919 replies to this topic

[St. Michael (the Red Wing)]

I agree totally.  He should be scoring.  What I'm saying is I wouldn't be so frustrated with him if he was doing the other things.  He's been a huge disappointment to me the past few seasons.  It's pretty much been dowhill since his debut in the playoffs. 

 

I agree with you.

[thegerkin]

AHAHAHAHAHA Way to keep those leads. If Jimmy left, this franchise would be the Florida Panthers of the West.

[Lazerbeam]

The lines I wanna see when or (IF) the Wings are healthy...

1 Zettr-Brunner-Franzen

2 Dats-Bertuzzi-Tatar

3 Helm-Miller-Tootoo

4 Flip-Eaves-Sammy(Cleary)

 If Franzen cant be consistent then I would replace him with Flip and drop the Mule to the 4th line. 

DEFENSE:

Kronwall, Ericsson, Quincy, Smith, Lashoff, --then the big??? (White, Kindle, Colliacovo, Huskins) << << who goes from this bunch??? You gotta keep Lashoff up and not send him to GR he has been too good!

Also I think Eaves deserves to stay in the lineup and not be a healthy scratch anymore! what do you guys think?

[beachwing]

Are they trying to audition Cleary and Abby for trade ammunition. Ofcourse they would be packaged with much more BUT having them on that line with hopes of having Dats making them look good/bttr?

Im just specualting.

This is getting beyond ridiculous trying to figure out the the angle to babs/gm devotion towards this line combo.

[WorkingOvertime]

I agree totally.  He should be scoring.  What I'm saying is I wouldn't be so frustrated with him if he was doing the other things.  He's been a huge disappointment to me the past few seasons.  It's pretty much been dowhill since his debut in the playoffs. 

Abby is leading the team in hits (again), plays the net front role well, has more takeaways than giveaways, is defensively responsible, and provides good pressure in the corners. IMO he's doing exactly what is expected of him. He isn't the type of player that can carry line- he is a checker and can be a complimentary player like Homer and Cleary (was). The line is the problem, not his play.

[Franzine]

There's at least 15 players on the team more worth hating than Franzen.  You clowns must be jealous of the serious contract.

[b.shanafan14]

Are they trying to audition Cleary and Abby for trade ammunition. Ofcourse they would be packaged with much more BUT having them on that line with hopes of having Dats making them look good/bttr?

Im just specualting.

This is getting beyond ridiculous trying to figure out the the angle to babs/gm devotion towards this line combo.

Folks have been throwing out those theories, but I seriously doubt it. As others have said, I doubt we would intentionally cut our own throat for the sake of boosting these two scrubs miniscule trade value. If anything, they have proven more useless than previously thought.

The question still remains: What the Hell is Babcock thinking? How bad is bad enough to change? How long is long enough to consider the experiment a failure? For a guy who usually gives up on even good lines too quickly when they don't work immediately, his bullheaded adherence to the Datsyuk-Cleary-Abdelkader line is an absurd mystery.

Edited by b.shanafan14, 03 March 2013 - 08:44 PM.

[Franzine]

[beachwing]

Mystery indeed!!

[St. Michael (the Red Wing)]

Franzen is a power forward and can dominate anyone.

[WorkingOvertime]

Folks have been throwing out those theories, but I seriously doubt it. As others have said, I doubt we would intentionally cut our own throat for the sake of boosting these two scrubs miniscule trade value. If anything, they have proven more useless than previously thought.

The question still remains: What the Hell is Babcock thinking? How bad is bad enough to change? How long is long enough to consider the experiment a failure? For a guy who usually gives up on even good lines too quickly when they don't work immediately, his bullheaded adherence to the Datsyuk-Cleary-Abdelkader line is an absurd mystery.

I don't like the line, but I do think it has stayed because of defense. That is, Babs might not trust Tatar to play against Toews, Thornton, Kopitar, etc. I think Dats and Abby/Cleary could makeup for any of Tatar's deficiencies, but that's the only explanation I can think of. Flip should return and the line will be split.

