UFAs and the Wings

So, I have heard some grumbling from Red Wings fans that the Wings are screwed. Not because they didn't get Parise OR Suter, but because they lost Lidstrom. This is because everyone is looking at this the wrong way. The Red Wings lost Lidstrom, sure, but you cant compare every (or any) other player to him. It can't be done. If one continues to compare each free agent/trade/prospect to Lidstrom, one will come up short every single time. So quit it. The Wings will have to grow their own, and they have done so successfully in the past.

Datsyuk and Zetterberg will have to step up. There is no more Hudler to bash, which I think was a mistake, but he was a UFA, so he went. Not much we can do. Hopefully Filppula will continue to improve, and evolve into the superstar that everyone knows he could be.

Whoever the Wings get next will only improve their chances. Nash is still up in the air, and that would be very cool. We already got Tootoo, and if he can stay out of the box, he is guaranteed to get under the skin of opposing players league wide.

Anyway, I really didn't have much to say, just wanted to post.

So....Now What?

2012 is over for the Red Wings. Sure, I did not complete a single blog entry during the playoffs, but I was busy. Also, everything I planned to write was wiped from my brain each time the Wings lost another game. Why did they lose? Red Wings fans the world around are asking that question now, and a host of others: Will Lidstrom retire? Will Holmstrom? Who comes up? Who leaves? Who gets traded/released/sent to Grand Rapids?

Lets try to address these questions:

Why did the Wings lose? There are a few things to point at here. And a few things that even out. Like penalties. The Wings and Predators took a combined 51 minor penalties in 5 games. This led all other series except the Flyers/Penguins series, and that shit was out of control from the start. So you can't blame penalties. If you look at power play goals, the Wings had more than Nashville. There were no short handed goals. Of the 21 goals scored in this series, 15 of them were even strength goals. Since "lucky bounces" are not a stat, we won't even be going there. Sloppy defense? Possibly. The Red Wings went from having two regular players on the "minus" side of the plus/minus stats (Kronwall and Holmstrom), to having only two players finish in the "plus" for the playoffs: Cory Emmerton and Gustav Nyquist (more on Nyquist in a minute). Nicklas Lidstrom finished even, and he was the only defender not to be in the "minus" for the series. No Red Wing had more than three points. No Red Wing took more than 23 shots over those five games. Only seven Red Wings scored a goal, and only two scored more than one, with Henrik Zetterberg and Jiri Hudler each scoring two. Simply put, it was not the Red Wings that the fans saw all season. It was not a good effort.

Will Lidstrom retire? We all hope not. It will be a huge hit to the Wings defense if Lidstrom retires, obviously. Kenny Holland says he has until June:

"I'm going to give Nick until the middle of June, I want to give him lots of time," Holland said. "I'd like to know prior to the NHL entry draft. When you get there, that's when the trade talks and the real juices start flowing heading into July 1 free agency. Nick's got a good couple of months [to decide], obviously we want him back, I want him back."

What is the rest of the future? Hmmmm, let me look into the crystal ball here...Hudler, Holmstrom, Stuart, Lidstrom and Conklin are all unrestricted free agents in 2012. We all know that if Lidstrom stays, he stays. He's not going anywhere. The Wings should keep Hudler. Now, before you all start blasting that comment, recall that he finished second on the team in goals scored, and had a 50 point season. FIFTY POINTS. Oh, and guess who had the highest shooting percentage? Yeah, you know, you just don't wanna say it, because now you have to admit that you all were WRONG about him. At least for this season. Clowns. Holmstrom is making noise about retiring and hanging out with Kris Draper in his pool. This may be a good option for him. He has done well and fought the good fight, and maybe its time. Stuart and Conklin? Let em go. Seriously.

Speaking of free agents, how about this quote from Mike Babcock?

"We have tons of money and if we can use our cap space to get high-end free agents, we have a shot to get right back on top. If we're fortunate in free agency, we won't have to look at going in another direction. The standard here has always been to chase the Stanley Cup, so as a coach, I'm hoping the free-agent market helps us continue to have those goals."

