Never_Retire_Steve

I think DeKeyser has been uncharacteristically poor this year. I've been saying it for years, the Red Wings really need a RH top pairing guy on the team.

I hope to see a game live but I live in Western Canada so it will be on the road if it happens. The person below me is living somewhere that is below freezing temperatures right now.

I'd even go as far to say he's been our best defenceman this season so far.

The problem with some of these solutions is that they may already be happening (ie. communication between coach & GM) but we don't know because we're not privy to the conversation. You mention that you don't like the fact that he's changing lines but also mention that you don't like him playing guys who aren't playing well. What happens if that's the exact reason he's changing line combinations? Maybe he realizes guys aren't performing well and is trying to see where he get the best production from. I'm with you that the main reason could very well be coaching as to why we're a worse team than last year (Although I actually disagree and would say injuries) but I also expected that since we had one of the best coaches in the league and we barely made the playoffs these past few years that I expected us to be in the exact spot that we're in now... struggling to fight for a playoff spot. Because of those reasons, I want to reserve judgement on Blashill.

I'm definitely not happy with the way the Red Wings are playing and I actually agree with you that coaching is likely part of the reason. However, I feel as though you are wrong in a lot of your assumptions. First off, Blashill got the job because he was very successful in the AHL (which he coached many of the current Red Wings) and it's not like coaches who are better than Babcock are just waiting around anxious to coach the Red Wings. Good coaches generally aren't available for a reason. Who do you think would do a better job than Blashill? If your argument is that we need to fire the coach, you need to have a plan in place once he's gone. So far I haven't seen that from you, I've seen a lot of anger from you but you seem to be lacking in presenting a solution to the problem you've identified. It's kind of hilarious to hear people say that it's unacceptable for Detroit hockey to be so poor and I think it's why I know a lot of people who say things like, "Detroit has the worst fans in the league" because of statements like that when Detroit has made the playoffs for longer than some of my friends have been alive and for some franchises that have been in existence. Can you imagine the reaction you would get from an Oilers, Sharks, Sabres, Avalanche, Wild, (the list goes on) to hear a Wings fan saying it's unacceptable for their team to be so bad when they currently hold the longest active playoff streak in North American pro sports. We're spoiled as Red Wings fans sometimes.

Used to be one of the biggest Holland supporters but man, I just don't understand a lot of his moves/signings in recent seasons. Cleary, Abdelkader, etc. just stifle our ability to make good roster moves in the future.

Both my grandparents were involved in WWII and yesterday is always a very important day to me but I am not in the military myself. The person below me likes basketball.

Have you seen some of Tarasenko's goals? He's sure made some guys look bad. Regardless, comparing him with Datsyuk is incredibly high praise and probably unfair wrt hockey IQ for anyone but Tarasenko is still only 23 and he's clear cut to me the best offensive player on St. Louis (who are very good) and should continue to improve. He will be scary good in a couple years IMO.

So Zetterberg has hit those milestones and looks like Datsyuk is coming back and should be ready to hit the goals plateau pretty soon!

Ya, and then I believe there is a modified NMC after that. Still makes it hard to move the contract if we need to regardless.

It's more than a fair deal, I'd have a hard time seeing other teams giving a guy like Abdelkader this good of a deal. Feel like leadership qualities are often very overblown and let's be real here, no one other than the players themselves know how good of a leader a guy like Abdelkader is (And even then, I feel like they overstate these qualities). To me the biggest thing that sucks is that there's also a NTC/NMC that we can't move if he declines as he probably should and hinders our ability to improve our team in the immediate and long-term future.

Quite surprised that so many people actually like this deal or are even ok with it. Personally, I think it's a pretty bad signing. 7 years is absolutely terrible for a guy like Abdelkader. Ya, he's maybe a 4.25 million guy right now but there's no way a 7 year term is worth that money. Feeling like this will be regrettable in a couple years.

Hoping that this is the only time Datsyuk is injured. Red Wings definitely need him in order to make the playoffs or go a few rounds deep.

What a weird series of events this whole thing ended up being.

Was watching that game last night and didn't look terrible to start but man, that sucks, kid was so fun to watch and you hate to see guys get injured so early in their careers.

Byfuglien is the perfect fit for this team IMO, especially with the injury to Mike Green. I would be super excited to have him on the Red Wings but with the Jets being a very good team this year, I would think they would want to have him in hopes for a deep playoff run so acquiring him will be very difficult.

This is not really true. Pavel Datsyuk is an amazing hockey player and his absence has at least some to do with the fact that the Red Wings aren't playing as well as most fans would like.

I think not firing Boudreau is smart. If you look at Boudreau historically, he has had very impressive results and think firing him would be a mistake. Every team goes through slumps, they just get magnified at the start of the season. Once Getzlaf is healthy, I think Anaheim will be fine.

What is this Casper show I keep hearing people speak of?

I think these past couple of seasons has brought back up the who's better "Crosby vs. Ovechkin" debate as a few years ago Sid looked clearly ahead but looks like Ovi is having a renaissance and making it a debate again.

Are you suggesting that we sign someone like Biznasty?

I think there is a good argument that Tarasenko is already one of the best players in the league so I have no problem paying him like one.

Despite playing hockey for 25 years, I have yet to be in a fight (I'm a goaltender). The person below me is cheering for the Royals in the World Series.

Probably a combination of a few factors. Missing Datsyuk is certainly a contributing factor in my mind. Also, I think as others have mentioned that the personnel that we have on D isn't really the greatest at being great puck moving players. I think there is also some merit to the change in coaching and that there could be some adjustments that still need to be made, however, I also think that those things would've been worked on extensively in training camp and should be engrained in the players by now.

I wouldn't do the trade that zombo posted, was simply commenting on the fact that if a trade presented itself that made sense for the Red Wings to improve their team that they should do it.