• Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.

Sign in to follow this  
redwings56

Brendan Smith

Rate this topic

Recommended Posts

Why do people try so hard to invent ways to keep this dingbat in the lineup? We've got world class forward prospects. We've got world class defense prospects. If Brendan plays his way out of a spot, trade him. Don't finagle ways to give a roster spot to him just because he's there.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Why do people try so hard to invent ways to keep this dingbat in the lineup? We've got world class forward prospects. We've got world class defense prospects. If Brendan plays his way out of a spot, trade him. Don't finagle ways to give a roster spot to him just because he's there.

I like his size/speed combo on the lower lines.

But if he gets surpassed and loses his job, I'll lose no sleep over it.

I just don't think management will give up on him this early, so....

Creative problem smithing.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Even Brett Lebda must have been shaking his head yesterday at Smith's play.

He has been a disappointment, but so have many of our defensemen. Ericsson has regressed, Quincey is still Quincey, Dekeyser's can't score goals to save his life and Kindl is benched. There are times when I wonder whether Kronwall is shooting at the net, or shooting at that other net...............you know, the one hanging above the boards and behind the goal.

We might have some promising prospects, but they haven't played that much. Zidlicky has been good, but he's not the future.

Overall, this defensive corps is weak. They don't score a lot of goals, they don't move the puck well out of the zone and they make a lot of foolish mistakes. Smith is just part of the problem.

Yes, he was supposed to be our greatest prospect years ago, but those things don't always pan out. Maybe that's where everyone's greatest frustration about him stems from.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Even Brett Lebda must have been shaking his head yesterday at Smith's play.

He has been a disappointment, but so have many of our defensemen. Ericsson has regressed, Quincey is still Quincey, Dekeyser's can't score goals to save his life and Kindl is benched. There are times when I wonder whether Kronwall is shooting at the net, or shooting at that other net...............you know, the one hanging above the boards and behind the goal.

We might have some promising prospects, but they haven't played that much. Zidlicky has been good, but he's not the future.

Overall, this defensive corps is weak. They don't score a lot of goals, they don't move the puck well out of the zone and they make a lot of foolish mistakes. Smith is just part of the problem.

Yes, he was supposed to be our greatest prospect years ago, but those things don't always pan out. Maybe that's where everyone's greatest frustration about him stems from.

My frustration stems from the fact that he's always been a version of what he is now, a third pair defenseman with (possible) upside. At no point in his NHL career has he been better than that. Yet, the lengths that some folks go through to make excuses for him have been unrivaled in recent memory. People were ready to trade Tatar after last year's playoffs and yet there's always an excuse for Smith. Until now anyway, when he finally did something so monumentally stupid that you just can't excuse it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My frustration stems from the fact that he's always been a version of what he is now, a third pair defenseman with (possible) upside. At no point in his NHL career has he been better than that. Yet, the lengths that some folks go through to make excuses for him have been unrivaled in recent memory. People were ready to trade Tatar after last year's playoffs and yet there's always an excuse for Smith. Until now anyway, when he finally did something so monumentally stupid that you just can't excuse it.

Tatars just another small, soft euro, that needs to go.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Who knows. I'm still waiting for Ericsson to grow out of some of his "growing pains."

I'm in the camp that wants us to get rid of Smith. He's dumb. I've said that for years and it's still the case. Trade him while they still are seen as growing pains.

Trading him would be a good thing, unfortunately there isn't a lot of value there so upgrading from him would be difficult. He is still young by Wings standards though, with only two full seasons under his belt, so I may be apt to give him more time to develop. After all the Wings, and many from this forum, have given Ericsson 6 full seasons, and he still coughs the puck up like a rookie! (but that is another topic). Smith's current upside does not balance his down side! He needs to improve greatly to swing that to an up side that significantly out weighs his down side! GO WINGS!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think we should call up Marchenko and Oulette and have them play to show the other guys what to do. I think Kronwall-Marchenko and Zidlicky-Oulette would be great pairs but Kronwall probably won't play tomorrow. Another thing I'm wondering is how good is our development of defensemen at the NHL level. It really seems like we have great defensemen coming from the AHL but as soon as they come here their growth just stops.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Tatars just another small, soft euro, that needs to go.

