MDCard

Weiss is the worst player on this team. Soft, never wins a battle. Loses the puck if someone breathes on him when he's carrying it. He holds up all the time to avoid contact. I don't think he wants to get near the puck...he's a head case. Why sign a guy to a long term contract like that when he was injured the year before. Terrible signing. Unbelievably worse player than Filpula. How do you follow hockey, GM a team, and make such a horrendously irresponsible signing! I am pis#%d off...please send Weiss to GR, cut him, or trade him for a box of tampons.

Quincy is hurt right now...ankle issues...they had said may require surgery. For the time being he likely remains out.

It bothers me that we never "lobby" effectively when other teams complain about officiating. In the 2nd period significant contact was made with Jimmy Howard on two of Dallas's goals. We don't complain at all about it...not one little complaint. So in the mad scramble at the end of this crazy game, Abdel clearly pushes Lehtonen and you would think the whole game was ruined for Dallas on that one play: "I just got kind of pushed in the net and the puck was sliding the other way at the same time," Lehtonen said. "It's weird how they can look at some things from the video and that kind of thing, they cannot. They got it wrong." Ruff was blunt. "There's no explanation. It's inexcusable. It ruined a hell of a hockey game, bottom line," he said. Never mind the fact that the play occurs with 2 minutes left, we could have scored without the push or later in the period. The whole game was not decided on that one play. Babcock needs to "lobby" a little bit better or else moving forward, every time we breathe on a goalie the refs will call a 2 minute goalie interference penalty. He should point out all the goalie contact in the 2nd period and it appears that the refs were allowing significant goalie contact in this game. It doesn't help that our players (like Kronwall) after the game say how we got "lucky". That is not true. It was an up and down game...we ended up winning and got 2 points to their 1. Sometimes the taking the "high road" thing can go too far. All that being said, Abdel needs to keep his wits about him a bit better...he tends to make some bone headed moves that result in unnecessary penalties (or goals taken away when he is hanging out in the crease).

Down 3-1 in the the 3rd with less than 6 mins left...so he is trying to push the puck up the ice and screws up. They were probably going to lose anyways. Goalies mishandling pucks leading to chances/goals is not super unusual...this kind of falls into that category IMO.

Jurco shows grit in the corners and some tenacity. He fights for pucks and wins battles. I like that. He has good size. I thought he would have better hands around the net, but i think that will develop with time. I think he needs more time at the NHL level to continue to develop his game, create and finish. I would rather him be in the line up than Weiss who seems to shy away from contact, checks or battles (and seems also to lack confidence when he has the puck for some reason).

I think it was a mistake letting Filpulla go and i had thought he left because we didn't think he was worth $5 million a year. I think, in today's market, he was and is worth about that. He was a good worker on both ends of the ice, a good puck handler/skill guy, and had a good year in 2011-12. He took a step back last year in terms of points...for whatever reason i don't know. But he was a top 6, "core-type" player and made some big-time plays (see his diving goal against Chicago and his slick assist against Anaheim in last years playoffs). In addition, Fil is a player who is entering the prime/sweet-spot of his career. I don't think Hudler is comparable to Filpulla as Hudler was too slow and one-dimensional...often disappearing in the playoffs. I would prefer to pay a guy like Fil $5 mill than a bunch of "parts" to fill the bottom six at $2-3 mill a year (e.g Sammy, Bert, Clears, Tootoo...although i think Tootoo is pretty good and brings something unique to our team, namely grit and effort) . Those bottom 6 guys can be replaced by low cap, hungry Grand Rapids guys without missing a beat. I am pretty disappointed that we spent $5 mill a year on Weiss...didn't know much about him when we signed him, but now i think his success in Florida may had something to do with him being the best player on a not very competitive team and therefore racking up some points. To sign a guy at the age of 30 to a 5 year 5 mill a year deal when he is coming off of a wrist injury seems really reckless at best and incompetent at worst. Really makes me wonder about Kenny Holland and the odd way he runs this team. All this "over-ripening" garbage that lets talented young guys bide time in GR while aged guys float around the ice at the Joe. Young players will probably optimally improve their game when playing against the stiff competition in the NHL...not in GR. They belong up here in the bottom 6 (at least) rather than GR.

