Mikael Samuelsson

[P. Marlowe 748]

Come on, he's been very good since he signed with Red Wings.

His stats:

Season, games, points

2005-06, 71, 45

2006-07, 53, 34

2007-08, 73, 40

2008-09, 24, 21

[Guest Crymson]

Come on, he's been very good since he signed with Red Wings.

His stats:

Season, games, points

2005-06, 71, 45

2006-07, 53, 34

2007-08, 73, 40

2008-09, 24, 21

Butbutbut... he's not perfect!!! He makes MISTAKES! OMG.

[Doggy 130]

Lol. That's funny. I was just talking to someone about how annoying it is to watch him.

Still, he's doing pretty well.

[Reilly 24]

The only thing I don't like about him is that he holds onto the puck WAY too long.

[lets go pavel 2]

In the last thread there was discussion about Sammy getting a lot of points this season on secondary assists on the PP - I don't know if its just me, but he seems to be shooting a lot less this season and passing to Hank instead. Smart move I say.

Sammy still has his "wtf" moments every period and lets not forget the 2 magic words: Contract Year.

You know, I thought the same thing, that it seemed like he was shooting less ... this year he's averaging 3.1 shots per game, compared to 3.4 last year. Not a huge difference, but it also probably helps that his shooting percentage is up from 4.4% to 6.7%.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/20...rong_start.html

Samuelsson off to strong start, Wings expect more

by Ansar Khan

Wednesday December 03, 2008, 12:10 AM

DETROIT -- Mikael Samuelsson is off to a strong start, on pace for his most productive season. But Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock still sees untapped potential.

"I'm a big believer that this is a perfect environment for Sammy,'' Babcock said. "He's found a home here in Detroit. The players he gets to play with, the way the team plays, is perfect for him. And yet I think he's way better, and there's way more in there. We just got to find a way to get it out.''

Asked what areas Samuelsson can improve in, Babcock said, "All-around. I think he's that good.''

Samuelsson is tied with Pavel Datsyuk for the team lead with 16 assists and is fourth on the club with 21 points, which Babcock noted is just two less than twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin's club-leading total for Vancouver, which visits Detroit on Thursday.

Samuelsson, Henrik Zetterberg and Jiri Hudler are tied for the club lead with 12 power-play points.

Babcock said Samuelsson has grown as a player in his four seasons in Detroit. He played for four different NHL teams in parts of four seasons before joining the Red Wings as a free agent in 2005.

Read on...

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

My only issue with him is that you could make a drinking game with how many times his shots are either blocked or end up right in the goalie's logo on the jersey.

[Opie 308]

In the last thread there was discussion about Sammy getting a lot of points this season on secondary assists on the PP - I don't know if its just me, but he seems to be shooting a lot less this season and passing to Hank instead. Smart move I say.

Sammy still has his "wtf" moments every period and lets not forget the 2 magic words: Contract Year.

I agree wholeheartedly, passing to Hank is probably the smartest thing anyone on Hanks line can do.

I love this quote, for all of you who think he shoots to much and only hits the crest, his sh% is up and his sh/g is down.

And this quote is what many of us Sammy supporters have been saying for two years now:

"I feel like I'm a little more of a passer,'' Samuelsson said. "My first year here I was shooting everything. The coaches told me, 'You got to shoot it, shoot it, shoot it. Otherwise you may not play.' What are you going to do? You got to shoot it. You get that in your head.''

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Whos calling Sammy out? Even the folks who hate Sammy have been quick to say good things about him.

Frankly, the only issue I have with Sammy is his continual poor shot placement - but thats more or less Sammy's only glaring weakness. Which is too bad, because from the looks of it lately, hes got a pretty decent backhander that I wish he'd use more often.

Seriously YG, you've gotta be kidding. I'll assume you haven't read the "We need totally some other players right now" thread lately.

For the paycheck he gets, Sammy is a bargain to say the least.

[CrossoverThrash 0]

He just needs to be more physical maybe get in a fight r 2 this season, and keep his head up when he shoots or passes.

[FinRedWing 172]

Hopefully you'll see me here for 10 more years

Wouldn't that make the LGW people happy.

[Heaton 1]

Why IS he on the point on the PP?

Surely Stuart could do just as well?

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/

I hate seeing a forward on the blue line on the power play, but Samuelsson has been a major part of the power play's success. No Red Wings has been on the ice for more power-play goals than Samuelsson (18) even though he's seventh on the team in power-play ice time.

[Opie 308]

Heaton with the game winner from just outside the face off Circle, good night ladies and gentlemen, it was good spending time with you!!!!

[Dabura 12,232]

Seriously YG, you've gotta be kidding.

tmmlol

Sammy is clutch.

[Nev 1,085]

You know, I thought the same thing, that it seemed like he was shooting less ... this year he's averaging 3.1 shots per game, compared to 3.4 last year. Not a huge difference, but it also probably helps that his shooting percentage is up from 4.4% to 6.7%.

