GoalieManPat

I think your dislike for Howard is screwing your perception of what happened. You say every good chance goes in but your conveniently forgetting the saves he does make. Getzlaf wide open from the slot the last couple minutes with traffic in front of him right after another wings turnover. That was a big save. The first goal was definitely his blunder but he played well the rest of the game. Certainly wasnt the reason the wings lost. You said in another post that so far Howard has been outplayed by both goalies so far. Jimmy beat Rask only giving up one goal which was a pretty darn good shot. Pretty much the same shot that Nyquist beat Andersen with tonight yet you demonize Howard for letting it in and not Andersen? Glendenings goal was extremely weak. Had Howard let that in he would be getting crucified by you and others on the boards but another goalie lets it in and he still is considered to have "outplayed" Howard. Plain and simple there are always going to be Wings fans that point to the goalie first after a loss but in reality this game was lost mostly due to the Wings inability to finish chances and one poor officiating decision. The game should have been 4-2 before the Getzlaf incident had the forwards come through. The Wings opened the season against the two highest point teams last year and outplayed them both. Encouraging start to the season. 80 more like those two and the Wings will be alright.

Love that hockey is back but man...those lines are disgusting.

Maybe but a 41 year old Gretzky would in no way be as effective as Yzerman was defensively. Gretzky may have matched him in points but the Wings would have given up quite a few more. Wow that comment is baffling. 97 sure Feds was better. 98 Yzerman wins Conn Smythe. 02 Yzerman. Your forgetting one major thing and that was Stevie Y's leadership. Feds was not even close to the leader that Stevie was. Dont forget the Wings were down 0-2 going into Vancouver in the first round before Yzerman rallied the troops. You dont have Yzerman on the team and theres a good chance that hall of fame Wings team is out in the 1st round.

No way that Gus groin last a whole season. Mrazek will get 15+ games this year plus starters role in GR. Hes in Detroit from the start next year.

People said it being only a one year deal was a positive last year as well. It turned out to be a poor deal even at one year just like this one is likely to be.

What makes me the most infuriated with this signing is Holland doesnt seem to be making this move to better the team. Hes doing it to basically give his buddy a free paycheck and keep a promise that shouldnt have been made. Kind of like if your own a place and your kind of forced to give a job to a cousin, in law, or friend even though they arent qualified but because they are family/friends. You know they wont improve the workplace but it makes your conscience feel good by doing it.

Sorry if thats not 100% what you meant. Thats just how I comprehended your post. This signing is holding the team back though. Signings like these have held the team back the last couple years. The Wings already have guys that fill Cleary's role. There is no need to bring him in. Id rather have Jurco playing top minutes in GR and then getting the call when players inevitably get hurt. 50+ games in GR and then 30 or so in the NHL will do loads more for his development at this stage than 80+ in GR. Having Cleary on the roster just adds another body he has to jump through even though hes proved hes a better player right now.

Do you really believe that Holland will release or demote Cleary over a youngster that can be sent down even if the youngster completely outplays Cleary?? What message does it send to the young players in the organization? They preach to them to work hard and youll earn your spot but all they end up seeing is those spots theyve earned given to players that should have been put out to pasture years ago.

You look at the decisions that Nill has made in his short time in Dallas compared to the decisions Holland has been making and its becoming ever more clear to me that Nill might have been the true brains in the front office. I really dont want to pile on Cleary as theres no doubt the guy gave 150% every game to the organization and it would be disrespectful to him to insult him where he should be commended for his work. Its clear though that in giving all that it took way to much of a toll on his body. He just cant perform at the NHL level anymore. Lets be honest who in there right mind would turn down that contract though at his age. I cant be mad at Cleary. All the blame needs to be on Holland.

All of those transactions except Alfie were done with the braintrust of Yzerman and Nill. Look how those other two are positioning there respective teams compared to how Holland is with the Wings. Ive gotten the feeling that Nill drove the ship more than weve ever known. And the drafting of players is down to the scout team way more than the GM. Yes he makes the decision but all the information about the players hes deciding on is given by the scouts.

