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GMRwings1983

The Olympics Couldn't be Coming at a Worse Time

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Seriously, for a team that has guys coming back from injuries who need to get back into the groove, and a team that's been inconsistent all year, these Olympics are a terrible break.

It's hard to get team chemistry back when your best players have to go away for two weeks to play in a tournament where they'll have distractions that are unrelated to the Red Wings.

Not to mention, our older players will have to play many games in few nights, as the Olympic schedule is laid out that way, and then return back to a team that's in desperation mode for a playoff push.

Maybe there's a bright side to this Olympic break as far as the Wings go, but I can't see it.

The last thing these players need right now is a two week vacation for the grinders and a two week grind for the star players.

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I disagree, we need this break.

1) We have no rhythm right now, a long break would do the team good.

2) As long as particpants don't get hurt, playing in the Olympics could get a major distraction out of their heads and give them so good, high caliber practice to get feeling good about themselves again.

3) Rest for non-participants.

4) The possibility of other NHL teams losing their groove and being easier to make up ground against post-break.

I look forward to the break.

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Completely disagree, I wish the break started tomorrow. These players need a fresh start, they need to get rid of bad habits and they need to clear their heads.

It's not easy when you have a game every other day for months and months to turn things around just like that. Remember Ozzie getting that time off last year and coming back so much better? That's what this whole team needs right now.

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I disagree, we need this break.

1) We have no rhythm right now, a long break would do the team good.

2) As long as particpants don't get hurt, playing in the Olympics could get a major distraction out of their heads and give them so good, high caliber practice to get feeling good about themselves again.

3) Rest for non-participants.

4) The possibility of other NHL teams losing their groove and being easier to make up ground against post-break.

I look forward to the break.

That's a big IF with this team's fragility.

I didn't even mention that in my post, but that's a big factor as well.

Also, we're sending more guys than most teams are if I'm not mistaken, so I don't see how this will help us over them. The guys we're sending are older players too, who need the rest.

Our younger players will get rest sure, but those guys don't get much icetime anyway.

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That's a big IF with this team's fragility.

I didn't even mention that in my post, but that's a big factor as well.

Also, we're sending more guys than most teams are if I'm not mistaken, so I don't see how this will help us over them. The guys we're sending are older players too, who need the rest.

Our younger players will get rest sure, but those guys don't get much icetime anyway.

It didn't hurt old players in '02. I think the fatigue factor is a bit overrated. Babcock will just have to be a bit more strategic with ice time immediately after the break.

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They need to skip the olympics and spend the week working on shootouts/hitting the net. Seriously where is Gordan Bombay when you need him ^_^

HAHA! "Keep swinging Charlie, maybe you'll give them a cold!"

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It didn't hurt old players in '02. I think the fatigue factor is a bit overrated. Babcock will just have to be a bit more strategic with ice time immediately after the break.

In 02 we already had a playoff spot clinched by this time.

Babcock will actually have to be aggressive with the icetime, since our stars are gonna have to carry us in the playoffs. Olympics were fun in 02 and 06, but this season I just feel like this team doesn't deserve a break.

A two week vacation is the last thing some of these players need imo.

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this could go both ways in my opinion, players could mesh with other players and get their confidence back, shoot the puck more. Or it could go bad and get them into some kind of weird funk and not do anything but cause trouble for everyone. I think being with veteren guys will help the players mesh with eachother rather than not.

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The Wings post Olympics don't have a tough schedual, they play a lot of games against the Central and bottom dwellers in the Pacific. They have some tough games against San Jose, Vancouver, Chicago and a few eastern teams, but other then that, the Wings have a very good line up of teams in their last 20 games.

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There is a very obvious bright side, and I'm surprised that you didn't mention it. The fact that the NHL is taking a two-week break gives Lilja more time to get back.

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Seriously, for a team that has guys coming back from injuries who need to get back into the groove, and a team that's been inconsistent all year, these Olympics are a terrible break.

It's hard to get team chemistry back when your best players have to go away for two weeks to play in a tournament where they'll have distractions that are unrelated to the Red Wings.

Not to mention, our older players will have to play many games in few nights, as the Olympic schedule is laid out that way, and then return back to a team that's in desperation mode for a playoff push.

Maybe there's a bright side to this Olympic break as far as the Wings go, but I can't see it.

The last thing these players need right now is a two week vacation for the grinders and a two week grind for the star players.

I agree and yet disagree. For starters, most of our team is going to get a mini-vacation out of it at the end of the day, which can hopefully be used to regain composure, focus, and to some degree, fitness. Howard, Helm, Eaves, Bert, Draper, Maltby, May, Miller, Stuart, Cleary and the rest could all use this break to their advantage.

Granted, our older/more established players will be "distracted" by the Olympics, but it's also an opportunity to play at a high level, with a higher level of talent than normal, and perhaps at least get a mental vacation from what has surely been a very tiring season. Perhaps it is into one frying pan from another, but guys like Zetterberg and Datsyuk can at least get back to playing regular hockey, without the added pressure of being the only offensively capable line on a team.

It's hard to predict what's going to happen... but the last few weeks have been brutal for the Wings, and it's been perhaps their worst stretch of hockey (they've certainly dropped a ton of points against people battling us for playoff spots).. I don't know if this is a funk that the team needs to grind out of, or if this is something they need to take a step back from and reassess their play.

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I think the Olympic break is a good thing. Thornton-Heatley-Marleau could all get injured and we will knock SJ off in the first round after sneaking into the playoffs with a shootout win in the last game of the season.

I kid, I kid....

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All non-participants should be practicing their asses off the whole two weeks. Didn't Bowman do something like that during one of the Olympic breaks in years past?

At the very least, some players should be singled out for this. Osgood and Bertuzzi would make sense. And Leino, for sure. Can we send him down to GR for the Olympic break?

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I agree and yet disagree. For starters, most of our team is going to get a mini-vacation out of it at the end of the day, which can hopefully be used to regain composure, focus, and to some degree, fitness. Howard, Helm, Eaves, Bert, Draper, Maltby, May, Miller, Stuart, Cleary and the rest could all use this break to their advantage.

Granted, our older/more established players will be "distracted" by the Olympics, but it's also an opportunity to play at a high level, with a higher level of talent than normal, and perhaps at least get a mental vacation from what has surely been a very tiring season. Perhaps it is into one frying pan from another, but guys like Zetterberg and Datsyuk can at least get back to playing regular hockey, without the added pressure of being the only offensively capable line on a team.

It's hard to predict what's going to happen... but the last few weeks have been brutal for the Wings, and it's been perhaps their worst stretch of hockey (they've certainly dropped a ton of points against people battling us for playoff spots).. I don't know if this is a funk that the team needs to grind out of, or if this is something they need to take a step back from and reassess their play.

I think the whole team should go out in the farm fields on their days off and shoot the pucks at a barn and try and hit the damn thing!

Send them all to Downey in Canada to work out. Hauling ass over hills and fields with half a tree on your back should give this team some strength. I don't remember where I saw that, but he was always known for working really hard when he was back on his parents' farm.

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