Why do People Expect Miracles?

[Aussie_Wing 354]

In the off-season we lost Hossa, Hudler, Samuelsson and a few others. Obviously this is a fairly significant group and so the goals weren't going to come as frequently as they did in the previous few seasons.

We went out and signed Bertuzzi who, although far from a fan favourite, has played decently. We also signed Williams and Eaves.

Two guys who were really expected to contribute this season were Franzen who was coming off a 34 goal, 59 point season and Filppula who had a career best 40. Franzen suffers an ACL tear in the 3rd game, Filppula a broken wirst in the 11th. There goes our 1st line winger and our 2nd line centre. Keep in mind we're already playing with 3 forward rookies in Leino, Abdelkader and Helm. So tell me how we're realistically supposed to make up for these injuries? I hear ya, maybe some offence from Jason Williams, no wait, he breaks his leg 15 games in. A 3rd player on the LTI list (excluding Lilja).

Holmstrom has played to or above expectations, Zetterberg and especially Datsyuk, below. Our two star players pretty much void of top notch talent alongisde them, such making it easier for opposition defenders to zone in on them.

Leino hasn't produced anywhere near the level expected of him, Helm and Abdelkader have been fine. Eaves has been rock solid, Draper playing his best hockey in years, May, Maltby and the recently acquired Miller about to the level they should.

On defence, Lidstrom is declining and Rafalski suffering a signficant drop-off from his first two seasons in Detroit. Then there's Kronwall, arguably playing the best hockey of his career and he too bites the dust. We're stuck with Lebda AND Meech every night and are forced to call up Janik and Kindl on separate occasions.

In goal we have Osgood who's having a second consecutive nightmare of a regular season and a rookie in Howard who after a slow start has been outstanding of late. Our goaltending is the least of our worries right now.

There's in excess of FIFTY games remaining in the season, plenty of time to secure a playoff spot which we will. I see so many posters calling, begging Holland to make a trade. What do you actually want him to do, and be realistic. We're not going to trade away some of our better prospects just because half our team is injured. We'll get Filppula back, then Williams, then Kronwall, then fingers crossed eventually Franzen. We're not going to pull the trigger on a foolish trade. Holland knows that we're playing with 5 rookies, have 3 extremely crucial players on the LTI list and patience and for now all we can do is wait, wait until we get guys healthy again so we can make our push.

This season was ALWAYS going to be a tough one and it was made even more so because of the unfortunate injuries we suffered. A message to all those panicking and asking for trades, demanding that Holland shake things up. Just relax, endure the tough times because there's still over half the season remaining and when we starting regaining guys our depth will improve and the results will start going our way.

[Guest Lidstromboli]

tl;dr

[VM1138 1,921]

I don't like this "50 game" stuff I keep hearing. The more time runs out, the harder it will be. Not only do we need to start winning a lot of those 50 games, we need to win more than other teams are winning. I think people forget other teams play games, too. And if they keep winning, we have to win more, faster in order to catch up, 50 games or not.

[Yak19 303]

scoring 1 goal against the Blues = Miracle ???????????

[stuck in socal 56]

Ok so you are gonna gurantee we are making the playoffs? How much are you willing to bet chap?

[Aussie_Wing 354]

I guess people are just spoilt.

I bet coming into this season most people expected there to be a fairly big drop-off. Then when the season started people's expectations started to rise again due to the excitement and anticipation of a fresh season. However, the off-season departures coupled with the horrendous run of injuries we've had people seriously need to take out their emotions and realise that a combination of the two always meant we were in for a rough ride.

[MTU_Huskies963 398]

I understand everyone is injured, but a lot of us are just asking for the team to show some heart and effort. Even bottom dwelling teams can manage to show some signs of offense when given a 5 on 3. Players are not hitting the net, taking lazy shots, making lazy passes, and playing D with no effort. Even with all these injuries the wings still have some weapons in Datsyuk and Zetterburg. Both them need to step up and take control of this team, but they have not. I also think people are fearful they will not make the playoffs because of their style of play. Injuries do not affect the ability to hit the net with a shot or make crisp passes to teammates. The wings just look like they are playing uninspired, and it goes much deeper than injuries.

[titanium2 867]

I guess people are just spoilt.

Yup.

Part of the pride of being a Wings fan I suppose.

