Motown4013

I hate that I am writing this thread but over the last 5-8 games I have really noticed that Hank has been a non factor. I have a hundred ideas why this is happening....He looks a bit slower so I am wondering if he is 100% healthy. Maybe his back has flared up or something? This is not a rag on Franzen thread but to me, Franzen appears to be an albatross on the line he plays with. Even when Zetty isn't scoring, he's sound defensively but I also think he has been average in that department as of late. The guy is my favourite player so it's certainly not a "hater" thread whatsoever- just wondering what people think. He started off on fire and appears to be struggling. Thoughts? The guy is all heart and he never quits- he just needs to get a few lucky bounces to get his mojo back. Maybe the bromance of he and Gus has cooled and he needs some new mates? If you were going to insert Z onto a line, who do you put him with to get him going again? GO wings! PS it's so hard to change up the lines right now because the D-H-T line has been lights out

I don't see the sarcasm icon?The Guy is the epitome of a beast.....and I am not concerned about the goals because they always come eventually- more worried about injury. I agree that if he is hurt than he should sit and get treatment while we are producing so well offensively

Miller, the guy who shows up with heart every game, plays his arse off, blocks shots? Miller who was an iron man last year playing in every game, great in corners, amazing on the PK and against the oppositions best line. Yeah, he sucks and we should cut him loose. If Franzen had Millers attitude and work ethic, he'd win the rocket Richard trophy every year!!

I would make this trade....we can only assume what Larkin MAY do. He could be the next Peter senji, Nickolas Zheredev, Patrick Stepan, Alex Daigle, Thomas Hickey, Pat Falloon..... potential is just potential at this point. It's not like Jurco where you can see that the kid has ALL the skills to okay at this level. We need to address the D issue now. Kindl has to go....it's not for a lack of effort but he cannot and will not go into corners. He would take a hit to make a play which leads to turnovers. Myers would stabilize the Defense and most Kindl along his path to becoming an all star defenseman in the Bosnian Elite league. Pull the Trigger Holland

I specifically watched Weiss at Training camp and .....he was rusty but he wasn't bad. He just needs a few games to get him timing back. Cleary was bad...he was so slow....it was embarrassing I have no idea what's going on but I really think Weiss deserves to be in. He's handled this entire situation with class- let him play.

Let's hope he tweaked it. This injury BS is getting old.....

This is BEYOND ridiculous! Has Holland seriously lost his mind? Why does he seem to be determined to run this franchise into the ground with these horrible " loyalty signings" just as I was getting over the Quincey thing, this happens. We may just break the streak this year.......

I'm not sure how we started with Nyquist, Tats or Jurco was probably the asking price and now they may take Ferraro and a fourth should do it. Although Greens value has declined sharply over the last few years, I think he's worth more than a fourth rounder and LF who has very little NHL potential other than a fourth line guy. I would be thrilled if this happened but I think they would want more than that. As I said in my first post, I think the attraction it works for both clubs- salary cap for Caps and a legit acquisition for Detroit.....but I think getting getting Derek. Morris or Sami. Salo would cost us. Ferraro and a fourth! Just sayin'

Does it make the team better this year. Yep. Does it address the shortcomings of a right handed shot on the PP. Yep Does it upgrade our depth on defence. Yep I honestly have never been a fan of Green but in the short term, while March, Sproul and XO are preparing for the leap to the NHL, I like it. We have 9 million + in salary cap space....It's a low risk, 1 year plug. I'm tired of a holland kicking tires.....drive the flippin car Holland!!!!

I completely agree Kip....I think the value of Green is drastically overstated. The guy is still young and if he is healthy, he can have a long career but honestly, people are acting like we are trying to acquire Drew Doughty here. It's obvious that the caps are going in a different direction with the signing of Niskinen and Orpik. Green is the odd guy out AND Washington is right up against the cap. As Ansar points out in his article, they need depth at forward and they need to clear some cap space to go that.....so in my mind, it's a salary dump for Washington so they can address their needs at forward. That works in Detroits favor. I think a 1st rounder and a moderate prospect will do it. Once they rid themselves of the 6 million they are paying for Green they can address their need with a forward.If this is the case, I'm interested.....if they are talking Jurco, Gus or Tats....I'm not! PS Franzen could go....and then the Caps can have the laziest line in hockey with Mule and OV!

