Buppy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DAf2DvLUDk

That's some of the most ridiculous nonsense I've seen in some time. I literally don't think even a single word is true. Not even the small ones like 'by' or 'at'.

I thought it was going to about that one guy, um... can't think of his name...

I'd like to see a straight rotation too, though I wouldn't say Howard is really having a sophomore slump, nor would I say Ozzie is outplaying him by much. I think they're doing pretty similar. I do think Howie needs some extra work with the goalie coaches. He seems to be dropping way too low when he goes down. Doesn't seem as tall on his knees as he did last year. Maybe just a technique problem, or maybe he's lost some flexibility. Either way, if he could just stay a little more vertical, most of the deflections that have been going in would start hitting him. His left shoulder has been especially brutal. He also seems to over-commit some times.

Seems like you're trying to say we did something wrong in '09 while at the same time essentially trying to build a worse version of that roster. Remember that part of the reason we did so well against Chicago and won the first two games against Pittsburgh that year was because of how well Filppula played in Datsyuk's absence. And I don't know what that other guy is thinking; last year Pav and Hank were split for pretty much the entire playoffs, except maybe a few shifts here and there. Maybe we'd have been better off if we'd put them together... I've already said that I agree in principle. I think a goal scorer would fit our needs better. But you don't need to say Flip is underperforming or overpaid to make that argument. I think doing so is inviting a lot more opposition than your idea deserves.

Sure, IF he has another cold streak right away he'll be back down to a 40 point pace. Or, IF he has another 8 points in 3 games like he did once last year he'll be on a 60 point pace... What bothers me is the mentality that to be 'worth it', a player has to be a bargain, and to be good a player has to be a star. The Wings aren't as special as you think. We can't just get any player we want at whatever price we want. No team has or ever will have a full roster of bargains. And the Wings working so well also has a lot to do with finding guys like Filppula late in the 3rd round (early 4th really) to come in and play valuable roles, even when they're paying him market value. Comparing him to Eaves is silly. No doubt Eaves has been great so far, and was solid last year. And if he keeps it up he'll be able to demand a similar price tag, much like Cleary. Hey, Datsyuk makes almost 9 times as much and only has one more goal than Eaves, better dump him too. [edit to add: Funny that you complain about Flip's streakiness and question people valuing him based on his hot streaks, when you're doing exactly that with Eaves. You do know that over 1/4 of his goals, and almost 1/3 his points came in his last game? Half his points in the last 7 games?] This is the 6th year of the salary cap. For the first 2-4 years we had guys like Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Hudler, and Filppula among others on early bargain contracts (at least relative to how fast the cap went up in those first few years). I don't think you can really say the Wings have any proven 'salary system'. I think you can say we've drafted well, and got lucky a few times with Cleary, Eaves, and Sammy while he was here, and had success with guys at fair market prices, like Cleary now, Rafi, and Stuart. And I would like to see any evidence that Babs or Kenny aren't satisfied with him. It sure doesn't show in all the praise (and minutes) he's gotten the past couple years. I don't think anyone in the organization has ever said he 'needs' a 'breakout' year, though I've heard people predict one. Last season was really the first it could have reasonbly been expected, and I think in a lot of ways it was a breakout. Despite the injury and playing a big part of the year with the likes of Leino, Williams, Miller, and Bert he still put up decent numbers; career high ppg despite the season ending cold streak. I also don't think some people really have the right definition of breakout in regards to Flip. He's on pace for close to 50 points. That IS a breakout (or at least, proves that last year was a breakout type year). Or maybe I should say that 'breakout' isn't really a term that should be used to describe the expectations for a guy making $3M who's already had a 40 point season. But some people seem to think he needs to get 60+ to earn his contract, or be deserving of a place on the team. With everything he provides, he's worth $3M scoring 40-45. Scoring 60+ would turn him back in to a bargain. It would be great, even though if it happens we might not be able to afford to keep him on his next deal. I still think he's capable of 60+ (even this year, though I'd be surprised), but I wouldn't be disappointed if he only stays at his current pace. And the Hossa thing needs to stop. There's no way we could have sqeezed in another $2M+ in cap that year.

