Echolalia

In fairness to Holland this conversation would likely be going quite differently if he didn't get a season ending injury. Cole was exactly the type of player the Wings needed going into the playoffs.

Well... the cupboard is getting awfully full and as it stands the Wings have more prospects that are out of options and knocking on the door than we currently have room for. Mantha has a ton of upside. Maybe he has some downside, too. Personally I think one year in the AHL is too soon to write the kid off, and 33 points in 62 games shouldn't exactly be considered a failed season. But right now the Wings are in this awkward position where they're too good to get a top 10 or top 5 pick to draft a franchise player, but not good enough to get to the finals (or even past the first/second round). I generally hate trades, simply because its the least economic way of acquiring talent, but when we have the pieces in the pipeline that we do, and we are struggling to find room for them all, it only makes sense to move some prospects to fill a hole in the roster. And as it happens we are pretty set on bottom line guys, and even top six complementary pieces. What we lack is a franchise player, and trading Callahan, Ferraro, Smith, Kindl, Franzen and a 1st isn't going to do it despite what LGW tries to say. It will take one of Mantha or Larkin as a backbone of a deal to bring in the player we are looking for. Furthermore, we're kinda stuck with going after franchise players that are on the second half of their career, simply because no GM is willing to move a young franchise player. Its the most coveted piece of a roster, and also the most difficult to acquire. These guys aren't moved around when they're in their early 20s. So as it stands a guy like Phaneuf, who just turned 30 and has shown to be a reliable top 2 defender in just about any facet of the game is unfortunately as good as we're likely to get.

Aren't they technically "don't wannabes"?

These threads pop up periodically, regarding either Fedorov, or Osgood, or Zetterberg, or whomever, and I always say the same thing: if there's enough hesitancy among part of the fan-base that a debate is even warranted, then the player in question probably shouldn't get their jersey retired. I can't speak for the legends from before my time, but as far as Yzerman and Lidstrom go, both cases were overwhelmingly unanimous.

I read an article fairly recently that over the next few years the league really wants to dive into real-time stats, which would include things like where shots are being taken from on the ice, speed of the puck, speed of the players, etc. So that aspect may very well return.

It's funny how within the last year or so people were pretty bummed out about not landing Franson, Green, Erhoff, etc and now that everyone is available again the consensus on LGW so far is "meh" I wouldn't mind adding someone who can be a steady offensive presence, though.

Hahaha

I don't know if Quenneville is having his team play super aggressive or if they're just doing it on their own but it's repeatedly coming back to burn them.

While I agree its probably time to give up on Phoenix, or Arizona, or whatever, I do think its worth mentioning that it wasn't all that long ago that Mike Illitch had to give away cars to get people into seats at Joe Louis arena.

There it is!

from the Wings' site: "Chris Chelios enters his fifth season as advisor to hockey operations for the Detroit Red Wings. In his position, Chelios works closely with Detroit’s front office, as well as the coaching staffs of the Red Wings and the Grand Rapids Griffins, providing insight on a wide range of on-ice issues and helping to develop and mentor young players within the organization. He also assists the team’s business operations, appearing at games and other functions to interact with fans and potential business partners." So it may be that Blashill and Chelios have a bit of a working relationship, which would help explain this potential hiring. I have no idea how involved Chelios was though. It could have been as extensive as daily consultations with coaches and players, to as narrow as being an adviser in name only, and spending little/no actual time over in GR. I haven't the slightest clue. I am a bit put off by how quickly this is all happening, though. Say what you want about Babcock, but he knew how to surround himself with talent. Half of his assistants went on to become head coaches. One of them won the Jack Adams. Babs was the one who brought Blashill up from college to pros. When Babs left, unfortunately so did his resources. I think a big key for how successful Blashill becomes is who he surrounds himself with, and that means learning to dig deep for that kind of talent. Announcing assistant coaches who were both already in the system within an hour of becoming head coach himself, and within a week of being bounced from the AHL playoffs doesn't exactly suggest to me that the search was extensive. Now maybe that isn't necessary. Certainly Granato has proven his mettle. Everyone already knows my opinion of Chelios as a asst coach hiring right now, but (admittedly from the outside looking in) it still all seems like a lot of preparation didn't go into these decisions.

If Cheli adopts the coaching philosophy of his youth coach I'll fully support this move.

So I assume no? Can't say I see the logic in bringing someone into the organization to coach who has zero coaching experience (at any level?)

How's Chelli's cv looking these days? Has he been coaching since he retired?

