mmamolo

As much as I am pumped about what Howard is doing I just don't see how Myers isn't the clear cut leader at this point. That is absolutely true. Which will only help Howard's cause for a nomination. I also think considering the rocky start to the season he had his turn around is really something ppl may get behind. If anything that's a testament to how consistent Howard has been since his rough start. Although shutouts are great when you look at Mason's stats in the games he didn't get shutouts it's hardly a comparison to Howard's day in and day out performance. Either way, I can see one of Raask or Howard getting nominated but for some reason I doubt we see back to back goaltenders winning. To me the only lock for a nominations at this point is Tyler Myers. After that you could have Howard/Raask and Tavares/Duchesne. In the end it has to be Myers (assuming everyone stays on their current pace).

I am a big fan of the Wings model where your best offensive players should also be your best defensive players - thus being able to be on the ice at absolutely any time you need/want them to. However, being the best defensive players doesn't necessarily mean killing penalties all the time. If Datsyuk and Zetterberg's PK time has been cut back a bit that means more even strength time and that gives them more potential for offence. WIth two very strong units in Eaves/Helm and Maltby/Miller I think it makes more sense to use Datsyuk and Zetterberg in supporting PK roles.

I think Howard, along with every other young Red Wing that develops well will get an appropriate contract. Look at the deals that Filppula and Kronwall signed. I think those will be the benchmark. If Howard develops into our starting goaltender the year after next he'll probably get offered a 3 or 5 year deal. Depending on the term the annual salary will be adjusted.

I was hoping the same thing but with Ericsson gettign hurt after Kronwall you've got to figure it was Ericsson's name on the Emergency call up form for Janik. The wording in the clauses is a little ambiguous but it kind of implies that whoever gets injured, and thus leaving your roster with less than six defensemen, gets replaced by the emergency call up - and therefor it'd be Ericsson. It does kind of go against logic to have the clause for a waiver exempt emergency call up only to be able to keep hi mon your roster once you have 6 d-men and him available. So I've got to figure that regardless of who's name is on the form once you have 6 regular d-men available he should be sent down.

Obviously the time table of this discussion is a huge variable because typically the Wings don't bump their kids up into the NHL at such young ages but things obviously have changed a bit in the cap world so anything is possible. The one defensive prospect I am really excited to see how he develops is Adam Almqvist. ALthough he's really small and light this kid, from everything I've read, could be the real deal. He has great puck handling skills, a great first pass, a booming shot on the PP, doesn't shy away from contact, and has unbelieveable hockey sense. If he can bulk up and continue developing he really could turn into our next #1 guy on the blueline - and that's not taking anything away from any other prospects or current roster defensemen. Also, as good as McCollum looks at times I think his development will follow a very similar path to that of Howard's. After a decent start with the Griffins McCollum then struggled and was sent to the ECHL for some seasoning where he has been getting lit up as of late. Jordan Pearce has been playing decently with the Griffins in relief. Despite a mini slump as of late Daniel Larsson is putting up decent numbers and will be the next guy given a shot in Detroit. Ideally, if Osgood retires after next season Howard will have solidifed his spot as starter and Larsson will come in in a backup/support role and flourish. That will give McCollum ample time to develop and then we could have a real good goalie problem to have on our hands. Another thing to consider is, unless I missed it, it didnt seem like too many were listing Mattias Ritola on their rosters. He seems to be the next guy in GR that is going to be elevated to the NHL. Babcok liked what he did in his stint this season and there's no reason to believe he wont at least really compete for a spot next year as I believe he is out of minor league options. As well as Miller has done I think he may have to compete for a roster spot next season. We have an abundance of 3rd/4th line players so heart and dedication will go a long way. In my mind, ideally, we'd keep Miller because I think he is a very valuable 4th line guy who can jump up when injuries occur and not look out of place.

Well, along with probably about 90% of this forum, we can all pray for the Wings to go agaisnt the grain here. Points are at a premium right now and we need all of them we can get our hands on. If it was this time last season then I'd say it doesn't really matter. But right now, with the same logic that Babcock is using with his goaltenders, you have to go with the guys who give you the best chance to win - that just happens to be Janik > Meech > Lebda (in my humble opinion)

It's clear everyone in this thread agrees that the interference was ridiculous. I'd even say that the dive was a realyl s***ty call. Even if you want to say Burrows went down easily dives usually are to make a show, to draw attention, and to incite a penalty call. When Burrows went down he didn't do any of that. Auger is a s***ty ref and this bulls*** that the NHL says about all of their refs as a collective group is s***. Obviously, there are some good refs in this league but with the good come the bad - and Auger is one of the worst.

