VM1138

I do. I also want this to be Franzen's statement game. Take this Wings team by the throat and drag them to victory, Mule.

I like this. Franzen has turned it around this year. Even the last game, he may not have scored but he was finally hitting like we all wish he'd do. He's engaged in the play. He's doing his best. But there is clearly a confidence issue. Every game is the same. As soon as the other team takes a lead, you see the guys slump on the bench. They give up and that is what Franzen wants changed. I dont care about Franzen's past. He's bringing it this year and thay allows him to say this.

Legwand and Alfie will return. No one else. Tata and Deke will be re-signed. I'm worried about Quincey though. Holland might be afraid of missing out on another D-man and re-sign him as insurance.

I try talking about this with my non-Red Wing and non-hockey fans and I don't think they quite get how absurd this all is. For God's sake fire the training staff. And the doctors. Somewhere internally staff was changed and that's the only thing that can explain this. Grand Rapids must be pissed. I imagine it's hard to keep winning when we keep taking their players. But hey, at least they managed to make playoffs, right?

I get that Datsyuk and Zetterberg are probably done for the year, but what about the other guys? Weiss, Bertuzzi, Andersson, Gustavsson, etc. They won't transform this team but as many hands on deck as possible can at least make one last gasp run. Why haven't we heard more about the 8 guys who are injured other than D and Z? I think Helm is expected back next week. EDIT: And, dare I say it, Cleary and Sammy could at least add something to the team. They wouldn't crack a healthy roster, but they could crack this.

Hossa would he nice but our problem is on the back end. Only after that is fixed should Holland start dealing big assets for forwards. We need a #1 or #2 defenseman who can score and move the puck. Doesn't have to be the greatest defensive guy. Then we need a sokid defensive vet for the bottom pairing. Kronwall-Top Offensive D-man DeKeyser-Ericsson Solid vet-Smith Instant Cup contender when added to our healthy forward corps.

Over a full season Nyquist would be pushing 30 goals in his rookie season. Maybe he's not flashy, but he's going to be a Franzen-type player. Not your #1 star but definitely the third part of the triumvirate of star forwards every team has. Tatar is similar. His numbers aren't as good but he spent the first 20 games getting 6 minutes a night. With Datsyuk, Z, and Franzen, that gives us five top forwards in future seasons when most teams have three. Then if Weiss gets back to where he was and Legwand continues to be steady, we are absolutely stacked at forward next year. I'm excited about next year so long as we change at least three defensemen. It needs an overhaul.

Every year all of our big guns stop scoring at the same time. There's really not a reason for Alfie, Franzen or Legwand to not score.

Haha, another Instance of Wings running into each other. They've been so jumbled this whole game.

What a wasted season. Smith and Quincey are legendary in their mutual crappiness. Alfie has been too quiet. Only players I've noticed all night are Miller and Franzen (only for hitting). The Wings don't even play with urgency. Haven't had a "playoff feel" for weeks now.

Just godawful. Terrible decisions with the puck. And yet another last second goal against.

Was just browsing stats and noticed that Nyquist is producing at something like .780 points per game. Hossa is producing at .870. That's not too far off. Not bad for a rook. Especially if he can keep it up over a full season.

Don't forget that they threw in the towel on the season when they weren't out of the playoff race. Wasn't it the GM that said that back in January or February? Really surprised me.

I think we either give Mrazek a shot or we sign another backup. Gus has been good but at this point I think Holland needs to go for iron-men who aren't injured every three games. With so many of the same players returning we need to improve durability where we can. The injuries have really hurt us the past few years.

I'm glad you pointed out Quincey. I don't think people realize (even despite all the hate) just how important Quincey was to us losing so much in the early part of the season. There were some stats floating around the 25 game mark, I think, that showed he had been on the ice and directly the cause of a goal against a game (not an average, but an actual goal in each game) for something like 15 or 16 games. A lot of those games were 1 goal games. Not to excuse the poor play of everyone else, but if we had someone different in Quincey's spot, we could be well into the playoff standings right now.

With Jurco out, why is Alfredsson still not playing with Sheahan and Tatar? It could boost his production and give the kids a really good producer.

I'm not sure what you guys saw last night. I didn't see the Wings lose because they were getting beat up. Yeah, Columbus was physical, but our problem was, once again, terrible defensive positioning and no offense. I agree it'd be nice to be able to defend ourselves, but it's hardly a priority at this point. We've never been outmuscled in a playoff series and lost, at least the last 10 years or so. That's what matters to me.

Lashoff was always a plug. He's solid as a fill in, which is fine, but he's not a full time roster player and likely never will be. I'm excited about the chance to overhaul the defense this summer, but I'm worried Holland's strategy is just to wait a few years and hope the kids somehow become elite.

If we hadn't blown the first 20 games we'd be okay. Early season points were critical once again.

eah....we literally watched this team fall apart. Bodies and equipment both. The season is literally disintegrating these past few games.

If we lose this game I think it's a fair bet to say that playoffs are out of the picture. Not mathematically of course, but Columbus is the hottest team in the league, and we'll need to put together a streak longer than anyone they put together for the rest of the year to make it. Or else count on another team ahead of us going on an epic losing streak.

Two more players dropped like flies tonight. The torture continues.

Mrazek terrifies me out there like Hasek used to do. He looks so uncomfortable and wobbly, but he's so quick he seems to recover quickly. Hopefully he can play as strong against the top scoring teams, too. He's definitely fun to watch (in a heart-attack inducing sort of way).

That's true but the Wings haven't had a prospect like Mantha since Datsyuk and Zetterberg, both of whom made the jump straight to the NHL. I'm not sure if their respective leagues were equivalent to the juniors or not, but it's entirely possible that Mantha might be an exception Holland is willing to make.

The poster before me mentioned that Alfie needs to step up his play.