Statiklullaby87 0 Report post Posted December 29, 2008 I know this has probably been said 1,000,000,001 times but...My problems with the likes of Maltby, Kopecky even Draper is that they are literally just treading water and taking up space, I hate seeing future talent like Helm, Leino, Abdelkader, being wasted while the other guys really arent helping out. Sure our 4th line plays the PK and and they are "good" defnsivley but do you mean to tell me that the young guns couldnt at least be equal to our 4th line? plus the young guys have way more offensive skills that result in goals from the pressure they would bring to other teams defence...There i had my rant feel free to ignore... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echolalia 2,961 Report post Posted December 29, 2008 I know this has probably been said 1,000,000,001 times but...My problems with the likes of Maltby, Kopecky even Draper is that they are literally just treading water and taking up space, I hate seeing future talent like Helm, Leino, Abdelkader, being wasted while the other guys really arent helping out. Sure our 4th line plays the PK and and they are "good" defnsivley but do you mean to tell me that the young guns couldnt at least be equal to our 4th line? plus the young guys have way more offensive skills that result in goals from the pressure they would bring to other teams defence...There i had my rant feel free to ignore... I think Kopecky is doing all that the Wings should expect of him. When he's on the ice he's skating as hard as he can from point A to point B, he finishes all of his checks, and he's been keeping his defensive play very basic, along the lines of if he gets the puck in our zone, he clears it out immediately instead of try to dillydally with it and start a play up. Maltby and Draper I can agree with you on, however we can't send them down to the minors without clearing waivers, which they definitely won't be able to do, and its too big a risk to trade them away to bring up young talent on the assumption that they will be able to do better based on a handful of nhl games and their experience in the minors. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Moni 0 Report post Posted December 29, 2008 I personally like the 4th line. Yeah they are not as much action as the top three lines, and yues they are not the goal scorers like Hossa or Zetterberg. Detroit is slowly starting to transition players out and new ones in. Give it a few years and you'll be talking about how you miss the Grind Line when they are gone, enjoy them while they are still here they'll be gone soon. (Yes I know its McCarty on the Grind Line you don't need to correct me). I want to see the new blood as much as anyone else, but Detroit has their ways - and with 4 cups in the last 11 years I think I'll trust their judgement for now. *** I am up for Sammy being traded any time. *** Chelios needs to retire *** Larson should replace Osgood while he's out - and Howard needs to be traded *** Flippula needs to get his s*** together again ***Defense needs to step up - Lidstrom can't do it all, and he'll be gone too soon as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aussie_Wing 354 Report post Posted December 30, 2008 I personally like the 4th line. Yeah they are not as much action as the top three lines, and yues they are not the goal scorers like Hossa or Zetterberg. Detroit is slowly starting to transition players out and new ones in. Give it a few years and you'll be talking about how you miss the Grind Line when they are gone, enjoy them while they are still here they'll be gone soon. (Yes I know its McCarty on the Grind Line you don't need to correct me). I want to see the new blood as much as anyone else, but Detroit has their ways - and with 4 cups in the last 11 years I think I'll trust their judgement for now. *** I am up for Sammy being traded any time. *** Chelios needs to retire *** Larson should replace Osgood while he's out - and Howard needs to be traded *** Flippula needs to get his s*** together again ***Defense needs to step up - Lidstrom can't do it all, and he'll be gone too soon as well. I don't get what people expect. Yes he signed a pretty big contract but that was for what he will develop into, not what he's going to produce this season. Last season he was the second line centre who saw PP time, this season he's on the 3rd line and he gets zero PP time. How the heck is he supposed to put up big numbers under those circumstances? