kickazz

Some good points made as to why he should be considered. My only concern is his tendency to do this to his teammates:

It's because Dekeyser doesn't break probably one of the easiest rules in the game. Don't swat the damn puck. My 5 year old nephew even knows that when he's on the bench. I mean did Smith actually forget there's 4 refs on ice and hundreds of cameras keeping an eye on every player.

He's the future Lidstrom. That's what they said. It's coming wait for it. Wait for it. You don't have to play the game at pro or high level to critically think/understand the concept of the game. Especially when there's 100s of players in the league you can compare performances with. Apples can be compared with apples, you don't need to be an apple to describe it. You just analyze it.

24 seasons in the playoffs, this was the most depressing way to enter. A crappy OT loss and fricking FLORIDA beats an original 6 and does us a favor. Jesus what's it coming to.

24 season ladies and gentleman. Congratz.

Do the red wings still clinch if they make it to OT and Boston loses?

If Weiss got scratched for turning over the puck on powerplay a month ago. Brendan Smith should get kicked out of the Joe next time he steps into it for that idiotic decision he made.

Time to start praying to Jesus, Yahweh, Allah, Brahman , whoever the hell you believe in. Screw you smith.

So Smith makes stupid mistakes both on AND off the ice. Good to know. " Future Lidstrom" they said.

Quoting my self as the Montreal game is going on. This is exactly what I mean when I say "match the grit" B. Smith has 5 hits on the night thus far, Helm has 4 and Hank Zetterberg has 3 registered hits. Very impressive. Don't need to be a high hitting team to be successful, only when necessary. Let's hope we win tonight.

Somewhat agree with you on this. Chicago style works because they have the players that can make it work. We used to make it work as well when Z and D were younger. Now we just get banged up on plays. Thing is, that's babcocks style of coaching. However i still think the Wings can be successful even without having high "hits" per game as long as they can play with decent finesse and puck possession OR at the very least match up the grit against the opponents (specifically if playing Montreal in the playoffs). Problem is, puck possession goes to hell when you have turn over machines like Big E etc. Guess what I'm saying is, while I agree with you that hitting is important, the Red Wings can make it work if they can reduce their turnovers, do better with puck possession and match up the grit when playing against hard hitting teams. Either that or use other teams grit to advantage in drawing penalties. Our 2008 cup winning team wasnt a very gritty team keep in mind. We had Aaron Downey but most of our team was finesse based.

Aye the Rangers imo would have it the worst against Detroit. It's Montreal, Tampa, and Boston who worry me more. If the wings can get past their own division, I believe their chances of going far is pretty good. I can see us putting up a damn good run in 7 games against Islanders, Pittsburgh, Capitals or Rangers. Even Tampa seems doable.

I'm interested to know the details of his "contusion" it could be pretty damn serious but I read somewhere he skated this morning? Hopefully he's able to return next season, those injuries could be career ending. Glad he's being cautious about it.

Drafted as LW. Listed as LW. Considered a LW when rated to "All-Star" line votes end of the year. Started being listed as C/LW after 2007 or so. I believe he was also ranked as top 10 left wings of all time in some magazine (can't seem to find source, read it a while ago). He's played center plenty of times but he started playing more center under Babcocks coaching because of his versatility and shutdown ability in his prime. Guy can play any position due to his hockey IQ. Basically he's been converted into a center under babcocks coaching. He put him with Dats last game and probably will stick to it to finish the season until Zetterberg can pick it up again and take over more defensive responsibilities and still be able to produce. Babs sort of did the same thing in 2013 lockout season. Every now and then Z needs a break from backchecking. But he's still the best shutdown forward when hes healthy imo. Save him for the playoffs I say. We'll need him doing his thing against Stamkos if we end up playing Tampa.

I think were jumping the gun with Z. Keep in mind that this is his first year after surgery. He may change his offseason routine coming off this season because obviously he wasn't very effective as he was in the past two. Also remember that Z actually did worse in the season before the 2013 lockout. Somewhere in 2014 season they asked him how he was doing so well and I believe he said something about changing his conditioning habits. So he's definitely aware of what he needs to change. Maybe he will after this season as well. Hard to judge a post surgery season imo. Hell I mean compare Datstyuks last season to this season, he's ppg is much better and he's played in many more games and is a year older. And many people had written him off due to his leg issue.

Z's always been a pretty below average skater even in his prime. I wouldn't read too much into his "puts his head down and skates as hard as he can on rushes, slowly". Often times people forget that Z is a natural left wing forced to play center. Babs got to put Z with D to get him going again. Z never been much of a goal scorer as a centermen. Most of his goals came playing on the wing with dats. I don't necessarily agree with some of the opinions of who is the "engine" and "heart and soul" of this team. I think it's undeniable that both Z and D are the heart and soul. 2013 and 2014 Z was carrying the team on his back more so that Pav was. Currently Pav is more effective and I give this year to him. Lets wait (and hope) till the playoffs and see if Z is truly kicked the bucket. Who knows? We might see playoff mode Z coming out and displaying his reserve energy.

Yes please. I need evidence and stats. Gimme.

Dam did my post really catch that much of your attention? I feel honored. But hey I actually prefer female dogs thankyou very much. You might know a thing or two about that.

Was just doing what people tend to do on these forums. Take words out of context and meaning and try to argue for the sake of arguing. Anyways, it was interesting to see different perspectives. You won't see me barking on about the comments made at the moment; right now the opinions are interesting to take in and analyze, not necessarily to fight against.

Heheheh. I'm sorry I just couldn't wait till someone got upset about that comment. U win! I shall now attend the 2 pages of entertainment you have started. Your statistical argument is flawed however if you aren't looking at chances created by Datsyuk whether or not it ended in a goal or quality of competition on being on first line vs. when he was with Sheahan. We need all the details! Show em! Now in reference to the first statement you made "Pavel hasn't been 'feeding' Tatar anything" You then stated Pav assisted on 6 of Tatar's goals. Didn't you just contradict the very first statement? I mean if he hasn't "fed" him ANYTHING like you said. Shouldnt the assists number be 0? I'm just working with your language here cause it seems kinda black and white.

Why not? If Tatar is allowed to play with one of the best center and get fed goals, Nyquist should have equal opportunity as well. He's still top 3 in goals on team..

In response to the topic of this thread: No.

Was thinking about it but Gus was hovering on 3rd line so thought that him surpassing Z and Pav cud be a stretch. Tat's been getting fed well by Pav so it seemed plausible. Now that Gus is back on Z's line there's a possibility he could start racking em up. Who knows.

I think it was because Nyquist was on a major cold streak and Z needed a winger to score goals. Although Abby ended up being the one producing instead of Cole as Babs wanted. Regardless a break from top line cud have helped Nyquist. Hopefully Z and goose stay together and do some good work.

I don't think it was a Babs factor. He's known to get fits of rages on team and whether or not it's effective is a hit or miss. I linked an article a few posts up. Z basically said they called a "players only" meeting and said "enough is enough". I also think Z "indirectly" called the team out publicly this past weekend. Makes sense if you think about it. A guy as calm and down to earth as Z calling out his team, the players probably realized sh*ts really got to change.