WingNut722

@SpikeDDS With Jimmy Howard being at the very least "up and down" this season, it may not be a bad idea to lock up a veteran goal scorer to help bolster the offense in front of him. Tomas Vanek is not a Zack Parise, so he wouldn't command ALL of the open cap space, so it would leave room to also pick up a solid blue-liner. Kronwall and Ericsson will always be numbers one and two. DeKeyeser is right up there and I predict he'll end up being a huge second line pairing and even battling for top billing. I love his play and I see shades of Nick Lidstrom in his style and his point shot. Pairing him with a solid second line defender along with a second line scorer would be just the tick the Wings need. That should give Jimmy Howard the breathing room he needs to stabilize his game and dust out whatever cobwebs might be in the ol' brainbox.

@jammer2 Ummmmm yeah....well.........about that................ We don't talk about that Philly game in here......... :unsure:

@jammer2 Agreed on Moulson. He's a great forward and would certainly put up more than a few goals, but he's one-way only. Vanek would find a nice spot on the second line with Weiss and Franzen, including power play time as well. But there's no way Tatar should be given up for Vanek. The Wings would lose as much as they'd gain. I wouldn't make a high-priced trade at the deadline for either player. Let the season end. The price would be driven extremely high for these players, most likely by teams who want to make a last ditch effort to make a dent in the postseason - Ottawa, Vancouver, etc... The Red Wings certainly have trade material with several NHL-ready young'uns. But Tatar should not go anywhere. Oullet, yes. Emmerton, absolutely. Patrick Eaves and Joaquim Andersson could go too, now that Sheahan has established himself. Tatar stays... After all, it's Tomas Vanek. Now John Tavares on the other hand.............

An excellent analysis of Detroit's game, and, despite their position in the standings, why we could very well see them in the Cup final this spring. http://intelligenthockey.com/detroits-dark-horse-potential/

@billyuk23 Welcome! Our numbers are climbing! Glad to see you here! The interesting thing about Datsyuk is that I hope he DOESN'T play! Think of it.... Datsyuk doesn't play in the Olympics, which means the USA has a MUCH better chance of winning gold. At the same time, Datsyuk does not spend 2 grueling weeks in Sochi skating his guts out on a bad leg, but gets rest and additional therapy, then runs rough-shod over the league when they return.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled they were able to put together a regulation win at home, and I realize they were exhausted from a taxing and, ultimately disappointing, road loss to the Caps on Sunday, but that was one of the most boring games I've seen this season... If it's a game of inches, Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar sure know all about it. How many times were they "that close"? Oy... But on a related note, it looks like Tomas Vanek has rejected a contract extension from the New York Islanders. Good move by him. Time to see what he can garner on the free agent market. And in my opinion, it's time to see Kenny Holland be at the front of the line to woo him with a long term contract and a hefty salary. He'll be highly sought after, but with Alfie, Bertuzzi and Cleary likely gone after this season, and the cap going up a bit, Detroit will have Plenty O' Cash to spend.

After many weeks of calling for it by just about everyone in this forum, it looks like we'll finally get our wish (one of them, anyway). In order to make room for the returning tonight against the Caps, Henrik Zetterberg, Mike Babcock will sit Danny Cleary instead of moving down one of the rookies. Also, subbing in will be Jakub Kindl in place of Brian Lashoff. Let's see if it works in our favor. Jimmy Howard likely starting in goal tonight.

That was an outstanding performance by the Flyers last night and an outstandingly poor performance by the Red Wings. The Flyers were everywhere. They passed, they hit, they skated, they scored, and they won. Simple as that. Detroit looked slow and flat-footed all night (well though two anyway...I turned it off out of disgust, but judging by the boxscore, Things didn't get a whole lot better. Detroit had just come of a very good homestand, taking 7 out of 10 points from some very good teams. I don't understand why they didn't feel the need to move last night. Too many cheesesteaks on the way to the WFC? Having a lot of our top guys out certainly leaves a rather large whole in the production, but they've been out for a long time and they've still managed to find a way to win, against teams like Chicago. I would think that one of them would at least be able to score. I don't mind losing, especially to a team that looked the way the Flyers looked. They deserved that win. But some minimal effort would be nice to at least try to make a game out of it.

Here here!!!

