gcom007

And here he is to guest! I'm a big Eaves fan, especially at the price! This is a guy that I really hoped would fit in in due time and I hope he continues to improve and earns himself an extension. I feel like he's a guy who'd be a good Red Wing for a long time. He just seems to have a great attitude. He's a real hard worker and he's got some real descent skill. He's a guy who if given a couple years with this club could end up really breaking out and becoming a key guy. It's great that we picked him up at 25 too...in Red Wings world, that's pretty much your typical rookie year. Good time for a fresh start.

I'm very happy with Howard this season. I was one of the one's unsure that he'd have what it takes but I was also one who felt he deserved a chance to prove himself with some solid time at an NHL level. Thus far, he's really doing just that. My only concern is the possibility of pushing him too hard too early because he's looked good so far. I'd hate for him to have a couple bad games and start questioning himself again, not to mention what the media and fans will do with a young kid who slips up just a smidge. Any goalie is bound to hit a rough spot here and there, so I just hope we're not asking for it to happen sooner rather than later by playing him so much especially with a decimated team.

Datsyuk's proven his doubters wrong before. He'll do it again this season, no doubt about it.

If Lids plays a couple more years (likely) and Stuart signs a final, career-spanning extension before he leaves, he won't be too new. Plus he was a big part of our last Cup victory. Guys on the Cup-winning teams are family in Detroit and he made a big commitment signing the 4-year deal considering his family situation. Remember how everyone thought he was gone? Stuart's a guy who in many ways is easy to overlook as a Red Wing but he really has become and incredibly important part of this team. Again, by the time any letters for him are a possibility, "too new" shouldn't be an issue.

Great post. I absolutely agree. I think a real key is that he really is out there working hard not only in the games but apparently he's really putting in a lot of extra time in practice as well to get stronger. You can tell he's hungry to shoot and contribute and he hasn't had a lot of luck yet, but when you work that hard and you have as much skill as he does, it's bound to get going. I'm really pulling for him this year and I'm quite hopeful that he'll become a key part of this team down the stretch. Everyone deserves a shot at redemption, and there's no better place for a hockey player to find it than in Detroit if you ask me.

Not quite...

There was this other guy, Steve something, he was pretty quiet too... I don't know one way or the other to be honest, and I doubt it'll happen, but in any event I really like the way he challenges himself and steps up his game when it matters most. He's looked great most of this year and I remember him specifically calling himself out early on and since that day, you can tell he's out there working hard to elevate his game. I think it's more likely that he could inherit an "A" from Draper in a year. I'm not sold on Zetterberg as a captain though either...something about it doesn't quite sit right with me though I have no real logical reason as to why.

I think we're going to pull out a win here...good vibes from tonights win will carry over. Hoping Bertuzzi nets another...

CANNOT SAY IT ENOUGH!!! I'M ABSOLUTELY THRILLED AT BERTUZZI GETTING TWO GOALS TONIGHT. Man...he's been working hard this year, he's got skill...he just needs to get his heart back in it to play the game hard with confidence. I really think this guy's got potential to really surprise us as the year goes on. There's no better time for him to get going than now, we need the goals!!! Great to get the win. I gotta say, these regular season games are a lot more exciting this season and wins like this feel like those "six feet off the ground" playoff victories. Gotta love that...

I'm definitely liking Bert getting a couple goals in the last what, 3-4 games? Every little bit is going to help him. He's got enough skill to keep getting better as the season goes on. He could become a key contributor down the stretch...

Yeah, he sure helped us a lot at the start of the season.......how did that go for us? Oh yeah, we were terrible. He doesn't score goals and he's not the greatest play-maker on earth either especially if he doesn't have stars around him to help with the heavy lifting. Flip helps us defensively more than anything and we're not really struggling with stopping the other team from scoring. You do remember how after Flip went down this team finally got on a winning streak and started looking good for the first time this season, right? I'm not saying there's a correlation between the two, in that I'm not saying that Flip hurts us at all. I'm merely pointing out that he's not a game-changer. Flip even at his best isn't enough to put the team over the top. Despite all the praise he got in October, which I admit I think is a bit exaggerated, can anyone say that it really meant anything? Did it help us in the big picture? No, you can't, because we still looked lousy and lost a lot. Again, I'm not saying he hurts us at all, but he certainly hasn't nor do I believe he will help us as much as many like to think.

I'd rather not win the division to be honest. They'll still probably wind up 3rd when all is said and done and have to play a tougher team. I'd honestly rather be in 8th and take on San Jose.

I'm not expecting a huge impact from Flip or Williams. Flip doesn't score goals and Williams can't be counted on for consistency in that department. It won't hurt, but I just don't think it'll help much either. But Kronwall coming back will be HUGE for this team. In my mind, his injury is what's hurt this team the most so far. We were still looking like a team that could play with anyone even after Franzen, Flip and Williams went down, but we've struggled immensely since Kronwall's injury. That'll be huge... Franzen will be huge too, but that's still a ways off...

