kipwinger

I'm sorry, what's going on?  Did I miss a memo that said you had to debate "penalty calls" with a fan of the opposing team who just lost to our AHL team?  Scoreboard my man!

What...what...what?!?!?!  Glendening?

Don't worry everyone, Franzen's about to go off in the third.  Calling it.  Season changing period right here, and Franzen's going to be the catalyst. 

Jesusf****** Christ.  Who's fault is it when you blow like 2,000 two goal leads with various different lineups?  Does even a little of that come back on the coach?

Does he have to have more than one goal to officially be "loose", or how does that work?  I need an official ruling.

 

Hahahaha it is funny, because it was our hate for each others team what we had in common once we met.

Nothing brings folks together more than unyielding hatred.  You're a lucky man.

 

I guess I should ditch my future wife then?

If the shoe fits.  Sorry dude, I'm sure you love her and everything, but we've all got to make sacrifices in a season this trying.

Every time I look at our lineup on paper I want to puke.  It's easy enough to ignore it during the game because you don't see all the names in the same place at the same time, but god do I hate seeing it listed. 

Here's hoping they can ride Nyquist and "subtly interfere" their way to a victory tonight!

Making the pilgrimage to this one from Central Ohio with my misguided pens fan wife. Per her request we wiill be rocking the customized jerseys with our last names on them (least I have the winged wheel on my chest) behind the goal in Section 115. Here is hoping that the boys in Red deal death and destruction to the flightless birds, that I see the red light come on in front of me in periods 1 and 3 (while it appears broken in period 2) and I have a happy drive home as my wife sleeps off a stinging loss. 

 

LGW 

Why did you marry a Pens fan again?  That should be a dealbreaker 10 times out of 10.

Weber and Rinne are the faces of the team.

Not that it matters much, but I don't think he's wrong in saying that Legwand was the face of their team.  He was with them for 15 years, leads their team in games played, goals, assists, points, and who was an alternate captain.  Certainly more so than Rhinne, and probably on par with Weber.  I sort of see it as being like Dats and Z, neither really being "the face" over the other.  But that's just my opinion on the matter.

Last time he was with kronwall he did great so I expect the same to happen. It truly is amazing what happens when he isn't paired with Quincey, kindle or lashoff.

Their games all improve as well.  It's nuts!

@asktheduffer: #Leafs Carlyle on #redwings: "I thought interference was supposed to be called in the NHL. We felt there was a lot of interference."

@asktheduffer: #leafs Carlyle on #redwings: "When you go in to forecheck, they step in front of people, holding people up."

@asktheduffer: #leafs Carlyle on #redwings: "Youve got give them credit. They disguised it. They did a better job than we did."

SUTTAL INTAHFIRINSE

*plays air guitar*

Somewhere Eddie Olczyk is nodding his head approvingly. 

Which should be a meme for whenever the Wings do something poorly

Signed him to a one-day contract?  Did he get league minimum?

League minimum pro-rated down to a single day would be about 2,000 bucks.  Which should just about cover the increases to his insurance premium when you consider he's adding a career in professional hockey to a pre-existing heart condition. 

I'll say this, I did not realize how fast Nyquist was until last night.  I knew he was quick, but not fast like that.  It was appropriate that we played the Leafs last night because Nyquist looked A LOT like Phil Kessel in terms of his explosive first strides and quick wrister.  Kid is fast.

Goose Status:

[x] Loose

[ ] Not Loose

 

This is my favorite post so far today.

I'd say I should have been more clear. Maybe I should have said "personnel decisions" rather than organizational philosophy.

 

I don't think missing or making the playoffs will affect any of those decisions. Some aren't decisions that need to be made, some will be made by simple necessity, some are just unimportant.

 

We're a team in transition, and it's absurd to think our management doesn't realize that. I think we're an organization that wants to remain competetive, but also committed to building through the draft. And I think we'll continue to try to balance both, until we either transition back into a contender or into a team that's much less feasible to keep competetive.

 

There is no sure-fire formula for building a cup team. If there was, sure...do that. But there isn't. Our philosophy, which seems to be, "try to scrape by as best we can while hoarding youth and hoping for the best", may not sound very good. But really it's no less likely to work than anything else we might try, and if it does work it likely means another long period of being a contender.

 

That's not really true. Prior to this year, the only "stop-gap" type players we've had have been in minor roles. Alfie is really the first to play a somewhat key role, and even he was only our 4th forward (maybe even 5th).

 

White and Quincey I think were more due to a lack of options rather than an unwillingness to make a bigger commitment.

 

And just out of curiosity, what would your idea of "an overhaul" be?

I agree with the organizational philosophy completely.  Again, I'm not trying to give off the impression that there's something wrong with seeing Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan, Jurco, Mantha, Sproul, Ouellet, Marchenko, Mrazek as the future core of this team.  Given how they've shown up so far I'd say it's a REALLY good idea.  But I do think you have to make decisions based on the new realities these guys have created.  We essentially just got a (very good) third line, a top six forward, and backup goalie for free.  Two years ago none of these guys (maybe Nyquist) were even on our radar.  Tatar was an afterthought, and the rising star was Smith.  All of that has changed because injuries showed that most of these guys were the real deal and many are ready now. 

As such, we have the luxury of having a "fourth" line of Abby-Helm-Miller if we want, who can play 12-15 minutes of effective hockey (as opposed to the 6-8 our fourth currently plays).  We don't need to have these guys playing a bigger role, and in truth, they're likely not suited for a bigger role.  Reducing their roles means Abby isn't counted on for goals, Helm probably stays healthier, and we now have favorable matchups against deep teams.  But that requires the org. rethink the roles Abby and Helm play on the team (not so much Miller his is the same).  Similarly, having such high end young defensive talent makes Kindl redundant and means that you no longer have to hope that Smith will develop into a top four guy.  Drop him to the third pair permanently and his mistakes are less costly (or less frequent).

Best part is, all these young guys have shown they're capable of taking on big roles but don't get paid s***...so we're cap friendly for at least 2-3 years.  Just in case we decide we need a high end free agent to fill a role (top six winger, top four defenseman?). 

But none of that's going to happen if Holland doesn't move (or consider moving) guys like Kindl and Andersson, letting the old guys walk, and reconsidering what roles Smith, Helm, and Abby play on this team. 

That's my rationale anyway, but it's a good discussion so I'm certainly willing to reconsider if I'm missing something that you've picked up on.