Wings_Dynasty

Quincey, Sammy, and Cleary absolutely. Bert is needed. I did say size. Also Tatar, Nyquist, Shehan, Kindl, Smith, Andersson, Eaves, Miller, Abdelkader, Howard, Franzen, and Glendening. All of them should be considered to be moved. Don't care if they are considered the "future" or "loyal." Doesn't matter how loyal you are when you don't win. As far as I can see only Dats, Kronwall, Z, DeK, Helm, and Mrazek are untouchables who have regular playing time. Tootoo and Jurco haven't been given a chance to prove themselves. Tootoo should be on the roster right now instead of anyone on the 3rd and 4th lines. I don't care where the injuries come from. The daily grind against the Eastern teams is literally hurting the Wings. Dirty/accidental injuries aside, guys are being tossed around. When a star/regular goes down, invariably a 6'1" 200lb skilled youngster is called up. We need more monsters. We need future Prongers, Thorntons, Lucics, and Byfugliens in the system and on the roster. Byfuglien can be had. He isn't the best defenseman but he is healthy, jumps in on offense, can be a PP net front presence, and plays the body. One Wing who does all that? None. Kronwall comes closest but can't risk it because if he goes down the team is done. Call me a pessimist, demolitionist, or a deconstructionist, but if they miss the playoffs that should be the cue to rebuild. Nothing else to lose except fans.

I think that at this point management needs to seriously consider being heavy shoppers at the deadline. Drop the trash for whatever picks you can get and maybe even try to do some lateral moves to get rid of some skill guys for some heavies. The East is obviously eating this small, non-aggressive team alive and size is needed.

Is St. James looked upon with disdain? This is news to me. I usually go with Khan first and her second.

I was thinking small and injury prone. But sure. I want size and physicality. No thanks on Karlsson for sure and Subban is overrated. We already have Kronwall and Smith to be small and "offensive minded." I want DeK to run the PP in the future, Kindl to bring some more snarl (along with Smith if he is on the team) and Marchenko to be a big, skilled guy (kinda like Ericsson but better). We need a 6'4" 220lb+ guy back there smashing guys into the boards and clearing the crease. The only person who remotely fills that void on the current roster is Ericsson, and he is bad at it. Weber for size, skill, and physicality. Doughty for skill and aggression. Boychuk now that I think about it isn't a good fit, but McQuaid is.

Depends on the D-man and the role he plays. Jimmy for Subban or Karlsson. No thanks. We have enough defensemen like them. Jimmy for Weber/Doughty/Boychuk... yeah. I'll take that deal.

Wow. He shouldn't be on that team. I might even take Schneider over him on the team right now. What about Ben Bishop? Is he not a top goalie this year? He is a finalist for the Vezina at this point.

So, DeK on the top pair?

Difference is that if a ref saw the puck go into his jersey/pants and chose not to blow the whistle then it stands. He knows where the puck is he just can't see it. No one will ever know for sure why a whistle didn't get blown but watching the play makes me think that the ref with the best sightline had a good idea that it was wrapped up in Smith somewhere and no one wants to blow a whistle in OT with a potential scoring play still going on. If there was no intent and the puck goes in the net the goal counts.

According to MLive, if Helm is in then Tootoo is out. If Helm is out then Tootoo is in. Helm doesn't think he will be in.

Nope, not judging him based on that alone. I've seen in interviews that he is very tough with his players and expects a lot from them. I am assuming that (based on this one episode) that he is either: a. Not a between periods speech guy but a before and after game speech and speech at practice guy. b. Not talking with the cameras around But if all his between period coaching adjustments are this abrupt, then it could be an issue. I am not blaming him on all the losses. Injuries and roster adjustments are OBVIOUSLY an issue. That falls on Holland. But for anyone to suggest that there is no upgrade available ANYWHERE in the NHL just because he's won in the past... come on... And he has had it easier than a lot of coaches. He came into the Wings Org. with a Bowman-Holland-Devellano team practically built and running on all cylinders. And team Canada is even more of a baby-fed team. He had the players to win and won... on home ice. What's so special about that? Is Bowman a genius to Wings fans because he won the 2002 Cup? No, fixing the team in the early 90s and taking them to dominance is why he is a genius. Babs turns the team around and they win the Cup after dominating in the playoffs will show that he is the top coach in the NHL. Nothing less.

Quennville, Trotz, Ruff, Hitchcock, and Sutter all have more wins. Granted they have been in the league longer as head coaches but I think that your point was that wins=success? But his winning percentage under the Wings and his overall career is lower than 3 other coaches in both categories. So going by wins solely with the Wings and wins overall, he is not the best coach in the NHL. According to wins and time, Dan Bylsma is the top coach. And he has as many Cups. I could have won that medal with that team. Oh, it's overtime, who should I put on the ice? Oh, I guess those 5 future HoFs, then the next 5 future HoFs when the first 5 get tired. If he coached Libya to the gold then I would say, yes, no doubt, he is the best. I would say that Ron Wilson in coaching an underdog team to the finals and into OT against the far-and-away favorites was more impressive. The 2008 Cup and 2009 finals appearance were both impressive. And at the time it would be hard to argue that he wasn't the best coach in hockey. But right now??? Nah. Not when his coaching errors are so glaringly obvious and easily solved by other coaches in the Eastern conference. Granted, not all his fault. He has to work with what he is provided with. Holland's lapses in judgment and injuries do not allow him to roll with the team he wants. I think 24/7 is going to show more Babcock human errors that some seem to think don't exist. I saw a huge personality defect in the first episode. He walks into the locker room says some "hey let's pick it up out there" line and leaves. That's it? TO's coach at least draws on a board and illustrates what he is talking about. Cites specifics. Makes sure it is understood. Understood that the tradition of being a Red Wing keeps you at a higher standard. But, doesn't mean you get to improvise on the ice and hope that your overall team-talent will carry you every game. That's what I took off of the episode at least. See above.

