BuckeyeWingsfan80

Quoted for truth. I just wonder when it'll be made "official" LOL

But they have to be on the ice to score, and they aren't and mostly haven't been.

I'm glad someone pointed this out. When you have an abundance of skill players - especially certain American and Swedish defensemen who are experts at getting shots through from the perimeter, driving the net becomes less of a priority. However, when you've lost those players and have replaced them with basically Kronwall and nothing else, driving the net becomes crucial to getting the puck into the scoring zone. This is one of the main reasons why this team's personnel or strategy needs to be revamped.

I'll still be around. The problem is most of the same players will be as well. Although if Flip for some reason leaves in Free Agency, this would be a BAD thing obviously.... ^^^ what he said.

Well, enjoy the first round exit, if we get there, I guess. But don't say I didn't tell you so if we don't or when they get embarrassed again. Oh and wash, rinse and repeat next year, I don't see it changing much for next season.

Nyquist needs to be given at least 3rd line minutes, if not 2nd line minutes going forward. Youth and energy are what this team needs to break up the staleness of the roster.

The Wings have 1 game against any team (@Calgary) that has basically no chance at a playoff spot. Also, with two games in hand, that last Dallas game may be very interesting since they could need that win to get to the same point level as the Wings.

They are the bubble. With St. Louis winning today, that leaves Detroit alone in the 8th seed.

Detroit's system doesn't always work all that well in the playoffs either - when it does it's a thing of beauty, but when it doesn't, it's an early exit.

Funny - Ask Chicago, Boston and Pittsburgh how that parity is working out for them. Parity is an excuse for losers. This team lacks fire, energy, speed, skill and grit. That's not parity, that's losing hall of famers, legends and truly-gritty players like Drapes and Maltby and replacing them with Sammy, Coliacovo, Quincey and whoever else Holland tried to sell to us as legit hockey players this year. It's not parity, it's that everyone has gotten better and Detroit's dynasty is over. It's not over because of lack of trying, it's over because legends like Yzerman and Lidstrom are gone, Hall of Famers like Chelios, Rafalski and Osgood are gone too. You don't lose legends like Lidstrom and expect first round busts like Quincey to move into the lineup and make the same impact. There HAS TO BE a drop off, and we're seeing it. It'll take more than plugging in a few "over-ripe" career minor-leaguers to fix it.

They have to MAKE the playoffs first, and I'm no where near convinced they will do so. Beyond that, no, this is easily the worst Wings team since 1989-1990. All of the teams you want to dream about the Wings morphing into were better than this team.

And all of those teams were fast, strong up the middle and played defense, not to mention they were very physical teams. And yes the will to do so can count for a lot, but what has shown you this team has the will to do anything but float on the perimeter and have their asses handed to them? This Detroit team is none of those qualities, and this Detroit team doesn't have 1/10th the skill it had even last year. All of those teams were better than this Red Wings team is now, and it's not even close.

Agreed. As a fan base, we're so unaccostomed to not being one of the top flight teams in the league that when the team needs a serious overhaul, a lot of us just don't see it for what it is. The Patriots will be in this role here very shortly in the NFL and Dallas has been since Aikman/Smith/Irvin left - the Yankees in the MLB, the Lakers should be but aren't (and in some ways look very similar to the Red Wings). The point being, this team isn't a cup contender. The roster is not strong in any area - there is barely a top-6 and there is certainly NOT a top-4 defensively. There is basically zero secondary scoring, the special teams are crappy, especially on the power play. This team is not physical. This team doesn't have great speed and to top it all off, they take nights off. All of this adds up to either missing the playoffs are getting destroyed in the first round.

That's great - name ONE thing this team does right consistently night in and night out. You won't find it. This team is so wildly inconsistent, expecting 4 good games out of 7 is a near impossibility, and in the playoffs, just playing a "good" game isn't good enough to win. Right now if Detroit makes the playoffs, they will get jailsexed by the Blackhawks - a team with more talent, skill and speed, not to mention physicality, than the Red Wings. There's a reason this team got smacked by the BJ's of all people this year.

why did it take them 58 minutes to finally look like an NHL team?

This was expected when the season started. This is what happens when you replace legends with role players and never-weres.

well considering how they were physically dominated by Columbus this year...well....

that's some rookie s*** right there.....pathetic.

good thing that gaborik guy didn't come to Detroit. I mean a goal and assist? Who needs that?!?!?!

they get nothing going in the middle of the ice. Ever. They just float or come from behind the end line....it's a sign of a lack of either scoring talent or killer instinct or both.

******* pathetic.

I've seen crisper power plays in the AHL.....

I kind of doubt it - Lebrun on ESPN - who is usually up Cindy's ass to see what he had for dinner, hasn't said a peep about it. If there was any validity to it, I'd think the Pens would have said so. I do think that he'll be out for most of the rest of the regular season however.

Well not only is the environment better, he was stuck playing left-wing in New York where his best years have always been at right wing.

Dorsett has been hurt for a while and wasn't likely to come back in the regular season. Columbus already has Jared Boll who basically plays the same role as Dorsett does, and Dorsett is smaller and doesn't skate as well as Boll does and I'm pretty sure Boll has longer left on his contract than Dorsett does. Brassard might be "tearing it up" but that's just one game. I can't tell you how many times you'd hear even Jeff Rimer commenting on how Brassard was floating on the ice and not getting into the mix offensively or defensively. Brassard is basically Sammy without the stick-skills, no one in Columbus is going to miss him either. The only real piece Columbus gave up with any real potential is John Moore. He's a big d-man, he's still very young and could develop into at least an All-Star down the road. Don't let your bias against Columbus get to you - Columbus clearly owns the Rangers GM and being able to land Gaborik without giving up one of their 3-1st round picks is a frikin steal. Ian White isn't worth a 2nd round pick though. Maybe a 4th.