kipwinger

Well, I don't know alot about the guy but one thing that sticks out to me (aside from his skill level) is that he's always attacking the net. He drives the lane and forces to d-men and goalies to deal with him, which generally has a lot of residual benefits like rebounds, open linemates, collapsed coverage, etc. Conversely, he's not real big, and that style of play typically wears on littler guys like Weiss.

Aside from the first win over St. Louis, the good game against Chicago, and the subsequent win over Dallas, every other win we have was largely the result of huge individual efforts. Thank god we've got a couple of guys who can win a game all by themselves because if not, we'd be in real bad shape right about now.

Back on topic... 1. Jurco or Frk. One has an insane skill set, and the other has a cannon for a shot. 2. Richard Nedomlel. I always think that defensemen who can hit, fight, and block shots will succeed in the NHL. Plus it should be readily apparent that I have a huge boner for stay at home defensemen. 3. Teemu Pulkkinen. He's undersized and doesn't skate well. Which is too bad, what a waste of an amazing slapshot.

I was actually thinking about starting a thread about this, but I guess I'll just do it here. I wanted to know who people thought was better, all things considered: Datsyuk or Zetterberg? While I'll readily admit that Datsyuk is the more skilled player, I still think Zetterberg is the better player overall. He draws the tougher defensive matchups, he hangs on to the puck better when pressured, brings more intensity night in and night out, is a noticeably better penalty killer, and consistently puts up similar or better offensive numbers. Plus, he'll actually shoot the puck without being forced to at gunpoint. Anyone else care to chime in?

Nice play. It should be on ESPN web gems. Nothing is sweeter than watching an incredible individual play. Except maybe winning a game that you ought to. Maybe that's better. But good on Pavel... Now I'm off to watch Michael Vick highlights, because watching one guy do amazing s*** while his team loses is my very favorite hobby.

If we can get Brad Stuart for a 2nd and a 4th, then I believe there's always a way to upgrade your defense. May not be a superstar, but the right guy in the right role could seriously help us. Honestly off the top of my head I believe any one of Robyn Regehr, Henrik Tallinder, Anton Volchenkov, or Mark Stuart could be had, and all would be a help. Of course only one of Volchenkov or Tallinder, but not both...clearly. I agree we're thin in terms of trade bait, but it's not like there's simply nothing to be done.

I'm going to be seriously pissed if I don't wake up tomorrow to a "Wings rumored to be in trade talks with team X about player Y" headline on the hockey sites. This is killing me. I know that there are injuries and that it makes a world of difference, but considering there's no timetable for Helm or Bert or (presumably) now Sammy, and every game we lose puts us more and more in a hole, we better do something to stop this skid. They could start by getting a defenseman who isn't a mediocre hack from St. Louis, or San Jose, or Colorado, or whatever other gutter we've been picking up "retreads" out of. The season doesn't have to be over, but if they don't get some quality personnel in the lineup, and we keep waiting for Babs' pipedreams (Flip the shooter, Abby the third liner, Ericsson the top pair d-man, Cleary the useful hockey player) to come true we'll be out of playoff contention permanently. It doesn't have to be a blockbuster, but there are moves than can help this team. Make them!

Anybody else think we have so many injuries because teams take it to us night after night after night?

haha, is the word tragecomedy?

According to the Ottawa Sun, the Avs are reportedly interested in trading Ryan O'Reilly's contract rights for a "young forward and a second round pick". Supposedly O'Reilly wants to sign for between 3-4 million per season, but there's no mention on how long he's looking for. Nyquist + 2nd for O'Reilly? Done. http://www.thefourthperiod.com/news/col130127.html