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thedisappearer 291 Report post Posted December 30, 2008 I don't get what people expect. Yes he signed a pretty big contract but that was for what he will develop into, not what he's going to produce this season. Last season he was the second line centre who saw PP time, this season he's on the 3rd line and he gets zero PP time. How the heck is he supposed to put up big numbers under those circumstances? Dude, all Detroit centers need to score at least 30 goals and 80 points per season. It's, like, the rules. In 2 years, when Fil's contract looks like the steal Kronner's was, I want a lot fo people to apologize publicly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoWings1905 2,694 Report post Posted December 30, 2008 (edited) I don't get what people expect. Yes he signed a pretty big contract but that was for what he will develop into, not what he's going to produce this season. Last season he was the second line centre who saw PP time, this season he's on the 3rd line and he gets zero PP time. How the heck is he supposed to put up big numbers under those circumstances? Cleary has found a way to produce still. Filppula is essentially used in the same situations as Cleary, who played a good chunk of the season with one eye. I don't think the calls to trade Fil are really fair yet, but he has been a major disappointment compared to expectations and his strong playoff run. The Red Wings have plenty of forwards that can kill penalties and are solid defensively. Fil needs to step it up on offense. Kopecky on the other hand... Edited December 30, 2008 by GoWings1905 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
under_par_00 45 Report post Posted December 30, 2008 Cleary has found a way to produce still. Filppula is essentially used in the same situations as Cleary, who played a good chunk of the season with one eye. I don't think the calls to trade Fil are really fair yet, but he has been a major disappointment compared to expectations and his strong playoff run. The Red Wings have plenty of forwards that can kill penalties and are solid defensively. Fil needs to step it up on offense. Kopecky on the other hand... Filppula isn't doing that much worse than last year. Last year he had 36 points in 78 games (0.46 PPG). Playoffs he had 11 points in 22 games (0.5 PPG). This year he has 15 points in 35 games (0.42 PPG) while playing on the 3rd line, with the 3rd defensive pairing, and zero PP time. I think he is a great player, he can hold onto the puck well in the offensive zone, has decent speed, and has a few nice moves. Similar in many ways to Datsyuk. Fil is defensively responsible, and I think if he could ever center a line with Hossa and Franzen, or 2 quality players, his production will go way up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thedatsyukian 7 Report post Posted December 30, 2008 I would like to see some griffins up for the purpose of exposure and experience. With the hard cap we could realistically lose some key players and it would be nice to give the youngins some ice time with the club. Smooth transition is what I'm looking for. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echolalia 2,961 Report post Posted December 30, 2008 Filppula isn't doing that much worse than last year. Last year he had 36 points in 78 games (0.46 PPG). Playoffs he had 11 points in 22 games (0.5 PPG). This year he has 15 points in 35 games (0.42 PPG) while playing on the 3rd line, with the 3rd defensive pairing, and zero PP time. I think he is a great player, he can hold onto the puck well in the offensive zone, has decent speed, and has a few nice moves. Similar in many ways to Datsyuk. Fil is defensively responsible, and I think if he could ever center a line with Hossa and Franzen, or 2 quality players, his production will go way up. The disappointment I have in Filppulla isn't in the comparison of this years' numbers to last years. Its from the fact that he seems to lose many more battles in the corners than I can ever remember him doing, and doesn't seem to hustle as much as he's capable of. Oh, and on the note of his numbers this year, I think its worth mentioning that the only forwards to have less points than him are Draper, Maltby,and Kopecky (who in my book aren't even meant to score goals). Someone said that the contract he signed is based on what he will become, not what he's expected to produce now, and he still needs to develop. I see whats going on so far this year as a step back in production. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
under_par_00 45 Report post Posted December 30, 2008 The disappointment I have in Filppulla isn't in the comparison of this years' numbers to last years. Its from the fact that he seems to lose many more battles in the corners than I can ever remember him doing, and doesn't seem to hustle as much as he's capable of. Valid point, but the same can be said for a lot of the Wings this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Four Report post Posted December 30, 2008 Correct That is why they couldn't call up Howard or Larsson when Ozzie was injured. They would have to put somebody on waivers or LTIR for them to be able to have the cap space to call up somebody. McCarty is already on LTIR, Downey is already cleared waivers. Anybody else on the Wings roster that you'd want to put on waivers and risk being claimed? You forgot Quincey who ended up getting claimed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
