Post Season Report Cards

[WingsallTheway 383]

Article by Mark Spizzirri on hockeybuzz.com

Personally, I think that alot of the grades seem very low, but this is just one guys opinion.

GOALTENDING

Jimmy Howard: B-

For the most part, a solid rookie postseason debut for Howard following a great rookie season, which played a pivotal role in providing Detroit with a playoff spot. He rebounded from a couple of mediocre performances in the Phoenix series, with a shutout in Game 4 and a strong outing in Game 7 on the road. Unfortunately, most Wing fans might remember the soft Logan Couture goal in Game 3 the most. However, once again, he rebounded with strong performances in Game 4 and almost stole Game 5 for Detroit vs. the Sharks.

DEFENSEMEN

Jonathan Ericsson: C-

He looked better in the postseason than he did for much of the regular season. Still, the Red Wings need him to improve in order to become a Top 4 d-man. He continues to spend too much time chasing in his own end rather than anticipating the play.

Niklas Kronwall: D+

This grade is likely unfair as word is leaking out that Kronwall has a knee injury of some sort that hindered him throughout the postseason. The Wings sorely lacked his tendency to change the momentum of a game with a thunderous open-ice hits. In addition, he usually is able to provide a bigger contribution offensively from the blueline. All in all, he appeared to look like a shell of the previous playoff versions of Niklas Kronwall we have seen in the past.

Nicklas Lidstrom: B

Lidstrom still is one of the game's better blueliners, and as illustrated in Game 7 in Phoenix, he can still rise to the occasion and contribute offensively. However, defensively his play did not appear to be as rock solid, with several examples of uncharacteristic defensive zone giveaways and poor coverage (Peter Prucha goal in Game 3 of Phoenix series).

Andreas Lilja: C-

Considering his recent return from a year off following concussion issues, he didn't necessarily hurt them during this playoff run. But the team would have likely preferred a bigger contribution from Lilja killing penalties and blocking shots.

Brian Rafalski: C

Despite his offensive contributions in the postseason, Rafalski's defensive play has dropped off substantially over the past year or so. Still worthy of being a top 4 defender, but during this playoff run, he did not look 100% healthy and as a result likely playing injured for the 2nd straight postseason.

Brad Stuart: B+

Likely the team's top all-around defender in the post-season. Chipped in offensively during the Phoenix series and played a punishing style defensively. Committed a costly turnover in the Phoenix series, but had a solid postseason.

Brett Lebda: N/A

It is likely that his time in Detroit is over with the expectation of Jakub Kindl making the jump from Grand Rapids next season.

FORWARDS

Justin Abdelkader: C

Scored a big goal in his debut against Phoenix and provided some speed and grit to the team's energy line.

Todd Bertuzzi: B-

He was the unfortunate recipient of some suspect penalty calls during the postseason. However, he contributed offensively playing alongside some elite offensive talent in Zetterberg and Franzen. A bit inconsistent and careless at times with the puck. He did use his size and was physical on occasion, although with his size you would hope it was more frequent.

Daniel Cleary: D+

A major disappointment in comparison to the past two postseasons. Although he played on the 3rd line for the majority of the playoffs, the hope was that he would be able to contribute more offensively than he did (2 goals, 0 assists). I still question whether he would have been better suited playing in the Top 6 rather than Tomas Holmstrom, who may have been better suited to specialize on the power play.

Pavel Datsyuk: B-

He raised the level of his game as the series progressed against Phoenix, culminating in his two goal performance in Game 7. He also was one of the few Red Wings to really stand out with strong play in the opening two games of the San Jose series. His production fell off during the final three games of the San Jose series (1 assist, -2)

Kris Draper: D

His role has substantially diminished and he is no longer asked to win key face-offs for this team. By playing on the wing and getting up there in age, his impact was negligible.

Patrick Eaves: C-

One of the team's most effective penalty killers, Eaves is a nice fit on this hockey club on the 3rd or 4th lines. Unfortunately, his injury did not allow him to be a major part of the San Jose series.

