This year vs last year: a poll

[kliq 3,763]

I think Kronwall will have a better year. From the looks of it he primarily played injured last year. I saw the guy limping in Lifetime Fitness in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan during the season.

Zetterberg will probably start off fine the first 40 games as usually and hit a wall. Honestly it all depends on his usage. If they continue to use him 19-20 minutes a night the coaching staff should definitely be criticized. Play the guy 15 minutes a night and he'll likely last the entire season.

I think this is probably a spot on assessment of the two. Hopefully they limit Z's minutes early to prevent this.

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

Lol hit their ceiling at 25 & 26? LMFAO. That's great. Thanks for the laughs

What is their ceiling? 30? They're small, soft euro trash. Useless in the playoffs.

[Euro_Twins 4,485]

What is their ceiling? 30? They're small, soft euro trash. Useless in the playoffs.

Can you stop using the term Euro trash? They are just hitting their prime now so no matter what insults you throw at them or doesn't mean they've hit their peak. It's nice to wish and dream that our unjustified ramblings would magically come to fruition though right?

Edited July 10, 2016 by Euro_Twins

[shocky2002 36]

Just rest Zetterberg on every 2nd night of B2B's.

[MrazekFanBoy 223]

Just rest Zetterberg on every 2nd night of B2B's.

I like that idea it wouldn't be bad if he only played 60 games

I thought I read somewhere that Z couldn't workout hard last summer but this year he can. So maybe he just needed better conditioning

[kliq 3,763]

I like that idea it wouldn't be bad if he only played 60 games

I thought I read somewhere that Z couldn't workout hard last summer but this year he can. So maybe he just needed better conditioning

Probably not a bad idea, but my gut tells me that Zetterberg wouldn't go for it. Pro athletes (especially one's wearing the C) do not want to be coddled.

Edited July 11, 2016 by kliq

[krsmith17 7,191]

Yeah, there's no chance Zetterberg sits games as a healthy scratch, unless we already have a playoff spot secured toward the end of the season, and even then it would be doubtful. The best way to get the most of Z for an entire season is to cut his minutes back from 19-20 to 15-16 minutes per game, and put him on the wing.

[anthonyn66 89]

What is their ceiling? 30? They're small, soft euro trash. Useless in the playoffs.

Let's try and remember that the original Euro twins took time to have a major impact in the playoffs as well. Zetterberg wasn't an impact player in the playoffs until 05-06 (3rd season), Datsyuk 07 (6th season). There's definitely a learning curve in the playoffs.

[NitzGuy 38]

I think our team will be slightly better this year although I think other teams in our division got even better, so does that make us worse by comparison?

Montreal has made a few acquisitions and have their tender back.

Tampa will be as strong as ever

Florida is looking deadly

Buffalo could probably push for a playoff spot

New Jersey looks like they could keep hold of a wildcard spot

When I see this stuff I feel like wings are worse only by comparison. I think we gotta hope Boston and the Islanders drop off.

Either way I picture us struggling for wildcard spot the same as the last couple of seasons and this year we may not be so lucky.

[13dangledangle 968]

I voted better. Holland made some moves and I think he has 1 more to go.

For now I'm going to focus on the forwards as other then a top pairing D man our problem is scoring. If you look at who could be the 12 men on the roster the goals should go up this year

Zetterberg

Nielson

Nyquist

Tatar

Larkin

Abdelkader

Vanek

Mantha

Helm

Sheahan

Anthanassiou

Glendening/Miller

......I like the look of this, adding Nielson & Vanek should prove to be very wise moves.

A lot still remains to be seen, will a trade lose Tats, Goose, Matha or perhaps all in a blockbuster. Time will tell but I'm more optimistic then last year

Edited July 11, 2016 by 13dangledangle

[GoWings! 179]

Zetts needs to play on the 3rd line. He's gotta take one for the team like Roger Dorn had to do for the Indians. Kronwall is a huge if and I think we have to trade for some defense at this point. Hopefully AA and Mantha can get some more minutes than Z and I think we just might be better than last year.

[Datsyukian-Deke 722]

If the roster stays as is we basically replace Datsyuk and Richards with Nielsen and Vanek. Vanek I think is the wild card. If he has a 20-30 goal season we may be a little better but I'm thinking it's gonna be worse. Datsyuk did so many things that don't show up on the score sheet.

Edited July 19, 2016 by Datsyukian-Deke

[Jacksoni 418]

I placed a 50 dollar bet to win 50 recently that we will not make the playoffs. A good investment.

[kickazz 5,459]

If the roster stays as is we basically replace Datsyuk and Richards with Nielsen and Vanek. Vanek I think is the wild card. If he has a 20-30 goal season we may be a little better but I'm thinking it's gonna be worse. Datsyuk did so many things that don't show up on the score sheet.

One of them was not playing half the season due to injury lol.

Edited July 19, 2016 by kickazz

[13dangledangle 968]

One of them was not playing half the season due to injury lol.

AND when he played he was not the same player, not even close. Pavs said 2 years until his ankle will be 100%, his ankles are such an important part of how he dangles the pants off people. This past season was a little sad for his last one, coupled with his ailment he was taken down by slashes, trips you name it all season long and most were non calls. You could see the emptiness he had while looking at the ref.

Oh well ces't la vie

Edited July 20, 2016 by 13dangledangle

[DatsyukianDekes 2,428]

If the roster stays as is we basically replace Datsyuk and Richards with Nielsen and Vanek. Vanek I think is the wild card. If he has a 20-30 goal season we may be a little better but I'm thinking it's gonna be worse. Datsyuk did so many things that don't show up on the score sheet.

Except we will have Neilsen for 82 games, where as Datsyuk only played 66 games and yes that makes a difference. To me this roster is about the same if not a little better with that being a factor.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Worse. By a lot too considering Holland's moves this off-season.

Even with Pavel's retirement, I was cautiously optimistic that the Wings would play the young guys more and Blash would improve his usage from last season resulting in a better team. All of that is shot now.

I think the Wings have a legitimate shot to finish last in the division.The scary thing is next season will be the most competitive they will be over the next five years because of Holland.

Edited July 31, 2016 by GoWings1905

[kliq 3,763]

Worse. By a lot too considering Holland's moves this off-season.

Even with Pavel's retirement, I was cautiously optimistic that the Wings would play the young guys more and Blash would improve his usage from last season resulting in a better team. All of that is shot now.

I think the Wings have a legitimate shot to finish last in the division.The scary thing is next season will be the most competitive they will be over the next five years because of Holland.

Can you be more specific? How are the Wings of October 2016 worse then the Wings of October 2015 "by a lot". The argument you gave (see bold) doesn't make us worse then last year, if anything it means nothing has changed.

[chaps80 1,591]

Better, although our D is skimped out. Wish there was a bit of cap to add a UFA vet like Jackmann at least. Better up front though with Nielson and Vanek(who i think will end up being a huge steal), Larkin coming off a full NHL season, hopefully see alot more of AA and Mantha however it has to be done..Kenny went a bit too wild with the chunk of cap he had signing UFA and RFA forwards..he'll figure it out though. No split games in goal, no competition for the starting job..Mrazek is the guy going forward, and I think he'll thrive knowing that and hopefully Howard improves in a backup role with less pressure on him.