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yave1964

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 Yikes.

 

First Canada Day for Yzerman, he stuck to his word, he stated he was going to go add a few minor pieces on short term deals while he assessed the kids in the organization, he would add a few veteran players to fill out the roster for this season. It sounds/looks as if he has decided to write off 2019-20 as a learning year for him and is preaching patience, here are the three signees

 

PATRIK NEMETH What I know of him is he is a hard hitting stay at home guy, a great penalty killer and a big body impossible to move from his set position. Last year he laid Larkin out which led to Mantha and Nemeth in a fight where Mantha broke a finger so the first meeting between the two as Mates should be fun. It may signal that Kronwall has decided to hang them up. I went into a few boards to read about him from a fan perspective, Colorado fans almost universally LOVE the guy, they say he is a team first guy who sacrifices the body and will be missed. Okay signing.

 

VAL fILPPULA Remember when we let him go to sign Stephen Weiss? I wish I didn't, lol, not because of missing Val but because Weiss was such a bad signing. Val is okay, soft, decent, in his Wing days I used to say that he went through 3 game cycles, one game he was okay, one he was bad and one he teased you by playing like Datsyuk. At 35 not a lot in the tank but he did score 17 goals with the Isles last year it signals two things 1) Athanasiou is moving permanently back to the wing and 2) young center Joe Veleno will not be rushed. Meh signing.

 

CALVIN PICKARD big body goalie who I have actually seen quite a lot of in Cleveland with the Monsters over the years I think I have a fair and honest assessment of him from frist hand experience of watching him, he plays big meaning he spreads his body wide and dares you to shoot into him but he is glacially slow, skilled players eat him alive. He is in short an AHL starter, emergency NHL backup which is what he was signed to be. If he starts more than half a dozen NHL games for the Wings I would be shocked and appalled but with the Griffins he is a solid add as young Larssen who is a real prospect will be playing his first year pro in net and Pickard will be a good mentor/emergency NHL goalie. Okay add.

 

 So nothing to write home about but it is what Yzerman said he was doing this year, gotta love the honesty, none of these guys will be here when we get good but will all allow kids like Larssen and Veleno to develop properly and Athanasiou to play the wing. I am okay with all of that, looking at the big picture.

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@yave1964

 

The only thing I disagree with you about in that whole post is that “yikes” was your opening word. I was expecting the rest of it to be trashing the signings, but you didn’t. In fact, I think you were very even-handed and honest about them.

 

What I think you need to accept are two things:

 

1. We are officially and uncategorically in rebuild mode. We will be fortunate to get back to good in 4-5 seasons. (“Good” being defined as able to go beyond the first round of the playoffs.) OK, maybe 3 seasons. But it’s still gonna be 3 SEASONS. Let that sink in.

 

2. Yzerman is NOT going to make the mistakes of years past wasting resources just to make us good enough to be a bubble team. That is a good thing, even though in the short run, it sucks. We’ve already done the short-term thing for FAR too long. That is EXACTLY what has got us where we are.

 

To be perfectly honest, I don’t have a problem with any of the signings at all. I actually think they are smart, even though I think expecting anywhere close to 17 goals from Val Fillpula is a pipe dream on this team. But if he can give us 12-15 and maybe help show kids how to play a two-way game and prepare like a pro, then fine. Even though most of the Europeans he was playing with before are gone, we know he understands the organization, and he knows Stevie.

 

Not to be the wet blanket, but my advice to you would be to lower your expectations. You will be less disappointed with reality doing it this way. Better for your health.

 

AND should they actually start clicking and becoming more competitive than we think...

 

1. We will enjoy the pleasant surprise of it.

 

2. We will have some cap space to make another add later if it might actually get us close to “good.”

 

This is what smart GMing looks like. It isn’t always exciting. Sometimes smart GMing is downright boring. I think that’s exactly what we are seeing. Now just wasn’t the time to make a big splash. Too soon.

 

Patience, grasshopper!

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@SpikeDDS

 

Agreed, the 'yikes' wasn't quite the right word, shoulda been sigh.