I know lol. We need more tough guys, like Smith. You know, someone who hits less often than Jakub Kindl.

It's incredible the amount of goodwill a guy can earn just by getting into a couple of fights early in his career. Even though I disapprove of fighting, I would encourage every single prospect coming into our system to get in a couple of fights in their first few NHL games. You can play pedestrian hockey for the next 200+ games and nobody will care.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sounds like trade value to me! :D

I honestly don't know why they didn't trade him at the deadline to be honest. He really hasn't had a bad season. And I have every reason to believe he'd perform better under a different coach. If I was a team looking for a reasonably priced 5-6 puck mover, I'd give him a look.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My frustration stems from the fact that he's always been a version of what he is now, a third pair defenseman with (possible) upside. At no point in his NHL career has he been better than that. Yet, the lengths that some folks go through to make excuses for him have been unrivaled in recent memory. People were ready to trade Tatar after last year's playoffs and yet there's always an excuse for Smith. Until now anyway, when he finally did something so monumentally stupid that you just can't excuse it.

Yet the same people who wanted to trade Tatar are the ones that now advocate trading Smith. That should make you think. ;)

Smith didn't play good the last few games.The penalty yesterday was stupid to take but in the end it's just a fluke and Smith will not do it again. (If this was some mid season game I'd probably just laughed at that.) What actually bothers me at the moment aren't this stupid penalty but his turnovers and his inability to simply get the puck out of the zone. There is no doubt that Smith has to better at these basics if he wants to stay at this team.

But what I said at the beginning and through the season still holds true now : He is still a very young player and adjusting to the NHL especially as a defensive player takes some time. Yes, there is the probability that he might not adjust at all, but two years are way to short to be sure about that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yet the same people who wanted to trade Tatar are the ones that now advocate trading Smith. That should make you think. ;)

Smith didn't play good the last few games.The penalty yesterday was stupid to take but in the end it's just a fluke and Smith will not do it again. (If this was some mid season game I'd probably just laughed at that.) What actually bothers me at the moment aren't this stupid penalty but his turnovers and his inability to simply get the puck out of the zone. There is no doubt that Smith has to better at these basics if he wants to stay at this team.

But what I said at the beginning and through the season still holds true now : He is still a very young player and adjusting to the NHL especially as a defensive player takes some time. Yes, there is the probability that he might not adjust at all, but two years are way to short to be sure about that.

He's 26 years old and has played in roughly 200 NHL games. A) The "he's young" excuse is borderline, B) if he doesn't know how to pass, score, or defend yet, how much longer does he need?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

He's 26 years old and has played in roughly 200 NHL games. A) The "he's young" excuse is borderline, B) if he doesn't know how to pass, score, or defend yet, how much longer does he need?

A.) with 200 games at 26 years it isn't an excuse, it's a fact. B.) ask Abby about that.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A.) with 200 games at 26 years it isn't an excuse, it's a fact. B.) ask Abby about that.

26 years old and 200 games of experience isn't Marek Zidlicky levels of experience, but it's not like he's Xavier Ouellet either. You're making it seem like it's reasonable to expect rookie mistakes out of him because "he's young", when in reality he's played the better part of three full season (admittedly one was only 48 games). He shouldn't still be making bush league mistakes.

The Abby comparison is a reach. Abby didn't produce well until this season, but he did everything else right. He played special teams, worked hard, was defensively sound, forechecked, was physical. The only weak part of his game was his negligible offensive skills. Conversely, Smith A) doesn't produce offense, B) doesn't play good defense, C) doesn't play on the special teams, D) isn't phyiscal. Abby had value, even when he didn't score. Which is why he stayed in the lineup. What's Brendan's value to the team? Seriously, what is it that he does well?

Edit: FYI, Kindl has only played roughly 250 games and is universally considered a bust. So if Smith still sucks in 50 games is he a bust too? Or is Kindl still too young and inexperienced to really know?

