chrisdetroit

Crawford is going to let his team down tonight.

It will be a shame if the Wings don't make the post-season... almost inconceivable.  Yes, I do think that word means what I think it means.

 

If that happens, it's not like the Wings didn't try and didn't know it could happen.  They're doing their best with the situation.  That I believe... not sure more bodies or different ones (for too much money) would have made that big a difference in Year One of our Lidstrom-less existence. 

Guys missing from last years team:

 

Lidstrom

Holstrom

Stuart

Hudler

Bertuzzi

Helm

 

that's 6 regulars out 18 regular skaters -  fully 1/3 of the team.

 

Veteran guys that they brought in to help

 

Coliaccavo

Sammuelson

Tootoo

 

2 of the 3 have missed almost the entire season.

 

Rookies that are filling in:

 

Lashof

Smith

Kindl (partial season experience)

Andersson

Nyquist/Kindl

 

Based on this, just to make the playoffs have been a struggle.

 

I am glad we didn't mortgage our future.  One or two more expensive free agents were not going to replace the 1/3 of the team that we lost.

The Wings will be amped for this.  They WILL beat the Hawks in regulation.  It would be great to see Kane get Kronwalled.  

There was no possible way that they could have beat Vancouver on Sunday and they not only beat them, they embarassed them.  They were playing with 8 injuries, less than 24 hours from their last game and using a goalie that was supposed to be resting.  Vancouver had only lost 4 times in regulation. 8-3 and they outshot Vancouver like 13-2 in the 2nd period.

 

 

Just like there was no possible way that they could lose to Columbus 3 nights before.

 

So much for predictions.

 

Wings 4-2.

I smell a loss but I will be optimistic and say 4-2 wings.

You "smell a loss" but will be optimistic?  For God's sake man, pick one.  Win or Loss.  You can't have it both ways.

Let's see, the Wings are playing the 2nd time in less than 24 hours, they have 8 guys out with injuries including the back-up goalie that was supposed to start.  They are playing one of the best teams in the league who are well rested and only have 1 injury.  Our powerplay and pk are near the worst in the league.

 

Taking that all into account, there are people that still feel that need to come on here and predict a loss.  I guess I don't understand the point of that.

 

I'm going with a robbery.  Jimmy is going to steal the game.

 

 

 

 

Ah yes, the classic "It's not Holland's fault!" excuse.  Like there were no better d-men to be had via trade or free agency that were better than Quincey or Colieakmsxkndnhdsvo.  Poor old Holland.  I mean Lids and Stuart leaving were a complete surprise to him.  As you said though, at least Brunner has worked out so far, which again is because of a scout and not through Holland's trade prowess or draft genius.  Holland's real good at finding pieces that nobody really wants and hoping they turn it around in Detroit, but he hasn't competed against other teams for a top talent and won in a long time, and it's become painfully obvious.

 

esteef

If he went chasing the flavor of the month every year like San Jose does you'd be happy.  BUT look at San Jose, they have depleated their prospects to the point where their prosepect are LAST in the NHL.  But hey, they always seem to land the hot commodity.  A hell of a price to pay.  Mortgage the future for the flavor of the month..  LOL

 

We could probably get a top D man for Nyquist, Tartar, Smith, etc.

 

No thanks.

I just hope that most around here don't set their expectations too high & think it's pronounced "Jesus".

LOL.  The expectation on LGW are always low.  We could have the best team in the league and the LGW posters would want to blow it up...

Datsyuk and z are as good as their hype, and Lidstrom most certainly was

Yes they are, but they didn't get that much hype.  Especially not Z.  Not like that guy in Pittsburgh...

Yeah, I don't disagree.  However, I also don't want to get this thread derailed with Franzen talk because it tends to devolve pretty quickly.  I honestly think there should be a "Franzen" thread pinned to the top of the forum in perpetuity so that it would stay out of all the other threads. 

 

So back to the topic at hand, Suter's letdown isn't a surprise given that he was never as good as he was made out to be.  And Weber's letdown isn't as surprise given that he now has to shoulder more of the defensive burden as Nashville failed to replace an overhyped Suter with anyone even as good as he was. 

There should be a "Whipping Boy" thread pinned and we can just change the name on it every so often.

Why do we always have players that are more prone to injury than other teams?  It seems like every season, we lose half our roster to one thing after another.

Injury prone?  Getting cut by a skate makes you injury prone?  Coming down with Mono that turns out not to be mono?  It's just bad luck in most cases.  But I'm sure on LGW somebody will decide that White is injury prone...

No it's because we get mostly soft euro talent, not big tough savages like chara... Our guys are small and fragile, very talented, but small and fragile nonetheless

Exactly.  If we had more big tough Canadians there would be none of this getting cut by a skate BS.  And incidently Chara is a Euro and therefore a sissy.  Bad example.  You must have meant Pronger.  Oh, wait...

The pessimism is astounding.  The shortened season is working against us?  Why is it working against us more than everybody else?  Because we are older?  But you could argue that the short season benefits the older guys and that the younger guys have less time to gain experience.  It's all a matter of how you look at it.  Detroit has the oldest team in the league but NJ is second and they lost in the finals last year.

 

Try to be objective people.  Chicago did not improve, St. Louis did not improve, Nashville got worse, Columbus got worse.  7 teams in the west will not make the playoffs.  IMO they are:

 

Columbus

Colorado

Minny

Edmonton

Calgary

Anaheim

Dallas

Phoenix

 

That's actually (8).  Which 2 of those teams is better than us?  I can't think of any Norris trophy candidates on any of those teams.  We no longer have the best D-man in the West but neither do any of these 8.

Ok. Franzen haters, I hate to burst your bubble but the Mule will NOT be bought out.  When I guy is bought out, you still have to pay him like 2/3's of his salary.  It would make no sense to buy out somebody that you could trade.    No way in hell they buy out OR trade the mule.

I'd bet that the league will allow them to move in a heartbeat.  If they were a team that Gary had moved to the desert, the league would literally spend years trying to come up with some scenario - ANY scenario where they didn't move.

They were very right to pass, but I've been saying it for a while now. Doan will either go to Phoenix (not Detroit), the highest bidder (not Detroit), and/or a team with a legitimate chance at a cup in the next season or two (not Detroit). So why have we been waiting for three weeks?

Yandle or Ryan, while likely trading away way too many assets? "Dream until the dream is gone" 2012!

Did LA have a legitament chance at the Cup this year?  Almost everybody that knows anything about hockey would say no.  They had the lowest scoring team in the league and barely squeaked into the playoffs as a #8 seed.

All of this doom and gloom stuff is stupid.  There are 7 teams in the west that will not make the playoffs.  Most likely they are:

Aneheim
Dallas
Columbus
Clagary
Edmonton
Minnesota
Colorado
Phoenix (maybe)
Nashville (maybe)

For us to NOT make the playoffs, we have to be worse than 2 of these teams.  I just don't see it

I agree, Howard is good but he hasn't been good enough to give us an advantage in really right playoff series.

I disagree. Many of the goals that Nashville scored were the result of defensive lapses in which Howard was hung out to dry.  He wasn't great but we did not lose because of him.  Howard has only been in the playoffs for 3 years.  The first year he wasn't very good but you can give him as pass because it was his first time.  The second year he was awesome - 0.923 save %.  Last year he was hung out to dry.