I keep wondering why we don't throw something at Chicago for Hjalmersson. The hawks are 2.5 million over the cap. We take Hjalmersson for Kindl and a pick and the CBH are cap compliant and we are MUCH better defensively. The Caps are in the same spot, having 8 D signed with the ridiculous Orpik signing. John Carlsson or Karl Alzer are both upgrades over Kindl......and if we wanted to be bold, we could take Green for the last year of his contact. Some teams need to shed players or salaries. If Holland had any sense he would be going to the cap exhausted teams and try to pick cherries. Then again, we still have Franzen, pay Q more than Erhoff and haven't resigned Tatar so my faith is waning.

Really . I mean really Holland? For F sakes buddy.....what has happened to you? Cleary was an awesome wing. Heart of a lion and blah, blah, blah but come ON man. It's not 2003 anymore. He should not have been signed last year and to even think you may be taking a spot away from Jurco or another potential young guy , to see what the they can do is beyond ridiculous. Who made allowed this team to make the playoffs this year? It wasn't the vets- Cleary, Alfie, Bert or. Sammy.....it was youth. We need speed, we need goals and we need a power forward. What of those three does Dan Cleary possess? Right....none. Phew...end rant.

I can't disagree more......he is the best young guy on this team. Heart of a lion, super hockey IQ, he plays well at both ends of the ice, quick on his skates. What's not to love about this kid? He is NOT Franzen because he works his butt off every shift. He led the league in points in the last month ......more than Crosy, OV, Perry or whomever. You said in a prior shift that we should trade him now because he isn't going to get better......what? Did he not get better, and Better and BETTER all year? This guy can easily have an 80 pt year. Yep, we should trade him now.

Sadly I owe 3.50- I wanted to owe MUCH more. I only had 5 bucks left in my paypal account after buying my kid a Datsyuk jersey so that's what I sent. Sorry I couldn't offer more.

Here are my feelings in a nut shell Franzen, by far is the MOST frustrating player I have ever watched. He is lazy. He is streaky. He takes a month to get off on a line change. He doesn't use his size effectively. He lays on the ice to try and draw a penalty at least once a game. He makes poor decisions. He doesn't make his team mates better...... and, in fact, I think to some of them, he has been a deterrent to their progress. I have accepted that......until the later part of this season. Coupled with all the reasons mentioned above, he is now actually a liability on the ice. He has never been a great two way player but much like his offensive contributions have diminished, I think his defensive deficiencies are negligent to this team. I don't understand why he wasn't demoted 4 months ago. You can't wait 25 games waiting for the "08 Franzen" to show up. Whoever that guy was, he's dead. I would gladly use our last compliance buy out this summer on him. I'm not a psychiatrist but I really believe he is having some sort of mental health issue. All those rumours that swirled around about him could be very well true. If that is the case, I wish he would just disclose it and get on with things- it's no different than being diabetic in my mind. It's not a weakness and certainly not anything someone would wish for. If that's the problem, He has a medical issue that impacts his ability to play. I look at a guy like TooToo who came clean with his issues with alcohol and my respect level for the guy soared. Shane Corson and his issues with OCD and panic disorder also come to mind. In fact, if the Mule did disclose some type of anxiety disorder or depressive disorder, I may view him differently. Whatever the issue is, I no longer respect as a player because of the way he has handled the entire situation. If there is something more and he was able to seek treatment for it, my perspective may very well change.

Ok, let's do this! The kids have carried this team so I want to reward them! A buck for any Nyquist, Tater tots, Shehan, Jurco or Deke goal. 2 bucks for any Mule goal. 5 bucks for any Jimmy shut out .50 cents for every time Chara, "Rat face" Marchant or Lucic is penalized.

