Richdg

Are you really going to compare secondary assists to goals scored? really? ya tatar and nyquist are so great and such key parts of our team, we can't possibly trade them for a proven and young goal scorer. that would make no sense what so ever. Now I have that off of my chest for a while. Water under the bridge. Nothing can be done about it......at least for another 18 months.........

This just in. Quality players cost a lot! yes, all of the various RW news/rumors sites said that "Holland wasn't interested because he was concerned about his compete level". But then again you know this. You just don't want to admit that Ryan is a superior player to the 4 guys I mentioned combined! which I predicted before the season.

Compete level. wasn't that the excuse for not getting Ryan? Who btw has 5 goals in 8+ games, is 26, RHed, makes 5.2 million and has 1 year after this on his contract. Versus Alfie, Cleary, tatar, and Nyquist who combined have 2 goals and cost us about 8.5 million this year. I am not one that thinks Holland makes a lot of mistakes, but this is a big one. We are a scoring challenged team, and Ryan puts in 30+ every full year.

Nope. he has scored 30 or more goals one time in his now 10 year career. he 82 game average is about 26/27 goals. of course he doesn't play 82 games in a year.

No, we and he would be better to have his Junior season end early so he can get some games in at GR.

Pretty good to date. But this was mostly known before the season. Our "big" forwards are bad. Too old, too slow, always hurt, and don't produce. On the plus side, all of them are UFA's after this season. Time for Alfie, bert, Sammy, and cleary to walk. we still have 1 buyout left and it needs to be used on Franzen. he is freaking 33/34 now and it will never click. Time to move on from him and cut ties. as for the team as a whole, yes it is a lot like last year. when we score 3+ goals we are undefeated. When we score 2 goals or fewer we have a losing record. We have a good solid defense and a O that needs work.

Yes he is awesome. I thought before the season that there was a good chance that Kindl and dekeyser would be the top pair over Kronwall and E. Dekeyser has shown he is one of the best on the team. maybe the best defensively so far this season. If he ever gets to the 40+ point range offensively he will win many Norris Trophies. Future captain as well.

Yes having guys hurt sucks, but on D we don't have 8 over the hill Dman in the way of the young prospects. So the young guys will play. If they play well it could factor into deciding on which if any of the 2 UFA to resign after the year. Both Q and E are UFA and will cost us 8+ million to keep both-not worth it IMHO.

I know this isn't going to be a popular thing to say, but it wasn't a dirty hit. if you watch the replay, what part of Mccloud's body hits kronwall's head? It was his thigh. kronwall's head went sideways into the boards. That is why his ear is cut up. Now it is physically impossible for those 2 things to be true in a hit from behind. I understand the climate of sports today, and no one wants to see anyone get hurt. But players need to be more aware of where they are in todays game. Darren Elliott during the intermission break all but refused to call it a dirty hit, in fact he was far more focused on the other hit right behind the play on Glendenning. Mickey Redmond talks about this all the time. Players put themselves in dangerous positions far to much and are not allowed to protect themselves anymore. a bi-product of far to many rules in todays game. Now will McCloud get suspended? yes he will. it would have been a boarding call if Kronwall hadn't turned, so a dangerous play anyway.

You knew someone would get dinged up. Sooner or later.

When we get into waivers I get lost, don't have that much time on my hands. thanks for the correct answer. The last part of this is: helm has to play his 2 or 3 games, play well, and come out of those games 100%. yet to be seen if that can/does happen. Hope it does.

It changes every time a team makes a move, but 2nd or 4th, doesn't really matter.

Not sure he has to.

BTW the RW are the second oldest team in the NHL. But of course that isn't the point of this thread. I said before the season I thought we would start of well. Our speed and skill would be an advantage for the first 30-50 games. Our D is playing well-expected, our G's are playing well-expected, and we are struggling to score-also expected. At some point we need a second line to gel, which hasn't happened as of yet. But so far, so good. Enjoy it while it lasts!

This weekend could be interesting. if both are healthy we have to move a forward, but who and how are key. dumping any one of eaves, tootoo, or Sammy doesn't do much cap wise. None of course have any trade value. Best option would be for someone to get dinged up over the next 3 games and the problem gets solved for a couple of weeks. Outside the box thought, with Smith struggling and Lashoff playing well, maybe Smith goes down for a bit. Only keep 6 D on the roster for a week or 2. its not like GR is a long way away and a guy can't drive over in an afternoon. You only dress 6 D anyway. No not a long term thing, but for a week or 2 might work.

lets re-kindl the old rivalry and break their streak! yes misspelled on purpose.

mantha is on pace for 120 goals. That would be 3rd all time in the Q behind Super Mario and guy lafluer. Pretty damn good! I know Domi is better! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes the O will struggle. Not saying we will not have hot streaks, but we lack a couple key pieces up front.

