lwing

This is the real story.

Thank you. No team physician can rule out the long term risks here. Not sure what a "shroud of caring is" since I think most fans are genuinely concerned for his long term health, even if we arent all personal friends of Mule or anyone else. It's called being a halfway decent human being, even online.

Call me crazy, but I thought our play took a noticable dive in quality when he left. I think he was (and is) a good coach. Glad he is working for real hockey fans and not a bunch of fair weather fan brogrammer tech start up geeks!

I swear I read somewhere long ago he built it for 7 million. Darn real estate market hurts us all.

Trading Howard would be the kind of gutsy risk taking that has not been part of Detroit since... since forever. Trading Howard would be the kind of gutsy risk taking that has not been part of Detroit since... since forever.

At what point? In Detroit the point will far exceed any other standard of failure. For example I believe many Detroiters are only now acknowledging a problem with employment in the auto industry. Others are noticing that there may be an issue with vacant buildings. Who knows. Some time in 2034 Detroiters might acknowledge that casinos won't save the city!

Whether or not Detroit needs him Babcock needs to move on. Fresh start and with a GM that will give him the right pieces to build a true cup contender. Few sycophantic homers in Detroit can admit it but this is a sinking ship. Winter is coming.

"It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game" Yea, yea, that old line is supposed to be about sportsmanship, but maybe it can apply to hustle too. That was the most frustrating win I ever saw. A few players really showed up, but there is nothing to be proud of here as a team and if something doesn't change summer will be here very soon and Babcock will tell himself he can easily find a more willing team to coach.

Smith is always a wild card out there. He is just not that smart. What blew my mind is how he kept making excuses after the penalty when he gloved the puck. Anyone with half a brain would display no shortage of remorse and a willingness to get out and work their a$$ off to make up for the major screw up.

I'll leave the analysis to everyone else - me I'm just glad to see a little accountability here. Nobody on this team should see their job as a given, no matter what their age or salary. Way overdue.

They just had a special on the Roy move on the NHL network today. One commentator suggested it may have all been planned and that the trade to the Avs for a young French goalie was too quick and too convenient. He did sort of joke and say something like, "I sound like Oliver Stone here." P.S. What the heck is up with all the Asian girl ads on this site. Don't tell me guys here think they can dial up a perfect stunning Asian babe with a few clicks...

It's always something isn't it? I guess we just have darn rotten luck while teams like Chicago, LA and Boston have great luck in the post season the past few years. There is, of course, no strategy to any of it. It's all pure chance. Holland is perfect and it is fate and the universe that are keeping us down.

Franzen love/hate aside, his contract length demonstrates just another aspect of Holland being out of touch and lost on how to deal. Long term contracts for a Datsyuk, Zetterberg or Lidstrom are one thing, but not every fricking player needs to be kept in the "red wings family" for life. He always keeps existing players and rationalizes it by whining about how there is nobody out there to replace so and so. It is always some excuse, but under all that it's clear - he is clueless on having any instincts or skill for deal making and trading and lacks the balls to make any risky move that could really pay off. He's playing it safe, always, and we are paying for it. In short, Franzen is not the disease, he is the a symptom of a gutless risk averse GM who has been riding the coat tails of Yzerman, Lidstrom, Bowman, Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Babcock.

Back to back 4-0 SWEEPS baby!

Including in his own position.

Whatever, I leave the business end to you. I just want him gone.

I like Gus, but Mrazek will do something you rarely see on this team. He will make a high paid veteran (Howard) nervous and play for his job every night. We need more of this - hungry young guys who have their sights on taking away other people's jobs. It is good for the entire team and organization. Plus, I am certain Mrazek will be our starting goalie in a year or two at most. Howard can't compete with this kids attitude or skill. Mark my words.

I'd love to see him traded. Imagine him having to deal with a new team and coach who actually rides his a$$. I'll take that as justice. He'll be miserable and regretting his effort and commitment to this team until his number and career fade away to a collection of meaningless stats. Such a waste, but it's his fault above all others. He is not someone who reflects the work ethic of this team or city.

Don't forget Barb Stuart's contribution to blowing that game 7. How we wasn't run out of town for his bone headed penalty and play (goals 1 and 2) is beyond my comprehension.

I guess that would require a coach who actually shifts lines around vs just hoping things will magically change by themselves. :-) God, what is the mystery here? The genius of Bowman was his constant adapting. But Bowman was a chess player. Babcock plays checkers.

I think he played well and is, I think someone who will continue to play well, but to give up a promising prospect all to cover your a$$ and get a meaningless playoff appearance is foolish. It was ultimately a mismanagement decision, not a management decision.

How ironic. We end with too many men on the ice when all series we haven't had enough men on the ice.

Mercifully that will happen soon enough. In the mean time, let's all take a moment to say thank you Mr. Holland for building such an amazing team these past few years. Your genius and foresight amaze me. Your combination of crafty trades and signings of seasoned veterans plus your willingness to aggressively cultivate young skilled players is the reason we are here. Most of all, thank you for preparing so many years in advance for the retirement of #5. Without your wizard like vision of the future, we would be left today with a hollow D incapable of anchoring the Wings puck possession game. (note the EXTREME sarcasm).

You seem to get a hard time here, but I am not a homer wearing red tinted glasses kneeling at the altar of Holland is a Genius God Who Can Do No Wrong. I agree with many things you say. Kudos for staying tough with all the nasty playground crap you take here. As for Babcock, he has good qualities, but when it comes to line combinations and adaptability he is playing checkers when the game is chess. I'm not as frustrated with this game as most, because this game, this sloppy horrible embarrassing play, was long in the making and is the direct result of Holland having no plan, no strategy, no adaptability, no creativity, no resourcefulness and basically no clue for years. There is always some excuse on why we can't put together a team. He tried to buy a D, but that failed. What did he do after? Nothing. He doesn't know how to anything except pay for it, but those days are gone. Meanwhile I see plenty of other well developed teams like the one embarrassing us tonight. They all have the same cap and the same pool of players to choose from, so what's the deal? Holland is a house of cards. He has ridden the coat tails of our scouts, coaches, star players and an unlimited checking account pre cap. With all that (or most of it) gone, this is what he brings us. The kids deserve all the credit for making the playoofs, but they were thrown into all this by mistake, not by design, because there was NO design. Don't bother telling me about injuries. Of course Hank is a killer, but an entire team doesn't collapse to making minor league mistakes when the captain is down. Where are Cleary and Samuelsson tonight, Holland's big off season... what, I guess... re-acquisitions? Were those too mediocre has-beens his only option? Seriously, do you believe that? There was nothing else he could do, nobody else to pursue, trade, deal...? Oh wait, my mistake, there is Alfredsson bringing all that skill, experience and leadership to the ice this series. Yea, he was Holland's idea too. What a genius.

While one game isn't the end of the world, I don't see how anybody can be happy with the way the Wings played and were coached yesterday. It was a train wreck where discipline, effort and fundamentals were lacking everywhere. I can live with them losing a game or this series, but not playing like that. Calling out the Wings for an awful embarrassing showing does not make someone a fair weather fan.