Are there any bright spots in Detroit?

[yave1964]

First year of the Yzerman era in Detroit, the Wings are awful, putrid, simply impossible to watch. We sit at 7-19-3 easily the worst record in Hockey, currently in the midst of a 7 game losing streak (their second such of the short season so far) with a paltry 62 goals for (worst in the league) and a ridiculous 115 goals against (easily the worst in the league as well) WE SIT AT A RIDICULOUS INUS 53 FOR THE SEASON  and are on pace for record shattering goal differential. Simply a dreadful team.  Thru 29 games, the team has nine players who are double digit minus players including Athanasiou who is on pace to challenge the once considered impossible record of Bill Mikkelson  who went -82 with the expansion Capitals. Athanasiou is mins 29 thru his first 27 games. Read that stat again carefully. 

 

 So then, where are the bright spots? Are there any? Here is what I came up with.

 

 Mantha was having a fine breakout season before getting injured. of course he is now injured.

 

 Bernier has been okay in net.

 

Hronek has turned into a fine young offensive defenseman.

 

Fabbri came over from the Blues and has slotted nicely into a middle six winger spot.

 

Comrie came over from Arizona for nice organizational goalie depth.

 

Bertuzzi has had a very nice year.

 

Helm has played surprisingly well as a P/K guy and energy forward.

 

Hel, Abby, Howard possibly Green all positioned to be moved at or near the deadline for much needed futures.

 

Zadina called up, looks okay in his first four games.

 

Rasmussen before getting hurt was doing wonderful for the Griffins

 

Other young Griffs such as Seider, Svechnikov and Veleno have all shown flashes of promise of what they should become. Givani Smith looks as if he is developing into a solid bottom six forward as well. Overall lots of kids with talent down on the farm chomping at the bit.

 

 Is it ugly? God yeah, I usually watch every game twice to see what I missed the first time, this year I watch the ten minute recap and study the goals scored and against. But there are a few things to see here. Glad that Zadina was recalled with Mantha out, hopefully he locks into a role for the rest of the year.

[SpikeDDS]

@yave1964

 

Yes, how the mighty have fallen...fallen...fallen...fallen

 

A few notes: Bernier would be better than OK if he had ANY sort of defense in front of him. Sometimes, he has been the sole reason we didn't lose by seven or eight! He's made some awfully nice stops that you may have seen on the condensed game highlights. And I appreciated his effort in going in for an injured Howard even though he was as sick as a dog.

 

If we keep playing like this, and if Green keeps getting hurt, the only one of the three you mentioned that might get any kind of decent pick would be Helm, whose start to this season has been surprising.

 

We didn't discuss the trade for Comrie, but I agree it was smart and Saarijarvi (sp?) was a good price to pay. Gotta plug the dam somehow. I like the deal. But it IS a short-term, stop-the-bleeding-to-save-the-patient kind of pickup.

 

What is tough to swallow is how much of a fall we've taken, though, especially given the parity in the league with the cap. You wouldn't THINK this kind of drop would be possible, but we are proving that it is.

 

Even though I still think this doesn't have much to do with Blash, I don't think he can survive this. Inside, when Mantha went down, and went seriously down, his heart must have dropped, and eyes must have gone skyward.

 

Fabbri has been a very good pickup. Continues to give us some kind of offensive pulse. ("WAIT! WAIT! Was that a heartbeat? Check again!") We KNEW we were going to be bad defensively. I think we agree that we are worse than either of us thought we would be offensively. The mental game has even affected Larkin. You can see the frustration. This is EXACTLY why Yzerman didn't make him captain yet.

 

And these post-game pressers are going to become dreaded--if they haven't already--for both players and coach. Having to try to explain what we are seeing without trashing the team or teammates or yourself is quite challenging, if not impossible, unless you say pretty much nothing...which is what we are saying now. "We need to be better." Thanks for the news flash!

 

Maybe it's just Frans' normal look, but every single time Nielsen is interviewed, he looks like he is about to cry!

 

He's not alone!

[yave1964]

@SpikeDDS

 

I think in my heart and brain that next year the Wings will be watchable, by the following year we will be competitive. But God is this team as presently assembled bad. Almost biblically so.

