Bravo, Smitty

[NerveDamage 4,176]

Feeling like #2 is really living up to his potential right now.

chooo chooo!!!

Edited January 18, 2016 by NerveDamage

[Bill Berzeench 310]

If the flyers would have won in regulation, Smith would have been Swiss cheese.

[Krayzie_Bone 58]

Enough wishful thinking guys give it up. This guy has to go. He has nothing to offer this team but turnovers. Im not a smith basher either the straw that broke the camels back was sunday night. He peaked no need to keep him around hopeing for more.

[joesuffP 1,746]

Smith didn't skate today could be flu bug going around

[kickazz 5,459]

Took day off due to soreness from previous game. Expected to play

Edited January 21, 2016 by kickazz

[Jesusberg 1,256]

I've never been shy about my dislike for Smith, but I think he's been much, much better this year. My biggest gripe with Smith was his inability to get the puck out of the defensive zone and make a proper outlet pass. I think he's improved there.

Does he make plenty of bone-headed plays in the defensive zone? Absolutely. I question his hockey smarts, positioning and decision making in the defensive zone when it comes to actually playing defense. At this stage, he's hardly the Wings' biggest problem on the back end. I think his play, for the most part, has been a pleasant surprise this season.

[joesuffP 1,746]

I think our puck movement this year in general has been much improved. That's why it's hard to pinpoint why our scoring has fallen off the cliff. I've been impressed by all our defensemen in their own zone. (minus Kindl and sometimes Green) We're not giving the puck away as much and the goals we give up are usually deflections

[13dangledangle 965]

I think our puck movement this year in general has been much improved. That's why it's hard to pinpoint why our scoring has fallen off the cliff. I've been impressed by all our defensemen in their own zone. (minus Kindl and sometimes Green) We're not giving the puck away as much and the goals we give up are usually deflections

I keep thinking they're on the threshold of finally getting into that scoring groove. Datsyuk is looking confident finally and his goals will come, the Goose has to let loose soon-I would like him every day to stand in the slot and shoot 500 pucks into the net. The dude gets at least 3 golden op's every game!

[BottleOfSmoke 5,965]

I just get SO FRUSTRATED with Smith. He's a guy who seems to have all the physical skills and talent to be a really solid hockey player, but he just gets in his own way. His brain is his worst enemy. I don't know if he over thinks things, or panics in a pinch or WHAT but he does not have a great hockey mind or read of the game. If we could implant Larionov's or Lidstrom's brain into his body he has the physical skills to get it done. Maybe he's just a late bloomer, and he'll rest his breasts in time. I don't think the kid is half as bad as some here make him out to be, but god DAMN does he make himself an easy scapegoat at times. I feel like Z's comment on him from a couple seasons ago about him creating a lot of scoring chances for both teams about sums him up.

[e_prime 1,936]

People shat on MDZ in a similar manner and now he's gobbling up 20 minutes a night for Philly. His career had been declared dead and look at that zombie go. In a similar fashion, Smitty gets s*** on, probably rightfully so, but like you said BoS he's not half as bad as people make him out to be. He's under the microscope because so many people think that XO or Sproul or Jensen are going to make less mistakes. Which to date, as far as I'm concerned, is an unknown.

[Jacksoni 418]

If Smith is a later bloomer, which I have no idea if he might be (odds say no), I'll project him becoming our best defenseman.

If he's not a late bloomer, I'm guessing he will play a major part in us breaking our playoff streak.

[e_prime 1,936]

If Smith is a later bloomer, which I have no idea if he might be (odds say no), I'll project him becoming our best defenseman.

If he's not a late bloomer, I'm guessing he will play a major part in us breaking our playoff streak.

...because Kindl, a late bloomer, who never blossomed and made serious blunders throughout his time with the big club, was a major obstacle every year for the past however many he played during our current playoff streak?

The guy has made some mistakes and may continue to do so, but he's been improving, and playing with more confidence, and he's certainly not going to break the team in half with a few bonehead errors.

[Jacksoni 418]

You underestimate his powers.

