01/04 GDT : Red Wings vs Ducks : 10:30 PM ET

[marcaractac 3,963]

Nolan Patrick would sell tickets in the new arena 

[kliq 3,755]

1 hour ago, frankgrimes said:

Pull an Edmonton hire someone like Nichelson to evaluate everything. Mr. I must be furoius this is a cap team and not even close to being competitive.

Just accept the end of the streak and start listening to offers for Green, Vanek and company heck everyone should be available

Blame Blashill all you want, but going through the motion and playing without heart has nothing to do with coaching. The flaws with this team seem to be much deeper.

I have to disagree Frank, getting your players to buy in and play for you is one of the most important aspects of coaching. You can't blame players playing with zero heart on Holland.

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

2 hours ago, bringbackfontez said:

As bad as this season has been, and will likely continue to be, Detroit still holds the "Hockeytown" moniker. While watching a downtrodden hockey team is certainly foreign territory for many of us (I was 5 years old the last time they missed the playoffs), I can absolutely guarantee you there will be no problem filling the seats at LCA. This is still one of the most passionate fan bases in sports and a new, state-of-the-art arena is a very enticing idea. Look at the first couple years at Ford Field and how bad those Lions teams were. It's definitely "bad timing" though, considering this is how the final season at the Joe will be remembered.

The novelty of going to LCA will wear off by December if this team is as bad next year as it is this year with no strong young player to get fans excited. You cant really compare it to Ford Field since you really only get 8 home games a season. Thats only 8 chances to see your football team a year. Even when your team is s*** the Lions will still sellout due to the low supply of games. Its not the same with the NHL where you have 5 times as many home games. Plus despite us calling Detroit Hockeytown the city is by far more of a football and baseball town comparatively. No doubt though the front office will push the "260+ consecutive sellouts" campaign despite seeing the arena only at 80% capacity.

[poel 28]

7 hours ago, kliq said:

I have to disagree Frank, getting your players to buy in and play for you is one of the most important aspects of coaching. You can't blame players playing with zero heart on Holland.

While I like Blashill, I think there is a fundamental problem. Out of our four current centermen, Zetterberg is the one taking the highest percentage of defensive zone faceoffs. Then Larkin, then Sheahan and Nielsen. If you ask me, it should be the other way around. In this game, Larkin took 1 OZF, 7 NZO and 7 DFO. No wonder do we have trouble scoring.

If you play Larkin as 3C, you have to give him offensive wingers and give them every chance to provide some depth scoring. Nielsen put up a few points as well but Hank is still 1C, especially when it comes down to playmaking skills. He shouldn't be the one shouldering all the defensive work anyway. Surely not with Tatar and Mantha on his wing.

That's why I posted earlier that the lines don't make sense. If you ask me, 3rd line at this point has to be Tatar, Nyquist and Larkin. We need to get Tatar and Nyquist going. If they can't put it together against opponents 3rd defense pairings, then we might as well give others a chance.

In the offseason there was a lot of talk about switching Zetterberg to the wing to be able to play him in a more offensive role and giving him a lighter workload. That appears to have vanished pretty quickly. While I always said that Zetterberg is way too good of a Center not to play him there, I'm still surprised how quickly Blash and Holland changed their mind. He's gonna decline rapidly if they continue to use him like that.

Edited January 5, 2017 by poel

[frankgrimes 1,836]

I have to disagree Frank, getting your players to buy in and play for you is one of the most important aspects of coaching. You can't blame players playing with zero heart on Holland.

It's been going on for some years even under Babcock. This team is falling behind and they never start to play dirty and play harder. Part of it is this team isn't built for it (wrong players) and another part is...well coach and GM have to figure it out.

The novelty of LCA will wear of quickly if there is nothing to get excited about, which means either cup contender or having young elite players as a preview of a bright future.

Yes Blashill will be the scapegoat but that doesn't fix the flaws with this team, that's why i want a guy like Nichelson to evaluate everything and then make recommendations to Mr. I or Chris.

[joesuffP 1,746]

This is a new low in our defensive depth. Easily the worst d group in the league. Who can you play at this point? Ridiculous. Nick Jensen is on your top pair. How did we let it get this bad?

[kliq 3,755]

2 hours ago, frankgrimes said:

 

It's been going on for some years even under Babcock. This team is falling behind and they never start to play dirty and play harder. Part of it is this team isn't built for it (wrong players) and another part is...well coach and GM have to figure it out.