Hey Coach, let me run this by you: If the Wings have the cash, Paul Gaustad, Zach Parise, Alexander Semin and Ryan Suter are all unrestricted free agents this year. Pick two (or three if you get rid of Stuart and Conklin). Wings fans would faint from sheer joy if the Wings picked up Parise, Semin, and Suter. Even just Semin and Suter. With Datsyuk and Zetterberg in their prime, Hudler and Filppula scoring 50-60 points a season, and with Helm's return, that would put the Wings in a very good position indeed. It would be like having the All Star roster squad like in 2002 when the Wings had Yzerman, Hull, Robitaille, Fedorov, Shanahan, Chelios, and Lidstrom. Jesus Christ the Red Wings even had Sean Avery that year, although he didn't play in the playoffs. That year was like plugging in the cheat code on your PS3 when you play NHL2K12. The Wings need to do that again, and they can. Babcock said it himself:

"We have tons of money".

Up and Coming: Many of you may remember when this blog sand the praises of Brendan Smith, and disparaged Gustav Nyquist. Well, it is time to admit that this blog was wrong. They both belong on the team. Did any of you see Nyquist looking like a young Pavel Datsyuk out there? Enough said on that...

Anyway, we all know that the Wings are winners. 21 consecutive seasons in the playoffs, another season over 100 points, and although it was a weak playoff run, the Wings exposed some problems to fix in the offseason. They have some good kids coming up, and the cash to bring in some proven talent.

Are you reading this Kenny Holland? I hope so, because I need more than three followers...

Sigh...pass the painkillers...

Well the Wings have finally tacked a "W" to the scoresheet in March. OK, yeah, sure, they won a couple earlier, and the Grand Rapids bus is pretty much permanently parked at the Joe, but that 6 game skid was just painful. Lose by a goal to Nashville, then get stomped by the Kings, and shut out by the Ducks....at lease they took the Sharks to OT only to lose .... How much more can your average Red Wings fan take?

Thankfully, Nick Lidstrom is back. Yes, it's spelled L-I-D-S-T-R-O-M. Not Lindstrom, Linstrom, or Linnstrom. Have you ever seen the press fuck up Vanbeisbrouck? No, you have not, and that name is a LOT harder to spell than Lidstrom. Seriously. On the same subject, the regulars are slowly trickling back in, and some new faces look like they are staying, such as Brendan Smith. Of course, as soon as I typed that, I see that he has been reassigned to the Griffins. Which means that Ericsson is probably coming back Monday. Gustav Nyquist is going to be a good addition next year. I mean, the guy set a Griffins scoring record and he hasn't even played all of the Griffins games. There has got to be some potential there. He had a glorious scoring opportunity against the Hurricanes, but got robbed once and hit the post on another attempt. He will get it...

SO, now the Wings have a home and home with the Blue Jackets, which, if the Jackets hold true to form, should be a nice confidence builder for the Wings. Then they get the Predators at home, and the Preds are going to want some blood, so hopefully the Wings can keep healthy through that one. Speaking of healthy, Howard, and Franzen should be the next two back in the lineup, followed by MacDonald. Helm is a different story, his knee is banged up, and he might be out for a while.

A word about Jiri Hudler: WHY does he get such bad press? Does he smell bad? The man has 46 points for the Wings this year, which puts him 5th on the team. And when the names in front of you are Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, and Filppula, that's something. You should all be commenting on how nice it is to have somebody that can put up 46 points and still be FIFTH ON THE TEAM...Jesus people come on. Rick Nash only has 48 points and he's God's gift to the Blue Jackets, while Hudler scores 46 and gets shit on? Please. Sure Nash plays for a crappy team, but still. If he's a superstar with 48, then Hudler is not as bad as people are implying.

Anyways...looking forward to the next few weeks. Should be fun...

1 and 1000

When I turned on the tube to watch the game tonight, I was a little apprehensive, because Nic Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk were out. And are staying out until at least Monday. Fine. Let the young kids play, and gain some skills before we get to the playoffs. Now, lets review: Valteri Filppula scores the game winner 35 seconds into the game. See ya later Minnesota!

Moving on to the numbers:

0 - Number of goals allowed by Jimmy Howard.

2 - Number of Slovenian players in the NHL. (This will become clear to you in a moment.)

