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I'm not sure if you are insinuating I feel that way. I've been a huge franzen supporter forever and I would love to have him if he was still healthy. I was pointing out he wasn't trying to just play till his pay dipped and then retire, cause he could have just gone the ltir route and collected all his money without playing. Instead he is still trying to play. So obviously he still has the passion and wants to play

PANIC!!!!!

We're top ten in the league in goals against. How is the defense the primary culprit? In our two losses we gave up 9 goals, four of which were powerplay and empty netters. I'm not here to explain away our shortcomings or make excuses for the team. But this old "blame the defense" cliche is tired. IMO we really need to find a way to get guys like Tatar, Richards, Sheahan, and Jurco going. We can't have one line consistently producing offense. Also, our special teams need to improve. That game against Montreal has an entirely different complexion if we make good on even one of those powerplays. And obviously you need to kill at least one of those penalties to keep that game within reach. There are plenty of areas to be improved, but blaming the defense is lazy. They've played fine.

I couldn't get the South Park song out of my head. Trying to think of a clever title. I just wanted to share excitement for my games I'm going too.

Or you know if he's trying to soak up all that cash he can just stay on ltir until his contract expires and get all his money

Agreed. I'm on tilt a bit. Gotta chill.

Do you have a source on these?

Nice flip flop. A few days ago you called people out for targetting Brendan Smith and here you are calling him a failure. http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/topic/80454-1013-gdt-lightning-1-at-red-wings-3/page-18 Post #321 and #348 And then a week ago you wanted most of our prospects in the line up rather than older players. Now you're talking about Holland failing to dump prospects for older players.

I don't understand the thread title here

I just hope Franzen is able to overcome the symptoms he is facing right now and is able to lead a healthy life with his family. While I think a healthy Franzen is a big asset for the Wings, if he hangs it up, I wish him the best and thank him for his efforts as a Wing. He was in beast mode in 08. I hope he LTIR's it for his long term health, but I don't have the right to tell him what to do.

Parise and Suter went to Wild due to family connections. They're not worth their money. Really, you want Phaneuf and his contract? Really? Mantha could be quite good. Happy we didn't trade him. Hamilton would have been nice. Doubt they would have traded within division. All those prospects you like are Holland's doing. Green was a great move and we got him on a very reasonable deal. The jury is still out on Richards, but I think it was essential given that Dats was out, Mule was/is questionable, and no one was counting on Larkin doing as well. 2 loses in a row isn't that big of deal. Love the potential of this team. New coach, couple of new players, no Datsyuk - there's going to be some adjustment and ups and downs.

That link I posted is from the Tampa game not Carolina. You should read your own previous post. And in this thread somehow you now conclude that Smith and Kindl have "completely failed". A radical switch in opinion?

Coaching chnage is having a major impact. They should be fine in time but right now it is ugly.

Yeah, That is concerning. Though people keep writing that AA should be up, he, Mantha, and Bertuzzi each only have 1 assist. Not knocking these prospects that I like a lot, but there's some work that needs to be done down there first. It's encouraging that Sproul is leading the team in points - he needs to come up with a big year to get back in line for a job.

Will the red wings bounce back from the 2 game losing streak? Will Larkin get another point? Will Jimmy Howard be in goal Find out next time on DRAGON BALL Z

Not a fan of seeing Anderson in over Jurco, and Glendenning on the 3rd. Between Kindl and Smith, I would've rather Kindl sat, but neither has looked spectacular so I'll live.

Larkin is in a different league than any other prospect coming up in the last decade. He will not be scratched anytime soon. He would probably be sent down before being a healthy scratch. I like Ferraro, love his hustle, shot blocking and speed. He also has a tendancy to be in the right spot in front of the opposition net, although he tends to shoot high and wide. Give him some time and he will make Miller expendable and perhaps score 10 a season.

It's back! Due to popular demand I'm bringing back the monthly LGW Schedule Wallpapers for download. I've limited the resolutions options a bit (6 for now), but I'm open to adding a few as well as long as the size is reasonably popular. Hope you guys like them! I plan on going back to the different-player-per-month lineup I've done in years past. 2560x1440 | 1920x1200 | 1920x1080 | 1680x1050 | 1440x900 | 1366x768 Enjoy!

