kipwinger

I thought Babcock was going to go to Minnesota, because his wife's sister lives there with her boyfriend Jeff? Or was it Washington, because Brooks Orpik signed a rookie card for Lil' Mike Babcock? Or was it the Rangers, because Babs' is pretty close buddies with Ken Hitchcock, who used to dream of living the bohemian life in Greenwich Village as a twenty something?

Yeah, and to be honest that Weiss-Dats-Helm line was really good when it played together before. I didn't think it would be, but I was wrong. So hopefully they'll do the same this time.

The crazy thing is the biggest question mark out of anybody I mentioned is Larkin (the high pick of the bunch), followed by Mantha and Athanasiou. And the latter two are playing REALLY well for rookies in the AHL. No reason to think they wouldn't turn out fine. And what's more, you can do the same thing on defense as well.

I just thought of something, so I thought I'd put it here. Disclaimer: This is fantasy and I am, in no way, advocating for it to happen now. Should you ever think that Ken Holland is not doing a good job, think about these forward lines built entirely out of Red Wings organizational talent. Jesus. Tatar-Datsyuk-Mantha Nyquist-Zetterberg-Abby Pulkkinen-Sheahan-Jurco Callahan-Glendening-Helm Miller And when Dats and Z are too old, Larkin and Athanasiou won't be.

We've got one too many forwards. Actually two too many if you consider Andersson is a plug.

Even so, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect your second defensive pair to BOTH play defense AND contribute to offense. Provided, of course, that "winning the game" and "not losing the game" in Quincey's quote are synonymous with playing offense and defense respectively.

I know. That one cracked me up too. I was snickering at work while reading it lol. Because any other team looking for a coach will be worse than the one he's leaving?

Well ideally you'd like your top four defensemen to play defense AND help facilitate the offense (i.e. move the puck up to the forwards). But if I had to pick one or the other, for Kyle Quincey specifically, then yes, I'd rather he just play defense.

Puck Daddy took Nonis to task for building a terrible roster, in predictably hilarious fashion. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/dave-nonis-believes-in-the-abysmal-maple-leafs-he-s-built-163430531.html

This is unreal. I'm sure he's heard Babcock say this a hundred times too. I sure hope Quincey's just talking about the defense. That would be marginally more tolerable.

Oh, apparently Stephan Weiss "earned more ice time" somewhere between last night and today. Because that's what he needed to do, remember? Earn it. I hope so badly that Weiss gets a goal tonight.

Malik seriously obsesses over Babcock. I don't think, since the end of last season, that he's written a single post without mentioning how "crazy" and "absurd" any talk of Babcock leaving is. For some weird (and super creepy) reason, he's got A LOT riding on Babcock staying in Detroit. Like, an unnatural amount of skin in that game. Anybody remember the end of that movie "The Aviator" when Leonardo DiCaprio keeps repeating "the way of the future" while he slowly loses touch with reality? That's how I imagine Malik should Babcock decide to sign somewhere else. "Babcock to Toronto, what a laugh that is...what a laugh that is...what a laugh that is...what a laugh that is...what a laugh that is..."

When isn't Malik sulking?

Yeah, I'm not even making any statement about him as a coach right now (not that I need to). I'm just talking about his relationship with the media. To say Babcock is thick skinned enough to handle Toronto's media is silly. He's never, EVER, dealt with that kind of scrutiny. He's coached Anaheim 10 years ago when nobody cared about the team. And he coaches Detroit, where everybody treats him like a god. As you (correctly) point out, he gets SUPER irritated with the media, and he's basically never dealt with any hostile media in his career.

I feel about Milan Lucic how I feel about herpes.

Puns are the lowest form of comedy. For shame.

If you're just reading their body language, it looks like Torts likes what he sees and is trying to pick Disco Dan up from across the bar. It's like, if there were a third picture it would be of a bartender handing Bylsma a drink and pointing back in Torts direction.

+1

From The Hockey News: "Toronto seems an ideal challenge for the brash Babcock, who has a Stanley Cup and two gold medals, might want to reach a new summit and is thick-skinned enough to handle the pressure of hockey’s media epicenter." Lol. Mike Babcock is not thick skinned. He's super fickle and hates being questioned or second guessed, which is what he would be...constantly. Wait until Cherry et. al. scrutinize every single thing he does, and then watch the steam come out of his ears.

There are no conspiracies against the Red Wings. Period. And even if there were, our record over the last 20 years indicates that they're the least effective conspiracies ever. So why worry about them?

I know. I wouldn't expect them to trade ANYONE to the Wings, being inter-divisional and all. Then again, Shanny and Holland do have a good relationship so they'd be a natural fit for a "hockey trade". But you're right, Van Reimsdyk isn't going anywhere.

You and me both pal.

Well you and I certainly both agree on how awesome it would be if Callahan were on our fourth. Glendening and Callahan would be awesome together.

If I were Holland I would demand that Weiss demand a trade. He's played well enough to have value again, and god knows we're not using him for anything. Weiss, Smith, and a 2nd (all available per this Khan article as none are in the top 9 or 4) might get you something good. Lol.

Well hopefully they send Franson and/or Van Reimsdyk this way lol.