0% chance of this happening. I understand that this is for fun, but the chances that all of our prospects 1. work out, 2. don't get traded, 3. leave as UFA's is completely unrealistic. No you can't project trades, FA signings, or future drafts. But there are other issues. Where is Kindl? He will only be 34 ish at this point and is developing nicely. Why would Abby who is playing RW now, switch back to LW and move the natural big time scorer mantha to RW? Makes no sense.

(the voice of Gary Thorn) Welcome to downtown Detroit for game 1 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals. The first of many in new Little Ceasers arena. This finals features the Western Conference champs Anahiem Ducks and the Eastern Conference champions Detroit Red Wings. now for the introductions. For the anahiem ducks....who cares...... Now for the Detroit Red Wings. Starting at LW, the season hits leader and penaty minutes leader, coming in at 6-5/235 pounds: Mike-The Left Bower-Mckee! At center, the regular season goal scoring leader measuring in at 6-3/210 pounds: Anthony-Crimson Death-Mantha! At RW, season totals of 25 goals and 150 penalty minutes, tilting the scales at 235, standing 6-5: Mike-The Right Bower-McCarron! At right defense, the current Norris Trophy winner, coming in at 6-4/215 pounds: Ryan-The Sniper-Sproul! On the Left D, The Captain. Standing in at 6-3/215: Danny-The Flying Dutchman-DeKeyser! In the crease, the grumpy old man. The league MVP: Jimmy Howard! Back to the present. Let the draft games begin! Some thoughts. 1. Of the lineup I just mentioned for the future, we already have 2/3's of it. Just need Mantha and McCarron in this years draft. 2. If we make the playoffs or not, we will most likely be picking bewtween 12th and 16th. Baring a major change between now and next weekend. 3. Most of the many many draft links have Mantha going between 12th and 22nd. Right were we will be picking. We need big tall goal scorers. Mantha is that player. he is 6-3/180ish, shoots lefthanded, and scored 50 goals this season as a leftwing. 4. We strongly need to add RHed shooters and size. McCarron is currently 6-5/227, RHed, and is from Detroit. Most of the sites have him going between 40 and 55. In other words, where we pick in the second round.maybe the 3rd, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Big American Forwards that can skate, score, and play physical go fast. Grabbing McCarron in the second might be more important than Mantha in the first. There are a few other options in the first that also fit the bill. but not so much in the second. 5. This is a deep draft. Lots of potential 20+ gola scoring power forwards available. The key to how good our draft is, may very well be the 3rd and 4th rounds. Who we get in these 2 rounds will be the deciding factor between a good draft and a great draft. More thoughts and ideas for the draft later.

There are several things being discussed here. 1. Stevie wants tougher penalties for fighting. never happen. 2. The RW were a much tougher team from 97-2005 than they are now. 3. In general more fans attend games for tough teams, at all levels. 4. RW attendance is hard to track over the last 10 years. The state of Michigan went into a recession in 2002 and has yet to come out of it. Detroit is broke and broken. Hockey tickets are very expensive. heck even in GR were we weathered the economic storms fairly well, the griffins have trouble filling the place, and they won the CC last year. The only time they sell out is on Fridays fro $ beer/dog night. yes watching the griffs play hockey is boring as hell. Muskegon has always been a better place to watch a game.

here is the study: Paul, R. J., Weinbach, A. P., & Robbins, D. (2013). American hockey league attendance: A study of fan preferences for fighting, team performance, and promotions. International Journal of Sport Finance, 8(1), 21-38. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/docview/1315183876?accountid=39473

The worse part of this equation is/was, we can't trade tatar/nyquist for Ryan because they are the future. yet 1 is in the minors, 1 is in the rafters and we sign Alfie/cleary for more money than Ryan makes. Now I have said before that I don't believe that tatar and nyquist will become stars. I see 40 point per year 3rd line guys. But I firmly believe that both should play every day and prove who/what they are every game.

It might take me a day or 2 to find this, but there was a 10 year long study in the minors from 95 through 2005 about what effects attendance more: fighting or winning. by a sizeable margin fighting had a bigger impact. teams that increased their fighting majors had a larger % of increase in attendance than teams that increased their winning %.

IIRC the average age of career goal scoring years is 23. Not points, nor best overall years etc.... but in terms of goal scoring, most players have their best years in their early 20's. they learn defense as they get older, bigger, stronger, etc..... So most of our top prospects have their best goal scoring years in the minors. that is but one part of the game true, but something to keep in mind.