Mantha being scratched again in NY tonight?

[Ennui]

Mantha isn't Z. Mantha is a kid not playing to his full potential and is currently on a "mental" vacation.

This is his rookie season in the NHL, no better time to break bad habits than now. And judging by his Tweet, he gets that. Which is a very good sign and shows his maturity. Now lets just hope he comes back with a vengeance.

That kind of logic is fine and dandy, but how many other young players on the Wings are similarly in need of a firm hand? Or, for that matter, what about demonstrating that the veteran players don't get a free pass when they mail in their performances? Dekeyser's played like a flaming bag of dog poo of late, Abdelkader's played poorly throughout the season with nary a mention by Blashill, Nyquist and Tatar have had their awful moments, and then there's the obvious with Riley-no-show-Sheahan. Mantha is nothing more than Blashill's go-to-goat.

The saving grace to this season, aside from drafting higher and acquiring the talent our team desperately needs via the draft, will be that Blashill is headed for the unemployment line and hopefully won't catch a glimpse of coaching in the NHL ever again.

 

[wings95]

Pretty hard to scratch DD, When you're down only to 6 D men as it stands.

Call one up.... DD has sucked for awhile.

 

[Pavels Dog]

Mantha is going to be 23 at the start of next season. If he hasn't figured out how to be a pro yet you have to wonder if it will ever happen. Another high profile draft pick that never fully develops, par for the course unfortunately.

The only one who hasn't figured out how to be a pro is Blashill.

Mantha has been very good this season and should be in the last 3-4 players to be considered for a healthy scratch.

 

[DanZ]

Mantha is going to be 23 at the start of next season. If he hasn't figured out how to be a pro yet you have to wonder if it will ever happen. Another high profile draft pick that never fully develops, par for the course unfortunately.

He's already scoring at a 20+ goal, 50+ point pace. He'll be fine.

 

[jolly roger]

So Blabhill just gave everyone the finger and scratched Mantha again. Can the end of this CLOWN come too soon?

Aren't the Ilitches watching this debacle?

 

[Birko19]

Mantha is going to be 23 at the start of next season. If he hasn't figured out how to be a pro yet you have to wonder if it will ever happen. Another high profile draft pick that never fully develops, par for the course unfortunately.

What are you talking about? The kid is currently the second best forward on the team, is he perfect? No, but he has been great offensively considering the crappy lineup we have.

 

[Roomba With a Bauer]

What are you talking about? The kid is currently the second best forward on the team, is he perfect? No, but he has been great offensively considering the crappy lineup we have.

Mantha would've scored 30 goals this year playing with a real center. Put him on a real NHL team right now and he's putting up 60 points.

 

[Yemack]

The only one who hasn't figured out how to be a pro is Blashill.

Mantha has been very good this season and should be in the last 3-4 players to be considered for a healthy scratch.

actually I think Mantha being scratched make perfect sense. I dont know how he played last few but this team isn't giving 100% effort and you want to send msg your potential future core player that it is not norm. There's difference between making mistakes and not competing.

Besides, it helps the tank effort at the same time. Blashill would NOT have scratched mantha if Wings were fighting for the last spot. I can tell you that with quite a certainty. And nobody in this league stupid enough to admit that they are not fielding the best team possible because it helps their cause.

 

[Dotter]

Mantha should start the next game after the Rangers loss. andreas athanasiou should be the next to get scratched.

 

[Ezekial]

Mantha should start the next game after the Rangers loss. andreas athanasiou should be the next to get scratched.

Drew Miller needs to be the next one to be scratched.

 

[Mijatovic]

I dont want Sheahan scratched because I want to see what his final record is.

 

[KJoe88]

I dont want Sheahan scratched because I want to see what his final record is.

I want to see him go goaless.

Messed up I know.

 

[Wood Stick]

The thing is, Riley Sheahan is not a bad player. Absolute terrible year, but he's getting legit chances. I don't understand it. He has a very hard wrist shot. I'd rather scratch Miller next. Not huge on Cally being the guy up though. I would like to see Nosek.

Chevy is doing really well now too - 40ish points in 60 games

 

[SpookyTsuki]

Mantha should start the next game after the Rangers loss. andreas athanasiou should be the next to get scratched.

You sure he didn't learn his lesson. Or did the loss do it for him

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

Mantha would've scored 30 goals this year playing with a real center. Put him on a real NHL team right now and he's putting up 60 points.

Yeah his opportunity is rough playing the bulk of his minutes with a player in the top 10 in league assist and top 30 in points. Listen last year the down on Zetterberg made some sense. It doesn't this year and that people are still trotting it out is hot garbage at this point.

Is Z a top 10 player like he was for a decade in the league, nope. But he is a legitimate first line guy still whether or not people are willingly admitting that, I don't really care but it is a fact. He ranks as a top line guy in points and is still elite in assists. All while playing solid two-way hockey on an abysmal offensive and defensive team.

