Should we expect a slow start from Alfie?

[Red Wings Addict 787]

Should we expect a slow start from Alfie?

No pre-season games for him yet so he can warm up for the regular season. We've seen slow starts before from players who have to deal with injuries before the season starts.

[matthewdanna 143]

yes

[55fan 5,133]

Between adjusting to a new team and missing pre-season with injury, I'd say definitely yes.

It'll pass, but not before LGW explodes.

[Euro_Twins 4,485]

Holland made an awful mistake signing him if he hasn't score at least 15 points in the first 10 games. End of story.

[BottleOfSmoke 5,965]

Holland made an awful mistake signing him if he hasn't score at least 15 points in the first 10 minutes. End of story.

Fixed it for you.

[RyanBarnes! 293]

Alfredsson is a veteran that was brought in for offense. I will expext him to produce.

[toby91_ca 620]

Alfredsson is a veteran that was brought in for offense. I will expext him to produce.

What production are you expecting? I think any expectations should be tempered...he'll be 41 very soon after all and has already declined quite a bit from a production perspective.

[wingedominance13 112]

I expect a slow start, but honestly as wings fans we are used to slow starts. Z is especially prone to not producing constantly until the fifteen game mark. I would expect something similar for alfie. If from games 10-25 he hasn't started to produce offense ill be worried. Not until then.

[maverick918 1]

Same here. But I have to say I don't think it will happen with Weiss and Franzen. I hope it does but I dont think it will.

Think about it:

Weiss: New, needs to learn the lingo.

Alfredsson: New, needs to learn the lingo

Franzen: Well its Franzen...

Playing with somebody like Pav or Z to learn the lingo. They might get it faster.

Franzen-Datsyuk-Abdelkader
Zetterberg-Weiss-Alfredsson

Keep Alfie and Weiss together because I think its them that need to gel the most. Z and Pav play so well together though, it is a trade off to get the guys acclimated faster.

[13dangledangle 968]

I expect Alfie to be slow but clutch all year long. Clutch being the main factor here obviously, many of our losses over the past few years could have gone either way so hopefully his poise will help...

[dat's sick 1,002]

He's a veteran and a proffessional so I'm not sure pre-season is hugely important for him. I do however expect him to be more important for us later in the season and in the playoffs if we make it.

Not like we don't have depth enough for him to be given some slack if he doesn't light it up in the first 10-20 games.

[martinezsvsu 240]

line 2 will suck for a while. weiss alf and franzen. babcock will split up dats and z two weeks in.

[dat's sick 1,002]

line 2 will suck for a while. weiss alf and franzen. babcock will split up dats and z two weeks in.

I don't think splitting Z and Pav is the first option. Moving Alfie up with them, putting Cleary/Sammy/Bert/Abby with Weiss & Franzen would probably the first change if it looks like the 2nd line won't work.

Gotta give that line a chance though, they've barely played together. I think it could be a good line but it kinda depends on whether Franzen plays at 100% or 50%.

[Red Crazy 201]

I don't think splitting Z and Pav is the first option. Moving Alfie up with them, putting Cleary/Sammy/Bert/Abby with Weiss & Franzen would probably the first change if it looks like the 2nd line won't work.

Gotta give that line a chance though, they've barely played together. I think it could be a good line but it kinda depends on whether Franzen plays at 100% or 50%.

The problem is that Franzen plays at 100%, 2% of the time. Alfie will start slow and to be honest I am not expecting that much from him. Not impressed with Weiss this far as well. The first 12 games will be interesting.

[SensViking 20]

Truthfully I'm not worried. Alfie is a warrior and I can't ever recall him starting out the season slowly. It's just my opinion but Alfie is the icing on the cake not the straw that will stir the Wings drink.

If he's tweaked his groin they will let him rest and work out-he always comes to camp in great shape- no need to work him like a rented mule. I'll bet #11 is reveling in not having to be the answer every night for the team and because of that look out!

Go Alfie!

[RyanBarnes! 293]

What production are you expecting? I think any expectations should be tempered...he'll be 41 very soon after all and has already declined quite a bit from a production perspective.

