gcom007

Well, aside from the 20 minutes so far today, I'd say our ability to find the back of the net is the only reason we're winning lately. How many games have we won where we've had to score 4-5 goals or more lately? Scoring is NOT our issue right now, though goaltending isn't horrible either. Howard's not playing nearly as well as last year (though not horrible either) and the defense is playing as inconsistently as they have since Mclellan left. Simple as that. Edit: Just note the December game log if you don't recall: http://redwings.nhl.com/club/schedule.htm

Even his most devoted fans aren't quick to praise his shot. If he shot more with that mediocre shot of his, he'd have a far worse shooting percentage. On top of that, oftentimes when he does shoot the goalie easily swallows it up, hence why I think he doesn't shoot as much. If you habitually hit the crest and fail to generate rebound chances on your shots, you're all the less likely to shoot. He's not a sniper in any way, shape or form, plain and simple. Look at the goals he scores; they're not sniper goals. Until the end of last season, he was having his most consistent year when he wasn't injured. He's already had 2 significant cold streaks this year. If the inconsistency keeps up, he'll be back down to that 40ish point pace before too long. What still bothers me more though is that he hasn't proven that he can make the guys around him better. If he's going to be a 2nd line guy on our team, he needs to keep up with the guys around him. I'd rather have Dats and Z split up and have our 2 superstar centers playing with our best wingers and then have a 3rd line that's more what we were dealing with early on when Modano was here. Solid, nothing spectacular but solid. Find those value guys that give their all and contribute. That's what makes the Wings work so well. We bring in these guys like Eaves that make a quarter of what Flip makes yet they still play a big role (PK and GOALS!!!). Who's really a better value right now? Eaves at $750k who can kill penalties and score goals in a limited role. He's got 11 goals and 3 assists for 14 points with about half of Flips ice time all while playing on the checking line and killing penalties! How much power play time does he get? How much does Flip get? Oh yeah, 2nd line, twice as many minutes, all to have 9 goals and 13 assists for 22 points; again he makes four times as much as Eaves. Perhaps the Wings greatest strength is finding these seemingly forgotten guys or older guys and signing them cheap and getting a lot out of them. Flip makes a lot of money proportional to the Wings salary system and yet he really brings the least to the table to suggest he deserves it. He's a really solid player and a great 2-way guy who could probably be a Selke nominee if not a winner on another team, but on this team, he's overpaid for what he brings. I'd rather see his salary go elsewhere more for that reason than any other. Again, I wouldn't move him this year for any other reason than clearing salary, and I would never, ever, ever rip him if he was making around $2 million a year. But at $3 million, he's just overpaid for a Wing. I don't think he deserves it and I honestly don't like the precedent it sets for young, unproven guys. Sure, other teams would give him that and probably more, and at $3 million he's a good value on some teams, but that's why other teams are simply not as good as the Red Wings are every year. And if you don't still believe that the Wings are not satisfied with his performance relative to the expectations, give me five minutes and I'll dig up the almost bi-monthly articles where Holland and/or Babcock is interviewed saying the same stuff as always: he needs to step up, he needs to shoot more, he needs to have a breakout year. Oh yeah, this is supposed to be his what, 3rd or 4th breakout year now? If the Wings had known it would go like this, I don't believe for a second they'd sign him at $3 million for 5 years again and I don't believe he'll get $3 million from the Wings again if he doesn't actually have that ever-rumored "breakout year." Again, I really don't dislike Flip or think he's a horrible player, I just don't think he's worth anything close to $3 million on the Wings. Not so much, just noting that you jumped the gun. You should save the cocky smilies for Mindfly or the "doom and gloom" threads. Not saying we really need to right now, but you could've said this same thing about Scotty Bowman in the 90's before we started actually winning Cups and you would've been dead wrong. Playoffs and regular season are different beasts and sometimes you just have to look ahead at other factors, more than ever now with the salary cap. We're not in dire need of any trades right now for certain, but regular season status and predictions are only worth so much when it really comes down to it. Sometimes a good move is just a good move; when opportunity knocks to improve on what's there or sustain what's there while preparing for future salary cap situations, you just might make a move...even if you're #1 in the league and a Cup favorite. (Bitterness Alert: pure bitterness taints this thought...) Yeah, sure, but we'd be doing even better if we dumped Flip and signed Hossa. We'd be more well-rounded and have a true two-way superstar winger signed for around $5 million a year for life. And again, at that point, it's way, way easier to split up Dats and Z and get a ton of output from your top 2 lines with absolutely no defensive issues to speak of. And look, if we'd gotten rid of Flip and signed Hossa, we'd still be tied!!!