I don't like the way the goalie situation is going now. Not a fan of Howard getting so many starts here. Osgood doesn't need to be punished for anything and Howard doesn't need extra opportunities to lose the confidence he's been gaining. Osgood doesn't need to get stale on the bench and Howard doesn't need the extra pressure at this point as he's just getting his professional game together. I don't like it and I don't think it makes sense long-run. They need to get some balance going sooner rather than later or this could come back to haunt them. Osgood will likely be fine down the stretch as he's been through enough in his career, but for Howard, they're playing with fire. He's looked great and I couldn't be happier for him, but if he starts to slip up a bit, the enthusiasm can really backfire from every angle. You just can't rush this stuff, especially with goalies. It's not good for the head. Just ask Leino...

Did you miss how s***ty this team was for that part of the season???

This might mean something if it wasn't coming from someone who thinks Flip is a better than average player...

Oh yeah, forgot to answer this. I bring him in because I know how much you love reality checks when it comes to your favorite players.

Angry? Hardly. Don't mistake the mood of my berating posts for anger when in fact I am laughing at many of you. "Semi" is the key word in "semi-realistic" for certain when it comes to any prospects or young guys and your analysis. I appreciate the positivity in all honesty, however, I think it's necessary to balance positivity and enthusiasm with objectivity lest we set guys up to fail. That is my biggest problem with yours and countless others perspectives on these guys. For Leino, 3 goals and 5 assists in 27 games with mostly second-line minutes doesn't surprise me at all. I expected maybe 10 goals from him this year. I said I'd be floored and thrilled if he scored 15 goals. If not for Holland getting screwed in free agency and losing so many guys, no one in management would've put so much on him this season. Everything we've been doing since July 1st can be summarized is surviving. We're surviving an incredibly disappointing 7-game Stanley Cup loss. We're surviving our s***tiest off-season in years. We're surviving as we battle countless teams that have improved. We're surviving through countless injuries. Due to all of this "surviving," management has had no other choice but to expect too much from guys. The fans always do, but even management has been guilty of it this year. I really do feel that Holland definitely slipped up in this last off-season. He absolutely made mistakes and lost out on nearly every gamble he made. I'm not saying he sucks and should be crucified though, and I'm also not convinced that all of this "surviving" won't prove to be of great help to us as we do get stronger towards the end of the season and even into the next season. But in the meantime, it's most certainly made quite a mess of things lately. In regards to Flip, let's just say that all the Flip-love and more so the wild expectations that accompany those who love him frustrates me the same way the Osgood-hatred frustrated me last year. I don't see it as rational or objective at all. I really don't care what the management says about him either, especially this year. They can pump him up and hope all they want to, but they're throwing punches underwater. Hardest-Worker in October. Yay. Oh yeah, October was this teams s***tiest month. He hasn't even been in the lineup when the team has looked its best this season. Legace was a player of the month in October once too. We saw what that was worth down the stretch. I'll definitely say I'm even more bitter about Flip's contract at this point than I was before. I never liked it, but I hate it now. In my mind, he should've been traded so we could keep Hossa. Hossa is a game-changer, a superstar, and probably the most complete winger in the league and he probably would've signed with us for $5 million a season. But because we've got average players like Flip signed at $3 million, we have to let the opportunity pass. It's stupid if you ask me, more than ever in light of how the rest of the off-season went and how this season has gone. Flip's a responsible guy and a hard worker, but he's not a guy who's going to put a team over the top and keep them competitive on the worst of nights. Hossa had as many GOALS last year as Flip had points. You need GOALS to win. Even with our decimated team, we're still doing a pretty good job of keeping games close, but we're most certainly not scoring as many goals. A guy like Flip at $3 million does not address the needs of this team. Holland gambled wrong on him at that price to begin with, but he should have cut his losses when it came time to keep a guy like Hossa around at a bargain of a price. Hell, if Flip was simply signed for around $2 million, which is closer to what he's worth on this Red Wings team, then you've got an extra million to throw at Hossa that would've kept him in Detroit. It's a shame. But like I've said, if we're still struggling down the stretch, I would not be surprised at all to see Flip get traded. He's the only guy that makes sense to move if you need to do something bigger. We're not crippled by any means without him, he's got a heavier cap hit and he'd be most valuable on the market as other teams could better use a guy who's consistently steady in his own end without being a total slouch on offense. Right now, we need goals, plain and simple. Again, if we're not getting enough once we get guys back, I hope Holland swallows his pride and makes a move at the deadline. I don't care what anyone says, this is a still a great team with most of the pieces in place, but if we still aren't scoring enough to win as March approaches, we've got to make a move. If we can get the scoring going, this team has what it takes to win it all. No doubt about it.

I haven't looked at the game to game numbers, but it seems like scoring and winning has really taken a nose-dive since Kronwall went out. Considering that he's 5th on our team in points, 1st in defensive points and the fact that much of our offense starts with our defensemen, I think there might be some merit to the issue. Just breaking it down off the top of my head, neither of our goalies and the defense has looked really bad. We're not letting in a lot of goals. We've had Franzen, Flip and Williams go down and we still got things going and found a way to win games. But it really seems like we've struggled to score and win more than ever since Kronwall went down in the last couple weeks. It's interesting...

