Val Filppula

[RedWingAbner 13]

He got no points on that play and yet he was a pretty integral part of that whole sequence.

He definitely makes an impact and sooner or later it will show up on the scoresheet.

So, him turning over the puck in the Nashville zone.....then nearly taking a hooking penalty on a guy who didn't have the puck.....led to the guy with the puck throwing a bad pass toward the Detroit end....which was picked off and sent to Franzen, who scored......

Wow. Didn't realize that "integral part" meant "on the ice." No offense, but that wasn't that impressive.

[Carman 387]

Flippula is not high on my disappointment meter at the moment. Datsyuk/Zetterberg are bigger concerns.

[Z and D for the C 712]

All right, if goals aren't the only thing, can you really tell me that Filppula is a top-6 forward or that he is "that much better" in the playoffs?

Yes.

He was 18th in assists per game last playoffs. 18th. And that's including half his time on the THIRD LINE.

[Z and D for the C 712]

He's not done it yet, and I really doubt he ever will.

Stay around for next season then.

[akustyk 84]

as long as Wings advance to playoffs and Flip remains offensive threat in April through June - he's untouchable to me.

[titanium2 867]

So, him turning over the puck in the Nashville zone.....then nearly taking a hooking penalty on a guy who didn't have the puck.....led to the guy with the puck throwing a bad pass toward the Detroit end....which was picked off and sent to Franzen, who scored......

Wow. Didn't realize that "integral part" meant "on the ice." No offense, but that wasn't that impressive.

He disrupted the play what more do you want? And who said it has to be impressive?

[RedWingAbner 13]

Yes.

He was 18th in assists per game last playoffs. 18th. And that's including half his time on the THIRD LINE.

18th in assists per game? Didn't realize that he was that high on a silly statistic that meant so little. Now, if he was 3rd-4th on that list, maybe interesting. Who was above him, Rob Scuderi?

[Z and D for the C 712]

So, him turning over the puck in the Nashville zone.....then nearly taking a hooking penalty on a guy who didn't have the puck.....led to the guy with the puck throwing a bad pass toward the Detroit end....which was picked off and sent to Franzen, who scored......

Wow. Didn't realize that "integral part" meant "on the ice." No offense, but that wasn't that impressive.

I'm pretty sure on that play he forced the turn over that lead to the break away. Crappy video qaulity doesn't show this.

[RedWingAbner 13]

He disrupted the play what more do you want? And who said it has to be impressive?

Ok, great. He disrupted the play---but it wasn't like he shook off 3 defenders and killed a minute of penalty time.....but that's pretty unreasonable to expect a guy in the league for 3 years to do that, and certainly not for 3 mill. You'd have to give him Darren Helm type money for that much of a contribution.

[Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

I have been labeled a Filppula hater since day one, but some of these replys to the OP are just dumb. Is he consistantly a gamebreaker? No, of course not, but he is a damn good versatile forward, who i still think has more offensive upside than he has shown. He will never be as good as some posters think he will be, but he is far better than the majority of you realize. I hoenstly think a lot of the Filppula lovers here make him out to be soooo perfect that a lot of people notice Fil's flaws, kinda like how NBC does Crosby. Which side is right? The answer as usual is somewhere down the middle.

He is better than a role player. To think otherwise is ridiculous.

He will never be or should be expected to be a top flight first-liner. To think he will ever break 80 points is ridiculous.

Though he will never break 30 goals in a season hevery well could turn into a great 2nd line center, capable of 15-20 goals and 30-45+ assists. To think he dosent have the capability to perform this is ridiculous.

For his salary and overall game Filppula is not overpaid, and is actually a steal based on the last couple of games. He may not be able to keep it up, but in a few years I can see him playing like this consistantly.

I would still be open to moving him as a centerpiece of a package for a player like Kovalchuk (who is less than 2 years older), but unless it is for a legitmant superstar, Filppula should not and will never be traded.

Anyone who dosen't agree with any of those posts are delusional. He isn't the next Datsyuk, but he sure as hell is going to be more than a slightly upgraded Draper as some think.

Edited January 31, 2010 by EZBAKETHAGANGSTA

[Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

Flippula is not high on my disappointment meter at the moment. Zetterberg is a bigger concerns.

Fixed

[Konnan511 1,736]

All right, if goals aren't the only thing, can you really tell me that Filppula is a top-6 forward or that he is "that much better" in the playoffs?

I'm not even sticking to stats. He's just a role player. Plays good D. Yippee! So does Patrick Eaves.

Yes. Third on the team in points in the playoffs. 7th highest =/- in all of the playoffs. Tied for most assists for all Red Wings as well. This was all this past playoffs of course. Top six the year before in points for forwards for Red Wing players. So top 6 in points both years while playing exceptional defense would constitute a top six forward right?

It's obvious you have hate for him for some reason, so I'll just leave you with this:

name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>&">

name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="

type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350" />

[titanium2 867]

Ok, great. He disrupted the play---but it wasn't like he shook off 3 defenders and killed a minute of penalty time.....but that's pretty unreasonable to expect a guy in the league for 3 years to do that, and certainly not for 3 mill. You'd have to give him Darren Helm type money for that much of a contribution.