@yave1964 @SpikeDDS Good morning, Gentlemen, and Happy Monday- If what I heard from Ken and Mick in last night's broadcast is true, Samuelsson has been waived to Grand Rapids, to make room for Franzen's returning salary. A good move on Holland's part, and something we in this forum have all been waiting for. That said, one step forward and two steps back...Zetterberg sat out last night with what was dubbed an "upper body injury" which of course, if you re-arrange the letters in that phrase you get "taking care of a sore back so it doesn't get worse for the Olympics" I don't anticipate a long absence and that this was truly a "maintenance day" as Mike Babcock calls it. Jurco could possibly use a little more development in Grand Rapids. I would really like to see Glendenning, and Sheahan stay. Those two could possible give Andersson a run for his money. And so the battle for 4th line Center begins. Since these two have both proven themselves extremely well, dare I say that Corey Emmerton is now on the trade block? He's a capable center and certainly worth a few draft picks. The fun part that I keep remembering from time to time is that we constantly talk about forwards. We happen to be heavy on the blue line as well. Anyone remember Jakub Kindl? Where has he been? Is he being kept in reserve until somebody starts flaking out?

@Chicago Hawkie Joel Quenneville also mentioned that the Hawks didn't play the way they should. I really didn't see too many faults in their game. It looked like Crawford really couldn't close that hole over his shoulder. The WIngs hit him again and agian, even in the shootout. But the skaters looked fine to me. The more glaring errors were on the Wings side, which Chicago clearly took advantage of.

Pardon me.... I'm usually not prone to these fits of unbridled excitement, but that was such an amazing game last night to watch. This was not the same Red Wings team that we've been watching for the last month or so. They fought, they skated, they dug in. It was quite honestly the best game I've seen all season. And yes, the legendary rivalry has a lot to do with it. Chicago and Detroit bring out another level of competition when they play each other. This time, the Red Wings were able to feed off of it and come away with a huge win. But even then, if you think about how many minor leaguers we have in the lineup, so few of them have even played against Chicago at all, and can't really appreciate the gravity of this rivalry. But they all brought their A-game. Abdelkader, Nyquisst, Tatar, Zetterberg, Jurco....they all showed up to play tonight. Patrick Eaves? Patrick Eaves??? Really? Where did this guy come from? He's been quietly taking up space on the fourth line and now all of a sudden he brings a huge goal, and earns himself a spot in the shootout (which he converted) and even scores the (not-so) coveted post-game interview with Pierre Macguire. I was honestly in disbelieve at the shootout. I was giggling.... I have no idea why, but I was just on my couch giggling.......... This is proof positive that THEY CAN DO IT with the pieces they have (and more importantly, with the pieces they don't have)

@SpikeDDS In the event that he does tweak his groin again, (which is a distinct possibility for a goalie), Mrazek will be take his place. But then that leaves us with Tom McCollum, which would be the likely call-up from Grand Rapids. He has very little NHL experience if any at all, and didn't perform very well in training camp. This is a difficult stretch. Frustratingly enough, Datsyuk, Alfredsson, and Franzen are still listed as "out indefinitely"

@SpikeDDS We'll see if they can pick up the slack tonight against Chicago. Seems interesting that Gustavsson is coincidentally ready to get in the net once it was confirmed that Jimmy Howard was out. To me that seems like he's not 100% but the Babcock/Holland do not want to trust the team in the hands of Mrazek yet. We will see..............

I couldn't watch this game becasue our TV was disconnected as had new windows installed and opted also to steam the carpets while the furniture was moved, so I had no TV last night... No TV....... AT ALL......!!!!!!!!!!!! Naturally I cant really comment on the game itself other than an appallingly small number of shots. Did the Blues just play outstanding defense? It's getting just a little ridiculous that so many guys are out for so long. I don't know about you, but "undisclosed lower body injury" doesn't answer very many questions.For Instance, a couple weeks ago, Pavel Datsyuk sat out of of practice for what Mike Babcock likes to call a "maintenance day." We haven't seen him since.... I'd be willing to bet Franzen is out for the rest of the season, so let's put him at the bottom of the list. Now Howard's back out.....Where does it end??? Just frustrated I guess.

