Dabura

Ken Campbell is not a real person. He doesn't count.

>Literally all of them have the same two teams in the SCF What a buncha boring-ass dinguses.

Rasmussen Larkin Nyquist Mantha Green Vanek Nielsen Athanasiou Zadina Hronek I'd be cool with giving that a try. But, yeah, I think everyone here can agree that we have a lot of different options and there's probably going to be some trial and error tweaking over the course of the season.

Wouldn't surprise me if Rasmussen's in front of the net on the first PP unit on opening night. That's one of the reasons why I'm thinking Mantha could -- and maybe should -- be moved to the wall or the high slot on the first unit. https://www.nhl.com/redwings/news/wings-blashill-its-a-wide-open-roster-more-than-ever-before/c-298952646 "Rasmussen, to me, when I went out and watched him, if he does what I think he can do and that's make our hockey team, he's got a real chance to make our power play better," Blashill said. "He's an excellent, and I mean excellent, net-front presence guy with his ability to tip pucks, his ability to score in tight areas, so we should be excited about that. He wants to do that, that's where he wants to be. That's pretty high praise for a teenager who's never played a single game of pro hockey. Clearly he has big plans for the big guy.

Que sera, sera. (#Lose4Hughes)

No, I agree. I'm just saying the problems highlighted in that piece are so bad that it seems reasonable to assume coaching/systems is compounding the talent deficiency.

Coaching could be amplifying the suck: All of last season, no defencemen really earned the title “offensive defenceman” and it really showed up in the iCF and the shot assist numbers. At even-strength, there was not a lot of solid passing or shooting coming from the blueline last season for the Red Wings. I believe that is more of a system error than a personnel one. To have every defenceman contribute this little has to mean that something overall is wrong and not that the Wings just have a terrible blueline. The issue is a balance between those two problems – the Red Wings clearly did not have the most mobile blueline, but Blashill might have over-compensated for that fact and restricted those players from showing their offensive capabilities. In any case, Hronek should help improve the blue line.

I kinda agree. I've been trying to draw up my ideal configurations for the two PP units and there are so many options and so few clear-cut "This guy MUST play THIS role" cases that it almost feels pointless to argue over who should be slotted where. Under Bylsma, a mostly toothless Sabres team had a league-best PP. So I'm expecting Bylsma to improve our PP. And that's all I want: improvement.

Relevant: https://wingsnation.com/2018/08/12/defencemen-shoot-the-damn-puck/

w00t

Glendening is a specialist tho. So we like Glendening.

No, we like RHD now. We still hate RHF, unless they're defensively-challenged specialists.

Hronek 2 the rescue. https://www.nhl.com/redwings/news/wings-blashill-its-a-wide-open-roster-more-than-ever-before/c-298952646 "I think Filip Hronek showed the ability to run a power play last year in Grand Rapids. Filip runs a power play similar to me to a guy I just coached (in the world championship) in Will Butcher, where he's a very, very good facilitator. He shoots when he should shoot, he passes when he should pass, it's not super flashy but it's extremely efficient. Will Butcher was an excellent addition for Jersey this year. One of the reasons Jersey climbed in the standings is because their power play got way better and one of the reasons it got way better is they added Will Butcher. I think when you add certain pieces, it can really help. Now both of those particular players have to make our team, both those particular players - and I've told both of them, I want you to make our team, 100 percent, because I think if you make our team, it means you've earned it and it means we're better. If they do that, they have a chance to make our power play better."

yeh. You don't want to be trying to fix something that isn't broken. That being said... Mantha as the net-front guy on the power play = Mantha scored some power play goals = Mantha as the net-front guy works The power play, on the whole = broken as f*** There's a good argument for keeping Mantha in that role and there's a good argument for moving him to the wall or the high slot and trying new things.

letsgowings.com/hottakes

The don is done, long live the don!

I wouldn't be in a hurry to change Mantha's role. But let's not forget that our power play was, on the whole, a raging tire fire.

Playing on the wall on the PP isn't just about shooting. In a 1-3-1 setup, those two wall guys are basically running the show. Ideally, they're lethal shooters and expert playmakers. I don't mind Mantha being the net-front guy; it makes sense and it works. But, given his possession prowess and skill level, Mantha also makes sense as a wall guy. At least in theory. Putting Mantha on the wall doesn't mean you have to put Abby there. Why not, say, Vanek? One unit with Rasmussen, the other with Vanek. We'll see where Bylsma slots people. Should be interesting.

Yeah I just remembered Enstrom is still available.

Gilbert Gottfried and Tomas Holmstrom.

Hashtag... Blashtag... Blashill... Blash... Lash... Lashoff... Yashoff... Jaskin... Yashin...

#Rude