Weiss makes Villei Leino look like Darren Helm

He actually shows us and Howard a lot of respect...he says he didn't want to face us in the first place and doesn't think his Hawks can win 3 in a row against us...

Cleary should sit...he is always banged up and just plays through it...but now he is really banged up. We need healthy, rested bodies in there. I would play Tootoo over Cleary as well in game 6.

I agree with Tatar...I am disappointed too that he was sent back down to GR...really unbelievable given the problems we have had getting the puck to the net and in the net.

If i were GM I would: 1) Identify my core players and sign them to high dollar deals for 3-5 years. If i really have confidence in one of them, maybe 6-7 years. Don't lock in for longer than that. Two guys on defense, five guys on offense and a goalie. 8 core guys in total. 2) Fill out the rest of my roster with average guys who are hard working, durable and not too old. Grinders that are young and not worn down. 3) Avoid older guys who have a reputation of being physical...they generally wear out at that age. My physical guys have to be younger guys. 4) Avoid trading cheap assets with potential upside for rentals or old guys...that's a losing strategy. 5) Identify the top 1 - 2 free agents every year or so and go at them very hard with a high dollar deals. The core needs to be replenished. If the core drops to a low level (like 5 or less), you have to replenish. 6) Bank on the fact that eventually a prospect or two will turn into a core player. But they have to be evaluated on the NHL level between the ages of 21 -24 regularly. No more over-ripen bulls**t. 7) Every year at the end of the season, some changes have to be made. It is like re-balancing your stock portfolio. You need to make some changes. Even if you win a cup. That's the best time to make changes because that is when your assets will be worth most...after a good season. 8) Don't be afraid of occasionally making a bad deal...but when you do, cut your losses. Don't hang on to a mistake forever. The NHL with the cap system requires yearly re-assessment and adjustments to maintain competitiveness. As GM, you have to have thought all this out and made your moves during the off-season. Scrambling at the trading deadline is not ideal and should be avoided if possible.

I hate to bring this word up...but here it is..."core"...yeah, "core". We mocked "core" concept a few years back...but i am now thinking we were wrong on this. The "new NHL" is about having elite core players and then some young guys who aren't getting injured every other day that fill the line up out. We have a small "core"...Dats, Z, Kronwall, and Howard. I think Howard is close to elite the way he has saved our as* this year. That's about it. Franzen was thought to be "core", but he is not (obviously). The "new NHL" in the cap era is not about "loyalty to older guys" who tend to get beat up as the season goes on and then run out of gas in the playoffs. It's about guys who have some jump in their step and can fill out the line up...once they start to show sustained bouts of being injured or ineffective, you have to move them on and move younger guys in. And all of that is a bit of a crap shoot, but it is how you avoid the mediocrity curse (stuck in the middle). The salary cap has made it a very cut-throat, crass business...but to compete you have to cut your losses with some of these guys, bring in the younger/cheaper talent from the minors, and continually look for elite core guys in free agency. You can't be loyal to guys that are older and have been around awhile, but have lost a step and spend three-quarters of the time on the IR. I totally disagree with the let them "ripen" concept. What is the physiologic peak of a human being? It is at 28 years old...at least from a respiratory physiologic standpoint. So after 28, it's a downhill trend from an athletic perspective. Leaving these guys in the minors forever is a detriment because they are not developing against the best talent (NHL talent) and you are wasting some of their best years from a physical standpoint in the minors. Andersson has been great this year. Without injuries, he would be in the minors. What about Lashoff? He would be in the minors without injuries. It seems like our management can't even evaluate our young talent to know when to bring them up. If you can fill your line up on the cheap with the younger talent, then you can afford to break the bank in free agency to get a couple "elite core" players. But we have management who continually think that signing guys like Bert, Sammy, Cola, and Cleary is the right strategy when we have guys like Andersson, Tatar, Lashoff, and Nyquist wasting away in the minors. If you save the money you spend on Bert, Sammy, Cola, and Cleary you can then sign one or two elite players who have high skill and are difference makers. Yes, last year we crapped out on Parise and Suter. But unless we are continually re-evaluating our line up at the end of year and cutting guys who are not really producing or have a high chance of being injured, we are gonna be stuck in mediocre hell.

