kipwinger

This is the first time I've ever seen that name mentioned. Is he rumored to the Wings somehow?

Malykhin?

Not this big of an underdog.

Every time I look at our lineup on paper I want to puke. It's easy enough to ignore it during the game because you don't see all the names in the same place at the same time, but god do I hate seeing it listed. Here's hoping they can ride Nyquist and "subtly interfere" their way to a victory tonight! Why did you marry a Pens fan again? That should be a dealbreaker 10 times out of 10.

Not that it matters much, but I don't think he's wrong in saying that Legwand was the face of their team. He was with them for 15 years, leads their team in games played, goals, assists, points, and who was an alternate captain. Certainly more so than Rhinne, and probably on par with Weber. I sort of see it as being like Dats and Z, neither really being "the face" over the other. But that's just my opinion on the matter.

Their games all improve as well. It's nuts!

Somewhere Eddie Olczyk is nodding his head approvingly. Which should be a meme for whenever the Wings do something poorly

Along with the remainder of our season if Smith doesn't wise up with the puck like...immediately. Here's his chance to shine, and I sure hope he takes advantage of it.

He definitely mentioned him. He spoke briefly about how Nyquist and Tatar were guys that they expected to be on the team, but then he transitioned quickly to talking about Sheahan and Jurco. But you're right, he didn't mention Tatar in the context of the PP. I didn't listen to the Draper interview since I'm ostensibly "at work" and therefore theoretically should "do my job" and "not read about hockey all day". But it's a govt. job...so I would be doing a disservice to everyone if I wasn't being a good for nothing strain on the American taxpayers teet right?

Here's a working link: http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/a-pair-of-interesting-late-night-red-wings-listens-from-the-fan-590 I agree about Abby on the top line, and I also agree about Babs being tempted to put him up there. Sort of why I want us to clear up cap space and sign a legit top line FA as a temporary stop gap. Just so that it's clear who our top six will be.

You should listen to the interview with Holland linked here: http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/a-pair-of-interesting-late-night-red-wings-listens-from-the-fan-590. In it a few things stick out to me, 1) Kids own the third line going forward, 2) He praises Kronwall, Ericsson, Dekeyser, and Quincey...lumps Smith and Lashoff together without much discussion, 3) No mention at all of Almquist when discussing the young d-men. All good starts, but I still want to see how the futures of Kindl, Andersson, Glendening pan out, and whether we'll finally get Abby and Helm down on the fourth where they belong.

League minimum pro-rated down to a single day would be about 2,000 bucks. Which should just about cover the increases to his insurance premium when you consider he's adding a career in professional hockey to a pre-existing heart condition.

Classy. Nuff said.

Figured I'd both this here because I didn't know where else to. Pretty awesome article Drew Sharp of the Free Press wrote about how teams can go from zero to hero and back again in the modern age of instant media and social networking. It's particularly about the MSU basketball team, but could just as easily apply to the Wings (I'm giving Babs the benefit of the doubt here) and it's definitely worth the read. Also, I know I'm guilty of many of the things mentioned in the article, before anybody feels it necessary to point it out. But guess what, so are many of you. http://www.freep.com/article/20140319/COL08/303190048/Drew-Sharp-World-of-instant-gratification-tears-down-then-praises-Michigan-State-basketball

I'll say this, I did not realize how fast Nyquist was until last night. I knew he was quick, but not fast like that. It was appropriate that we played the Leafs last night because Nyquist looked A LOT like Phil Kessel in terms of his explosive first strides and quick wrister. Kid is fast.

This is my favorite post so far today.

I agree with the organizational philosophy completely. Again, I'm not trying to give off the impression that there's something wrong with seeing Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan, Jurco, Mantha, Sproul, Ouellet, Marchenko, Mrazek as the future core of this team. Given how they've shown up so far I'd say it's a REALLY good idea. But I do think you have to make decisions based on the new realities these guys have created. We essentially just got a (very good) third line, a top six forward, and backup goalie for free. Two years ago none of these guys (maybe Nyquist) were even on our radar. Tatar was an afterthought, and the rising star was Smith. All of that has changed because injuries showed that most of these guys were the real deal and many are ready now. As such, we have the luxury of having a "fourth" line of Abby-Helm-Miller if we want, who can play 12-15 minutes of effective hockey (as opposed to the 6-8 our fourth currently plays). We don't need to have these guys playing a bigger role, and in truth, they're likely not suited for a bigger role. Reducing their roles means Abby isn't counted on for goals, Helm probably stays healthier, and we now have favorable matchups against deep teams. But that requires the org. rethink the roles Abby and Helm play on the team (not so much Miller his is the same). Similarly, having such high end young defensive talent makes Kindl redundant and means that you no longer have to hope that Smith will develop into a top four guy. Drop him to the third pair permanently and his mistakes are less costly (or less frequent). Best part is, all these young guys have shown they're capable of taking on big roles but don't get paid s***...so we're cap friendly for at least 2-3 years. Just in case we decide we need a high end free agent to fill a role (top six winger, top four defenseman?). But none of that's going to happen if Holland doesn't move (or consider moving) guys like Kindl and Andersson, letting the old guys walk, and reconsidering what roles Smith, Helm, and Abby play on this team. That's my rationale anyway, but it's a good discussion so I'm certainly willing to reconsider if I'm missing something that you've picked up on.

I would give anything if Jimmy would learn how to poke check. That goal wasn't his fault, but a poke check saves it.

That too, though I imagine they'd like someone who at least has the possibility of scoring a goal. Tootoo's not much help considering Babs hates him and will only play him about two and a half minutes a night.

Smith is a better defenseman than Kindl, so our defense is now worse. Any forward is better than Smith, ya know, cuz he hasn't played forward since he was like 14 according to reports. You don't have to be sold on Callahan, but to think that he's not a better option than a converted defenseman who hasn't played forward since he's hit puberty is nuts. I also don't hate Smith. You'll notice that every time I talk about him I say "he'll get better, but he's not good yet". I legitimately believe that. I do, however, hate how everybody bends over backward to make excuses for the guy rather than just saying "he sucks...right now".

Nah, Babs will dress Howard as a forward, start McCollum in goal and have Mrazek back him up...ya know...cuz any hockey player is just as good as any other player at any position in the mind of the "best coach in the NHL". Ugh.

The Wings strength and conditioning coach does a fine job. He got both Dats and Z up to around 195 from their entry weights at 170-175 lbs, and if I recall correctly Kindl gained a huge amount of weight after his rookie season as well (not that it mattered).

If it was about goals I assume they'd call up Callahan since he's second on the Griffs in goals, rather than convert a defenseman to forward (all put ensuring he won't score). Babs likely wants Smith for his perceived forechecking ability and "heavyness", which will yield exactly zero goals, make our defense weaker, and take a chance away from a kid who's worked his tail off for an opportunity to play a game with the big club.

Why go through all that? Just call up Callahan and leave Smith at his natural position. This whole Smith to forward idea is gimmicky enough to get people interested, but at the end of the day it's still totally hairbrained.

Best post of the day. Easily.