haroldsnepsts

Nooooo.... I see a lot of Kings games and honestly having Penner would be just like having another Bertuzzi, at best. He doesn't compete hard and doesn't use his size nearly as effectively as he should. I was such a fan of this guy when he broke into the league, but he just doesn't have the work ethic and compete level, as Babs would put it. Hudler's no better in terms of points, but he at least works hard. He's just small and slow.

I disagree. And not just because Nick is some hockey god (though I'm pretty certain he actually is). the same was said about Yzerman before the Cup in '97, but a captain can only do so much. Like Yzerman, Nick plays his heart out every game. This last game against the Wild he was really jumping into the play and scored the one friggin goal that game from the slot. Where some forwards should actually have been. And he called for the puck there, like one of our star forwards should have. AND he had a couple great chances jumping into the play practically as a winger. So on top of playing Norris level defense, he's also trying to jumpstart the offense and pick up some of the slack from Rafalski's absence (do people still think Raf was overpaid??). Nick has adjusted his game to try and help out this flaccid offense. At 41 years old he's playing almost 25 minutes a game. The goal was to get his minutes down, but this team is such a s*** sandwich that he's playing more than he should. How much more can he do? The Wings don't need an inspirational speech from Nick, most of them need to grow some friggin balls and fear for their jobs and go to the net. And in the spirit of the thread F*ck you Franzen. the problem runs a lot deeper than you, but no 6'3" 225 lbs forward with as much talent as you have should be as friggin invisible as you've been, or registered as few SOG's. Is your nickname Mule because you're so stubborn when it comes to doing hard work?

Last season the longest losing streak was 4 games. (and two of those were OT losses)

Datsyuk, Franzen, Zetterberg, Flip, Hudler. I'm not just listing the players who really need to get it going offensively. I'm also listing the forwards who don't even have a shot on goal so far this game.

I'm just so thankful I have so many people here to constantly tell me how I should behave. It makes life so much simpler. I see your point on A and B. With all the b.s. from Crymson and a few others here lately, I probably unfairly lumped you in with them.

That's the really frustrating part with Hudler. Listen to your first sentence there Huds! It's not that complicated. Shoot the friggin puck.

Yeah, it was mainly the move where he put his stick on the ice and knelt down. That looked like the move of a guy who's out of gas, because Koivu was in way too good of a scoring position for that to ever be a good idea.

Agreed. The jump made it look worse but honestly this is the same kind of hit Datsyuk used to do. He's sense someone coming to hit him, so he'd put on the brakes an initiate contact, often catching them by surprised. Kronwall definitely got surprised. And what the hell was Zetterberg doing there? I can't remember, was he at the end of shift or something? because that's awful defense, especially from him.

Torres is a douchebag I'd never want on the Wings. But not because of this.

Right. Because sarcastic threads like this one are so much better than the reactionary ones after a loss. The difference is that people making the reactionary threads are at least making a serious attempt to talk about the team, even if the ideas are extreme. This thread is just trolling.

Amen to that. A 41 year old defenseman had more quality scoring chances than most of the ******* forwards. See how he goes to the net, finds the open spaces, isn't afraid to go the hard areas of the ice AS A FRIGGIN DEFENSEMAN?! Lidstrom called for the puck on his goal, by the way.

I don't remember all the details but didn't the Blues sit him for two games for unexpectedly missing a practice, the implication being he was out partying and overslept and/or was hungover? And there were a couple incidents in college too. I don't know a lot about him but feel like I've heard some questions about his maturity level and dedication.

says the guy with a +1380.

I don't think Cleary has looked great, but he kills penalties, can play on the power play, and is a pretty solid two way forward. Despite his offensive talents, Hudler is small and slow. If he's not creating offense, he doesn't have much to contribute otherwise. And in the article about it, Babs agreed with Hudler that he's probably not the only one who should be watching from the press box tonight. It's just that not every player has a guy like Nyquist behind them hoping for ice time.

Agreed. Datsyuk succeeds by slowing the game down. People have to respect the ridiculous moves he can make, so he can slow down with the puck and look for plays. Helm succeeds with just flat out wheels that keeps people on their heels, knowing if he gets one step on you he's gone.

Everybody caffeine up! We're playing the Wild tonight. We should start a pool on when they go into the 1-2-2. Just after the opening faceoff? Hopefully the Wings can come out with energy and toughness in spite of the Wild's style of play, which sucks the life out of most hockey games.... And for chrissakes, go hard to the net!! Go get 'em Nyquist! Show these spoiled veterans how it's done (I'm looking at you Franzen). Hmm, Hudler in the press box? After not getting a shot on goal in four games, I'm shocked he didn't get put on the top line like some had predicted. I like Huds overall, but his quotes about being benched were a little annoying. Yes, we get that you're a playmaker, but shouldn't it be clear to you by now the Wings want you to shoot the f-ing puck more??

I would totally agree, if Kindl were actually outplaying Ericsson. They've been a better pairing than I expected so far this season, but Ericsson has played well and been solid. He's still ahead of Kindl in his development, though Kindl is much more of a bargain and has more potential. Kindl even said himself that Ericsson is telling him what to do out there. I'm interested to see how much toughnesss Commodore brings, but the best situation for the Wings is probably that Ericsson and Kindl keep stepping up their physical play and hold their spots in the lineup, so we've got two relatively young, big, physical defenseman. Or if Kindl continues to develop and can take Ericsson's spot, then there's the trade option with Smith waiting in the wings. I haven't seen a ton of Smith but it seems like he has more offensive upside than both E and Kindl, though at the NHL level it's greatly diminished and comes with big liabilities because of his decision making.

what happens with Kindl?

Doughty needs to learn the same lesson. There was the concussion last season, but already this season he's had an upper body injury because he tried to be Bobby Orr and got rocked with his head down crossing the blueline. He tries to do too much sometimes and it often doesn't end well.

Agreed. Great signing in terms of cap hit and adding stability to the Wings blueline for the next several years. The only real gamble is Kronwall's health. Hopefully his injury prone years are behind him. All in all, great signing.

It never ceases to amaze me how early in a game the Wild will go into a 1-2-2.

I think earlier in the thread I said something like "It's not like they're losing 1-0." oops.

He's making 2.875 million to Ericsson's 3.25 million, so $375,000 less than E. Not $1.6 million less.

No, not at all. Given the surprise retirement of Rafalski I think Holland did a great job bringing in a guy who can help fill a similar role.

That's my fear too. That he had everyone playing a system the first couple seasons and doing the little things right, but now the novelty of it has worn off and he can't motivate guys like he used to. Hell, maybe he does need to go Scotty Bowman on players and start sitting a few of the stars when they don't perform. After a solid start, Mule has gone pointless in 4 games and worse than that has made terrible turnovers. Though if Babcock sat him during the regular season I don't know if Franzen would just thank him and wait around for the playoffs. Hudler is pointless in 5 games and his last shot on goal was October 21st against Columbus. He's seen his ice time cut the last game, but maybe the pressbox should be the next stop. And to answer the original question of the thread, yes, coaching is partly to blame for sure.