Helm has some back troubles...i would expect him to be a bit less physical for the forseeable future.

I think Babs has made some positive moves since Filp came back. Filp and Z on the same line. Moving Cleary down to the 3rd line. There seemed to be more life to our offense since Filp came back...and i am completely against this idea of trading Filp...he is one of our highest skill guys. On Brunner, i agree with moving him down for awhile. He has been pretty absent the past 8 games...soft on the puck and hesitant to pull the trigger. He may do better matched up against lesser forwards. Had a good assist last night on Cleary's goal.

I would like to keep Filp...I think he skates well and is strong on the puck in our zone. Yeah his production is a bit down, but jeez you're only talking about 20 games this year and he was a bit banged up when he came back over from Europe. He is a bit younger than Dats and Z and we need to keep him. Our offense seems to have gone in the crapper without him in the lineup. I would however like to trade Franzen...we all think he is a bit lazy. I am not sure if it is that or if he is just not that "able" anymore. He has had two serious knee injuries (i believe) in the past and that may affect the type of game he plays now. I am not sure he is able to bring it every night anymore. He still has the reputation as a pretty good scorer based on last year...we need to trade him before his value is nil in the trade market.

4-5 mill for 4 years. He saves our ass on many nights...we may be screwed without him.

This line is frustrating... 1. Why is our all-world playmaker paired up with guys who have not really shown they are great finishers? 2. Why after 5 games or so of this line and a very anemic offensive output over that time is a change not coming? 3. Why not try Tatar on this line? Strong on the puck and strong finisher. Dats - Cleary - Tatar 4. Or how about bringing Nyquist back up and pairing him with Dats? What is our brain trust really thinking here with this line?

It makes me question our whole decision making process/ability when this kind of line is out there and continues to be intact when: 1) we have scored 5 total goals in 4 games with at least two of those goals being complete flukes. 2) this line has accounted for no points. Zero. And that's a line with Pavel Datsyuk on it.

My frustration is that i cannot understand is why when you go on a 5 game offensive skid and you have this obvious "trial balloon" line that is not working would you not make a change...i am wondering why would our braintrust continue with this very unproductive line. I would be ok with Tatar-Dats-Cleary (at least) as a trial and see how it goes. What is Babs thinking with this line?

No - ludicrous cap hit No - too small No - our defense is shaping up ok and we have serviceable guys that are scratched every night. No - He is too old

Corrected the Nyquist mistake. Sorry. Tell me what you don't like about that deal or my analysis...no i wasn't dropped on my head as a child.

Zetterberg, Franzen, Hudler, Kindl...for Nash and then bring up Nyquist, Connor, and Smith... time to make a move for the future. Z hangs on to the puck forever, and is not a sniper or a power forward. Production down and his best days are behind him. He makes too much money for what he is bringing to the table. Franzen is unidimensional and unimpressive. Hudler is too small and slow for playoff hockey... We can pull the plug on the Kindl project. Nash is entering his prime and is a top 3 power forward in the entire league. Nyquist has skill and seems to have good hockey sense. Conner was impressive when he was up here. Dats-Nash-Nyquist Filp-Bert-Cleary Helm-Abdel-Miller Emmerton-Mursak-Holmstrom Conner available Lids-White Kronwall-Stuart Quincy-Smith Ericsson (IR), Commie available Frankly, i would get rid of Bert, Holms and Cleary as well...but not sure there will be any takers. To upgrade this team, you need to shake up the core...

