Andy Pred 48

i said before the olympics started that we should look at the other Austrian on the Isle's roster. Well after the Austria team were knocked out by the minnows from Slovenia today, Vanek's performance was shall we say, unnoticeable. In fact he has had a mare of a tournament and finished the comp with just a single assist -4 in 4 games. Grabner lead his team in scoring 5+1 in 4 games with a -2. As far as im concerned if we are to trade id go for the younger faster Grabner whose cap hit is half of Vaneks, and although he has 2 years left on his contract may well be the cheaper option in any trade. This Olympics hasn't done anything for Vaneks stock.

if the injuries to Z Pav and Mule are more serious than thought, would the front office ever entertain the idea of cashing in on them to contenders?

he played, but it wasnt a 100% Pasha out there thats for sure.

this doesn't sound good for Z. Back problems are bad enough, but when your job involves the amount of twisting and bending that a hockey players does it is just enhancing the problem. The suggestion of complete rest for 6-8 weeks will send shock waves thru Sweden and Wings nation, but that is what he may need to prevent the problem flaring up again. With Pav looking less than 80% out there today for Russia it isnt looking good. There is a very strong scenario that the Redwings could be without their top 2 players after the Olympics for some time. Not something we want to see I'm sure as we try and get one of those 2 wild card spots. I hope they both recover and im sure Sweden could rest Z for the next game anyway.

Update on Pav; After missing Monday night's practice the Detroit Red Wings star takes his first steps on the Olympic ice, centers Kovalchuk and Radulov on Tuesday morning. Now theres a thought, !!

he will go back to Sweden in the off season for sure.

send Quincey to Tampa if they want him, ask for Sustr in return.

Just for a bit of fun I thought about the scenario that, what if the kids had started from the start of the season instead of the current 4 vets that are out of the lineup. Due to being injured,scratched or demoted. So without further ado here are the results of my findings, which can be classed in anyway you want to judge them. I have taken the current stats of Bert, Dan, Sammy and Stephen and compared their projected totals for 56 games against those of Gus,Riley and the 2 Tom's projected outputs. At their present scoring rate after 56 games the combined vets have a total of 37 points, 18+19 . This moment in time they have played a total of 148 games for 26 points with a -35 rating. Which would be -50 over the combined 224 games. Broken down, Bertuzzi 8+6 -20, Cleary 4+5 -12, Weiss 4+4 -9 and Samuelsson 2+4 -9. Not good eh? At the other end of the age scale we get a more happier outlook as fans.With the projected combined total of 126pts, 58+68. At present they have played a combined 111 games for 63 points with a +12 rating. This would be projected to be a +22 rating for the combined 224 games. The kids personal stats project as Nyqvist 24+18 +9, Tatar 16+13 +6, Sheahan 11+24 +7 and Jurco 7+13 even rating. This looks alot better overall for the team in general, i know these are hypothetical but which ever way you look at it all, the stats are more positive for the kids. I know most of the spotlight has fallen on Gus and Tats but i think Riley and Tomas have done outstanding with Riley surprising me the most. Jurco will become a top top player and the thought of him and Mantha on the same line could be a very dangerous line for years to come. Full steam ahead guys, and lets hope a couple of our D prospects can have the same sort of impact next year.

sorry guys dont know what happened there with the BIG letters, still dont! anyway i think Almqvist will be included in any trade that Kenny trys as will Ferraro, we are too stacked at center and im afraid as he is out of options next year he'll be waived or traded.

before the Olympics start ill just suggest signing AK Bars Kazan top 2 D men (not happening I know) which would help us address the Fwd issue. Yevgeni Medvedev and Ilya Nikulin, offer both 2 year deals. Let Quincey walk, use Smith and Kindl with a roster forward Andersson to get the top scoring forward we need. Split the saved $ with the release of these 4 players and give that to the 2 Russian D's. ie $4'100'000 each year for 2 years. This will give us a 2 top D that could play from 1-4, so we could go with Kronwall & DeKeyser, Medvedev & Nikulin and Ericsson Lashoff/ Marchenko. Just a thought, doubt it would happen as the Russian guys have never left their shores, maybe Pav could sweet talk them into coming over.

guys, just to make a note. Im not actually bashing any player here as some have got upset over my inclusion of Weiss. What i have done is compared the stats of the vets that are out against the kids who have in theory taken on their roles. If Weiss was injured then he should have informed the staff before it got as bad as it did. What we shouldnt overlook is the fact that in the games Weiss has performed in when he's said he is 100% fit, he hasn't come over as a vet 2nd line center to date. New team or not, he should have put up better numbers than he has. Look at other teams signings and compare their new players and how they are adapting to their new systems and roles within the team.

I was thinking that we could do with some vet presence on the blue line and a player i feel who would fit in great is Tallinder at Buffalo. Now im sure he is a fa at the end of the season the same as our Quincey. This deal straight up i dont think Buffalo would do but maybe a combination that may be classed as a blockbuster could swing it. To Buffalo: Howard , Quincey, Kindl and Tootoo To Detroit: Miller, Tallinder and McCormick. By all accounts Miller is done in Buffalo and i would say welcome a move to his home town team. Also he is a fa at the end of 13-14 and i would say we could re-sign him for less than we payed Howard who i feel is overpaid. We get the extra vet on D that we need and we sweeten the deal by throwing Kindl in as more depth for the Sabres that they need. Tootoo and McCormick is more or less a like for like, or we could see what other player they would take if not Tootoo. Yeah i knowvits Sabres!!

