Injury Report: Brendan Smith placed on IR (hurt in fight..)

[Henkka]

I still don't buy that theory that Quincey is the main reason for Smith being bad. Both were better when they played with different partner. They just don't have chemistry together. When Smith was off from the roster, suddenly Quincey has had his best games of the season.

 

[Lord Stan 2020]

I still don't buy that theory that Quincey is the main reason for Smith being bad. Both were better when they played with different partner. They just don't have chemistry together. When Smith was off from the roster, suddenly Quincey has had his best games of the season.

So will give that quincey and smith together is a train wreck. All blame isnt on quincey but it doesnt work. I am not the coach but dd playing pp and smith pk makes zero sense to me.

I am just saying mix it up. If quincey plays better with kindl or lashoff so be it. If not he can get the hell off the team. If you put Ericsson with smith and that works great.

If not smith might be a bust. I am not that high on smith like a lot were. I think he is used wrong and doesnt work with Q whatsoever. Is like putting cleary weiss and abby together as our second line getting 20 minutes. Doesnt work. Never going to really work.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Kindl on ice for two goals all season, two periods with Kyle Quincey, two goals on him and Kindl tonight.

 

[zecke26]

Kindl on ice for two goals all season, two periods with Kyle Quincey, two goals on him and Kindl tonight.

just because quincey is terrible doesn't make smith a better player. both together are a nightmare, but even if split i think both still suck so far this season.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

just because quincey is terrible doesn't make smith a better player. both together are a nightmare, but even if split i think both still suck so far this season.

Smith played his best stretch of the season being paired with XO and then Kronner. Its not all Q's fault, but it sure isn't a coincidence Smith played better with the other two.

 

[zecke26]

Smith played his best stretch of the season being paired with XO and then Kronner. Its not all Q's fault, but it sure isn't a coincidence Smith played better with the other two.

of course not. quincey is dragging down everyone. no one here would deny that.

 

[petesrw]

Keep calm and Quincey on.

 

[joe89]

My biggest disappointment with Smith so far is his inability to generate offense. He's only averaging a shot on goal per game(not just this season). Not much for a guy who takes risks and makes pinches. He's a decent, not great passer(worse than Danny D, Kronwall, Ericsson). He often hesitates and makes the wrong play offensively.

If Smithy lived up to his offensive projections, it would be easier to overlook his defensive shortcomings. Right now, I'm not even sure what type of defenseman he is. And I'm not sure the coach knows either.

 

[jaster]

Babcock has Smith handcuffed offensively. Smith has been directed, for a long time now, to focus on the defensive side of his game, at the expense of his offense. He obviously hasn't had a whole lot of success with that plan, but I don't blame him a whole lot for not producing offense. It just hasn't been his focus.

 

[joe89]

Babcock has Smith handcuffed offensively. Smith has been directed, for a long time now, to focus on the defensive side of his game, at the expense of his offense. He obviously hasn't had a whole lot of success with that plan, but I don't blame him a whole lot for not producing offense. It just hasn't been his focus.

He hasn't been asked to be that guy, I agree. But outside of a stretch last season when we dumbed our defense down to doing nothing but defend, he's still making pinches and doing rushes. He's still trying, with minimal results. On a pairing with Quincey, no matter how bland that pairing might be, he's undoubtedly the guy that should move the puck and be the fourth forward.

And like I've said before, Smithy isn't a great PP QB, or at least it's not his best strength as an offensive guy. Had he been his AHL numbers would've been through the roof. He should probably have the fulltime 2nd unit PP spot anyway, but it's nothing he has earned to this point really.

I would like to see the Smith from last year's playoffs show up again. He had some headscratchers but he was also playing with a lot of intensity and generating a lot of offense at even strength. Might have to put him with Ericsson first for that to happen.

 

[Detroit Swed Wings]

His last games was so brutal even my GF asked "what is that guy doing?"
3 penalties, and MAJOR turnovers leading to breakaways. Luckily Jimmy bailed him out both times.

And for KFQ, same thing. Brainfarts that cost us a goal or a quality scoring chance against.

It's the same thing game in game out, like Clearys mandatory offside plays.

I'm getting so ****ing pissed watching this team.

 

[jaster]

He hasn't been asked to be that guy, I agree. But outside of a stretch last season when we dumbed our defense down to doing nothing but defend, he's still making pinches and doing rushes. He's still trying, with minimal results. On a pairing with Quincey, no matter how bland that pairing might be, he's undoubtedly the guy that should move the puck and be the fourth forward.

He's trying to produce offense, I agree. But his attempts are minimal. He pinches and rushes only when it's a very low-risk proposition. Hard to quantify off the top of my head, but it seems like he's doing it even less than last year. Regardless.... I agree, so far this season he's had virtually no success in producing points. He gets blame for this, just not all of it, imo I'm far more concerned with his level of mistakes than I am his lack of offense. The offense will come, if he can tighten up his overall game and gain confidence.