Ahh I see. You're all about the rare highlight reel plays. I don't understand why a player's value should be determined by how much they impress the average fan.

[Earthhuman 8]

He is still the second-highest point-per-game player since his return.

[Z and D for the C 712]

Ahh I see. You're all about the rare highlight reel plays. I don't understand why a player's value should be determined by how much they impress the average fan.

Flip's goal the other night did make top 3 goals of the week.

[Konnan511 1,736]

Plus, try not to forget in our shoot-out win a few nights ago, the game rested on his shoulders to score because our other guys couldn't and he buried the puck to keep the game alive for the Wings. He already has a few penalty shot goals and does fairly well in shoot-outs as well. Kid has poise.

[ben_usmc 253]

Ah yes, the one goal=great playoff performer argument. Fredrik Olausson was awesome in the playoffs, too.

awesome using stats to tell the whole story

[Theophany 110]

He is still the second-highest point-per-game player since his return.

Forward, or player? Lidstrom is highest point per game in the time frame you're talking about, I think. Unless Datsyuk has dropped, I'd think he'd be third.

[titanium2 867]

Flip's goal the other night did make top 3 goals of the week.

But but but... He didn't plow through 8 defenders and deke the goalie out of his jock strap.

[ben_usmc 253]

Yes. Third on the team in points in the playoffs. 7th highest =/- in all of the playoffs. Tied for most assists for all Red Wings as well. This was all this past playoffs of course. Top six the year before in points for forwards for Red Wing players. So top 6 in points both years while playing exceptional defense would constitute a top six forward right?

It's obvious you have hate for him for some reason, so I'll just leave you with this:

pretty much, it seems that this year has brought a out a lot more dbag red wings fans

[ben_usmc 253]

But but but... He didn't plow through 8 defenders and deke the goalie out of his jock strap.

exactly, now the OP will come out of nowhere to defer any credit. But the stats show that he took 4 strides then shot, he should only have taken 3 trade that over payed piece of s***.....

[Z and D for the C 712]

And he only beat one goalie.

[Shaman 713]

Filppula at times is my favorite player and at times i wish we could trade him for whatever is out there. That being side, he needs to work on his shot, his problem isnt that he cant score, its that hes too hesitant, hes ALWAYS looking to make a pass before he has to shoot, and hes not going to reach his full potential until he gets over this hesitation. I personally would put him into a package for an upgrade on the blueline or for a natural goal scorer but thats just me.

[lomekian 201]

I have been labeled a Filppula hater since day one, but some of these replys to the OP are just dumb. Is he consistantly a gamebreaker? No, of course not, but he is a damn good versatile forward, who i still think has more offensive upside than he has shown. He will never be as good as some posters think he will be, but he is far better than the majority of you realize. I hoenstly think a lot of the Filppula lovers here make him out to be soooo perfect that a lot of people notice Fil's flaws, kinda like how NBC does Crosby. Which side is right? The answer as usual is somewhere down the middle.

He is better than a role player. To think otherwise is ridiculous.

He will never be or should be expected to be a top flight first-liner. To think he will ever break 80 points is ridiculous.

Though he will never break 30 goals in a season hevery well could turn into a great 2nd line center, capable of 15-20 goals and 30-45+ assists. To think he dosent have the capability to perform this is ridiculous.

For his salary and overall game Filppula is not overpaid, and is actually a steal based on the last couple of games. He may not be able to keep it up, but in a few years I can see him playing like this consistantly.

I would still be open to moving him as a centerpiece of a package for a player like Kovalchuk (who is less than 2 years older), but unless it is for a legitmant superstar, Filppula should not and will never be traded.

Anyone who dosen't agree with any of those posts are delusional. He isn't the next Datsyuk, but he sure as hell is going to be more than a slightly upgraded Draper as some think.

Totally agree. He flatters to deceive a fair bit because with his wheels, moments of skill and positional sense you feel he should offer more offensively, but actually he has come on a fair bit, and if he keeps working at his shooting he could easily be a 50-60 point guy on the 2nd line. Salary cap means no more stacked wings teams, and in the new era, he is a 2nd line centre on most teams.

[gcom007 1,465]

Hmm...

I'm not high on his offensive skills by any means, but he's a real good, maybe even great defensive player. Generally speaking, I really like those guys, but I think we've got enough forwards that can play defense well and not near enough guys who can score goals. When you add in his cap hit which I've felt was too high from the second I heard the contract announced, I veer to the side that says "make the move" IF it would strengthen this team.

Realistically, we could use more goals. If we could move him for a guy that had more pure offensive skills at the sake of the defense, I'd be fine with that. After all, our best defensive stretch was when he was injured. It's not that he doesn't help, it's just that he's fairly redundant in that role on this team. He's certainly not one to just throw away, but if the opportunity came up to add some goals, I think he's the easiest guy of value that you can trade.

And personally, I think he'd have a lot more success on another team (especially one weaker on 2-way forwards) where he could play a bigger role. He'll always be the guy behind Zetterberg and Datsyuk here and on top of that, the whole redundancy thing doesn't help him stick out much either.

I still think they should've traded him and kept Hossa. That's a move I was behind then and would be behind now. More than ever after this dry, dry season...