krsmith17

LOL Wings are working out in dark hallway outside of room while couple people hold flashlights... Morning skate is cancelled.

A big game for the birthday boy (yesterday), two goals for Tatar and a win. 5-2

Andersson is utterly useless. Get rid of him. Trade or waive him, I really don't care, just get him off the roster. Like I mentioned a couple weeks ago and was also being discussed in another thread by Jesusberg and number9, Andersson is our Emmerton of a couple years ago. Useless, but just filling a roster spot. Andersson will either be on a bottom feeder team or back in Sweden in a year or two, he has no place in this lineup...

I wish we would call up Callahan, and once Abdelkader is ready to come back, assuming everyone else is healthy, send Andersson down or trade him for a late round draft pick. Callahan has put in his time, and is still racking up points down in Grand Rapids. He is a definite upgrade over Andersson, and our 4th line would be much better with Callahan's speed, tenacity, grit, fore-checking, scoring touch, nose for the net... all things Andersson lacks.

Abdelkader will miss tomorrow's game vs the Panthers, with Andersson likely getting back in the lineup. Here are the lines the skated with today in practice... Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Franzen Nyquist - Sheahan - Tatar Jurco - Helm - Weiss Miller - Glendening - Andersson Cleary rotating in Ericsson - Kronwall DeKeyser - Quincey Smith - Kindl Lashoff rotating in Howard Mrazek

Well to be fair, Nyquist was considered to be more of a playmaker than a goal scorer when we drafted him and right through his years in NCAA. I have no idea what happened to him when he reached the pro level, especially the NHL, but I love it. He loves to shoot the puck and he's able to get himself in those high quality scoring areas because of his speed, stick handling, tenacity and hockey IQ. I think he has only scratched the surface of his potential in this league. Pulkkinen, was absolutely always considered a trigger man, and for good reason. He has a rocket shot and an unbelievably quick release. We have a ton of guys that love to shoot the puck, which is rare for us. It was always Zetterberg and Franzen, but I find they're starting to defer to other players a bit more than they have in the past as of late. We have Nyquist and Tatar that love the shoot, and we have Pulkkinen and Mantha on their way. It's pretty exciting to see what these kids are going to do in the next few seasons.

No Frank, $4.25M is not an overpayment for Quincey at all. Ehrhoff is supposed to be much better offensively and only has 1 goal and 7 assists in 23 games for the Pens. Quincey is better defensively in my opinion. Quincey is only making $0.25M more than Ehrhoff, who took a discount, to play in Pittsburgh with Crosby and Malkin so he could pad his stats on a one year deal to cash in next offseason. So far that isn't working our real well for him. Would I trade Quincey for Ehrhoff straight up? Absolutely. But to say that Quincey isn't earning his contract this season is just not right.

People really need to relax with this whole mentality that the grass is always greener on the other side. I much prefer Babcock's theory that the devil you know, is better than the devil you don't. As much as I want to get rid of Kindl, it's because I think there are better options within the organization, not because he has played god awful. He really isn't near as bad as many people make him out to be. I think a trade would be good for the team, as well as for Kindl. I think he could really flourish in another system, where he can play more of an offensive minded game. Also, regarding all the "upgrades" available over Quincey. I don't think any of them are really an upgrade, other than Yandle and Burns. The rest, I would take Quincey every time. Quincey is a very durable, reliable defenseman, and is well deserving of his current contract. He is a great middle pairing defenseman for us while we're waiting for some of our younger guys (DeKeyser / Smith) to take on bigger roles and our prospects (Ouellet, Sproul, Jensen, Marchenko) to mature and take the next step. kliq, Sproul hasn't played great this season but he is playing better than his point totals would suggest. I think he will start to produce a little more, hopefully after Christmas. He still has a ton of work to do, and definitely isn't ready for the big show yet, but I'm still confident he will be a big time player for us in a few years.