23 - number of saves Harding made before he got yanked for Hackett. Also the number of beers each member of the Jan Mursak fan club drank prior to the 2nd period. Yes, there is a Jan Mursak fan club. It's in Slovenia and they were at the Joe tonight. (See above)

19 - The number of saves Jimmy Howard made all night. Also the number of times Mickey Redmond said "Holy Jumpin!" during the telecast.

1 - Brendan Smith gets his first NHL goal. Which is good for him because if he's going to be the next Nik Lidstrom, he's got some catching up to do.

1000 - Ken Daniels has called his 1000th Red Wings game, which is roughly the same amount of New Years Ball Drops that Dick Clark has done.

Alright enough of that shit. Did anyone else notice that Todd Bertuzzi left in the middle of the game and didn't come back? Lower body injury. That really sucks because if the injury bug is about to bite, it had better do it NOW, and not 3 games before the playoffs. Right now the list sits at Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Ericsson, and now Bertuzzi. IF in fact that's really the truth. Teams in the NHL guard injury status closely. NHL GM's could work for the CIA. In any case, the Wings have two stars out of the lineup, and they can still win and win big. I mean, Filppula, Helm, and Smith put the game away. Zetterberg didn't score until it was 4-0. That's great! But I am sure that the fans would like to see a healthy team going into the first round.

So now the Red Wings have a home winning streak started again. OK, so ONE isn't really a streak, but they have to start somewhere.

On a side note, as my 11-year old son and I were going to the Everett Silvertips game (WHL hockey), I drop a Tweet to Landon Ferraro to tell him that we were going to see his old club, and that we would be wearing Red Wings gear. I didn't really expect to hear anything back... but...45 min later, I got a tweet back. This started a conversation that lasted about an hour or so, just chatting. My son was over the moon, and was telling everyone at the game that he "was twittering with Landon", as if he knew him his whole life...it was great to see the reactions on fans faces when he showed them my phone. So, thank you Landon, for not forgetting about the ordinary fan, and for making my son the happiest kid at the Silvertips game.

Except maybe for that one kid who won the dance contest...he may have been happier.

FOR KENNY: The Rangers lost to Tampa Bay (snicker) and they are 6-2-2 in their last 10. In fact, its all the overtime loss points that are keeping them near the top of the NHL. Wojtek Wolski got traded to Florida for a 2013 3rd round draft pick. THAT'S gotta make him feel good. Del Zotto, Callahan, and Fedotenko are out and listed as day-to-day.

Uh oh....

The Wings are flying high again. 12-3 in their last 15 games. Is all that about to come to a screeching halt? Just read that Jimmy Howard is out for 2 weeks with a hand injury. So now the Wings are forced to replace Howard (2.03 GAA, .924 SV%), with Ty Conklin (3.2 GAA, .886 SV%), who will be backed up by Joey MacDonald (you don't wanna know). Will Conklin be up to the task? Well Wings fans better hope Conklin doesn't go down, and they also better hope that the Wings play some extra solid defense in front of him.

So, where do the next two weeks take the Wings? Luckily, After Saturday and Monday in Edmonton and Phoenix, respectively, it's a six game home stand facing the Oilers, Ducks, Flyers, Stars, Predators, and Sharks. Howard may be back for the Stars. Maybe. So in reality, Conklin only needs to start 5 or 6 games, and maybe Coach Babcock throws Joey MacDonald out for the game against the Ducks. Actually, if the Wings are lucky, it will only be two games, which is about right for a broken pinky. Which, as I understand, is the injury.

It sucks really bad for the Wings to lose their top performer at this point in the season, but look at the big picture. At least it isn't the middle of the playoffs. The injury bugs have been rather kind to the Wings so far this season, so lets hope that it stays that way.

I have also read that the Red Wings are looking for a top-six forward. Uhhhhh....is this because the Wings don't need another D-man? So who gets the ticket to Grand Rapids if the Wings pick up another stellar player? Probably Jan Mursak. Wait, where the hell did Chris Conner go? Oh yeah, Grand Rapids...guess he isn't top-six. And who are the Wings courting? As usual, Kenny Holland is locked up tighter than Fort Knox on this subject, other than to say that they are looking at Tuomo Ruutu. A defenseman.

In other news, how the hell does Nick Lidstrom have more penalty minutes than Mike Commodore? Oh yeah, Commodore has only played 15 games to Nick's 51.