From what I've always heard, Ice Hockey was 'invented' by British soldiers as an adaptation of a game played by native Canadian tribes. But it's still a Canadian sport. Basketball was invented in America, first gained popularity in America, and until recently played almost exclusively by Americans. It is an American sport. The inventor was Canadian (though he did later become an American citizen), the sport isn't. Or we can just make it simple and say all games are African.

I don't know that Pavelski (or even Sharp) is a big enough upgrade to be worth an extra million a year, either. We could be pretty tight with the cap next year. I don't think a 1 for 1 tradeoff will really get us anywhere. Our best chance for a real upgrade is for cheap, young guys like Mursak, Emmerton, Tatar to take full-time roles, allowing us to move guys like Flip and Hudler for someone like Semin.

He's on pace for 47-48 points this year. Last year his full season pace was 52-53 points. Before his injury last year, he had 6 points in 11 games, a little below his current pace. Yes, he's streaky. Most players are, especially in his price range. But he's also capable of extended 'good' streaks, like his stretch of 27 points in 31 games last year.

Again, not the best argument, considering we won the Cup with Flip centering the 2nd line, and Pav and Hank playing together, then lost with a more stacked offensive team. Our scoring balance now is among the best in the league. 7 players with 10+ goals, and 2 more close. 9 with 20+ points (+1 with 19), 4 with 30+. I haven't looked closely, but I don't think anyone is significantly more balanced.

I don't want to argue to strenuously since I agree with you in principle, but... Pointing out that we lead the league in scoring, while having Flip as our 2nd line center, is not necessarily the best argument for needing to replace him with a more offensive-minded player. Particularly not when we're certainly not going to get a better 2-way player for the same price, and we are definitely not leading the league in team defense.

I agree with your conclusion that the Wings could be better served by a more prolific goal scorer, however, he has in fact scored like a 2nd liner, even though his ice time, PP time, and linemates haven't always been 2nd line quality. We just have a distorted idea of what a 2nd liner is supposed to be. We're spoiled by years of Yzerman, Fedorov, Datsyuk, Zetterberg and pre-cap depth.

No such thing as a big game in January. A game is a game, and you want to win them all of course, but as long as you're winning more than just about anyone else all is good. Home ice doesn't mean all that much in the NHL.

Personally, I think the HOF should recognize consistency and longevity as among the criteria. There are so few open spots for goalies in the NHL, that just staying good enough to be a starter in this league for 10+ years is a major achievement. Doing so while also maintaining a high level of play (even if not considered one of the very best in any given season) for a Stanley Cup contending team is even moreso. Less than 100 goalies in history have even PLAYED 400 games. Only 10 have played well enough, long enough, and on good enough teams to win that many. Ten. People mention Ozzie being lucky to play for a great team, and he has been, but at the same time he has had to be good enough to do so. He's been replaced as a starter a few times, which is a fair criticism, but on the flip side...once early in his career, once late, and once by one of the all-time greatest...not that big a knock IMO. The standard for goalies shouldn't be any higher than for any other player. But for some reason people seem to want to limit goalies to a handful of generational talents like Roy and Hasek. If you did the same for skaters, someone like Yzerman would have been a debateable fringe inductee instead of a first ballot no-brainer. Guys like Shanny and Fedorov who are almost universally expected inductees now would have no chance. I'd say Ozzie is comparable to Shanny and Fedorov, I don't see why there's so much debate. He should be a lock.

Joseph I would say is as good or better than Osgood, though that doesn't really diminish Ozzie's credentials.