[SpikeDDS]

1 hour ago, yave1964 said:

@SpikeDDS

 

I think in my heart and brain that next year the Wings will be watchable, by the following year we will be competitive. But God is this team as presently assembled bad. Almost biblically so.

 

I hope I am wrong!

 

And you ARE more aware of what our talent look like in GR, so I defer to your knowledge there.

 

But I would rather THINK like me and have LOW expectations for next season than set myself up for more disappointment if they continue to play anything close to this level.

 

What's the old saying: Prepare for the worst. Hope for the best. I'm prepared for a LONG rebuild. If it's not long, I'll be pleasantly surprised and happy! If it is, well...it's just like I thought.

 

I just didn't think it would be THIS bad THIS year.

 

But it is!

[mojo1917]

When I watched the game on Friday, I found myself wondering why the 'wings record was so bad.

There's a lot of speed in the line-up, guys were competing, there seemed to be some good skill in the top 9.

The defense was just alright, but I didn't think this team looked as bad as their record.

Then the Couturier goal happened and the team just folded. 

So this is a young and fragile bunch. 

I think there are some good young players that will need to grow but I think there are guys that can be built around. 

Its tough when your team isn't living up to expectations, I know, mine's been through some fits and starts, I'm a little gun shy about buying in all the way now that the arrows are green and point upwards. I don't think your situation is a bleak as you think.

 

 

[SpikeDDS]

@mojo1917

 

Friday's game was better than Wednesday's, although 6-1 is still a beating!

 

The Toronto game was just one of the worst games they've played. They. Had. Nothing.

 

But that's only one game. If that game stood alone as an exception, it would be dismissable. But last season we had multiple games that were similar e.g. Montreal games. This ISN'T just about THIS season.

 

The problem is that unlike previous seasons, most of the time, where we were losing, but losing 1-goal games (or 2-goal games with an ENer to seal it for the opponent), we are losing 3- and 4- and 5-goal games now. Consistently. And many of them follow the same pattern of collapse. We might stay in the game for 20-30 minutes. Maybe even 40. And then...

 

Fragile is right. There is little belief in ourselves. It does contribute to these collapses. We don't have the solid veteran presence that doesn't panic or get down on themselves when they go down by 2 goals. The only ones who seem to be able to do that are injured more than we'd like and aren't on the bench.

 

The Caps game was the best game we had played in a long time. Held our own until we pulled our goalie in the third and Ovie scored 2 ENers.

 

But Larkin really showed his frustration, as he was the one who coughed up the puck on Ovie's second ENer to give him a hattie. And that's why this season was not the season to give him the captaincy. That will come in time. But this kind of season can bruise an ego if you let it, and that's my biggest concern--the culture. We've certainly lost the winning culture. We have also lost the compete culture now. That's a bigger concern to me.

[yave1964]

@SpikeDDS

 

  Hirose and Zadina shipped to GR today. Sigh.

 

 Hirose, truthfully I have been more than a bit skeptical. players who come out of nowhere tend to return there rather quickly. Zadina though, I was hoping we would give him a bit of a longer shot with Mantha out.

[SpikeDDS]

@yave1964

 

Still, why rush him? The hockey stinks with or without him. He can’t right that ship himself. All this losing is gonna kill his confidence and mess with his mojo. Why do that to him?

 

i kinda agree with the move, though I WISH my reasons weren’t valid. 

[SpikeDDS]

@yave1964

 

Zadina is being taught how to ride the bus.
 

Recalled from GR.

 

They can’t decide what to do with him!

[JR Ewing]

As of today, the Wings are 6 points back of New Jersey for 30th overall...... and they have the toughest remaining schedule in the NHL. I know how difficult it is to go through these times as a fan (I can't imagine what it's like to be on the team) so you really have my sympathy. Better days are coming.

 

[SpikeDDS]

YES!

 

It’s Christmas break. 5 days without a Red Wing game!

 

Does that count as a bright spot?

[jammer2]

Sell off Helm and Abdelpooper for a bag of roasted peanuts. I know Helm has not been bad...but his spot can be taken by a kid with actual upside. Even a 7th rounder would be nice. Ditto for Ericksson and any other Wing over 35...lol.

[FD19372]

The logo is a bright spot. Cheers and Happy Holidays!