I definitely agree with what you're saying but the Wings rarely take the chance of losing assets (if you can even call Lebda an asset) if they don't have to. Purely for depth purposes, if Janik is waiver exempt, it would make sense to send Janik down. But you're right, I do agree, I would much rather have Janik ahead of Meech and Meech ahead of Lebda in the line up.

You would think in an emergency call up situation like that, the name on the form (for who he is replacing) would have to be the most recent injured player. However, unless I missed something, I didn't see a clause stating that as fact. Therefore, if the Wings were so inclined they could have filled out their Emergency Call Up Form for Doug Janik with Niklas Kronwall's name on it. Assuming they had a good indication that Nik would be out longer than Ericsson that would give them some more breathing room here with Ericsson's return by not being forced to send Janik back down to GR. However, the problem would re-represent itself when Kronwall returned. Either way, it sounds like Janik is waiver exempt which means that he absoltuely is the guy going down - which is unfortunate.

Gotta love the way Janik has been playing. Through 12 games he has 2 assists, 16 PIMS and has a 0 +/- rating. Add in a fight here and there and averagin 13:13 TOI/G you gotta be pumped. As many have said here, I'd glady keep Janik in the line up ahead of both Meech and Lebda.

Although I doubt some of the prices in the OP will happen he does make some good points. However, in my mind there is no way the Wings don't bring back Bertuzzi and Eaves. I think both have not only played above expectations but have earned their keep and will be brought back at the appropriate prices. The way I see it is we almost have a log jam up front. I havent heard much on what Maltby plans to do but he is the only guy I could see retiring. I think Ritola is a full time Wing next year and I see the Wings wanting to keep all of Helm, Abdelkader, Eaves, Miller and Leino. Granted, ABdelkader may spend some more time in GR - but I'm not even sold on that. I also do not see Lidstrom retiring. I think he sticks around and we end up using our cap space to fill out our D and use Kindl as a who either gets playing time due to injuries or splits time with Ericsson depending on his development. For I dont see Williams coming back. I just don't particularly see the need. I think they'd go after a differnt top 6 forward if anything. Bertuzzi - Datsyuk - Holmstrom Franzen - Zetterberg - Cleary/New Signing Cleary/New Signing - Filppula - Leino/Miller/Eaves Draper - Helm - Eaves/Miller/Leino

This is true. However, at that point the Draper - Helm - Eaves line wasn't established. Eaves hadn't played and there was that extra opening in the line up.

This is true. However, at that point the Draper - Helm - Eaves line wasn't established. Eaves hadn't played and there was that extra opening in the line up.

This is true. However, at that point the Draper - Helm - Eaves line wasn't established. Eaves hadn't played and there was that extra opening in the line up.

I think he's performing well enough at this stage but there are too many other rookies. Tyler Myers, Tuuka Raask, Tavares, Duschene, etc.

I agree that Helm is never criticized here but rightfully so. Game in and game out he is the hardest working guy. He gives it is all in every situation. Obviously his skills are limited when compared to other players on this roster but you can never fault a guy who busts his ass and works the way he does. If Leino got more engaged and showed that he was working as hard as Helm no one here would have as big a problem with him as they do now. Leino is here to score but if he worked his ass off and was doing everythign in his power to produce and the puck wasnt going in then ppl would know it was just a matter of time. WHen you play uninspired, lazy hockey and don't score ppl tend to give you a short leash. For the record, as poorly as Leino has done, I'm a fan and I dont want to see him waived or given up on. I just want to see him engaged in the game and working his ass off every night.

In your own perfect world wouldnt you just rather Lebda signed a 10 yr contract worth 500k and over night turned into the next Lidstrom? Would you rather Leino was extended and turned into the next Datsyuk? WOuldn't you rather Abs...ok you get my point. ha ha oh my god, that's not even funny. In my defence, since Holmstrom's injury happened after practice in Anaheim his injury must have happened before I said anything. But you're point has been made. I'll keep my mouth shut on the injury front.

