wingslionstigers 12 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Is Kopecky absolutely horrible or is it just me? He looks like a college player out there. Why are you guys all complaining about Samuelsson, Hudler, Lilja, and whoever else. Kopecky is by far the worst player on the roster period wtf is this guy doing here? Samsuelsson and Hudler have been playing up to par easy. Their great 2nd and 3rd line players quit bitching. You guys expect everyone on the damn team to be 1st line caliber. Do you guys even watch any hockey besides the Red Wings? Its the start of the season. Every team has something to prove right now especially against your defending cup champions that are suppose to be better than ever. Wings are getting played against like its the playoffs. The Wings aren't countering with the same effort. Wings aren't looking good for one reason. THEY DON'T WANT TO WIN AS BAD AS THESE OTHER TEAMS DO. Things will settle down around the 20-25 game mark, mark my words. None of these teams are going to grind out 84 playoff caliber games this season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chase 0 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Is Kopecky absolutely horrible or is it just me? He looks like a college player out there. Why are you guys all complaining about Samuelsson, Hudler, Lilja, and whoever else. Kopecky is by far the worst player on the roster period wtf is this guy doing here? Samsuelsson and Hudler have been playing up to par easy. Their great 2nd and 3rd line players quit bitching. You guys expect everyone on the damn team to be 1st line caliber. Do you guys even watch any hockey besides the Red Wings? Its the start of the season. Every team has something to prove right now especially against your defending cup champions that are suppose to be better than ever. Wings are getting played against like its the playoffs. The Wings aren't countering with the same effort. Wings aren't looking good for one reason. THEY DON'T WANT TO WIN AS BAD AS THESE OTHER TEAMS DO. Things will settle down around the 20-25 game mark, mark my words. None of these teams are going to grind out 84 playoff caliber games this season. Well said Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z and D for the C 712 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 (edited) THANK YOU Mr. Babcock!! This is what I wanted. From when Franzen was hurt I hated Kopey on the third line, I thought putting draper on the third line would be much better. And of course awesome to see lebda scratched. The only thing is I think Conks should start. Edited November 2, 2008 by Z and D for the C Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoWings1905 2,694 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 (edited) All I can say is ... finally! Better late than never, but Brett Lebda has found his proper role on the team now. I hope Meech makes the most of his opportunity - it won't take much to be an improvement from Lebda. I love moving Filppula up to the second line. Filppula more than deserves a chance to play with Z. I don't quite understand why Sammy stays on the second line over Cleary, but Babcock is very reluctant to demote Sammy from anything for some reason. Filppula, Z, and Cleary would be a nice combination IMO. That fourth line is a disaster. They'll spend every shift in their own zone chasing the puck. Maltby has been fine, but Kopecky and Mac haven't done anything. Hopefully we'll get a win to close out the road trip. Edited November 2, 2008 by GoWings1905 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,794 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 If dmac is sent down, were still on the hook for all of his salary, as he signed a 1 year deal when he was over 35. we'd have to waive/trade him to be relived of his hit, which isnt gonna happen, unless we trade like him and a 5th for a 6th rounder, seeing as he would hurt a team more than anything Do you even watch the games? Hudler has 5 pts in 4 games and has been playing great, generatig chances. Also both filpulla and sammuelson are more suited for a checking line rol than he. Hudler's best play is not on the top 2 lines. The best he's ever looked was on the 4th line last year with Helm. I just don't see him as a top 6 forward. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norrisnick 1 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Hudler's best play is not on the top 2 lines. The best he's ever looked was on the 4th line last year with Helm. I just don't see him as a top 6 forward. His best play is on the PP with Z and Franzen. He does well because they let him have the puck on a PP. When they were together 5on5 Z and Franzen both were playing very individualistic trying to beat defenses by themselves. During preseason they were a 3 man unit. No idea what changed when Toronto came to town. Hudler is best when he's moving the puck around with confidence. He didn't get that chance early in the season and since Jiri isn't one of Babcock's pet projects the patience lasted about 2 games. Put him on a scoring line and let him handle the puck and pass when it's smart to pass and shoot when it's smart to shoot (rather than chucking anything and everything at net) he'll be more than fine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrossoverThrash 0 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Is Kopecky absolutely horrible or is it just me? He looks like a college player out there. Why are you guys all complaining about Samuelsson, Hudler, Lilja, and whoever else. Kopecky is by far the worst player on the roster period wtf is this guy doing here? Samsuelsson and Hudler have been playing up to par easy. Their great 2nd and 3rd line players quit bitching. You guys expect everyone on the damn team to be 1st line caliber. Do you guys even watch any hockey besides the Red Wings? Its the start of the season. Every team has something to prove right now especially against your defending cup champions that are suppose to be better than ever. Wings are getting played against like its the playoffs. The Wings aren't countering with the same effort. Wings aren't looking good for one reason. THEY DON'T WANT TO WIN AS BAD AS THESE OTHER TEAMS DO. Things will settle down around the 20-25 game mark, mark my words. None of these teams are going to grind out 84 playoff caliber games this season. he put one guy in the hospital and one guy through the glass, if he just keeps getting better like he did last season he shoudl be good come playoff time when we need him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eva unit zero 271 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Hudler's best play is not on the top 2 lines. The best he's ever looked was on the 4th line last year with Helm. I just don't see him as a top 6 forward. His scoring last year during the regular season and playoffs, independently and overall made him top-six caliber in raw numbers and in per minute numbers. He is better than average defensively. What is it exactly you would qualify as a top six caliber forward? 