Even with the ship sinking, our captain is putting in a monster shift this year. Consistently our best player and still a dynamite guy to play with.

 

[Sheriff Bert]

If Blash is upset about Mantha's defensive game, he has to realize that Mantha was never really billed as a two-way guy. This is a team that at the beginning of the year had Nyquist, Mantha, Tatar, Vanek, etc. on the roster. None of which are known for a defensive game. We already have enough defensive minded forwards to the point that we can't score a goal.

If Mantha gets a slap on the wrist here, guys like Nyquist, Abby, and Helm should be held accountable too for a lack of production. While they aren't exactly playing with elite centers, there's no reason why both should be sub 15 goals at this point, let alone sub 10. And they are locked into longer term deals.

Larkin gets a bit of a pass, but I'm expecting a lot more next season.

 

[Dotter]

You sure he didn't learn his lesson. Or did the loss do it for him

Babcock ran the ship the same way. In fact, I think most coaches do.

 

[Kyleftlx]

Mantha would've scored 30 goals this year playing with a real center. Put him on a real NHL team right now and he's putting up 60 points.

I think Zetterberg is a pretty *real* center.

 

[WFIAA]

I want to see him go goaless.

Messed up I know.

I'm with you, mostly because it just shows how stubborn Blash is...and how wrong. I'm mean, the dude is STILL on the PP.

The thing is, Riley Sheahan is not a bad player. Absolute terrible year, but he's getting legit chances. I don't understand it. He has a very hard wrist shot. I'd rather scratch Miller next. Not huge on Cally being the guy up though. I would like to see Nosek.

Chevy is doing really well now too - 40ish points in 60 games

The thing with Sheahan is that, it isn't like he is just having bad luck with his shots, he isn't even getting assists. He gets plenty of IT and time on the PP, yet he has fewer assists than Glendenning. He's also a team worse +/-. If his name was Jurco, he would have only played 5-10 games this year.

 

[Number1RedWingsFan52]

Call one up.... DD has sucked for awhile.

Whom do you call up? Lashoff or Hicketts and neither is an upgrade over sitting DDK will never happen.

 

[SirloinUB]

I'd have guessed that Mantha wasn't buying into Blashill's message but this quote kind of dispels that notion.

Blashill, “You use the word message, but for me it’s all about habits and if habits are going the wrong way or if habits are formed,” Blashill said. “How do you change habits? You teach, you talk, you show video and sometimes you have to take away ice time. That’s the reality of it. So that might be in-game, that might be for a single game, might be for multiple games.

It can be difficult to get a read of these situations when you are not in the room but here is the thing: You can't break habits without playing. Moreover, to break a habit you have to be exposed to the same set of circumstances and execute different actions over and over.

 

[GrGriffins]

The thing is, Riley Sheahan is not a bad player. Absolute terrible year, but he's getting legit chances. I don't understand it. He has a very hard wrist shot. I'd rather scratch Miller next. Not huge on Cally being the guy up though. I would like to see Nosek.

Chevy is doing really well now too - 40ish points in 60 games

Nosek was suppose to have been the player called up instead of Callahan, but Nosek suffered a concussion the night before of the call up and he was out a week, thus Callahan was next in line. Pretty sure Nosek will be up with the Wings before the season end. Will see.

 

[GrGriffins]

Whom do you call up? Lashoff or Hicketts and neither is an upgrade over sitting DDK will never happen.

Wings would call up Lashoff over Hicketts mainly because Hicketts is in his first pro season and he is not quite ready to move up yet and Lashoff no other NHL wants him and he gets cleared every time the Wings put him on waivers.

Wings will use their 3 remaining call up moves (barring injuries) on forwards to figure out what to do with some of them in terms of next season whether to resign them, or let some of them go.

 

[Squirrel in the Hole]

This should not be happening for two games, I will not defend this decision from Holland or Blashill at all.

I think it's "we won on Friday, let's go with the exact same lineup/lines/nobody change their underwear" philosophy you have when you don't have a clue as a coach.

Drew Miller needs to be in the press box tonight. That or heck you can discipline another player.

That's really it. If Mantha was sitting so that you can have a look at another kid, that would be one thing. But, exactly what is proved by giving Drew Miller another game?

 

[Hammettf2b]

I think it's "we won on Friday, let's go with the exact same lineup/lines/nobody change their underwear" philosophy you have when you don't have a clue as a coach.


That's really it. If Mantha was sitting so that you can have a look at another kid, that would be one thing. But, exactly what is proved by giving Drew Miller another game?

It's loyalty. Miller *****ed about wanting to get traded because he wanted to play in the pros and when Holland traded some forwards, that was his excuse to get him back in the lineup.