Yeah, just a couple short years ago he really was somewhat of a poor skater. It amazes me how much he has improved in that regard. You're right, his work ethic is outstanding, and it has paid dividends for his game today. I'm really excited to see his right handed bomb of a shot on the power-play next season. I think he has the potential to have a somewhat Tatar / Nyquist transition to the NHL next season. He is leading the league in points and he is only heating up now. I'm also very excited to see Callahan up with the Wings, hopefully by next season. He's having another unreal season with the Griffins and has a real nose for the net. He is probably the most versatile forward down in Grand Rapids. He scores in all sorts of ways, be it a wrist shot, slap shot, tip-in, dirty goal in front of the net, he plays power-play and is a great penalty killer. I think he will be a great addition to our forth line.

Euro_Twins, I don't care what logo a player wears now, Franson would look great on our blueline. Do I think we will land him? Not a chance, but I would love to have him here. He's exactly the type of defenseman this team needs, a big body that hits a ton, shot blocking machine, right handed shot, power-play quarterback. What's not to like? I'd include Ouellet in a deal for him without hesitation.

Yeah, I don't get this at all... I honestly don't think Kindl has been playing nearly as bad as a lot of people make it out to be, but there's no question that a third pairing of Ouellet - Smith is 100X better than Kindl - Smith. I do think Kindl has looked decent on the power-play but Smith or Ouellet could get the job done there as well if given the chance.

No one says you can't score on the 4th line, but ours doesn't very often because they are relied on more to shut down than to provide offense, and I'm quite okay with that. Draper, Maltby and McCarty did put up huge numbers that year, but that was the year we won our back to back Cups, and everything was clicking. It was also, like you said, a different time (pre-salary cap), a different coach, and different players. I'm not saying Jurco is leader material but he definitely is not a role player either, in the sense that he is a bottom six player. I've definitely seen enough out of him over the years to suggest he will absolutely be a top six forward. I've followed him closely since the day we drafted him, from Saint John to Grand Rapids, and he has dominated every level. If he were down in Grand Rapids this year, there is no doubt in my mind that he would be leading the league right now.

But that's my point, he won't be scoring on that forth line. There is no way Jurco will be consistently putting up points the way he should be on a line with Glendening and Miller. He scored in his first game on that line and I wouldn't be surprised if he did stick with them (which he most likely won't) if he went the next 5-10 games without a goal. Whereas he's confident and on a little hot streak, if he were put with Pav now, he could build off the past few games and really get rolling. I completely agree with the need for balanced scoring which is why I think my ideal lines are fairly balanced from top to bottom. Abdelkader and Glendening have had chemistry in the past and I think they would complement each other quite well, along with Miller. I think Weiss and Helm work well together, centered by Sheahan can be a really solid third line. I love the idea of Pav with the two kids, Jurco and Tats, who have obvious chemistry together. And then there's the top line of Zetterberg, Nyquist and Franzen who have great chemistry as well. Anyway, like I said, I doubt I will ever see those lines, and I certainly won't tonight... It looks like Mrazek will be getting the start tonight.

Absolutely, which is why I said earlier "hopefully Andersson (and Lashoff) remain out". I think Cleary is a huge upgrade over Andersson. Joakim provides nothing in my opinion, he is much like Cory Emmerton was for us for a couple years. Capable of eating minutes in a crunch for the time being but no real future in the NHL. I disagree 100% that Jurco needs to "get back to banging". He's third on the team in hits, behind our perennial leader, Abdelkader and Glendening. That's pretty damn good for the style he should be playing. That's exactly why he would do so well on Datsyuk's wing. He can bang like Abby does, but has much better hands to finish on all those opportunities. Jurco is starting to heat up, which is a great time to get him on a scoring line with Datsyuk and Tatar. Anyway, no worries. The lines are the exact same as last game. Nyquist - Zetterberg - Abdelkader Tatar - Sheahan - Franzen Helm - Datsyuk - Weiss Miller - Glendening - Jurco Kronwall - Ericsson Quincey - DeKeyser Ouellet - Kindl