Edited by kipwinger

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

26 years old and 200 games of experience isn't Marek Zidlicky levels of experience, but it's not like he's Xavier Ouellet either. You're making it seem like it's reasonable to expect rookie mistakes out of him because "he's young", when in reality he's played the better part of three full season (admittedly one was only 48 games). He shouldn't still be making bush league mistakes.

The Abby comparison is a reach. Abby didn't produce well until this season, but he did everything else right. He played special teams, worked hard, was defensively sound, forechecked, was physical. The only weak part of his game was his negligible offensive skills. Conversely, Smith A) doesn't produce offense, B) doesn't play good defense, C) doesn't play on the special teams, D) isn't phyiscal. Abby had value, even when he didn't score. Which is why he stayed in the lineup. What's Brendan's value to the team? Seriously, what is it that he does well?

Edit: FYI, Kindl has only played roughly 250 games and is universally considered a bust. So if Smith still sucks in 50 games is he a bust too? Or is Kindl still too young and inexperienced to really know?

His mistakes aren't rookie mistakes. If you compare him to the Smith that played two years ago he plays pretty consistent hockey now.

The Abby comparision is sound. You usually expect from a forward not only to try but to score goals while you expect from a defenseman to help to keep the puck out of the net. As you already admitted Abby exactly and offensive threat until this season. Abby stands as an example how to answer a question you asked and that isn't answerable definitely : How much long do you give a player to develop ? We seem to disagree on it.

Smiths job description is little different from Abbys. It's more easy to look defensively sound when you're Winger. There are indeed some things not to like on Smith but overall, as you youreself said, he plays like a decent 3rd pairing defenseman. He is not spectacular, but he doesn't need to be. Our "defensive first" coach is playing him on a regular basis, so he has to have some value on that position. At least he seems to be thought of better than Oullet or Marchenko.

The difference between Kindl and Smith is that the former is older and looks like a fringe NHL-Player. He played over 60 games only once in his career despite being on the roster for 5 years now. Smith has only played two and a half seasons so far, so their games totals and experience are hardly comparable.

Coincidence?

Detroit Red Wings @DetroitRedWings 2m2 minutes ago

UPDATE: The #RedWings have recalled Alexey Marchenko from the @griffinshockey.

Of course not. Kronner will likely get some rest tomorrow.

Edited by derblaueClaus

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Smith is better then most of our defenseman. Lets not act like this thread would be made if he didnt make a dumb mistake last night. Yes he can make silly plays, but everyone of our defenseman does the same s***. DeKesyer hasnt been that great this year but since hes everyones boy toy (probably because hes from Michigan), you dont hear much about him. Kronwall turns it over, same with Ericsson. Quincy is probably most reliable. But i guess since everyone had high hopes for Smith he gets bashed on the most.


I also like when people talk about "hockey smarts" like they actually played the game at a high level and understands what it takes. I guess its really easy.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

He's 26 years old and has played in roughly 200 NHL games. A) The "he's young" excuse is borderline, B) if he doesn't know how to pass, score, or defend yet, how much longer does he need?

He's the future Lidstrom. That's what they said. It's coming wait for it. Wait for it.

I also like when people talk about "hockey smarts" like they actually played the game at a high level and understands what it takes. I guess its really easy.

You don't have to play the game at pro or high level to critically think/understand the concept of the game. Especially when there's 100s of players in the league you can compare performances with. Apples can be compared with apples, you don't need to be an apple to describe it. You just analyze it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Smith is better then most of our defenseman. Lets not act like this thread would be made if he didnt make a dumb mistake last night. Yes he can make silly plays, but everyone of our defenseman does the same s***. DeKesyer hasnt been that great this year but since hes everyones boy toy (probably because hes from Michigan), you dont hear much about him. Kronwall turns it over, same with Ericsson. Quincy is probably most reliable. But i guess since everyone had high hopes for Smith he gets bashed on the most.

I also like when people talk about "hockey smarts" like they actually played the game at a high level and understands what it takes. I guess its really easy.

The reason you don't hear much about DeKeyser, is (for the most part) he doesn't get noticed. This thread exists because Smith got noticed (again).

