unsaddleddonald

Considering the fight Ericsson had last night with Clarkson and Kindl's fight against Boston last week, I'm concerned that teams will bait us into fighting with them. In other words, our guys won't be willing to fight, but the ref won't whistle the instigator and our guys will more or less be forced to fight. Is this a valid concern?

I disagree. In my opinion, Cleary was playing like garbage at a time where he was featured on the top 2 lines (albeit while individuals were injured), and Babcock let him rot there. Could have called someone up, but, nahhhhh

Yeah....Cleary took Tat's 3rd line minutes. And Bertuzzi is in the way of Nyquist playing on the other wing. http://www.freep.com/comments/article/20131001/SPORTS05/310010027/detroit-red-wings-tomas-tatar "...tie goes to the veteran, not the kid. That's just life." No, Mike, that's just you....

This is primarily what I meant. Both fights I mentioned seemed to come out of nowhere. Nothing happened to spark them, they sort of just...happened. To me, that is lame.

Great awareness by Weiss to get him that puck.

Some of you wagged your finger at ESPN's Future Power Rankings thread. Well here is your evidence for feeling that way: http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/9711933/nhl-hockey-prospectus-projections-2013-14-team-standings#comments Wings are projected to finish 23rd overall with 88 points. 2013-14 NHL Team Projections Rk Team Pts 1 Pittsburgh Penguins 101 2 New York Rangers 97 3 Boston Bruins 97 4 Chicago Blackhawks 97 5 Ottawa Senators 96 6 St. Louis Blues 96 7 Edmonton Oilers 95 8 Montreal Canadiens 95 9 Philadelphia Flyers 94 10 Toronto Maple Leafs 93 11 Dallas Stars 92 12 Tampa Bay Lightning 92 13 Phoenix Coyotes 91 14 Washington Capitals 91 15 Carolina Hurricanes 91 16 Los Angeles Kings 91 17 Columbus Blue Jackets 91 18 Anaheim Ducks 91 19 New Jersey Devils 90 20 San Jose Sharks 90 21 Vancouver Canucks 89 22 New York Islanders 89 23 Detroit Red Wings 88 24 Winnipeg Jets 88 25 Colorado Avalanche 88 26 Nashville Predators 87 27 Buffalo Sabres 86 28 Calgary Flames 83 29 Minnesota Wild 83 30 Florida Panthers 80 "How did we come to these conclusions? Using a statistical projection engine called VUKOTA, which makes use of the goals versus threshold (GVT) metric. Described by creator Tom Awad as "GVT's most powerful descendant," VUKOTA projects a player's likely future based on the scoring of historically comparable players. It is named after former fringe NHL player Mick Vukota as a play on words of baseball's similar PECOTA system. Awad goes on to describe how it is used to also project the NHL team standings: "Since team GVT is simply the sum of player GVTs, the sum of the VUKOTA GVT values on a team becomes our projection for the team's goal differential, and consequently, its win-loss record as well, since teams on average record one extra point in the standings for every three goals scored or prevented." VUKOTA foresees a lot of parity in the middle class of the realigned NHL, but of particular interest is the Detroit Red Wings' projection of 88 points, which would leave them outside of the East's top eight teams.

Listen, man, they have a formula. Was it pulled out of their ass? Probably, but I don't see you coming up with any formulas to predict the future!!!!

John Scott, Colton Orr, Shawn Thornton, etc. = waste of a roster spot.

