Most Overrated/Underrated Red Wing?

[Yzermania 156]

Underrated: Helm, I need no argument, he's amazing and plays balls to the wall everynight. He makes the best out of the 6 or 7 minutes he gets.

Overrated: Holmstrom - I hate to say this because I love the guy so much but aside from his irritation skills in front of th enet, he is a very very sloppy skater AND puckhandler.

I agree with the guys statements above who said mule is over and underated. I thought it was ridiculous when he got hurt and everyone started panicing, same thing I thought yesterday when Holmer was hurt and everyone viewed it as a death curse. On the flipside though, people wh oare just viewing this as an extended streak need to get with it, the mule's game is here to stay. The only guy I really see us falling apart without is Lids and we saw it already this season, granted we had other injuries, but once he went down, the s*** hit the fan.

*EDIT*

Oh and I wanna add this too...

Rafalski is VERY overrated, when people are saying him and lids are the two best in the league, I beg to differ, Lids is the best, no doubt, but I don't think Raffy is even the 2nd best on the team, to me Kronner is our second hot shot d-man and no I'm not saying it because his big hits, the guy is an incredibly sound d man with a great vision of the game, the cross ice passes he makes remind me just of Lids, he will shine beyond all belief some day so there's another guy I think is extremely underrated, now that I think about it, more so than helm even.

Edited June 1, 2008 by Yzermania

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Overated: Kopecky, he never did ANYTHING, and yet people seem to think the guy has great potential to become a good player. He was the streakiest physical player I may have ever seen, he'll skate around in circles one game, and be running Pronger the next. I'd rather him be shipped off.

Underated: Chelios, he had one bad game and everyone was calling for him to retire, he's a better all around player then Lilja or Lebda. It's too bad he wont even get to play in the finals.

[dallas27 7]

16 saves in one period to preserve the win until the Wings got their heads out of their asses in game 2 vs. Nashville.... is "sucking badly"? Seriously? Dom stole that game and was the reason they won. Short term memory problems run rampant in this forum.

I see you didn't mention that he let in back-to-back goals 9 and 11 seconds apart.

I love the lack of credit you give Osgood, especially when he has won games numerous times during this playoff run for the Wings, and default to it's the team that won them YET you are so, so quick to give ONE example about Hasek stealing a game (which he did).

Seems that you have a short term memory problem as well

Edited June 1, 2008 by dallas27

[akustyk 84]

Overated: Kopecky, he never did ANYTHING, and yet people seem to think the guy has great potential to become a good player. He was the streakiest physical player I may have ever seen, he'll skate around in circles one game, and be running Pronger the next. I'd rather him be shipped off.

I remember similar things being said of guys like Hudler and Flippula just 2 years ago.

just give Kopecky some time.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

I don't think anyone is overrated. But maybe that's just me loving them all so much and being a little bias..

Underrated? Till this day, it's Ozzie. Nothing will make me change my mind on this. He doesn't get respect, and he is only appreciated by the Wings, other teams and NHL fans bash him to no end and view him as the goaltender who only wins because of the D he has in front of him. I call BS. So yep, Oz is underrated.

Edited June 1, 2008 by HockeyCrazy3033

[Yzerfan1999 81]

I wouldn't say anyone is really overrated, but Rafalski seems to be falling behind a bit in these finals. Still - i'd hate to lose him.

Underrated - Jiri Hudler.

[puckloo39 5,686]

I see you didn't mention that he let in back-to-back goals 9 and 11 seconds apart.

I love the lack of credit you give Osgood, especially when he has won games numerous times during this playoff run for the Wings, and default to it's the team that won them YET you are so, so quick to give ONE example about Hasek stealing a game (which he did).

Seems that you have a short term memory problem as well

I never said Ozzie didn't play well. I said he got plenty of praise and it's well deserved.

You don't need to post an attack on me every time I post, especially since you have no idea what I actually think. You're too busy making up your own reality.

Really. You can stop now. It's ridiculous and embarassing (for you).

[MabusIncarnate 5,359]

I'm in agreement of Raf being overrated, and i'll add Downey to the list. People have a hard on for downey, he can fight, great, moving on. He'll be on Bootland status soon enough, I perfer players that can score. I can insert at least 5 names of D-men that i'd rather have over Raf for what we are paying out for him and his 5 year contract.

