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...