He was brought in to provide offense. If he doesnt Holland made a mistake. I expect 20 goals. I think he should still be good for that even at age 41.

[Dabura 12,232]

It's probably for the best that he's resting up. I mean, it's not like he's young, and it's not like the preseason really means anything. Not that I wouldn't like his line to click as soon as possible, but the guy's as professional, hard-working, competitive, etc. as they come, so I have faith that it'll all work out. Mind you, I don't necessarily have faith that the line itself is ever going to really click, and, should it come to that, Babs will of course have to find some way to remedy that. But, bottom line, I'm not worried about "Alfie." (I'm sorry, but it feels weird calling him that.)

[Opie 308]

Alfie went for 10g and 16a last year, I expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 20g and 30a from him this year.

Probably something closer to 15 and 40, I think with Franzen on that line they are going to struggle, I don't see anyone on the second line battling for pucks in the corners.

This is the role that Abby fills on the first line, the Wings really need a puck retrieval guy on each line.

However that means moving Franzen down to the third line, thus breaking up the youngsters on line 3, so I don't really like that idea either.

IF (huge IF) Franzen can be the Mule for a better part of this season, 70-80% of the time, then look out, that will be the most dangerous 2nd line in hockey.

If not, that line will probably be broken up, but if not separated, it will then be pretty pedestrian.

[SensViking 20]

Alfie went for 10g and 16a last year, I expect somewhere in the neighborhood of 20g and 30a from him this year.

Probably something closer to 15 and 40, I think with Franzen on that line they are going to struggle, I don't see anyone on the second line battling for pucks in the corners.

This is the role that Abby fills on the first line, the Wings really need a puck retrieval guy on each line.

However that means moving Franzen down to the third line, thus breaking up the youngsters on line 3, so I don't really like that idea either.

IF (huge IF) Franzen can be the Mule for a better part of this season, 70-80% of the time, then look out, that will be the most dangerous 2nd line in hockey.

If not, that line will probably be broken up, but if not separated, it will then be pretty pedestrian.

I am waiting on the edge of my seat for Alfie's regular season debut and I know this:

Alfie is a thinking man playing hockey not a dump it and hope someone else retrieves it guy. He is THE master at keep away. He's so responsible with the puck that he's not going to throw it into the corner and say oh well I hope someone retrieves that. He's going to play cat and mouse with that puck until he has options. Guys are going to play hard to get that pass from him and good things are going to happen. If he wanted to mentor other players he could have stayed in Ottawa so I'm going to believe.

[dirtydangles 1,328]

Looked good tonight. I'd love to keep Z and Dats together. Z is showing shades of his old sniping days when he scored 42 now that he is on the wing.

[martinezsvsu 240]

i have more faith in weiss and alfie this year than i do in mule. id experiment with putting nyquist on line 2 and mule on line 3.

[Dabura 12,232]

Alfred's son was beastly on the PP last night.

[55fan 5,133]

Alfred's son was beastly on the PP last night.

We must write Alfred a nice thank you note.

I have to say that it was weird watching "Cleary #11" look so good. I'm glad that he worked so well with Pavel and Hank. Whether they form a line or not, at least our PP looks decent.

[hillbillywingsfan 794]

We must write Alfred a nice thank you note.

I have to say that it was weird watching "Cleary #11" look so good. I'm glad that he worked so well with Pavel and Hank. Whether they form a line or not, at least our PP looks decent.

I just can't get over the fact we have a #71 on the ice. That looks soooo weird.

[Guest Playmaker]

He was brought in to provide offense. If he doesnt Holland made a mistake. I expect 20 goals. I think he should still be good for that even at age 41.

Agreed. There seems to be this impression that the Wings are just soooo good, they can sleep through the regular season and they're a lock for the playoffs and they can turn it on then. I feel like this is somewhat of a 2002 season in that the old players are getting to the end of their prime, and the young group isn't quite ready to take over yet. As we saw this past season, a slow start by one team and a hot start by another can doom a team's playoff chances.