shoobiedoobin

I think we view our prospects like someone viewing an abstract painting. We stare until we see something that isn't there. Just like we speculate about prospects so long positively that it gets boring or we start to feel too blindly homerish, or both, and we begin to look for perceived shortcomings. And we also compare them to current players and those players respective paths too much. Everyone develops differently. Some go the way of Hank, some go the way of Franzen, some go their own way.

Because there's ready, as in he could play, and there's ready as in, he's a year or two older, more mature, more experienced and polished. Ready has various stages. Our standards dictate we wait and we have the tools to do so. Other teams aren't as patient as we are and/or don't have the NHL roster to allow it. Brendan Smith was ready last year but that extra year will pay off that much more. Just like in a year we won't care that Nyquist wasn't up full time, we'll have our new toy then and we'll be happy.

We're online Wings fans, we'll just bash all of them.

It's not that simple. Sometimes guys who are ready aren't on the team. It's not just ready or not ready, just like guys who aren't ready sometimes play in the NHL too early. He could he play here-he already has. The team just probably feels like getting him 20-25 min in the AHL vs 5-8 here. Signing Sammy afforded us that opportunity to let him develop and use Sammy in a steady top 6 role since he knows how to handle it. Sometimes it's just that simple. We could shove every prospect onto the team the second they've hit the bare minimum requirement for "ready" and we could pay in the long run. We're trying to win now and later, too and the strategy has worked very well for a long time and there's no reason to stop, nothing is interfering or interrupting the formula. Lots of people have strong opinions on Nyquist because it's fun and makes for easier conversation but the sample size wasn't exactly large enough to indicate anything considering the circumstances.

Sammy, Bert and Kindl. 3 names a lot of people didn't want to see much of in the first place lol.

Nope. Just blank screens that will likely feed you the local feed of one of the teams right at game time. Occasionally they'll play a pregame show if it tunes into the same channel a half hour early but rarely.

Sometimes it's strategic to call a spade something else. Brian Burke is the type to call a spade and spade and it's one of his worst traits.

This, plus this is the type of team we are. We don't flip guys like trading cards, we take care of people and in turn players have a better opinion of us.

I read that we have interest in Bogosian. I wonder what they'd want for him. I wouldn't mind Bouwmeester if the deal was right and I think it could be. He's in the last year of his deal and there's nothing going around that he has a huge interest in staying. Calgary can't exactly be picky, he's more likely to walk in a few months for nothing. We can afford him for now and I don't think he's done enough to warrant a raise, even if Calgary's dead ass defensive system completely neutered his play style. The only negative I see aside from him potentially playing poorly (a risk you take with almost any player) is that he could walk from us in a few months too. But I kinda doubt he would. He's played on dysfunctional horrible teams his whole career. We not only make players feel more at home and more inclined to stay, but we could be his ticket to the postseason for the first time and years to come. If the asking price is right I'd risk it.

Stay injury free. Work hard. Those are the two biggest wild cards. And special teams. Outside of the PP and PK we were top ten in IIRC every relevant category and top 4 or 5 in a lot of categories involving outshooting opponents, winning after both scoring first and getting scored on first, etc. But we were bottom third in power play and penalty kill. If Renney can rectify this issue we shouldn't have much of a problem.

29-15-4 Good for 62 points. I think we'll be 4th place. Higher than the third seed but not winning the Central, so we drop to 4th. STL leads our division with a record of 32-14-2 for 66 points.

^Bingo. Every year we talk about a 9th or maybe even 10th seed team who was definitely playoff caliber (especially in the new NHL), but if we miss get ready for falling pieces of sky.

LOL I know you meant 2013 but this is even better. Like in 90 years we'll all have adamantium indestructible robot groins. Hasek will come out of retirement and at age 137 will be pretty damn good.

Back then you threw money at a problem. Nowadays you tank and throw draft picks at a problem. The cycle is getting predictable. Suck for a few years, acquire top end talent, be good for a few years. Then let someone else who sucked while you were good have a turn. I think there's a more exciting even solution somewhere in the middle. Don't allow teams to spend like maniacs but don't hold back a team that would like to spend more than a team who won't bother. I just wish this were possible.

Nah, I don't think I'm sorry for that. It's a legit suggestion and if you take offense to that it's because it's true. To think he'd get fired for missing the playoffs once is total forum doomsayer think.

Um, what name did I call this person?

We can. To me the two biggest factors in the postseason are luck and hard work. We control one of those things. Simple as that.

He also said they could be #1 in the conference. But that isn't sensationalist enough, right? He's right. The forced parity of the NHL has made it so that every semi-competent team is going to be a clone of every other semi-competent team give or take a guy here and there. Everyone has a chance. It's going to more than ever come down to who actually gives the most effort and I think he knows that. If you actually think Holland will get fired for missing the playoffs you need to get off of internet forums for awhile and check back into the real world.

Stop it with this silly rational thinking and sound logic. We need more panic! We need to assume Holland is in damage control mode and freaking out with doomsday predictions of no playoffs!

It's kinda funny how slow his windup is for his slapper when his wrist shot is quick as hell, and strong too. If you ask me, getting it to the net is priority #1. Shot power doesn't bother me, as long as it gets there with bodies around.

I'm in love with Nyquist

Same here. While Stuart was mentally checking out of Detroit around late Nov early Dec, E was stepping up and being the solid guy we needed. He was huge.

I too would like to congratulate John, without his steadfast leadership in the face of inevitable destruction, we never would've survived judgement day and defeated the machi- ....s***, wrong John. Way to go Rig, you were solid as hell last year.

We complain now but I wonder what the upcoming free agency period will look like when the first few big names hit July 1st without a contract. We don't want to overpay based on aspects other than results but if you don't, it seems nowadays like there's always a desperate GM who will. With the cap and this era of artificial parity and the no team left behind mentality if you don't overpay to keep your guys, you go thin and die. But the teams who overpay will grow fat and, well, die too from the same type of poor management just on the opposite end. GM in this league is tougher than we think when selling a player is tougher than ever since they know they can get a cash grab somewhere else. It used to be more about winning, now it's about everything else. What I know for sure is that the salary cap broke Lou.

He's looking forward to reporting to the Isles like I've been interested in & upbeat about every job I've ever applied for. Say what you gotta say...