The novelty of LCA will wear of quickly if there is nothing to get excited about, which means either cup contender or having young elite players as a preview of a bright future.

Yes Blashill will be the scapegoat but that doesn't fix the flaws with this team, that's why i want a guy like Nichelson to evaluate everything and then make recommendations to Mr. I or Chris.

 

Now it sounds to me like you are complaining about roster construction, that you can blame on Holland if you are unhappy about it. Lack of motivation from the players though, that is a coaching issue. Blashill isnt a "scapegoat", Blashill is doing a bad job. Do you watch the games?

Edited January 5, 2017 by kliq

[bringbackfontez 36]

The novelty of going to LCA will wear off by December if this team is as bad next year as it is this year with no strong young player to get fans excited. You cant really compare it to Ford Field since you really only get 8 home games a season. Thats only 8 chances to see your football team a year. Even when your team is s*** the Lions will still sellout due to the low supply of games. Its not the same with the NHL where you have 5 times as many home games. Plus despite us calling Detroit Hockeytown the city is by far more of a football and baseball town comparatively. No doubt though the front office will push the "260+ consecutive sellouts" campaign despite seeing the arena only at 80% capacity.

You make a good point about the Lions. Less games, less opportunity. That being said, I still feel as though Little Caesars will have a good draw night in and night out based on, like you said, the novelty of seeing a brand new arena. And I agree there's no doubt that will begin to "wear off" if the team continues to struggle, but I don't think ticket sales will be an issue for at least all of next season. And to your "Hockeytown" point, the same can be said for all metropolitan areas with more than just a hockey team (such as San Jose, Columbus, etc). Hockey, unfortunately, is and will always be the least popular professional sport in the country.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk

[DatsyukianDekes 2,428]

1 hour ago, poel said:

While I like Blashill, I think there is a fundamental problem. Out of our four current centermen, Zetterberg is the one taking the highest percentage of defensive zone faceoffs. Then Larkin, then Sheahan and Nielsen. If you ask me, it should be the other way around. In this game, Larkin took 1 OZF, 7 NZO and 7 DFO. No wonder to we have trouble scoring.

If you play Larkin as 3C, you have to give him offensive wingers and give them every chance to provide some depth scoring. Nielsen put up a few points as well but Hank is still 1C, especially when it comes down to playmaking skills. He shouldn't be the one shouldering all the defensive work anyway. Surely not with Tatar and Mantha on his wing.

That's why I posted earlier that the lines don't make sense. If you ask me, 3rd line at this point has to be Tatar, Nyquist and Larkin. We need to get Tatar and Nyquist going. If they can't put it together against opponents 3rd defense pairings, then we might as well give others a chance.

In the offseason there was a lot of talk about switching Zetterberg to the wing to be able to play him in a more offensive role and giving him a lighter workload. That appears to have vanished pretty quickly. While I always said that Zetterberg is way too good of a Center not to play him there, I'm still surprised how quickly Blash and Holland changed their mind. He's gonna decline rapidly if they continue to use him like that.

What does Holland have to do with this?

[Echolalia 2,961]

If the Red Wings are this disappointing next year I personally won't be going to see a game live.  It'll be nice to be in a fancy new building but I'm ultimately dedicating my time and money into the on ice product entertaining me.  I don't think sitting in more comfortable seats or not having to piss in a pig trough will be enough to make me feel I got my money's worth.

[puckbags 863]

Here is the way I would do the lines.  I am taking no consideration of position into this because at this point who cares 

Vanek - Z - Neilsen -  The veterans line 

Gus - Shaehan - Tatar - The underachievers line 

AA - Larkin - Mantha - We might eff up a bunch of times but hell we will be exciting line 

Ott - Glen - Miller - Work hard and get nothing done line. 

 

As for the D I have nothing to say.  Ericcson is on the golden ticket , he will never get benched.  Without Green it's probably the worst collection of d men in the league.  With Green we are still bad. 

 

52 minutes ago, Echolalia said:

If the Red Wings are this disappointing next year I personally won't be going to see a game live.  It'll be nice to be in a fancy new building but I'm ultimately dedicating my time and money into the on ice product entertaining me.  I don't think sitting in more comfortable seats or not having to piss in a pig trough will be enough to make me feel I got my money's worth.