[thedisappearer 291]

There is only 1 team in the West with a losing record.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

I agree with what your saying Aussie, but we should be good enough with our talent to get more then 1 goal against St Louis of all teams. I just want the Olympic break to come, the Wings need it. Hopefully Sweden fizzles out so more of our players get the rest they need.

[Vladifan 680]

In the off-season we lost Hossa, Hudler, Samuelsson and a few others. Obviously this is a fairly significant group and so the goals weren't going to come as frequently as they did in the previous few seasons.

We went out and signed Bertuzzi who, although far from a fan favourite, has played decently. We also signed Williams and Eaves.

Two guys who were really expected to contribute this season were Franzen who was coming off a 34 goal, 59 point season and Filppula who had a career best 40. Franzen suffers an ACL tear in the 3rd game, Filppula a broken wirst in the 11th. There goes our 1st line winger and our 2nd line centre. Keep in mind we're already playing with 3 forward rookies in Leino, Abdelkader and Helm. So tell me how we're realistically supposed to make up for these injuries? I hear ya, maybe some offence from Jason Williams, no wait, he breaks his leg 15 games in. A 3rd player on the LTI list (excluding Lilja).

Holmstrom has played to or above expectations, Zetterberg and especially Datsyuk, below. Our two star players pretty much void of top notch talent alongisde them, such making it easier for opposition defenders to zone in on them.

Leino hasn't produced anywhere near the level expected of him, Helm and Abdelkader have been fine. Eaves has been rock solid, Draper playing his best hockey in years, May, Maltby and the recently acquired Miller about to the level they should.

On defence, Lidstrom is declining and Rafalski suffering a signficant drop-off from his first two seasons in Detroit. Then there's Kronwall, arguably playing the best hockey of his career and he too bites the dust. We're stuck with Lebda AND Meech every night and are forced to call up Janik and Kindl on separate occasions.

In goal we have Osgood who's having a second consecutive nightmare of a regular season and a rookie in Howard who after a slow start has been outstanding of late. Our goaltending is the least of our worries right now.

There's in excess of FIFTY games remaining in the season, plenty of time to secure a playoff spot which we will. I see so many posters calling, begging Holland to make a trade. What do you actually want him to do, and be realistic. We're not going to trade away some of our better prospects just because half our team is injured. We'll get Filppula back, then Williams, then Kronwall, then fingers crossed eventually Franzen. We're not going to pull the trigger on a foolish trade. Holland knows that we're playing with 5 rookies, have 3 extremely crucial players on the LTI list and patience and for now all we can do is wait, wait until we get guys healthy again so we can make our push.

This season was ALWAYS going to be a tough one and it was made even more so because of the unfortunate injuries we suffered. A message to all those panicking and asking for trades, demanding that Holland shake things up. Just relax, endure the tough times because there's still over half the season remaining and when we starting regaining guys our depth will improve and the results will start going our way.

Don't know how we could make it happen but this should be required reading by every member of this board.

Edited December 10, 2009 by Vladifan

[Yak19 303]

I know we will make the playoffs, i know it, we will sneak in as the 6th or 7th seed.

But even with all these injuries you should have had at least 4 goals against the Blues tonight with all the oppurtunities and PP's we had.

1-0 loss to the Blues at home when you throw 42 shots at their backup??? No way you should lose this game just no way.

EFFING FRUSTRATING

[cmonster 11]

I think one of the problems of people expecting miracles is that the Red Wings were so far ahead for so long that they began to coast b/c nobody was close to matching them talent and skillwise. They could flip a switch and blow any team out. Now everyone has seemingly caught up and maybe even passed the Red Wings in talent and skill that they can no longer dominate like they did.

If they are within striking distance of a playoff spot come March and April they will be in an absolute dogfight to get in. And if they make they will probably be a 6th, 7th, or 8th seed, but a team that no one will want to face in the first round.

Patience and lowered expectations are something that every Wings fan will have to get used to b/c, newsflash, Ken Holland is not going to do something drastic this year during the season. The Wings will continue to play the cards they are dealt. Best case #1 Wings make the playoffs and go deep. Best Case #2 the Wings tank royally and get a high draft pick. Worst case they make it and flame out in the first round screwing themselves out of a high draft pick and the cup.