Valteri Filppula: C+

Filppula had a fantastic opening round against Phoenix but appeared to go cold against San Jose. He had only two points in five games against San Jose. There is speculation that he sustained a rib injury near the tail-end of Round 1 vs. Phoenix, which may help explain his ineffectiveness against the Sharks after a solid start against the Coyotes.

Johan Franzen: B

The Mule had a rather quiet start to the postseason, despite posting a point in each of the first seven games of the playoffs. Offensively he had a strong series against San Jose, with the exclamation point being the six point outburst in Game 4 to help stave off elimination. Despite that explosion, Franzen still looked a half-step slow at times, which is understandable given his quick return from the torn ACL injury earlier this season. Regardless, his presence provided Detroit with that necessary scoring threat, even if he wasn't running at full capacity.

Darren Helm D+

Again, this mark might be a bit severe. However, given Helm's contribution during past playoff runs, his play this postseason was a disappointment. He was a team-worst minus-four. In addition, he committed several giveaways in his own end. He is still a solid energy player, but this playoff edition of Helm did not impress. He did not seem to bring that same amount of reckless abandon and "hit everything in sight" mentality that he brought in previous playoff stints. Perhaps playing 75 regular season games took its toll on him.

Tomas Holmstrom C

Holmstrom again can provide good production and remains a factor for this team with the man advantage by taking his position in front of the opposing goaltender. However, at even strength, he is often a non-factor due to his poor skating. In addition, word is that his knees were bothering him during this postseason, making things more difficult for him and less likely to be worthy of a Top 6 forward spot.

Drew Miller C

Miller was a player who I don't think hurt the Red Wings during this postseason. He has a role and for the most part played that part. He didn't contribute much offensively but then again, that is not what is expected of him.

Henrik Zetterberg: B+

Aside from a slight disappearing act during the first two games of the San Jose series and the playoff opener in Phoenix, Zetterberg was Detroit's top forward during the playoffs. He was noticeably poor on face-offs during the postseason (45.3%). However, he once again cemented his status as a playoff performer leading Detroit in goals (7) and was a team-high +11.

Overall, the biggest difference noticed over the past few weeks is Detroit no longer could rely on three lines to provide offense. The goals primarily came when Detroit's top two lines were on the ice. In past playoff runs, Detroit received greater secondary offensive contributions from the bottom half of their forwards. This drop-off was expected as Detroit felt the pinch of a salary cap last summer in losing two of those secondary contributors (Hudler, Samuelsson).

In addition, Detroit continued a trend from the regular season of being extremely inconsistent. At times, they looked like world beaters. But other times during the playoffs, they appeared very ordinary and beatable. Unfortunately, my prediction back in training camp came true. Regardless of what others might say publicly, the Wings did not have the energy level necessary to get back to the Conference Finals. They could give a glimpse of their capability in stretches, the longest of which was the 21 game post-Olympic sprint for a playoff spot. The final flicker being an outstanding Game 7 performance on the road in Phoenix.

Those three reasons stand out as the biggest factors to me as to why Detroit did not return to the Western Conference Finals for a fourth consecutive season.

[titanium2 867]

Khan had a fairly decent report card for the Wings. He was a lot more generous with his ratings but the the differences in grades between the players was pretty valid. If so and so had a C then this other guy definitely deserves a B and so forth.

[Travis 576]

Eaves got a C- for being injured?

Hard to disagree with the grades, I suppose - since no one from an eliminated team can get a mark higher than a B, apparently.

[Guest micah]

Eaves got a C- for being injured?

Hard to disagree with the grades, I suppose - since no one from an eliminated team can get a mark higher than a B, apparently.

I wouldn't have given any As either. While guys like Dats and Z are among the better players in the league, they should not be graded against the aveage Joe. They should be graded on how well they've played to their expectations. Nobody on this squad has exceeded expectations (well, I think Howard did, but many would disagree), and without exceeding expectations you do not deserve an A.

