If he actually said that he should be fired now. Not tomorrow. Now.
It can't be... he said his STH credentials make his opinion more valid than mine. I exhausted the possibilities in the list above.
Holland always said he would retire when Lidstrom did. I wish he would've...
He said it. He included Helm... but he also talked about Sammy and Bert
"the nucleus of our team... has a lot of hockey left in them"
How much is "a lot" Kenny? Some of these guys look like they're scraping for the last bit of peanut butter at the bottom of the jar.
How Smith played over Carlo Colaiacovo is beyond me. I am about ready to jump on the fire Babcock bandwagon. No way should Smith play when Wings are trying to claw for every point they can get. Period.
why is babcock not changing anything. he's turning into dave lewis. the lineup is the same every game. the horrible power play has looked the same the entire season. moving cleary or abdelkader off of the top 6 seems to have never even crossed his mind. and we have a gm who is scared ****less of spending too much.
6.9 million for suter. 6.9. not even 7. not 7.1. six point ****ing nine. i mean, thank god we have that extra 8 or so million in cap space just sitting there.
There is something to be said for watching the team in person. It doesn't make a opinion more valid necessarily. But for instance one of the reason there are always just two forwards up for the most part is the other one is 45 feet behind the play, and you get to notice it a lot more. Remember during the Harrington sucks in Detroit era and don't get me wrong he did suck but when I actually got to a game I could see just what he was looking at. Nobody was open, he had no time, that is why he just checked the ball down all the the time. In hockey I understand the flow a little better, most of the people around here are diehard enough to get what is going on and have a feel for the game.
But since I haven't been to a Wings game this year, I cannot tell you just how flat out bad our pace is. It looks bad when I watch it but I have a feeling I would be downright depressed in person, it would have a little more weight. It doesn't throw everything out the window, it doesn't mean you are always right, but watching all 10 (really 12 if you're a goalie watcher too) does matter. It is the reason scouts see people in person and not just on film.
Plus there is something to be said for being a STH, in terms of I want change now. I pay for your product, in the $1,000 dollar range and I am unhappy, this team isn't exciting. They are slow and Babcock is playing high off the glass hockey and trying to beat teams 1-0 nothing and wondering why we are losing 2-1. You need to attack at some point we do very little of it. We don't pinch to keep plays alive often and a lot of you can blame personnel but at certain points we have done all well this season. The third period tonight being an example. We are playing unattractive tight hockey and we don't have the right players to do that either. Changes must be made and those paying the bills should rightly voice their displeasure it will mean more to the Ilitch family and the Wings from a business standpoint if they start really grilling them on it. They care about winning, but the group that directly puts in and not just the hours some of us around here do, matter and they matter a little more, that is just business.
Ken Holland is delusional and should be fired immediately.
Is this a ****ing joke?? The nucleus of this team doesn't even have a lot of hockey left in them after 30 games. What happens when its 82?
What's disturbing to me is that the decline of this team over the last few years is like watching a car wreck in slow-motion. It's like it was impossible to perceive at first, but the cracks appeared and the cracks slowly expanded bit by bit until there was a point when you couldn't cover them up anymore and you realized you were looking at a broken team. Put a tape of this team in 2009 on and then compare it vs. this season and you realize you're looking at an empty shell.
Meanwhile all you heard from management was "we like this team".
Being at the game and watching it live... there are advantages and disadvantages.
There are times when coaches don't know what happened on key plays until after watching it on video
Kronwall hasn't had a point in 6 straight games. He has 42 PIM. He has a career worst -10 rating. He absolutely cannot play on a top pairing.
Z is a career worst -4.
Filppula is a career worst -5 and his offense has fallen off a cliff.
Pavs is Pavs, despite being saddled with linemates like Dan Cleary and Justin Abdelkader he's +13 and pretty much a PPG player.
Jimmy started off slowly but he's been pretty great since March 1st. He should finish with 3 of his 4 seasons as a starter with a .920+ SV%.
Mule is having a solid year. I don't think the Wings can keep him and a compliance buyout is likely but that doesn't change the fact he's started to be a positive presence recently.
Your best players need to be your best players and in the case of Kronner, Z and Filppula that is obviously not the case this season.
BOTTOM LINE: if this team misses the playoffs it's because of this stat: only 2 W's in their last 7 games!!!