Jesusberg 1,256 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 I can kind of understand going into the season with what we had last season, on the back end I mean. Last season was a half season and we overachieved in some areas. So, before making a big change, give the group at least 20 games to see where we're really at. Thing is, it's been pretty clear for most of the season that our D corps - even when fully healthy - is not where it needs to be and is in fact a pretty serious weakness. It's weird, right? Kindl last year vs. this year on the PP confuses the heck out of me. Last season he was probably our best player in terms of getting the puck on net, through the PK'ers. Yesterday as I was watching him on the PP, his mobility seems to be so off and he can't seem to find the passing/shooting lanes. He was off by the half boards at some point and just looked confused. Kindl and Smith were both projected to be top 4 guys. They were given the chance to do that instead of signing a stop gap. You either want kids to have opportunity or you don't, simple as that. Which is fine, and I think the idea was to address this at the deadline. The issue was that prices were too high, and the need for a center outweighed the need for another defender (in the eyes of management). Giving an opportunity for the kids to jump into the top 4 is all well in good, but it hasn't worked to this point. Personally, I would have liked to see the team try out Smith-Dekeyser as a pairing more. Perhaps it's just me, but I don't think I've seen them together often, if at all. Quincey just sort of exists - he's made some stand-out plays throughout the season, but he's not a top 4 guy, in my opinion. If the team's going to go through rough patches trying to mold the kids into top 4 guys, I'd rather have them paired with someone they're going to play with in the future (since Quincey hasn't seemed to stabilize Smith's play). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haroldsnepsts 4,826 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 It's weird, right? Kindl last year vs. this year on the PP confuses the heck out of me. Last season he was probably our best player in terms of getting the puck on net, through the PK'ers. Yesterday as I was watching him on the PP, his mobility seems to be so off and he can't seem to find the passing/shooting lanes. He was off by the half boards at some point and just looked confused. Which is fine, and I think the idea was to address this at the deadline. The issue was that prices were too high, and the need for a center outweighed the need for another defender (in the eyes of management). Giving an opportunity for the kids to jump into the top 4 is all well in good, but it hasn't worked to this point. Personally, I would have liked to see the team try out Smith-Dekeyser as a pairing more. Perhaps it's just me, but I don't think I've seen them together often, if at all. Quincey just sort of exists - he's made some stand-out plays throughout the season, but he's not a top 4 guy, in my opinion. If the team's going to go through rough patches trying to mold the kids into top 4 guys, I'd rather have them paired with someone they're going to play with in the future (since Quincey hasn't seemed to stabilize Smith's play). That's a good point about Kindl. Last season I remember I was saying he's one of the best on the team at getting shots through, and I'm hardly his biggest fan. But it's why there's little hope for him developing into a solid D man. Every time he seems to take a step forward, it evaporates a few games later. 1 Jesusberg reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xtrememachine1 795 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 Most of their injuries have been on the blue line. Their best forwards have been healthy for the most part, and their D has been suspect even when healthy. They can get away with beating teams 6-5 in the regular season. If they lost the likes of Crosby, Malkin, Sutter, Neal and Kunitz all at once, it would be a different story. Exactly. I got into a discussion with someone the other day about this with them saying "Yeah, well we lost more games to injury than you." Yeah, I'm pretty sure you still have all your stars playing whereas Datsyuk and Zetterberg missed more than half the year and will be out for the remainder of this one. Franzen missed more than half the year. Helm missed pretty much the entire year. Howard's been in and out of the lineup all season. Like you said, take away Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Kunitz and Fleury and see how well they fair. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marcaractac 3,962 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 Exactly. I got into a discussion with someone the other day about this with them saying "Yeah, well we lost more games to injury than you." Yeah, I'm pretty sure you still have all your stars playing whereas Datsyuk and Zetterberg missed more than half the year and will be out for the remainder of this one. Franzen missed more than half the year. Helm missed pretty much the entire year. Howard's been in and out of the lineup all season. Like you said, take away Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Kunitz and Fleury and see how well they fair. The big issue is that we have players coming and going so much we can't ice consistent lines. The few times we did, the team started playing real well until another player or two would get hurt, and the lines had to change again. It is insane how often the lines have had to change around. It is hard to play consistent hockey that way. 1 aflac9262 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DannyD 79 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 Detroit Red Wings @DetroitRedWings 4m UPDATE: Jonathan Ericsson has undergone successful surgery. He's expected to miss 4-6 weeks #RedWings Welp... Must have been a nasty break to be out that long. Big big loss down the stretch. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nyquistfan14 489 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 So pulk back in?? Welp... Must have been a nasty break to be out that long. Big big loss down the stretch. You have got to be f****** with me! This is definitely the season from he** Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SimonSin 192 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 Yea this season is done for me with Ericsson news. I can't even explain what has happened this year. It's mind boggling. I'm putting these injuries up there with the missing Malaysian airplane. I can watch not expecting anything and just hopefully they can retool in the summer somehow. Tigers season opener is right around the corner. