Jesusberg

"He didn't fight Chara's fist with his face... what a bum!" ... oh, you folks sometimes. You'd all run from Chara, too. And before you tell me that you're not a paid NHL'er, pretty sure that about 95% of them wouldn't either.

Bingo. Bingo. Babcock even says the team is looking for someone who can move the puck. The best players will play? If Kindl isn't SUPPOSED to be a puck mover, what is he supposed to be? I can understand keeping Lashoff as the #7 guy - he's got a low cap hit and you don't want a prospect sitting on the bench for the season. At this point Kindl is a below average offensive defender, Quincey is a below average defensive defender and Smith is an average offensive defender, with possible upside. Ouellet has essentially looked better than all of them in his, albeit short, time with the team thus far. Don't pee in my boots and tell me it's raining, Mike.

Via Khan: ...what?

I think that spot on the 2nd PP unit is still Kindl's to lose. I imagine they're going to give both Smith and DeKeyser looks on the other point of the PP. Ideally, both could take over if he falters. It's also possible that, with a healthy roster, the team uses a forward on the point for each PP unit. We've got about 9 powerplay capable forwards (loose term here guys and gals) when you factor in the net presence guys. Wouldn't surprise me to see Babcock use the firepower back there if he feels it's needed. Z-D-Abs Kronwall-Nyquist Mule-Weiss-Helm/Cleary/Sheahan/Jurco Kindl-Tatar Not saying it's ideal - just think it's possible. FWIW, I really wish Babcock would just let the defenders work the PP, and give the PK guys their role.

I think there's a difference between wanting a guy to fail, and thinking he's going to fail. Do I want Dan Cleary to have a 20-20 year and work on the PK? Absolutely, but I don't think that's going to happen. I think sometimes people get so caught up in disliking the decisions that a team makes, that they turn their focus to the player instead. I know I'm guilty of that (*cough* Quincey *cough*). As far as the defense goes, I think Quincey is safe for now. If anyone should be worried, I think it's Kindl. Ouellet's right on his heels, I'd say. So far he's looked completely in place on this team's blueline, and he played over 24 minutes last night. Perhaps it's just me, but I think Ouellet's is way ahead of the other three guys vying for spots right now. Sproul looked amazing on the PP, but definitely has to shore up his work in the defensive zone. Backman will need this season to transition to NA play, but once he does, he'll be very reliable. Marchenko is worrying me a bit - I hope his ankle injury doesn't prove to be an issue. He's looked a bit off so far, IMO.

I'll be the first to admit I want Cleary to have nothing to do with this team, but it's the preseason. Just like someone could light it up now and suck during the regular season, someone else can crap the bed and still work out in the regular season. I'm still expecting Cleary to get in his 10 games and prove to be an ineffective player, but I don't think that has much to do with what's going on right now.

Lines used in practice for Saturday: Franzen-Zetterberg-Nyquist, Frk-Weiss-Ferraro, Porter-Glendening-Callahan, Barnes/Hoggan-Zengerle-Pulkkinen I wonder whose Cheerios Pulu peed in?

I understand the knock on size, but if this kid turns into someone along the likes of Torey Krug... I won't knock him until I see if he does/doesn't pan out. Gets a year or so in junior to show whether or not he can put up some numbers.

I LOVED the look of the Tatar-Datsyuk combination last night. I also recall the chemistry that Gus-Z-Mule had last season. It's just weird to see all the center depth on this team. Weiss as a 3rd liner? What happens to Sheahan? Good problem to have, I guess. Also, as far as tonight goes, I'm not sure how putting Abs and Porter on his wings is going to help showcase Weiss' apparent improvement/recovery. Sometimes I wonder about Babcock...

Hawks' Lines: Sharp-Toews-Hossa Saad-Richards-Kane Carey-Rasmussen-Smith Mashinter-Danault-Bass Keith-Seabrook Dahlbeck-Hjalmarsson Cumiskey-Rozsival Yikes...

Can we please just let Tatar play with Datsyuk... please? Also, Sproul looks scary on that right point.

I'm most excited to watch those four on defense, but I'm going to keep an eye on the Dats & Tats connection and how Cleary looks, too.

I really don't have an issue with Cleary IF he's playing at an effective level. What I do wonder is if spreading the forwards around so much is going to hurt the team at all. Camp lines are only camp lines, but they're running something like: Helm-Dats-Tatar Mule-Z-Cleary Abs-Weiss-Nyquist Miller-Glendening-Sheahan? (I think? I've seen Sheahan on a line with Jurco, though.) It just feels weird to see the players spread around like that. I'm sure things will sort themselves out during the exhibition games, though.

He's returning to Victoria this season, as he's only just turned 18. So he's definitely draft eligible.

Imagine being a kid and seeing Z hit the ice and cheering your face off, and then Cleary jumps on with him and you just cry... I just witnessed that reaction. It may or may not have been from myself. I also may or may not be an adult. On another note, look at that boxscore: Glendening, Wheaton and Llewelyn. Snipesville. Edit: "Jurco just got hit in leg by Quincey shot during scrimmage...should be good but that will sting" Quincey's already back to endearing himself to Wings fans all over.