We are gonna win this game. WE are gonna win this thing! Boston was on a super high from the anniversary if the bombing. They executed well and we did not. We will be stronger and faster tonight. Crash the net and shoot the puck! Home ice, the Joe on fire! Woot LETS GO RED WINGS

Perhaps im in the minority here BUT.....I think this is the right move. He has looked terrible....He can't skate, he won't shoot, he can't hold the puck at the line on the PP and he's obviously injured. Andy is solid in the face off dot and if our game plan ( which it should be ) is to possess the puck, this move helps. Andy isn't gonna get a hat trick but these days, either is Alfie. He's a big body. He goes into corners. I like it!

I was going to make a post eerily similar to yours....so to add a few thoughts......Franzen is a corpse out there and what bothers me is that babs continues to " wait" for the 2008 Mule show up. Its not going to happen so how long are you going to wait? It's been what...14 games without a goal. FOURTEEN games?!?? WTF babs. Put him on the 3rd line. This is the playoffs and you play the BESTguys on the best lines. He has an assist but even that play, the pass was a good FIVE feet behind Datsyuk.....if that puck goes to anyone else, it's a turnover. Alfredsson has also been terrible. He can hold the line when they play him on the point and he appears to lack any speed or ability to hold on to the puck. Hes a passenger on this team right now and if he is hurt, than sit him down. I'd prefer Andy who can win us face offs than Alfie right now. I'd like to see Helm and Nyquist play....maybe with Pasha. That line would be ridiculous in terms of speed and probably frustrate the Boston d-bags. We can win this series but the coaching has to outmatch the opponents.....adjustments need to be made so make them. This is a team game- he should not be afraid to demote people if they are becoming liabilities.

Thanks for sharing! Good read

Huge Game for us....NJ has been surging. Phew

Wow.....Ramo was huge for the Flames! Thank you Calgary!

I've always been proud to be a Wings fan. Classiest organization in all of sports, great leadership, passionate fan base, original six. Pride has always followed this organization....YZERMAN playing on one knee to lead his team and then him handing that cup to Konstintinov to show his dedication to such a brave man. The way that Zetterberg carried this team on his back to win 4 huge games to get into the playoffs last year. The medical staff, players and coaches who literally saved Jiri Fischers life on the bench after his collapse. There is a lot to be proud of a team so rich in history and yet, somehow i find myself in disbelief about that this current team has done. Three weeks ago this team was in 11th....certain to break the 22 year consecutive years to the post season. Things looked dismal and everyone was critical. Great teams have great players and usually a 1-2 punch. Perry and Getzlaf, Crosby and Malkin, Kane and Toews.....Zetterberg and Datsuyk. Only, we no longer have that 1-2 punch. We have the second most man games lost, but no team has had to endure losing such impact players. We have 6 guys that didn't start the year with this team but will not go down. They are relentless. I keep waiting for Nyquist to be a fluke.....and he has just gotten better. A kid who wasn't on the roster when the puck dropped on then season and he leads the league over the last month in goals? That's fairy tale stuff.....and it's happening right before our eyes, every time this team plays. How about Glendening? This kid wasn't even a thought at the start of the year...now he's up against the top lines of teams shutting it down. Tatar, the day he lost his dad, kissing up to the sky in admiration, playing with a heart as heavy as an anvil......I could go on and on about the pride I feel in this organization and they way that they have overcome adversity. I think we will make the playoffs...I know we WILL but even if we don't. Even if somehow the bounces don't go our way and we find ourselves out of the race April 13th, this team...this unbelievably dedicated, classy and big hearted team has made me prouder to be a wings fan......that's a lot to say in such a consistently successful organization. Good on ya boys......" Dont stop believin'" and we will be just fine!!!!! LGW!!! 23 all the way!

I was at the game last night and Gustav "Snipequist" and the kid line was amazing to watch again. It was very cool to see the impact that game had on the fans. In the third period, It was the loudest I have heard the Joe since the 08 playoffs. WOW........that's all I got!

Agreed....we have been really guilty of not " starting on time" but I have noticed this team seems to really buckle down in front of Monster verses Howie.....I think they want him to get the W ( not that they DON'T want Jimmy to Win) and anyone that's played sports- even on a rec league- you back check a bit harder for the back up....you work deeper for them. Let's hope that's the case today......we need them too