Mid Season review

[brett 1,029]

Z is our best player. sad to say considering he has a broken back and has to carry the team

mantha A+

larkin B but what can you do when you have jurco,sheahan and glendenning on your wing. at least hes got nyquist now hopefully that helps

neilson C expected a lot more from him

tatar and nyquist C again expected more from them

dekeyser D doing terrible one of the worst dmen on the team every night and i was a huge deke fan

sheahan F 2mil guy zero goals YAY

vanek A+

AA B- guy can score terrible defensively 

green A

kronwall C

ericsson C better as of late sadly

howard A

mrazek C-

coreau B looking good for only a couple games in the NHL especially with this defense

X0 B

sproul B+ im a sproul fan

jensen B

ott D has some energy cant stay on his feet cant really fight dont like him on the PK

 

if you werent mentioned your doing just fine at your role. or havent played enough

 

blashill F you suck

[krsmith17 7,191]

1 hour ago, kickazz said:

I'm not avoiding anything.

Maybe not purposely, but you're still avoiding or missing my main point... Every single player on the team gets countless opportunities, except Jurco. That's on the coach, not him. He didn't do s*** to deserve to be scratched after last game, and he was far from the worst forward on the ice, yet he's the odd man out once again... Comparing Jurco's production (or lack there of) to any player on the team isn't a fair comparison, because there isn't a single player getting the same treatment (usage) as Jurco. Miller or Glendening or whoever you want to name doesn't play a game or two and get scratched for five plus. Jurco does, and the reasoning is... there is no logical reasoning... except that Blashill is a moron, or there's something going on behind the scenes...

Anyway, I'm done with this. Jurco is an NHL talent, but won't likely ever get the opportunity under Blashill... Agree to disagree.

[kickazz 5,459]

Well, I guess once Blashill is fired we'll see how the next coach utilizes him.

31 minutes ago, brett said:

sheahan F 2mil guy zero goals YAY

blashill F you suck

Hahahha, this made me laugh out loud. At least there's some humor in the truth.

[kliq 3,755]

36 minutes ago, brett said:

neilson C expected a lot more from him

Really? Why?

He's good defensively, plays the PP and PK, and he has 23 points in 41 games so he is on pace for 46 points (career high is 58 and 52). For a second line center in the NHL that seem pretty good to me. He shouldn't be an all star, but I think he is pretty close to his ceiling. Considering how poor we are offensively under Blashill, he's exceeded my expectations.

[kickazz 5,459]

It's true Nielsen technically is one of the few that has not ENTIRELY regressed. He's actually been very good on the faceoffs which I did not expect since he's a career 48% guy. 54.6% this year. 

Edited January 12, 2017 by kickazz

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Z is our best player. sad to say considering he has a broken back and has to carry the team
mantha A+
larkin B but what can you do when you have jurco,sheahan and glendenning on your wing. at least hes got nyquist now hopefully that helps
neilson C expected a lot more from him
tatar and nyquist C again expected more from them
dekeyser D doing terrible one of the worst dmen on the team every night and i was a huge deke fan
sheahan F 2mil guy zero goals YAY
vanek A+
AA B- guy can score terrible defensively 
green A
kronwall C
ericsson C better as of late sadly
howard A
mrazek C-
coreau B looking good for only a couple games in the NHL especially with this defense
X0 B
sproul B+ im a sproul fan
jensen B
ott D has some energy cant stay on his feet cant really fight dont like him on the PK
 
if you werent mentioned your doing just fine at your role. or havent played enough
 
blashill F you suck

Just out of curiosity wtf would Mrazek have to do to get an F? He's one of the worst goalies in the league this year and a guy with better numbers was just waived by the BJs and went unclaimed

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[kliq 3,755]

1 hour ago, DickieDunn said:

 

Just out of curiosity wtf would Mrazek have to do to get an F? He's one of the worst goalies in the league this year and a guy with better numbers was just waived by the BJs and went unclaimed

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McElhinney was claimed by the Leafs.

[DickieDunn 2,571]

McElhinney was claimed by the Leafs.