[Z and D for the C 712]

I don't think asking for ONE goal against the blues is equivalent to asking for a miracle. I'm sure others have said this already, but I'm saying it again.

[rick zombo 3,739]

In the off-season we lost Hossa, Hudler, Samuelsson and a few others. Obviously this is a fairly significant group and so the goals weren't going to come as frequently as they did in the previous few seasons.

We went out and signed Bertuzzi who, although far from a fan favourite, has played decently. We also signed Williams and Eaves.

Two guys who were really expected to contribute this season were Franzen who was coming off a 34 goal, 59 point season and Filppula who had a career best 40. Franzen suffers an ACL tear in the 3rd game, Filppula a broken wirst in the 11th. There goes our 1st line winger and our 2nd line centre. Keep in mind we're already playing with 3 forward rookies in Leino, Abdelkader and Helm. So tell me how we're realistically supposed to make up for these injuries? I hear ya, maybe some offence from Jason Williams, no wait, he breaks his leg 15 games in. A 3rd player on the LTI list (excluding Lilja).

Holmstrom has played to or above expectations, Zetterberg and especially Datsyuk, below. Our two star players pretty much void of top notch talent alongisde them, such making it easier for opposition defenders to zone in on them.

Leino hasn't produced anywhere near the level expected of him, Helm and Abdelkader have been fine. Eaves has been rock solid, Draper playing his best hockey in years, May, Maltby and the recently acquired Miller about to the level they should.

On defence, Lidstrom is declining and Rafalski suffering a signficant drop-off from his first two seasons in Detroit. Then there's Kronwall, arguably playing the best hockey of his career and he too bites the dust. We're stuck with Lebda AND Meech every night and are forced to call up Janik and Kindl on separate occasions.

In goal we have Osgood who's having a second consecutive nightmare of a regular season and a rookie in Howard who after a slow start has been outstanding of late. Our goaltending is the least of our worries right now.

There's in excess of FIFTY games remaining in the season, plenty of time to secure a playoff spot which we will. I see so many posters calling, begging Holland to make a trade. What do you actually want him to do, and be realistic. We're not going to trade away some of our better prospects just because half our team is injured. We'll get Filppula back, then Williams, then Kronwall, then fingers crossed eventually Franzen. We're not going to pull the trigger on a foolish trade. Holland knows that we're playing with 5 rookies, have 3 extremely crucial players on the LTI list and patience and for now all we can do is wait, wait until we get guys healthy again so we can make our push.

This season was ALWAYS going to be a tough one and it was made even more so because of the unfortunate injuries we suffered. A message to all those panicking and asking for trades, demanding that Holland shake things up. Just relax, endure the tough times because there's still over half the season remaining and when we starting regaining guys our depth will improve and the results will start going our way.

Great post Aussie!!!!

[Earthhuman 8]

This team does have the capabilities to put up a winning record, but their style of play has to adapt to the circumstances. A few nights ago we saw them play clutch-and-grab hockey against a younger, faster Rangers team and it worked. So it is possible to compete in this league, even with a lot of bad luck.

Also, I agree Holland trading from his currently shallow talent pool just because this season is starting poorly is laughable. I'll prove it.

Bwahahahahahahahahahaha!

EDIT: After Friday the Wings may be on the inside looking out; they play Anaheim and need only two points to beat out Dallas for the eighth spot, because Dallas has less wins. Good news.

Edited December 10, 2009 by Earthhuman

[gcom007 1,465]

In the off-season we lost Hossa, Hudler, Samuelsson and a few others. Obviously this is a fairly significant group and so the goals weren't going to come as frequently as they did in the previous few seasons.

We went out and signed Bertuzzi who, although far from a fan favourite, has played decently. We also signed Williams and Eaves.

Two guys who were really expected to contribute this season were Franzen who was coming off a 34 goal, 59 point season and Filppula who had a career best 40. Franzen suffers an ACL tear in the 3rd game, Filppula a broken wirst in the 11th. There goes our 1st line winger and our 2nd line centre. Keep in mind we're already playing with 3 forward rookies in Leino, Abdelkader and Helm. So tell me how we're realistically supposed to make up for these injuries? I hear ya, maybe some offence from Jason Williams, no wait, he breaks his leg 15 games in. A 3rd player on the LTI list (excluding Lilja).

