Bill Berzeench

Lets pull this one out

Smith needs to sit. It's all his fault. Has nothing to do with a 4th line that doesn't scare anyone in any fashion, (6) power play specialist 180 lb euros that aren't fast, strong, or tough and don't score on the pp, and a 291st draft pick defensive conversion project playing in our 1B slot. It's all Smith's turnovers. He's the only guy that makes mistakes and doesn't play perfect 100 percent of the time. In all seriousness, I hope some of you anti-smith guys are seeing that it's only partially his fault when we lose and only partially his credit when we win. Team game.

How do we keep giving up pp goals with the mighty Drew Miller??

We, as in the whole team, or we, as in Brendan Smith?

Lgw

10 nhl ready defensemen with 7 of them 3rd pair quality is not a good thing. Quellet, Sproul, Jensen, Marchenko, Kindl, Smith, and Ericsson are all #5 / #6 / #7 guys. Why do we need 7 of those when we can only play 2? Where is the trade for a true 1A or a true 2A? What is Holland waiting for? Smith and Kindl's value to drop to where nobody wants them?

Holland's idiocy at work.

If Holland waits too long, Byfuglien will be gone. Better to act now.

Never saw much genius in Torts. Passion yes. Genius no.

Ericsson and Kindl could be inserted into this statement, and you wouldnt find many disagreements. Smith is the easy target. The problem is deeper than just Smith, though. Forwards that are outweighed by 30 lbs do not help a transition game, either. Nyquist, Pulkkinen, Tatar, Miller, Richards, Ferraro, etc. These guys aren't difficult to push around. That makes a big difference for a defenseman looking to advance the puck to the neutral zone. These guys should all be 200 lbs + by now. Over 5 or 6 guys, the 30 lb weight differential adds up to a whole extra player of weight. A lot more things are upgradeable for the Red Wings than just Brendan Smith. It's not like the team looked like the 85 Oilers against Montreal when they took him out. They looked just as bad, if not worse.

If Ericsson doesnt play lights out this road trip, I'd like to see Bladh give him a little time off, as well. Smith doesn't deserve permanent relegation. Goo GDT btw!!!

This made me laugh hard!! Smith and Kindl have gone thru many more phases. At least 2 romance rekindlings for each of these guys.

Good point. No. Would want at least 4 years out of him.

I agree. Cant teach what he has.

So we are slow in transition, but you dont like our best skating defenseman?

Agreed. I'd love to see Ericsson, Kindl, and Mantha for Byfuglien. We could use that guy in our 2A slot. 1A - DeKeyser Byfuglien - Kronwall Green - Quincey

Gonna need a roster move when Pavel is healthy.

He's our best player!!

Kip, you need to see the big picture. It's an easy connect the dots - bad defense leads to penalties, penalties lead to goals. Simple as that. If a team only scores power play goals against us, that doesn't necessarily equate to the defense playing well. Our defense looked like absolute crap against both Carolina and Montreal. Smith took the scapegoat duties, but all 7 of them looked piss poor over the weekend. Consistent outnumbered attacks, consistent turnovers, and a total lack of swagger/confidence. It was pretty noticeable.

The forwards are weak. That's a big issue against teams with more size than us. Relying on scoring 4 pp goals is not a good strategy. This team needs to get bigger.

Maybe it's Ericsson, but that pairing has looked terrible so far this year. They are getting beat consistently.

I'm with you on the defense NOT being fine. I want to wait 20-30 games, though, because I always panic after the first few losses. Gotta give the team some time to gel and find their groove.

Case in point - Drew Miller. Everyone says he's the best pk man on the planet, he's the best 4th line grinder alive, and he cannot be replaced by a younger, faster, heavier, more talented player (Athanasiou). Why? Who knows. The stats show that Drew Miller is not producing offensively, doesn't throw any monster hits, and our pk is nothing special. But people would send Larkin down to GR before Drew Miller. Say how awesome Drew Miller is, and it becomes true. Stats don't matter.

Here's how i see the D: __________(1A) - DeKeyser (1B) __________(1B) - Kronwall (2B) Green (3A) - Quincey (3B) Smith, Ericsson, Kindl, Marchenko, Ouellet, Jenson, Sproul - all 4A guys to fill in for injuries. If we want a shut down, legit Defense, we gotta cough up some prospects and roster players to land the 1A and 2A guys. Shea Weber will not come cheap. Larkin will be the starting point for a 1A discussion. So I think a system evaluation/change may be the better way to go. We are putting a lot of expectations and pressure on the defense.

True. Drew Miller had a very poor game.