60+ points and a strong penalty killer? Because I'll tell ya what, if that's your definition...There are fewer than 90 "top-six" forwards in the NHL. As far as top six on the Wings? He's the fourth-best offensive forward on the team. Putting guys like Cleary and Filppula on the second line above Hudler while Hudler plays with Draper seems like a poor move to me. Flip and Cleary are defensive stalwarts with some offensive skill. Hudler is our best offensive player after the big three, and can play defense. Which player should be the winger on Zetterberg's line? Which should be the winger for Draper's? Seems obvious. Hudler has the best shot of the three. Hudler's the best playmaker of the three. Hudler belongs on the scoring line. There are a lot of teams where Hudler would be playing on the first line with the amount of skill he has, and many fans here complain and think he isn't good enough to be on the second or third and should be on the fourth or in the press box. Serious reality check is needed. Hudler is seventh (technically, tied for sixth) in team forward scoring despite the fact that he has spent most of the season seeing #10 forward ice time. I still call for trying a second line with Hudler centering Hossa and Cleary or Franzen. Hudler's primary instincts seem to be as a playmaker. Yes, he can shoot, and is respectable defensively...but let's see what happens if you give him two wingers who can score goals and play defense. I think the result would be pretty awesome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diehardredwing19 11 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 finally! real happy to see lebda scratched, but still id rather see Big Ericsson in the lineup paired with Lilja... i think that would be one of the best 3rd defensive pairings in the leauge, two big guys that can take the body and block shots, and im pretty darn sure it would only improve Liljas play if Ericsson was paired with him, just get a weird good feeling, but im not the coach so i hope Meech does great, but still sometime down the road i pray its gonna be Ericsson and Lilja paird on the 3rd pairing, and plz plz plz get rid of Kopecky i swear wtf is he doing out there, i think hes only out there cause hes one of the big big reason why we got Hossa!... time to send Kops down or trade for a bag of onions, and bring up Helm that kid can play, and downey in place of McCarty....this team would look alot better almost garunteed! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrossoverThrash 0 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 i like the idea of putting meech in right now, better to see if he can fit on this team before we go calling guys up. All that matters is that we have the right combinations in april. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
esteef 2,679 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Bringing in Meech and swapping DMAC for Downey would be great, but I guess we take what we can get. Let's go Meech! Cheers! esteef Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diehardredwing19 11 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 yea i guess your right, i can dream cant i? lol Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Doc Holiday 0 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 I think Babcock is making little tweaks as the season goes on. He has always been known for his composure and he keeps it by doing renovations one little step at a time. We have such a top forward line we don't have to worry about tanking due to certain players in the roster so he has the luxury of making smaller tweaks and not having to worry about revamping our forward and defensive lines to make them work as soon as possible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z and D for the C 712 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 His scoring last year during the regular season and playoffs, independently and overall made him top-six caliber in raw numbers and in per minute numbers. He is better than average defensively. What is it exactly you would qualify as a top six caliber forward? 60+ points and a strong penalty killer? Because I'll tell ya what, if that's your definition...There are fewer than 90 "top-six" forwards in the NHL. As far as top six on the Wings? He's the fourth-best offensive forward on the team. Putting guys like Cleary and Filppula on the second line above Hudler while Hudler plays with Draper seems like a poor move to me. Flip and Cleary are defensive stalwarts with some offensive skill. Hudler is our best offensive player after the big three, and can play defense. Which player should be the winger on Zetterberg's line? Which should be the winger for Draper's? Seems obvious. Hudler has the best shot of the three. Hudler's the best playmaker of the three. Hudler belongs on the scoring line. There are a lot of teams where Hudler would be playing on the first line with the amount of skill he has, and many fans here complain and think he isn't good enough to be on the second or third and should be on the fourth or in the press box. Serious reality check is needed. Hudler is seventh (technically, tied for sixth) in team forward scoring despite the fact that he has spent most of the season seeing #10 forward ice time. I still call for trying a second line with Hudler centering Hossa and Cleary or Franzen. Hudler's primary instincts seem to be as a playmaker. Yes, he can shoot, and is respectable defensively...but let's see what happens if you give him two wingers who can score goals and play defense. I think the result would be pretty awesome. He plays better on the third/fourth line. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skacore 2 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 His best play is on the PP with Z and Franzen. He does well because they let him have the puck on a PP. When they were together 5on5 Z and Franzen both were playing very individualistic trying to beat defenses by themselves. During preseason they were a 3 man unit. No idea what changed when Toronto came to town. Hudler is best when he's moving the puck around with confidence. He didn't get that chance early in the season and since Jiri isn't one of Babcock's pet projects the patience lasted about 2 games. Put him on a scoring line and let him handle the puck and pass when it's smart to pass and shoot when it's smart to shoot (rather than chucking anything and everything at net) he'll be more than fine. Zetterberg and Franzen should stop being such puck hogs and alter their style so that it suits Hudler better! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T.Low 1,011 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 All I can say is ... finally! Better late than never, but Brett Lebda has found his proper role on the team now. I hope Meech makes the most of his opportunity - it won't take much to be an improvement from Lebda. I love moving Filppula up to the second line. Filppula more than deserves a chance to play with Z. I don't quite understand why Sammy stays on the second line over Cleary, but Babcock is very reluctant to demote Sammy from anything for some reason. Filppula, Z, and Cleary would be a nice combination IMO. That fourth line is a disaster. They'll spend every shift in their own zone chasing the puck. Maltby has been fine, but Kopecky and Mac haven't done anything. Hopefully we'll get a win to close out the road trip. Sammy must have some pretty incriminating photos of someone in the Wings front office... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z and D for the C 712 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Sammy must have some pretty incriminating photos of someone in the Wings front office... I think I heard babcock say that Z likes playing with sammy so that might be a reason. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YoungGuns1340 1 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 He plays better on the third/fourth line. Not when his center is Kris Draper. Hudler is a waste with Draper or Kopay centering him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aussie_Wing 354 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Very good move by Babs. Filppula and Zetterberg have looked good in the brief moments they've played together. Flip needs to be on a legitimate scoring line so I'm sure he'll start delivering the goods. Bit of a demotion for Kopecky because he worked pretty well with Flip but you can't have Flip on a struggling third line just to lift the play of Kopecky. And it's about time Lebda is benched! Hopefully when Chelios come back and they (most likely) need to move someone on, he is the one to go. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eva unit zero 271 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Very good move by Babs. Filppula and Zetterberg have looked good in the brief moments they've played together. Flip needs to be on a legitimate scoring line so I'm sure he'll start delivering the goods. Bit of a demotion for Kopecky because he worked pretty well with Flip but you can't have Flip on a struggling third line just to lift the play of Kopecky. And it's about time Lebda is benched! Hopefully when Chelios come back and they (most likely) need to move someone on, he is the one to go. Better for the team to have Hudler on the second line and Flip on the third than the reverse if you have to choose; Hudler is better suited to an offensive role than Filppula is...Filppula is better suited to a defensive role than Hudler is. Saying you have to have Flip on the second and Hudler on the third is kind of silly given the fact that DRAPER is currently centering the third line. Flip has not proven he can be a legitimate scoring threat like you are suggesting despite being given that kind of ice time; Hudler has been a scoring threat despite NOT being given that kind of ice time. Ultimately, Babcock's lack of patience with Hudler; the "I can't wait until his line isn't perfect so I can demote him in the name of experimenting with changes" attitude is really bugging me. Hudler is one of the best forwards on the team. Other guys get tons of slack for missteps they might make...Hudler doesn't fire on all cylinders and isn't exactly what Babcock wants, and he's demoted. It's like he was never really being given a chance; that his playing with Zetterberg was simply for show; to say "Hey, I gave the kid a chance on the second line and he didn't stick." when it really never happened. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sixer 37 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 send D-Mac down n bring up Helm. +1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hockeytown0001 7,652 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Good to see Meech get his chance; Lebs just hasn't gotten it done so far Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA Report post Posted November 2, 2008 He plays better on the third/fourth line. Because thats all we've seen from him.... he played like 2 games on line 2, and had a point in one of them. That is not a good enough sample size for anything, let alone to pass on something thats not even true in the case as fact. If Hudler leaves this summer, he will eclipse 70 points next year for another team (80 for a bottom dweller) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hockeymom1960 5,107 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Better for the team to have Hudler on the second line and Flip on the third than the reverse if you have to choose; Hudler is better suited to an offensive role than Filppula is...Filppula is better suited to a defensive role than Hudler is. Saying you have to have Flip on the second and Hudler on the third is kind of silly given the fact that DRAPER is currently centering the third line. Flip has not proven he can be a legitimate scoring threat like you are suggesting despite being given that kind of ice time; Hudler has been a scoring threat despite NOT being given that kind of ice time. Ultimately, Babcock's lack of patience with Hudler; the "I can't wait until his line isn't perfect so I can demote him in the name of experimenting with changes" attitude is really bugging me. Hudler is one of the best forwards on the team. Other guys get tons of slack for missteps they might make...Hudler doesn't fire on all cylinders and isn't exactly what Babcock wants, and he's demoted. It's like he was never really being given a chance; that his playing with Zetterberg was simply for show; to say "Hey, I gave the kid a chance on the second line and he didn't stick." when it really never happened. I would have to agree with you on Hudler. What's Babs deal with Huds anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Superman54 91 Report post Posted November 2, 2008 Ill be honest when I say Lilja has been one of our better defensemen out there. Still not happy about McCarty playing though... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