I'm not talking on a game to game basis. I'm saying that when Flip played last year, he was playing better than he did this year, plain and simple. Compare his point pace this year and last for an easy example of this. He's gotta be about 10-15 points below what he could've been on pace for last year over 82 games. His shot is still terrible (unless he's aiming for the crest with weak wrist shots...) and that's not going to help him convert opportunities into goals too often. At the same time though, I did suggest last year that had Flip not gotten injured, he might've trailed off on one of his many slow periods and dropped more than a few points off his pace. He's a streaky player. Who knows about last year at this point, but he is well below his PPG pace this year at this point. Try a little harder next time before you start dropping the smilies...

I'm not convinced Babcock isn't aware and in process of working something out. If you listen to Babcock's interviews after some of Howard's games lately, you get the sense that he's sending a message to Howard without directly referencing Howard. You might notice that he'll oftentimes make reference to other teams goaltending being strong and the importance of getting strong goaltending from your team so you have a chance to win, all while never saying much of anything about Howard, praise or otherwise. He simply implies that the oppositions goaltending is outplaying our goaltending. After being more pointed with Osgood last year in the press and seeing the mess that stirred up, perhaps he's learned to tone it down and be less direct, but I have little doubt that he's not sending a message and if this keeps up, Osgood will get more starts. As I've said before, while Howard hasn't been horrible lately and can rarely carry the blame for the losses entirely, he's simply not playing at all close to a level we know he was capable of at least last year. Maybe the pucks just aren't hitting him and that's that, but at some point, you have to look at the other side of that statement and acknowledge and deal with the fact that when the pucks aren't hitting him, they're going in the net more often than they ought to be. If it wasn't becoming such a consistent issue, literally in almost half of his games now going back 20 starts, it wouldn't be worth discussion. It'd be the lame knee-jerk crap from fairweather fans. But he's been consistently inconsistent lately. Going by Babcock's tone and comments, I'd venture to guess that he's got a couple more weeks to sort it out before we start seeing a lot more of Osgood.

I still think we're better off splitting up Dats and Z and bringing in a Winger with more of a scoring touch for Flip. I'm less inclined to see the need for the move this year as we're getting more scoring out of guys like Eaves and Cleary this season, but last year when goals were tough to come by, it didn't make sense to me to have another center behind Dats and Z who's strength was defense and not offense especially with a $3 million cap hit. He's never scored like a second line center and I don't think he ever will. So again, my idea was split up Dats and Z and bring in a scoring winger. I think Flip has been less impressive this year when compared to last year now halfway in though, but again, the urgency to make a move for more scoring isn't as strong. The only benefit now would be to clear up cap space which we may need to keep Howard, Osgood, Eaves, Miller and Ericson. Howard will be getting a hefty raise, Eaves will definitely get a descent raise while Miller and Ericsson will definitely command a bit more money than they're making now. Lidstrom will likely make about the same and Osgood will play for a bit less. Draper likely will come off the books. The way some of our younger, cheap guys are playing these days, I really wonder if we need Flip or Hudler (given his incredible knack for inconsistency). Dumping both of their salaries would allow us to bring in more scoring and defensive depth. I don't think we need a big name but a couple mid-level guys that address our needs better could help. With another winger who can bury the puck a bit more consistently, it makes it a lot easier to split Dats and Z and it makes Flip all the more unnecessary on this team. He's a 2nd line center on a lot of teams in this league, especially those who struggle on D and want to bring in a strong 2-way presence, but he just isn't a 2nd line center on the Wings by a longshot.

