VM1138

Let's hope Gustavsson doesn't get injured in warmups. On the plus side, looking at the division standings makes me happy. Even though it's way early and everyone is obviously close, we're not doing too bad considering. If we win tonight we could be one point out of first. Let's hope we stay up at the top all season.

Babcock always struck me as pretty wise. I think he even warned against having the "grass is greener on the other side" syndrome. He knows going into any other situation is a huge gamble. If he wants more control he's not 100% likely to get it anywhere else even if he's promised it. Whereas if this team makes some noise this year the prospect of coaching an almost entirely new, very young team to greatness on an Original 6 team has got to be convincing. He'll never coach Toronto because of the cluster-you-know-what that is ownership.

Now I'm sad remembering the days of the Kronwall-Stuart pairing. What a hell of a second pair. Stuart took a lot of flak for that turnover that ended the series back a few years, but he had a very good playoffs other than that. Stuart was a hell of a defender for us and really made us hard to play against. If we lack anything on the blue line it's a Prime Kronwall-Stuart pair.

The thing that bugs me is that while Weiss didn't impress Babcock apparently, he's not terrible. Maybe he didn't live up to his potential in his 26 games with us--though I still think that's because he played through injury--but he never hurt the team while he was on the ice like Cleary did. He's got to get some playing time, but with Franzen OK and Datsyuk coming back soon, there's just no way he's going to see ice time if he's waiting for injuries. Honestly I'd rather see Weiss play than Nestrasil, but since they play different positions that probably doesn't matter.

Franzen looks fine.

I'm betting that's what we call 'clickbait.' The Babcock part seems absolutely absurd and reeks of Toronto delusions. Maybe Illitch sells the franchises (maybe the arena was the last legacy he wanted to leave) but that seems pretty bizarre, too. With his family so involved in the resurrection of Detroit just saying 'peace out' when things are finally moving seems a little weird. I call BS on this story.

I thought when we acquired him someone mentioned he's played wing before. At any rate, I'd have to imagine it's easier for a center to play wing than a winger to play center.

Franzen takes streaky to th next level. He'll score fifteen in five games, then go twenty three without scoring.

The thing that stands out the most about this team is the bad passing. No one can pass our receive a pass it seems.

Couple things. Pulks is not a fourth line grinder, so Miller isn't keeping him out of the lineup. Also, Pulks wouldn't score 25 in the NHL. He's too predictable. What I saw of him in his call-up last year was that he has one trick: sit and wait for a pass at the hash marks. I think he could be a success in the league with some tweaking but he's not ready yet. Ideally, in a few years I'd like to see something like: Franzen-Zetterberg-Nyquist Mantha-Datsyuk-Tatar Jurco-Sheahan-Pulkinnen Abdelkader-Helm-??? I think we're going to have tough choices to make with regards to Helm, Abdelkader, Glendening, Miller and Andersson in the next year or two. But this lineup gives a nice blend of size, speed and skill, I think. But anyway, go Wings!

I don't think Florida moving would have a negative impact on Tampa. Tampa does alright. Not great, but they're average in popularity and money, even when they struggle, I think. Florida moving would probably boost Tampa's popularity, but not to astronomical heights. I imagine most of the locals who like hockey probably root for Tampa anyway, since Florida has sucked for so long.

Weiss spent his career on a struggling bottom feeder team. He got out. He's not going to go back to that situation if he can help it, regardless of playing time. He's probably frustrated but he knows the chance is good he'll get a shot to play. Him sitting is just too weird for me, I don't see it the same as Samuelsson's constant scratch status, for example. He probably sees it that way, too.

Copper and Blue website article about Petry being scratched. Apparently this is pretty unusual. Trouble between Eakins and Petry? Fans seem to consider Petry their best defender, and it sounds like the "no training camp/not up to speed" argument doesn't hold a lot of water. EDIT: We've also been linked to talks about Petry dating back to July, so there's apparently some history. But there are other teams in the mix, if trading him is even being considered by Edmonton. There's been no hints or confirmation about their willingness, just news that teams have inquired.

Holland going after Yandle and Bogosian? Same crap different year. Phoenix won't part with Yandle until he's 40 or he requests a trade out. Pipe dreams. Maybe that's why he never makes moves. He always tries for the exact same players every year.

Honestly it's just because games against the Ducks are always crazy. These two teams grind each other down and the games are usually very close, meaning that every mistake on the part of a player or a ref is going to be magnified.

Sigh. Really thought we'd get 2-0 to start the season. Hell of a game and Detroit has really improved. Can't think of too many blatant mistakes, typical NHL ref blown game. There needs to be some review process for stuff like this. Ah well, at least Boston is getting trounced.

Honestly, who cares if his contract expires next year? It's all a ruse to get rid of Kindl, and if Babcock has no intention of playing Weiss, then it's no loss. If Petry walks then we just have a ton of cap space to chase someone. But I don't know anything about this Petry guy, but as a roster clearer it makes sense.

I wouldn't assume that. It's pretty clear he wants to be in control of his career, like Bowman was. He'll want to take it year by year and see how the franchise is developing. If we have a good year (improvement over last year) and change to a more exciting youthful style of play I think he'll stay. They're not going to negotiate during the season, so the fact that he hasn't re-signed means little to me.

October is going to be a tough schedule. Boston a couple times, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Toronto (who plays us tough). If we can get out of this month with a strong record I think that's a significant sign of things to come. I think we play 9 games this month and I'd say any record better than 6-3 (or variations with an OT loss or two) would be fantastic.

The team is faster than last year, but most importantly they're playing as a unit. One person moves up, someone's already moving to fill their space. Support, support, support. That already makes a difference over last year. Offense still looks a little anemic, but at least they're shooting at the net now. If Smith and Quincey continue to stay solid our defense might not actually be a liability this season.

Did Smith finish with the most ice time? He looked fantastic out there. Very encouraging. Even Quincey looked good. The new structure seems to cover our defensI've lapses more.

He's been pretty blah so far.

Helm hit the post. He's not the problem. Their whole offense is one and done. Skate in, shoot, run back to their own zone, repeat. They need more support on the offense.

I didn't get to see any pre-season games but the general consensus seems to be that only two or three guys really impressed all pre-season, and none of the regulars did. Weiss has made considerable improvement on skating, but like the other regular NHLers was really a non-factor. He didn't play bad, just didn't impress. Which is why his being scratched is so baffling to most of us.

I don't think "showcasing" players is really a thing. Kindl is an established NHL player, pro scouts know what he is. And they know the Wings want to get rid of him. Plus, he had a terrible pre-season and will likely have a terrible start to the season. The odds are pretty good at that. As a risk analysis thing, why would you risk exposing him as even worse than people know he already is? You trade him for whatever you can get, because there will be no beneficial trade in this situation, or you waive him/buy him out because we can afford the cap hit. Holland may not want to lose him for nothing, but he's not going to get anything more than a 7th round pick, probably conditional.