Holmstrom has played to or above expectations, Zetterberg and especially Datsyuk, below. Our two star players pretty much void of top notch talent alongisde them, such making it easier for opposition defenders to zone in on them.

Leino hasn't produced anywhere near the level expected of him, Helm and Abdelkader have been fine. Eaves has been rock solid, Draper playing his best hockey in years, May, Maltby and the recently acquired Miller about to the level they should.

On defence, Lidstrom is declining and Rafalski suffering a signficant drop-off from his first two seasons in Detroit. Then there's Kronwall, arguably playing the best hockey of his career and he too bites the dust. We're stuck with Lebda AND Meech every night and are forced to call up Janik and Kindl on separate occasions.

In goal we have Osgood who's having a second consecutive nightmare of a regular season and a rookie in Howard who after a slow start has been outstanding of late. Our goaltending is the least of our worries right now.

There's in excess of FIFTY games remaining in the season, plenty of time to secure a playoff spot which we will. I see so many posters calling, begging Holland to make a trade. What do you actually want him to do, and be realistic. We're not going to trade away some of our better prospects just because half our team is injured. We'll get Filppula back, then Williams, then Kronwall, then fingers crossed eventually Franzen. We're not going to pull the trigger on a foolish trade. Holland knows that we're playing with 5 rookies, have 3 extremely crucial players on the LTI list and patience and for now all we can do is wait, wait until we get guys healthy again so we can make our push.

This season was ALWAYS going to be a tough one and it was made even more so because of the unfortunate injuries we suffered. A message to all those panicking and asking for trades, demanding that Holland shake things up. Just relax, endure the tough times because there's still over half the season remaining and when we starting regaining guys our depth will improve and the results will start going our way.

While I'm not one of the panicking minions, and I don't even really disagree with the general point, I still disagree with much of your reasoning.

First, I don't think Osgood is having a "nightmare" season by any means. He's playing far, far better than he did last year. If you can't see the difference in the way he's playing apart from looking at stats, you shouldn't be commenting on the matter. There's absolutely NO COMPARISON to Osgood's play last year and this year. None whatsoever. He could play better, but he hasn't been bad and absolutely no where close to "nightmare" level.

Second, I said it over the summer and you and others ripped on me: it's stupid to expect so much out of Leino in his ROOKIE YEAR!!!!!!!!! It's your own damn fault if Leino hasn't lived up to your expectations for him. That's what happens when you get overzealous about these young kids who haven't cut their teeth in the big leagues yet. Getting called up for a few games here and there and looking good doesn't mean s***. All you've got is adrenaline and a prayer; you just play and good things can happen. Similarily, the AHL doesn't mean s***. When you start out with the big club, have a legit rookie season and learn what it really takes to wake up everyday and deal with the pressure of contributing to a professional hockey club in the NHL, you're bound to hit some walls. You live, you learn. You gotta give guys time which is why I knew it to be utterly foolish to have such lofty expectations for Leino this year. Like I said, all that was bound to happen was him becoming the scapegoat, and that's exactly what's happened. "Leino is lazy and he sucks." It's pathetic. It's not Leino's fault that too many of you can't separate your "head in the clouds" hopes from reality.

And on that note, our good buddy and your little obsession, Flip. Sorry, but as I've said, if we're relying on him to contribute heavily to scoring, we're screwed. Injured or not, if he's one of our best bets, we're in trouble. Notice though that we were looking much, much worse as a team before he went down and started playing better for awhile following his injury, going on a winning streak in fact. I am absolutely not suggesting a correlation so much as merely pointing out that he's not as important to this teams success as some like to think.

I think losing Kronwall hurts us offensively more than losing Flip to be honest. Hell, I haven't looked at the numbers, but I'd like to see a comparison of our scoring before and after Kronwall went down. That seems to at the very least be the straw that really broke the camels back, and considering so much of our offense stems from our defense, it doesn't surprise me. I do know Kronwall was and probably still is our top producing defenseman this year and at the time at least he was one of our top point producers team-wide. I just looked: still our top scoring defenseman and fifth on our team in scoring overall. On top of that, as a defensemen he was putting up goals and assists at a stronger pace than Flip. Again, I think this teams been looking pretty lousy in the scoring department all year, but it's been abyssmal now since Kronwall went down. That hurts.

