I know that people are upset, due to the Wings inconsistent play, but isn't to be expected? We all knew the roster was going to be old and full of pluggers, save for Z and Dats, and that the defense, minus Lidstrom, was going to be a step backwards.
Only thing I can fault Babcock with, are his line pairings, and love of Cleary, but he's only working with the hand that Holland has dealt him. Special teams aren't good, especially the PP, but look at what's on the roster, bletch. Injuries aren't helping matters either.
The only surprising player, has been Brunner.
It's not surprising, but it's still disappointing.
What sucks is that my mood is based on how the Wings are doing. I am very emotionally attached to the Wings. The past 20 years have been pretty good. Unfortunately i am going to be a very grouchy person for the next few years. My friends can barely tolerate me when i'm happy.
There are some bright spots. Tatar looks like a legit NHL'er. It begs the question, how much better would he look if he got a chance to play in the NHL 1-2 years ago?
Brunner is flourishing. He loves to shoot the puck which is something the Wings seem to never have. Holland should lock him up for 2-3 years for 2 million a year. It might end up being a huge steal and if not, it's the same amount of money Cleary is currently making.
Z looks like he has elevated his play to that of a captain of the Detroit Red Wings.
Kronwall looks miserable. I really feel for the guy. He is giving everything he has, but he is cracking under the pressure. He is making Horrible mistakes that should never be made by veteran players.
I panned Holland's "defense by committee" approach because i didnt feel the Wings had a good enough defense to actually do that. He is right though, it is the best strategy for the Wings blue line. Lidstrom was a blessing and now we must enter the real world where Lidstrom isn't back there making everyone look amazing. Holland and Babcock need to find a way to reduce Kronwall's role. Currently, the Wings arent really doing the whole defense by committee. Kronwall is being played like a true #1 and it is a big mistake.
This season needs to be used as an evaluation period for players like Nyquist and other prospects.
The "silver lining" of the massive amount of injures the Wings have been experiencing has allowed more prospects to be played in the past two months than the past three years combined. (completely made that up, but you have to admit it's a lot more than usual.)
Babcock is a great coach, but the way he treats certain players is bizarre. He treats Cleary like Wayne Gretzky and Kindl like he just found out he slept with his wife, got her pregnant and found out he was secretly raising Kindl's child all these years.
His coddling of certain veteran players and completely ****ing on prospects/younger players needs to stop. I understand why he does it since the veterans are the guys who make sure the younger players fall in line and buy in, but there comes a point where this strategy is hurting the team more than it's helping. Moving Cleary off the PP was a step in the right direction. Kinda OT, but you have to wonder how much Babcock hates Franzen. He is a veteran who also happens to be a core player. He is the only veteran who ever gets benched for his awful play.
Another coaching issue is the PP, but it's also personnel. The Wings are still implementing the same old PP when we had Lidstrom and Rafi. Unfortunately, that system looks like crap when you have Kronwall and White running the point. I really like the Hawks PP strategy. A lot of east/west passing. PP needs more creativity and Datsyuk/Z should be the focal point.
I really liked it when he called out Flip. Players like Flip are very important pieces to this team with Lidstorm and the defense being brutal. He needs to step up.
Jimmy Howard is proving the nay sayers right. He is a good, but not great goalie. He should get a similar contract to Ondrej, Pavelec.
Fil is hurting too. Compared to his speed and tenacity the 1st handfull of games he doesn't look like himself. We've lost 3 in a row(?) and although entertained I worry about how well this team can finish in April.