I still think we need a #2 D, Ericsson has really surpassed his projected level, and has been a bonus for the Wings. In my view he takes over Quinceys spot on the 3/4 next year with DeK and we target a top tier guy to pair with Kronwall. Trade Kindl and or Smith and bring up Marchenko as the 6/7 guy.

For the run in, if we have Pav, Mule and to a lesser extent Wiess back then a veteran D. The off season will be totally different, Vanek would be welcome but not as a rental, we could lose to many pieces getting him. Id go after him as a UFA. We are not Cup contenders this year, but by adding 2/3 right players we could definitely be next year.

IM PROUD OF THE BOYS THEY STAYED IN THE GAME DESPITE THE OFFICALS CR#P CALLS ALL GAME. THE LAST CALL JUST ABOUT TOPPED IT OFF, ABSOLUTE TRASH CALL, DESERVED BETTER TODAY BUT IF THE HOMEE OFFICALS HAD THERE WAY WE WOULD HAVE GOT NOTHING OUT OF THAT GAME. BABS IS FINALLY GETTING IT THOU, THE KIDS KNOW HOW TO PLAY, JUST GET A TOP D IN THAT CORP AND WE DO HAVE A CHANCE TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS.

just a quick look at our Swedish blueline prospects comparison's to our current Swedish Dmen. Looking at their SHL careers and what they accomplished afterwards, does it give us a accurate guide on what to expect from Almqvist or Backman. SHL figures: If we take Kronwall, 6' and 190lb lefty, had stats of played 166 games with 12+33 = 45 pts and a +3 rating. Ericsson on the other hand, at 6'5" 225lb lefty played 81 games with 1+0= 1 and a -16 rating. Almqvist 5' 11" and 174lb lefty, played 122 games with 5+30= 35 pts and +47 rating. Backman 6'2" and 170lb lefty has played 146 games to date with 7+43= 50pts and +33 rating. Judging by the Swedish Hockey League figures Backman looks to have the edge on all of them? Almqvist, Nik and Eric have also all played over 100+ games in the AHL. How do they add up; Kronwall 102 g 15+51= 66pts and a +11 rating. Ericsson 176 g 17+61= 78pts and a +21 rating. Almqvist 109 g 10+44= 54pts and a +12 rating. Kronwall now lives up to be the highest pick amongst them as having the best overall AHL stats. Our prospect pool on the D is very deep, Backman is due to come over next year and start his pro career in Grand Rapids. It will be interesting to see how he copes with the smaller ice and bigger opposition. Has he already overtaken Almqvist in the Wings pecking order without playing in the A?

we all know that Kenny loves bringing back old boys, well im hearing that Matthias is available from Florida and ive read somewhere that the Wings are keen on Kulikov. Maybe getting both in a deal is feasible. that's $4.25m in cap thou. What would Kenny have to give up to get them both? One of our rookie D's would be on the list and maybe one of the vet ones as well as a young forward.

I would hazard a guess that Bert is hurt and their giving him time to heal. Lower back id say

Blashill is being groomed for it, bur how about John Torchetti with Chelios and Bertuzzi as his co/coaches

looks like the Wings are after Gilbert and Boyes, Kindl ,Andersson and a prospect going the other way?

Watching the Olympics could provide us with some ideas. ie see who plays on Z's line for Sweden and what wings play on Dats line for Russia. There's also the unknown commodity of teams like Austria, Switzerland, Latvia and Slovenia and surprise players they have. Also a player that was undrafted and plays lw/c is Jan Kovar. 5'11" 207lb RH is doing well in the KHL after being a top scorer in his native Czech league, only 23 but has 2 years to run on his current KHL contract. Fyodor Malykhin has also been mentioned as a potential target but he also has a year to run on his KHL contract.

no playoffs = no trades. the next 5 games before the Olympic break will define our season and need to trade.

the worst part of it is that the Flyers aren't a very good side. One crap call in the first and our inability to kill off the penalty set the tone of the game. How the hell they can call DeK for a cross check and then nothing for Grossmans boarding of Abby just about sums up what is wrong with the officiating in the NHL today. Don't get me wrong, you don't score you aint winning but it did flatter Philly.

I blame babs for putting out 4 fwds on that PP with under 4 mins left. Play the clock don't give up a shorty then they have under 2 mins to get the leveller, theyd have to pull Thomas then its open net season. The boys played a good game until the last 6 mins, that's hockey. We just have to admit the Panthers have our # this year. By the way the Griffs blew a 3 goal lead tonight, 5-2 up into the 3rd and lost in OT!!

Dirty Harry scored his team leading 14th goal for the Griffins last night and seems to be making a strong case for a job on the Wings next season. He has cut down on his pims considerably and has actually shown the coaches he can play as well as agitate. A fourth line of Sheahan Tootoo and Callahan looks an intriguing one which may just happen.