Do not forget his hand shuffling the puck in the playoffs vs Tampa from the bench, leading to a penalty.

Time will tell.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Jacksoni

[kipwinger 8,524]

Ugh. I can't believe I'm about to defend Brendan Smith.

First, bottom pair defensemen (and bottom 6 forwards) are almost NEVER the reason for a bad season. The difference in quality between our bottom pair and that of...say...Washington, is marginal. If we don't make the playoffs this year it will be because none of our high end players (aside from Larkin) was comparably better than their counterparts on more successful teams. None of Dats, Z, Tatar, Nyquist, Kronwall, Green, etc. have been as good as they should be.

Secondly, Smith's handpass from the bench. I'm tired of hearing about it. For two years prior to that play, I'd been regularly pointing out that Smith just wasn't very good, and was almost UNIVERSALLY met with opposition. Smith could blow coverages, turn the puck over in the d-zone, make bad pinches, or take untimely penalties and the chorus was generally, "Smitty's good. He's dynamic because of his skating. He's the only guy that will drop the gloves". People loved that dope...inexplicably. Then the handpass happened and all the same people who loved him before, started s***ting on him. But that wasn't his low point. His low point was the previous two years when he regularly sucked and everybody said "Smith's playing pretty good right now, maybe our best defenseman".

Now Smith IS playing pretty good. He's rounding out his game in a way I NEVER thought he would. And people are still talking about that handpass. It was dumb. I agree. But it's far from the worst thing he's done on the ice (not that anybody had bothered to notice before). And he's far from the player he was when he did it. So can we all get back to bitching about Ericsson already?

[krsmith17 7,191]

Of course it would be because of Smith that the streak ends... Who else is there to blame? Remember that one time he made that really stupid play on the bench against Montreal? What an idiot...

Overstating how "awful" Smith is?... That would never happen on LGW, where only rational fans voice their opinions...

[e_prime 1,936]

You underestimate his powers.

Do not forget his hand shuffling the puck in the playoffs vs Tampa from the bench, leading to a penalty.

Time will tell.

So... IN THE PLAYOFFS? How'd we even make it there with Smitty in the lineup? Gee.

I don't want to belabor this point. He makes mistakes. So does every defenseman in the league before, after, and including TPH - Niklas Lidstrom. Saying that Smith alone is going to keep us from the playoffs is hyperbole to the Nth degree.

We know Smith ain't that bad if kip is here to defend the guy!

Edited January 22, 2016 by e_prime

[jimmyemeryhunter 2,747]

Ugh. I can't believe I'm about to defend Brendan Smith.

First, bottom pair defensemen (and bottom 6 forwards) are almost NEVER the reason for a bad season. The difference in quality between our bottom pair and that of...say...Washington, is marginal. If we don't make the playoffs this year it will be because none of our high end players (aside from Larkin) was comparably better than their counterparts on more successful teams. None of Dats, Z, Tatar, Nyquist, Kronwall, Green, etc. have been as good as they should be.

Secondly, Smith's handpass from the bench. I'm tired of hearing about it. For two years prior to that play, I'd been regularly pointing out that Smith just wasn't very good, and was almost UNIVERSALLY met with opposition. Smith could blow coverages, turn the puck over in the d-zone, make bad pinches, or take untimely penalties and the chorus was generally, "Smitty's good. He's dynamic because of his skating. He's the only guy that will drop the gloves". People loved that dope...inexplicably. Then the handpass happened and all the same people who loved him before, started s***ting on him. But that wasn't his low point. His low point was the previous two years when he regularly sucked and everybody said "Smith's playing pretty good right now, maybe our best defenseman".

Now Smith IS playing pretty good. He's rounding out his game in a way I NEVER thought he would. And people are still talking about that handpass. It was dumb. I agree. But it's far from the worst thing he's done on the ice (not that anybody had bothered to notice before). And he's far from the player he was when he did it. So can we all get back to bitching about Ericsson already?

I completely agree, he messed up when he was off the ice, yet it's brought up more than his plays on ice, which is getting to be annoying.

