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MabusIncarnate

3/16 GDT: Red Wings 1 at Blackhawks 4

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I get that Datsyuk and Zetterberg are probably done for the year, but what about the other guys? Weiss, Bertuzzi, Andersson, Gustavsson, etc. They won't transform this team but as many hands on deck as possible can at least make one last gasp run. Why haven't we heard more about the 8 guys who are injured other than D and Z? I think Helm is expected back next week.

EDIT: And, dare I say it, Cleary and Sammy could at least add something to the team. They wouldn't crack a healthy roster, but they could crack this.

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One of the ongoing debates on this very forum is, do we bring any of the old vets back? IMHO no. The young guys bring energy if nothing else, something all of the 35+ crowd lack. Go young, let them learn, and we will see where they all end up. That of course means we may have a couple of thin years. If we can add a super via UFA, do so. But let the kids play!

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I get that Datsyuk and Zetterberg are probably done for the year, but what about the other guys? Weiss, Bertuzzi, Andersson, Gustavsson, etc. They won't transform this team but as many hands on deck as possible can at least make one last gasp run. Why haven't we heard more about the 8 guys who are injured other than D and Z? I think Helm is expected back next week.

EDIT: And, dare I say it, Cleary and Sammy could at least add something to the team. They wouldn't crack a healthy roster, but they could crack this.

Cleary is still banged up and considering the guy's a mess half the time when he's healthy, I'd be somewhat surprised if he came back at all this season. And I shudder to imagine what Holland might do with him in the off-season. Sure, he'd crack this roster, but if he's not doing significantly better in a week and we fall further out, all parties involved would likely question the point when it might only make the injury worse for no real benefit to the team.

As for buddy boy Sammy, I don't think he's pulling on a Wings sweater again whether he could help or not. I don't think it has much to do with injuries or roster needs at this point either. He hasn't exactly done himself any favors with expressing his thoughts on his current situation, and last I heard, he put forth a blatantly intentional piss-poor effort in Grand Rapids for at least part of the time he was down there, which also doesn't do him any favors. At this point, I think management is more eager to draw attention away from what was so clearly a terrible signing.

I mean, seriously, as positive as I want to be, if we lose a couple more games while other teams in the hunt win games, I recognize that it'd be a miracle for a healthy roster to pull off a playoff birth. This team is as far from healthy as I ever remember, so much so that it literally doesn't even feel real anymore. It feels much more like a cruel joke or a damn Onion article. So if at the end of this week we're further out, there's just not going to be much of a reason to try to get guys back in the lineup that are hurt, and there absolutely won't be a reason to give Sammy the honor of ever skating in another game wearing a Wings sweater. The new positive will be giving the kids as much of a chance as possible to get some NHL action in and hoping we finish low enough to get a nice draft pick out of it.

You can't feel nearly as bad about breaking the streak in a season in which we deal with the injuries we've dealt with this year. There are much uglier ways that it could've been broken than struggling largely because you lost 75% of your forwards to injuries down the stretch. There's a positive in that, in that it does take some of the sting out of it for all of us, and it's easier to mentally come back from something like that. If this happened after Datsyuk and Z retired because we couldn't replace them and the team wasn't even close at the end, it'd have far more of a stigma to it; and it'd likely end up haunting the team for some time. Chances are we'll miss it this year but come back strong and make it the next two years at least as long as Dats and Z stay healthy and reasonably competitive. And as we transition to a team that doesn't include Dats and Z, "the streak" will be one less thing the new guys have to have hanging over their heads like an axe.

Ugh.

Yes, I'm really just trying to be as positive as I can while being realistic about what's likely to go down in the next month, because it's going to suck. And literally, I won't even know what to do. For as long as I've been watching hockey with a bit of investment and understanding, we've been making the playoffs. Last time we missed the playoffs, I was 5 and just generally unaware of the situation and only just starting to skate and play. I didn't really get it all, let alone could I stay up and watch it all, until I was 7 or 8, and by that time, we were kicking off the streak.

This is going to be weird.

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One of the ongoing debates on this very forum is, do we bring any of the old vets back? IMHO no. The young guys bring energy if nothing else, something all of the 35+ crowd lack. Go young, let them learn, and we will see where they all end up. That of course means we may have a couple of thin years. If we can add a super via UFA, do so. But let the kids play!

Bertuzzi, Cleary and Samuelsson are absolutely gone IMO. I would assume the Red Wings want Legwand back or that trade looks even more ridiculous. It seems like a Holland move to try and get another year out of Alfie, but I wouldn't be opposed at all to moving on. I would rather have Jurco around full time than Alfie if it comes down to one or the other.

Z, Datsyuk, Franzen, Helm, Weiss, Nyquist, Tatar, Abdelkader and Miller are probably all locks at forward next season. I don't see any way you don't have Sheahan and Jurco on the team after what they have proven in Detroit. There's 11 forwards already and we haven't gotten to the likes of Glendening, Andersson, Pulkkinen, Ferraro or Callahan.

I would probably let every free agent walk besides Legwand. I don't know if I really even want him to return, but it makes me feel better about losing Jarnkrok if Legwand doesn't turn into a 20-game rental.

Defense is in shambles, so that's where the priority needs to lie with the cap space.

Edited by GoWings1905

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My first random hockey thoughts today were not if we'll make the playoffs or not, rather who all is going down to GR for the Calder Cup run?

Always look on the bright side of life.

Hell, the Griffins are still sitting atop their division with all their players up in Detroit. That is all due to the great coaching of Blashill and his coaching staff. Right now, there are literally 2 full forward lines of Griffins players up with Detroit. They are the top line players on the roster too.

I just hope they can come back to the AHL after playing all these games.

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