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Everything posted by kipwinger
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I'd give Buffalo Mrazek and a first for Moulson so long as A) he was interested in signing an extension, and B) they took two of our expiring contracts as well. To Buffalo: Mrazek 1st Sammy Tootoo/Eaves To Detroit: Moulson
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Sure, I agree that changes have to be made to the overall roster. But that doesn't mean that in the mean time Babcock should just throw lines together all willy nilly. Given that Franzen is hurt, and given that Miller left practice today, why not this... Alfie-Dats-Bert Zetterberg-Weiss-Tatar Eaves/Cleary-Andersson-Abby Tootoo-Glendening-Eaves/Cleary. Not the best lines in the world, but certainly better than the trash I just linked above.
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Get the impression he's grasping at straws?
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Well, just when I thought Babs' lineup couldn't get dumber.. Update #2: Per Khan... Some new lines today: Datsyuk is with Tatar and Cleary, Zetterberg is with Alfredsson and Abdelkader. ... Andersson is with Bertuzzi and Eaves; Weiss skating with Tootoo and Samuelsson, who might be subbing for Miller. Helm working in on top 6. ... Defense pairs remain the same: Kronwall-Smith, Quincey-DeKeyser, Lashoff-Kindl
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The Islanders had a good shot at re-signing Moulson before this. They have about zero chance of resigning Vanek. Both score about the same number of goals, though Vanek does have the better play making skills. So basically the Islanders traded a first and second and any shot they had at re-signing a thirty goal scorer, for another 30 goal scorer who's likely to walk at season's end. Islanders got fleeced. Edit: Also, why the hell is Darcy Regier still allowed to make decisions of this magnitude at the NHL level?
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We might disagree, which is fine, but I've never believed that you were arguing just for the sake of being argumentative, which is to say that I think your positions are respectable. This affirms it. Let's go Red Wings!
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I don't mind them splitting up for the time being, but I would prefer Zetterberg stay on the wing...since...you know...he's the only winger that seems to be capable of scoring goals.
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Babcock is positively frustrating at times. If you look at my post on the first page of this thread you'll see that I argued for a top six of... Alfie-Pav-Bert Zetterberg-Weiss-Franzen And he goes with... Alfie-Pav-Bert Tatar-Zetterberg-Franzen Close but no cigar. Zetterberg is the only winger scoring goals. So obviously he needs to be moved. Also, Weiss is penciled in as the second line center. That's where he wants to play, that's where the team wants him to play, and that's where he should play. Yet he doesn't. Why not put him between two capable wingers, let him get in on some scoring while learning the system with veterans who can make plays and help ease his transition? Instead they expect him to gain confidence while both trying to learn a new system (the first of his career) and carry the entire offensive load on a line with two hammer hands wingers. F*ck I hate Babs' line combinations.
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It would be incorrect to attribute an entire team's defensive play (for good or ill) on one guy. However, there doesn't seem to be any problem pointing out that Smith has been our worst defenseman so far this season. Someone has to be. Obviously he's not to blame for stinkers like the Ottawa game, but I don't think it's unreasonable to ask "why is our worst defenseman playing top line minutes against Ottawa". It's pretty much universally agreed that Smith has tremendous upside, and that he should be given an opportunity to work out the kinks in his game. However, he shouldn't be allowed to do so at the expense of the team, or of other guys who have been playing better. I think that is what many people feel, and I realize that could easily be misunderstood as "blaming Smith". Secondly, in spite of the fact that Kyle Quincey is an easy target to be a whipping boy around here, he's been incredibly solid so far this season and in no way deserves the kind of antipathy he receives on this forum.
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Well I know it's definitely not because Tatar "does play defense" or because Babs is "defensive minded". Other than that...no idea.
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I don't see Tatar being as one dimensional as everyone else seems to suggest. Also, I don't think Babs is all about defense like other suggest as well. Babs was perfectly fine keeping Brunner in the top six, despite his HORRIBLE defense. He only demoted him after he stopped scoring. Likewise, He kept Hudler in the top six for a couple years despite his HORRIBLE defense, because he scored points. Tatar is noticeably better defensively than the two I mentioned. Babs has kept worse forwards in prime slots, with or without them being defensively responsible. I don't know why he takes such a hardline against Tatar, but it certainly doesn't have s*** to do with his defense...which is actually pretty good for a guy his size.
