Talking Tootoo

[newfy 695]

So I take it, then, that you must think Mike Babcock is a terrible head coach right now, right? After all, Babcock scratched Tootoo every game of the Chicago series, and we fell one overtime goal short of knocking off the best team in the NHL up to that point. If only Jordin Tootoo had been there, with his considerable skill, and spirit-crushing behind-the-play body checks.

I think Opie's comment above this one is a good, measured analysis of Tootoo. Even if you happen to like elements of what Tootoo does, you can't focus narrowly on that without acknowledging what Tootoo doesn't do. He can't kill penalties, he's not affordable relative to his contribution, and he can't contribute any meaningful offense. Anyone happen to see Akim Aliu's 5-game stint with Calgary this year? (14 PIM). You can pay some AHL'er $700k to start jumping into checks and trying to murder people all over the ice. That isn't really a "specialized" commodity the Wings needed to pay for.

No Tootoo started in the playoffs and Babcock shook up the roster. The team started winning and were an OT goal away from conference finals. Its hard to blame him for not putting him back in the line up, you dont mess with a winning team. That being said, he very well could have been a guy in that series who laid Seabrook out and shook him up so that he didnt have such a good last couple games.

But like I and others have said, you bring up he doesnt provide meaningful offense as a reason to not play him on the fourth line but all the other fourth line players get a pass for that? You couldnt pay an AHLer to go out and get voted the second hardest hitter in the league by his peers. That just shows your arguments arent based on logic and you just dislike Tootoo. You go on about his behind the play antics and act like all of his hits are after the play but cant acknowledge that his physical game is actually elite in the NHL?

[ben_usmc 253]

Tootoo was a great signing STILL. I loved him in Nashville and wanted him on the Wings for years. I can't believe anyone would argue his merit, considering in the regular season with his ice time he was scoring a better clip then most of our 4th liners. People just seem to remember the playoffs, and it's not like he was given much of a chance to prove if he had any worth. We shall see what training camp has in store to prove more value.

[Guest The Axe]

That's a straw man argument. First, there were long stretches of this year where Miller was terrible. He played better in the Playoffs, but entering the season, people forget that it was Miller, not Abdelkader, that most people would've identified as the "banger" more likely to get run with Top 6 forwards. Oh, and we just resigned Miller for about 2/3 of what Tootoo's cap hit is also. Maybe that doesn't matter to some people, but it matters to me, and it matters to the front office.

You talk about the "softness of the team" as if it's directly correlated to how "hard" or "soft" Tootoo is. An "agitator", as opposed to a "power forward", does not make your team "tougher". He's basically there for no other reason than to try and disrupt the focus of the other team. That can have a place in the game if that's an overall part of what your team does. Matt Cooke does that sort of stuff. Brad Marchand does too, but just happens to bring a great deal more skill to the table as well. But the post-lockout Wings are not a team that uses gratuitous hits and fights to generate momentum. They're a puck possession skill team that has a very specific gameplan. Throwing a guy on the 4th line that runs people and starts crap is "interesting", but it's also horribly out of place on this team.

People said the Wings teams of the mid-90's were soft, too, but it wasn't Stu Grimson and Joey Kocur who were responsible for turning that around. It was a power forward like Shanahan playing 20 minutes a night and playing physical in the corners. It was Darren McCarty playing significant minutes with Yzerman, or on the Grind Line. And, this year, the emergence of Abdelkader allowed us to elevate to a Playoff style of play. 4th line bit players cannot change the underlying character of a team...that just doesn't happen.

Great Post.

+1

  

Sounds like end of story. End of thread. LOL.

It sounds a bit negative, but its true.

[Opie 308]

If by "took himself out of the play" you mean he fought a lot, well no crap. That's what fighters do. They fight and sit in the box. Unless the NHL wants to change the automatic 5 minute penalty that goes with that.

No I mean he took a run at a D-man and then was not back in the zone to play defense until late in the play, I mean he literally took himself out of the play to try and hit a guy. Where did I mention fighting?

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

No I mean he took a run at a D-man and then was not back in the zone to play defense until late in the play, I mean he literally took himself out of the play to try and hit a guy. Where did I mention fighting?

Sorry, I figured you were talking about fighting and sitting in the box, not him trying to hit a guy.

Hitting is his game. When you finish your checks, that often includes being left behind the play. Of course, the guy you just leveled is also out of the play. He'll miss hits occasionally, but he's still one of the best hitters in the league for his size. None of our other 4th liners put that kind of fear in defenders. I have no problem with him trying to hit people.

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

How're we supposed to play against teams like Boston, Toronto, and Philly with a lineup like this? We're gonna get smashed into the ice. Getting rid of Tootoo would make the situation even worse.

People act like he's a useless goon that can't score. It's pretty comical.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

How're we supposed to play against teams like Boston, Toronto, and Philly with a lineup like this? We're gonna get smashed into the ice. Getting rid of Tootoo would make the situation even worse.

People act like he's a useless goon that can't score. It's pretty comical.

"Team toughness"

"The powerplay is our enforcer"