And like I've said before, Smithy isn't a great PP QB, or at least it's not his best strength as an offensive guy. Had he been his AHL numbers would've been through the roof. He should probably have the fulltime 2nd unit PP spot anyway, but it's nothing he has earned to this point really.

Yeah. I watched a lot of Smith in college. He was very rarely QBing the PP. He was virtually always the PP triggerman on the weak side of the offensive zone, constantly loaded for a one-timer. He was often lethal from there. Very Brett Hull-esque. I really wouldn't mind if he were used in a similar fashion on our PP. You're right, he probably hasn't earned it, but at some level, if a guy has the right tools, and your PP needs help, it's worth a shot. Plus, he may gain confidence from this which could help the rest of his game (total speculation on my part, but similar things have happened to other players).

I would like to see the Smith from last year's playoffs show up again. He had some headscratchers but he was also playing with a lot of intensity and generating a lot of offense at even strength. Might have to put him with Ericsson first for that to happen.

I agree with almost everyone that Smith's issues are mostly due to himself and not Quincey, but it's undeniable that Quincey isn't making things any easier for Smith. And with Kronwall and Dekeyser seemingly working out well as a pair, I think your idea of putting him with Ericsson is potentially a good one. Quincey-Kindl is kinda scary as the leftover pair, but no more scary than Quincey-Smith

 

[crashman]

Babcock has Smith handcuffed offensively. Smith has been directed, for a long time now, to focus on the defensive side of his game, at the expense of his offense. He obviously hasn't had a whole lot of success with that plan, but I don't blame him a whole lot for not producing offense. It just hasn't been his focus.

Defending Quincey might not be popular here, but I think it's the same thing with him.

Smith and Q are offensive-defenseman, but Babcock doesn't use them in that fashion. He's trying to convert them to stay-at-home players like he did with Brad Stuart (who used his offensive ability earlier in his career). Chances are, either of them are ever going to be great shut-down defenseman, but it won't stop Babcock from trying. We need to get rid of one of these 2 guys (or both, I don't care), get a true stay-at-home d-man and stop trying to turn players into something they're not.

His last games was so brutal even my GF asked "what is that guy doing?"
3 penalties, and MAJOR turnovers leading to breakaways. Luckily Jimmy bailed him out both times.

And for KFQ, same thing. Brainfarts that cost us a goal or a quality scoring chance against.

It's the same thing game in game out, like Clearys mandatory offside plays.

I'm getting so ****ing pissed watching this team.

Exactly! Cleary is the king of offsides, he's constantly killing offensive rushes with offsides or terrible passes in the o-zone.

Once Smith loses his focus in the d-zone, it's like he's done. He never recovers until the puck has cleared the zone, or ends up in the back of the net. A lot of times, it seems like he loses his focus once, then he's toast for the rest of the game...just a pylon.

 

[Henkka]

Dekeyser-Quincey worked very well together.

If all guys would be healthy and the playoffs would start now, my defence would be:


Kronwall - Ericsson
DeKeyser - Quincey
Lashoff - Kindl

Lashoff has been very solid at his 6th D "Lilja" role. Basic simple play, that someone like Smith can't even dream about.

That defence would push our GAA down and would be very effective at playoff-hockey. And there's enough skill from Kronwall-DeKeyser-Kindl from every pair to create offense.

 

[crashman]

Dekeyser-Quincey worked very well together.

If all guys would be healthy and the playoffs would start now, my defence would be:


Kronwall - Ericsson
DeKeyser - Quincey
Lashoff - Kindl

Lashoff has been very solid at his 6th D "Lilja" role. Basic simple play, that someone like Smith can't even dream about.

That defence would push our GAA down and would be very effective at playoff-hockey. And there's enough skill from Kronwall-DeKeyser-Kindl from every pair to create offense.

I agree, but I'd swap Q and Kindl. But even then, it's still a pretty weak defense. I'd love to see a trade to upgrade our defense, even if it means losing one of our better prospects and a 1st round pick.

 

[jaster]

Defending Quincey might not be popular here, but I think it's the same thing with him.

Smith and Q are offensive-defenseman, but Babcock doesn't use them in that fashion. He's trying to convert them to stay-at-home players like he did with Brad Stuart (who used his offensive ability earlier in his career). Chances are, either of them are ever going to be great shut-down defenseman, but it won't stop Babcock from trying. We need to get rid of one of these 2 guys (or both, I don't care), get a true stay-at-home d-man and stop trying to turn players into something they're not.