I agree though that Bertuzzi's been playing fairly well all things considered. Howards improved and is finding somewhat of a stride lately. Holmstrom has played well but I'm not surprised as it's early on and that's what happens with him early on. Unfortunately, his offensive contributions will likely decrease as the season wears on his body. Call me a pessimist for suggesting it now and get back to me on the matter in April.

Oh, Rafalski. He's not playing as well as the last couple years but he hasn't been near as bad as many have made him out to be. He's never been stellar on defense. People always act so surprised when he coughs up the puck or makes a slop play in our zone but he's been doing it for years. The guy can put up points though, and he's not doing the worst job in that department really. I think he'll improve his numbers, especially his goals, as the season goes on.

No matter what, it was bound to be a tougher year. Truthfully though, there's a lot of upside to this team that's been far too overlooked. It's hard to watch now but it will get better as the season progresses and we get guys back. Franzen and Kronwall's returns will help the most without a doubt. I don't expect much to change in terms of scoring (and winning) before then. A trade now would be stupid to make though. I'm not worried down the stretch. So long as we don't fall too far behind (we haven't yet by any means), I have little doubt that we'll surge with a healthier team towards the end and at the very least get a 7th or 8th spot. And at that point, all bets are off for any team.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

scoring 1 goal against the Blues = Miracle ???????????

Remember-- Raptor Jesus died for your sins.

[Theophany 110]

The question I want to pose is: would you trade away a prospect or two if it meant getting a star for a year and making the playoffs?

Because personally, I'd rather this be a mediocre season than make trades that put the organization in a bad place.

It's kind of ridiculous to me when people are after Holland to trade people away just because of a few bad games for talent that's likely to be equally as worthless.

Note to Wings fans that think they can be a GM: you're not a GM. Holland is one of the best GMs—possibly the best—ever. You don't know how to run the organization better than he does. Chill and watch the games and stop freaking out.

If we miss the playoffs, you're not going to have to kill yourself, I promise.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

In the off-season we lost Hossa, Hudler, Samuelsson and a few others. Obviously this is a fairly significant group and so the goals weren't going to come as frequently as they did in the previous few seasons.

We went out and signed Bertuzzi who, although far from a fan favourite, has played decently. We also signed Williams and Eaves.

Two guys who were really expected to contribute this season were Franzen who was coming off a 34 goal, 59 point season and Filppula who had a career best 40. Franzen suffers an ACL tear in the 3rd game, Filppula a broken wirst in the 11th. There goes our 1st line winger and our 2nd line centre. Keep in mind we're already playing with 3 forward rookies in Leino, Abdelkader and Helm. So tell me how we're realistically supposed to make up for these injuries? I hear ya, maybe some offence from Jason Williams, no wait, he breaks his leg 15 games in. A 3rd player on the LTI list (excluding Lilja).

Holmstrom has played to or above expectations, Zetterberg and especially Datsyuk, below. Our two star players pretty much void of top notch talent alongisde them, such making it easier for opposition defenders to zone in on them.

Leino hasn't produced anywhere near the level expected of him, Helm and Abdelkader have been fine. Eaves has been rock solid, Draper playing his best hockey in years, May, Maltby and the recently acquired Miller about to the level they should.

On defence, Lidstrom is declining and Rafalski suffering a signficant drop-off from his first two seasons in Detroit. Then there's Kronwall, arguably playing the best hockey of his career and he too bites the dust. We're stuck with Lebda AND Meech every night and are forced to call up Janik and Kindl on separate occasions.

In goal we have Osgood who's having a second consecutive nightmare of a regular season and a rookie in Howard who after a slow start has been outstanding of late. Our goaltending is the least of our worries right now.

There's in excess of FIFTY games remaining in the season, plenty of time to secure a playoff spot which we will. I see so many posters calling, begging Holland to make a trade. What do you actually want him to do, and be realistic. We're not going to trade away some of our better prospects just because half our team is injured. We'll get Filppula back, then Williams, then Kronwall, then fingers crossed eventually Franzen. We're not going to pull the trigger on a foolish trade. Holland knows that we're playing with 5 rookies, have 3 extremely crucial players on the LTI list and patience and for now all we can do is wait, wait until we get guys healthy again so we can make our push.

