kipwinger

Not touching it.

We're not going to lose Marchenko for nothing. He's still got waiver exemptions. Why would we do this?

You said "Smith is better", so forgive me for mistakenly thinking this was absolutely about "who is better". I give up. You win. Maybe one day Smith will be better. Maybe not. That's good enough for me.

You know, I honestly didn't think Helm, Datsyuk, and Weiss would work either and it was a decent line...so who knows? I mean, I clearly think it's a disaster, but I guess I've just got to wait and see. I'm baffled.

All of these stats say Quincey is better, not just points. Quincey has more goals. Quincey has more assists. Quincey plays on pk. Quincey has more hits. Quincey has FEWER give aways. Quincey has more blocked shots. Quincey shoots more. Quincey has a higher shooting percentage. Quincey has a higher Corsi. Quincey starts in the offensive zone less often.

I mean, wasn't he just going to play Miller and Glendening more than Weiss and Pulkkinen anyway? Seems like he just put all the guys he doesn't play much on one line and all the guys he was going to play more on the other. I have no idea how this will turn out. Not really sure why you'd change lines around after 2.66 games of excellent hockey, but whatever. I'm honestly tired of trying to figure out why Babcock does what he does, and whether it will work or not. I hope this is the best set of line combos yet. I think you've got it mixed up. Miller-Sheahan-Glendening is going to be the third line, and Weiss-Andersson-Pulkkinen the fourth. At least that's what recent time on ice stats suggest.

Haha, I haven't even seen them. Bad?

Christ, are you really saying that just because you hold an opinion it "cannot be wrong"? You're definitely smarter than that. An opinion can absolutely be wrong if the preponderance of evidence suggests the opposite, as it does in this case. Because there's an objective truth here. Opinions can't be wrong when the choices are subjective (e.g. I like red better than blue tshirts). If you said "I like Smith better", I couldn't argue. That's your subjective opinion. But you said "Smith IS better". Which is not an opinion, its a demonstrably false statement. That's like saying my "opinion" isn't wrong if I say Steve Yzerman was better offensively than Wayne Gretzky. "Well...um...I don't care what the stats say...umm...it's my OPINION". You're wrong dude. Get over it. One day Smith MAY be better than Quincey, but as of right now the universe of evidence proves otherwise, regardless of your opinion.

Your opinion is wrong. I just proved that with measurable evidence. Also, to suggest that Quincey surged ahead of Smith in all those areas in just one week is not only wrong...but laughable. Have your opinion. That's fine. But as of right now it is 100% clear that your opinion is based on absolutely NOTHING substantive. Edit: Also, for the 50th time. You have to earn your opportunities. Of course Smith would have better stats with Dekesyer rather than Ouellet...so would Lashoff or Kindl. It doesn't mean they deserve to be there. The Wings organization doesn't owe Brendan Smith more ice time any more than they owed Mattias Backman more ice time. Earn it or don't.

Seriously? They're going to charge someone for throwing a sweater on the ice? This should be proof positive...beyond a shadow of a doubt...that the Leafs not only don't like their fans, but in some cases actively dislike their fans. What a scumbag organization.

No, I don't think Smith and Dekeyser would be better. Quincey is better than Smith in nearly every objective measure for a defenseman. Quincey has more goals. Quincey has more assists. Quincey plays on pk. Quincey has more hits. Quincey has FEWER give aways. Quincey has more blocked shots. Quincey shoots more. Quincey has a higher shooting percentage. Quincey has a higher Corsi. Quincey starts in the offensive zone less often. Smith has FEWER penalties (by two). Smith has MORE takeaways (by a lot). Other than those two areas, Smith is not better than Quincey in any measureable way. And that's not an opinion buddy. That's a FACT.

In other Toronto news...how punchable is William Nylander's face? Seriously, I was just reading an article about this kid and I couldn't stop thinking about how much I want to punch him. And it's entirely his face too. He might be the best kid on earth, for all I know, but his face is sooooo punch worthy.

Well like Mike Babcock likes to say, you've got to earn more minutes and better linemates. If Brendan Smith isn't getting the minutes or the linemates, it's because Babs doesn't think he deserves them. Should be be gifted more opportunities just because? I mean, ALL players will produce more with more minutes and better linemates. That's a truism. Doesn't mean you deserve them though. Clearly the coach doesn't think he does. Oh, Smith screws up just as much as everyone else eh? So why's he on the third pair? Did Babs just arbitrarily decide Smith would be down there, despite being just as good as everyone else? Of course not. Brendan Smith is on the third pair because he's not a better defenseman than Kronwall, Ericsson, Dekeyser, or Quincey. Which, coincidentally, is why people focus on him more. Because he's not as good. And screws up more often. That, or Mike "Greatest Coach in the League" Babcock is actively trying to make this team worse because he doesn't like Smith.

Exactly, at what point is he one of these? How old, and how many games, before he can no longer get a pass because he's got "potential"? Also, saying he's better than Kindl isn't saying much. And yes, Ericsson should be given a longer leash. When you draft a guy dead last in the draft you assume it's going to take a while for him to develop. When you draft a guy in the first round you assume it won't take him as long. I don't that's too controversial a statement.

Smith is 25 and has played over 150 games. He's not exactly inexperienced. And he was a first rounder, so he doesn't exactly get the kind of leeway that Ericsson did either. He had proper development in the AHL (perhaps even overripened) too. By all accounts, for a first rounder with his pedigree (Hoby Baker finalist, 1st round pick, AHL stud), he's developing at a snail's pace. At what point do we say Smith is garbage? Seriously, how old and how many games before we stop using the "he's inexperienced" excuse for his f*** ups and lack of production?

Those pun titles keep getting zetter and zetter.

I just turned the game on. Can anybody tell me what the f*** happened?

Agreed. It was an excellent game, and hopefully a precursor of things to come. I was really impressed with how fast we played. We transitioned excellently last night. It was the exact opposite of the Washington game, where we couldn't seem to get any momentum to our game. It's two good wins in a row, against two very good, very different, systems. I'm happy with the Detroit Red Wings right now.

I agree with your assessment of Marchenko. He's a "shutdown defender" in the way that Dekeyser is. Which is to say that he's not known for his offense, and he definitely prioritizes his defense and plays a safe game. But he's also an effective puck mover and is really good at getting the puck up the ice. I actually think he'll put up more points at the NHL level than he does in the AHL when he's surrounded by more first rate finishers. Edit: As far as Mantha goes, I think he struggles from the same thing that Jurco does. He's a big guy, and at the pro level will be expected to play a big man's game. But until he came to GR, he played a skilled, finesse game, despite his size. He's basically learning how to be a power forward at the pro level and the learning curve is steep. Once he figures out the power forward's game (i.e. where to be on the ice, how to play without the puck, etc.) he'll be fine. But until now he's always played the way a center has to play at the pro level (carry the puck and make plays on individual effort).

I've made my stance on highbrow humor clear. Shame on you.

Lol. I thought you were just talkin trash. I understood it, and still understand it, as gamesmanship. No apology necessary. Also. You should have punned on ASSinine. Just saying.

Excellent win, and two wins against two really good teams. Keep it up boys. Also, in my opinion that was the best game Mrazek has played as a Wing. He's had other games where he was flashier. But he faced a reasonable amount of shots tonight against a good offensive team, and weathered a few long dry spells to stay in it. I liked it.

I assume you mean you think his defense has improved in general, because he's given up two odd man rushes on one shift tonight.

As bad as he is defensively, watch him pass. Ugh.

Otherwise, our team is dominating tonight. We look really good.