Xraymind7781

I forgot you can tell the future.....for all you know Brunner is the real deal and Smith is the next coming.

And as for Lidstrom comments....yeah we lost Lidstrom....we dont have a Lidstrom anymore, BUT NIETHER DOES ANY OTHER TEAM. We have just as much of a chance to win the cup as any other premier team. for pete sake LA was an 8 seed and NJ was a 6. get real anything can happen int he playoffs.

I'm not claiming that Brunner and Smith will not play well.  But i'm also not claiming that Smith will win the calder and step in and score 20 goals like some people around here are.  I happen to think Smith will see allot of ice time, but he's going to make allot of mistakes.  Thats part of the development.  Brunner, I have no clue what to expect.  I'm just not comfortable with placing allot of expectations on these two.  These types of players aren't going to make huge impacts in our lineup this year.  I think its unfair to expect that at this point.  Reallisticly speaking, if we had dropped Lidstrom and Stuart from our lineup for any extended period of time we would have been in big trouble last year.  I realize its hard for some to grasp but this is going to be one of the weakest rosters we have seen as redwings fans for a long time.

As far as the Kings winning the cup, sure almost any team that gets in can get hot and win.  But the Kings weren't a bunch of nobodies that shocked the world.  They were a club with a ton of talent that under achieved most of the year.  With the subtractions that came this offseason, i'm not sure I feel comfortable calling the wings a premier club right now.

I see where your coming from but I completely disagree. Players come here to win....not to play with one man....Nick is gone yes but this is not a gutter team, we still have a very competitive roster and I'm willing to bet there will be more additions before February is over.

Also Hollands philosophy does not revolve around the comings and goings of Nick Lidstrom....If everything is "different now" then why did we sign Samuelsson? It's cause none of our prospects are ready in Hollands eyes yet so he signed a band-aid player.....We only have 1 prospect guaranteed to be trickling in and thats Smith....There are no holes our prospects MUST fill...they will continue to over-ripen as they've always done.

I agree with this in parts.  Players did come here to win.  As this team sits, it is not a contender.  As of right now, players are not coming here to win.  I realize this is just one off season.  But the fact remains, this is not a cup contending team.  Again anything can happen but you heard Babcocks complaints at the end of last year.  Scoring hasnt improved and to boot the defense is allot weaker. This is not an atrractive scenario to anyhone who wants to win.

As for Hollands philosophy not revolving around the coming and going of Lidstrom; I don't know how this comment could be further from reality.  Everything he does from here on out will revolve around suring up the void left by Lidstroms unworldly talent.  Ken Holland is a great GM, but nobody could have prepaired for life after possibly the greatest defenseman to ever play the game.  Ken Hollands philosophy just left the building.  He's working hard now on building a new one.

Not sure what your trying to argue here.....?

Not arguing anything here. Just bringing light to the fact that what you know of the redwings and how they conducted buisness in the past is history. This "developmental philosophy" that you speak of is about to morph drastically too. This is the begining of life after Nick and Stevie. Those two guys were the reasons why we could draw free agents here. It had nothing to do with the suburbs or our claim to be "hockeytown". Those two were winners. Anybody would have followed them. Sad truth is, this team just isnt as attractive without them. In my opinion that changes EVERYTHING. I'm not saying it's going to be tough from here on out but i am saying, things are going to be allot different now.

lmao nice redirection there.

This has nothing to do with hall of famers and not one of the players you listed is an overpaid has been anyway....with the exception of Samuelsson...and Homer won't be playing for us this season so yeah.

If you knew anything about the wings you'd know we are notorious for keeping our talent in the minors for long periods of time. Smith has been NHL ready for years and only now is getting his first shot at a full NHL season. Has nothing to do with the caliber of the prospect and everything to do with our development philosophy.

Yakupov would be starting the season in the minors on this team. Unless your the next Pavel Datsyuk that's the way things work.

I argue that if you knew anything about the wings, you now know that for years and years holding back talent in the minors was a luxury for this club. One that they are no longer able to afford i'm affriad. Whith so many oppertunities now available for these younger players, I feel that it will only thin our prospects pool even further.

holland had always been able to draw free agents because they knew they were going to be contending for the cup. that isnt the case anymore. we are entering a different era in redwings hockey. the future doesnt look so bright. hopefully something happens to change that. personally i don't have as much faith as some people here in our prospects.