Two games into the preseason. The Grand Rapids Griffins are doing OK, and they managed to beat up a relatively toothless Chicago Blackhawks team. (Get it? Toothless? Because they're hockey players...? Never mind...)
Anyway, it was a preseason game. No huge deal. The Wings (Griffins) won.
More importantly, Johan Franzen is only out for three games, and he will be ready to go for the regular season opener. I'll lay even odds that Mike Babcock holds him back longer than that. According to reports, he and most all of the other marquee players for the Wings will be sitting, and the Griffins will be playing in Chicago again on Saturday.
My musings now turn to what the final roster will look like. The defensive pairings are pretty much set (at least in my mind) but who knows what Mike Babcock is thinking? So... what do you all think of this?
Datsyuk/Holmstrom/Zetterberg
Bertuzzi/Filppula/Franzen
Hudler/Modano/Cleary
Abdelkader/Draper/Helm
Lidstrom/Rafalski
Salei/Stuart
Ericsson/Kronwall
And then all the backup cast, such as Meech, Maltby, Miller, Downey, Eaves, and the more names I type the more I think that the above is going to change within 30 or 40 seconds of you reading this. The other things you should think of is all of the possibilities for the power play units...other GMs and coaches would be drooling over the Wings third line, let alone the top two. Yeah, I said "top two" but I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The Red Wings third line could easily be the first line on just about any other team in the league. Other teams have a couple stars on their team (think Crosby/Malkin, Sedin/Sedin, Ovechkin/Backstrom, etc) but the Wings have a headliner (or TWO) on EACH LINE. Household names, not just in the greater Detroit area, but worldwide. Don't even get me started on the defense...
Looking forward to this season....I'm getting chills.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
#90
So yeah....I was on vacation. We broke down twice. Both times in South Dakota. Once for a vacuum pump (I fixed it), and the other time for a new transmission (I didn't fix it). But anyways....
Mike Modano is concentrating on two numbers this year. 20, and 30. 20 goals, 30 assists. Some quick math and that means he will account for 50 points if all goes according to plan. Some more, slighlty more complicated math, and we can add that to Zetterberg's 70 and Datsyuk's 70, right? so further add that to the rest of the team and we should come to the conclusion that the Red Wings should post somwhere near 275 goals this season. Plug that into last years numbers, and that would put us right behind the Caps for second in the league in Goals For. If we squint a little and use our imaginations, we can add to the mix that the Red Wings of last year played a large chunk of the season with most of the Grand Rapids Griffins roster, and that probably put a dent in their goal production. So if they have a healthy year, and the stars play well, that 275 could easily be north of 300....right?
Maybe wishful thinking. The Wings are due for a healthy season. I say this as both Draper and Franzen are already languishing with injuries. Hopefully, that is not a sign of what is to come. I am looking for Bertuzzi to have another 40+ point season, and Franzen, Hudler, Filppula and of course Dats and Hank should be well over that.
Heres to a good season...
Mike Modano is concentrating on two numbers this year. 20, and 30. 20 goals, 30 assists. Some quick math and that means he will account for 50 points if all goes according to plan. Some more, slighlty more complicated math, and we can add that to Zetterberg's 70 and Datsyuk's 70, right? so further add that to the rest of the team and we should come to the conclusion that the Red Wings should post somwhere near 275 goals this season. Plug that into last years numbers, and that would put us right behind the Caps for second in the league in Goals For. If we squint a little and use our imaginations, we can add to the mix that the Red Wings of last year played a large chunk of the season with most of the Grand Rapids Griffins roster, and that probably put a dent in their goal production. So if they have a healthy year, and the stars play well, that 275 could easily be north of 300....right?
Maybe wishful thinking. The Wings are due for a healthy season. I say this as both Draper and Franzen are already languishing with injuries. Hopefully, that is not a sign of what is to come. I am looking for Bertuzzi to have another 40+ point season, and Franzen, Hudler, Filppula and of course Dats and Hank should be well over that.
Heres to a good season...
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