FOR KEN: The Rangers are going into a three game home stand, facing the Flyers, Devils, and Lightning, then away at the Flyers. I don't know about you, but I see the fighting majors going through the roof in the next 5 games. MSG might want to consider adding a second deck to its penalty boxes.

Feelin it....

So Im just not feeling it this week. I mean, it was all star weekend and all, but this time of year really sucks donkey. the Wings got their asses handed to them just before the break, and then there was a depressing week of no hockey. Well, the week wasnt completely devoid of hockey, as we have a few WHL teams in the Pacific Northwest to follow. In fact, Landon Ferrarro's old team, the Everett Silvertips, is a few miles away. But it aint the Red Wings. Now that we are past the all star break, let the run to the playoffs begin. With a win at Calgary last night, the Wings solidified their grip on first in the West, and in the NHL. Vancouver is next, and i hear through the grapevine that Datsyuk and Howard were excused from practice. FOR KEN: the Rangers are still tops in the East, but they are winless since the all star break.

Bertuzzi, Revisited.

The Red Wings win their fifth straight on the stick of...Todd Bertuzzi? Yeah that's right. The big power forward looked more like a light finesse player in the shoot out tonight, as he dazzled the Coyotes goalie with a spin move and backhand to the top shelf. (Don't be breaking out the plans to remake The Cutting Edge just yet though, at least not until he pulls off a triple Lutz while still keeping the puck moving forward in a legal manner.) It was the only goal scored in the shootout and the only one the Red Wings needed for a good end to a quick road trip. The Wings needed a good end because they are currently playing .500 hockey on the road, suffering 13 of their 16 losses on the road. In the next four days, Columbus and St. Louis come to the Joe to visit, and hopefully the Wings will extend their franchise record 15 game home win streak to 17.

Then it's back on the road, swinging through Canada, at the Habs, Flames, Canucks, Oil, and ending up in sunny Phoenix again. This road trip should be better than the last time the Wings swooped through the Great White North, when they dropped games to the Flames and Canucks.

These last two points are probably all that is keeping Mike Babcock sane right now, as they were the points that put the Wings on top of the NHL. How does a team play .500 ball on the road and still lead the NHL?? Even more perplexing is how do you go 0-5 on the power play and still have to resort to the shootout to win? Especially at Phoenix, where the Red Wings practically enjoy home ice advantage? Somebody also needs to check that net for regulation sized posts, too. I think the Wings hit the goalpost about 5 times, including a play where Filppula shot, hit the post and the puck rebounds right to Bertuzzi, who promptly hit the other one. Zetterberg hit it at least twice. If the bounces were to go Detroit's way, that game is 7-2 at the end rather than OT and a shootout.

Oh, and by the way, the Wings have a few other things going for them. Like a +45 goal differential, second only to Bostons staggering +71. For a while, the Bruins were putting up football scores, including a 5 game run where they scored 5 or more in each game. But they are not at the top of the NHL now are they? How about a goalie with a .926 save percentage and a 1.98 goals against average? Jimmy Howard is putting up Veznia-like numbers, and he's only getting better. He's got 101 wins over the past three seasons, and his third season is just barely halfway through. Howard is on pace to win 44 games this season, not far from the record of 48. How about having only two regular starters on the "minus" side of the plus/minus rating? Holmstrom and Kronwall are both -1. Everyone else is in the plus, some by over 20. One of those players is a certain power forward named Todd Bertuzzi, at +21.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

FOR Kenny: The Rangers lost to the Crosby-less, Staal-less, flight-less Penguins 4-1. Really? The Penguins? Super. A team that is 3 points above the cut and playing with most of their AHL affiliate in Penguins sweaters. The Rangers didn't even get a shot on net until 9:35 in the first, but it was the third period that killed them. It looked like the Macy's thanksgiving parade to the penalty box, including a 10 minute misconduct. Even though there were 32 combined penalty minutes in the game, each team only got two power plays each. Oh, and Michael Del Zotto needs to climb up to the jumbotron and retrieve his garters, which were deposited there when Malkin scorched his ass one-on-one midway through the third. Even the fight was lame. I mean, Stu Bickel and Eric Tangradi? I thought it would be pretty good, two big guys going at it. After Bickel threw a couple haymakers, they resorted to hugging and doing the 16 year old prom dance shuffle, probably discussing where the next Wilson-Phillips concert was going to be held. SO, the Rangers spend exactly three days on top of the NHL, only to be overtaken.

