krsmith17

Yeah, Frk definitely needs some kind of spark to get him going. I'm really surprised he hasn't been producing much, to be honest. He's not known to be the strongest skater, but has improved a LOT in that regard, and he has an amazing shot and pretty decent hands as well. I think (like many professional athletes) it definitely comes down to confidence with him. Once he pots a couple more goals, I think he will build off that and we'll start to see what he really can do. I've seen glimpses of that in some games but he tends to hold on to the puck for too long at times, and doesn't make the smart play. It's too bad that he's the first guy taken out of the lineup every time though. When Weiss went down for that game, he was taken out, when Mantha made his debut, he was taken out, when Nosek comes back, he will be taken out. I've seen a lot more promise from Frk, then I have from a couple other players. I really haven't been impressed with Mark Zengerle, and I think he should be the odd man out way more often than Frk, but that's just my opinion...

Unfortunately, I find there's very little coverage of the Griffins, outside of watching the games. I have a few different go-to sites that I read daily when it comes to the Wings but I haven't really found any decent coverage on the Griffins. griffinscentral.com is probably the best I've come across but I don't read it a whole lot.

Euro_Twins, Holland absolutely did want to sign some of those top end free agents this past summer, but the price for Holland was too high on a few of them. You can't argue that. You don't actually believe that all of those players were so dead set against signing with the Wings, that no matter how much money and term Holland threw at them, they just would not sign. He could have thrown more money and term their way and some of them would have signed here but that just isn't Kenny's style. He's a very cautious GM and that's one of the reasons he is the best in the business. Do you honestly think we over paid for Quincey? I said from the beginning, that I thought it was a pretty fair contract, maybe slight over payment but I think he is earning every dollar so far this season. There are not many defensemen around the league that are as dependable, durable, and just all around solid for the price of Quincey. People can hate on them all they want, but he has played great.

I heard Bob Kaser (the Griffins broadcaster) mention a few games ago that Nosek was extremely lucky that the injury was not much more severe. It could have potentially been career threatening, but he should be fine with some rehab, and is expected to be out for another 3-4 weeks. I agree, he was playing great hockey before the injury, so let's hope he gets back soon and picks up right where he left off.

Completely agree. Jurco needs more time developing in the minors for sure, and I think Pulkkinen has shown that he deserves another shot. I do think he could also use the rest of this season developing but I'd like to see what he can do with a few games playing in a top 6 role with Datsyuk feeding him the puck. I know it's probably not a popular opinion around here, but ideally for me, Weiss will come back and prove to be a solid top 6 contributor again, we can stay relatively healthy and all of Jurco, Pulkkinen and Mantha can spend the rest of this season down in Grand Rapids.

His offers may have been "pretty on par" but there was something that didn't work whether it was money or term. And like I said, I'm quite happy we didn't land most of those that signed the huge contracts this past offseason. Most all of the players that would have helped us were massively overpaid, and even the one's that are working out for their new teams, doesn't necessarily mean they would have worked out here. Our biggest need in the offseason was on the back end and you can easily argue that has been our strong point so far this season, and it's only going to get better from here. Once the young guys get more time under their belt and we inject another one or two of our top prospects over the next year or two, we will be very strong on the back end. I'd much rather the wait and see approach by Holland rather than the immediate gratification that most fans yearn for. That way is going to get you in a lot more trouble than the proven success of Holland and co. (see Paul Holmgren)

That's been repeated over and over again on here and I don't entirely believe in it. Sure, he tried to sign a few big name free agents last off season, but when the prices got to high, he got out, and rightfully so. A lot of these guys got massively overpaid and that's something this organization refuses to do, and I for one am quite okay with that. Holland doesn't want to get into a bidding war over a player with several other teams, only to handcuff the organization financially for years to come. He knows that there are a ton of guys within the organization that need to be resigned over the next couple seasons, some of which will be due for significant raises. Next year we have Nyquist and Smith who will be due for pretty decent raises, as well as Jurco who will be due for a moderate raise, and Andersson and Nestrasil too if they decide to stick with them. Then the following season we have Helm, Abdelkader, Sheahan and DeKeyser who will all get decent raises as well and Miller and Lashoff if they decide to keep them with the team going forward. All this, not even mentioning the ton of minor leaguers that will be due for raises. There is this huge misconception that none of these players want to play here, but that isn't true either. There are 29 other teams in the league and we're not always going to hit a home run in free agency. Players that choose to go elsewhere, most are doing so for personal reasons, the same personal reasons that landed us the highly coveted DeKeyser. But Holland doesn't get credit for that one because he's a hometown boy... ridiculous. Also, just one short season ago, we landed the two top UFA's, but that is forgotten because one was old and the other hasn't panned out yet. Despite his age, Alfredsson was one of the top free agent signings last year and he put up solid numbers, and helped the team make a 23rd straight playoff appearance. Weiss hasn't done anything yet, but there is still a lot of time for him to turn that around, and I truly believe he will. So no, the free agents don`t always go elsewhere...