Yeah, but you have to remember that for every shot that hits the target (and is therefore a shot) he has another 10 that are blocked,deflected or just plain miss the net. So a 0.3 SPG drop is more like 3 or 4 less shots taken per game

I feel like I'm a little more of a passer. My first year here I was shooting everything. The coaches told me, 'You got to shoot it, shoot it, shoot it. Otherwise you may not play.' What are you going to do? You got to shoot it. You get that in your head.

To be fair, I've always known that the reason he shoots so much is because it is the number 1 thing that Babs talks about. Shoot, shoot, shoot. No matter the angle, no matter the lack of traffic just shoot the puck and then shoot it some more. But I think this is the first time I've ever heard Sammy or anyone else explicitly express the pressure from the coaches like that.

[DatsyukownzU13 1]

http://redwingscorner.blogspot.com/

To be honest... that's about as meaningless of a stat as plus/minus. You could plug anyone into his spot and they could cycle it down to another player and they can score. I think he's getting overhyped for what he's done this season.

Is he a bargain for what he's been doing? Yes. Could he do a lot of things better? Yes.

The real concern I have is what's going to be the next bargain? Are the Wings really going to throw over 2 million at him in the offseason? Some would say 2-3 is fair, which his game might be stating itself... but not in our situation. Given the tight cap space, I don't think you can warrant giving him anything more than 2 million.

[Opie 308]

To be honest... that's about as meaningless of a stat as plus/minus. You could plug anyone into his spot and they could cycle it down to another player and they can score. I think he's getting overhyped for what he's done this season.

Is he a bargain for what he's been doing? Yes. Could he do a lot of things better? Yes.

The real concern I have is what's going to be the next bargain? Are the Wings really going to throw over 2 million at him in the offseason? Some would say 2-3 is fair, which his game might be stating itself... but not in our situation. Given the tight cap space, I don't think you can warrant giving him anything more than 2 million.

To be truthful with the cap going down, logic (to me*) dictates that salaries signed this off season by a 40 point scorer will be less than last year. I think the Jeff Finger experiment will deter a lot of signings, and we are talking about a guy that bounced around the NHL and SEL and now has found a home in Detroit.

It would not surprise me if knowing the situation in Det and knowing his coach respects him that Sammy signs for a slight increase in pay, I don't see him getting Flip money, so if factor in the lower cap I see him signing for about 1.5-2 mil.

But again I am not Holland, Holland may see that 1.5 as a way to keep Hossa or Huds or Z or Mule. But I would be very surprised to see Sammy signed in Det for more than 2 mil. Somewhere else sure, but he seems to realize where he fits best.

*at first that read like I was telling you what to think, not my intention!

[Heaton 1]

To be honest... that's about as meaningless of a stat as plus/minus. You could plug anyone into his spot and they could cycle it down to another player and they can score. I think he's getting overhyped for what he's done this season.

Having been on the ice for more PP goals than Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Hossa isn't meaningless.

[DatsyukownzU13 1]

Having been on the ice for more PP goals than Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Hossa isn't meaningless.

Agree to disagree, but I definitely didn't see Sammy doing anything to directly set up those goals (hence the secondary assists). He's been playing well, nonetheless.

[dicksmack 33]

Sammy rocks. If you can get behind Lilja, you can get behind Sammy, esp. for the cap hit. When the Wings want an offensive zone faceoff, they fire it into the logo. We all know Sammy is the ******* best in the universe at that...lol

[This Is Bida 0]

Agree to disagree, but I definitely didn't see Sammy doing anything to directly set up those goals (hence the secondary assists). He's been playing well, nonetheless.

I agree with everything that you've said so far. And of course he's playing well, it's a contract year for him.

I don't know, I just have a hard time jumping on the Sammy bandwagon (which I think many people here are doing) just because he's off to a great start. Am I happy for him? Yea, as long as he's helping out the team. Is he a great deal? For the money, definitely! However, he should be at the bottom of the list when Holland worries about contracts next year. I'm not gonna say I hate Sammy, I like him. He does frustrate me more than not. But, his 2mill should be more focused on signing Hossa, Z and Mule first.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Sammy rocks. If you can get behind Lilja, you can get behind Sammy, esp. for the cap hit. When the Wings want an offensive zone faceoff, they fire it into the logo. We all know Sammy is the ******* best in the universe at that...lol

When Sammy drops Souray on his ass and ragdolls Jared Boll like a little toy, then you can start comparing him to Lilja.

[dicksmack 33]

When Sammy drops Souray on his ass and ragdolls Jared Boll like a little toy, then you can start comparing him to Lilja.

Yeah Lilja's a killer But they are both good for the price. When Lilja scores big goals deep in the playoffs rather than giving it away or falling down...

Edited December 3, 2008 by dicksmack