I live in Orlando and in August of 2010 was on an Air Canada flight from Orlando (where i live) to Montreal. I happened to be in first class window seat, by myself. So this tall guy comes on the plane kind of late...in shorts, a baseball cap and very little in terms of carry on. Sits right next to me...aisle seat. He looked like an athlete...he is super fit looking and i thought, "this guy is a pro tennis player or something." A male steward starts talking to him in French for like 5 minutes, before the plane takes off...kind of like he knew him. Took a picture with him. So i look over and ask him straight out before the plane takes off, "Are you like a pro athlete or something?" He looks at me and says, "Yeah." So i ask him, "So who are you?" He says, "I'm Vinnie Lecavlier." So now i'm thinking, "Holy sh@t, i'm going to be sitting next to Vinnie Lecavlier for the next f'in 3 hours!!!...unbelievable." So i start talking to him about how i love the NHL and am a big Wings fan...how i have the Center Ice package and watch all the Wings game in Orlando...i also tell him Tampa is my favorite team in the East. I start talking about how Yzerman was just hired to run Tampa and how great that is....blah blah blah. He puts a little knee wrap on and i ask him what's up with that...just had a clean up scope on his knee 2 days ago. So then i give it a rest and the plane takes off. Vinnie watches some TV or a movie...chows down on some food...falls asleep. Later on we get drinks and peanuts...i offer him my peanuts and he accepts. I'm thinking, "This guy signed a $80 million contract a few years back...his name is on the cup...he was the number one pick in the draft !" Vinnie naps a bit...then he wakes up in a panic looking around...I go, "What's a matter?" He says, "My phone!! Where's my phone?" I tell him, "Well, you put it right on this arm rest in the middle...". He then looks at me kind of weird...like he's thinking i took his phone!!! But then i tell him, "Well, maybe it fell on the floor." He looks...and sure enough, it's under the frickin' seat !! Jeez, i thought he was going to punch me there for a brief moment before he found his phone. Realize i am about 5'7" and pretty wiry...i don't think he would have hit me...it would be like him picking a fight with Huds. Anyways, then Vinnie starts rotating his right shoulder and kind moving his neck around...as if he's in pain...well, i'm a doctor and a bit curious..."you got a neck problem?" He says, "No, it's my shoulder..." He was moving his neck and rt shoulder for half the flight...like it was super annoyed. We talk about it a bit... As the flight nears the end, i start asking him about how he thinks Tampa will do this year. He was excited that Tampa had picked up Dan Ellis for goal (turns out they got rid of him later that year) and Simone Gagne. His face lit up about Simone Gagne...I think Tampa had picked him up from Philly that year. He was super excited about the year coming up...and you could tell he had a passion about his work...very cool. As we're on the last 45 minutes of the flight, i start blabbing about the Wings again...and also reassure him that Tampa is my favorite team in the East...he then says (unprompted i may add), "Detroit should be in the East...it's a BIG disadvantage...". Well, now i'm thinking, "Sh$t, like we always thought...all that travel is really a BIG disadvantage...". It really struck me that he would bring that up absolutely unsolicited...and that he would see it as a big impediment for a success of a team...this from a player's perspective, just shooting the breeze on a long plane flight. Anyways, the flight ended and we kind of walked out and in the airport he was kind of looking around for his ride which wasn't there yet or something. I headed to my hotel. I didn't bug him too much on the flight...no request for pics or an autograph...or tickets to a Lightening game. Tried to be respectful for the most part and let him rest and relax. But i did chat him up a bit about the NHL and found it really fascinating to hear his perspective on some of these things...it was a somewhat surreal experience really.

We need to shower NBC with emails telling them that Olczyk shouldn't be doing the color on the Blackhawks games...he is just way too much of a homer to be doing a national broadcast like that. He was terribly one-sided tonight...drove me crazy.

I agree with this...play the young guys. Give them ice time and see how it goes. Save the cap money and you may be able to pick someone up during the regular season via trade etc.