I like to think I'm one of the few who's pretty objective about the goalies. I defend Osgood a lot, but it's only because I respect what he's done and believe he's still got something left. He's proven to me over and over to never underestimate him or write him off. On the other hand, you'll also finding me defending Howard on many nights when people are lashing out at him. The only goalie I really, really didn't like and would definitely say I had a huge bias against was Legace, though even that I feel was objective distaste that ultimately proved to be reasonable. I was never the biggest Hasek fan either but even with Osgood playing better in 2008 during the regular season, I conceded that heading into the playoffs, you have to give Hasek a chance to be the Hasek he's capable of being. Goalies get a lot of discussion because of the nature of their position, but they're just players like anyone else to me. They're usually never as bad as made out to be around here (see Osgood in the past and Howard lately) but they're oftentimes not remotely as good as people think (LEGACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

That's why you can't throw Howard under the bus completely, but the puck's not hitting him like it was last year and he has been playing inconsistently at best for well over a month now. On top of that, Osgood's been playing a lot better and proving he has something left. Howard's not playing bad enough to be benched, but he's not playing well enough to be getting 4-5 starts for every 1 start from Osgood by a longshot. With injuries piling up, we can't afford to have inconsistent goaltending. It's simple as that. Osgood's playing well lately and ought to be given a chance to get something going if Howard isn't playing well enough to justify his many starts. Compare Osgood's first 18 starts of last year (before his starts were separated by months...) with Howard's last 18. When you look at what Osgood was doing and how people reacted and compare it to Howard's starts lately, you see why there's some reason to the assertion that Howard isn't playing well enough to be playing as many games as he is with Osgood picking up his play lately. Osgood's first 18 starts last year: 8 games below .800sv.% - http://redwings.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8470657&season=20102011&view=gamelog Howard's last 18 starts: 9 games belos .900 sv.% - http://redwings.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8458568&season=20092010&view=gamelog Again, I'm really not saying Howard has been terrible by any means. Not calling for benching. Just saying, he's not playing that great lately and again, with Osgood playing notably well even in some of the losses, it's about time that the starts get balanced out to see what Osgood can do.

Probably a good idea, because the once irrational, knee-jerk reactions to Howard's play on nights like this are becoming more grounded in reality lately. The guy is not playing horrible, but he sure as hell is not playing that well lately. He's had a lot more less than flattering games lately and a lot less great games. His game log for the last 20 isn't the prettiest site... http://redwings.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8470657&season=20102011&view=gamelog 9 games with sub-.900 save % over the last 20; some worse than others. He's definitely had some solid efforts in there too, but he hasn't been nearly as consistent this year as he was last year. And I don't want to read too much into it, but the last minute goals at the end of periods thing is really just strange. Certainly not all were horrible goals on his end to give up, but I have to wonder if there's a focus issue there, not just for him though but for this whole team. 19 minutes a period just isn't enough and I can't help but believe that we're probably leading in giving up last minute goals. With Osgood playing better this year and putting up some real solid games lately, I think it's getting to be about time to get a more equal rotation going on until one of them can prove that they can get a role going. Osgood hasn't had the chance to do it and Howard simply hasn't been doing it lately. With the injuries piling up again, we can't afford to have inconsistent goaltending. Howard will be fine long-run, he's still a real talented goalie, but Osgood's proving that he's got something left and if he can be the hot hand, we need to get him in more games.

I absolutely agree. Rare occasion that I agree with you, I know, but I agree none the less.

PATRICK EAVES WITH THE HAT TRICK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hey, remember when Franzen just needed an opportunity and then Holmstrom went down. Now Eaves... Just sayin'...this guy is the real deal.

PATRICK EAVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eaves will be a Franzen-esque star in time, mark my words. If the guy developed in Detroit as opposed to being oppressed and derailed by the terrible Ottowa system, he'd be too expensive for the Wings right now. Thankfully, he's still young. Last season was his 2nd Rookie year and a 2nd chance with a quality organization. Just give him time and he's going to really explode. Quote me on it.

So long as we can keep him around (see above and take note of my longing for this...) I think he's more than capable and even likely to be a top 6 guy in the next 2 years. He just keeps getting better and he's got all the tools as well as the work ethic and attitude to keep improving. He was the such a wonderful off-season signing summer before last. Again, one of the best bargains in the league and I hope he's a Wing for life.

