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rick zombo

Babcock: Improvement to come from within

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Read it and weep people. Not suprising.

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2010/05/red_wings_coach_mike_babcock_n_1.html

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings will part with some players and add a few parts this offseason, but they don't have the salary cap space or the need to make major moves.

Any changes they make likely will be minimal, especially if Nicklas Lidstrom returns.

That is why improvement must come from within. They have a lot of players who need to elevate their game and others who should be better by being healthy and rested.

"A message has been sent to myself as a coach and the management that we have to improve our team,'' Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "How do you improve your team?

"You improve your team by Val Filppula taking a big step. He's at that point in his career he's got to take a step. You improve by Mule (Johan Franzen) being healthy, by (Jonathan) Ericsson taking a big step"

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They said that last year and we lost half our team. It's just to keep everyone guessing. It's harder to get the players you want if the league knows you're competing for them. I don't expect anything major, but already we have Williams for sure gone, Maltby being forced out to play for another team (not official yet but Maltby doesn't think his odds are good it hear it sounds like). On top of that I fully expect them to sign a power forward scorer (if any are available) to add depth. If Lidstrom returns we're set on D. We can't make any improvements without losing Rafalski, Lidstrom, Kronwall, or Stuart, none of which are going anywhere. Meech and Lebda will be gone, for sure.

So yeah, there will be changes, just not a firesale.

EDIT: And Flip has been "at that point where he needs to break out" for a few years now. Time to cut the cord and find an impact player for him. Not saying he hasn't been good but he hasn't been what we need him to be. Flip for a scorer.

Edited by VM1138

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I wouldn't read too much into those comments. The Wings know where they are weak better than we do (gasp! :)). Everything hinges on Lidstrom. Sounds like he is willing to come back (thank god), it's just a question of how much of a discount he is willing to take.

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Of course they aren't going to make their plans on what could happen after July 1, they have to plan right now like they won't get any UFAs. If you start making your plans on where a player may or may not sign you'll just end up screwing yourself.

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Are they going to develop Lebda and Williams into elite players?

I hope Babcock is just full of it.

I think it's just more a case of Babcock taking an opportunity to motivate a couple of players that he thinks can play better.

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EDIT: And Flip has been "at that point where he needs to break out" for a few years now. Time to cut the cord and find an impact player for him. Not saying he hasn't been good but he hasn't been what we need him to be. Flip for a scorer.

Good call. Nevermind his 9 points (4 of those being goals) in 12 games in the playoffs and his 8 point/3 game streak in the midst of having 27 points in 33 games all the while have a career season in points per game. Let's ignore the reality and demand a trade for Filppula.

This news sucks. We need someone new in our top 6. Period.

EDIT: Changed 7 points in 9 games to the correct 9 points in 12 games

Edited by Z and D for the C

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And Flip has been "at that point where he needs to break out" for a few years now. Time to cut the cord and find an impact player for him. Not saying he hasn't been good but he hasn't been what we need him to be. Flip for a scorer.

Yeah Flip has been at that point for a while. The more I see of him the less impressed I am. He is not without his strengths, but he is just so awful offensively.

Everyone here seems convinced that both Eaves and Miller are going to stay, but I'm less certain. I think both of these guys bring almost the exact same thing to our lineup, and that we probably wont keep both. I could be wrong, but I think we lose Miller.

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Good call. Nevermind his 7 points (4 of those being goals) in 9 games in the playoffs and his 8 point/3 game streak in the midst of having 27 points in 33 games all the while have a career season in points per game. Let's ignore the reality and demand a trade for Filppula.

This news sucks. We need someone new in our top 6. Period.

I'm not ignoring reality. Flip is a very good player, but he doesn't provide what we need. We need scoring, and since he's good, we could get a good scorer for him. Flip will never be better than he is now, and while he can get points, he just isn't a consistently impressive player. He's a 2nd and 3rd line tweener. But again, he's good, but that just means we can get something good for him. He's just not what we need right now, we need someone with a nose for the net.

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I wouldn't read too much into those comments. The Wings know where they are weak better than we do (gasp! :)). Everything hinges on Lidstrom. Sounds like he is willing to come back (thank god), it's just a question of how much of a discount he is willing to take.

i keep saying this and i'll say again, Lidstrom's discount won't be much. i will be stunned if he gets less than $5million. i think he will get $6 million

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I genuinely believe we will see some improvement from within. A lot has been made of the team being tired from all the hockey, but I think that problem of physical exhaustion was a result of less off season time to devote to strength training. I know Zata played put up some great numbers in the playoffs and some decent numbers during the year, but there were many times where he just looked dog tired out there. He was far from the only one too. Throughout the first 2/3 of the season most of the vets looked flat. A longer summer will mean that he, Flip, Dats, Raffi, Clears, Drapes and the rest will get more time in the weight room so they can get tougher on the puck and not get as tired from just playing hockey.

Edited by kook_10

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Guest screwdahawks

They said this last year and the players in question never performed.

It wasn't just those players that didn't perform. Zetterberg looked as if he was feeling the weight of that lifelong contract. Cleary is a joke and has been every since he got his NTC, Rafalski gets worse every year and by the time that f***in contract is up he probably will have trouble competing at the AHL level. I have always thought Babcock screwed Hudler and don't think he will ever get a chance to be anything but a 3rd liner for Detroit so they should trade him for a bigger player that Babcock will suck on. And anyone that thinks Lidstrom will play for less than 5M is dreaming and I wouldn't be surprised if he demanded as much or more than Rafalski because he sure as hell is better, even on his worst day..