True all our d-man have off nights, as for Smith I think of the way he played in last year's series against Boston and try to look past last night. If we can package him in a deal for an upgrade this offseason then my feelings won't be hurt.

Edited by WingsAlways

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Smith is better then most of our defenseman. Lets not act like this thread would be made if he didnt make a dumb mistake last night. Yes he can make silly plays, but everyone of our defenseman does the same s***. DeKesyer hasnt been that great this year but since hes everyones boy toy (probably because hes from Michigan), you dont hear much about him. Kronwall turns it over, same with Ericsson. Quincy is probably most reliable. But i guess since everyone had high hopes for Smith he gets bashed on the most.

I also like when people talk about "hockey smarts" like they actually played the game at a high level and understands what it takes. I guess its really easy.

It's because Dekeyser doesn't break probably one of the easiest rules in the game. Don't swat the damn puck. My 5 year old nephew even knows that when he's on the bench. I mean did Smith actually forget there's 4 refs on ice and hundreds of cameras keeping an eye on every player.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

People only agree about Smith because of the bonehead penalty last night. Not a month ago the general concensus on LGW was that "Smith's been our best defenseman lately". There were A LOT of people around here saying he should be put on the top pair lol. Of course, it wasn't smart then and it isn't now. It's just that the narrative has changed now. Reminds me of Quincey last year. He was "terrible" all season long, until Babs praised his play, and then suddenly he "turned it around". Which was silly too.

Smith has been bad to mediocre all year. Anybody who'd bothered to look would have seen exactly that. But nobody bothered, for whatever reason. Now people can't say enough how "stupid" he is. And he is. And always has been. As Forrest Gump might very well have said on the subject, "Stupid is as stupid was".

Not my finest suggestion, but at that time Ericsson was so painfully bad that it was kind of a, "well, he can be any worse, right?" type deal. I can't speak for others, but that's where my head was at with that one at the time.

Honestly, I think the guy has decent footspeed and has gotten better against the boards... but his turnovers are so awful.

Also, part of Quincey "turning it around" was that he played so awful (IMO) that there was nowhere to go but up. I don't think it was solely based on Babs' comments, though I'm sure that persuaded some fans.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The problem is that, when they were prospects, we were looking at Smith (and Kindl) with the same wide-eyed reverence that we now place on these other prospects you mentioned. No one knows if any of these four players will be good enough to take Smith's job.

Those guys are less prone to make mistakes compared to smith ... As good as his skills are he's too erratic and makes too many mistakes with the puck and we don't have a lidstrom on this team anymore to make up for such mistakes

I think on our team a more responsible defenseman who can move the puck would be better suited and as much as Phaneuf gets s*** on by toronto I think so long as he's not getting 7 million per he would do a lot better with detroit than some fans expect

I would consider Phaneuf since I don't see Quincey returning after next season as well and as we all know we love to leave our guys to develop so I can see marchenko and/or ouellet staying down yet again

Edited by nyqvististhefuture

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Smith is better then most of our defenseman. Lets not act like this thread would be made if he didnt make a dumb mistake last night. Yes he can make silly plays, but everyone of our defenseman does the same s***. DeKesyer hasnt been that great this year but since hes everyones boy toy (probably because hes from Michigan), you dont hear much about him. Kronwall turns it over, same with Ericsson. Quincy is probably most reliable. But i guess since everyone had high hopes for Smith he gets bashed on the most.

I also like when people talk about "hockey smarts" like they actually played the game at a high level and understands what it takes. I guess its really easy.

Ericsson and Kronwall have both taken s*** recently from quite a few people on the forum, especially E.

You don't hear much about DeKeyser because he doesn't make too many glaring errors. He's has some issues as of late. I've noticed that he's made some poor decisions with the puck. More often than not, he can get the puck out of the zone. At the end of the day, that's really what I want from a second-pairing guy - just be reliable.

It doesn't take a ten-year veteran to see that DeKeyser is much more patient with the puck in his own zone. He slows the play down - he finds his out and makes the pass. Smith tosses the puck around like an epileptic hamster at times. That's why he gets harped on.

Edited by Jesusberg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this