russianswede919293

Fixed it

Few Things: #1 Wings look like they are barely even trying #2 Islanders play a very boring system, this game has 100% lacked any excitement #3 These Islanders announcers blow "Islanders are so fresh for just having been on a West Road trip" hmmmm...did't the Wings just come back from a West coast road trip as well...

Few Things: #1 Wings look like they are barely even trying #2 Islanders play a very boring system, this game has 100% lacked any excitement #3 These Islanders announcers blow "Islanders are so fresh for just having been on a West Road trip" hmmmm...did't the Wings just come back from a West coast road trip as well...

Ville is going to score tonight

It all will come down to who Holland thinks has the best chance of passing through waivers. Whomever he thinks will go through, they will be placed on waivers. Whatever move is made will be made for depth purposes. Personally I hope Janik sticks around, I like him a lot.

http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapids/i...takes_over.html Much later than now in last season the Pittsburgh Penguins were at 59 Points Through 57 games and 5 points out of the final spot in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. They went on a tear, and proceeded to barely lose for the rest of the year and win the Stanley Cup. We will not be firing Babcock, nor should we. But our players returning from injury could be the same boost. Hockey is a crazy world. Wings are still very much alive.

I'm confused. Will he be waiver exempt before then? If it takes 11 more games than its possible that they could send him down when one d-man gets back and still be exempt, since Kronner or Ericsson will be back sooner than 11 games. Or are you saying he is not exempt already.

The only reason talks of it being one of them over Leino is the offensive upside Leino brings to the table at an affordable contract. Nobody wants to see May or Miller leave (at least I don't think they do). Its more about trying to figure out the best short and long term solution to get the team under salary and the player limit. Throwing under the bus to me would be saying they are worthless and its an easy choice. Its anything but an easy choice. I do not envy Ken Holland on this one.

Very true. And it isn't necesarrily who I would rather see...I will be sad if Miller is gone. Its just what I think will happen. Who I would rather see depends a lot on the play of those 3 guys down the stretch into March. I really believe it should be whoever plays the worst before Franzen is back goes, just don't see it happening that way.

Big part of that is being on the 2nd line. Its not the right role for him, and he is playing against better defenders. I think he will score a goal tonight!

Where did you hear that? I would be happy about that.

Don't keep your fingers crossed, my guess is never. If he wants to be back I am 100% cool one year at a time. I also think that a healthy Franzen would soften the blow of a retiring Holmstrom...

I typically like the way you put things in perspective. All valid points pointing to both why Howard is in and why Ozzie needs to get going as well.

Friday: Tampa Bay @ New Jersey Colorado @ Carolina Toronto @ Buffalo NY Islanders @ Dallas Columbus @ Calgary Saturday: NY Rangers @ Boston Colorado @ Buffalo Pittsburgh @ Toronto New Jersey @ Montreal Florida @ Ottawa Tampa Bay @ Philadelphia Washington @ Atlanta x2 Anaheim @ Nashville Chicago @ Minnesota NY Islanders @ Phoenix Calgary @ Vancouver St Louis @ Los Angeles Detroit @ San Jose Sunday: Ottawa @ Carolina Dallas @ Columbus Anaheim @ Chicago

Here I can agree with you. I think he needs more time in Grand Rapids. But I think he wouldn't pass through waivers, and I think that he would bail. Both those things make it impossible to see that happen.

I agree with you here. I would keep Miller over any of those guys myself. But Leino just has too much upside to give up on him. Maltby though in my opinion the most expendable will go nowhere due to Wings loyalty (it has its pluses and minuses, it is what it is) May brings something that nobody on this team has been able to bring since they bought out McCarty, toughness and hockey sense. Miller has been a great PK'er and a great forechecker and a great backchecker. I don't want to lose any of the 4 guys. I just don't want to see people write of Leino before he even gets a shot.

What about 6. Leino when playing will most likely play with Zetterberg or Filppula until Franzen gets back. He has played well with both at times earlier in the season. If he gets chemistry with either of those players he could score 6 goals. I also think he is starting to play more like Babs wants him to after some of his more recent quotes. I could see Leino scoring 6 goals before Franzen gets back. You may not see it, but I think success or failure are both possible for Ville. I'm not gaurenteeing it will happen. In fact I don't think it will, but I do think its possible. I am not asking if you think he will, I want to know that IF he gets hot and scores 6 goals before Franzen is back, do you think he is worth hanging on to at the age of 25 in his first year in the NHL? Which brings me back to my first point: Its not between Leino or May, its more between Miller or May.