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Good call. Nevermind his 7 points (4 of those being goals) in 9 games in the playoffs and his 8 point/3 game streak in the midst of having 27 points in 33 games all the while have a career season in points per game. Let's ignore the reality and demand a trade for Filppula.

This news sucks. We need someone new in our top 6. Period.

Flip was the team's best forward many nights early in the season before he got hurt. He would have had career numbers had he been healthy. He gets better every year and he's just coming into his prime. He's signed for the next three years at $3M. I agree--he sounds like a player the team should dump.

The Wings need to reestablish 3 scoring lines rather than 2 scoring lines and 2 energy lines. A big part of that *is* seeing whether Flip can take his game to another level and whether players like Helm, Abdelkader, Eaves, or Miller can morph in 40-point players. But as Babs knows, those are things that may or may not happen.

Edited by Third Man In

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I was hoping to read "You improve your team by adding Jerome Iginla". IMHO Iggy would be perfect for this team. He'd add grit, leadership and scoring. He'd come at a cost but maybe with a few players coming off the pay, a trade and a bit of a Lidstrom pay reuction it could happen!?! I can hope anyway!

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I was hoping to read "You improve your team by adding Jerome Iginla". IMHO Iggy would be perfect for this team. He'd add grit, leadership and scoring. He'd come at a cost but maybe with a few players coming off the pay, a trade and a bit of a Lidstrom pay reuction it could happen!?! I can hope anyway!

look at what toronto gave up for pheneuf, we could get iggy for filpulla, cleary and lebda. Imagine Iggy with datsyuk or zetterberg....droools.....

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ya no surise at all really here, I think we all knew the only way we would be a part in any blockbuser would be if Lids hung em up. I Know Flip will have his year this year as well, but Id like to see him with Bert(if he is here) and Franzen, Zetterberg with Datsyuk and Hudler/Holmer/Clears (but mostly Huds). I also think we have a GREAT year ahead of us :siren: so enjoy your summer kids.

Edited by 13dangledangle

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I'm not ignoring reality. Flip is a very good player, but he doesn't provide what we need. We need scoring, and since he's good, we could get a good scorer for him. Flip will never be better than he is now, and while he can get points, he just isn't a consistently impressive player. He's a 2nd and 3rd line tweener. But again, he's good, but that just means we can get something good for him. He's just not what we need right now, we need someone with a nose for the net.

I'm not sure I agree that Flip is a tweener. I still think he has great potential and I think it was evident during the playoffs. But even if it were true, what team is going to give up a good scorer for him?

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i keep saying this and i'll say again, Lidstrom's discount won't be much. i will be stunned if he gets less than $5million. i think he will get $6 million

I have to admit that kind of pisses me off that Nik said money will be a factor. I mean I can understand why he still wants to get paid like a baller, because let's face it he still his one of the best. But come on man I wouldn't have expected him to say money was a factor :(, 5 sounds about right....

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I have to admit that kind of pisses me off that Nik said money will be a factor. I mean I can understand why he still wants to get paid like a baller, because let's face it he still his one of the best. But come on man I wouldn't have expected him to say money was a factor :(, 5 sounds about right....

no way lidstrom makes less than rafalski. If he comes back I expect it to be around 6-6.5M

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Good call. Nevermind his 7 points (4 of those being goals) in 9 games in the playoffs and his 8 point/3 game streak in the midst of having 27 points in 33 games all the while have a career season in points per game. Let's ignore the reality and demand a trade for Filppula.

This news sucks. We need someone new in our top 6. Period.

That 4th goal was a real showcase of his talent...

I'm not saying he played poorly at all, but his playoff performance was demonstrative of his offensive inconsistency. He had a strong 1st round, especially games 2 and 3, but what did he do in the San Jose series? 2 points in 5 games, a goal and an assist, and the goal was a result of San Jose putting the puck in their own net! He didn't even take a shot!

Your "8 point/3 game streak" comment hit the nail on the head in my mind. He's been known to be streaky offensively, and despite a strong finish to the regular season, the streaky side was more evident in the playoffs despite a solid effort. Again, I can't stress it enough, I'm not saying he's worthless by any means, but I'm still not at all ready to hype up his offensive potential.

That doesn't mean we should just trade him for the hell of it or anything either, but like some have said, it concerns me that every year we're expecting him to make a big step and every year something inevitably comes up to stifle said "big step." It just seems fairly logical to me that sooner or later you'd stop hoping he'll come up big on offense and work on bringing guys in that specialize in offense. If he's going to stay with the team, let him do what comes more naturally to him. He provides a better service to the team by putting him in a role that is more suited for him. I'm still not convinced that that role is a heavily offensive-oriented one by a long-shot.

It'll be good to have Hudler back though. He's a hack on defense, but he knows how to score. I don't expect him to be the answer to all of our problems and I don't hold him in nearly as high of a regard as some, but it'll certainly be good to have another guy specializing in offense back. He produced as much or more than anyone one the team proportional to ice time, so if he can come in and put up point totals that come even close to his '08/'09 numbers with similar ice time, it'll be a huge plus for this team.

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