This is tragic. It's unbelievable how many guys keep going down. And what's hilarious to me in some ways is that Bert and Homer still seem pretty healthy thus far.

While I'm not one of the panicking minions, and I don't even really disagree with the general point, I still disagree with much of your reasoning. First, I don't think Osgood is having a "nightmare" season by any means. He's playing far, far better than he did last year. If you can't see the difference in the way he's playing apart from looking at stats, you shouldn't be commenting on the matter. There's absolutely NO COMPARISON to Osgood's play last year and this year. None whatsoever. He could play better, but he hasn't been bad and absolutely no where close to "nightmare" level. Second, I said it over the summer and you and others ripped on me: it's stupid to expect so much out of Leino in his ROOKIE YEAR!!!!!!!!! It's your own damn fault if Leino hasn't lived up to your expectations for him. That's what happens when you get overzealous about these young kids who haven't cut their teeth in the big leagues yet. Getting called up for a few games here and there and looking good doesn't mean s***. All you've got is adrenaline and a prayer; you just play and good things can happen. Similarily, the AHL doesn't mean s***. When you start out with the big club, have a legit rookie season and learn what it really takes to wake up everyday and deal with the pressure of contributing to a professional hockey club in the NHL, you're bound to hit some walls. You live, you learn. You gotta give guys time which is why I knew it to be utterly foolish to have such lofty expectations for Leino this year. Like I said, all that was bound to happen was him becoming the scapegoat, and that's exactly what's happened. "Leino is lazy and he sucks." It's pathetic. It's not Leino's fault that too many of you can't separate your "head in the clouds" hopes from reality. And on that note, our good buddy and your little obsession, Flip. Sorry, but as I've said, if we're relying on him to contribute heavily to scoring, we're screwed. Injured or not, if he's one of our best bets, we're in trouble. Notice though that we were looking much, much worse as a team before he went down and started playing better for awhile following his injury, going on a winning streak in fact. I am absolutely not suggesting a correlation so much as merely pointing out that he's not as important to this teams success as some like to think. I think losing Kronwall hurts us offensively more than losing Flip to be honest. Hell, I haven't looked at the numbers, but I'd like to see a comparison of our scoring before and after Kronwall went down. That seems to at the very least be the straw that really broke the camels back, and considering so much of our offense stems from our defense, it doesn't surprise me. I do know Kronwall was and probably still is our top producing defenseman this year and at the time at least he was one of our top point producers team-wide. I just looked: still our top scoring defenseman and fifth on our team in scoring overall. On top of that, as a defensemen he was putting up goals and assists at a stronger pace than Flip. Again, I think this teams been looking pretty lousy in the scoring department all year, but it's been abyssmal now since Kronwall went down. That hurts. I agree though that Bertuzzi's been playing fairly well all things considered. Howards improved and is finding somewhat of a stride lately. Holmstrom has played well but I'm not surprised as it's early on and that's what happens with him early on. Unfortunately, his offensive contributions will likely decrease as the season wears on his body. Call me a pessimist for suggesting it now and get back to me on the matter in April. Oh, Rafalski. He's not playing as well as the last couple years but he hasn't been near as bad as many have made him out to be. He's never been stellar on defense. People always act so surprised when he coughs up the puck or makes a slop play in our zone but he's been doing it for years. The guy can put up points though, and he's not doing the worst job in that department really. I think he'll improve his numbers, especially his goals, as the season goes on. No matter what, it was bound to be a tougher year. Truthfully though, there's a lot of upside to this team that's been far too overlooked. It's hard to watch now but it will get better as the season progresses and we get guys back. Franzen and Kronwall's returns will help the most without a doubt. I don't expect much to change in terms of scoring (and winning) before then. A trade now would be stupid to make though. I'm not worried down the stretch. So long as we don't fall too far behind (we haven't yet by any means), I have little doubt that we'll surge with a healthier team towards the end and at the very least get a 7th or 8th spot. And at that point, all bets are off for any team.

I said it before and I'll say it again: it was a mistake letting Hossa go. Flip should've been shipped off to clear room to make the Hossa deal sweet enough for him to stay. Y'all love hating on Hossa because he didn't have as great of a playoffs as some expected (even though he was dealing with injury issues on some level), but you're ignoring the fact that he's still one of the most talented wingers, and probably the most complete winger in the league. Even when we do get Franzen back, it's not like we're going to have a profoundly better situation than we have now. It'll certainly help, and I wouldn't say we're screwed by any means yet, but without a doubt in my mind, Hossa would've helped this team more than any other player in the mix down the stretch. I also have no doubt that Holland likely would've done more to keep him if he knew that he'd lose out on, well, EVERYBODY else he was trying to sign for the most part. It really is a shame, but I'm not really surprised that it's worked out like this. Oh yeah, I remember a thread I made where I got ripped up for suggesting we were in scoring trouble.......hmmmmm........

Sometimes I just don't know what to say...we certainly are not getting too many breaks these days...

WOW.

So you're talking about 95% of the posters here then, right???