That is a valid point. And I think that the Wings will talk it over with Babs as to who he would most want and who they feel won't make it through waivers. The ideal situation is to keep all three in the system. There is bound to be more injuries and depth is not a bad thing. IMO Janik has the best chance of clearing waivers, I could be wrong.

May probably won't even be waived. I don't see Ville going anywhere, and I don't want him to either. Miller is the guy I expect to see go over May. That makes me sad, I would rather keep Miller long term, but I also really like May. The long and short of it is nobody has done anything in my eyes to warrant a change from the healthy roster that started the first 3 games. Abdelkader out for Helm coming in. May was signed before the injuries and has done everything he was brought in to do. The question is: Has Drew Miller proven to be more valuable to the team than somebody that already was on it at the start of the year. The only possible guy I can think of would be May. So it comes down to May or Miller. The Free Agent Enforcer or the Waiver Picked Grinder, which one would you rather have down the stretch.

At the end of his current contract I believe he is. But if you look at Grand Rapids as of late neither Larsson or McCollum are ready to go...at all... Anyways: Instead of looking at how many games goaltending lost us, lets look at how many it won us. With the offense not scoring much how many games have we won without scoring much Detroit has won 8 games scoring 3 goals or less since the Ozzie flu, and Howard was in net for 7 of them. Being able to win games when your team is scoring 3 goals or less in a game is a reason to stay in net. I am comfortable with Howard for now. I would like to see Ozzie mixed in more often, but Howard is winning games with poor goal support right now and that is the main reason he has stayed in games. He also has gotten the team the extra OT point in games with low scoring as well. I am not knocking on Ozzie. I think once he gets back in he will win his job back and be great in the playoffs. But why is it so bad to have the 25 year old rookie goalie pegged as future starter finally succeeding, even if it is at expense of the 37 year old potential hall of famer. I love Ozzie. He is my favorite goalie all time, and he is the reason I play goal. But he can't be the "playoff goalie" forever. He has reached an age where consistency through an entire season is hard for him to find. And yes while he lights it up in the playoffs he won't be there forever. Getting Howard enough playing time to eventually become the playoff goalie isn't a bad thing. Is Ozzie playing terrible. No. But Howard is playing better. And Howard is 12 years younger, and more involved in the long term plans of this team. His success is a good thing. Be patient. Ozzie will get in again.

What if Leino scores 6-10 goals in the next 2 months before Franzen gets back...that is more likely than Miller or May scoring 6-10 goals in that time. Would that change your mind?

Well we have 2 months before this is a problem. Franzen won't be back until early March. So When Kronwall or Ericsson get back Janik will most likely get sent down, if not that then Lebda or Meech will get traded, but I am assuming Janik goes to Grand Rapids. When other Kronwall or Ericsson gets back Meech reverts back to being 7th defenseman Lids-Raffi Kronner-Stuart Ericsson-Lebda Meech When Williams gets back Abdelkader will be sent back down Bert-Dats-Homer Williams-Zetterberg-Cleary Miller-Filppula-Leino Drapes-Helm-Eaves Maltby/May When Franzen gets back IF, and thats a big if IMO nobody else is injured, Leino has been given the opportunity to turn it around, if they haven't seen more from him he could be waived. If he improves I expect May or Miller to be waived, and I think Miller would be the one to go (I would be sad over either leaving though) So yes its a valid concern, but its premature. We are looking at Janik versus Meech Versus Lebda in the next week and then Abdelkader is sure to get back down when Williams is back, so there is no need to worry about what forward we keep until March, which is a ways away.

I liked him. I've never been to big on Ritola before this year. Preferred Mursak. But Ritola looked very good. I think he needs to move his legs a bit more and work on his scoring touch, but he could be a solid 3rd liner on this team. Looked good Mattias, I'll see you play tomorrow in Rochester.

He will be backing up Roloson tonight. Not starting yet. But congrats on getting back to the game after some very devestating injuries. Stay healthy and get back to 75% of what you were before and you'll be a decent starter still! Good Luck Ricky D. I'm cheering for you.

No not at all. I think he was on pace to be one of the best in the game before his injuries. He could be at close to the same level as Miller right now, what a rivalry those two could have had at top the league. I've been a huge DiPietro fan since he was drafted, since I followed Ozzie to the Island, I have always been partial to the lslanders. No shot at all. A legitamate congratulations for a guy working his ass off to get one more shot at the NHL.