@SpikeDDS Good idea about Renney. I hadn't thought of that. You're right in that the PP has been lousy ever since he came on board, but then, coincidentally, the PP has been lousy since Lidstrom and Holmstrom retired, so a lot of people like to point to that instead of Tom Renney. The "kids" have been playing very well in these times and I know they'll be rewarded this season once the injuries start coming back. It'll be a salary cap issue, though, as the big money in Franzen and Weiss start hitting the ice again. The big, bold move by Ken Holland would be to waive Mikael Samuelsson to keep someone like Riley Sheahan up. But realistically, if that were to happen, Patrick Eaves would be the one kept and that is still somewhat disappointing. Being in the East this season certainly has given us a considerable cushion in the standings. I shudder to think about where we would be in the West. We've played Anaheim and San Jose both time for this season (and lost both of them). Can you imagine seeing those teams both for an extra game? Playing Chicago and St. Louis both 5 times with this crowd? @jammer2 You're right in that Zetterberg and Datsyuk are once-in-a-lifetime players. But that in itself makes them irreplaceable from another team. I should point out though that, legendary as they are, they are unlikely to "lose" their abilities as the years wear on. These are players that will always be outstanding despite their age, like Lidstrom was. The best thing to do is keep them on as long as they are willing so that the next generation has all the time to work with them and learn from them before they retire. We don't want that kind of knowledge to fall into the wrong hands! As long as Darren Helm stays healthy, he is a very capable center. And if Steven Weiss finds his mojo, he can certainly pick up the number one spot until someone like Joaquim Andersson improves his skill. In the meantime, as @yave1964 pointed out, we'll have a lot of money come the off-season and can certainly pick up a few key free agents to bolster that. I haven't looked yet to see who will be available, but I'm sure their must be someone. If times get tough, Holland has the option (albeit the grizzly one) to overpay for a hot player just to get him here.

@jammer2 I'm afraid I'll have to agree with @yave1964 on this one too. Datsyuk and Zetterberg are the foundation of this team. Taking the two good components and keeping the failing parts will not help. Besides, I doubt very much you'll get anyone of their same caliber in return. If you do, it'll be one-for-one, and you'll be back where you started from. No, the problem is the Red Wings have no depth anymore (with the exception of the kids). Bertuzzi is at the end of his career but only due to natural deterioration. The man is still scoring goals and playing hard at his age. He didn't fall of the wagon at all, like some of the others (Samuelsson, Cleary, Eaves). Cleary and Eaves have not produced up to expectations for some unknown reason. Samuelsson has not produced at all. Injuries are one thing, and they'll always be a factor. However Mike Babcock has had the right philosophy, in that an injured player presents an opportunity for another player to take on extra minutes and show he's worthy of the increased responsibility. That hasn't happened yet. Weiss is a different problem altogether that has been magnified by the lack of production. If all the other players had contributed as they were expected, Weiss' issues would have been minor. There would be a lot more patience and time for him to get his head straight. Throughout the season I loved watching him play. He's been in there digging and grinding. It was anticipated that Weiss would center a line of Alfredsson and Franzen. No, maybe Alfredsson and Weiss didn't mesh, but Franzen didn't "wake up" until right around the time Weiss started getting injured. In fact Weiss's last point was an assist on a Franzen goal. It's there. It's all right there. But they have to dig deep to find it...deeper than they have before. I might also have to agree with @Haliax on getting a new bench boss. His job is to see the big picture, and it seems that he is not. Or he does and he hasn't found a solution. Something has to give. In reality though, I doubt very much that Mike Babcock will need to dust off his resume at the end of this season. As of this morning, the Wings are in the playoffs as the wildcard. They would have to plummet in the standings, something I don't think will happen, even with this bunch.

