marcaractac

This. This summer needs to be about dumping salary. Bring in a dman if it makes sense.

Why does Mrazek get torn to shreds for going from Vezina numbers for a large chunk of last season to going through some struggles, yet Howard has been the definition of inconsistency. Howard had a great first half of the season and everyone quickly forgets how much of a train wreck he has been for large chunks of his career. Howard will never be the guy this team wins with. The jury is still out on Mrazek, but that is where the potential is. As for Howard's trade value? Despite how he has played this season, it is still pretty low. Anyone taking on that cap hit would be doing this team a huge favor. Sadly if the past is anything to go by, Howard will be a sieve once he returns.

This. His greatest value to this team right now is what he can bring in via trade at the deadline. Re-signing him is meaningless. He'll be hard on the decline by the time the team contends again. This team needs to shed salary. Badly.

Have to keep in mind that a first rounder from a contender is basically a second rounder. If Vanek keeps up his current scoring pace, he'll be worth a first to a team that has a legit shot at the cup. Jets are having major goaltending issues. Hopefully, Holland will be in touch. This team HAS to dump salary whether they are in the playoff hunt or not.

If Tatar wants out, he'll be moved. You can't take a Google translated interview as proof of that. He could be simply saying he would not be surprised to be traded and will see what happens at the trade deadline. These translations should never ever be taken as 100% accurate. A lot gets lost in translation, as different languages work completely different from one another.

Nolan Patrick would sell tickets in the new arena

That was a wild time. Had too much fun to find anything to complain about. Things got a little chirpy between wings and leafs fans on the street car back to Union Station. Such fun shenanigans.

These renditions of the anthems are bad and they should feel bad. Oh look a plane!

Was at the game. Early on before it started, Babcock walked right by my row. Begged him to come back. He waved and laughed. I made Babcock laugh. What is life.

On the bright side, outdoor games seem to be a crap shoot due to environmental factors. So perhaps the Wings have a chance New Years day VS the Leafs when I'm there

I'd like this lineup if sheahan and disney.com swapped with AA and jurco, as well as mrazek starting.

I'm tired of hearing blash say that word as it is. It's no wonder the players already tune him out.

The collar ruins it for me. I do really like the winter hat though.

As far as drafting goes, it is one of the few things management of this team has done right. In a parity salary cap league, you need high-end players to compete. They are difficult to find when the highest you draft in the last 20+ years is 15th. Trading down to rid Datsyuk's contract definitely hurt this team going forward. But the team would also be worse right now (which I think would have been for the best, for the record). Regardless, time times were ahead no matter what Holland has done. My frustrations stem from personnel decisions being made with the playoff streak being the obvious number one priority of the franchise when I personally think it should come second to developing young talent. Dark days were gonna happen even with the best interest of the future of the team in mind. This is why I am mentally prepared for a basement season to kick start eventual contention. While we haven't seen it yet, more teams are gonna go through this same ordeal. It's happening to the Wings now because they've been in the playoffs for 25 years. That was never going to be sustainable in today's NHL. In time, we absolutely will see the same thing happen to the likes of the Blackhawks and Penguins. I use these two as examples as they are the only two teams to have such sustained success for a long period of time since the Wings have done so. Even the likes of Vancouver and Boston had very short lived times at the top of the standings. When Duncan Keith starts to decline in a few seasons, the Blackhawks will likely begin to experience what we did when our defense started to drop like flies. Lacking talent on the back end, and unable to obtain more while their forwards have some prime years left. It's simply a bummer of a reality after many years of loving a team that can solve problems with money and trading first round picks. Fingers crossed that things head in the right direction when living up to 25 straight years in the playoffs is no longer a burden for Holland and Blashill to try and uphold.

ALL ABOARD THE PAIN TRAIN

At the time it was exciting, as it made the possibility of Stamkos seem very real. But to then find out Neilson was instead the guy Holland had in mind to make cap space for... well, in retrospect that sucks. He made fantastic moves in a sense of keeping the playoff streak alive. All that does is delay the inevitable, which is what we are seeing on the ice right now. In my eyes, the only way signing Vanek will turn into a fantastic move is if he is moved at the deadline to help load up for the draft. Other than that, it would be a player who played well here during an overall bad season.

I'm of the opinion that this is not a slump. They are simply playing bad hockey and getting worse each night. I can count on one hand how many good games they've played all season. This is a team that has completely lost its way and the wheels are falling off. Typically, these types of nose dives only end when the season does. It takes elite talent and great coaching to pull out of such a situation. Neither of which this team has. It's very reminiscent of the 2014-15 Leafs. A roster that should be good enough to compete for a lower playoff seed, but just completely lost their way. In the end, it will turn out to be a blessing in disguise. The streak will end, so roster decisions can then stop being made based on keeping that going, ala trading the first round pick for Datsyuk's cap hit. It hurts to deal with now, but I think looking forward to next season the team will be better off for it.

I beg to differ. Just look at what he did for Latvia in the Olympics. No doubt he can bring out the best in a less experienced team. By no means am I saying he is a potential long-term solution, but I think he ould be great for this team right now.

For a young team like the Wings, I think a coach like Ted Nolan would be a good fit.

#nolanpatrick

If Marchenko misses the next game, Blash will still find a way to keep Sproul scratched

I wish Holland would realize this so they can at least get a good first rounder out of it.

I can be very stubborn, so I'll take my chances lol. Luckily putting the condition behind me is something I myself have control over.

I've just been going to the gym, working on getting myself in shape. If I have to depend on CPAP I'm not sure I'd ever be able to sleep again lol. I'm way too light a sleeper.

Hank can still do what he does because he is such a smart player. Younger guys just have learning to do. This is why I dislike seeing Larkin playing wing. The kid really needs to learn center at this level because Hank won't be able to do what he is doing much longer.