This is something I am afraid to say I agree with. Unfortunately had Schenn come up bloody (even superficially) or been completely out Havlat-style then there would have been a suspension. Going over the video and not having seen the Shanny video explanation, I think it was a borderline charge (he built up speed, stopped skating to watch where the puck was, then accelerated again when Schenn took control) and the worst part was probably that he decided to do the make-contact-and-throw-arms-out check instead of hitting shoulder to shoulder (the 100% clean way of hitting).

Unfortunately there is a popular myth that Mike Babcock is the best coach in the league even though there is no evidence to support the claim. Just because he coaches the Canadian Olympic team he somehow is the best coach in hockey (that is the usual response). No one should ever have a safe job in sports. If you lose when you are expected to win (in the Wings case losing would be not making the playoffs) you should be replaced by someone who can do the job better or fix your mistakes. It is partially Ken Holland's fault. He signs the players, he negotiates with FA's and current dead weight players to keep them on the team and take roster spots away from guys like Eaves, Tootoo, Nyquist, and Jurco. When Ken Holland retires and is replaced with someone who doesn't have the same love for Babcock (looking at you Stevie) then he will be more likely to be fired (if he screws up). But for now, short of missing the playoffs, Babcock being fired isn't a likely scenario.

Hopefully he doesn't hit, fight anyone, or stick up for his teammates after they get run and make it apparent to Holland and Babcock that he is not what the Wings need right now. Goals Toots. That's what they expect of you. Not toughness. We have team toughness.* * note- ignore all injuries after reading that sentence.

IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!!!

So, we get to get some wins over the next couple weeks???

After watching it again I think I can man up and say... yes, you are still exaggerating. Yes, it looked accidental. May not have been accidental, but he was turning (which usually causes a leg to stick out), and trying to poke the puck away (which usually causes the stick to stick out). It looks like their skates connect and Marchand trips over Crosby's skate and stick. Probably should have been called a trip by the trailing ref. Nothing too menacing or underhanded, even if done deliberately. After the contact, Crosby skates to the bench for a line change. At this point he had been on the ice for an average amount of time. He made his way toward the bench but stopped short of going off because of the whistle from the Neil kneeing. He lingered for a moment then got off the ice, this occured during the scrum in the Pens zone but BEFORE Thornton grabbed Orpik. He got off the ice and was replaced by another player, THEN Thornton attacked Orpik. So, thanks for making me defend Crosby. Are you happy? I feel like Johnny Cochran.

If you think what Crosby did was dirty you need to re-evaluate your definition of dirty. I dislike Crosby as much as the next guy, but come on dude, he was playing the puck and tripped a guy. Let's not be the site that makes up s*** Crosby does when there is plenty he does that we don't have to exaggerate. You also need to look up what a slew-foot is. A good example is what Thornton did to Orpik before he started punching. I say it was as much of interference as what Kronwall got called for when he laid out Havlat. He anticipated the puck being touched by Eriksson and would have been a perfectly timed hit had he actually touched it. Thornton will be suspended because ESPN even covered it. Neil should actually get a similar suspension to Thornton since you could cleary see that he extended his leg to make contact with Marchand's head. As a side note, something that isn't actaully being talked about was how Thornton actually prevented Orpik's head from hitting the ice after he slew-footed him by holding onto his jersey. That doesn't excuse his actions, but it at least lets you know that he wasn't looking to "injure" him only "hurt" him once he got him down. Or it's just a coincidence. Weird logic, but I noticed it.

Hate both of them. Hopefully each are kicked out of the league. As for Orpik, meh... seen Kronwall do similar things (Havlat) and maybe he got off light with no Blackhawks doing what Thornton did.

Yeah, if we want more short-handed goals against.

Alright Weiss, your time is now. Get some ice time and make a better impression. I would like nothing more than to see him come off that anchor of a 4th line and get promoted up when we are 100% healthy again. I typically haven't tried to guess the scores lately but I think a little positive thinking is needed. Wings 3 (Weiss, Franzen, Kronwall) Flyers 2 (who cares)

If there was anytime for Weiss to step up it is now. More likely than not he will be off the Anchor line and will get some real minutes. A good 2 goal game would boost his confidence, but I'm sure a win with 18+min of playing time would help too.

Reasons the Wings signed Tootoo: 1. This game. So why isn't he called up for Bert/Sammy/anyone not producing offensively? No idea. We all know how the Sens played the last game. There is no reason to expect anything different Sunday night. They will run around, Neil will do his douchey thing, and there will be hacking and whacking all night. Hopefully the Wings will stand up for themselves a bit more instead of diving and failing on the PP.

Our powerplay will make the Sens wish they had never been born. Oh, and Cowen, his stats WILL pay for this.

At this point in the season considering injuries, cap/roster issues, and goalie flux I think that the main issue is a combination of chemistry and coaching. The lines have never been set long enough for players to work into parallel grooves (with the exception being the good stretch that Z-Dats-Bert had and the current 2nd line having some spark with Helm at center). The 3rd and 4th lines have been a shuffle and have not contributed to the offense. The defensive aspect is disappointing compared to last year but we are not controlling the puck as much. There is a higher ratio of dump and chase in this year's team. The coaching is an issue because of the roster/cap/injury issues. Babs can't set lines to get chemistry. I still am a little pissed that one Jimmy was cleared to play following his injury he was immediately put in, interrupting a winning streak with the hottest goalie at the moment.