[Travis 576]

I wouldn't have given any As either. While guys like Dats and Z are among the better players in the league, they should not be graded against the aveage Joe. They should be graded on how well they've played to their expectations. Nobody on this squad has exceeded expectations (well, I think Howard did, but many would disagree), and without exceeding expectations you do not deserve an A.

Yeah, I wasn't trying to sound offended - if that's how it came across. Just by observation, I can see that he wasn't handing out any A's for their season.

[Shaman 713]

I wouldn't have given any As either. While guys like Dats and Z are among the better players in the league, they should not be graded against the aveage Joe. They should be graded on how well they've played to their expectations. Nobody on this squad has exceeded expectations (well, I think Howard did, but many would disagree), and without exceeding expectations you do not deserve an A.

Id say an A- would not be out of the question for Zetterberg, he played at a high level the whole playoffs, a level had the rest of the team been able to reach, the wings would still be playing today.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Wow, this guy gives out even harsher grades than I do.

Even mindfly probably wouldn't agree with some of these low grades.

[chrisdetroit 189]

The grades are to low across the board. The anlysis is fairly accurate but some of it is just crap. The final "flicker" was in game 7 against Phoenix? Uh... he must have missed the 7-1 ass kicking against San Jose.

This is one of those "I told you so" idiots. It's easy to pick who WON'T win the cup since the odds are at best 4-1 or 5-1 for even the best team. Picking who WILL win the cup is alot harder. Wonder who he picked...Washington, Pittsburgh....

hahhahah

[chrisdetroit 189]

Wait a minute. I just re-read this. Franzen got a B despite scoring a point in every single of the 12 games which broke an all time Wings record. And he finished with 1.5 points/game which is second of all players in the entire playoffs. Better than Crosby, Ovechkin, Richards, Pavalski...

OK he got 6 points in 1 game but he got a point in EVERY SINGLE GAME.

And he gets a B?

WTF

[Guest Four]

Instead of post-season, I'm going to do a full-season evaluation

GOALTENDING

Jimmy Howard: A

Howard is one of the only reasons we even made it to the postseason and without him, our season would have stunk. Howard proved nearly every Red Wing fan wrong when he started putting up great numbers and was among top 10 in GAA and S%. Howard played better than expected and played with confidence the whole year, even when we were lacking key players. In the postseason, he let in a few flukes, which is why he didn't get an A+, but he gave us a chance to win each game. Hockey is a team game and Howard could only be as good as the team in front of him.

DEFENSEMEN

Jonathan Ericsson: D

Played horribly the whole season and was sub-par in the playoffs. Ericsson played with more confidence and skill last season and it's a shame his game has declined. Hopefully he can make a quick turnaround for next year, or he'll be a flop.

Niklas Kronwall: C-

This year's Kronwall is definitely not the Kronwall of past years due to injuries. There isn't much you can say about his play, but hopefully he comes back next year in full force.

Nicklas Lidstrom: B+

Has shown he is still the best in the league, although he hasn't been as consistent as he once was. For his age, he is playing great and we cannot ask much more from a 40 year old. I would have given a A-, but his stats were far less significant this year from last.

Andreas Lilja: C

Blocked shots and helped on the penalty kill - not too bad for someone who missed such a long period of time.

Brian Rafalski: C-

I don't know what his problem was this season, but he did not play anywhere near what he should have. Terrible mistakes in nearly every game that cannot be made by someone of his caliber. It's a shame he played his best hockey when he wasn't playing with the Wings. SHOOT THE PUCK!

Brad Stuart: B

Solid postseason, decent season. Stuart was far better than Rafalski all year, but again, SHOOT THE PUCK!

FORWARDS

Justin Abdelkader: B-

For what he was given, Justin made the most of his chances and played his role well. I wish we could have seen a few fights in the playoffs, but what can you do. I can definitely see Abdelkader on this team in the future as a star grinder.