Although I agree with what you are saying in principle I think something is a little off. I think Leino is a projected top six forward. I dont think anyone expected him to be one today - as exhibited by him being placed on the 3rd line at the beginning of the season with Filppula and Williams. Even with the great showing he had last year with 9 pts in 13 games I dont think anyone thought he'd be a mainstay top six on this team this season - hence the signings of Bertuzzi and Williams. After Franzen went down Williams was seeing time on the second line with Zetterberg and Cleary while Leino remained on the 3rd with Filppula. So although I agree with you in saying that Leino may have top six hands and vision we already knew there were aspects of his game that, today, didn't make him a top six guy. He was always, and still in a lot of ppl's minds, a top six forward in the making.

So long as they make strides to getting back into the swing of things tonight I'd be happy. I dont need to see a hat trick by Zetterberg tonight. SO long as we're moving in a positive direction and ppl stay healthy then I'm happy. Goals and Wins will come

Well all teams are exempt from the cap come playoffs and you are free to dress anyone in your system. But I think during the regular season you are bound by the max roster size. At least, that's how I think it works. But I agree with what you said. Although I think Janik gets sent down before Miller. I think Janik has a better chance of clearing at this point. Well, that and the fact I feel like it's almost a certainty the Wings keep Meech and Lebda on the roster ahead of Janik. Once healthy, there's no point in having Meech and Janik sit every game and losing Miller for nothing (if he got picked up)

I really don't see the Wings giving up on Leino. Another point is that although May has done very well in the role he was brought in for, come playoff time, his value goes way down. No one really fights in the playoffs. In some ways I think that will be the determining factor - even though we're only half way through the season. Despite May's fighting ability I think Miller is more valuable at this stage and I can't see him being waived over May either. It's obviously a really tough call for the Wings. ha that's true...and I hope that doesn't jinx anyone but it certainly would solve this whole discussion.

Plus the Leafs aren't in the same playoff struggle the Wings are. The East is more wide open and ground can be made up. The competition isn't the same The Leafs, although some what competitive at the moment, are still in rebuild mode. They'd take a 47th round draft pick for Toskala at this point - it's better than nothing. The Leafs are going to want to sell ppl off at the deadline and the only way to do that is to showcase them now. Hence, the starts for Toskala. Detroit is tryign to grab every possible point they can right now and need to treat every game with that as their top priority. Our goal is to win today while the Leafs goal is to showcase players and prepare for the future with winning today being a bonus.

The funny thing is we'd be in such a better situation if one of the role players/grinders we dont want to lose got hurt as ppl return. I know that's a s***ty thing to say but if we sent Abdelkader down and say Lebda and Maltby got injured, boom, problem solved. I think it's basically the consensus that Janik should be kept over Lebda and Meech but that most likely won't happen. However, I do think that'd be a big blow to our defensive depth if he got picked up on waivers.

There are a few points I want to make: 1. I think Babcock will start the game with ZDH and Bert/Flip/Cleary because until he sees where Zetterberg and Cleary's legs are at he wont want them both on the ice at the same time. Also, right now I don't think there is much to be gained by putting Filppula on the 3rd line and having Datsyuk and Zetterberg centering the top 2 lines because then you demote Helm and split up the DHE line. Once the game gets rolling if Zetterberg and Cleary are looking sharp I think you might see Zetterberg and Bertuzzi switch spots and we get back to the chemistry we know should be there with: Bertuzzi - Datsyuk - Holmstrom Zetterberg - Filppula - Cleary 2. In all hoensty, despite how strong Howard has been, I was surprised Osgood didn't get the nod tonight. Seven starts in a row is a lot. That being said, I don't thnk it's always a good idea to have massive changes across your entire line up. You want some stability. So havign Osgood start after such a long break when both Cleary and Zetterberg are returning the coaching staff may have felt that there might be too much rust with all three of them. Either way, I'd be blown away if Osgood didn't start against SJ....well unless Howard is lights out and posts a shut out. 3. With all these players returning I think Leino may be riding the pine quite a bit. It's really unfortunate but right now you can't justify putting him in the line up ahead of Miller or ABdelkader. It'll be interesting to see how this plays itself out.

It seems that Doug Janik has been getting some attention from Babcock. I'm not dumb enough to think that this means he'll stick with the big club and get playing time over Lebda or Meech but it certainly helps knowing we have a steady, stay at home guy that can be called upon whenever ready. MLive.Com