kipwinger

Has Nyquist registered a point yet in the in preseason?

Hmmm, the big, bad, bruiny, bears are acting like big Boston *******. Head locking Larkin? He's 19 years old tough guy!

Jurco! 2-0 wings.

Miller scores. Clearly assists. Clearly...so useless.

To clarify, it's only the radio announcers. It would be the equivalent of the Wings leaving Ken Kal in Detroit to call games from the TV.

I think it's great. Show how much enthusiasm there is for the sport. You've got to remember, this is just the pre-season and people are irritated that they can't see it. A few short years ago nobody cared about pre-season hockey. It's crazy the change you see in the consumption of the sport. You've got people watching the draft, playing fantasy hockey, watching the preseason, following minor league affiliates, and monitoring European prospects overseas. That kind of stuff probably doesn't seem that crazy to the Canadian fans, they've been at that level for a while. But that's entirely new and exciting for American fans. It means that the sport is growing. And everybody has to like that.

Hmmm...looks like there's at least one stream that should be up and running around game time.

Maybe, but I don't care if he does or doesn't. I think it's WAY more important for the team's success that Tatar be a 30+ goal scorer than a 25 goal scorer with defense. The entire Mike Babcock mentality, that a guy's only valuable if he's defensively responsible, has got to change in Detroit. In some instances it's true, and in others it makes no sense. For instance, last year Kindl couldn't buy a spot in the lineup because he didn't play good defense. However Smith, who is significantly worse than Kindl offensively and only marginally better defensively, played all season. What makes it bad, however, isn't Smith. I don't care about him. It's the usage. Both guys led the defense in offensive zone starts. So their respective differences in defensive ability didn't really matter because neither of them were ever going to play a defensive role. But by removing Kindl from the lineup you effectively ensured that you weren't going to get any production from the back end, even though that was the role Smith way playing. You replaced a guy who can produce offense with a guy who's better defensively, and then never used the defensive guy in a defensive role. Dynamic offensive players don't grow on trees. I'd be pissed if we stunted Tatar's upward potential by asking him to take on more defensive responsibility. We don't need that from him. Not when he's only 1 of 2 guys on the team that can score 30+.

Tatar is a better possession player than Kane. Demonstrably. He was one of the very best possession players in the league. http://www.nhl.com/stats/player?navid=nav-sts-indiv#

Vermette was their 3C.

I think so. I think he's as good as Tatar or Nyquist. Which is to say that he's no superstar but he doesn't completely ignore that part of the game either. But the fact that he's such a good possession player IS his defense. What does it matter if he can backcheck if he's got the puck in the o-zone for the majority of his shifts?

To be honest I don't really care about his defense. I care about his ability to contribute to possession. Which he can demonstrably do. He's playing the exact same role for us that he did a year ago for the Stanley Cup winner. So I don't think there's any denying you can win with Brad Richards as a 2C. I think the days of sacrificing offense for defense are coming to an end in Detroit. Sure being a 200 foot player is important, but not to the extreme that the Babcock Wings took it. Look at Chicago and LA. There are quite a lot of guys on both those teams that are only ok defensively, but contribute a lot offensively (Kane, Sharp, Richards, Carter, Gaborik). All things being equal I'd usually rather have a guy who can maintain possession in the offensive zone, than a guy who can't do anything with the puck but can backcheck like a bulldog. At the end of the day you still have to score points.

Are we talking about the same Brad Richards who had all the primary assists in Tatar's hat trick? Not sure why you're insinuating he is some washed up scrub.

I'm not really sure that defenseman are more or less likely to have a long career than forwards are. I mean, there are quite a few recent examples of forwards who played well into their 40's as well. I think the determining factor is A) what type of game do you play, and B) what kind of injury history do you have. Lidstrom played a really long time because he was relatively healthy throughout his entire career, and his body didn't wear out as a result of getting pummeled for 20 years. Orr's career was short because he had injury issues. Robyn Regehr retired at 35 because he played such a physically grueling style for a number of years. There's really no recipe. If I had to handicap it I'd say Seabrook will see the end of the contract without losing too much off his game. While he does play a relatively physical game, he's not had too many injuries, and his usage will likely get easier as he ages. His offense will probably suffer as he gets older, but nobody ever relied on him for offense anyway. He'll be a capable, 38 year old, stay at home defender, leader, and all around steady blueline presence who puts up 20-25 points. And none of that will be worth 6 million bucks. But it will be a good contract for the next 4-5 years. Which is all Chicago really wants from him anyway.

Cool. Thanks.

When and where did Zetterberg say this?

Dang, Kindl very nearly had a hat trick last night. There might be something to this idea of his resurrecting his career under Blash. I realize the preseason isn't over, but right now he's out playing Smith for that 6th defense spot. Smith's just not got the same offense as Kindl, even with the powerplay opportunities he's getting.

Is everyone going to go on and on about how Kindl looked really good when he was teamed with Kronwall? Because that was a thing for a while.

Is it safe to say that the Jak is back!?!

Probably has as much to do with not wanting a line of Franzen-Miele-Cleary, as anything else.

That was just off the top of my head. The main point is that a top four defenseman, even a stay at home guy on an expiring contract, always has value to a team wanting to make s push. Look at Jeff Petry a year ago. Anyway, I'm not going to say anything more about Byfuglien. I've beat that horse to death. I think it makes sense for both teams, and it would be easy to do without losing anything we couldn't live with/don't need to lose anyway.

Not necessarily Ericsson. Quincey too. Or any combination of Smith, Kindl, Helm. The important part would be clearing the cap space. Which wouldn't be hard. No matter what package you put together, all of the remaining guys (except maybe Kindl) have value elsewhere. So, hypothetically... Helm, Quellet, 2nd (or 1st if need be) for Byfuglien Quincey to Colorado for 2nd (or 3rd) and mid level prospect.

Is there a highlight video from last night's game anywhere?

Big Buf. It's too perfect. We need a top end defenseman. They need to get something for the big man. Not in the same conference. It's as good as done.

I think he was probably talking about their playing styles. Not their intestinal fortitude. Obviously Brunner was a quitter. I dont' think anyone would accuse Pulkkinen of that.