We need totally some other players right now

[hamip1998 3]

- Zetterberg looks completely lost.

- Filppula is lost too.

- Teams playing against as like it is play-offs already.

- Defense if fine. These are forward who do not play the way they used to.

PS And, please, Cheli recover a little bit faster!

Agree. Agree. Agree. Disagree. The defense is NOT fine, but I agree that the forwards aren't coming back to the defensive zone as hard, with the exception of Hossa.

Maybe some shuffling of lines would help...defensive pairings as well.

Edited November 30, 2008 by hamip1998

[Wiser19 0]

New Lines are needed.

Z - Dats - Cleary

Hossa - Franzen - Hudler

Sammy - Filpula - Helm / Leino

Mac - Drap - Malt

Of course the lines would have to change when Homer returns.

Why do we have to keep Dats and Z separate. It appears Babcock is just being stubborn. They were the best line in the league last year. Now Babs won't even play them in the last five minutes of the game.

[3chrisosgood0 7]

i think its time for a shakeup and for starter lettin howard play would be nice

in limited NHL action last year he was damn good when i watched him im not sayin name him our starter from now till the playoffs just let him start a couple

also bring up Abdelkator (spelling) sit malts or kopecky and let Abdekator come in hes sure to bring en energy filled physical game

[Guest Four]

Let's all go on nhl09 and create line combos and which ever time we sim the game and win by the most, we use IRL?!

[IrishWing19 6]

Was this posted by a third grader?

No, it was posted by someone who hasn't been watching the Wings at all this year. Considering he calls out Sammy, who has been playing out of his mind and way above his pay grade.

[Red Crazy 201]

IMHO the key to our success will be consistency. I watched the Wings out play the Bruins for most of the game last night. Each time the Bruins got pressure on us they made the most of it and scored. I found the Bruins shots harder, faster and getting to the net. We are still having too many guys playing the hero and losing the puck instead of simplifying the game a bit and grinding it out for some garbage goals.

Most improved player: Jiri Hudler (Didn't cut it with more icetime but they are using him they best they can and he is thriving... way to go Huds!)

Biggest bust: Valerie Filpula (How did this guy warrant a $3 Mill pay raise... I would use him as trade bait for a more useful player or high draft pick)

Most useless player: Tomas Kopecky (This guy could be playing hockey with a shovel or a broom and we would never know the difference.... terminate!)

MVP: thank God we picked up Marian Hossa (PLEASE STAY IN HOCKEYTOWN!)

Still hated: Lilja, Lebda and Samuelsson: Although not playing all that bad I still HATE THEM ALL!

Goal: Rotate the 2 giving preference to he who plays best at the time! (Rotate between these 2 backup goalies because neither is good enough as a #1 and hope Larsson continues to shine for us and develop like he is in GR)

Finally: Fire Ken Holland and Hire me... I will work for cheap and do my job to keep LGW'ers happy. (This is the best advice of all, the sooner this happens the sooner everything turns around... and did I mention that I would reserve all the seats in the first 3 row from the ice for LGW members only and have a bikini clad Karen Newman serving drinks!)

This is way too FUNNY! You have my vote.

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

Im sorry but the original poster is a moron. Wheres the panic button graphic?

[ProfessorLidstrom5 0]

The people that are freaking out with how the Wings are playing right now need to settle down. Like RusDRW said, every team plays the Wings like they are in the playoffs already because the Wings are the measuring stick for them to see if they can hang with that type of caliber. Why do you think that it is so hard for a team to win back to back Cups? I wouldn't be suprised if the Bruins lose to Tampa Bay on thursday because they will not take them as seriously as the Wings.

[Donaldjr2448 43]

Well someone asked for it!!

Well hell the pic isnt working!!! But there was a panic button!!!

Edited November 30, 2008 by Donaldjr2448

[hamip1998 3]

Im sorry but the original poster is a moron. Wheres the panic button graphic?

Last time I checked, this was a discussion board. The guy has a point or two. While I agree it isn't the time for anything drastic, it does make for interesting discussion / speculation about what would get the team on better footing.

Everyone knows that we, and all other teams, are handcuffed a bit by the cap and this isn't NHL 09 where you can sign, trade, demote players at will.

All passionate sports fans do this when the team isn't playing up to their expectations. Unfortunately or fortunately, this team has some fans with VERY high expectations given the high quality of the team over the past 12 years. While you don't have to agree with what is being said it isn't necessary to resort to name calling. If you don't like the thread, don't participate.

[55fan 5,133]

I just looked at the schedule for Dec. We only have 4 away games (12, 13 and 26, 27). Compare that to our schedule thus far. We've been out west a couple of times, Florida, and a few short treks here and there.

I think that being at home will give Babs more time to try other line combos in practice and to let the existing ones that he decides to keep gel a bit more with each other. They've been playing with a lot of travel time involved. I don't know about you, but when I travel, I get sluggish. Getting to the Joe, day after day, for practices will help build some of that consistency that we have been lacking.

As for the D, I think they look tired, mentally and physically. They just aren't in sync.

Ozzie and Conk will work it out. I'm not worried about them. We've seen good things from both this year. We've seen bad things too, of course. Don't get me wrong; they're not Hasek in his prime, but they're good.

A bit more steady practice time at home, less travel, and some home games will do wonders for them.

Fear not: We have Lilja.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

We were horrible again against Bruins today. If you watched most of all our games, we had been totally awful on defense and goalie.

I think our offense had been good throughout this whole season so far even though they sometimes dont score that much, they've showed good performance

I know we are yet on only 22games this season and 60 more games are coming so we can fix this anytime between Dec and Jan.

