempo of the game up on opposition. This year the Wings look very different, and its not just the roster. Its the way the team is approaching the game. Instead of relying on precision passing, and superior hockey IQ, and patience, this team is playing hard and fast (like Brannigan's love), quick on the forecheck, quick on the backcheck, playing what can almost equate to an offensive swarm. Even the defense have been getting involved, forcing the play at both blue-lines, and carrying the puck up more, instead of playing more passive and patient. It has been awesome to watch at even-strength, and even if the Wings don't necessarily have the goals to show for their work, they certainly have created chances, power play opportunities, and limited the opposition from properly setting up their game plan. So WHY is it that our team is still holding onto this "patience, and precision-passing and higher hockey IQ" identity on the powerplay? I could understand it for a line that had Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Franzen, because they can still play that way. But Tatar, Sheahan, Jurco, Helm (if he gets another crack at the PP), Smith (if he ever gets a crack at the PP), Dekeyser. These kids are about speed. Let's play to their strength and attack the neutral zone on the power play with speed and numbers. If we have to chip the puck deep, lets continue to swarm the play and choke off the opposition. They haven't been doing that. They've been playing the patient game that isn't best suited for their skill-set. And I think if the coaching staff gave them the green-light, we would see more zones established, more scoring chances, and more goals on the power play, at least from their line. I'm willing to keep the old identity for the first power play line now that Datsyuk is back in the mold, but if line one is a change-up, line two needs to be a fastball.

#12in14

Not sure where you got that number from. Article said just under 3, and Babs asked for 3. EDIT: You want the team to throw even more than what Babcock is asking for at him, but then find a half a million difference to be a lot? I don't get it.

So you think it's smart to run a business by - not just making your employee the highest paid of that type of employee - throwing uneeded extra money at him bc "we're hockey town, look how much bigger our muscles are?" Not only is that economically backwards, but him signing that contract would literally give us the biggest "financal muscles" in terms of coaches lol. I want my team to spend all it can to be the best it can be, but not overpay for no reason lol. Can we agree that offer was no where near a lowball yet?

He's a good ol' Tronna boy, gonna be joining the Leafs coalition with Shanny, Babcock, Yzerman, and the Bowmans.

Hedman out six weeks? Stamkos broke his leg last year? Using LGWs logic this obviously means Yzerman's a terrible GM.

Classic. Hope Weiss gets a shot. Cleary can continue to serve hot dogs at the snack bar as far as I'm concerned.

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