GoWings1905

Helm, Abby, Glenny, AA, Sheahan. These guys have been the backbone of a perfectly fine pk. These guys are all better at it than Andersson is. Andersson brings nothing to the table we don't already have far superior versions of. Meanwhile, Mantha gave our powerplay life while he played.
How much success do you think we'll have by icing all defensive players who can't score? Let me tell you: the answer is none.
This series is gonna be all about speed and talent. Andersson can't even skate.

Buppy, he looked really good to me because he was providing offense, he maybe didn't look so good to the coach because he wasn't / isn't a great two-way player. I don't see the need in having all 12 forwards in the lineup playing stellar defense. We have more than enough guys that play a great two-way game that we don't need to convert Mantha into a defensive stalwart. I want Mantha to continue playing his offensive game and line him up with two reliable forwards that can cover for him. I don't want him changing his game, in turn hurting his offensive game...
I'm not acting or suggesting you're saying he sucks or will never do anything. I'm not sure where that came from... I'm not sure if you're confusing me saying he's been providing offense with meaning that he's producing points. It's clear he hasn't put up a huge number of points but he absolutely did provide offense, and no matter how many times you say he hasn't, it won't make it true. He absolutely did.
Besides, the entire argument, for me anyway, is that we are scratching a player that is better now, and is / should be considered a much more important piece today and in the future, for a player (Andersson) that shouldn't even be in the NHL... Mantha should be playing with the Wings on this playoff run. Disagree if you like, but don't try to suggest that hasn't provided offense, because it simply isn't true...

2 goals in 10 games over the course of a season is 16 goals. How many current F's scored that many this year? 4. 16 goals would be tied for 5th with Datsyuk this year. For anyone that doesn't think he made a difference isn't watching the games. he did what he should do: get the loose pucks behind the net and along the boards, he scored goals in front of the net-which BTW isn't his game. Blashill used him wrong-mainly because he has no other choices. Mantha is a sniper and is great at driving the net-not camping in front of it. But that is another issue all together.
Now he wasn't playing so yes send him down and let him play. But stop with the stupid statements. he wasn't a spare part in the PO's last year. he played every game for the Griffins.

Argh I don't really enjoy bashing management, because I always will feel that they know better than we do, and yea I can live with Mantha being sent down, but what I can't is Andersson coming up AND being inserted into the lineup.
It's driving me nuts at the moment, like, is there a plan here? It's more than obvious something here has to change. Richards is just, never even close to a top 6 player, so why is he constantly on the PP, playing is situations where goals are generally scored. He was good, but now loses puck battles, and is slow. It's no wonder this team can't generate any kind of offence because they have no forecheck as by the time the old guys have skated down to retrieve the puck, its already going back the other way.
What bothers me is how AA plays only 5-8 minutes a night, and yet has looked at times one of our better forwards, has scored some good goals down the stretch too, yet consistently is labelled as bad defensively. What the f*** do they want, a team of selke trophy nominees? 2 players with big offensive potential - Pulkkinen - ok fine he hasn't been up to snuff, but he and Mantha, don't we think they ought to be given more chance instead of stuck in this system which seems to suck all the life out of our team's offensive ability.
It feels like they're just realising we don't have any high end talent anymore, so they're converting to a New Jersey type suffocating D kind of game whereby we don't need any all stars and can squeeze out games. Oh. Except we don't have the D (minus DK) and goaltending.
I'd really love to believe in this team, I really would. But I have to wonder who's driving the bus right now because it just doesn't seem to make that much sense. Give your kids a chance to play, let them learn, and if we miss the playoffs? So what.

Buppy, I strongly disagree that it's still all just potential at this point. I think Mantha looked great in his short stint, despite the lack of production. He has provided offensive pressure and created quite a few scoring chances for himself and his teammates on his own. Although the points haven't been coming the way they probably should, he was a huge contributing factor to the success of the power-play. His size and reach alone are huge assets, and he wins a lot of board battles. It's not as if he was a defensive liability at all either and with Pav on his line, we don't need a defensive dynamo out there.
Like others have mentioned, we've made the playoffs, we're not expected to go far (a round or two with a little luck) and now is the time to get these kids in the lineup to get experience and learn from their mistakes. Especially with this potentially being Datsyuk's last season, Mantha should be up, soaking in as much as he can, while he still can. If Andersson is in the lineup over Mantha and Jurco for game one, I'll lose my s***...

What has Andersson done to deserve one?

This organization is so stupid sometimes. 29 other teams wanted no part of Joakim Andersson two months ago and the Red Wings are going to dress him in the playoffs. How many PK bodies does a team need? You already have Glendening, Helm, Sheahan, Abby. Plus AA and Larkin or hell, even Pav and Z if Blash didn't run them into the ground already.
You aren't winning the Stanley Cup and your future looks even bleaker with Datsyuk gone. What better time than now to give your young guys valuable playoff experience? What's the worse thing that could happen -- the Wings lose in the first round like every other year anyways?
25 years, though! Holland will cling to that pointless streak until someone finally steps in and holds him accountable for seven years and counting of mediocrity.

I agree, but losing to the Rangers once again comes back to poor usage and expecting the veterans to carry the load after an 82-game grind. Blashill was playing not to lose yesterday and they did. I'm not saying this is a cup contender with these hypothetical moves, but I do believe it gives them more of a chance to win than the losing formula they clung to down the stretch.
Babcock could get away with that system because he was such a good coach. Blashill is not there, nor should he try to become something that he isn't. He got the job because he developed prospects well and seemed to embrace transitioning them to the next level here in Detroit. Why we got away from that in a perfect year (not a cup contender, declining veterans) to incorporate more youth is beyond me.