 

 Yeah I know it is a process I am just frustrated, we saw this coming for years before bottoming out2nd round losses, first round cannon fodder followed by three years in the wilderness. I was hoping for more of a quick fix by Stevie but patience is the word of the day.

 

 I just look at two other original six teams, the Rangers and Hawks who recently fell and fell hard both now appear to be well on their way back towards the top and never hit the bottom we did. Of course that is Holland, not Yzerman so I get it. I just was hoping for an immediate turnaround but truth is, the brakes have been applied, we are no longer drifting towards oblivion and the turnaround has begun with the signing of Yzerman as the GM and allowing Hakan Andersson so much influence in the draft room again by Yzerman, Andersson is the one who discovered Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Jiri Fischer, so many more treasures. I remember reading a SI article about Andersson when he found Datsyuk he would travel to other cities in Russia and then sneak to watch Datsyuk because at least three other teams were sending their scouts to follow HIM to see who he was scouting. Our Euro-centric draft says a lot about the Wings direction and I am hopeful.

 

  So this year, yeah I dont expect a lot but I hope to see

Larkin continue to turn into a star

Athanasiou and Mantha develop into top flight goal scorers. Bertuzzi, see if he has more upside.

Hronek, Cholo and possibly Seider on the back end, looking for signs of growth and development.

Zadina develop into a top flight sniper.

Rasmussen develop into a force on the power play.

Berggrenn hopefully at Grand Rapids along with Veleno and a few young defensive prospects to see where they fit into the future. 

Filip Larsson our goalie of the future also at Grand Rapids in his first year as a pro.

Hirose was a late season sensation, finding out if it was real. Bowey was a steal from Washington. Seeing if he develops.

 

 So lots of kids, lots of growing pains but lots of hope. The brakes have been applied, the bleeding has stopped and we are going the right way. Guys like Filppula, Nemeth and Pickard are symbols of this, all are pros pros, they know the score, they know they are here to tutor as much as anything and are all good signings. Not exactly signing Lehner, Panarin and Tyler Myers, lol but that is not what they were brought in for. It will be fun to see them talking to the kids on the bench and on the ice, hearing what the kids say about their mentorship in interviews. Yeah, there is a lot to look forward to. The worst is over.

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@yave1964

 

THAT is more like the yave I have come to know and respect. Emotions got the best of you trying to accelerate hope because this is YOUR team! I totally get it. It’s hard to swallow the bitter pill that is a true rebuild. Unfortunately, there will be more than one dose!

 

We knew this back when they were making deals and we were saying “no.” Not as loudly as we say it today, but still acknowledging that we were giving away our talent for very short-term help.

 

And I blamed Holland, but he may very well have been doing Mike Ilitch’s bidding. I don’t really know who to blame. But whoever it was didn’t even get what they had hoped.

 

And then to make up for it, we continued our “noble” cause of loyalty to the falling. You can do that for a very select few. Z for example. Kronner.

 

But Helm? Cleary? Abdelkader? Those are not elite heroes. They are supporting cast. But we have treated them more like just sub-elites.

 

This was a long series of mistakes that have had extended impact that has totally prevented us from doing what Chicago has done. To be honest, I think Chicago learned from Detroit’s mistakes and avoided them by letting go of supporting players. Shaw comes to mind. Bickell does too. They knew they had to cut some ties, and they did it before it was too late. And getting lucky in the draft lottery ain’t gonna hurt ‘me any! I predict that Dach is gonna be a great player for them. 

 

When Jimmy Devellano came over, he knew it was going to take a long time to build a great team. It took longer than he thought it would. We are not as bad as the Dead Things were. It won’t take THAT long. But Stevie knows history has a tendency to repeat itself. He’s got the right perspective. Think. Long. Term. In 2-3 seasons it might be time to make that interesting FA move. Now, a signing like that hinders the flexibility we need to be able to get our young talent opportunity to show what they can do.

 

For your own sake, I suggest you swallow the pill. Accept the reality. Lowering expectations makes it easier when we finally start looking mediocre again. Easier on the heart. More likely to be around for those grandkids.

 

And if you just can’t help yourself, yave, there is always weed! ;-D

Edited by SpikeDDS
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