Zombo, he scored in his one game that he has played in that role so far, that doesn't necessarily mean he will be "scoring". Our forth line, like any forth line, is expected to grind down the other team, be hard on the forecheck and just keep the puck out of our net. How much scoring is Jurco realistically going to do on a line with Glendening and Miller? Regardless, I don't see Babcock keeping him down there much longer, and for good reason. It's not his game, he should not be put in that role... Also, I absolutely think he needs more time in the minors, but I seem to be alone in thinking that, aside from one or two others on here... Joe, he absolutely gets ice time playing on the forth line but how much success can he be expected to have playing with Glendening and Miller?

Barnes, I'm not sure if that was in response to me, but I never said anything about Tatar - Sheahan - Jurco being our second line... Rolling 3 lines (I'd even go as far as to say 4) is the definition of depth up front, so which one of my top 3 lines isn't a capable line? I agree that Jurco probably isn't ready for a top 6 role in the NHL yet, which is why I've been advocating sending him back down to Grand Rapids for some more seasoning. I've been saying that since before this season even started. I disagree that he should be playing on the 4th line in a grinding role in the NHL.

If there are better options available to better your team, you do it. Datsyuk was just being eased in on the third line, you can't expect him to stay down there. Jurco was better than fine on the forth line, but he is not a forth liner. In my opinion, Jurco needs to be getting top six minutes in Detroit or top line minutes in Grand Rapids. He is a goal scorer, not a grinder, so he needs to be put in that type of role. I'd say I'd be surprised if those lines stick through another game but not much Babcock does anymore surprises me...

Barnes, I disagree. Despite their production, I don't think they played that well as a unit. They got some lucky breaks that resulted in some goals but it's not like they were giving the other team fits the entire game. I don't recall a single shift where they had the Flyers hemmed in the their zone for more than 20-30 seconds. The only thing I know for certain is that there is about a zero percent chance Babcock demotes Abdelkader to the 4th line, and probably rightfully so. I can't deny that he had played great, he really has, but I still think there are better options for our top 6 going forward.

Smith will not be back tonight, he will be evaluated on Sunday to determine whether or not he will be in the lineup for the afternoon game on Sunday against Vancouver. So I'm assuming it will be the same lineup tonight as Wednesday, (hopefully Andersson and Lashoff remain out...) but maybe some tweaks in the lines. I know we won our last game but I really hope he jumbles it up a little... I'd like to see something like this... (the same lines I've been clamoring for since the start of the season...) Nyquist - Zetterberg - Franzen Tatar - Datsyuk - Jurco Helm - Sheahan - Weiss Miller - Glendening - Abdelkader

He was until we took Larkin 15th overall in this years draft, but people already want to trade him away...

I'm not much of a GDT poster, I find it too distracting lol. I'll do my best though. 2-1 after 1. Mantha looked good in the couple shifts I seen, had a great chance on the PP, but it's going to be background now that the Wings game is on... Go Wings! Go Griffs!

I have both games on. 2-0 Griffins. Miele and Athanasiou. No points for Mantha yet...

I find it crazy how many people love these lines. My first thought was how awful they look... I'm not worried though, if they last the game first period, I would be surprised...

Yes Rich, I am accusing you of making up stats because the stat did not exist prior to the 2004 lockout. Did you track Shanahan's hits yourself prior to that?... I'm pretty sure that is enough to discredit your stats. If you can prove Shanahan "wasn't a banger" or that he "averaged less than 1 hit per game" throughout his career, by all means, prove it, otherwise it is a made up stat... I never once said that a power forward means fighting so I have no idea where you're getting that. You're the one that compared Mantha to Shanahan because of his fighting ability... Mantha is a power forward, Shanahan was one of the best power forwards of his era. I don't think it's fair to compare Mantha to Shanahan, especially for his fighting ability. Like has been said numerous times before, Mantha is closest to a Jeff Carter type player, and I've also heard James Neal floated around, but Shanahan? Not in my opinion...

Griffs play tomorrow night.