By the Detroit Red Wings.

Bert, Fils, Mule, Dats...Offense

Despite the fact that he is hated everywhere he goes, Todd Bertuzzi may just be the next big thing in power forwards. He has never posted more than 45 points for the Wings, but haven't we all seen the 35-36 year old player all of a sudden find their groove and start producing? This is where Todd Bertuzzi is now. He is definitely capable of throwing up 60 points if he keeps playing like this. If you remember, he put 97 points on the board for Vancouver in 2002-03. Now I know what you all are thinking, but look at the stats: In the first 20 games this year, Bert scored ONE (1) goal. That's it. He couldn't have scored even if he picked up the puck and slam dunked it a-la Shaq. Which of course is illegal and ... well never mind. In fact, he only even had 6 assists, for a total of 7 points. HOWEVER, in his last 17 games, he has nearly doubled his production, including a 5 game points streak. If the Wings can get Bert to peak right as the playoff start, it will be a very good thing.

Valteri Filppula has 37 points. That puts him above headliners such as Marleau, Iginla, Thornton, and Ovechkin. Yes, THAT Ovechkin. He actually has more goals than Pavel Datsyuk. Hard to believe, but again, the Wings need players like this to come out of nowhere and make other teams wonder why they didn't take him earlier in the draft. Probably because they didn't want to embarrass themselves by butchering his name, like every announcer since he started playing. We all know that Kenny Holland doesn't give a crap about how your name sounds or how he will mispronounce it. He's drafted RUSSIANS for Christ's sake.

Johan Franzen also has 37 points. Which is expected of him. As long as he doesn't fall flat, he will continue to quietly pile up points like that kid that steals your candy but never eats it, just stashes it in his locker.

Which brings us to Pavel Datsyuk. This guy can play the game in a phone booth, and still put moves on people that would leave pieces of equipment on the ice like a yard sale. He is only 6 points out of the NHL scoring lead, and he hasn't played in all the games he could have. The really scary thing is that he might actually step it up as the season progresses. Scary for other teams, not the Wings, obviously. Hopefully he uses the all star break shake some of those nagging injuries that have been bothering him.

In all the Red Wings have 9 players with 20 points or more already, and it isn't even the all star break. The Wings plus/minus rating is fantastic. The worst is a minus-4, and there are only 4 player registering a "minus". The great thing about that is two of those players are Fabian Brunnstrom and Brendan Smith (don't get me started on Smith...dammit) who have only played in a few games. Granted, more than half the season is over, but numbers should start making moves soon, either up or down. Wouldn't it be great to see some third and fourth liners start making some noise? Comparatively speaking, that is, since Helm, Miller and Abdelkader are already in double digits for points. As fast as Helm is, he can be a real problem for other teams, especially on a long stretch pass or a race to the puck.

Oh, and did you see that game today?? Holy shit I thought I was hallucinating. It looked like Al Sobotka had a big hydraulic lift under the ice and was tilting it ever so slightly towards the Chicago end. The Hawks didn't even get a shot in the first 8 minutes, while the Wings had 10. The Hawks looked like they were lost in the dark and their flashlights were out. It was really fun to watch. Then the Wings relaxed a bit after 2 goals, and the Hawks found a stride for a while, and the game became more back and forth, with a few moments of brightness by the Hawks. During this time, and a little dominance in the third period by the Hawks and it was 2-2, with the equalizer coming in off Lidstrom's skate late in the third. And by "late" I actually mean "with 52 seconds left in the game". The Wings also stepped up the hitting game, doubling up the Hawks on hits, 30-15, including three separate instances when a Chicago player avoided a "Kronwalling" and thereby also avoided a lengthy stay in the local intensive care unit

In overtime, the Wings decided that they had seen enough and flipped the switch back to "ON". I think the only person from the Blackhawks to even touch the puck was the goaltender, as the Wings lit him up with 9 shots to the Hawks goose egg. Bert swatted an airborne puck into the net for the game winner, and everyone can relax.

