krsmith17

Yup, the reason people are hyping Jurco is because he has unbelievable "tricks in a driveway"... or "tricks on YouTube"... It has absolutely nothing to do with his prominent skill level at every single level he's ever played at... Why are so many people fixated on him correcting the reporter on "at most", not "at least" 2 weeks. That's a fact. He WILL be down there for 2 weeks at MOST, even if he weren't producing. The fact that he is producing at a great clip, only betters his chance of finally another getting an opportunity to crack the Wings lineup...

My question is, why have you been highly critical of Jurco? Is it because he has never had consistent time in a top 9 role since he was recalled 2 years ago? The fact that he was asked to play a role (4th line grinder) that he never should have been put in? That he was rushed into the league unlike (m)any Red Wings prospects ever do. Or is that he is already 22 years old and if he's not a big time producer yet, he never will be?...

That's why I said "I'd like to see", not "I think we'll see"... I'm a bigger Pulkkinen fan than most here, but I'd still rather see Jurco in over him. I'd also be okay with bumping Richards down to the third line center, Sheahan down to the forth line center or wing, and Miller out, inserting Pulkkinen in the top 9 somewhere...

I agree, Richards looked really good for his first game back. I'd like to see something like... Nyquist - Zetterberg - Abdelkader Richards - Datsyuk - Larkin Tatar - Sheahan - Jurco Miller - Helm - Glendening

That was his second game back down there. He had one assist in his first game. 3 goals and 2 assists in 2 games. But it's obviously an issue with skill level, the kid just isn't that great at hockey. Please trade this soft euro before he gets a real shot to prove himself in the NHL...

Berzeench, you have become the Brendan Smith of LGW... You've made so many boneheaded plays (posts) that even when you make a good play (post) it goes unnoticed, and everyone on LGW are just waiting for you to do (say) anything so they can chew you up... Anyway, I agree with 100% here. Anyone that thinks Jurco has been given a fair shot since his rookie campaign when he was a staple on that third line, clearly haven't been paying attention. The kid has been in and out of the lineup more than anyone, and if he doesn't produce in one game he's out or bumped to the forth line. He's been on a shorter leash than any player on the team, when even when not producing provides much more than many on the team. Jurco is legit, and it's only a matter of time before he breaks into the league as a top 6 winger. This should be a huge confidence boost for him and he definitely needed it. Keep it going kid!

No, Jurco isn't good at hockey. Trade him...

It seems a lot of people have already written off Sproul, though I'm still a huge fan, and if he can develop his defensive game a little more, he can definitely be a top four in the NHL. I have only seen a handful of Griffins games so far this season but in every one I've seen Sproul has stood out in a good way, along with Ouellet and Jensen. I still rank all three of these guys ahead of Marchenko in regards to overall potential. Sproul leads all defensemen and is second on the team in points, with 6 (1 goal, 5 assists) in 11 games. Not bad for a team that has been struggling as bad as the Griffins so far this season... I agree number9. Richards is killing that team...

DRWD, I'm pretty confident you're not alone in never seeing him play in Grand Rapids. I'm also pretty confident that the ones that are so willing to give up on the kid at the first sign of struggle, are in the same boat as you. There's no question the guy was rushed into the league long before he was ready. Any kid can come in and look ready after a few weeks. At that point you're still running on adrenaline. Turn the page to a new season, and it was clear he should have spent all of last season down in GR. A lot of fans could see it, but for whatever reason, Babcock was adamant about keeping the kid in Detroit, and playing him on the 4th line... There is no situation where it is more beneficial for a skilled guy like Jurco to play 4th line grinder in the NHL over 1st line scorer in the AHL. It was a rare misuse of a top prospect by the organization and now Blashill is doing everything he can to get the kid back on track. Jurco has struggled, but not nearly as bad as some make it out to be. He had one "bad game" against Carolina, but the other three he looked good. He has one assist in 4 games, which isn't great, but not too bad for a player "struggling" as bad as he is. That's also one more point than two players (Andersson and Ferraro) he's been scratched in favor of, that have a combined zero points in 21 games. I still believe that there's more to it than Blash just sitting him every game as a healthy scratch. I think there must have been some sort of flare up in his back again and he's planning on getting him back into the lineup, starting with some conditioning in GR.

