Redder Winger
Registered User
- May 4, 2017
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- 730
No, my bad if I gave that impression. He referenced him via calling out a specific gaff Mantha made, leaving little doubt as to who he meant.
To me, and this is my opinion and not in response to anyone, this has much to do with that "winning culture" we have been hearing so much about. I roll my eyes often when I hear it also and agree that it is a catch phrase to justify some bad contracts to veterans; but in this case, Zetterberg standing up and calling players out is a real example of that winning culture:
I don't care how many points you have, how many goals you have, how many highlights you are on how much bank you're going to make next contract - we do it this way on this team. We play to win and we don't accept short cuts or selfish plays that have a higher likelihood of hurting the team.
I mean who calls out McDavid in Edmonton? Young super star wearing the C, but I'm wagering he still has plenty to learn about winning hockey. Who calls him out when he takes a short cut? Milan Lucic? I bet they would love to have a leader like Z in that locker room, and I bet McDavid would soak it up and do what he had to do to lead his team to wins, he has that drive to be better and that desire to win. So far we know that Mantha likes goals and AA likes big contracts - I'd like to see a little more maturity and drive from both of them. And I'm not giving the vets a free pass, but honestly, I don't give two ****s if our vets are already planning their golf outings. The players that our future will be built around are the ones who concern me.
So play the kids 25 minutes a night sure sounds fun; but if they're playing a haphazard, irresponsible brand of hockey what good are all those minutes going to do them?
There is no winning culture. It's gone, dude. It was gone 5 years ago when this team stopped being a winner. We're now in year 2 of of no playoffs. Don't fall for management's nonsense. This is the same management that signed Mike Green, despite his reputation for not being a hard worker and being a defensive liability. This is the same management that signed Thomas Vanek, despite a similar reputation. So come on. Let's not pretend this team has some high standards about elite two-way play.
Making the playoffs and losing in round one didn't perpetuate "Winning Culture." Missing the playoffs two straight years doesn't scream "winning culture.
The Red Wings' winning culture was always built, first and foremost, on elite, world class skill. It was built around the idea that anything less than winning the cup was a failure. Those values disappeared.
All the try-hard platitudes about defense don't mean a f***ing thing if you don't have world-class skill.
Ken Holland and Jeff Blashill can "try-hard their way into the playoffs" all they want. What they should be working on is drafting and developing skill, first and foremost. If you can do that, you teach a player to be a better defensive player. Stevie Yzerman was here a dozen years before he started taking defense seriously. So when I think about Mantha and Athanasiou and any young guy not being dedicated to defense, sure, I tuck it away and say, these guys need to work on that. But first and foremost, we need to develop their offensive skill.
Any no-name plug can play defense. It's why I can still play hockey and compete with people 25 years younger than me. You work hard, you play smart, and you can stop most everyone.
So when you see someone flashing real, genuine offensive skill, developing that is priority number one.
Judging by last year's draft, I'm not sure this organization values skill much anymore.
Judging by the way this coach plays his guys, I don't think the coach does either.
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