So the Wings have been a competitive franchise for 25 years and if they have a couple of down years you're just going to stop watching? You know there is a name for that kind of fan right?

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

52 minutes ago, puckbags said:

So the Wings have been a competitive franchise for 25 years and if they have a couple of down years you're just going to stop watching? You know there is a name for that kind of fan right?

To be fair he never said he was going to stop watching. He just said he wasnt going to see a game live. As fans our only real ability to show the team we dont like whats going on is whether we buy a ticket or not. What he is saying is that the product on the ice, which in my opinion is the most important thing, doesn't entertain him enough for the cost of a game. Theres no debating that in addition to this team being not good they are not very entertaining at all to watch. If they were losing say 6-5 every night you could still say there was entertainment value but there is really nothing on this team now that is exciting. Now had he said he was going to stop watching the Wings all together and jump ship to another team then you could call him a bandwagon fan.

[Echolalia 2,961]

47 minutes ago, puckbags said:

Here is the way I would do the lines.  I am taking no consideration of position into this because at this point who cares 

Vanek - Z - Neilsen -  The veterans line 

Gus - Shaehan - Tatar - The underachievers line 

AA - Larkin - Mantha - We might eff up a bunch of times but hell we will be exciting line 

Ott - Glen - Miller - Work hard and get nothing done line. 

 

As for the D I have nothing to say.  Ericcson is on the golden ticket , he will never get benched.  Without Green it's probably the worst collection of d men in the league.  With Green we are still bad. 

 

So the Wings have been a competitive franchise for 25 years and if they have a couple of down years you're just going to stop watching? You know there is a name for that kind of fan right?

And what's exactly wrong with that?  I don't dump my very finite time and money into the franchise (or anything for that matter) without expecting something in return.  Hockey before all else is a form of entertainment and if I'm not entertained then I'm better off spending my resources elsewhere. The name for that is savvy consumer.  And to clarify, I said I wouldn't spend the money to go see a game live, not that I'm just going to stop watching like you said.  I'll definitely have some Wings' games on tv at home as I do now, provided I have the opportunity to watch and nothing else is going on.  And I'll still be posting here as well.  

[DRW Dominance 255]

I just saw the disallowed goal due to goalie interference.  to me that's a terrible call.  that puck was going in anyway.  smith's gentle shove did not push that puck across the line.

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

4 minutes ago, DRW Dominance said:

I just saw the disallowed goal due to goalie interference.  to me that's a terrible call.  that puck was going in anyway.  smith's gentle shove did not push that puck across the line.

The puck wasnt going in. It would have slid by the post out the side. It was the goalies leg who knocked it it while Smith was making contact with him. It was an easy no call by the rules which is why the replay took 30 seconds. Had Smith shot hit the post and went straight in it would have been a good goal but once it hit the ice in front of the line thats when the contact becomes important again.

[frankgrimes 1,836]

3 hours ago, kliq said:

Now it sounds to me like you are complaining about roster construction, that you can blame on Holland if you are unhappy about it. Lack of motivation from the players though, that is a coaching issue. Blashill isnt a "scapegoat", Blashill is doing a bad job. Do you watch the games?

For me it's a combination of a lot of things but I'm not willing to give the players a free pass. It shouldn't matter who the coach is, I mean these guys are part of the best 700 players in the world shouldn't they have enough competitive spirit to get pissed of (not just close door meetings) on the ice?

Altough thinking about it yes the coach does share some of the blame too he should be able to get them to work and play hard, no questions asked. Guys mentioning how Blashill is a players coach and Babs was too hard for some guys has me thinking maybe some of them were expecting some bye-weeks under Blashill...

As for do you watch the games? "Thankfully" I was able to watch the third period rthanks to the late starting time.

1 hour ago, puckbags said:

So the Wings have been a competitive franchise for 25 years and if they have a couple of down years you're just going to stop watching? You know there is a name for that kind of fan right?

This "how to be a fan" discussion is so ridiculous. Why should people support a franchise that's happy with just being one of the teams instead of building to the only team again? Guaranteed the LCA will have increased prices through the board including parking, meals and drinks so people should spend more for a less entertaining product without a real goal? That kind of thinking will fade quickly and once that happens the new fancy building won't have a fancy attendance.