I'll also say this for smith, the past two years he has been our best if not one of our best defenseman.

I think it's because he always plays at that speed, and his screw ups always happen because he's always thinking&playing at that pace. Then when the playoffs roll around and everyone ramps up to that level, his mistakes happen less and are less costly because everyone else messes up getting used to the flow and our other players are in better positions/moving faster to cover for him.

He's a solid bottom pairing d man, the only thing is we might have better options...

Also, people bitching about Ericsson gets annoying too, we get it, he's not the ideal #2 dman, but he's still a solid top 4 guy...

People talk about him like he's a fringe NHL player just because his contract is a little too long.

[krsmith17 7,191]

This is in response to Dickie from the Trade Deadline Thread because I didn't want to go any further off topic...

Why are people so fixated on the player Smith was prior to this season? It doesn't matter. He's playing like a top 4 defenseman this season, and that's what matters. He's one of the only defenders we have that has the ability to play with a bit of a mean streak. He's our best skater from the back end and he's one of our better puck moving defensemen. Like you said, offense begins with the back end, well Smith has been one of our best in that area.

Look at these numbers (5on5 stats per sixty minutes) and without looking it up, guess which defenseman is where...

PTS/60 S/60 iF/60 iC/60

0.41 / 1.74 / 2.40 / 4.05

0.68 / 3.42 / 5.82 / 8.04

0.78 / 3.03 / 4.20 / 5.75

0.53 / 4.74 / 5.54 / 6.85

0.87 / 3.77 / 5.50 / 8.11

0.58 / 4.88 / 6.28 / 8.51

0.42 / 2.20 / 3.66 / 6.39

Edited January 27, 2016 by krsmith17

[Echolalia 2,961]

I honestly think that when Smith is playing his game he's our best puck-mover while under pressure. I don't think LGW is ready for that opinion yet though

[krsmith17 7,191]

PTS/60 S/60 iF/60 iC/60

0.41 / 1.74 / 2.40 / 4.05 - Kronwall

0.68 / 3.42 / 5.82 / 8.04 - Ericsson

0.78 / 3.03 / 4.20 / 5.75 - DeKeyser

0.53 / 4.74 / 5.54 / 6.85 - Quincey

0.87 / 3.77 / 5.50 / 8.11 - Smith

0.58 / 4.88 / 6.28 / 8.51 - Green

0.42 / 2.20 / 3.66 / 6.39 - Marchenko

Kronwall has been particularly bad, let's hope a lot of that was to do with his nagging injury and they're able to get him back on track. Smith has been very good. You know who else has been good? Ericsson. Both need to limit their turnovers, but that can be said for every single one of our defenders. Our only defenceman with a somewhat decent giveaway / takeaway ratio is DeKeyser, and his isn't great by any stretch either...

[DickieDunn 2,571]

This is in response to Dickie from the Trade Deadline Thread because I didn't want to go any further off topic...

Why are people so fixated on the player Smith was prior to this season? It doesn't matter. He's playing like a top 4 defenseman this season, and that's what matters. He's one of the only defenders we have that has the ability to play with a bit of a mean streak. He's our best skater from the back end and he's one of our better puck moving defensemen. Like you said, offense begins with the back end, well Smith has been one of our best in that area.

Look at these numbers (5on5 stats per sixty minutes) and without looking it up, guess which defenseman is where...

PTS/60 S/60 iF/60 iC/60

0.41 / 1.74 / 2.40 / 4.05

0.68 / 3.42 / 5.82 / 8.04

0.78 / 3.03 / 4.20 / 5.75

0.53 / 4.74 / 5.54 / 6.85

0.87 / 3.77 / 5.50 / 8.11

0.58 / 4.88 / 6.28 / 8.51

0.42 / 2.20 / 3.66 / 6.39

Because I don't trust that his "turnaround" is going to be a lasting thing. I hope I'm wrong, but I've seen too many years of dumb to trust him. But who knows, maybe he just needed to have Babcock off his ass about everything and just be allowed to go play.