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There are a few reasons why our offense is struggling right now. First, in years past we've always been a league leader (or nearly league leader) in defensive scoring. With Lids, Kronwall, Rafalski, and before that Schneider we always had d-men who put up good point totals. We don't anymore and our GAA suffers because of it. Secondly, Babs needs to stop being experimental with our lines. We already know who our centers are going to be down the stretch, and we already know who three of the top wingers are going to be. Let them play where they're supposed to and start forming chemistry. This mix and mash s*** has got to stop. Finally, we need to sort out what we expect out of guys and where they fit on the team, if anywhere. At some point we've got to get past the point of "competing for a spot" and get guys in the positions they've earned so that they can form some chemistry. Having more than enough players competing for jobs is good in training camp, it's bad when you're a month into the season. At this point I'd like to see something like this... Alfie-Dats-Bert Zetterberg-Weiss-Franzen Tatar-Andersson-Abby Cleary/Miller-Glendening-Tootoo I don't want Dats and Z separated permanently. But I also don't want Alfie and Weiss together until they are both VERY comfortable with the system, I don't want two guys learning the system on the same line at the same time. I feel that Dats would work well with Alfie in order to get him going, and Zetterberg would work with Weiss for the same reason. Also, when Helm and Eaves get healthy this would all be reevaluated but until then, I like this the best.
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During last night's telecast, Mickey stated that because Weiss is coming off injuries and because he's coming from a team with relatively no system, he believes Weiss won't begin to hit his stride until about the 20 game mark. Because Mickey has played professional hockey and therefore knows how hard it is to go from team to team, system to system, and bounce back from injury, I'm going to go with his assessment. That said, Weiss hasn't lived up to expectations. Which is hard for me to say because I lobbied hard for the guy in the offseason and was thrilled when he was signed.
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It was pretty brutal. Everyone not named Tatar skated like they were on mud. Everyone else half assed most of their shifts. And to top it all off, Babcock changed the lines about twice a period. Justin Abdelkader actually played on all four lines tonight at one time or another.
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Because our lines change every two minutes. According to Bab's philosophy line chemistry is for weak minded p*ssies who don't "want it enough".
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Definitely agree. If we had a tough guy there's no way we'd be losing this game right now.
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Hahahahahahaha, he did mix the lines up again. Nothing like developing chemistry by playing with six different guys in three different periods. Here's a thought, why not use the same lines you did when you beat VERY good hockey teams in Boston and Colorado? You know, winning lineups.
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In an effort to salvage this game, I think Babs should shuffle the lines at least two or three more times in the third. Other than Pavs, Hank, and Kronwall, every player is just as good as every other players. Our entire team is interchangeable from game to game.
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Haha dude you can't give up. The internet rules clearly state that if you don't make common sense points over and over ad nauseam, those very points are thus invalid. So the choice is simply, admit Ryan is better than four guys or keep arguing until you're exhausted.
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Would it kill our defensemen to knock off the asinine stretch passes from deep in our zone and perhaps carry the puck up the ice before hitting a forward in flight?
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What did Mickey say about Helm a few minutes ago?
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Bertuzzi and his stupid wraparounds eh?
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Ugh, going to be one of those nights.
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It's good to see that after being healthy scratched for three of Detroit's best games, and then making his way back onto the lineup because of injury, and finally playing one decent game, Brendan Smith is being rewarded with top pair minutes. Other young guys can't seam to crawl their way onto this team, yet Brendan gets top minutes for some unknown reason. What's that you say? It's good for his confidence? Definitely. In the sense that anyone would be confident if all they had to do was play a decent game out of every ten in order to get prime minutes. Hell, with that as your only stipulation Kyle Quincey ought to be promoted to defenseman of the world and play alongside Superman with the Incredible Hulk and Thor as a second pairing.
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As I mentioned in another thread, it's not Quincey's job to make Smith look good. Quincey is playing good hockey for us right now, and he stepped up huge for us last night against a VERY good hockey team. Last year when Quincey struggled, I didn't hear anyone saying that it was somehow Smith's job to make him look good, so where does this expectation come from? Good on Smith for having a good game last night, but that's no reason to throw the baby out with the bath water. As of right now he's our weakest defenseman and if he needs a rookie prospect as a partner to bring out the best in his game then he's got a very very very long way to go before we can say he's ready for a bigger role.