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marcaractac 3,962 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 Almqvist has been called up 2 Jesusberg and nyqvististhefuture reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BottleOfSmoke 5,965 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 4-6 weeks wtf?! We better have like one injury to a fourth liner next year to make up for this s***. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jesusberg 1,256 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 Welp... Must have been a nasty break to be out that long. Big big loss down the stretch. Really sucks to lose him. Seems like Detroit can't even catch a break on the length of injuries. It's never "progressing ahead of schedule". Ugh. Almqvist has been called up On the flip side, glad to see AA getting a shot. I personally hope they play him over Kindl and give him time on the 2nd PP unit. Let DeKeyser focus on being part of the top PK unit. If I remember right (correct me if I'm wrong), Lashoff-Almqvist played together at times last year in GR and complimented each other well. 1 nyqvististhefuture reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoWings1905 2,694 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 What happened to two weeks for E? Even the timeframes turn out worse, on top of the sheer number of injuries. Defense is atrocious. Already was, but it's in really bad shape now without E. Maybe Holland will upgrade that sore spot eventually. Not sure why it has taken two years minimum already. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nyqvististhefuture 1,002 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 Jesus wtf is going on I thought Ericsson was gone for like 2 weeks and now it's 4-6???? Starting to think someone's out to get us , this seasons been beyond ridiculous Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeff48109 474 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 Time for Babcock's 16 yr old daughter to lace the skates up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wings87 1,290 Report post Posted March 19, 2014 If I was a Wing player I would be terrified to be on this team, who knows what will happen next. This season has become like a bad episode of CSI. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DannyD 79 Report post Posted March 20, 2014 Maybe our PP will ramp up a little. Could have Pulkkinen and Almquist manning the points on the 2nd PP. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gowings00 545 Report post Posted March 20, 2014 Sounds like Babcock is getting REALLY frustrated with the fragile players we have on this team. I can't blame him though, every time someone goes down they are always out for longer than expected. Sure could have used a defensemen Mr Holland. 1 Hockeymom1960 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canadian wings fan 305 Report post Posted March 21, 2014 Does anyone know if Stephen Weiss will be coming back down the stretch? What a waste of ******* money. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rick zombo 3,739 Report post Posted March 21, 2014 Helm practicing today on a line with Ferraro and Emmerton. On the PK with Glendenning. His return looks close...... http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/your-friday-practice-update Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DannyD 79 Report post Posted March 21, 2014 Ansar Khan @AnsarKhanMLive 19m Helm practicing on the PK with Glendening, another good sign that his return is near. Ansar Khan @AnsarKhanMLive 40m Helm centering a line with Emmerton and Pulkkinen/Ferraro. Could be that Helm is ready to return. Should know after practice. Ansar Khan @AnsarKhanMLive 36m Andersson (broken foot) practicing with team. Cleary (knee) was skating earlier but has left the ice. Weiss not skating. Good news on Helmer. Chuck Pleiness @wingsfrontman 48m All the Wings that dressed in Thursday's 5-4 win over Pittsburgh are on ice for practice. Haven't heard that in awhile. #RedWings Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matt198913 932 Report post Posted March 21, 2014 Helm is back for ??? How many games Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dabura 12,207 Report post Posted March 21, 2014 Khan says Helm says he's good to go. Fingers crossed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DannyD 79 Report post Posted March 21, 2014 Chuck Pleiness @wingsfrontman 15m Helm says he's in Saturday against Minnesota. Playing with Emmerton and Ferraro. Means Pulkkinen probably heading back to GR. #RedWings I don't get keeping Ferraro up over Pulkkinen. Ferraro has made some serious bone headed decisions in the little time up. I'd rather keep Pulkkinen up just for the fact he can help the power play. I have missed some of Pulk's game up with the Wings but I haven't seen nearly the amount of dumb decisions out of him as I have Ferraro. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VM1138 1,921 Report post Posted March 21, 2014 Pulk really didn't do anything other than the slapper, though. Ferraro had some bonehead mistakes but overall he was pretty solid defensively. Great news that Helm is coming back. Please let him score like he was before Christmas. 1 wings87 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wings87 1,290 Report post Posted March 21, 2014 I don't get keeping Ferraro up over Pulkkinen. Ferraro has made some serious bone headed decisions in the little time up. I'd rather keep Pulkkinen up just for the fact he can help the power play. I have missed some of Pulk's game up with the Wings but I haven't seen nearly the amount of dumb decisions out of him as I have Ferraro. For the role that Ferraro plays, he just fits better right now. Pulks would need to play more minutes to be productive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
matt198913 932 Report post Posted March 21, 2014 Yeah totally agree with keeping Ferraro up over Pulkinen right now. Team knows they will have to grind out games. Ferraro screwed up a bit at times last night but the effort is there. That's what ya need right now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