I wouldnt say theyve been the best drafting team. Above average is the best you can give them. The Wings havent drafted anyone that has developed into elite talent in 15 years since Hank in 99. The kids the last couple years have potential but until they show they can produce consistantly in the NHL they are running along the lines of previous picks.

Kirk Maltby disagrees!!

Good video. Only thing that was off with it was the Boston marathon shots. What the hell does that have to do with hockey? It was downright disgusting in my opinion how the long the Boston sports teams used Boston Strong as a marketing gimmick.

Thats odd. I didnt know being invisible 95% of the time was good?

+/- is a joke stat. Lidstrom proved that by winning the Norris as a minus player. Franzen is not good defensively. Hes not quick, he doesnt use his size to clear, he doesnt actively seek to block shots, and hes not intense as he plays timid for a guy with his size and reach. All of those are traits of good defenders and he lacks them all. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

I don't see any chance that Monster comes back. With the chances now that a player can bolt at any time to the KHL if he feels hes not getting a fair shot at the NHL players can't be stashed in the AHL for extra years. Mrazek needs to come up next year. Only way Monster comes back is if they move Howard and bring Monster back as starter A. If he can't stay healthy as just a backup he won't last a full season and then your putting your teams hopes on a rookie goaltender with no safety net. Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

I don't get what you are trying to say. All of those teams except for maybe Pittsburgh had Championship caliber defence and goaltending when they won. Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

Your right Sammy's contract was worse than Franzens but that doesn't mean Franzen should stay. Its contracts like that make me worry about Hollands decisions. Sammy basically got 6 mill to play like s*** for a couple games and then sit in the trainers room injured. Hell even his couple games in the AHL were horrible before he yet again got injured. This was a guy Holland deemed worth 3 mill a season. Franzen is in now way a bargain. When he's not scoring, which now is about 2/3s to 3/4s of the season, a league minimum 4th liner playing 8 minutes has more impact on a game than he does playing 17 minutes plus. That is not a bargain. Players who are consistent are worth 4 mill a season. Streaky players are not. Especially those who go into 20+ game droughts every year. Unfortunately I only see him leaving if the Wings truly feel Mantha can step right in. Based on Hollands "men's league" comment last season I don't see him doing it even if Mantha is ready. Then we would have lost the buyout chance and be stuck with him getting lazyer and lazyer. His post game comments just show how little he seems to care. Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk

It doesnt matter what the reason is be it mental, family, or injury. He is not producing more and more. Its not something new as its been this way for 4 years now. Point being he is not doing what hes paid to do at the most crucial times. Its time cut the dead weight and that includes him. If you only showed up to your job and were productive 1 of 5 days would you expect to keep your job let alone get millions for it? Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

I hate them both. I hope both teams get popped for PED's and have the series cancelled and both eliminated.

Maybe he will catch Brunnstom'itis

Dekeyser was in the NHL all year. I think he would have had to have been sent down once or atleats had a "on paper" demotion to be able to play. It funny similar the Sproul winner was to Bostons in Game 4

Ill disagree and say he does suck. When hes on, which is 20 games a season but slowly becoming less, he is good. When he is off he is terrible. He doesn't bring anything to the team outside of scoring. He doesn't use his size, he doesn't have speed, hes not a good defender, and he turns the puck over constantly. He has been the Wings worst player since the start of March. Not just because he hasn't scored but hes been a liability on the ice. Weiss has been more beneficial to the team in that time by not playing than Franzen was while playing. Take today for example. Franzen was horrible. Wings tie it up and go back on the PP. He then goes and takes a stupid holding penalty because he was to lazy to try and skate to the puck or use his body to push the player off it. That lead to the series of plays leading to the second goal. Then he throws a terrible pass up the middle that you expect to see in midget hockey not the pros leading to the game winner. Franzen hurts the team more than helping.

All you can say now is....LETS GO GRIFFS!

I dunno about that. GO BJ's!!