I really liked the breakout on that game winner. Chicago was playing an aggressive game by sending both wingers into the corner to pressure, and they both got caught deep with a simple pass around the boards. After winning the faceoff, Paquette races across the blue line as a faux-outlet pass for his winger, but that just eliminates Chiago's high forward from the breakout, because he has to cover Paquette. Meanwhile, Hedman is activated from his own faceoff dot and the guy who should be covering him is still curling out of the corner due to aforementioned aggressive commitment. That left Hedman to take an easy pass with good speed out of his zone and break through into the Blackhawk's zone unmolested. Add that to a bit of lazy coverage in the slot and the series is 3-2 Lightning. Awesome play from faceoff to goal.

Yeah, a lot of other teams have adopted it, too. Kronwall is just a klutz sometimes and doesn't always think to take advantage of the open ice in front of him when the opposing fore-checker drops behind him in anticipation.

Some issues:No doctor will ever say Franzen not at risk of serious injury. Even if he doesn't have the concussion history, that's not a promise anyone can safely throw out there. But more to the point- if Franzen maintains a period of being asymptomatic for a certain number of days, then he is green lighted to do light workouts etc, and then everyone checks to see if he can stay symptom free, again for a set number of days. They keep upping the workload and checking for symptoms until he's practicing without a contact jersey and back to his original routine. The doctors give the green-light through this process based on his presentation, but that's not the same thing as endorcing Franzen's return. Once Franzen is symptom free, he is technically "healthy" enough to return to the lineup, but I suspect most docs out there would advise against it. At that point, though, it's ultimately Franzen's decision whether he continues to play, not anyone in the medical field. So to answer your question; if Franzen comes back, I'll be greatly concerned for his long-term health. And to be clear, I've generally been in the minority here that thinks the Wings are a better team with Franzen on the ice.

I was at that game. It was pretty shocking to hear how vehemently everyone was booing the guy. Chicago's hatred for Detroit runs incredibly deep. Although I have to admit, that particular game I was in the standing room section way up in the nosebleeds, and there happened to be a ton of Wings fans around us, and the Wings fans as a whole were pretty big ****** bags. It was kind of embarrassing, honestly. All fanbases have their share of good and bad fans.

If they have sick flow, rest assured the back end is well covered.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/montreal-canadiens-re-sign-jeff-petry-for-six-years-at--33-million-232056195.html This is why we can't have nice things

I agree that its too soon to throw the kid under a bus, but I'm not too sure he'll be utilized any differently than Babcock used him. Even if Blashill gives Jurco the benefit of the doubt, he still needs to outperform someone else above him on the depth chart, and right now its pretty crowded. Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Tatar, and Nyquist are likely not moving from the top six. Abdelkader has proven his worth on a scoring line and has bought his ticket to stay there. That leaves one opening on the top six that Jurco will be competing with Helm, Sheahan, Weiss, Pulkkinen, Franzen (if he returns), and anyone that Holland may pick up in the off-season. Heck, I just listed enough players that Jurco would have to compete for a third line spot as well. I'm not saying its impossible, but I also don't believe Blashill is the type of person to give Jurco the spot because of familiarity and/or success in Grand Rapids. If Jurco is going to play alongside the likes of Zetterberg or Tatar, he's going to have to prove he's a better option than the alternatives. Then again, Blash might really spread things out and we could see a potential third line with one of Tatar or Nyquist on it, which may also open things up a little more. Its tough to predict because nobody knows how Blashill will set the team up just yet. But my guess is that we see Jurco on the third line to start the season, likely with third-line caliber players. Where he goes from there is entirely up to him.

I don't think anyone is saying Jurco had an awesome season. By most standards and expectations I think LGW can agree that Jurco wasn't as productive as we were expecting, especially given how he played the year before, and all the hype that has surrounded him the past few years. But that's not to say he is irrelevant to the team, and it's also not worth trading him for a bag of pucks due to one (offensively) down year.

Maybe, I definitely hope so. But I think it's too early to tell, even with the Worlds and AHL playoffs. The trend for new players burning out typically seems to happen around December/January, after 3 or 4 months of this kind of schedule. At the very least Larkin has been contributing, though, and that certainly bodes well for his future.

It was hard to tell who was who because the camera angle was so high and the quality wasn't the greatest, but as a whole, I think Utica carried the play most of the night, and the Griffins struggled to maintain any kind of pressure. Consequently Larkin didn't stand out in any positive way, but I don't think that game is a fair assessment for him considering the whole team was off.

I disagree on the pseudo-science part, but why can't sports be all the above? Stats have been a tool for ages to help teams give themselves the best odds of success, but the game is played on the field/ice and not on a piece of paper, so exceptions to the trend and Cinderella stories that defy odds will always be around. At the root of most of those stories historically has been a combination of will, luck, and opportunity. I don't see that changing in the future.