Dabura

I miss Brett Lebda...

Are you a real person?

LGRW

Prob'ly.

Ah, just saw that Khan confirmed these are tomorrow's lines and pairings.

I... had been hoping for Tatar-Larkin-Sheahan had expected AA to draw in, but not on the top line. I'll absolutely take it, though. It seems to suggest Blashill and/or Holland realize(s) Z's legs are gone don't like Helm as our 3C. I don't really like him in the top nine, tbh am glad to see Abby and Larkin aren't necessarily a set "forward pairing," as I feel Abby holds Larkin back. If Abby's taking Ott's spot on the fourth line, well, it's an upgrade for that line Overall...not ideal, but, in my opinion, it's better than what we iced last night and a step in the right direction. I'm hoping we get to see these lines tomorrow night.

woof

Dear officials,

It's never too soon for butt pats.

Let's woo this.

(As far as I know, Holland's never been a coach. Like, an actual coach.)

I agree -- that's how it should be. (Unless the coach has truly lost the plot.) I don't believe that's how it works in Red Wings Land, though.

But, see, I don't know if I really buy that he doesn't believe AA was good enough. I think it's entirely possible he's just playing nice, playing politics. Like Babcock said (if a little sarcastically) in that Duff piece: "I just said I’d ask the other guy and then I’ll support everything he’s decided." ("The other guy" being Holland.) I think Holland is, at the end of the day, The Decider and The Influencer. I think Blashill -- who works for and reports to Holland -- is under "gentle pressure" to make certain calls and do certain things a certain way. (The Red Wings Way.) I honestly think AA is on the roster because Blashill pushed hard enough for it. (The same thing he had to do last season re: Larkin.) I think Holland wants AA in Grand Rapids. I think Holland feels AA isn't NHL-ready. I think Holland wants a fourth line of Ott-Glendening-Miller. I think the compromise, for now, is AA sticks with the team but still has to "wait his turn." I think Holland wears clownshoes.

Now, to be fair, Babcock doesn't explicitly say, "Ultimately, I don't have the final say in who plays and who doesn't. Like, if Kenny wants a guy in the press box, that guy is sitting in the press box." Babcock seems to be talking more about decisions re: where [x player] is playing (i.e. Grand Rapids or Detroit). So, maybe it was (and remains?) a situation where the head coach had (and has?) total control over who plays on any given night. But if Holland was (and is?) over-exerting his power as GM re: who is and isn't on the Red Wings roster...that, to me, raises questions. I don't believe the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, in this day and age, has full control of the roster in terms of who is and isn't on the roster and who he does/can and doesn't/can't play.

The best evidence we have is probably that Bob Duff piece I quoted a couple posts back. Link: http://windsorstar.com/sports/wings-babcock-upset-by-ouellet-demotion

Maybe it is, in fact, his decision and no one else's. Or maybe there's a little more to it than that. I believe we're looking at the latter. And, with all due respect, I'm not really sure why anyone who's been following the Wings long enough and closely enough would believe Jeff Blashill has total control over roster-related decisions. Mike "Alpha Male, Best Coach in Hockey, Egomaniac, etc." Babcock was frequently overruled by Ken Holland. (Granted, that's assuming Babcock was telling the truth.) Jeff Blashill is a largely unproven second-year NHL head coach...

It wasn't. The lineup was more-or-less set before the pre-season had even started. Search your feelings...you know it to be true. I wouldn't be so sure about that. Holding kids back didn't start with Blashill. In fact, Blashill had to fight for Larkin to be on last season's opening night roster. (Holland had wanted him to start with the Griffins.) Hell, Babcock had wanted Ouellet on the opening night roster two years ago and, well, read: http://windsorstar.com/sports/wings-babcock-upset-by-ouellet-demotion Mind you, I'm not giving Blashill a free pass here. And, granted, I realize you're talking about the kids sitting in the press box as opposed to them being sent to Grand Rapids. But, still. I think it's safe to say Ken Holland is the problem here. (He is The General Manager, after all.)

I think both scenarios are clownshoes. One -- the one we're getting -- is simply more clownshoes than the other one.

Ott and Miller are real good veterans, real good defensively, real responsible. Real good players. Real good. Heavy on the puck. 200-foot game. Stick-on-puck. Elite, elite. PK. Defense. Real good. Leaders. Veteran leaders. Veteran leadership. We feel they give us a different dimension. Real good. Stick-on-puck. Real good defensively. Heavy on the puck. Real good. Stick-on-puck. Real good.

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/article/OP/20161011/SPORTS/161019923 hahahahahahahaha

Or we could've demoted Ott and Miller. Or we could've not signed Ott and not re-signed Miller in the first place. Like I've said, I don't feel we've lost huge building blocks in Frk and Pulkkinen; in the long run, I don't think we're really going to miss them. My problem lies with the way Ken Holland is doing business. For what it's worth, though, I think the Wings -- under Holland -- have assembled a group of very promising young forwards over the past few years. Larkin, Athanasiou, Mantha, Svechnikov, Bertuzzi, Sadowy...that's nothing to sneeze at. But that's one of the exceedingly few things I can say, "Good on Ken Holland," about.

Well, hot damn, I'm sold! Y'know what...Ken Holland manages this organization's assets and cap just fine. Steve Ott? Awesome signing! Drew Miller? We totes need him! Luke Glendening extension? METAL! Darren Helm @ 5 x $3.85M (compare: Kucherov @ 3 x 4.67M)? Brilliant! Losing good young players for absolutely nothing because we need to load our roster with dime-a-dozen grinderbanger veterans? Suh-weeeeet! Jonathan Ericsson never being in danger of being scratched or demoted? killmenow He's...BIG! Jonathan Ericsson's contract? ...BIG! Homegrown veterans being entitled to big contract extensions, because reasons loyalty reasons? That's just good business! Going out of your way to suppress the rise of the very youth that you yourself (Holland) have been telling us for years now (ad nauseam) is the key to this organization's future success? ("There's no hockey store. You've gotta draft and develop and build from within. blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.") Amazeballs! Here's something fun that all you kids at home can do: Look up how many goals Teemu Pulkkinen scored in his first 70 NHL games Look up how many goals Pavel Datsyuk scored in his first 70 NHL games (Yes, I am totally saying Teemu Pulkkinen is the next Pavel Datsyuk. That is exactly what I am saying.) I could go on. I could bring numbers into it. I could show you charts and graphs. But I don't want to.

I'm sure you will, Ken. I'm sure you will.

Hi, Ken! Say, why are you posting on LGRW? Don't you have, like, important GM work to do? Or something?

Well, that just means you haven't been drinking enough. *burp*