Sammy is underrated, sure he shoots a lot, and misses a lot, but it's a game of getting goals and scoring off of rebounds. He has a good shot, he puts it on net pretty often, and has shown in the finals that he is a skilled player and can make things happen. I think the quote Gretzky made once was "100% of shots not taken don't go in". Sammy can shoot all he wants as far as i'm concerned. Franzen all by himself destroyed the Avs for us, and I hold him completely responsible for our easy 2nd round victory. He's been nothing short of brilliant.

[Lidstromrules16 7]

Underrated: Hudler. Given 1st line minutes he would shatter Gretzky's records

Overrated: Hudler after that comment

[imisssergei 0]

Overrated:

Hasek: Yes he is playing the good boyscout role, but that is it. So what if he hasn't thrown a fit about being benched. You can look at it however you wish, but this is how I see it. Do you really think the Wings would put up with Dom being a distraction? I don't, the way I see it if Dom would have become a distraction I wouldn't have been surprised to see the team simply tell him not to come to the rink anymore. Howard is a capable backup. He played average in the first two games against Nashville, and well below average in the third and fourth games, realistically what does he have to whine about? He blew his chance!

Kronwall: Yeah, he is having a pretty good playoff run. However, he has yet to put together an impressive regular season. He set career highs in nearly every statisical category this season, but those stats aren't impressive especially when you see the way he is capable of playing as he has shown in these playoffs.

Hudler: He will never be the top 6 winger the Wings envisioned he'd become. He just isn't good enough. He is a solid addition to the third line.

Underrated:

Osgood: All year long he proved he was the better of the two netminders. Come playoffs, Hasek gets the nod. Osgood outplayed Hasek, and deserved to be the starter in the playoffs. Without Osgood, the Wings possibly don't win the division. Remember, Hasek got off to a horrid start, and it took him a good 2-3 months to be able to compete. It was Osgood who secured the net for the Wings. He never gets the respect he deserves from the media, and most opposing fans. Afterall, he is just Osgood. He has played for the Wings most of his career, therefore his stats must be padded. He isn't acrobatic, flashy, or exciting to watch every night. He doesn't make breathtaking saves all the time. All he does is keep himself in sound position, control rebounds, and give his team a chance to win every night, all this while putting up incredible numbers. A product of his environment or does he allow that environment to exist as it does?

Rafalski: He often gets overshadowed by Lidstrom, but Raffy is the perfect compliment to Lids much the way Murphy was (except Raffy is faster, stronger, and owns a better shot). In these playoffs when Lidstrom hasn't been himself, Raffy has stood up and been stellar.

Babcock: No one seems to give him any credit for his ability to get his best players to be better. If Babcock isn't the coach, Hank and Pav are Selke candidates. It's amazing to see how he is able to get more out of his stars. If Babcock were coaching the Pens right now, we might have heard Malkin and Sykora might have made it onto the score sheet a few times.

[Zetterling 16]

overrated: usually when a player underperforms offensively they play really good defensively. Like Samuelsson or Cleary. So, Lilja. lol

underrated: Hudler

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Overated: Kopecky, he never did ANYTHING, and yet people seem to think the guy has great potential to become a good player. He was the streakiest physical player I may have ever seen, he'll skate around in circles one game, and be running Pronger the next. I'd rather him be shipped off.

Underated: Chelios, he had one bad game and everyone was calling for him to retire, he's a better all around player then Lilja or Lebda. It's too bad he wont even get to play in the finals.

Hey, where have I seen that written before?

[SpiritFan 37]

Underrated: Dallas Drake (in this series anyway).

[Gnredwing 10]

Underated- Maltby and Draper, how truely important they are to these team.

Overated- None

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Hey, where have I seen that written before?

Great minds think alike

[55fan 5,133]

Under: regular season: The goalies. Sure, they didn't have to stop as many shots as they would have if they had been playing for defensively crappy teams, but I recall they both got hung out to dry more than once; and yet they stopped the pucks when it counted. Yet through it all, everyone went on about how they had it "easy" because of the D. Hey, if they had played for a different team, they'd have been just as good- they'd have just had to do it more often.

Under: playoffs: Dallas Drake. Man, what a hitting machine! What energy! What drive and emotion! I have developed a serious thing for this guy.

Over: no one really has been overrated. Guys get hot, and everyone cheers. Some get accused of being bandwagon fans for giving credit where it is due if they haven't supported a guy throughout the whole season. Franzen is a prime example of this. So's Ozzie. Kronner might fall into this category, but I am biased there.

Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing depends on how people handle it. If a guy is having a good stretch, I see no problem with giving him the credit that is due. The problem is that people tend to go right back to trashing the guy the second he isn't Mr. Perfect. (See Raf, Hasek, Lilja, Sammy and others.) Then we get a war going.

Honourable mention, under: Mac. No, he's not Hank or Pavel, but he has overcome so much this year, in more than just his game. He has gotten a lot of press for overcoming his problems, and rightfully so, but his determination to get back on the ice has kind of taken a back seat. Considering that he didn't play for the end of last season, had no team to go through camp and the beginning of the season, and was in treatment when the other guys were working out like mad dogs, the fact that he is playing is nothing short of phenomenal.

[SaCkaveli20 275]

Underrated - Jiri Hudler (He's going to be something special...Mark my words.)

Overrated - Tomas Holmstrom

Now...I know I might get flammed for picking Homer..But let's be real...Dude does NOTHING if he's not in front of the net.

Don't get me wrong..I love that he's on our team and wouldn't have it anyother way. But that straight stick he uses scares me everytime he touches the puck.

Honourable metions

Underrated - Pavel Datsyuk's physical play, Valtteri Filppula, Chris Osgood

Overrated - Dominik Hasek, Brad Stuart, Mikael Samuelsson

[imisssergei 0]

Underrated - Jiri Hudler (He's going to be something special...Mark my words.)

Overrated - Tomas Holmstrom

Now...I know I might get flammed for picking Homer..But let's be real...Dude does NOTHING if he's not in front of the net.

Don't get me wrong..I love that he's on our team and wouldn't have it anyother way. But that straight stick he uses scares me everytime he touches the puck.

Honourable metions

Underrated - Pavel Datsyuk's physical play, Valtteri Filppula, Chris Osgood

Overrated - Dominik Hasek, Brad Stuart, Mikael Samuelsson

I almost couldn't disagree more.

Rex is overrated, he will never be a top 6 winger with a scoring touch.

Homer is vastly underrated in his play that isn't in front of the opposing goaltender. He hits, blocks shots, and most importantly, he creates a lot of room for Hank and Pav.

Pav's physical play is well know. Teams expect it. If you don't, you are just ignoring it.

Flip isn't playing up to his offensive potential. He needs to be better in order to last in the league.

With what Sammy is being paid, and what is asked of him, he gets done what he needs to offensively while being responsible defensively.

I agree about Ozzie, and Hasek.

I'm still trying to decide about Stuart.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Underrated: Hudler

Overrated: Easily Kronwall until this season and the playoff run. Not anymore!

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Overrated: Hasek. He got the starting job and the start in the playoffs based on past accomplishments. That's not usually how Babcock does things. One of the greatest goaltenders of all time, but hasn't been at that level for a while.

Underrated: this is a tough one. There's a lot of guys I could probably justify, but I'd have to say Rafalski. Somewhat Lidstrom-like in the lack of flash to his game so he's often easy to overlook. And since he's usually skating right next to Nick, it's even easier to miss all the good things he does out there.

[Reds4Life 51]

Overrated - Tomas Holmstrom

I disagree.

Well, just look at his work when he gets puck from corner or from behind the net back to Z or Pav, he is not overrated by any means. He is one of the best players in the corners and the best in front of the net. How is that overrated?

[Daniel Chosen 0]

Underrated in my book is still Kris Draper. He does everything well. He may not be a superstar, but he gives 100% on every shift, and plays good 2 way hockey. I think the wings fan appreciate him, but I think on a whole, he is underrated from the NHL's standpoint.

Just a side note, I would have said Osgood here, but I think he is getting enough recognition now that he isn't really underrated anymore.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Underrated in my book is still Kris Draper. He does everything well. He may not be a superstar, but he gives 100% on every shift, and plays good 2 way hockey. I think the wings fan appreciate him, but I think on a whole, he is underrated from the NHL's standpoint.

Just a side note, I would have said Osgood here, but I think he is getting enough recognition now that he isn't really underrated anymore.

Draper is a good pick.

He's still great defensively, throws some big hits yet doesn't get the attention of Kronwall or Drake, and is a monster on faceoffs.

[FUUFNF 1]

less than 24 hours from possibily winning our 11th cup and we're really talking about overrated players?... perhaps this discussion would be better saved for the offseason.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

less than 24 hours from possibily winning our 11th cup and we're really talking about overrated players?... perhaps this discussion would be better saved for the offseason.

I normally would agree, but this day is crawling and I think a lot of us are trying to kill time until they drop the puck.