RedWings Gone Wild

I agree and yet disagree. For starters, most of our team is going to get a mini-vacation out of it at the end of the day, which can hopefully be used to regain composure, focus, and to some degree, fitness. Howard, Helm, Eaves, Bert, Draper, Maltby, May, Miller, Stuart, Cleary and the rest could all use this break to their advantage. Granted, our older/more established players will be "distracted" by the Olympics, but it's also an opportunity to play at a high level, with a higher level of talent than normal, and perhaps at least get a mental vacation from what has surely been a very tiring season. Perhaps it is into one frying pan from another, but guys like Zetterberg and Datsyuk can at least get back to playing regular hockey, without the added pressure of being the only offensively capable line on a team. It's hard to predict what's going to happen... but the last few weeks have been brutal for the Wings, and it's been perhaps their worst stretch of hockey (they've certainly dropped a ton of points against people battling us for playoff spots).. I don't know if this is a funk that the team needs to grind out of, or if this is something they need to take a step back from and reassess their play.

Basically, if Datsyuk doesn't score, we lose the shootout... and if he does, we got about a 50/50 chance.

It was a given that Abdelkader would be sent down, since we're going to have cap issues and he's our sole waiver-exempt player. If we make the playoffs, I wouldn't be surprised to see him back up.

Interesting to note about Lidstrom's play: 7 of his 30 points are PP points... giving him 21 even strength points and 2 shorthanded. Last year 33 of his 59 points were PP... giving him 25 even strength points and 1 shorthanded. So, he's easily on pace to outscore his even-strength totals from last year.... and, well, you can't really fault him for how poor our PP has been.

There is one thing I disagree with for the poster, and that's that the Wings are not constructed for defense. That is completely incorrect. They've played defense poorly the last year and a half, sure, but this is still practically the same team that had the least goals allowed in 08, despite a combined goaltending SV% that was middle of the pack. They also killed penalties at an 84% rate. What have we lost on the defensive end of things since then? Sammy, Hudler, Hossa, Drake?.. Not exactly defenders. They got away from defense because of the plethora of offensive skill, because they could play one period a game (usually the 3rd) and still win most of their games. That's not the reality anymore, and they've been slow to adjust back to their old style of play (and injuries to solid defenders like Franzen and Lilja doesn't help).

not to mention, Lids has been getting doubleshifted on the PK recently.

Traditionally Russian hockey in the Olympics and WC is pretty tight defensively, and Bryzgalov and Nabokov are both having strong seasons.

I hope you're right.. I'm going to be at the game and I really don't want to sit through another game of "lets see how long we can keep ourselves near the bottom of the standings."

Sounds like back pedaling to me. I really don't think his quotes would be taken THAT out of context to where every media outlet is reporting that he said "No" to whether or not a suspension was warranted. One such article

The TV deal sucks, but I can still see most every game... it's easily the front office's inconsistency in dealing with disciplinary issues, and then the on-ice officiating is just the worst. No transparency from the league on any issue, and the star player treatment is starting to rival that of the NBA.

With a completely healthy roster I don't really see a need for him, and while he's been very good defensively in the past, does it trump the defensive skills of Franzen, Cleary, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Draper etc? Or the youthful energy of Helm, Eaves, Miller? Obviously, with our piss-poor offense there is a hole for him to fill here (enough with the dirty puns), but as far as offensive rentals available, he's not one of the better choices... and defensively, we're pretty stocked up on PKing forwards, to the point where I wouldn't even give Modano the nod over many of our present PKers. Now Whitney would be a great rental.

And that justifies his response how? GMs of good teams are exempt from speaking out against the violence that continues to make this sport look pedestrian and archaic? Okay.

It basically does. Considering the viciousness of the hit, that Courmier is a repeat offender (and these aren't debatable cheapshots either, they are blatant), and don't forget that there is a sport-wide emphasis on removing hits to the head.... Lamoriello basically gave it a pass when he should have condemned it heavily. Classless... but expected. And that little punk Courmier will probably be in another league in a few days anyways...

Uh, considering they SHOWED LILJA'S PICTURE, I imagine the whole staff must have had a brain fart... No, he meant to say Lilja.. and, while I don't know if he's right, the only thing keeping Lilja out of games for the past 5-6 months were the headaches... the second they stopped he was going to try and come back... seems pretty likely that it would be a spontaneous announcement like this if he were to come back.

Heaven forbid we ever play a 60 minute game... just once this season

You gotta admit, the Wings are incredible. They find new ways to blow games every day.

Oh Flipple.

There is a trickle effect when you have more skill on a team tho. It opens the ice, takes the pressure off of the role players, gets everyone more comfortable in their roles.. Look at how Washington's supporting cast is doing this year.. not a damn one of those guys would be putting up comparable numbers without the top line taking most of the attention.

Agreed. For me, Hasek easily takes the top spot over the two of them. Then of course Sawchuk, Plante, Tratiak, and all the oldies deserve their place.. but I'm always skeptical about comparing such drastically different eras. To me it's like comparing the NFL from 1920 to the modern game... it's just so damn different in terms of playing style, preparation, level of competition, difficulty to make the playoffs, etc etc etc... I mean, Doug Harvey has more Norris trophies and cups than Lidstrom... but there were also only 6 teams in the league during his prime. Who really had a greater challenge earning those accolades?

Listen, Lombardi has all those cup rings from his stint as GM of San Jose, and now he's leading the oft-contenders in LA to playoff glory... He has every right to criticize the most winning program in College hockey. Red Berenson's two national championships look pretty embarrassing next to Lombardi's accomplishments.

In leino's defense... we did go from the best offense in the league to the worst one... so it's not like anyone is feeding him anything golden for him to capitalize on offensively, nor is there much of anyone for him to pass to, nor can we place him with a confident veteran presence capable of getting him out of the slump (because even our veteran's confidence levels have appeared low at times). He's probably played himself off of the team come playoffs, but that doesn't mean that he won't immediately benefit from more open ice, and less pressure to play it safe/be productive, when we're actually a strong offensive team again (like when Franzen, Kron, Holms all return).

NHL already tops the NBA in attendance. And as far as the TV ratings... well... one's on versus, the other is on ESPN, TNT, and ABC, not much else can be expected.

Wow a Flyer acting like an immature douchebag? Stop the presses!

At the very least the Leafs or Rangers would. They're dumb enough to take any contract.

Thank you Tampa bay!