When will it end? When will discipline begin?

[SpikeDDS]

Hasn’t been anything good to talk about on the RW forum here lately. 0-5-1 in our last 6. Watching the postgame comments, Frans Nielsen looked like he was about to cry! You can see the frustration.

 

i think expectations are too high. This is NOT a good team. Maybe they are beginning to realize it. I don’t expect them to beat TB. I DO expect them to play with effort and compete. In that game, they made too many dumb mistakes. Too many men. Slashing. Slashing. Touching the other players stick—also known as slashing. I don’t like the rule change. Next they will install flags on belts. But the rules ARE the rules now. Horizontal defensive stick work is now asking for the box, and must be eliminated. Old habits die hard, but they MUST DIE!

 

This is the mental part of hockey that I just don’t think our organization knows how to coach any more. A disciplined game. A clean, disciplined game.

 

To be fair, it IS more difficult to do that when you lack talent. Talented teams will outplay you and to try to stay close, you will be more likely to make mistakes. That, I think, was the story of the TB game.

 

Truthfully, I want to see competitive hockey when I turn them on again. I don’t even care (much) if we lose. I care about HOW we lose. If we play well and lose, I am OK with that at this point. But that discipline needs to be established.

 

Listening to Blashill, he seems to say the right things, but it is high time he used the bench as a disciplinary tool. If someone makes stupid mistakes—especially more than once—then they become a spectator. It can’t just be words! It may cost a few wins to get the point across that an undisciplined game will not be tolerated. But that message needs to be delivered and received. The culture of discipline must be established. It’s more important that winning for this team. Winning will eventually come, if you establish discipline. If you don’t, consistent good play will never materialize, and thus wins will be rare. 

 

If the message is not received, bench or move players. If not delivered, change the coach. But continuing to play like we are playing cannot be tolerated. Something’s gotta give.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Not to be the one bearing doom n gloom, but looking at this Detroit roster, it is a bit puzzling as to why they aren't doing better than they are.

 

Do I think the Wings as constructed are contenders or even a playoff team?

Absolutely NOT to the contender part...maybe on the playoff team part...maybe...

 

But fact is, the Wings still have some good players and some promising young players.....who just aren't playing as a cohesive unit.

And many times, during games, look absolutely abysmal in their execution.

 

Also in looking at this roster, I noticed many of the players have NTC or NMC on their contracts.....pretty tough thing even if the GM wanted to move some these contracts. He would have to get the approval of the player himself.

 

The ONLY main player I see who doesn't have a no-move/no-trade clause is Henrik Zetterberg.

 

So I get to thinking....if the Wings feel they need to rebuild (maybe not a full rebuild...perhaps one 'on the fly' because they DO have some good young players already on the roster), do they start with trading away their 37 year old captain who still would hold value to other teams?

 

He is a $6M+ cap hit to the team and moving him would give the Wings some relief there.

 

Of course, trading away your captain ALWAYS sends the message that the GM doesn't think that team has what it takes, so if the Wings start with Zetter, a dominoe effect would surely follow as others would need to be asked to waive clauses to get shipped out as well.

 

Not something I envy as far as the GM is concerned, but ultimately, something needs to get done.

 

Wings started out great, many were in "feel good" mode, but I think the reality is, Detroit won't be winning a championship anytime soon with the current make up. 

Although by the same token, I feel they shouldn't be as BAD as they have shown themselves to be on the ice either.

 

As built, they should be a thoroughly maddening middling type team. 

Something I KNOW just doesn't cut it with the Wings fanbase who are used to having a winner.

 

With one of the hightest payrolls in the league coupled with very sub par performance, I think the cold truth is, a rebuild, in some way shape or form, must happen.

The longer the FO trudges on with things as is, the worst they will get, potential trade pieces lose value exponentially, and the deeper into a rebuild they will ultimately end up having to get into.

 

My take as an outsider to the fanbase, and as an admirer to how the Wings have done business over the years.

[yave1964]

Larkin and Mantha: A minus young players.

 

Svechnikov: A minus prospect

 

That is it, most of the older vets (Abby, Helm, Tats, Nyke, ect all..) are B minus to C plus players. 

 

  So our future has not caught up to our present and the present is middling.  Throw in a below average (being polite) defense and netminding that plays just good enough to lose and it is painful to watch. Z is older and too much is being asked, the forwards are average and the defense is awful and night to night you don't know what you are going to get in net.

 

  The biggest problem is the long term deals most of these average forwards are tied up with, they cannot be traded and are just meh. We are wasting the final years of Zetterberg and what is sadder than that is when the kids are fully developed we will still have all these same boring average players wasting the early peak years of the few guys with serious upside. So I don't see much end in sight, we probably have to bottom out for a few years, get a top five pick or two or three and rebuild knowing that the Wings need to wait out the current bunch of bad deals before there is any light at the end of the tunnel. 

[yave1964]

Okay fun game tonight, seriously both teams played ugly fun games 3-2 in a shootout, both goalies made up for numerous mistakes by the team in front of them. Sometimes I just love watching an ugly game especially one that we win.

[SpikeDDS]

@yave1964 @TropicalFruitGirl26 

 

I agree with yave. My only disagreement is that I would add Athanasiou to our list of young talent, not just Mantha, Larkin, and Svechnikov, even though we will have to see how well he develops on the D side of the Ice. I like what I see with him. He scored tonight in his second game back.

 

But he is spot on with every word after that. “Underperforming” is a good word describing the rest of our second tier players. Obviously Z isn’t included in that category, but the rest pretty much are. Nielsen is good to have for SOs though. That’s true.

 

But the rest are overpaid, underperforming players that are not just having an off year. They are consistently inconsistent and/or they don’t know how to step up when it matters. Tatar comes to mind. Scores goals in streaks, but last season only after the season was all but over. Nyquist, look how he played tonight. Very well. But what about the previous 6-7 games? He was all but missing.

 

Yave and I used to think that Mrazek was our goaltending future. He has completely lost his moxie. Howard, OTOH, seems to have found his MOST of the time...but he occasionally lays an egg like he did against Toronto. He’s been a lot more consistent than Mrazek, but I wouldn’t yet trust him in a 7 game series.

 

We are trapped by our own contracts. Too much term. Too much $ for too little performance, making them too immobile if we want to cut bait. I am pretty much resigned to the fact that it is going to have to get uglier before it is going to get better.

 

Having said that, tonight’s game WAS more watchable except for the umpteen faceoff castoffs in the 1st period. Jiminy!