I couldn't agree more zombo. Fans of all teams tend to be way too impatient with their prospects, but I hear it most on here, probably because people are getting fed up with our extremely patient general manager. Sure, Holland has made some questionable decisions over the years, but there is not a single GM in the league (past or present) that hasn't. The thing is, he makes a lot more great decisions than he does bad, and most of his great decisions are the trades and signings that he stays away from. We have one of the top prospect pools in the entire league, despite never picking in the top half of the draft for over two decades, thanks to our methodical GM. The team has a plan and direction and they don't stray from that. That plan is to continue to make the playoffs while at the same time build a contender. I am very confident that the plan is working perfectly and we will be a Cup contender once again, in 2 to 3 years. Achieving that without ever missing the playoffs and never being in position at the draft table to pick these "elite" players is damn impressive. Thanks Kenneth Mark Holland! You truly will go down as one of the all time greats, and maybe then you will get the recognition you deserve...

Another great performance by Mantha last night. He really is the complete package, let's just hope he can translate all that skill to an elite NHL talent. He's a massive guy and for his size, he can really move, definitely has underrated speed. He has unbelievable hands and has the knack to always win those puck battles. His best asset though is his shot and ability to find the open ice and finish on his chances. He is already being tightly checked in the minors so he is going to have to adjust a little if he's going to have the same success down there and then eventually in the NHL. He also shows a little grit at times, willing to go to the hard areas of the ice, and even stand up for his teammates. The NHL player he resembles the most in my opinion is a left handed Jeff Carter. I want to say that he'll be slightly better than Carter but that would probably be hugely biased on my part lol and I shouldn't get too ahead of myself... Mantha had a great goal last night, set up by Pulkkinen. Pulkkinen's play making ability definitely goes under the radar because of his ability to score goals with that incredible slap shot, but he is a really good set up guy as well. Also, I think his speed and defensive awareness go unnoticed a lot of the time as well. He is deceptively fast, probably because he has a somewhat awkward looking stride, and he's always back checking the opposition. As high as we all are on Mantha, it would not surprise me at all to see Pulkkinen get the first call-up, and rightfully so. He's put in his time and has been playing great for a lot longer than Mantha has been around. I also want to see Callahan get the call soon. He has been playing great hockey and would look so much better on that forth line wing, in place of Andersson, along side of Glendening and Miller.

I'm not sure if those of you that commented on the game actually watched the game or not but Mantha played great. It was his first game of pro hockey, no one was expecting him to have a 3 or 4 point night like he did regularly in junior. Every time he touched the puck he made things happen, he was dominant, despite not making it on the score sheet and registering only one shot on goal. The thing that impresses me the most is his size, and the fact that he uses that size to his advantage. He was a huge player in junior, but he was a boy amongst men down there, and he seemed reluctant to make those big hits. He sure wasn't last night, he laid a few great hits. There were a couple times when he had the puck, skating along the boards and he man-handled the opposition. There were two instances that I remember, in which he was double teamed by the Stars defenders in the offensive zone and he easily came away with the puck, he was winning every puck battle. Although he only registered the one shot, he did ring one off the post in the third, and it was sitting there in the crease but Pulkkinen couldn't get a stick on it to bury the rebound. He was on the ice for a goal for and a goal against but finished with a -1 because both goals came on the Griffins power-play. The Stars, Travis Morin scored a short-handed goal in the first, which actually came off a bad giveaway by Mantha, it was on his very first shift of the game, imagine the nerves he was feeling, but after that one giveaway he played unbelievable. He had the *third assist* on the Griffins first goal that came on the power-play to start the second period. All in all I was very impressed with his pro debut, and he is going to be a great player.

The only reason they made that switch was so Mrazek could get in another game down in Grand Rapids while Detroit were on that 4 day break. I doubt they will continue rotating them. We play every second night until December so Mrazek will stay up for this stretch for sure. He may even get a start, but that probably won't be until the back to back on December 6th/7th. My guess is he will get his first start of the season on December 7th in Carolina, unless something happens to Howard... *knocks on wood*

Sweetwater Tavern, I remember seeing that place and wanting to check it out but we ended up going to the Hard Rock Café instead... Don't get me wrong the Hard Rock is good and all, but I've been there a million times. I'll definitely have to take your word Kip and check out the Sweetwater Tavern next time, for sure.

