Leino with 2 goals tonight

[Glubki 17]

Why would they put Malts back in? Do the waterbottles need to be filled up again?

Seriously, he's done nothing this year on either side of the puck to warrant keeping him in the lineup. His "agitation" skills have been next to non-existent this year as well. Z, Dats, Flip, Cleary and Draper are all ahead of him as far as PK options go, he's not a threat to score at even strength, and we sure as hell know that he's not going to be logging any PP time this year so what IS HE DOING to help the team? I think even Babcockles is coming to this realization as Mac took his spot in the lineup the other night; at least he brings some physicality and the willingness to stick up for teammates.

From what I've seen I'd have to say that Maltby has played his best hockey in 3-4 years so far. Just because he was scratched one night doesn't mean he has lost Babcock's confidence. They don't need him on the pp they need him on the pk.

[daniel1 32]

From what I've seen I'd have to say that Maltby has played his best hockey in 3-4 years so far. Just because he was scratched one night doesn't mean he has lost Babcock's confidence. They don't need him on the pp they need him on the pk.

Have you been watching those 1990's Red Wings Championships DVD's again? lol I've seen every game so far this year (Center Ice will you marry me?!) and I haven't seen anything that comes close to how Malts played in the 90's when he was the first option (with Drapes) on the PK and consistently goaded the opposition into taking dumb retaliation penalties. He was way more physical back then and drove people nuts. I remember when he was good for 10+ goals a year and was actually a threat to score shorthanded too. He's a shadow of the player he was back then in my opinion. When was the last time you heard him reffered to as one of the most "hated" players in the NHL? About 10 years ago he actually had that reputation but now he's nowhere near as tough to play against.

[Slave 31]

the score ticker said Franzen is out 3-4 and leino has been called up

[Questron 0]

According to this link:

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/10/no...sopel_cons.html

We could bring Leino up by sending McCarty down and anyone who thinks this is not the right thing to do is either living in the past or hasn't been paying attention to what Ville has been doing. Personnaly, I would love to see the ZDH line put back together with Ville centering Franzen(when he's healthy) and Hossa, but I understand the teams unwillingness to throw away our role players for no reason at all when we have options. Still, I hope the Ville Leino era begins soon as I think this kid has the skills to play right now in spite of what some on this board have suggested. Even Babcock said when he sent him down that the guy was ready now, but in the end it came down to injuries, player options, and of course good ole fashion Wings loyalty.

[stormboy 47]

That's not true, but everything else you said is. Griffins are the Wings AHL affiliate, no one elses. Dallas had to loan out their non-parent club players to AHL teams and since Stafford is familiar with the Griffins they chose to send him to the Griffins on loan. technically, we could do the same thing with our AHL players, they don't NEED to be sent to the griffins, we could loan out our players to other AHL teams if we wanted.

thanks dude. i honestly had been a bit confused by this situation up until now, with the dallas players and whatnot. i'm glad somebody (obviously not me) knows what the f*** is going on.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Why would they put Malts back in? Do the waterbottles need to be filled up again?

Seriously, he's done nothing this year on either side of the puck to warrant keeping him in the lineup. His "agitation" skills have been next to non-existent this year as well. Z, Dats, Flip, Cleary and Draper are all ahead of him as far as PK options go, he's not a threat to score at even strength, and we sure as hell know that he's not going to be logging any PP time this year so what IS HE DOING to help the team? I think even Babcockles is coming to this realization as Mac took his spot in the lineup the other night; at least he brings some physicality and the willingness to stick up for teammates.

I agree. I think Babs sent a pretty clear message to Maltby that his future is up in the air. Given the development of Helm and Abdelkader, who project to be similar players but with more upside, I struggle to see how Maltby will be around next season.