Here's our 5on5 CF% for the past 14 games. Things are obviously trending up. There's no question there was an adjustment period to get used to Blashill's system. Players are starting to figure it out and we're only going to continue to improve.

I feel bad for those of you that would prefer to "tank" than see their team make the playoffs every season. Nothing is guaranteed in tanking. Even finishing last overall doesn't guarantee the number one pick. And picking second or third doesn't guarantee a superstar. Sure it betters your chances but every year there are picks in the mid to late first that turn out to be better than someone in the top five. For every team that has tanked and has followed that up with success there are two or three teams that has tanked only to fail and have to do it all over again. I'll take the Red Wings way over any other team, but that's just my opinion...

How do some people not realize that we are in a rebuilding phase? We're staying competitive today while building a strong team for the future. We have made the playoffs every year for a quarter of a century. No team can replicate the same level of success, through two rebuilds without having to tank, transitioning from a free spending to salary cap league. This team has been middle of the pack for a few years now, but they are absolutely on the rise. Back on topic though, Kindl has looked very solid to start the season. Here's to hoping he can keep it up.

Agreed. And for the most part some of the most knowledgeable Red Wing fans out there. f*** HFb!

Obviously he deserves some blame when it is warranted, the problem is he gets blame, even when it's not. I'm not giving him a pass at all. I curse on him when he f***s up, but I don't see a goal against and then look to see if number 2 or 52 was on the ice just so I can have someone to place the blame like some people do... Yes, Kindl is looking much better and is getting some recognition. He is also 2 years older than Smith. Ericsson was a late bloomer and for a while there looked like a legit top 4 defenseman (still is in my opinion, despite what some others say). Kindl was a late bloomer and is finally looking like a legit defenseman. But yet, people act as if Smith is a complete bust at 26. He may never become anything more than a number 6 defenseman, however I still think and am holding out hope that he becomes a solid top 4 defenseman. He has looked great in stretches, when paired with Kronwall or DeKeyser. The kid definitely has it in him, whether or not he reaches his full potential is entirely up to himself.

Like I said, I just find it annoying as f*** that people go out of their way to place blame on certain players. It was just as annoying when people did the same thing with Quinceg a couple years ago. And that KFQ nickname, f***ing stupid... I don't care if people like Smith or not, but don't blame the guy for every mistake (warranted or not) when you let the same type play slide for another player. I think Andersson is absolute trash. But I don't look to place blame on him every time he is on the ice. Smith makes some bone headed plays but those are becoming fewer and further between than in the past. The kid is improving but he never will in the eyes of some. But whatever, this is LGW after all, where the Red Wings are the best team ever after a win and the worst team ever after a loss...

Haven't seen this posted yet... @AnsarKhanMLive: #redwings have assigned forward Tomas Jurco to Grand Rapids on conditioning assignment. I'm kind of surprised there haven't been more questions / concerns expressed by Red Wings reporters regarding the whole Jurco situation. I know he was having back issues a few weeks ago but was that still an ongoing thing? Is that why he's been scratched every game? I'm hoping that's the case, and he goes down to GR for the next couple weeks, rips s*** up and regains a little confidence and gets going up in Detroit. The kid has way too much skill to be sitting every game. There's no question that it's a confidence thing right now. Hopefully he gets back on track really soon.