This season was ALWAYS going to be a tough one and it was made even more so because of the unfortunate injuries we suffered. A message to all those panicking and asking for trades, demanding that Holland shake things up. Just relax, endure the tough times because there's still over half the season remaining and when we starting regaining guys our depth will improve and the results will start going our way.

Logic's a scary thing around these parts. Good job.

Edited December 10, 2009 by SouthernWingsFan

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Second, I said it over the summer and you and others ripped on me: it's stupid to expect so much out of Leino in his ROOKIE YEAR!!!!!!!!! It's your own damn fault if Leino hasn't lived up to your expectations for him. That's what happens when you get overzealous about these young kids who haven't cut their teeth in the big leagues yet. Getting called up for a few games here and there and looking good doesn't mean s***. All you've got is adrenaline and a prayer; you just play and good things can happen. Similarily, the AHL doesn't mean s***. When you start out with the big club, have a legit rookie season and learn what it really takes to wake up everyday and deal with the pressure of contributing to a professional hockey club in the NHL, you're bound to hit some walls. You live, you learn. You gotta give guys time which is why I knew it to be utterly foolish to have such lofty expectations for Leino this year. Like I said, all that was bound to happen was him becoming the scapegoat, and that's exactly what's happened. "Leino is lazy and he sucks." It's pathetic. It's not Leino's fault that too many of you can't separate your "head in the clouds" hopes from reality.

Why so angry? I consider myself in the semi realistic bunch about the season he was going to have. So while I certainly didn't expect Leino to set the world on fire I think it's safe to say that 3 goals and 5 points through 27 games while mostly seeing 2nd line minutes is disappointing whichever way you look at it.

And on that note, our good buddy and your little obsession, Flip. Sorry, but as I've said, if we're relying on him to contribute heavily to scoring, we're screwed. Injured or not, if he's one of our best bets, we're in trouble. Notice though that we were looking much, much worse as a team before he went down and started playing better for awhile following his injury, going on a winning streak in fact. I am absolutely not suggesting a correlation so much as merely pointing out that he's not as important to this teams success as some like to think.

MY obsession with Flip? What about yours? Filppula has raised his point totals in every season, I think it's a fair assumption to make that he would've done so again this season, probably close to 50 points. I know you don't rate him but the Wings coaching staff certainly does. Wasn't he voted our most hardest working player in the month before his injury? Yeah, thought so. I'm not saying him going down is the sole reason for our struggles but losing him has robbed us of a lot of flexibility and ability to mix things up. Fact.

I think losing Kronwall hurts us offensively more than losing Flip to be honest. Hell, I haven't looked at the numbers, but I'd like to see a comparison of our scoring before and after Kronwall went down. That seems to at the very least be the straw that really broke the camels back, and considering so much of our offense stems from our defense, it doesn't surprise me. I do know Kronwall was and probably still is our top producing defenseman this year and at the time at least he was one of our top point producers team-wide. I just looked: still our top scoring defenseman and fifth on our team in scoring overall. On top of that, as a defensemen he was putting up goals and assists at a stronger pace than Flip. Again, I think this teams been looking pretty lousy in the scoring department all year, but it's been abyssmal now since Kronwall went down. That hurts.

Why even bring Flip into it? That little obsession of yours I guess.

[ltgator333 3]

Epic OP Aussie_Wing!

I think DRW management has Leino's problem exactly figured out- he needs to work on his skating and he needs a confidence boost. I'd wager he's working with a personal trainer on his skating right now in a very similar fashion to what Osgood did with the goaltending coach last year. Skilled guidance and positive criticism applied to your faults is always a confidence boost.

[gcom007 1,465]

Why so angry? I consider myself in the semi realistic bunch about the season he was going to have. So while I certainly didn't expect Leino to set the world on fire I think it's safe to say that 3 goals and 5 points through 27 games while mostly seeing 2nd line minutes is disappointing whichever way you look at it.

MY obsession with Flip? What about yours? Filppula has raised his point totals in every season, I think it's a fair assumption to make that he would've done so again this season, probably close to 50 points. I know you don't rate him but the Wings coaching staff certainly does. Wasn't he voted our most hardest working player in the month before his injury? Yeah, thought so. I'm not saying him going down is the sole reason for our struggles but losing him has robbed us of a lot of flexibility and ability to mix things up. Fact.

