kliq

I feel like if you ever saw Helm and Abby in public, you would great them in a similar fashion to Jerry Seinfeld greeting Newman lol. I voted Blashill, hes just not doing a good job with the talent he has. Number 2 is an exaggeration. I dont think the Ilitch's don't care. If anything the Tigers are in a much worse spot then the Wings. They have an aging roster that cant win now, with zero prospects in the minors because DD traded them all. If you wrote "Ownership doesn't grasp the post cap nature of the NHL", that I feel would have more merit and could get some votes.

2 years ago, fans were saying that the Sharks were done and they needed to re-build. Fans of the Pens just a year ago were saying that the team was in decline and changes needed to be made. Its so easy for fans to sit from afar and scream "hit the reset button". Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, more often it doesn't. I have watched the Detroit Lions "rebuild" for more then a decade, top 5 pick after top 5 pick that led to nothing as the team just got stuck in a negative/losing culture. Things appear better now (knock on wood) but how many years did we suffer disappointment after disappointment. Its funny as for years the criticism of the Lions was they had elite players in CJ, Suh, Stafford, but lacked balance and depth. I get why some fans of the Wings were saying "tank!", you see the Kings and the Hawks, and they become the template of how to turn your team around. The countless other teams that tried the same thing and failed (ie. Thrasher/Jets, Hurricanes, CBJ etc) are simply ignored. Havent the Blue Jackets been re-building since 2000? The reason why I get so annoyed when people whine and complain about Ken Holland is I try to think to myself, how would I react if I were in his shoes? If I had an owner in Mike Ilitch that was anti re-build (I think the DD/Tigers situation made that clear) and I did a re-build on the fly before that successfully that led to a cup, I cant see how I would do anything but. Alot you can say you would this, or you would do that, but if Mike Ilitch looks at you and says "make this team better THIS YEAR!" BS you would tell him no. Criticizing Holland becomes the easy and the lazy thing to do. If ownership wanted a complete re-build/tank job, it would be happening. GM's DO NOT have more power then ownership. With all that being said, do I think Holland is perfect? No. I didnt like any of the UFA signings this past off season (though Vanek has turned out well, props again Lefty lol). In retrospect, we probably should have have held onto Datsyuk, not signed Neilsen and drafted Chychrun. But hindsight is always 20/20, and we just couldn't pass up the chance of landing Stamkos, especially when experts were pointing at us a favourite. I still remember threads with people saying "If Holland cant trade Datsyuk's contract, fire him!!!!!!" Our last crop of talent (Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan, Glendenning, Smith, Sproul, XO, etc.) for the most part turned out to all be good secondary players and role players, unfortunately none became elite and under Blashill most have regressed to 3rd line level players or worse. Now the test becomes, what happens with the development of guys like Larkin, Mantha, AA, Mrazek, Svechnikov etc. We need these players to get to an elite level, or we need to pull a trade out our asse, or we need to hope to find some gems in the draft. Come the trade deadline, if we have not done a 180 from where we are right now, it would be a good idea to sell, I wouldn't trade everyone, but I would move some guys. Completely tearing things down to the extreme and going the route that some want to take could be a very very ugly road with no light at the end of the tunnel. Something a lot of people on here claim they can handle it, but based on the poll that was made and the freak outs about our decline, I don't think the majority of fans could take. Exactly right! More the reason that comparing this team to the Dead Wings era is hyperbole.

Being very bad, then being contenders for almost 20 years and winning 4 cups, then taking a downturn.....I think any sports fan would be ecstatic to have their team go through this. A true testament to what the Itlitch Family, Devellano, Holland, Bowman, Babs etc. have done for this franchise.

This is a really cool post greenrebellion! Its nice to see something that is not doom and gloom around here. My 4 teams are the Red Wings, Lions, Blue Jays, and Raptors and since 1991 (also 9 years old, and the first year I started following sports) no team has come close to giving me as much enjoyment as the Red Wings, its really not even close. They were contenders pretty much every single year between 1994 and 2011 give or take a year on both ends. Other then maybe the SA Spurs, what team can say that?

Would you if if you saw someone in the same position as you get fired for trading 2 players who were both expiring contracts?

Keep taking shots Dickie. When are you going to realize that this is a league of parity where there are a few great teams, then a s*** ton of average to below average teams. NOBODY has said this team is great this year, nobody has even really said they are good. The argument has always been they are average. Or is the word average to "rose colored" for you?

I'm sure you will misinterpret this post as me defending the Wings which it isn't. They are not playing well right now and I am not going to sugar coat that, but since when did ROW overtake Points as the ranking system in the NHL? ROW is a tiebreaker and nothing more. The Wings are 20th in the league right now in a 5 way tie, with tiebreaker they are 24th. You don't need to say they are "bottom 3" to make a point about their poor play, you know what get that accross...their poor play! All that does it make you sound over the top and hurts your credibility as a poster. Hyperbole just annoys people.

Out of curiosity Dickie......do you believe that no team should have have a down period? Or are you under the impression that a team should be a contender every year no exceptions?