Speed is not that important on the PK. Good first-step acceleration is, and most fast guys have that, but I'd say even that ranks behind good instincts, awareness, tenaciousness, good stick work, and bravery. AA from all I've heard is just decent defensively, improving but not what he's known for. I might be wrong but I don't think he's even a primary PKer in GR. He'll probably have to start out on the wing, especially if he's up next year which seems rather likely. Probably moves back to center after a couple years if Datsyuk is gone and Zetterberg has declined further. His upside seems to be higher than Sheahan, though I could see Sheahan at #2 with AA #3 at first. Helm has already been switched to wing and probably isn't going back except for injuries. Svech is a winger, might be converted to center but we'll see. Nosek is below AA, probably won't be room for him in Detroit. He's supposedly a good defensive center, more notably two-way than AA from what I've read at least. Could make a good 4th-liner, but more likely I think is he'll be the guy nyquististhefuture will be bitching about us losing in a couple years.

Cleary's situation effects no one. He's just not playing. We don't even know if he'll get paid since he's not playing. I think it would have to be a guaranteed contract for that to be the case. Maybe this misunderstanding accounts for the hatred thrown at Cleary in the other thread. He's probably weighing options (KHL, retirement, office gig, etc) before he announces plans. Andy and Ferarro are the first men out with returning players. People are complaining about the forward logjam, but there were a number of uncertain things that make it make sense: The organization didn't know that Larkin would be on the team or that he would be able stay there (we still don't really, though it looks really good). Franzen's uncertain situation also means that we shouldn't count on him being there. Pulkkinen and Jurco were also sort of question marks about how much they would bring to the table. Also, it is just good depth and recent years have shown how important that is.

Who on the oilers isn't ? LOL

Jurco should have absolutely spent more time in the American League. It would have benefitted him, just like it will benefit Mantha, Athanasiou and company. Larkin is the exception, not the rule. He is an unbelievable young talent, and there is no question that if there were a 2014 re-draft done today, he would be a top 5 pick. Do you honestly believe that the Oilers way of doing things is better than the way the Red Wings have done things over the past two decades? The Oilers have had the luxury of picking elite players right off the draft table, and they have still managed to screw some of them up by rushing them. We pick mid to late round every single year, and because of that, we have to develop these kids in the minors first. Plain and simple... I believe the Red Wings are great at drafting, but more than that, I credit the way they develop after they draft these kids. The way they develop kids out of junior and turn them into pros, is second to none. Sure, it may take longer than other organizations, but patience is key. And we're finally starting to see all of that patience pay off, and we will continue to see it pay off as long as we don't stray from that... This method has proven to be very successful, so why question it? Why are you so adamant that your way is better than that of the most successful franchise in all major sports over the past 20 years?... Crazy...

I hardly know where to start. All players need to develop. ALL. Some are good enough to contribute in the NHL while developing. But other than the very elite few that are capable of being true impact players or those on teams with little talent, most will be better off developing in the minors. It pays to have good, NHL-ready, talent in the minors. At some point you're probably going to need them. Beside that, it's not a matter of directly comparing a kid to the worst player on the team. You have to consider how the team as a whole is impacted. Larkin pushes Nyquist down, the guy below him down, the guy below that... He has an opportunity to show that he's worth it. If he does, he'll stay up. Roles matter as well. It isn't Miller, Ferraro, and Andersson that would be replaced by kids. If we stay relatively healthy, Andersson may not play a game for us this year. Ferraro may not get many more. Our kids are far better off playing in GR than sitting in Detroit. If anyone is going to bump Miller it will be Larkin. After that if you want even more kids you're bumping Jurco or Pulkkinen. Miller may take a spot from one of them anyway. It's nice to have guys to eat up the hard defensive minutes so guys like Larkin don't have to. There's a reason every team has guys to do that. Miller and Glendening are currently 4th and 5th in TOI (which will probably surprise the anti-Babcock crowd), pretty much all of it being tough minutes. Would Larkin be as effective if he had to play those minutes? Maybe, and maybe we'll find out before long. But again, Miller is one guy. Only one guy can replace him. None of the three kids you mentioned were all that impressive in GR last year. Sure they all looked decent in the meaningless preseason, so what. Franzen and Richards (I assume that's what you mean by trash) were both better in the NHL last year than any of the kids were in GR. Odds are they'll be better this year than any of the kids could be, even though they aren't young or fast or energetic. Odds are Jurco and Pulkkinen will be better this year than any of the kids could be. If we're not healthy, the kids will get a shot. And if that happens, we'll be glad we can call up AA, Mantha, and Nosek instead of Meile, Aubry, and Tvrdon.

It's not black and white. The red wings aren't drafting all world talent every year, they're picking players with potential upsides because they didn't finish the season dead last in the standings. Athanasiou or any individual player's NHl preparedness may be debated but the philosophy of sending later draft picks to the minors to develop is a sound practice with a proven track record of success.