As a fellow Newfie, I figured I'd chime in... I go down to the D every year to see a game or two and I usually stay at the Holiday Inn Express on Washington Boulevard. It's walking distance to the Joe, as well as Motor City Casino and HockeyTown Café. There is a great little bar in the hotel where you can go for a few pre game beverages and a bite to eat and there is also Cobo Joe's right along the way to the Joe, which has a great pre game atmosphere, always filled with Wings fans as well as the lowly opposition...

martinezsvsu, Get out while you can...

Lol I'll be watching the Griffins game live and then watch the PVR'd Wings game after and see them squeak out at hard fought, come from behind victory. Going to be a good night.

Weiss will continue practicing with the Wings for the next week and then play a game with Grand Rapids on November 22nd against Lake Erie Monsters in hopes to get back in the Wings lineup for the November 24th game against Ottawa. Let's hope this conditioning stint is more successful than the last...

Completely agree harold... Not to mention the obscene gestures aimed toward fans... Guy is af****** loser and no matter how talented he is, I wouldn't want him near the Red Wings.

I've wanted that line together since the beginning of the season. I think Jurco is actually pretty good defensively, he already has great chemistry with Tatar, and Datsyuk is the guy that could get his production jump started. Agree completely on Andersson, I was never on board with him, even when he was producing a little. He is a decent penalty killer but I don't think he would be missed all that much with Glendening, Miller, Abdelkader, Helm, Cleary, etc. He is a turnover machine, and is really struggling to make plays. I don't get why he is still on the roster. I want to see Cleary in the lineup mostly because I'm a huge Cleary fan, but also because he has looked great so far this season. If not Cleary, I would love to see Callahan called up again to see what he can do. I still believe he is going to be a great 4th liner for us as soon as he gets his shot. He is a great penalty killer down in the minors so I think he can definitely translate that to the pros.

Weiss isn't a healthy scratch, he is still on injured reserve. I'm sure he is getting beyond frustrated, but it's his lack of being able to stay healthy that he is frustrated with, nothing to do with not getting a shot. He should be ready to go soon enough. I expect him to be cleared to play over the next few days, then he will get sent down to Grand Rapids and play a game or two to continue his conditioning stint down there. Hopefully he will be in the lineup in a week from now...

I'd rather see him flip flop Abby with Tatar... and replace Andersson with Cleary...

Looks like Datsyuk is back tonight. Same lines they've been practicing with the past few days. Nyquist - Zetterberg - Franzen Abdelkader - Datsyuk - Jurco Tatar - Sheahan - Helm Miller - Glendening - Andersson

Well you know just as well as I do that the chances of all 5 of our top defense prospects making it are slim to none. Management have the next two seasons to decide which ones will make it, hopefully before the one's that don't make it, lose too much value. Then it's up to Holland to make a couple trades to offload some of these guys. Either way, I would have loved to have Van Riemsdyk in the system but it's not exactly where this team is lacking talent.

I get what you're saying but I don't get the issue with having more depth (assets). I think Van Riemsdyk is better or at least on par with any and all of our defensive prospects right now. If we landed Van Riemsdyk (or Morrison.....) then one of our other prospects becomes a trading chip, who could then be used in a package to get a top 6 winger. Never is too much depth a bad thing, unless of course, you don't do anything to make room for these guys and you lose them for nothing...

I use hockeystreams.com. It only costs about $10 a month, which isn't bad at all if you watch a lot of hockey. I watch all the Griffins games there, as well as a few games here and there of our other top prospects that are playing junior. I watched a lot of Mantha in Val d'Or and Athanasiou in Barrie last year and a lot of Jurco in Saint John, Frk in Halifax and Sproul in Sault Ste Marie a couple years ago. This year I've only watch a couple Guelph games to see Bertuzzi and one Owen Sound game to see Nastasiuk. Still worth it though, just for the Griffins games alone. Yeah, I think Athanasiou is going to be a beauty. I think Mrazek will be fine, he's just going through a little slump. He'll get his numbers back down over the next few months.

I don't necessarily want Myers but I'm also not one of the ones that are saying "stay far away". I do agree with you that he may flourish in a new system and I think he could be a decent fit in Detroit. Also, his right handed shot would be huge on the power-play. He's not my number one choice but he is a decent option. If it were Tatar and a first for Myers, like you said, you would have to consider it, and me personally, I would probably pull the trigger on that. However, if it were any of Nyquist, Mantha, Jurco, Sproul, Larkin and a first, I would have to say no.