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Mrazek is starting. GO WINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It would be dumb to break up the Helm, Datsyuk and Weiss line after their performance vs the Flyers the other night.

At this point if Weiss can keep producing for 4 or 5 more games I think babs has to consider giving him the keys to the second line C spot. Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Abby Nyquist - Weiss - Franzen Tatar - Sheahan - Jurco Miller - Helm - Glendening I would consider moving Helm in a deal in the second half of the season for an upgrade at D. Kronwall - Smith Ouellet - Dekeyser Quincey - Ericsson (PK and shut down) Lashoff Get rid of Kindl for literally anything or waive him.

For many many years we were one scoring winger away from the cup. We got it in Franzen for '08, cup and almost another. I agree with NHL.com, one right handed D man who can take some of the load of Kronner and we'll be in serious contention. The health of Weiss is pivotal. A healthy Weiss presents some serious match up issues for clubs. Really we need another Franzen kinda situation,.......we need a guy like oulette or sproul or hell even smith to come out of no where and hit next level. Achieve a ceiling none of us thought possible.

Agreed. I also think the Wings need to hang on to Larkin because they really lack potential high-end centers right now in the organization. If they make a trade to address needs this season, they can deal from a position of strength having so many defense prospects on the brink of the NHL.

Nobody is saying advanced stats are MORE important then actually watching players, this is an argument you are having with nobody. You can call the people that calculate advance statistics "nerds" and "math freaks" but at the end of the day you calling them names doesn't dismiss what they are doing. Advanced stats simply give you more information, and when handling a multi million (or even billion) dollar franchise, if you are a GM you should be using all the information/tools you can get.Baseball has been doing this for a while now, and some teams have had great success.

He won't put up Mantha numbers but I think we would really regret trading Larkin down the road, I get the impression he's a great kid and works his ass off.

Ya and we immediately turned it down. No one wanted to trade mantha or Larkin

I have seen Helms name thrown around a few times now as trade bait, he's always been one of my favorite red wing so seeing him go wouldn't be the best news I've heard... His speed is a big asset especially to a team that thrives off quickness, but you have to move asset to attain one just the way the cookie crumbles. I just see him as a big part of our team late in the season and playoff time, what I consider a good depth player. He's been hurt for a large chunk the past 2 years, which doesn't make up for having stones for hands, except me believing he's capable of providing more given time. This sequence here shows just why he's so valuable given it was awhile back....http://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=HSr1i4AUnYA

The Wings have played like a top 10 team so far. 10th league-wide in points, 7th league-wide in goals per game, 9th league-wide in goals against per game, 11th league-wide in power play percentage, 2nd league-wide in PK, 12th league wide in shots per game, 2nd league-wide in shots against per game, 3rd league-wide in faceoffs, 4th fewest penalty minutes per game. By your definiton I'd say they are contenders, and I certainly think they've been a top 10 team league-wide.

Love that first line. But I think the IR Express must stay together as long as they continue to produce. I think they will only get better the more time they play together.

I guess I'll define contendor as a team that makes it to the SCF to actually contend directly for the Cup, at least for this post. Traditionally there has been some value in being a top 4 seed entering the playoffs, although that value has been diminishing pretty steadily in recent years. Since the lockout in 2005, about 75% of teams to reach the Stanley Cup Final were seeded in the top four, although I didn't include last year in this statistic because the new playoff format is convoluted and I don't fully understand it yet. If you use the older playoff model, the Rangers and the Kings from last year would be 5th and 6th seeds respectively, which would make the last 10 years be 12/18 =66%. But whether you include them or not, since 2005, 66-75% of the teams to make it to the SCF have been top four in their conference/top four seeeded. Compare that value to just the past five years and it drops to 5/8=62% (not including last year) or 5/10=50% (including last year with the old model). So there does seem to be a trend developing where more teams from lower in the standings are making it to the finals in recent years. Whether that's actually the case or a statistical anomaly remains to be seen, but its certainly the way the league has designed itself, so I wouldn't be suprised to see this trend continue in the future. So having said that, with the Wings currently sitting in 5th place in the Eastern Conference, we are just on the outside being in that fabled top 4 (more specifically 3 points outside with one game in hand), although the more recent history is more favorable for our odds. BUT even they do get into the top 4, only 2 teams out of 16 total make it to the Final. Do the Wings have what it takes to be THAT team over all the others, whether top 4 or otherwise? I have no idea. I definitely like our team better than last year. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are still Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Tatar and Nyquist and Sheahan have picked up right where they left off last year, and now have some playoff experience under their belt. Weiss may finally be able to contribute. Howard has been steady. The defense looks much more solid than it did at any point last year, and perhaps most importantly, the Wings have not been plagued by injuries (knock on wood). When you add the fact that we have several assets in the minors that may be able to contribute as black aces or get moved for an established difference-maker at the trade deadline (as we don't have room for all of our prospects on the team and waiver exemption only lasts so long), and it definitely looks better for us than it did last year. At the very least I expect they'll win more than one playoff game.

