Drake_Marcus

Friday: Atlanta @ New Jersey NY Islanders @ Buffalo Philadelphia @ Florida Boston @ Dallas Vancouver @ Calgary Minnesota @ Edmonton Saturday: Atlanta @ Buffalo NY Rangers @ Toronto Ottawa @ Montreal Carolina @ New Jersey San Jose @ NY Islanders Nashville @ Washington Colorado @ Detroit Los Angeles @ Columbus Tampa Bay @ Pittsburgh Dallas @ Chicago <-- Dallas has to fly up to Chicago overnight to play the second game of their back to back!?! Boston @ Phoenix Minnesota @ Vancouver St Louis @ Anaheim Sunday: No games scheduled <--- NHL's afraid of the big bad NFL wolf.

That was well after the draft. It's not like he got drafted in the 7th with that tag around his neck.

Leino's that kind of guy. So far in the 25 or so NHL games he's played he's looked a lot like Zetterberg and Datsyuk did as rookies. The only reason why he was in GR for a time last year was the cap.

Smith's still got time to prove himself yet. As far as Axelsson goes, Red Wings Central has also been preaching his offensive potential for a while, but he could still end up like Ryno-- sabotaged by his off ice attitude. At this time I see more in him offensively than I do Ferraro, but I think Tatar's got a higher upside in terms of pure offense.

Yzerman and Lidstrom were playing in Detroit at age 18. At this point we could still have a Datsyuk in one of the more recent draft classes... he wasn't at the top of the prospect depth chart as a teenager!

All I can say is that we're all lucky we're doing this on a Wings board, because the boys sure haven't come through in the picks game for us much I'll pick my games tonight... We'll see how everyone looks in the games tonight first.

Oh I got it! Find some McFarlane Sports Picks action figures and get the corresponding player to sign the base. A signed Lidstrom would look awesome on your desk at work.

Then the real question is can you wash it? Or do you stick it in a glass case?

Who laughed at you saying we needed a gritty PK specialist? Everyone knew our PK sucked last season, it wasn't exactly a secret around here. I agree with you here, but don't feel like you were a minority. Then you go and suggest we bring up Delmore!?! He's the worst defensive player on the depth chart!

Man, if only your unending faith and over expectations in prospects/recent-NHLers could be transferred to the guys who've already proved themselves.

After spending 16 hours marking tests over the last 24 hours I really, really, really need to watch a good Red Wings game. Please Wings? I haven't been able to make it to the gym or do anything but mark. I need this one boys.

A) Definitely not among the best players to play the game. Not even in the top 20. Neither is even a Hall of Famer yet, they're still kids. You have to sustain this level of play for years and years to be the best. Ask Bure. B) Fluerry isn't even among the top 10 goalies in the game right now. He's playing well right now. He's yet to put an impressive season together. But yeah, they're the best team in the league through the first 7 games of their season. Not even 10% of the way there yet guys...

GMR with the zinger.

Yeah, I think so.

Best post in the thread.

This. The entire structure of the team defense needs to be overhauled. It wasn't working well last year and it's certainly not working well this year.

Dear god I hope that's because they made a very astute trade and they're also drafting 30th overall.

Agreed. But what can they do to fix it? It's really odd but they just seem snake bitten.

I have a habit of remembering too much detail. So I remember how dismally Quincey played for the year and a half leading up to his dismissal.

Oh I agree that they should've seen this in Quincey-- it's not like Holland isn't supposed to see the untapped potential. I just find it rediculous how many people forget how horrible he was after the 06-07 playoffs. I mean Howard was an AHL all-star that year, does that mean now people would bemoan dumping him? Not a chance. They'd start doing it once he got hot for someone else. When Quincey left he was waived, which means Holland couldn't get a deal for him other than the Dallas trade that fell through. That speaks to how terribly he was up until his release. I still think a big part of this is plain old growth. Quincey grew after being slapped into reality with the waive situation. All the power to him. In the preseason Holland mentioned that he told Quincey he'd like to try and find a way to get him back in Detroit after releasing him, so it's not like Holland was happy to see him go. It was just a business thing. In the end it doesn't really matter. We have no idea how Q would be playing in Meech's shoes right now.

Too bad they're still the LA Kings.

This! Also I'd like to say I thought Howard had a great night all things considered. 1 goal on 15 shots is pretty good given the situation he walked in to. Hopefully he'll keep it up.

And here I thought I had a right to be pissed because it was a game on Canadian TV and I had excitement built up to see it on the big screen (not my laptop) and to watch it with my girlfriend. But I didn't pay money... so yeah, you definitely have a right to feel cheated in my eyes. On the plus side you can say you've witnessed the worlds worst penalty shot.

This. I'd rather they slump and feel the pressure now than when they have a good record to look back at in the mirror. At one point last season the Pens seemed like a lock to miss the post season but managed to go on a tear in the last third of the season. Let's not leave it that long, but a slow start is fine if it serves to slap the Wings' players into playing Wings hockey. 'Cause this s*** definitely isn't Red Wings hockey. Very little hustle and very poor team defense.

He's easily the worst defensive option we've got. Definitely the best offensive option of all the call-ups, but his defense alone ruined his shot at a sustained NHL career, despite leading the league in PP goals one year.