Which is why I said "and/or". This isn't directed at you and only you. There are several people here that feel the need to b**** about certain players while not holding others to the same standard. Whether it's Smith vs DeKeyser or Howard vs Mrazek or Pulkkinen vs Tatar or whoever else... And thanks for proving my point. You "never really ever s*** on Ericsson", but yet s*** on Smith every chance you get... Ericsson leads the team in turnovers with a whopping 20, next closest being Kindl with 10 and Kronwall with 9. But you never s*** on the guy that leads the team in turnovers virtually every year? No favoritism there is there?... Why does Smith get more s***? Because he was a 1st round pick and Ericsson was a 7th? That doesn't make much sense to me. Because he's an offensive defenseman and Ericsson is a defensive defenseman? You would think you'd be harder on the guy that is actually supposed to be good at defense... Anyway, enough about this. Kindl has looked great, Marchenko has looked good, Ericsson has looked awful aside from a couple game stretch and DeKeyser (who is my favorite defenseman on the team) has looked very bad of late.

What's your point? Do you really think I'm trying to argue that Smith is better than Green or DeKeyser? Not even close. I'm saying that people on here (yourself included) like to look for mistakes by Smith and/or Ericsson, but turn a blind eye to the same or worse mistakes by DeKeyser and/or Green. Why not look at it objectively rather than subjectively? I think Andersson is by far the worst player we've had here in years, but if a goal is scored while he's on the ice, I'm not looking for any and every reason to blame the goal on him like people do with Smith and Ericsson. It's annoying as f***...

Unbelievable. Trying to defend Green on that play? If that was a certain other player (remove the 5 on Green's jersey) and people would be freaking out, calling it the worst defensive play of the year... The favoritism for some players and blind hate for others is ridiculous... Smith has made his fair share of boneheaded plays, but so has just about every other defenseman on this team, but yet some people go out of their way to point a finger at Smith or Ericsson, and defend some of the other defenseman... It's mind boggling that DeKeyser's name hasn't been dragged through the mud the past few games. He has made several terrrrible plays, but it goes unnoticed. But if you changed that 65 to 2 or 52, people would be calling for their heads...

Wideman is not a player that Calgary would be looking for a significant return on, he definitely wouldn't garner a top six 30 goal scoring winger. He's 5th on their depth chart, Giordano, Hamilton, Brodie and Russell are all ahead of him. He's also overpaid with one year left on his contract. I would think it would cost a mid level prospect and early to mid round draft pick...

Also... Khan - "Blashill said he liked seeing emotion Pulkkinen and Smith showed with flare-up during physical battle drill." It was nothing. Previous tweet was overblown...

I could be wrong, but isn't the NTC just for the first 4 years or something?

Tatar or Nyquist for Wideman? That is a joke right?

What's the difference? People look for reasons to ***** about certain players that they don't like, and turn a blind eye to mistakes by players they do like... Are you going to try to tell me that if Smith took that penalty last game that at least 5 people wouldn't have made some sort of negative comment about it in the GDT? Are you saying that if it were DeKeyser that Pulkkinen "went after", people would have had the same negative reaction toward DeKeyser? Not a chance... Smith had awful coverage on the second goal in that Dallas game, and people (rightfully so) pointed it out, but if it were LGW's golden boy, people would have shrugged it off... Whatever though, to each their own I guess...

Yup, Smith was definitely the cause of this... It's inconceivable to think that Pulkkinen may have been out of line here... Again, Smith gets s*** on when no other player in his situation would have. If Khan reported "tempers flared in practice as Pulkkinen went after DeKeyser...", no one would think twice about it. No way it was LGW's golden boy's fault... DeKeyser made two awful decisions with the puck in the last couple games. A terrible turnover against Dallas that lead to a grade A scoring chance, and against Washington he took a penalty for flipping the puck over the glass with 5 minutes left in a one goal game. If that were Smith, people would still be bitching about it. But no, it was DeKeyser, so there wasn't even a single mention of it in the GDT. I found that quite funny actually. We will hear about the dumba** play Smith made against Tampa in the playoffs last year for years to come, but if it were DeKeyser it would have been forgotten about instantly. Smith still makes a lot of boneheaded plays, no doubt, but he's not nearly as bad as some people make him out to be.