Doesn't make it much better nor does ot answer the question.

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[kliq 3,755]

5 minutes ago, DickieDunn said:

Doesn't make it much better nor does ot answer the question.

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Not implying it did, but the correct information should be out there, hence my post.

I agree Mrazek has played like garbage, anything less then and F has bias written all over it.

In GAA he ranks 43rd out of 47 qualified goaltenders http://www.espn.com/nhl/statistics/player/_/stat/goaltending/sort/avgGoalsAgainst/count/41

In Save % he ranks 44th out of 47 qualified goaltenders. http://www.espn.com/nhl/statistics/player/_/stat/goaltending/sort/savePct/count/41

To compare, Howard ranks 2nd in Save % and 3rd in GAA so I don't buy "its the defense" argument.

 

[JasonNewEra 84]

I just look at the standings and feel dead inside. We are 2nd to last in the Conference and 4th to last in the league.

That's enough for me to realize there needs to be a change all through out the organization. It's time to reset the Wings and as much as it pains me, time for a rebuild that will take up to 8 years.

[SwedeLundin77 460]

Halak went unclaimed... too bad we don't have the cap for him.  We just had to have Paper Helm, or E.

40 minutes ago, JasonNewEra said:

I just look at the standings and feel dead inside. We are 2nd to last in the Conference and 4th to last in the league.

That's enough for me to realize there needs to be a change all through out the organization. It's time to reset the Wings and as much as it pains me, time for a rebuild that will take up to 8 years.

How has Blashill not been fired yet... it's ridiculous!

[kliq 3,755]

1 hour ago, SwedeLundin77 said:

Halak went unclaimed... too bad we don't have the cap for him.  We just had to have Paper Helm, or E.

Are you being serious? Or are you being sarcastic?

[Richdg 267]

6 hours ago, SwedeLundin77 said:

Halak went unclaimed... too bad we don't have the cap for him.  We just had to have Paper Helm, or E.

How has Blashill not been fired yet... it's ridiculous!

Blashill is Hollands personal project. This is the coach that Holland wanted. He will finish this year and TBH I would not be surprised if he returns next season. The only sure way he doesn't is if Holland is gone this summer. The 2 are tied together, like it or not.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

8 hours ago, SwedeLundin77 said:

Halak went unclaimed... too bad we don't have the cap for him.  We just had to have Paper Helm, or E.

How has Blashill not been fired yet... it's ridiculous!

Why should Blashill be fired first? (although that is what will happen)

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Why should Blashill be fired first? (although that is what will happen)

Because he's a terrible coach and anything else they so would be useless while he's here

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[Jacksoni 418]

20 hours ago, Jonas Mahonas said:

Larkin needs to be brought up to play with Mantha and Zetterberg.  I think that -17 stat is more indicative of his linemates than his actual play.  Why the coach allows him to struggle is beyond me.  He'd compliment Mantha and Zetterberg perfectly.  Our top 6 would look pretty nice that way, too.

It seems to me that Larkin is being asked to go the "hard mile", meaning playing on a lower line as a center and focusing on defense first. In essence grooming him to be a 2-way center. If this is so it will take time, expect him to work hard and not look flashy for a year or two. Also take notice that he's not protected by the grunts as much as last year, they expect him to stand his ground a lil bit more. This also seems to point in that direction, although it is by no means conclusive. Add to that the captain-wibes when Z retires.

I'd guess he's being projected as a second line C or possibly 1st line caliber C if all starts align right in a few years time.

[Jacksoni 418]

On 2017-01-12 at 3:39 AM, kickazz said:

It's true Nielsen technically is one of the few that has not ENTIRELY regressed. He's actually been very good on the faceoffs which I did not expect since he's a career 48% guy. 54.6% this year. 

I agree Nielsen has been decent, about what I expected. It's his first year, should be a little smoother next year. Thing about him is that he is a legit blue collar worker, always gives what he can, unbothered, keeps tuffing on. Exactly what this team needs for the coming years. I hope nobody expected him to replace Datsyuk, it's simply not possible.