But the thing is that this season may be the last season that Wings would be with Sammy, Kopecky, and other useless guys

Because we won the cup last season, Holland signed with Lilja and Stuart. I think Stuart can play better as he played last season. But especially the most problems are on goalie position, both Osgood and Conklin.

I saw some people say Conklin is good and he is good except for tonight's game.

But the thing is he will never be our first starting goaltender. I think now is the time for us to give Howard to start the game like Vancouver gives Sanford and Schenider opportunities to start games and gain experience.

For defense, I saw Lids got back on his play after he said he was out of a game. Rafalski is not really great on defense but he will get better and he produces some points. Kronwall, I think he is good but he should not make those turnovers that like today he gives Bruins the 3rd goal. But our last defense pair is a s***.

Lebda and Lilja are not stable at all and I felt never comfortable when they are on the ice with the line of Maltby Draper. In my view, Meech is playing way better than I expected.

After this season, whether we will do a good job in the playoff or not, we should kick Sammy, Kopecky, Maltby, Lebda, Lilja out if we can.

We need Leino to be on our line and Helm showed good performance when he was on ice.

Most important thing is that we should give Howard chances to start soon

No, no, no, no, no.

Just no!

Edited November 30, 2008 by SouthernWingsFan

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Let's just trade our whole team for a different one. That would settle things.

District-5 Ducks!!!!!!!!

[therock48880 14]

ZDH!!!! (when Homer's healthy)

That's the only change I'd make.

[The Mule 0]

How to fix this team:

1. Hard work

2. Darren Helm.

3. Fire Brad McCrimmon.

How to fix your life:

1. Education.

2. Education.

3. Education.

[j.hoop 64]

ZDH!!!! (when Homer's healthy)

That's the only change I'd make.

i miss the hi def line so much. like someone else said, i dont know why babcock wont put them together at all. didnt he at least rotate them last year?? having them at home on the last change was siiiiick. i think if he put them together last night after the first goal for a shift or two there could've possibly been a spark.

edit: can you imagine ZDH 2.0?? (zetterberg,dats,hossa)

edit: another problem is the first line, i cant wait for holmstrom to be back. kopecky is so damn bad, hes only up there cuz he got those two deflections in that game. demote him now!!

Edited November 30, 2008 by j.hoop

[jvxp 0]

you need totally some grammar practice

I was thinking the same thing!

[ben_usmc 253]

How to fix this team:

1. Hard work

2. Darren Helm.

3. Fire Brad McCrimmon.

How to fix your life:

1. Education.

2. Education.

3. Education.

I agree, we have been worse since he's been here. It may be a correlation and not causation, but Atl sucked when he was there to so I don't know.

[soultrain 43]

WE NEED BARRY MELROSE! just kidding.

[DraperFan MN 0]

The pot calling the kettle......

One would usually say "Pot, meet kettle."

Anyway, I think this is a HI-lari-ASS thread considering where we are in the hockey season. The team is going to make a few moves out of necessity and other moves to change the chemistry and performance of the team as the season progresses. To make a determination that a system or players are not working in NOVEMBER (when the team's record is 15-4-4) is ridiculous.

[Outsider 42]

One would usually say "Pot, meet kettle."

*ahem*

Not to be too persnickety, but the original phrase was, indeed, "The pot calling the kettle black."

<shrug>

[HenrikRules40 14]

edit: can you imagine ZDH 2.0?? (zetterberg,dats,hossa)

Now that is a potentially orgasmic line.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

We could really "totally" use some of the players already on the roster playing at a higher level too. Where has Val Filppula been all season? The whole defense as a unit has underperformed (besides Lilja). Kopecky is all but useless. The Red Wings don't need drastic changes - they need to get back to doing the things that made them champions.

I would also "totally" find a permanent roster spot for Darren Helm too.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

You know, just because we love them and think the best of them doesn't mean these guys aren't human.

If you had received the highest accolades in your profession last year (all the while having to work an extra 2 months to do so without any extra pay), and in some cases 1-3 times previously, with your paycheck secured for 2-4 more years, do you think you'd be giving your best performance? Even if it was subconscious, do you think you'd have the drive to give it your all every day, or even some days? Now do you think you'd be able to get your whole crew, most of them in the same position, to bring their best game all on the same night?

Has anyone stopped to wonder what the correlation might be between Zetterberg, Hudler, Hossa, and Sammy playing well or better than they have previously, while guys like Lebda, Cleary, Rafalski, Lidstrom, Filppula, Draper, and Stuart haven't looked up to par on may or most nights?

I have a pretty good work ethic, but I'll admit, if I had a position with that much security, I'd probably slack off a bit - even if I didn't realize it. And If my superiors were coming to me and saying hey, our productivity is looking pretty good, then I probably wouldn't think I needed to change what I was doing.

Those are our Wings right now.

Edited December 1, 2008 by YoungGuns1340

[CloudConnected 0]

Did Yoda start this thread?

Anyway, I've been catching most of the games this year, and really, I can't get too worked up about anything yet. Febuary is when you really have to start grading out the team. By then usually hot and cold streaks have evened out production and you get a feel for what you have going forth. I really think it's too early to add anyone new outside of Helm.

Our D hasn't been that good, but Lilja has been solid and Lebda seems like he's rounding back into what he is, a #6 dman. Big Rig is down in GR until later in the year. We'll see him up before it's all said and done.

Ozzy and Conklin have not been great, but they'll get better when our D gets a little more steady. Don't panic yet.