Zetterberg - Playoff MVP, superior beard / With his skills should be more dominant Datsyuk - So slick he's become an adjective / Too slick, sometimes he slips on himself Lidstrom - The Perfect Human / Unfortunately, he is human Cleary - Hustle and hard work / Too fragile Franzen - Could be a 50+ scorer / Isn't Bertuzzi - Seems like a funny guy / Two hands Bert (Plus, he looks like my alcoholic brother-in-law, so I want to set him on fire.) Rafalski - Offense / Defense Filppula - Flashes of brilliance / Immediately followed by low simmering flames of mediocrity (Plus, shoot the damn puck) Kronwall - World-class all-around game / Headhunter who takes shifts off Holmstrom - Best of his generation in his role / Very limited role Eaves - Hustle and hard work, and a nice shot / Hit more and get a haircut Stuart - Much better than he gets credit for / Because of his uncanny knack for having his mistakes turn in to goals against Hudler - 2008-09 (Plus, funny litte guy, probably great at parties or as a pet) / 2010-11 Helm - Speed / Nothing but Ericsson - This year / Last year Abdelkader - Hard work and hustle, and hitting / Eventually he'll need a raise Modano - I used to skate at the rink now named after him / Cameo in the Mighty Ducks movie Salei - His nickname is Rusty, makes me think old-fashioned small-town friendly, like he'd let me shoot his BB gun / Probably wouldn't Miller - Haven't really noticed him this season (That's both good and bad) Draper - Memories (Plus, he's not as bad now as most think) / Soon to be only a memory Howard - Last season set the bar pretty high, no real sophomore slump / Probably too high, kind of seems like a sophomore slump Osgood - HHOF, definitely / Rafters, no

I think you answered you own question there in the bold. If you really pay attention to any defensemen except maybe the handful of Norris caliber players, you'll see plenty of errors. When a player consistently plays against top lines, those mistakes are going to get exploited at a higher frequency. Overall, Stuart has been playing great this year. Much better than the second half of last year, or any part of the year before.

Their losses will now be at least twice as boring

That has nothing to do with standings or how they're sorted mid-season. Say instead you're assigned the task of reporting to the public if the Wings gained more points in January than they did in December. It's just as relevent a report, but has the opposite answer. If you need to make an assessment or compare two teams, there are many, many variables you should take into account. Even point% doesn't give you a completely accurate picture. How about this: Team 1: 20-10-10 Team 2: 15-4-21 I would say Team 1 is better, even though Team 2 has more points and a better point %, the higher win % puts them ahead IMO. Team 1: 20-10-10 Team 2: 21-16-3 Here Team 2 has a better win %, but I would still say Team 1 is better, based on the higher point %. Team 1: 36-36-10 Team 2: 2-0-0 Could you honestly consider Team 2 better than Team 1, even though they would technically be a game ahead? Mid-season evaluations need to consider a lot more than just record. Stop reading too much in to the standings. The NHL uses points as a simple indicator of standing. Standings only matter at the end of the season, when points, point%, and games back all produce the exact same result. The NHL chooses to use points. They have for many, many years. It works fine. Since they use points, it makes sense to show how many points teams have accumulated during the season. And again I'll remind you that if you want to see point%, it's very easy to find.

You're not getting the point. NHL standings are sorted by who has the most points. Nothing really to do with who is 'better'. Look back at my first post, I said 15-14-1 is a better record, it just doesn't matter.

It's not an issue because no one is saying anything is 'better' than anything else. It says one thing and one thing only: Who has collected the most points so far. Teams don't get trophies for being in 1st after 37 games, aren't eliminated from the playoffs because they were last after 59 games, players don't get bonus checks for being within 2.5 games of the division lead... Mid-season rankings don't mean anything. If you don't like the way the standings are sorted on websites and in newspapers, no one is forcing you to pay any attention to them. I just gave you a link to a list sorted by point% if you're so interested in it. No one is trying to stop you from going by that.

Wouldn't be one of my favorites. Mostly because I'd have to kill myself in embarrassment the first time a Detroit fan blew a train whistle.

Better question is why do you care? If you don't like it, don't look at it.

You're taking this way too seriously. The point system is pretty easy to understand. At the end of the season when everyone has played an equal number of games, the only time it makes any difference, it produces the exact same results as point% or games back. If you really need to see how teams rank by point%, go to NHL.com and click on P%. There. Problem solved. If you really want to ***** about the NHL point system, ***** about 3 point games/loser points. Whining about meaningless mid-season rankings is just pointless.

I like him, though I don't know if I'd say 50+ points is in his future. I think in the future he could find a real home in the bottom 6 with Helm, Abby, and Eaves. For now, I'm not expecting much or really anything point-wise. I'll be satisfied with high energy and speed, maybe a little physical play and responsible defense with few rookie mistakes. He's had plenty of time with GR so he should be able to manage that much. Any scoring will be a bonus.