Echolalia

I agree with this. I hope Blashill is a solid head coach in the NHL, but we really have no clue whether he'll be phenomenal or a total bust until he's been behind the bench. What makes me optimistic is that several coaches who have worked alongside Babcock have gone on to have successful coaching gigs elsewhere, and Holland and co decided to retain Blashill, which may speak to his potential. He has also had amazing (and surprisingly immediate) success at the college level, and in the AHL. He already coaches a similar style to the Wings' system, as evidenced by how successful our call-ups have been. Everyone was expecting Nyqvist to shine, but probably not as brightly as he did. I wasn't expecting Jurco and certainly not Sheahan to steal spots this year, and Glendening also came out of nowhere. I think their success at the NHL level is partly due to how they were coached in the years leading up to this. Anyway, I guess if and when the time comes that Babcock moves on from his current position, unless Trotz or Tippet are available, I would be comfortable taking a chance on Blashill. He's certainly done everything he can do to at least earn the opportunity to be a head coach.

I WOULD LOVE THIS

Patrick Kane just got rocked open ice, Minny gets a pp immediately after and scores right away to take a 4-2 lead. This is the best kind of struggle to watch when it's the Blackhawks in question.

http://m.freep.com/Sports/article?a=2014305090136&f=1233 While Babcock is staying at least for another year, Holland has given permission to teams to talk to our associate coaches, so we may see a bit of a coaching change afterall.

I still think Smith can be a premier offensive defensman in this league, and considering how he closed the season/playoffs, I'm excited at his development.

Its all speculation on my end but I think it comes down to his run and gun style of play. Tootoo is about opportunistic hits, and that typically presents itself in the corners in the offensive zone. Tootoo goes for the big hit, and potentially takes himself out of the play (even if for a moment). The crowd is cheering cuz Toots is loose, but Babcock only sees the opposition breaking out of their zone, and Tootoo is behind the play. It's a 4 on 4, or 4 on 3 coming into our zone. I don't know what Babcock's role for Tootoo was, but I can only imagine that it involved playing with defense in mind. The players who typically persist on Babcock's fourth line (or anywhere in the lineup, really) are the ones who battle well along the boards and eat up time, but don't get lost on the play or caught deep when the puck is coming back into our zone. When they lose possession they back off and clog the neutral zone and backcheck hard, they don't go for the big hit when it takes them out of the play, and doesn't prevent the breakout either.I don't know the exact reason why Tootoo couldn't maintain a spot in the lineup but I suspect it has to do with the above.

Isn't Blashill's system the same as Babcock's? i keep hearing about how the transition for Nyqvist, Sheahan, Jurco, etc is so smooth partially because the system in place in GR is an emulation of the Red Wings.If Babcock does decide to retire or move on, I would prefer Blashill take over though. He is familiar with what it takes to be successful at every level, and is already well acquainted with the Red Wings' organization, how things are run, personelle, etc.

There are a few teams already looking for a head coach. Todd is cream of the crop if he gets released.

Trouba would be interesting... I forgot he existed

Zetterberg was quoted somewhere on the boards that youth movements are nice but we've been there before, and our priority should be winning the Cup (or something along those lines). It could be taken as a message to front office to make some essential moves this summer. Anyway, Datsyuk just posted on Twitter or Facebook "We need to be better... Next year we need to not make it 24 playoffs, we need to win the Cup". So we have both Datsyuk and Zetterberg talking about the need to win, and not five years from now but immediately. These guys only have a few good years left and they know it. I wonder if Holland will get the message, and if so, I wonder how he will respond.

He needs some time and the right fit.... Coming from the front office, what is that supposed to mean?

What's exciting is that this team is only a couple moves away from being a serious contender. Dats and Z are still elite players, the kids all performed way better than expected. We need to round out our top 4 on defense (and honestly I think the series against Boston turns out much differently if we had Ericsson in the lineup), and pick up a top six forward who's an offensive threat (Weiss?), and suddenly the team is looking quite formidable.

What exactly are the rules for the cap penalty if he were traded?

Mrazek has done everything he needs to do in every league/tourney he has ever played in up to this point. When he was called up for the Wings, he was as solid as anyone could expect of him. In fact, in the nine games that he played in this season, he posted a better GAA and save% (1.74, .927) than Howard and Gustavsson, and is tied for the team lead in shutouts with two. Granted, nine games isn't that large of a sample size, but the only way to get him more games is to bring him on as a backup. I think he has demonstrated that he is ready.

So Gustavsson will be caught out of position, bobble the puck and provide juicy rebounds and wide open nets.... Only to allow two goals the entire game.

Honestly, he's been looking like a leader out there. When the Wings are hemmed in their own zone, on several occasions Smith has been taking the puck and skating away from trouble himself, instead of passing to someone else and hoping they have a better chance at getting the puck out (which seems to be a problem with our defense as a whole this postseason). On the breakout, as you said, Smith has been joining the rush and looking to make plays, and he's been contributing to our chances in the offensive zone. He's taken a step in his development for sure based on his play, and I love that hockey smarts are starting to work along with his confidence, and he has some experience to steer him to the right play now. I still think his potential is very high, and I'm excited to see how he progresses over the next two, three years.

The ultimate goal in Detroit is to win the Stanley Cup, not to make the playoffs. It's nice that the streak was kept alive, and Franzen's performance for two months out of the season helped secure that streak, for sure, but he doesn't get a pass for being lazy for half the season + playoffs because he was carrying the team for a few weeks. The bottom line is Franzen is an NHL player, and he's getting paid an NHL player's salary. It's expected that he gives it his all every night, whether he puts up points or not. I'm not seeing that, and considering the Wings need his effort right now more than any other point this season, it's disappointing that he's not elevating his game to where he's capable of playing.

We need big bodies who can force themselves to the top of the crease. At the very least, Bert is capable of doing that.

I just want to see a solid effort, and when the night is over, I want everything left on the ice.

There was a good deal of cartilage damage from what I've read, and cartilage is a much slower healing process than bone.

The baby is here because he didn't pull it out

I would keep the same roster. The Wings didn't play their game the way they should have, and the results are exactly how we would expect that to go. Talk to the guys (and practice) about tightening down the slot and playing heavy in front of Jimmy, and for heaven's sake practice crossing center ice on the power play with SPEED instead of floating to the blue line expecting Boston to let them in. Play to our strengths. Speed and tenacity are our strengths. So let's play fast and tenacious.

I could watch that play over and over again just to see Marchant getting trapped on that maneuver. If he doesn't bite on that bad pass, he's still in position on Datsyuk and can keep Pavs on Chara's side of the ice. Instead, Pavel pulls the puck up and it leads to a two on two, with Marchant eating dust on the Wings' blue line. Abby does an excellent job driving the net and Datsyuk is free to move to the left wing from the right side. That puts Chara in no man's land and the other defensman is respecting Abdelkader's drive to the net. Dats takes full advantage of the time and space, puts the shot where he needs to put it, but it all starts when Marchant loses his man on that puck-drag play, and allows Datsyuk to shift to the left side.

Most of us are on the same page with lines, it seems.

I want to see; Nyqvist Datsyuk Abdelkader Alfredsson Legwand Franzen Jurco Sheahan Tatar Miller Glendenjng Helm