I couldn't possibly say it enough times...I LOVE PATRICK EAVES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This guy is seriously one of the absolute best bargains in hockey and just a classic HOCKEY PLAYER!!! Please, please, please, Kenny, please make sure Patrick Eaves is a Wing for life!!!

Would be dumb considering he's been playing as well or better than Howard lately.

Thrilled for Chris Osgood tonight!!! What a great game for him to get his 400th win!!! Congratulations to the 10th goalie in NHL history to hit 400 wins!!!!!!!

Ha, just noticed the box score. Go Howard!

FDSGK:KLSG:LDFSGL:DG:AFKSD:ASK:S!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Thank goodness for Helm hustling and Nick making that play happen. Maybe we'll at least head into the intermission tied now...

And another penalty...stupid.

As Howard's been the center of attention in net lately, I've totally forgotten that Osgood is extremely close to a major career milestone. After tonights win in Nashville, he's sitting at 397 career wins. When will he get the 400th win? It's tough to say considering the odd goalie rotation lately. If he splits games with Howard, I'm going to go with December 31st, New Years Eve against the Av's at home. It just seems like it'd be a fitting night for such a milestone. And say what you want about the guy, but no goalie hits the 400 win mark by accident. We're luckier than we sometimes care to admit to have a guy like Osgood for a goalie for so long. He spares us the drama, the huge cap space and the ego that tends to accompany so many other goalies with his credentials. He got shipped off in 2001 but came back without hesitation and played backup to Hasek with no issues, despite the fact that Hasek is the reason he was uprooted and cast away in the first place. He battled hard all the way through and picked up where Hasek left off and lead us to a Cup. And while the rest of the team was partying at Cheli's after the parade, he spent 3 hours in the blazing hot sun signing autographs and thanking fans. He quietly has played outstanding playoff hockey for us the last couple years despite being questioned incessantly by fans and the media alike. We are luckier than we know. It might be 5-10 years after Osgood retires before he truly will be appreciated for all he's done, but he will get his due. Again, you don't hit 400 wins by accident. 400...soon.......

Am I the only one who doesn't even want to think about Howard's contract until after the playoffs? I'm all for signing him, but if he struggles to raise his game or even just maintain his regular season game again this year, i don't want to see him getting a big, long contract. Playoffs and regular season are just too different and he's still not a proven playoff performer yet. If he does prove himself though, he'll likely be demanding at least $4 million. Hopefully he thinks team first, but in this crazy league, an agent could find a way to justify an even bigger contract and there'd probably be more than a few teams willing to take it on. Either way, its going to be a very interesting situation.

I'm actually pretty happy with Bert's play. It'd always be good to see him get more goals, but he's a cheap addition that plays hungry every game and he's really transformed his game to fit into this system. He's had a very good season aside from putting up descent numbers already. Last summer when we brought him back, we were more worried about his being able to stay healthy enough to play and whether or not he'd be a liability let alone whether or not he could actually contribute. He's only "underachieving" lately because he's done such a good job of overachieving, especially this year in developing his two-way game and taking less penalties. If Franzen was truly slumping even Dats and the power play wouldn't help him. He may not be hot but he's not quite slumping. Again, 4 points including 2 goals in 7 games isn't great, but is it really bad, let alone slumping? Either way, it must be nice to have a "slumping" stretch that puts you on pace to put up more points than Flip is on pace for on the whole season. Flip's had power play time too, no? Flip did play a good game and he did create chances. Again, I never said he didn't. I just think it's ridiculous to rip Bert and Franzen, declare them to be slumping when they'e both completed better not only lately but all year. The line isn't clicking right now, it's as simple as that. Tough to assign blame for that and I would've been fine with the suggestion that the line simply isn't clicking. But again and again, it makes no sense to criticize the guys doing more while praising the guy doing less and then blaming any such issue on the players who have been doing more. Flip is hardly above criticism lately despite a good effort tonight. Babcock called him out Monday in the press too...

Recordings might be a bit over the top, but the rest, sure. Can we get back to arguing about Flip now? No bebuttal to my rebuttal?