[Franzine]

Franzen is a power forward and can dominate anyone.

 

Here is someone who gets it.

[St. Michael (the Red Wing)]

Here is someone who gets it.

 

Thank you.

[beachwing]

I don't like the line, but I do think it has stayed because of defense. That is, Babs might not trust Tatar to play against Toews, Thornton, Kopitar, etc. I think Dats and Abby/Cleary could makeup for any of Tatar's deficiencies, but that's the only explanation I can think of. Flip should return and the line will be split.

Im standing by Babs...2 weeks ago I said if he gets the defense dialed in and somehow got this team into the playoffs he should be coach of the year.

Can you believe now were all bitching about scoring cuz our D is now allegedly set for the next decade?

Wild ride so far...gonna be a crazy 2nd half.

[ben_usmc]

Abby is leading the team in hits (again), plays the net front role well, has more takeaways than giveaways, is defensively responsible, and provides good pressure in the corners. IMO he's doing exactly what is expected of him. He isn't the type of player that can carry line- he is a checker and can be a complimentary player like Homer and Cleary (was). The line is the problem, not his play.

Abby blows

[T.Low]

Abby does not suck, he just isn't top 6.  He has his 4th line role and he does a great job at it.  I am baffled at Babcock and want to know what he is drinking because he needs to be locked up for CUI.

 

It will not hurt to try Tatar with Datsyuk for a couple of games....WTF?!?!

 

I am going to quote myself from earlier:

 

 

Despite the great play by Jimmy, he still seems to have trouble with the rebound...it's gonna kill us sooner or later!

 

Datsyuk is being wasted with those linemates....Babcock refuses to change it. Fire him.

 

Franzia is Franzia...useless crap. He brings down Z and Brunner nearly as much as Cleary brings down Dats.

 

 

 

Or atleast a half dozen shifts during a few games.

Edited by T.Low, 03 March 2013 - 09:25 PM.

[ben_usmc]

It would be nice if we could get rid of a few forwards and defense for some picks: Cleary/Abby/Eaves/Miller/Coli/White/Huskins, any combo 2 offense/2 defense  I understand the need for depth, if we gutted our team completely and had Nyquist/Sheehan etc up here then what happens if they get injured? We would be totally boned.  But at a certain point we have to let the better talent show. 

Edited by ben_usmc, 03 March 2013 - 09:18 PM.

[LeftWinger]

There's at least 15 players on the team more worth hating than Franzen.  You clowns must be jealous of the serious contract.

 

Name them... BTW, I accept paypal and cash for the use of the nickname....

Franzen is a power forward and can dominate anyone.

 

Kenny is that you?

[Carman]

It would be nice if we could get rid of a few forwards and defense for some picks: Cleary/Abby/Eaves/Miller/Coli/White/Huskins, any combo 2 offense/2 defense  I understand the need for depth, if we gutted our team completely and had Nyquist/Sheehan etc up here then what happens if they get injured? We would be totally boned.  But at a certain point we have to let the better talent show. 

I think it will happen soon, There hasn't been a huge need to change things up as we aren't out of the playoff hunt by a scary margin. Once the risk of being out of the playoffs overtakes the risk of losing an asset they will make the necessary moves. Right now I think they are trying their best to get value out of some of these guys.

 

I can understand not having Nyquist up as you would have to lose someone that at the very least could be worth a pick, but playing Abby and Cleary with Datsyuk has a sign of a Babcock protest to me. I really haven't  had a chance to study Babcock's interviews, but just based on his line and who he is playing it wouldn't be the first time a coach has tried a line combination to force a GM's hand.

Edited by Carman, 03 March 2013 - 09:24 PM.

[HadThomasVokounOnFortSt]

On a plus side the girlfriend came out with a nickname for Tatar... Tater Tots.

 

Seriously though, Blackhawks are very very beatable and I feel we can take them in a 7 game series. Crawford gave them that win.