In the latter rounds. I don't think I have ever heard anyone say that the Wings are great at drafting in the first round. With the exception of the past few years and Kronwall, our first round picks have not been the best, I dont think anyone is arguing that.

I like the first line as well. I still dont get why Lashoff is in, and I dont like that Miller is in over Jurco. Interesting to see how the 3rd line does, we need Helm back so Sheahan can drop down to the 4th.

Speaking of jersey's at the Wings game, does anyone know what happened to Mo Cheese?

I agree with the bold, I hate the treatment that Howard has received over the years. The jersey I wear to any game I go to is actually a Howard jersey.

There are also elite players on garbage teams, there is no rule of how many top players make a team bad, average or good. Please explain to a Colorado Avalanche fan how having a couple elite players automatically make you a good team, or Oilers fans pre McDavid. I am not saying that right here in 2016 we are a great team, I agree changes need to be made. I want to trade for a 1D as much as anyone, but I am realistic and see how hard that would be for any GM. My issue is when people are so over the top with their thinking. People are not "fanboys" if they still like this team, they are not "haters" if they dislike the direction. This team is not elite, this team is not garbage. We are an average team going through a rebuild and our kids have progressed at a slower rate then what our vets have regressed. Holland has signed some players to good contracts, some players to bad contracts. Its like some on here think you have to pick a side and you are either pro everything, or anti everything. That is not my way of thinking as I like to evaluate every decision without emotion for what it is.

This isnt any type of thinking on my part. "Are the Wings a Good Team" and "Do the Wings have a 0% chance at making the playoffs" are simply two different questions. If you are asking me my opinion on this teams, my answer will be the same as its been for months, unlike some I will not change my opinion after a 6 game winning streak, and I will not change my opinion after a bad stretch of games. I think we are an average team, but I believe we are playing right now like a basement team. If people want to say I am wearing "rose colored glasses" because I think think this team is average, lol go for it..

Are you under the impression that Columbus is a bad team? I'm not trying to sound like an ass here, but you do realize that teams can be good without having a media darling right? Columbus is 2 points out of being tied for #1 in the NHL Also, I was at the Joe tonight, and it was pretty full. Sure there were empty seats, but most were in the corporate sections, that means someone paid for them but never showed up. As long as the Wings are getting paid I dont think Ilitch cares that much if fans don't all show up to a random Tuesday night game against Arizona.

I'm a bit confused by your opinion on the goaltending situation Frank. You have been very clear about thinking this team is one of the worst in the NHL, and you have been very clear about your stance on the Wings tanking and doing a complete re-build. If that is your stance, why would you back the vet? Isn't your entire argument to get rid of all the vets and play the kids? Also, if Mrazek is playing worse right now, isn't that what you want? You want us to lose and get a better pick....right?

lol, who Dickie? I brought up that we were two points out in response to someone saying that we had a 0% chance of making the playoffs, but who is posting about us being 2 points out in the context of trying to create the narrative that we are a great team right now? Wearing rose colored glasses is one extreme, and wearing s*** stained glasses is the other extreme. Like always, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

This team needs to get better, but the whole "we can't get out of the first round argument" is looking at it the wrong way. We are not a team that is great in the regular season that struggles in the playoffs, we are a team that needs to improve overall and for that to happen our young players need to get to the next level. This is nothing against you chaps, this is something that is said all the time. The reason why we struggle to get out of the first round is because since Lidstrom left we are ALWAYS the lower seed playing a contender. We shouldn't beat TB or Boston in the first round. The fact that we took TB to gm.7 a couple years ago just shows you how well coached this team was. For us to do anything right now we need all of our players to be playing their best hockey which is not even close to happening.

I actually look at that the other way. We are only 2 points out with as bad as we have been playing at times, if we get our s*** together, you would think we would rise in the standings, not drop. I do agree that some changes are needed.

Say what you want about the roster, but almost every player on our team is playing closer to their floor then their ceiling. This is a coaching issue. With a better coach do I think we are contenders? No. Do I think we play better? Yes I do.

Sorry but I don't buy it. I cannot agree with the notion that the Wings have a 0% chance of making the playoffs when they are only 2 points out. You want to make the debate "Will the Wings make the playoffs or not", different story. But when the debate is do they have a 0% shot, I'm sorry but that's just hyperbole. I'm not trying to sit here and say that they are playing great or even good, I just came from the game tonight and that was one of the worst games I ever went to, but to act like you 100% know the future is just wrong. In the grand scheme of things, alot of things can happen between now and playoff time. Do I think they will make the playoffs if nothing changes...no. Do I think something will change...yes. The question is does whatever change they make cause an impact.

I'm not by any means going to argue that our team is great, but how do you come up with this when we are 2 points out?

I cant say I hate Glendening on 2nd line (not that I love it), if anything it balances out our lines a bit, but Lashoff in over Sproul really frustrates me. Is E injured? Or is he legit scratched?

If he had never suffered a single concussion, do you think he could have done it once?

I still remember when Ott scored 50 for the Spits lol.