Maybe you're right about Quincey being forced to be something he's not, but I think with Smith it's a developmental process for Babcock. He wants him to solidify the defensive side of his game before he opens up his offense. Get him to establish good habits with good fundamentals as a foundation of his game. I don't think it's that he wants Smith to be a "shut-down" type of guy. Smith's struggling, but he's still young, so I'd like to see him given more time before we give up on him.

Quincey can't leave town fast enough for my liking though. I don't like the way he plays the game, and at this point he is who he is. He's not going to get any better. Quincey out, Ouellet in!

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

Its unbelievable how much blame Smith is getting on these boards.

Off the playoff roster for Lashoff? Really?

Neither Ericsson nor Kindl got this bad of treatment around here. And Smith is considerably better than either of them were around the same age.

 

[Heaton]

Off the playoff roster for Lashoff? Really?

Like it or not, Lashoff has been solid this year, he has been on the ice for the least goals against amongst regulars.

Neither Ericsson nor Kindl got this bad of treatment around here. And Smith is considerably better than either of them were around the same age.

I disagree. Ericsson was shredded for years on this board. Smith is no where near better than them at his age. But I do agree that people need to relax.

 

[crashman]

Its unbelievable how much blame Smith is getting on these boards.

Off the playoff roster for Lashoff? Really?

Neither Ericsson nor Kindl got this bad of treatment around here. And Smith is considerably better than either of them were around the same age.

I think Ericsson did receive this much hate (I know that I thought he was a bum), but I also don't think he was ever as bad as Smith is now. It also hurts Smith that he was a very highly touted prospect, which wasn't the case with E or Kindl.

Kindl was never terrible, just underwhelming at times. Personally, I always saw some potential in Kindl and never saw his play as a big problem, so I wasn't surprised much when he had the season he did last year.

 

[InjuredChoker]

Dekeyser-Quincey worked very well together.

more like quincey sucked less with that pairing. they were still outshot and outscored.

quincey without dekeyser this year: wings score 11.1 of goals. lmao.


If all guys would be healthy and the playoffs would start now, my defence would be:

Kronwall - Ericsson
DeKeyser - Quincey
Lashoff - Kindl

Lashoff has been very solid at his 6th D "Lilja" role. Basic simple play, that someone like Smith can't even dream about.

That defence would push our GAA down and would be very effective at playoff-hockey. And there's enough skill from Kronwall-DeKeyser-Kindl from every pair to create offense.

that's still pretty bad.

Like it or not, Lashoff has been solid this year, he has been on the ice for the least goals against amongst regulars.

lashoff has looked like regular this year. pleasantly surprised. it's small sample size but didn't think that would happen.

but lashoff has played less than many other guys on our d.

 

[newfy]

I think Ericsson did receive this much hate (I know that I thought he was a bum), but I also don't think he was ever as bad as Smith is now. It also hurts Smith that he was a very highly touted prospect, which wasn't the case with E or Kindl.

Kindl was never terrible, just underwhelming at times. Personally, I always saw some potential in Kindl and never saw his play as a big problem, so I wasn't surprised much when he had the season he did last year.

Those guys were like 3 years older than Smith when they made their debuts and twice as sheltered and look at Ericcson now. I dont think Kindl is as great as everyone does but hes playing solid hockey. But hes still more sheltered than Smith.

 

[Flowah]

at some level, if a guy has the right tools, and your PP needs help, it's worth a shot.

Or we could keep putting Sammy there.

:shakeshead:

 

[crashman]

Those guys were like 3 years older than Smith when they made their debuts and twice as sheltered and look at Ericcson now. I dont think Kindl is as great as everyone does but hes playing solid hockey. But hes still more sheltered than Smith.

We can compare these guys all day, but it doesn't change the fact that Smith seems incapable of playing defense in the NHL. I've never seen a Wings defenseman get lost in the play the way he does.

 

[Perd Hapley]

The weirdest thing about Smith is when he played in Lidstrom's last year he legitimately looked like one of the best defense prospects in the league. Maybe it's just me but a couple years ago he looked like a really good skater who could be all over the ice, I don't know if during the lockout he put on too much weight but he looks nothing like he did a few years ago to me. I think a full year playing with Lidstrom would have done wonders for him with how much he gives the puck away under pressure but signing Ian White and letting him get overripe in the AHL seems to be our development strategy.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

We can compare these guys all day, but it doesn't change the fact that Smith seems incapable of playing defense in the NHL. I've never seen a Wings defenseman get lost in the play the way he does.

Quincey gets more lost than him on the regular, so never having seen one? It happens every night.

Red Wings D-man who got lost the most in his own zone in the entire time I have been watching this team is Paul Coffey. Even though he was traded, it helps that at least when he was in the lineup the coaching staff decided, lets let him play offense and be himself. I know easier to do with Coffey, but Bowman even gave Mathieu Dandenault a bigger green light than Smith has, it is infuriating.