Why even bring Flip into it? That little obsession of yours I guess.

Angry? Hardly. Don't mistake the mood of my berating posts for anger when in fact I am laughing at many of you. "Semi" is the key word in "semi-realistic" for certain when it comes to any prospects or young guys and your analysis. I appreciate the positivity in all honesty, however, I think it's necessary to balance positivity and enthusiasm with objectivity lest we set guys up to fail. That is my biggest problem with yours and countless others perspectives on these guys.

For Leino, 3 goals and 5 assists in 27 games with mostly second-line minutes doesn't surprise me at all. I expected maybe 10 goals from him this year. I said I'd be floored and thrilled if he scored 15 goals. If not for Holland getting screwed in free agency and losing so many guys, no one in management would've put so much on him this season. Everything we've been doing since July 1st can be summarized is surviving. We're surviving an incredibly disappointing 7-game Stanley Cup loss. We're surviving our s***tiest off-season in years. We're surviving as we battle countless teams that have improved. We're surviving through countless injuries.

Due to all of this "surviving," management has had no other choice but to expect too much from guys. The fans always do, but even management has been guilty of it this year. I really do feel that Holland definitely slipped up in this last off-season. He absolutely made mistakes and lost out on nearly every gamble he made. I'm not saying he sucks and should be crucified though, and I'm also not convinced that all of this "surviving" won't prove to be of great help to us as we do get stronger towards the end of the season and even into the next season. But in the meantime, it's most certainly made quite a mess of things lately.

In regards to Flip, let's just say that all the Flip-love and more so the wild expectations that accompany those who love him frustrates me the same way the Osgood-hatred frustrated me last year. I don't see it as rational or objective at all. I really don't care what the management says about him either, especially this year. They can pump him up and hope all they want to, but they're throwing punches underwater.

Hardest-Worker in October. Yay. Oh yeah, October was this teams s***tiest month. He hasn't even been in the lineup when the team has looked its best this season. Legace was a player of the month in October once too. We saw what that was worth down the stretch.

I'll definitely say I'm even more bitter about Flip's contract at this point than I was before. I never liked it, but I hate it now. In my mind, he should've been traded so we could keep Hossa. Hossa is a game-changer, a superstar, and probably the most complete winger in the league and he probably would've signed with us for $5 million a season. But because we've got average players like Flip signed at $3 million, we have to let the opportunity pass. It's stupid if you ask me, more than ever in light of how the rest of the off-season went and how this season has gone.

Flip's a responsible guy and a hard worker, but he's not a guy who's going to put a team over the top and keep them competitive on the worst of nights. Hossa had as many GOALS last year as Flip had points. You need GOALS to win. Even with our decimated team, we're still doing a pretty good job of keeping games close, but we're most certainly not scoring as many goals. A guy like Flip at $3 million does not address the needs of this team. Holland gambled wrong on him at that price to begin with, but he should have cut his losses when it came time to keep a guy like Hossa around at a bargain of a price. Hell, if Flip was simply signed for around $2 million, which is closer to what he's worth on this Red Wings team, then you've got an extra million to throw at Hossa that would've kept him in Detroit. It's a shame.

But like I've said, if we're still struggling down the stretch, I would not be surprised at all to see Flip get traded. He's the only guy that makes sense to move if you need to do something bigger. We're not crippled by any means without him, he's got a heavier cap hit and he'd be most valuable on the market as other teams could better use a guy who's consistently steady in his own end without being a total slouch on offense. Right now, we need goals, plain and simple.

Again, if we're not getting enough once we get guys back, I hope Holland swallows his pride and makes a move at the deadline. I don't care what anyone says, this is a still a great team with most of the pieces in place, but if we still aren't scoring enough to win as March approaches, we've got to make a move. If we can get the scoring going, this team has what it takes to win it all. No doubt about it.

[gcom007 1,465]

Why even bring Flip into it? That little obsession of yours I guess.

Oh yeah, forgot to answer this. I bring him in because I know how much you love reality checks when it comes to your favorite players.

[Grim 5]

If we miss the playoffs, you're not going to have to kill yourself, I promise.

If the Wings miss the playoffs, the team loses gobs of expected revenue. The team could also end up at the short-end with potential free-agents, exacerbating matters. not fun...