Official 2016 Detroit Red Wings Offseason Thread

[kickazz 5,459]

Have you not seen all the times (usually with Sheahan) we've done that "pass to the side of the net for the quick move out front". Actually worked quite well a couple years ago. Probably need to disguise it better and/or add a new wrinkle or two now. Teams seem to have caught on to it.

Yeah and he does a pretty bad job of it. And it's not as common as you're trying to make it out to be.

Franzen was good at it but that's as far as that went.

Nothing wrong with rounding out his skills, or, given our current roster, trying to use his size.

We should worry more about scoring goals than rounding out Mantha's skills. We don't have very many good shooters and supposedly that's what Mantha is good at.

Edited September 17, 2016 by kickazz

[kipwinger 8,518]

Nothing wrong with rounding out his skills, or, given our current roster, trying to use his size.

I think it's just that when we fans hear "net front" we automatically think "Homer" and a guy not really doing anything other than that. But the team is probably thinking more in terms of Franzen. Something he can and will occasionally be asked to do, but not the only or even defining characteristic of his game.

That's true. It may just be a perception thing. And you're right, when I hear "net front" I do totally think of the Homer-esque sense of the term. But it's not completely off base for me to think so. Abby, Helm, and Sheahan have all been asked to play almost the exact same way on the PP as Homer did. Stand there, screen the goalie, tip shots, and bang home rebounds. Part of that may be that they're not really skilled enough to do much else though. If Mantha is used like Franzen, as you said, or like Vanek and Kesler have been over their careers (down low, but not necessarily glued to the crease) then I have less of a problem with it for sure.

[kipwinger 8,518]

Yeah and he does a pretty bad job of it. And it's not as common as you're trying to make it out to be.

Franzen was good at it but that's as far as that went.

We should worry more about scoring goals than rounding out Mantha's skills. We don't have very many good shooters and supposedly that's what Mantha is good at.

While I agree with your overall sentiment, I think we've actually got a fair amount of shooters. Nyquist, Tatar, and Vanek are all pretty good shooters. Z and Neilsen are adequate. People (not you) talk all the time about how Detroit doesn't have a "sniper". Aside from that being a goofy bucket term I don't agree with, look at the goals Tatar scored a year ago and tell me he can't pick a corner as well as most players in the league.

At least 10 of these goals are pretty much pure "sniper" goals.

[Buppy 1,720]

Yeah and he does a pretty bad job of it. And it's not as common as you're trying to make it out to be.

Franzen was good at it but that's as far as that went.

...

Shouldn't that be an argument in favor of having someone potentially more skilled playing net-front?

[MrazekFanBoy 223]

While I agree with your overall sentiment, I think we've actually got a fair amount of shooters. Nyquist, Tatar, and Vanek are all pretty good shooters. Z and Neilsen are adequate. People (not you) talk all the time about how Detroit doesn't have a "sniper". Aside from that being a goofy bucket term I don't agree with, look at the goals Tatar scored a year ago and tell me he can't pick a corner as well as most players in the league.

At least 10 of these goals are pretty much pure "sniper" goals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqZdbvEXj10

Z had* a shot

[kickazz 5,459]

Shouldn't that be an argument in favor of having someone potentially more skilled playing net-front?

Sure but not the guy who is supposed to be one of our only top goal scoring prospects.

Edited September 18, 2016 by kickazz

[kickazz 5,459]

Z had* a shot

Where were you last season? Can still pick those corners.

http://youtu.be/lDQVnLxKVJ8

Unfortunately the scoring rate for these decent shooters (especially Z) went down. I'd like more out of them this coming season.

Edited September 18, 2016 by kickazz

[LeftWinger 4,949]

Ya, they look super chummy. Best friends.

[kliq 3,755]

TOP-DATSYUK-3-520x346.jpg

Ya, they look super chummy. Best friends.

They do to me:

[kickazz 5,459]

They do to me:

link didn't work

[kickazz 5,459]

TOP-DATSYUK-3-520x346.jpg

Ya, they look super chummy. Best friends.

Here you go Lefty. This was from DRW website this past season when Datsyuk first came back from injury.

https://twitter.com/DetroitRedWings/status/664859372854632448

And this was another good one from this past February. Watch the 2nd goal around the 2:35 mark, this was right after Blashill reunited the Euro Twins. Look at Datsyuk's reaction after he scores the goal around the 2:45 mark, everyone's congradulating him but when Z comes up he gets a huge grin on his face. I'm assuming an inside joke about how reuniting them would end up in some magic. Ken Daniels commentates it well too.

Edited September 18, 2016 by kickazz

[kliq 3,755]

link didn't work

Oh....that's weird, it shows up on my computer. This should work: http://kuklaskorner.com/assets/images/uploads/SPORT-28s01-polare-831_368_thumb.jpg

[LeftWinger 4,949]

...not buying it.

[kliq 3,755]

...not buying it.

I dont think Datsyuk and Zetterberg are seeking your approval to validate their friendship lol. You can think whatever you want, but repeating the same ridiculous nonsense over and over and over again does not make it true.