Whether it's now, or in two months, I highly doubt Mantha will stick with the big club this season. That extra slide year on his ELC is simply to good for Holland to pass up. I assume he'll still get a look at some point, but he won't exceed the 9 games he's allowed to play without altering the slide. It's a shame, though, as I think he could have really turned some heads in the pre-season. Hope he has a speedy recovery.

Have to admit, I think I underestimated Double A. I knew he had the speed, but he showed some real offense in the tournament. I can only speak from what I saw via the highlights, but it seems to me he's got some real good hand-eye, and an ability to protect the puck. With Alfredsson possibly out for the beginning of the season, I think we could see Jurco/Mantha take up a spot in Detroit. I'd tweak my original forwards line-up to something along the lines of... Mantha/Jurco-Miele-Pulkkinen (Pretty much the stand-out 1st line. Tons of offense.) Tvrdon/Nestasil-Nosek-Frk Athanasiou-Ferraro-Callahan (This is a situation where I think you have a 2a, 2b situation. Either line could bring offense, and you could flip Tvrdon and AA. I just like the whole concept of the Czech line, and having someone responsible for being a net-front presence of each line. Question marks around Ferraro and Cally in terms of where they end up, though.) Hoggan-Porter-Campbell (Rugged, prototypical grind line. I doubt Porter was signed to play on the 4th line, but it seems like Miele, Nosek and Ferraro should all be ahead of him. Should Ferraro be moved or plucked off waivers, I think Porter bumps up a line.) Obviously, things could get shifted around, but I like the look of this line-up a lot. Miele is going to be their top set-up guy, IMO. He's going to have two trigger men on his line, either way. Nosek-Frk showed some chemistry at the tourney, so I think they may stick with that pairing until it shows signs of not working out. Regardless, I think this team has a ton of potential. Should be fun to watch.

First glance, it seemed like a bit of an underpayment to me, but when you look at the cap comparable players it makes sense. Luca Sbisa, T.J. Brodie, Chris Tanev, Dmitry Orlov... all guys are 23-24 and have that possible upside. Not necessarily the same situations, but similar age and arguably, potential. It's a good deal.

So glad the deal is done, but it being held up for so long is a real head-scratcher. I guess I'll subscribe to the "didn't want to take less than Kindl" theory, but really... he couldn't just give him this deal earlier in the summer? Weird situation, IMO.

One theory thrown out by Malik, which I guess can understand, is that exhibition games can get a bit chippy. Makes sense to have someone watching over the kids during pre-season games. I highly doubt you'll see Rome actually get a deal - if they wanted someone permanent, they'd likely sign Evans to an AHL deal.

In just one article, Khan can make you feel like you've been smacked upside the head. http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2014/09/daniel_alfredsson_might_not_be.html -Alfie may not make the first day of camp. -DD is feeling "anxious" about getting a deal done. -Aaron Rome is getting a camp invite. -Helm has a tender groin, and is being cautious. ...come on.

With the TC tournament ongoing, it seems like Frk is making a case for himself. Wonder if he bounces Nestrasil out of the line-up. Obviously, nothing's a given, but he's showing some chemistry with his line mates right now. With the Mantha-Nosek-Frk line looking so good, I can't imagine Porter being in that top 6 unless someone is brought up to Detroit. Miele is a much better offensive player, and Jurco and Pulu are a given. From reading some of the reports out of camp, it seems like Athanasiou has been up and down. Few issues here and there with timing. I still wouldn't be surprised to see him start on the 4th line, working his way up to the 3rd and knocking Hoggan down.

Just checked the video of the shot block and it's his left hand. No issues with handling the puck, but I wonder how much pressure he can put on it. I still think re-injury is a concern, but you have a point about which hand is hurt. Maybe last season just has me a bit paranoid

I can see the concern, though. While his skating is going to be unaffected, gotta wonder about his outlet passes/shooting. According to the article, he's having a hard time benching weight. The guy uses his strength to muscle guys around on the PK. I think it's also an issue of him getting hurt again, considering the way his finger was injured. Apparently they couldn't even put all the shards of bone back together, because they were too small. It's just worrisome. As far as Alfie goes, you know I've been pro-Alfie throughout the entire off-season. I'm cool with the idea of keeping him around, even if he plays 60-65 games. It kind of sucks that he's having setbacks going INTO the season, though. You want him to at least start out healthy. The sky isn't falling, but I think there's some room for concern (more on D than anything).

I think people keep forgetting this. Jurco is included in CG's estimate for the Wings. Who even knows what's going to happen with Alfredsson. At this point, it seems like a deal with bonuses and a lower cap hit is what he'll be offered - 709K is good for about 70% of Alfie's expected cap hit for this season. I'm still not a fan of the Quincey signing, though. The defensive core feels stagnant. You've got Quincey and Kindl who are, IMO, playing below what you expect out of guys who should be considered seasoned, second pairing defenders. You can make the argument that Smith and DD can still grow and improve over the next season or two, and Kronwall and E are obviously solid. I would much rather have one of the GR kids over Q or Kindl - at least let Ouellet, Sproul, Marchenko and Backman compete to see who'd earn the spot.