Edmonton got away with their highest pricing because of #97, heck I'd rather pay a lot of money to see this guy than watching this former great team going through the motions.

Every rational person will decide if the return of investment is there or not and if it isn't why waste time and money?

Edited January 5, 2017 by frankgrimes

[BadgerBob 297]

11 minutes ago, Echolalia said:

And what's exactly wrong with that?  I don't dump my very finite time and money into the franchise (or anything for that matter) without expecting something in return.  Hockey before all else is a form of entertainment and if I'm not entertained then I'm better off spending my resources elsewhere. The name for that is savvy consumer.  And to clarify, I said I wouldn't spend the money to go see a game live, not that I'm just going to stop watching like you said.  I'll definitely have some Wings' games on tv at home as I do now, provided I have the opportunity to watch and nothing else is going on.  And I'll still be posting here as well.  

Exactly. Especially being out of market, it's really hard to get a viewing of these games. What I've seen this year has been insanely boring hockey. Like puts me to sleep. I'll watch them if it's convenient, but there are other teams right now that are way more fun to watch. I also won't be making plane trips to Detroit to see a game if they're just going to mail it in like they seem to have been doing. If that makes me a bad fan then so be it.

[puckbags 863]

Mrazek plays great last night and Coreau is going back in net. .................Ho Hum..................Don't care if its back to back, let the guy attempt to find a groove. 

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

14 minutes ago, puckbags said:

Mrazek plays great last night and Coreau is going back in net. .................Ho Hum..................Don't care if its back to back, let the guy attempt to find a groove. 

The Wings play 13 games from the 4th to the 31st with two cross country trips but sure lets complain about not overworking a struggling goalie at the start of the busiest month of the year. 

Edited January 5, 2017 by GoalieManPat

[puckbags 863]

6 minutes ago, BadgerBob said:

Exactly. Especially being out of market, it's really hard to get a viewing of these games. What I've seen this year has been insanely boring hockey. Like puts me to sleep. I'll watch them if it's convenient, but there are other teams right now that are way more fun to watch. I also won't be making plane trips to Detroit to see a game if they're just going to mail it in like they seem to have been doing. If that makes me a bad fan then so be it.

I don't understand how it's hard to get a viewing, you can watch anywhere anytime for free ( illegal streams) or not with NHL.tv.  I admit I don't watch as much as I used to anymore but that has nothing to do with my love for the team ( Kids, Kids sports, kids lives etc...)  but in my opinion part of being a fan is being there in the same capacity you were when they were winning. I have never been to the Joe and I am going there in March, I don't care if they are out the playoffs or not at that point.  This team has given me 20+  years of enjoyable competitive hockey and 4 stanley cups, they don't owe me a thing.  I will pay for NHL.tv, I will buy merchandise. But hey thats just me. Call me old school. 

[NerveDamage 4,176]

43 minutes ago, DRW Dominance said:

I just saw the disallowed goal due to goalie interference.  to me that's a terrible call.  that puck was going in anyway.  smith's gentle shove did not push that puck across the line.

I thought the same but it does seem like Smith making contact with Gibson causes him to turn and kick it in with the right skate. 

[Jacksoni 418]

44 minutes ago, NerveDamage said:

I thought the same but it does seem like Smith making contact with Gibson causes him to turn and kick it in with the right skate. 

Watched that goal over a few times. It's a really grey area, hard to determine, I am guessing it could have gone either way.

Ducks are at home, a fifty-fifty call, look at that, it goes their way. Not surprising.

My 2 cents.

[NerveDamage 4,176]

25 minutes ago, Jacksoni said:

Watched that goal over a few times. It's a really grey area, hard to determine, I am guessing it could have gone either way.

Ducks are at home, a fifty-fifty call, look at that, it goes their way. Not surprising.

My 2 cents.

definitely, I wanted it to be a good goal too, but as you say it's a grey area and the Ducks been at heim had the advantage there. that ahd the weak ref calls all game long, I mean, wasn't there a play on Smith that should have been called for boarding and we didn't get the call?

[poel 28]

4 hours ago, DatsyukianDekes said:

What does Holland have to do with this?

Well, he's Blashills superior. If he hadn't changed his mind he'd be able to stop Blashill from using Zetterberg in a defensive role...one way or another.

Edited January 5, 2017 by poel