They seem to be pretty high on our kids...who will be old men when they play their first game (had to put that in there). http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/9687928/nhl-future-power-rankings-chicago-blackhawks-positioned-well-future-success "Perhaps it's the Scotty Bowman influence on both teams, but the Wings earned scores close to that of the Blackhawks. The Detroit front office has lost key hockey minds in Steve Yzerman and Jim Nill, but the panel has faith that the duo of coach Mike Babcock and GM Ken Holland will keep this franchise among the league's elite. Mike Ilitch has long been considered one of the league's best owners, always willing to spend what it takes to win a Stanley Cup. The Red Wings also have expanded the role of capologist Ryan Martin and are developing guys such as Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby in front-office roles. Like Chicago, the Red Wings have done a good job drafting without the benefit of lottery picks, with Gustav Nyquist, Brendan Smith and Joakim Andersson playing key roles during Detroit's playoff run last spring. In the coming seasons, Babcock will have to make room for Tomas Tatar, Calle Jarnkrok and Teemu Pulkkinen. The signing of Danny DeKeyser was a boost to a defense that needed a young standout. The salary cap and aging stars are a concern for the Red Wings. The duo of Pavel Datsyuk (35) and Henrik Zetterberg (32) are among the game's best, but will come with a cap hit of almost $14 million in 2015-16, when both will be well beyond their prime. The Johan Franzen contract, while not crippling at nearly $4 million per season, will be a burden sooner than later as his play continues to decline." 1.Chicago 2. Detroit 3. Pittsburgh 4. Boston 5. Montreal 6. Anaheim 7. Dallas 8. Ottawa 9. LA 10: NYI

So he was hurt in a fight in which he was baited into participating in because Fraser wouldn't leave him the hell alone, and to boot the refs didn't give Fraser an instigator. Shanny SHOULD do something, but probably won't happen. http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2013/09/red_wings_get_goals_from_eight.html#incart_river

Cleary bobblehead night.

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130829/SPORTS0103/308290115#ixzz2dRI8x4S0 Just reaffirms something I've always felt was true. He doesn't feel comfortable being THE GUY. He thrives playing second fiddle to a '08 Zetterberg or a '09 Hossa.

LOL, spare me. EVERY Detroit media outlet was writing about it. For you to never consider the possibility is laughable.

There is no guessing here my friend. Yeah we not be a GM or a head coach, but we have two eyes, and we understand hockey. You don't need a crystal ball to see that this guy does cannot skate, cannot shoot, etc., to the point that he makes us better.

That moron Helene St. James tweeted it. Helene St. James ‏@HeleneStJames 5h Babcock not sure where he'll put Cleary for camp. Plan was with Zetterberg and Datsyuk, but Abdelkader scored twice today, so up in air now.

Not when you take into account Babcock's track record of favoring veterans over kids. St. James tweeted that an initial plan was to have Cleary on the top line with Pav and Hank. ...REALLY?!? A guy who no one wanted is going to be a 1st liner for us?!?! K....

LOL i'm sure someone has already beat you to it. Although I agree with him mostly, he is still a jackass and makes himself look like a whiney ***** by saying stuff like this.

I don't disagree with you, but that is the dumbest ******* thing I can possibly read. That is the point we are at with Babcock and Holland.

"Durrrrrr Cleary had the 2nd most points in the playoffs....Durrrrrr" By that rationale, we could say that Cleary was better in the playoffs than Datysuk.......right?!

Kip, I pray you have it spot on. Word from camp yesterday, though, was that Bert was playing in Tatar's spot.

Handcuffs Chicago a bit, but are we surprised that he got this much? He is arguably in the same category as Jimmy when it comes to actual performance, so that nets him at least $5 million. Add another $1 million for winning the Cup.

I'm nostalgic, so I still like "Hey Hey Hockeytown" for the first goal and "Get Ready For This" for the subsequent goals.

Well I think the bigger point here is that he is on this team and is seen as THE goal scorer. Fair or not, that is what his role is supposed to be on this team. So if he feels like that is too much pressure for him, then go out and find someone who is comfortable with that role. Beating a dead horse here.

I think I disagree with almost everybody on here. Lump their old jerseys in with the crap piping that the Blues and Avalanche use (Predators used to use). Simpler = better.

The Mlive article got me thinking about this. http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2013/08/poll_who_should_be_the_next_fo.html#incart_river The majority seems to think that #14 in the rafters is a no-go. So what works against Shanny the most? Not playing his entire career here? This is bull to me for Shanny because anyone who knows of Brendan Shanahan thinks of him as a Red Wing and it's not close. The selectiveness of the Red Wings when it comes to retiring numbers? The guys who are up there are legends. The fact that the Wings won't retire #91? Maybe if he didn't act like such a ****... Reality is that when he was here, he was arguably our best player and without question our #1 goal scorer. I personally think he should be retired, but I'm only at about 55/45 with it. I think the argument that works against him the most is the Wings' selectiveness.