@SpikeDDS Agreed! I used to read all the game recaps to find out the players thoughts on the game; win or loss. But I'm just sick of reading that same garbage over and over again. "We weren't good enough..." Of course you weren't good enough. THAT'S WHY YOU LOST!!!!!!!! The reporter knows that. He just asked you why you weren't good enough to beat the Sharks. And you respond with his exact same words! "We stopped skating..." Why? The game is 60 minutes long. It has been for years. They didn't extend the clock on you suddenly, did they? Tired today? Rather be out relaxing by the pool? Had too much fun at that bar in Phoenix? Wanna get back to that cute little Arizona State senior with the teddy bear collection? These are guys who have BEEN TO THE TOP! Cleary, Samuelsson, Kronwall, Bertuzzi, Abdelkader....they all have won the Stanley Cup for the Red Wings. I don't understand why they think a half-baked effort will suffice. Alfredsson comes over from his 17 year career in Ottawa because he perceived Detroit was the best opportunity for him to win a Cup in what is likely his final season. I wonder if he's beginning to regret it. Detroit may be above Ottawa in the standings, but I'm sure that any top team...Boston, San Jose, Anaheim....would have made room for him if he suggested an interest. No more coddling. No more days off. No more "rest days." No more "optional practices." No more cute little side trips to Arizona to take a break for a few days. Cancel any other family holidays, and fathers' trips and mothers' bake-a-thons, and public appearances. No more handing out donuts in the lobby of a corporate office building to thank the fans for their support. (Keep going to the children's hospitals though) Babcock (and Holland!) should go all high school on these guys. Hard laps, two-a-days, and just exhaustive conditioning. This is stupid............... @yave1964 I would suggest watch the 5 minute highlight reel rather than the entire game, and save yourself the extra 2 hours.

@SpikeDDS @jammer2 Howard was outstanding in Dallas! Back to playoff form in my opinion. The whole team looked real sharp too. I think the Winter Classic hype and Jimmy finally having an Olympic decision one way or another has lifted a lot of weight from their shoulders. Now they can get back to hockey. The trick will be whether they can turn in a respectable showing against the California teams late this week. They're spending a few days vacation in Phoenix which should help clear their minds a little further. but if they can roll out four points out of six for this trip, I'd say they'll be primed for a big push in the standings. They'll come back for a very competitive homestand with the likes of Chicago, St. Louis and Montreal all in one week. It'll be exciting to watch, especially if they break out of their Joe Louis slump. Helm, Franzen, DeKeyeser and Datsyuk are all eyeing a return during this West Coast trip. The season starts now!

I received this book as a Christmas gift, and will probably start reading it soon. It will be an interesting story into the life of a troubled Red Wing. To hear it from his own mouth.

By the way, you're a lugnut. Just sayin'

Happy New Year @yave1964! I loved watching both games. I just giggled in front of my TV for a couple hours. I am a HUGE Mickey Redmond fan. I think he's one of the five people I wish I could go drinking with! Stevie looked old and slow and it kinda broke my heart, but it was nice to see him again. Not exactly sure how the shoot-out participants were chosen, but the crowd certainly wanted Stevie to give it a go. I think he should have. But Holmstrom and Lidstrom...? The Winter Classic game itself was exciting to watch. The snow really made a huge impact on the kinematics of the puck. That issue, along with just getting lost in the hype of the day, prevented me from really analyzing the game. I just had fun watching. It was interesting to see the plays broken up because the puck was over-skated or a pass wasn't completed. Very odd to see the game halted in the middle of the third to switch sides (and overtime too.....Interrupting Z's breakout!!). Tough loss in the shootout but hey, got a point out of it. By the way, for the record, (though I don't like to admit it) I was in JLA attendance for the Dec. 23 misadventures against the Islanders....pathetic........ Only able to attend one game this season and it HAD to be THAT one... Sheesh!

Confirmed.... Nyquist is out with a sore groin. Oy............

@yave1964 I can't imagine being in the West with this going on. 39 points would put us in the bottom half of both Western divisions. I also have been seeing some mutterings (though nothing official) that Gustav Nyquist did not participate in this morning's skate. This is an epidemic...........

@yave1964 Don't forget Abdelakder and DeKeyser too! But, no deals just yet. Holland (I hope) is still trying to make a shrewd play to get rid of Quincy. He needs to keep playing close to the vest so he doesn't lose any foothold. He knows Quincy doesn't get much on the market so he can't let the others think he's in need. Otherwise the tables will turn. I'm surprised they haven't announced a timetable for Abdelkader yet, or even Weiss. Zetterberg, Helm and Dekeyser are all due back in time for the Winter Classic. But no real word on the others. As I say though, it's time to step up. There's more than enough scoring talent on that team to take a few games between now and then. Datsyuk, Bertuzzi, Kronwall, Cleary, Tatar, Nyquist...hell even Samuelsson have all been know to score and score well. It's time to make it happen. No more excuses, no more leaving anything on the table. Forget the HBO cameras. Let's get back to basics...a good palce to start would be 40+ shots on the Ducks tonight. Overwhelm them with pucks.