Speaking of relaxing, can NBC PLEASE fire Eddie Olczyk? I mean, he used to play for Chicago, and when you're a commentator for anyone but the home team FOX affiliate, you need to remain unbiased. He cannot. Even though the Wings dominated the first like the Hawks were a mediocre JV squad, he had to pick at every little thing the Wings did wrong, while staying mute about Chicago's inability to, say, get a shot on net for the first 8 minutes, or the Hawks inability to clear their own zone for about 7 minutes. To hell with Eddie Olczyck, how the hell did he get on TV anyway? I would rather listen to Ben Stein read the Gulag Archipelago cover to cover in one sitting rather than listen to Olczyck rave about Chicago. Hopefully the rest of the Wings/Hawks matchups are on Fox Sports Detroit.

For Kenny: The Rangers blanked Toronto today to stay one point ahead of Vancouver for the League lead, and 3 points up on Boston for tops in the East. Sauer, Eminger, and Woywitcka (or however the fuck you spell that) are all on IR and not expected to return anytime soon. Sean Avery blew it and got sent down to Connecticut of the AHL. Something about "disciplinary reasons". Wait ... drama surrounding Sean Avery? Oh the huge manatee...

Bumps in the road...

So far, 2012 has been 50-50 for the not so streaky Red Wings. I know, nobody else would be bitching about splitting a road trip against Dallas, Toronto, Chicago, and the NY Islanders. Problem is, the Wings do great against the top teams, then flop against the cellar dwellers. Like the Islanders. I mean, they were LAST in the East until they beat the Red Wings, now they are second to last. Going further than that, maybe the Wings should reconsider their push to move to the East if they have to play the Islanders more than once a year. It is games like this that make fans want to gouge out their own eyes with a plastic spoon.

Seriously. 5-0-1 since the lockout? NO WINS against a team that has gone 147-173-44 since the lockout, made the playoffs ONCE since the lockout only to lose in the first round, and at the same time owns more first round draft picks than every team except Edmonton. The Wings have a record of 281-111-57 since the lockout. With more games played due to the playoffs. Which, in case you missed it, the Red Wings have participated in every single season for the past 20 seasons in a row, and 25 out of the last 27 seasons. I'm not sure what the lockout has to do with any of this...OH wait I see. It's a reporting trick to make you all think that the Islanders have something going here. Well, they don't. BEFORE the lockout they lost eight straight, and over the last 33 games the Wings are 23-10. BEFORE the lockout it was 23-5 Red Wings. You don't even want to start talking about goal differential. So, in reality, the Islanders still suck, they just suck less against the Red Wings lately.

So WHY do the Red Wings have issues with the Islanders? The NHL Historical Record says that the Red Wings vs the Islanders All Time record is 44-44-6. Well. No shit. Lets not forget that the Islanders DID win 4 Stanley Cups. In a row. AND that was when the Red Wings were the "Dead Things", and Steve Yzerman had not yet come to save them from permanent obscurity. So most of those Islanders wins were when the Wings couldn't buy a win, and every player was going bald. I think Mickey Redmond was still on the team, for Christ's sake.

So lets turn back to the present. Who's idea was it to start Ty Conklin back to back? One game doesn't make him hot, I mean, yeah, he beat the Blackhawks, but the Wings had some defense going. Last night they looked like a sieve. A broken one. Like those kind of sieves that you find in roadside ditches near abandoned trailer parks.

So can we as fans be happy that the Wings have won more Stanley Cups than any two other US teams combined? That they have made the playoffs for longer than some fans have been alive? That they have had winning seasons every year since 1991?

Hell no!

Red Wings fans are spoiled rotten. Loyal as hell, but spoiled. If ever a return to the "Dead Things" era becomes a reality (god forbid), there will be no jumping ship by the real fans. I was a fan in 86 when the Wings went 17-57-6 (that's not a typo), and I am still a fan today. We don't give a flying f*ck at a rolling donut about the Islanders problems. Maybe they will win the Stanley Cup again someday. Hell, maybe you will run into a really big, tall, fat Japanese guy with red hair too. Never know.

But can we please stop fooling around with these crappy teams? I mean, really.

For Ken: The Rangers are tops in the NHL with 58 points (27-9-4). You can now start asking yourself how they are going to blow it this year.