I have been discussing the Wings "problems" for a couple days now with various other hockey people and I've come to several conclusions. Essentially, I believe that the Wings have two types of problems, legitimate ones and illegitimate ones. Illegitimate problems are those stemming from the injury bug basically. Not scoring goals when down, special teams, and an over worked goalie are illegitimate problems. By that I mean they'll be fixed as guys get healthy. Legitimate problems are those that cannot be addressed using the "wait and see" approach. First, I think we need a top pair shutdown defenseman. Kronwall plays better when he's got a reliable, defensively responsible, partner. Plus, while Ericsson is playing good this year, but I don't think anyone can tell me that they wouldn't rather have him as the shutdown guy on the second pair. One top pair shutdown guy would go a long way toward solidifying the defense corps as you'd have Kronwall-Player X, Smith-Ericsson, White/Kindl/Quincey-Lashoff/Huskins/Colaiacovo. Next legitimate problem (IMO), Babcock needs to find line combos that work and stick with them. I know that this one dovetails with the injuries, but here I'm talking more about identifying deserving players and matching them with complimentary players in order to maximize effectiveness across the line. If Tatar is playing good, then leave him in, but make sure that you put him with guys that compliment his play. Same for the top lines. As I've stated before, You aren't maximizing anyone's game by sticking them with guys with similar skill sets, or asking players to be something they aren't. Don't rest your success on whether or not Valtteri Filppula will somehow decide to start shooting more because he probably won't. Put Flip with a guy who does shoot a lot and you're maximizing his skill set. Essentially, let players play the games that are in their wheelhouse. Remember when Babs put Datsyuk on the wing at the beginning of the season? That's what I"m talking about. Don't do stuff like that. A healthy roster will fix a lot. The addition of a big minute, shutdown defender (who cares if he can score or not) will fix a lot more. And finally, Babs' coming to terms with the roster he has, and not the one he wishes he had, will do the rest. We're not in bad shape.

Well that was embarrassing. I'd give my left leg to have our entire team play together with the lineup we projected to have at the start of the season.

How is it possible that a Red Wings team can have a powerplay that is this bad? Ugh.

I think he plays a little more North/South than Nyquist does, and he clearly doesn't have a problem with shooting.

Tatar is really playing well, anyone else more impressed with him at the NHL level than Nyquist?

Your either/or reasoning is remarkable. Thanks for playing. Ideally I'd like to see Brunner-Datsyuk-Cleary. Flip-Zetterberg-Tatar. Then both lines would have more balanced scoring. Obviously when Bert and Franzen are healthy neither Cleary nor Tatar would be in the top six. But yes if the only choices were Nyquist OR Cleary then you're right, Nyquist would be better. Thankfully, those aren't the only two choices.

The world has never seen the kind of stick handling and passing that a line with those three would put together. Their zone entries would be a thing of art, their jaw dropping toe drags a gift from the heavens themselves. It would be as if Marty St. Louis was cloned twice and unlike the movie Multiplicity, neither of the clones would be semi-retarded, and they would pass and pass so fluidly that one might be tricked into thinking that the Datsyuk-Flip-Nyquist line had somehow melded with the winds and waves of the earth into one big flowing hockey life cycle. It would be the most brilliantly skilled line to never score a goal in the National Hockey league, of course.

Seriously, the Free Press wrote the story two days ago and not a single other news source around the state ran with the story. I'm not saying that it didn't happen, I'm saying that it's probably less serious than they made it sound, which is probably why nobody else paid attention to it. Plus, Bert is a mad mo fo, so he'll tough it out.

All this is over reaction anyway. I'm calling it now, Big Bert will be back and badder than ever no later than two weeks from now.

You can't squeeze blood from a stone. Abby is a grinder and that's all he ever will be. Nothing wrong with that. Also, nothing particularly spectacular about that either.

I think he's top six material, and I don't think we need any more shooters. I just think we shouldn't put all the pass first guys on one line, and all that shooters on the other. Last year Zetterberg had 265 shots on goal, Franzen had 211, and Brunner is keeping pace with both of them so obviously he shoots a lot. However last year Datsyuk shot 167 times, Flip shot (career high) 144 times, and Bert shot 118 times. Why in the hell you'd lump them together the way they are now blows my mind.