Todd Bertuzzi: C-

Penalties, penalties, penalties. Missed chances, missed chances, missed chances. Bert could have been far more effective than we was, and cost us a lot in the playoffs. He had spurts of greatness, but in general he flat out sucked.

Daniel Cleary: D

I swear I didn't see him all year, damn injuries.

Pavel Datsyuk: B-

His season was disappointing, but he showed flashes of brilliance in the postseason. Hopefully he can get his game back for next season, and finally hit that 100 point mark. You could tell Pasha was frustrated this season.

Kris Draper: D+

Kris who? Barely saw him all year.

Patrick Eaves: B-

He and Miller were great acquisitions, but they didn't contribute in the post season. With Hudler back, we'll have more depth and an angry 3rd line for next year.

Valteri Filppula: B

Filp played FAR better than I expected, although he still hasn't been able to capitalize on his chances. His time will come, but there are definite improvements in his game. Once Filp's fire is lit, he'll be a force.

Johan Franzen: B-

Pretty disappointing season from the Mule with the injuries and all. He had a solid playoff performance and a weak season performance that I believe averages to a low B.

Darren Helm: D

What happened? Our playoff king was terrible during the playoffs! He showed heart in the season, but he just looked gassed in the playoffs. Helm really needs to step it up next season, I expected far better for the most part.

Tomas Holmstrom C

A better version of Bert, although that's not saying much. He's losing whatever speed he had and he is not getting the dirty goals anymore. Where are the tips in front? I think I can count on one hand the amount there was.

Drew Miller C+

Played his role and contributed some goals. As I mentioned with Eaves, hopefully with some depth, he'll be able to score some big goals and help grind the s*** out of the opposing team.

Henrik Zetterberg: B-

Definitely was on and off all year. I don't know what's bothering him and Pavel, but they did not seem like the same two players from the previous season.

Overall, I would grade Detroit a C+ as a whole for the season as it seems everyone played worse than the previous season, aside from Howard and Stuart.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Franzen had 18pts in 12 games (1.5 points per game is insane) and this retard gave him a B?

What a tool.

[Guest Lidstromboli]

seriously!! it's not like Franzen spent the better part of the Phoenix series floating around. he had assists in all those games, consarnit!

[Yzerman191 37]

I'm surprised by the low grades for Holmstrom. He might not be a greater skater, but that's not really his role. Essentially, his one purpose is to stand in front of the net and get the dirty goals. He was second on the team in goals, behind only Datsyuk (and ahead of Zetterberg), and played twelve less games than Datsyuk did. Over a full season he was on pace for about 30 goals.

Also, Jimmy Howard deserves an A. I don't care if you think he had a bad postseason; we made the playoffs because of him. The fact that Howard was consistently our best player night in and night out through most of the regular season cements his A in my mind. Anyone who doesn't think he vastly exceeded expectations is crazy.

[Guest Lidstromboli]

Also, Jimmy Howard deserves an A. I don't care if you think he had a bad postseason; we made the playoffs because of him. The fact that Howard was consistently our best player night in and night out through most of the regular season cements his A in my mind. Anyone who doesn't think he vastly exceeded expectations is crazy.

.. except those grades are for the post season, not regular.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Hank, Mule, and Stuart all deserve "A's" for the playoffs.

Those are our three playoff beasts every year it seems.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

It's also pretty entertaining that people give Hank a pass but not Pavel. Dats had 13pts in 12 games and only one less point than Henrik Sedin. Zetterberg had 2 more points than Datsyuk but played with Franzen when he exploded offensively in game 4. Subtract that one game and Pavel was no less effective than Hank. It's also worth noting that Pavel really turned his face-off percentage around near the end while Hank struggled all post-season in the circle.

I agree that Hank was a beast but Pavel certainly didn't have an "off year". 13pts in 12 games is very good post-season play.