dirtydangles

Glendening = honeybadger - doesn't give a f***

Thats what I'm saying too.

If they plan on having Mantha up full-time next season I think we see some trades happen. We would have an overloaded forward group as we stand now. Might be time to pull the trigger on a dman trade with some other assets (Abby/Helm+picks, prospects) if he is ready to take a spot in the big club. C's - Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Weiss, Legwand?, Helm, Sheahan, Andersson, (Glendening?) W's - Franzen, Alfie?, Tatar, Nyquist, Abby, Miller, (Jurco?), (Mantha?), (Ferraro/Callahan?) Lots of goodies in the forwards group. I think Holland wants to assess Mantha's readiness before moving some players for a Dman in the offseason. Edit: Pulkkinen is also pushing for a spot soon too. So much talent with so few roster spots.

I'm sure the long term plan isn't to have him on the 4th line. They are just keeping the pressure off him and also avoiding relying too heavily on a rookie without disrupting team dynamics in the middle of a playoff push. He will work up the lineup soon.

Broken feet arent related to strength and conditioning. But the rest of the injuries could be.

Marchenko, Sproul are righty Dmen Pulkkinen is a righty too coming up soon Jarnkrok WAS a righty C which we lack desperately. Ferraro and Callahan - both righties- are out of options next season and may get some playing time While I think Alfie re-signs and Glendening will be around next year I think we will have to wait a little while longer to see the prospects I listed in the Wings lineup. One other option if desperate is Tootoo.

There was some discussion in the GDT today about his rebound control and puck handling skills having an affect on the outcome of games. There HAS to be a reason why the team scores about 1 goal per game more in front of monster than howard. Often times I see a soft dump in that howie steers to the corner where the dman has to dig it out while the forecheck comes hard on them. Monster seems more capable of controlling that puck and settling it down for the dman to break out of the zone and defeat the forecheck. Thats just what I see. We seem to get trapped in our zone less. Howard also tends (in my opinion) to leave rebounds out on top of his crease that lead to mad scrambles in front of the net (especially in the last minutes of periods) whereas Monster has kicked more rebounds out wide or absorbed them. Worst of all I have seen howard give up on plays in 2 recent games where it lead directly to a goal (once in NJ). If anything, when down on your luck you should put in a full effort to give yourself a shot at success.

Once babs smartens up and puts him on the pp for good we will all be drooling over his talent. Babs really discouraged him early on from play his style of risky hockey because it caused turnovers - but smitty just needs to run and gun because even if he isn't he still turns the puck over just as much in my opinion.

I actually think there is something to be said for how goalies do the little things that affect wins. Rebound management, puck handling, communication all make a huge difference. I dislike when the puck comes in slow on howie and instead of steadying it for the dman beside the net he just chucks it into the corner and allows the forecheck to come in on the dman trying to dig it off the boards.

Jurco has been exposed a little physically IMO. He could definitely use a bit more time in GR next year and then get the call up mid season. I think Alfie in his spot on that line could benefit from Sheahan's presence.

We need to get the puck down low and work Henrik side to side. If the shot comes from the point or outside the dots he stops it every time.

girardi runs interference and nobody says s***

No homer - you can see St.Louis had stability after the cross-check then kinda jumped up and forward

that was a DIVE

God I can't stand the anti-Wings NBC commentating. ENOUGH with this bulls*** about intentional interference. Thats like a commentator saying the canucks are the best divers in the league (which they would never say). I'm sure all our rookies who have been with the team for less than 60 games already learned how to interfere without getting caught by taking special lessons from babcock who is the mastermind behind it all.

In addition to the guys listed in the OP I would add OEL, Karlsson. Those are they only guys really I would prefer to have OVER Kronwall. Chara isn't too much better IMO its just his size but I think he declines fast eventually.

I'm sure nashville could have him if they wanted him. Holland would give him up at this point for a conditional 7th/future considerations.

We need a solid C prospect this draft. I would love for holland to trade up and get Draisaitl. We have loads of quantity in terms of young players and prospects so we dont really need much other than an 1C so he should just make the investment to get one.

Probably tuned out babs' sweet nothings about playing D only and taking that risky business out of his game.

This would be the perfect time to do that. We have good assets and a bright future if managed correctly. The problem is that Holland will get the same treatment Cleary has gotten - he will stick around like a bad smell making this team marginally worse by being involved until god knows when. The "loyal to a fault" thing runs throughout the entire organization and Holland will leave on his own terms rather than a disgruntled owner firing him.

I used to think Holland planned like 10 years in the future but today proved that isn't really the case. I - just like you - just want to see the team hoist cups for many years to come. Lets hope you are right on this one!

Up until half of your last sentence I couldn't have said it better myself. Well if that was the case they should have hung onto Jarnkrok. We have nothing else. He could have dealt from strength like our D prospects that we have like almost too many of to have in GR.

I just fear the day when 5 years from now comes around and Holland has conveniently retired and our new GM is in the exact situation the Leafs are in now with no top 6 C prospect and just standing around with our hands in our pockets waiting for something to happen. Our young wingers and dmen will keep us afloat to the point where we never see a top 5 pick and we won't get that slam dunk C prospect and so begins the era of the Wings with no top 6 C depth (which has always been a strength).

I wouldn't suggest he is faking an injury. I just think the more time that passes the harder it will be for him to be an effective player for us - for mental reasons and physical reasons (being out so long). The more the frustration mounts for him the more likely it is that he over-does it out there and ends up playing worse than better with all that pressure. Thats all I wanted to say. I wasn't trying to criticize the guy - just stating the point that its tough and getting tougher.

Do you think the plethora of recent bad moves are an indicator that Holland has lost his instincts? He seems to be getting things wrong lately.