I think this is a team that could make some noise and surprise people in the playoffs. But by no means do I think they are ready to contend. I think it is gonna take a playoff heart break to put the young guns on this team over the top. This team healthy can def give teams fits in a 7 game series. Would not be shocked to see next season having this team just be the right trade deadline move away from being a true contender.

Sorry but who says you cant score on the 4th line? I remember the grind line being rather successful at scoring and shutting down. In 98 drapes, McCarty and Maltby all put up 13+ goals. I know that was a different time with a different coach that was famous for having players buy in to a particular role. IMO I see Jurco being that role player and not a leader. I have not seen enough out of him to give him a top role this year or last. Giving Miller and Glendening a trigger might be for the best. For some reason they create a ton of scoring opportunities but can never finish. My .02

Absolutely, which is why I said earlier "hopefully Andersson (and Lashoff) remain out". I think Cleary is a huge upgrade over Andersson. Joakim provides nothing in my opinion, he is much like Cory Emmerton was for us for a couple years. Capable of eating minutes in a crunch for the time being but no real future in the NHL. I disagree 100% that Jurco needs to "get back to banging". He's third on the team in hits, behind our perennial leader, Abdelkader and Glendening. That's pretty damn good for the style he should be playing. That's exactly why he would do so well on Datsyuk's wing. He can bang like Abby does, but has much better hands to finish on all those opportunities. Jurco is starting to heat up, which is a great time to get him on a scoring line with Datsyuk and Tatar. Anyway, no worries. The lines are the exact same as last game. Nyquist - Zetterberg - Abdelkader Tatar - Sheahan - Franzen Helm - Datsyuk - Weiss Miller - Glendening - Jurco Kronwall - Ericsson Quincey - DeKeyser Ouellet - Kindl

But you'd have to be crazy to think that a Jurco 4th won't score way more than an Andersson 4th. Right? I agree with joeseffP. Jurco needs to get back to skating and banging, two things he excelled at last year. Keeping him on the 4th line with two hardworking grinders is an interseing way to do this. Let him not worry about scoring and get him physicaly engaged. I bet it does wonders for his hands and his overall confidence. I know you want him playing big minutes in GRs but, IMO, this team needs Jurco in the line-up now, whether it's on the first line of the 4th. Not in GRs.

Right. ...because the stats guys aren't watching the games too. How do you think the stats get collected? Computer algorithms? ...and don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the "good ol' eyeball test" isn't good for anything... Analyzing the game in different ways gives different perspectives and just furthers the possibilities in the game. It works both ways. Don't know why that's so hard for some to grasp.

I think rolling three lines gives the team some much needed depth. I dont view Sheahan, Tatar and Jurco as a legitimate NHL second line, more like a third. I also dont think Jurco belongs in a top six role in the NHL yet. On the other hand I dont think he needs to play top six to develop at NHL level.

Maybe so, but still, no reason not to give them another chance. It is like a hot goalie, you ride him till the streak ends. Jurco did fine on the fourth line.

Smith will not be back tonight, he will be evaluated on Sunday to determine whether or not he will be in the lineup for the afternoon game on Sunday against Vancouver. So I'm assuming it will be the same lineup tonight as Wednesday, (hopefully Andersson and Lashoff remain out...) but maybe some tweaks in the lines. I know we won our last game but I really hope he jumbles it up a little... I'd like to see something like this... (the same lines I've been clamoring for since the start of the season...) Nyquist - Zetterberg - Franzen Tatar - Datsyuk - Jurco Helm - Sheahan - Weiss Miller - Glendening - Abdelkader

Aren't all stats based on on past examples? If you are not evaluating a player based on past examples, you are evaluating based on future projections. However future projections are based on past examples. Advanced stats give GM's and coaches more tools to work with when evaluating talent. I am not saying that these stats are a greater tool then watching a player play, but Holland, Babcock and company cant watch every player in the league for the entire game, every game of the year. When making a trade and/or signing a free agent, these stats should be considered.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=727093 The game is all about possession. That much isn't really up for debate. The problem is, we don't have a way of measuring time of possession in hockey. So we use a proxy: shot attempts. The idea being, you can only shoot the puck if you possess the puck. Corsi is basically just +/- for shot attempts. Fenwick is the same deal except you exclude blocked shots. Sounds simple, and it is, but there's great value here. Advanced stats (which should just be called something less off-putting. Maybe extended stats?) aren't voodoo math. It's about getting a better (i.e. more nuanced, more quantifiable, more precise, more exact, more to-the-heart-of-what's-really-going-on in a given situation) handle on the game and turning that into a competitive advantage.

Was coming here to post pretty much the same thing. I love how he calls Shanny "calculating," as if this isn't all a "calculated" move to generate publicity for his book. Shanny is no choir boy, but Cheli is certainly no legitimate juxtaposition.

Chelios is such an ass. He's seriously bagging on Shanahan for being calculating, as he badmouths a former teammate to help sell his book? I wonder if Chelios also wrote about being a dirty player, starf***er, and drunk driver.