The scoring slump did come, just not on that line, two of the three members of the first line aren't producing for s***. Zetterberg's production would remain consistent with Flip as history has shown, Brunner's would increase or stay the same as he'd be playing with Pav. And Flip, Dats, (and maybe Bert) would see an increase in production because they would finally be playing with guys that can finish instead of the three of them just passing back and forth every shift. Think about this, you know all those times Bert hangs on to the puck down low, fights off a defender draped all over his back, and passes out into the slot to make a play? Wouldn't it be nice if the guy he passed it to (Brunner) would actually bury it? Same with Dats, he's the best playmaker in the world, and neither of his wingers can finish. Now imagine if Flip carried the puck into the zone like he's good at, and he could pass to one of either Franzen or Zetterberg, both of whom can finish. Now his production increases as well. I understand what you're saying about Brunner and Z, I really do. But it's not like Brunner would be playing with nobodies, he's be playing with the best passer in the world and a power forward that clears space and distributes the puck well, both of them need a shooter to be more effective. And Brunner could be that shooter (Flip sure isn't). Also, it's not like Z and Flip haven't shown chemistry in the past either. Why is the Brunner/Zetterberg chemistry any more important than the Flip/Z chemistry, especially when you consider one maintains the status quo while the other potentially gets a guy going who is currently underperfoming. I know he played wing, and that wingers production is usually higher in our system. But look where the additional production came from. It wasn't goals, it was assists. When Flip played on a line with a guy that shoots and finishes well (Zetterberg) his assists doubled, while his goals only increased marginally. Flip is a pass first guy, so putting him with other pass first guys (Pav and Bert) doesn't play to his strengths. Put him with guys that love to shoot, and his production will increase. No brainer.

Thank you, I've been saying this for weeks now. The reason Flip was so good last year is because he played with a finishing center in Zetterberg. Flip had six more goals last year than the year before, but he had 20 more assists. Why the minimal difference in goals and the huge differential in assists? Because he was playing with two guys that liked to shoot. When you put him on a line with Dats and Bert there are not any finishers on the whole line. Tell me why the three guys with the most shots on goal are all on the same line? And the three top sixers who shoot the least are on the same line? Put Flip with Zetterberg and Franzen, and Brunner with Datsyuk and Bert and watch Flip come alive, with no noticeable dropoff in play from Brunner. Babs drives me ******* nuts with these line combos sometimes. Edit: In the name of accuracy I have to stand corrected, Flip, Dats, and Franzen all have similar shot totals (28-27-28). Brunner and Zetterberg are way ahead (43-45). Bert is way behind (10). I still stand behind my point.

My biggest problem with Babcock is that he believes that with just the right type of reshuffling/juggling/will power, ANY player can be effective in pretty much ANY role. And once he's got that in his head, he refuses to let observable evidence stand in the way. Babcock: Johan Franzen can be a top flight winger if he'd just try harder. Reality: Franzen is a good complimentary scorer as proven by the fact that his best years were when Zetterberg and Hossa were the dominant wingers. Babcock: Abdelkader can be a third line scoring winger if given some time and consistent line mates. Reality: He'll never ever produce points at the NHL level, and is best in a banging and crashing role. Both Eaves and Miller are better scorers at the NHL level while still maintaining defensive responsibility. Babcock: Filppula can be an effective winger in the NHL if he would only shoot more. Reality: Filppula still won't shoot, even as a winger, and he had a career year last season because he was paired with a shooting center. Few of Flip's goals last season were the result of his shooting more, most were the result of rebounds, breakaways, or odd man rushes. But still, I wouldn't fire Babs. He just irritates the hell out of me sometimes.

I take the same position with Babs as I do with Leyland. They are both good coaches, they both do a ton of s*** that pisses me off, but there's no point in moving them out if there isn't someone better who's available at the time. I was all for letting Leyland walk last year when Terry Francona was still available, once he was off the market there was nobody better, so why not stick with Jim. Same with Babs.