The crazy thing is they could go on a run in the playoffs if they put the right pieces in play. The Lightning are very vulnerable right now with injuries and is anyone that scared of the Panthers or Rangers/Islanders? I'm not saying the Wings would come close to beating the Capitals or Penguins, but the first round especially is winnable and then go from there.
I thought Blashill would bring a new identity and finally push the young guys into larger roles. Instead he has been Babcock without the coaching acumen. I don't know if Holland has him by the balls or what, but I honestly feel this is a pretty dangerous team with better personnel decisions and usage. Right now though, they won't beat the Lightning if they are going down the same path as the one they used to limp into the playoffs.

You could say the same about athanasiou , he's got 9 goals in limited ice time but hasn't taken the league by storm
The whole point of this is the wings would have a better shot with the kids getting more ice time and learning than the same old vets who have been lackluster all season , correct me if I'm wrong but the wings haven't scored too many goals this year? And we barely got in , if Boston didn't choke bye bye wings and datsyuk would be officially done as of today
Time to get some guts and play the kids , that's how we make noise in the playoffs not over working hank and pav and having Richards as a go to guy ... Things might be different if nyquist and Tatar were performing like they did last year but there not, athanasiou and mantha should get more playing time
Helm Richards in top 6 roles won't be enough to get us going

Maybe Mantha is too big, too young and scoring too much. I mean, every other team in this league would clearly take the upcoming superstar Anderson over Mantha just makes sense.
Also I think it's ridiculous that this organization is constantly throwing him under the bus why draft him in the first place if you don't like the guy? Such a weird situation

Jeez, they really hate Mantha, don't they? Holland can be so damn condescending sometimes.
I just looked at Jurco's NHL career stats. He's basically declined each year. He's the definition of a plug out there. Serviceable as a warm body but not doing anything to help. Andersson is the same. He can PK because he can't skate the whole ice. Blashill is obsessively defensive. His only tweaks are to bring a player on to help us play PK, not a player to help our PP score.
I've never been so frustrated with this franchise. I really hope we're not about to go down in humiliation.

In that article, it says that the Red Wings told him they will not trade his contract to relieve the cap. Holland, in his obsessive loyalty will eat the $7.5M hit for the year and handicap his team for no reason but to stay loyal. f*** Holland, he needs to be fired!

I love this whole "so and so can't play defense, so I'm gonna scratch them" Tatar and Nyquist can't win battles to save their lives. We have a coach that doesn't prioritize goal scoring. That's a problem, guess what? Goals win games. For me, I want guys that can score goals. Patrick Kane can't spell "backcheck" and he's a 3 time Stanley Cup champion. Enough of this garbage from management and coaching, play to win the ******* game.

We crawled on all four limbs while bleeding into the playoffs. I'm with you, I don't want to rely on our vets and to grind out some gut check victories. We just lost two of those games in a row, it doesn't work. The only reason we're here is because Boston sucked harder and two young guys carried us through 65 percent of the season before their tanks dried up (Larkin, Mrazek). The vets with their 23rd ranked offense didn't get us here.

The defensive argument goes out the window when you can't score. Mantha and AA score. So what if they're on the ice for a goal against if they score one or two? For right now, with the assets we have, that's okay. There's only like six defensively talented guys on the whole squad anyway.
Not everyone on a team can be a defensive stalwart. You do have to score, and when things tighten up in the playoffs watch our offense evaporate completely.

Sending Mantha down is a huge mistake, but is it possible (hopeful thinking) that because he hasn't played a game in what would be a week and a half, that they're sending him down for a game or two with the Griffins tomorrow (and Wednesday) to get him back playing before our playoffs start?... Please let this be the case. Like others have mentioned, he's played well, provided offense and a weapon on the power-play to a team that severely lacks in both areas. Not to mention what playing on a line would do for both Anthony and Pavel... Dumb move. #freemantha

This line from Holland. Just... wow: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2016/04/10/wings-opt-andersson-over-mantha-start-playoffs/82866748/

I don't get the thought process behind saying something like that. At all.

Which is whatever, if Holland feels that way. People may disagree, but it's management's call.
Management throwing him under the bus (again - Devellano), however, doesn't feel like it's conducive to Mantha's growth. Don't see how the jab was necessary or helpful.

Not pretty in any sense, but they battled back from down 2-0 and hopefully this is the start of their game going in the right direction. Should help if nothing else from a confidence standpoint because they seemed pretty fragile lately.

Not pretty in any sense, but they battled back from down 2-0 and hopefully this is the start of their game going in the right direction. Should help if nothing else from a confidence standpoint because they seemed pretty fragile lately.

Not pretty in any sense, but they battled back from down 2-0 and hopefully this is the start of their game going in the right direction. Should help if nothing else from a confidence standpoint because they seemed pretty fragile lately.

I wanted him gone because I thought the Wings were getting stale, but it is so obvious now Babs made this team look better than they were for years.
Which brings us to the most maddening thing: how awful of a job has Ken Holland done the past seven years? And when does someone finally hold him accountable?
Seriously, either tear it down and rebuild entirely or have some guts to make moves and contend again. This middling in mediocrity garbage is the worst place to be. Hopefully the playoff streak does end, so he can stop clinging to that pointless "achievement."

I have a dream...of a roster without Glendening or Anderson. Its rough knowing I'll inevitably be disappointed.
Nyq-Z-Abby
Lark-Dats-Tatar
Richards-Sheahan-Pulk
Jurco-Helm-AA

My second favorite team is anyone playing Chicago.