I don't like the sum but overall a good signing even when we are going down. Good role model coupled with Z.

[DickieDunn 2,571]

It seems to me that Larkin is being asked to go the "hard mile", meaning playing on a lower line as a center and focusing on defense first. In essence grooming him to be a 2-way center. If this is so it will take time, expect him to work hard and not look flashy for a year or two. Also take notice that he's not protected by the grunts as much as last year, they expect him to stand his ground a lil bit more. This also seems to point in that direction, although it is by no means conclusive. Add to that the captain-wibes when Z retires.
I'd guess he's being projected as a second line C or possibly 1st line caliber C if all starts align right in a few years time.

Continues the trend of trying​ to turn anyone with decent size into a grinder

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[BadgerBob 297]

3 hours ago, DickieDunn said:

Continues the trend of trying to turn anyone with decent size into a grinder

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Agreed. Wish they'd quit trying to stifle anyone's offensive ability to mold them into a Selke Trophy player. Adjust the system to the players you have and let Larkin be himself. Seems to be working ok for Mantha. 

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

2 hours ago, BadgerBob said:

Agreed. Wish they'd quit trying to stifle anyone's offensive ability to mold them into a Selke Trophy player. Adjust the system to the players you have and let Larkin be himself. Seems to be working ok for Mantha. 

Mantha seems to be more of a Franzen type. Instant superstar. Larkin still has some growing before he can lead us to a cup.

[brett 1,029]

i guess neilsen is doing fine. 

i guess mrazek could get an F. maybe i give him a C- because of previous seasons. and the fact our defense has been horribe. but coreau and howard are getting it done

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

On 1/14/2017 at 3:44 PM, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

Mantha seems to be more of a Franzen type. Instant superstar. Larkin still has some growing before he can lead us to a cup.

Maybe at this point Mantha more developed into his permanent role, but Mantha's had 2+ years in GR while Larkin stepped onto the team when first eligible and was an immediate impact player.

I think Larkin's on the lower lines learning his chops as a center. Some seem to say "turning him into what he's not," but he's always been a responsible 2-way player so he's not being forced into that. I think he's been scouted and targeted more than he was as a new player (i noticed in the beginning of the year big hitters seemed magnetically drawn to him). That, lesser linemates, and finding his footing with the larger role of center are responsible for his step back this season compared to last (or at least the first half of last season).

[kliq 3,755]

1 hour ago, PavelValerievichDatsyuk said:

Maybe at this point Mantha more developed into his permanent role, but Mantha's had 2+ years in GR while Larkin stepped onto the team when first eligible and was an immediate impact player.

I think Larkin's on the lower lines learning his chops as a center. Some seem to say "turning him into what he's not," but he's always been a responsible 2-way player so he's not being forced into that. I think he's been scouted and targeted more than he was as a new player (i noticed in the beginning of the year big hitters seemed magnetically drawn to him). That, lesser linemates, and finding his footing with the larger role of center are responsible for his step back this season compared to last (or at least the first half of last season).

Some people will create a narrative based on their personal bias. For example, people who cant stand Blashill will interpret this as "turning him into what he's not," but those same people who likely love Scotty Bowman will say Bowman was instrumental in the evolution of Yzerman's game. My point being that since they love Bowman, everything he did was great. Since they hate Blashill, everything he does is wrong.

If Larkin is going to be out 1A centre, teaching him to pla a strong two way game is not a bad idea. I wish his wingers were better, but that's a different story.

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Bowman won Trashill loses. Bowman made players better, Trashill makes players worse. But yeah it's all about being a hater.

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[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

1 hour ago, DickieDunn said:

Bowman won Trashill loses. Bowman made players better, Trashill makes players worse. But yeah it's all about being a hater.

It's all about having more nuance in judgement than blanket statements like that. Blash hasn't been great, but he's not the cause of all the team's problems and not all his choices have been bad.

P.S. When you're trying not to be considered a hater, you probably shouldn't call him Trashill.

Edited January 16, 2017 by PavelValerievichDatsyuk