VM1138

It won't be a distraction. Babcock cuts to the chase pretty roughly. If a rumor starts he will simply say that he has one job to do and so do his players and leave it at that. It's not like he will bolt mid-season and cause chaos.

As cool as another Original Six final would be, I don't want Chicago getting in again. They're already becoming what the Wings used to be. I don't want them to start having more Cups or finals appearances.

I'm really glad our superstars don't act like spoiled brats. It's bad for morale to mouth off to your coach during a game. Especially coming from your captain. Be a man and have a private sit down after the game if you have a beef.

This is cool. No idea if it can survive, though. Then again, there are multiple cooking channels so I guess there's a market for everything if the operating costs are kept low. I wonder how widely available the channel will be. I've never seen a Griffins game before and I would definitely watch if I had easy access to it.

Still think it's Boston's year.

We have too many defensive prospects. Some will have to be traded, I imagine.

I think we're looking too deeply into the Babcock/Blashill situation. It could be a coincidence. It could be that we just want another year of Blashill coaching our kids and that he's not even in line to be coach. It could be that Babcock only wanted to do one year extensions and obviously they knew this early on, and to hedge their bets they are keeping Blashill just in case. A business, insurance-type move and nothing more. I mean, none of what we know leans one way or the other. It's entirely in the hands of the reader to determine what they think, and so articles like Regner's are silly.

I hate articles like this. They're increasingly common. Regner is clearly reaching for conclusions. Nothing here indicates next year will be his last. What Babcock has stated in other interviews as well is that he can get a job anywhere, so he's not concerned with getting some long term big-money deal. Only people who worry about the future of their careers do that. He just wants to take it year by year. That means he could be here another 10, or he could be gone next year. Either way, nothing here supports Babcock's leaning one way or the other. But hey, page hits, I guess. I wrote this in another thread, but the whole coach getting stale thing doesn't really apply to Babcock anymore. There's such a huge turnover in players that next year's team and the one after that will be almost entirely different than the ones during most of his tenure. So it's like getting a fresh start. Plus, Babcock loves coaching young guys and building their game. He can do that in Detroit just as easily as anywhere else. At least here he has competent management to work with.

Babcock has no reason to leave. There's a great deal of player turnover, and he has an opportunity to rebuild a storied franchise right here in Detroit. I mean, coaches like a challenge and they like to leave their mark. He can do that here, even though he's already been here so long, without needing to go to a bottom feeder with dysfunctional management. There's just not a lot of reason for Babcock to leave. The team is so different than when he started here it's like going to a different team already.

God I'd love to get Gaborik, especially if Alfredsson doesn't come back. Then we could risk having an injury prone guy with talent.

I'm really confused by this series. You mean it's actually possible for a team to score more than once or twice a game against Boston? I wish someone would have told the Wings this.

Though discussions at different Internet locations were purely hypothetical and far-fetched, the more I hear about "trade Howard" the more sense it makes. Howard isn't necessarily at fault for our struggles, but he doesn't have to be to be trade bait. Miller is becoming a free agent this summer. If we can be sure to sign Miller, Howard could be a pretty good bargaining chip. He's a decent goalie with spurts of greatness. Surely there's a team that constantly struggles with goalies who would be interested in a steady workhorse in exchange for a mid-20s defenseman on the rise? At the very least as part of a package. If Holland goes the trade route, I think Howard is the best we can offer any team to get legitimate value back. Assuming of course that Zetterberg, Kronwall, and Datsyuk are off-limits, as we know they are.

If Alfredsson doesn't come back, or even if he does, I want Holland to acquire Gaborik. Injury prone or not the guy is a scorer.

I would bring him. He won't be worse than Howard, and he very well could be great. Not a necessary move but we could use Howard to get a D-man and bring Miller in. It's a low risk move, and maybe a move we need. But since it's not the most glaring weakness no move will be made. Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

Also, Quincey had the same surgery and said he felt like a new man. Zetterberg is healthier than he's been in four or five years. I expect a career year out of him. But we do need to get more durable. Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2

Holland has to sign a gritty forward who can play hockey. Babcock has no use for a player like that who is a defensive liability.

I don't think that will work with Mantha. The kid is a natural talent. Best to get him into the NHL and learn the ropes there. There are limits to what you can learn in the AHL.

I really think this is Boston's year. Chicago is good and all, but nothing I've seen indicates Boston isn't the best team in the playoffs.

Is Nabakov on the move, then?

The PP sucked while Lidstrom was still here. The problems really did start as soon as McClellan left. Sure, NOW we can see why it sucks but it started sucking way before then. I've got to think it's Renney because the PP isn't structured for the benefit of the current crop of players, and it's too rigid and predictable, which goes back to the coach. And yes, McCrimmon was a terrible defensive coach, too.

That Bieber picture pisses me off and I hate the Hawks. Show some respect and don't stand on their logo, man.

I would love to see an Original 6 final. I Lo e the resurgence of O6 teams the past few years. Great for hockey. I just wish we could join them... But I have a feeling Pittsburgh will prevail, as much as I want to count them out. It could be a really bitter year for the Wings. There could be a Pittsburgh, Boston, Chicago, LA final four...all teams who have won recently. Remember when we were that good?

Yeah. Our problems started when he left. It'd be nice to have a talented offense coach again, but he's not going to move backward. He'll be head coach somewhere. Remember how people praised him for years? If he's fores it'll be because San Jose wants a fresh start, not because he's bad.

We don't need a Top 4 guy. We need a puck moving top 2. Smith and Ericsson and Dekeyser are fine as 3 spots, and make is much deeper. I mean...Dekeyser on the third pairing is crazy deep. But none of those guys is that top pair offensive defenseman we need to play with Kronwall.

Problem is Franzen doesn't seem willing to do...well...anything. He'll play and lob a few shots at the net, some will go in, but he doesn't seem to buy into anything. He's not a leader and he just wants to show up, make a paycheck and help if he can. That means he is not going to be changing his playing style. Which means he will be exactly the same as he was this year. He'll pot 25 goals in a handful of games, and will go cold when we need him most. No amount of saying "he needs to get better" will make him get better.