[MrazekFanBoy 223]

Where were you last season? Can still pick those corners.

http://youtu.be/lDQVnLxKVJ8

Unfortunately the scoring rate for these decent shooters (especially Z) went down. I'd like more out of them this coming season.

yeah he was great first 40 games

[LeftWinger 4,949]

I dont think Datsyuk and Zetterberg are seeking your approval to validate their friendship lol. You can think whatever you want, but repeating the same ridiculous nonsense over and over and over again does not make it true.

I really don't think they're seeking anybodys approval to validate anything, lol, lol. But if making a Russian mafia vs. Swedish mafia joke once, and then showing an awkward looking pose for a pic is repeating nonsense over and over and over again, then that's a huge lol, but I love it!

Btw, everyone's blind lust for these two doesn't make it untrue either. Your opinion is they were BFF and sleepover pen pals. My opinion is, the friendship wasn't as tight as everyone else thinks it was.

Edited September 19, 2016 by LeftWinger

[kickazz 5,459]

yeah he was great first 40 games

Pretty good, idk about "great".

[kickazz 5,459]

I really don't think they're seeking anybodys approval to validate anything, lol, lol. But if making a Russian mafia vs. Swedish mafia joke once, and then showing an awkward looking pose for a pic is repeating nonsense over and over and over again, then that's a huge lol, but I love it!

Btw, everyone's blind lust for these two doesn't make it untrue either. Your opinion is they were BFF and sleepover pen pals. My opinion is, the friendship wasn't as tight as everyone else thinks it was.

I mean you DO have a track record of coming up with conspiracy theories which 99.999999% of the time is untrue and proven wrong. Remember when you ranted for years and years (literally since I joined this forum) that the Swedes just cared about their home country for international play and didn't give two s***s about the Red Wings? Well last I checked the Swedes dropped out of World Championships this summer and last week dropped out of the World Cup to be ready for the Red Wings opening night.

I don't care if it's an opinion and if you feel obligated to present it that way. It's just a wrong one, because all evidence disproves it. It's pretty hilarious that you take one picture out and comment on an "Awkward pose" and try to fill in a conspiracy theory narrative about it. There is literally nothing you can show to us that would prove your little "opinion" right. All you've managed to do is show us a picture and try to label it. You literally have NO proof whatsoever. No script, no interview, no statements to back you up. At all.

Here I'll pull what you pulled. Fedorov isn't smiling, he must hate Datsyuk.

Edited September 19, 2016 by kickazz

[joesuffP 1,746]

Must be seriously bored to be actually discussing this

[kickazz 5,459]

It's that time of year where Lefty comes up with his random theories. I am pretty bored too to be honest.

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

I really don't think they're seeking anybodys approval to validate anything, lol, lol. But if making a Russian mafia vs. Swedish mafia joke once, and then showing an awkward looking pose for a pic is repeating nonsense over and over and over again, then that's a huge lol, but I love it!

Btw, everyone's blind lust for these two doesn't make it untrue either. Your opinion is they were BFF and sleepover pen pals. My opinion is, the friendship wasn't as tight as everyone else thinks it was.

Product of a 5 minute search:

Asked who his best friends on the team are (2010):

Datsyuk: "...the best are Zetterberg, Filppula, Draper and Maltby."

http://redwingsgrinder.blogspot.ca/2010/06/pavel-datsyuk-interview-to-sovsport.html

The teamates Zetterberg invited to his wedding were only Pav, Filpulla, and all the swedish players.

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2010/07/bizarre_zetterberg_pre-wedding.html

Here's one of the keep away things they do at the end of practices (that kickazz was talking about before). There's many more on youtube, if you search.

They did seem to be pretty close.

[kickazz 5,459]

I also wonder why Zetterberg was the only one who knew about Datsyuk leaving for Russia for like... 2 years now? Weren't Zetterberg and Holland the only ones that knew since like 2014?

Edited September 19, 2016 by kickazz

[kliq 3,755]

I mean you DO have a track record of coming up with conspiracy theories which 99.999999% of the time is untrue and proven wrong. Remember when you ranted for years and years (literally since I joined this forum) that the Swedes just cared about their home country for international play and didn't give two s***s about the Red Wings? Well last I checked the Swedes dropped out of World Championships this summer and last week dropped out of the World Cup to be ready for the Red Wings opening night.

I don't care if it's an opinion and if you feel obligated to present it that way. It's just a wrong one, because all evidence disproves it. It's pretty hilarious that you take one picture out and comment on an "Awkward pose" and try to fill in a conspiracy theory narrative about it. There is literally nothing you can show to us that would prove your little "opinion" right. All you've managed to do is show us a picture and try to label it. You literally have NO proof whatsoever. No script, no interview, no statements to back you up. At all.

Here I'll pull what you pulled. Fedorov isn't smiling, he must hate Datsyuk.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Must be seriously bored to be actually discussing this

This is so true! Can this stupid tournament be over already, we need NHL hockey!

[kickazz 5,459]

TOP-DATSYUK-3-520x346.jpg

Ya, they look super chummy. Best friends.

Were you expecting something like this?

Edited September 19, 2016 by kickazz

[LeftWinger 4,949]

It's ok. Not everything is the roses you'd all like to believe. You'll have your opinion, I'll have mine. Doesn't mean anybody is right, and there's no way to really prove it either way...just talk and pictures.

No that picture reminds me of Cleary and Holland. Where's Flashy when needed!