End of the Road for Two Veterans?

[YoungGuns1340 1]

McCarty is a fine 4th liner. Maltby is a good player, too, and has been playing great hockey. He's been scratched and playing less because we're always playing from behind and trying to even the score, so we rely heavily on our top two lines, I think.

But I do see Malts retiring at the end of the season.

I disagree. I don't see how Mac is a fine 4th liner at all. He doesn't fight, doesn't hit, isn't a great skater, isn't great at defense, isn't a faceoff taker, isn't....see the point? At this stage, even if McCarty does give his all, it is far from enough. Is he a good extra? Yes. Is he a good lockerroom presence? Yes. But at this point his value is on the bench, not on the ice. I still like Malts and Drapes on the 4th line, even though I'd take someone else over Malts as well, but they at least provide a little somethin on the ice, even if it amounts to very little. I don't see that in McCarty and I sure as hell don't like to see Malts scratched in favor of Mac at this point in their respective careers. Drake was a fine 4th liner IMO, and Mac is nowhere near that type of guy anymore.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

You need some semblance of physical hockey on your team. Balance is the key here. Those guys provide a change of pace on the 4th line that other guys can't give.

What's the point of dressing skill players on the 4th line, if they're only getting nominal minutes?

[Opie 308]

You need some semblance of physical hockey on your team. Balance is the key here. Those guys provide a change of pace on the 4th line that other guys can't give.

What's the point of dressing skill players on the 4th line, if they're only getting nominal minutes?

Good point and to piggy back off of that idea, what about a guy like Abdelkader. Sure one fight and a couple of good games are not going to make him Milan Lucic or Shanny, but in the same aspect is another year in GR going to turn him into Shanny or Lucic?

I can't imagine they view him as a future top 6 forward, maybe they do, but if he is being groomed to be a 3rd or 4th liner anyway, those are the minutes he will see in 2 years, 3 years, or 1 week.

I will admit I have not been Maltby's biggest fan for a while now, but if Abdelkader can hack it on the 4th line now, why not. Again not sure if Babs thinks he can hack it or not, just saying.

[Guest CaliWingsNut]

Is the end in sight for Kirk Maltby and Darren McCarty?

We’ve been discussing it a bit during tonight’s GDT but I feel as though it deserves its own thread. Tonight against Los Angeles the two players in question received very little ice-time, Maltby: 6:57 and McCarty: 3:43. Those are alarming numbers but perhaps what’s even more alarming is that Maltby played less than 5 minutes at even strength. He was a healthy scratch against Chicago and with Franzen out he came back into the line-up but barely played.

By scratching Maltby, Babcock obviously feels as though he isn’t of much use to the team anymore and I agree. He was a PK specialist and a fine agitator but these days his role has become so reduced that there’s not much he can do. On top of Dats and Hank killing penalties we have seen the emergence of guys like Cleary, Filppula and Franzen. Maltby will see little time on the PK and it seems at ES too. As for McCarty, I really don’t see why he’s even in the picture anymore. Sure he’s been a terrific contributor for the team but realistically we have to move on. Babcock wasn’t here when he was at his best so in theory he wouldn’t be biased towards him. If he’s no longer capable of playing at the level required, why is he even here?

I could be reading too much into the TOI but less than 7 minutes for Maltby? Up until this point I haven't even mentioned Draper but he's under the gun too. Just over 10 minutes for him but Drapes is still brilliant on faceoffs and has speed and better defensive skills so he's worthwhile having around, for this season at least.

Because Holland makes that decision, not babcock.

[lomekian 201]

Thought the grind line did ok intheir limited minutes last night. Maltby's actually been a bit more like his old self the last few games, and with Mac, he keeps a few opposition players honest. He may not fight anymore, but he's still a tough guy. And as the grand rapids saw last year he can still finish pretty well. I think for players scheduled to play between 3-8 minutes a night malts and mac are fine and that allows helm, abdelkader and Leino to rack up big minutes and big points in the AHL which can only help their development more than sitting on the bench while we chase games.

We'll see the kids more as the season progresses and we have more points on the board, but surely if Mac and malts are skating now is the time to be using them - to see if they CAN contribute anything come play off time. Either way, this will probably be the last hurrah for both of them, so if its still not hurting anyone a little sentimentailty shows the organisation in a good light. One wonders if we'll see Cheli again in a hurry.

As for drapes, he's still one of the leagues best face of guys, and brings it when needed, and obviously is still akep PK guy (despite his shakey +/- totals this year. He's fine for another 2 years i think. Of course all three would get more minutes and more opportunites to shine on 70-80% of all the other teams out there. Look at Quincy - wings no 9 D man, top 3 in LA.....

[HenryMalredo 2]

You need some semblance of physical hockey on your team. Balance is the key here. Those guys provide a change of pace on the 4th line that other guys can't give.

What's the point of dressing skill players on the 4th line, if they're only getting nominal minutes?

If you're talking about the possibility of putting Leino on the 4th line, I'd agree. But guys like Helm and Abdelkader, while they do have some offensive skills, are mostly gonna be used as grinders, and could certainly be more useful than McCarty or Draper at this point in time.

[GROwl 5]

I'm not worried about Abdelkader and Helm; they have multi-year contracts so they'll be back next year regardless of how much NHL time they see this year.

I'm more concerned that Leino will get frustrated and go back to Finland if he continues to progress at the rate he's going. From what I understand, his is only a one-year deal and he has an option to go back to Finland if not playing in the NHL. If he doesn't earn an NHL spot, that's one thing. However, based on his talent and his production so far in the AHL, its hard to argue that he can't contribute at least as much as Maltby. If he continues to put up almost 2 points per game in the AHL, is it worth taking the risk of losing him permanently to keep Maltby on the roster or to keep DMac in Detroit? DMac has already cleared waivers -why not switch him and Leino to see how Leino does - at least until Franzen comes back?

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

You need grit to win. The day the Wings dont have it will be there end, Babcock knows this. Maltby and McCarty play better together, always have always will. Give them a couple games to get things going again, and just watch. Maltby is hitting again, and now that he's playing with Mac his play will pick up. Dont count these guys out yet.

[CenterIce 83]

You need some semblance of physical hockey on your team. Balance is the key here. Those guys provide a change of pace on the 4th line that other guys can't give.

What's the point of dressing skill players on the 4th line, if they're only getting nominal minutes?

Good post. Players in different roles and knowing what roles they play. It has won Detroit 4 previous Cups.

[CenterIce 83]

I'm not worried about Abdelkader and Helm; they have multi-year contracts so they'll be back next year regardless of how much NHL time they see this year.

I'm more concerned that Leino will get frustrated and go back to Finland if he continues to progress at the rate he's going. From what I understand, his is only a one-year deal and he has an option to go back to Finland if not playing in the NHL. If he doesn't earn an NHL spot, that's one thing. However, based on his talent and his production so far in the AHL, its hard to argue that he can't contribute at least as much as Maltby. If he continues to put up almost 2 points per game in the AHL, is it worth taking the risk of losing him permanently to keep Maltby on the roster or to keep DMac in Detroit? DMac has already cleared waivers -why not switch him and Leino to see how Leino does - at least until Franzen comes back?

Yes, Leino is scoring, but as pointed out all ready in this thread, that is not necessarily what the Wings need for the third/fourth line, right now. Also, as Mickey Redmond pointed out in some preseason games, Leino was doing a poor job along the boards, protecting the puck and also himself from getting smushed. He needs some time to work on that.