Post-Game Talk: Remember that winning streak we had?

[InGusWeTrust]

Looks like we need Vanek. Our biggest strength was 3rd line scoring IMO. Have we won a game since he has been out?

 

[Winger98]

And the difference he makes is what? Arizona is currently the worst team in the NHL. One of a handful of teams in the league that we can actually argue we are icing a better D than this season. Chychrun has no points since his first 3 games, averages just over 1 SOG per game (for reference, Sproul has 11 shots in 5 games this season).. so far he looks like a steady NHLer but he is not what our team needs right now so I wouldn't cry over passing on him until he actually becomes the kind of impact d-man we need.

The guy's 18 years old. If he can step into the NHL as an 18 year old, continue to put up .3 ppg, and keep his head above water defensively, that is very impressive, and something we haven't seen since Fischer. And Fischer didn't put up points at even that pace.

I'm not saying I'd rather have him over Cholo, I really didn't know enough about any of these kids on draft night to make any sort of educated opinion on it. But Chychrun is doing pretty darn well.

 

[Winger98]

Looks like we need Vanek. Our biggest strength was 3rd line scoring IMO. Have we won a game since he has been out?

Who would have thought that scoring depth could be a strength. All the more reason to have Mantha up, even when Vanek is healthy, and try to go skill heavy in our top9. If that pushes a contract like Gator or Abby to the fourth line, or someone like Sheahan, then so be it.

 

[InGusWeTrust]

Who would have thought that scoring depth could be a strength. All the more reason to have Mantha up, even when Vanek is healthy, and try to go skill heavy in our top9. If that pushes a contract like Gator or Abby to the fourth line, or someone like Sheahan, then so be it.

Would have to agree, Mantha adds a bit more speed as well. Every 2 points counts...especially since we will probably (Maybe) back ourselves into the last playoff spot again

 

[Yemack]

Dump in has to be executed smarter. Dumping in the puck is like giving up possession right now.

Also some players have to step up. It's getting kind of sad. This is like watching bottom feeder teams. They kinda give a **** in the end and they try to find a meaning from it when the other team stops pushing hard. Blashill talking about 'getting better' each game is sounding like McTavish 'visually getting better' each game. They need to stop talking about getting better and actually start winning. Intensity has to be higher. Blashill has to stop being a cheerleader and has to be more like a ringmaster in circus. He has to do better job getting guys pumped up and stop trying to be the good cop. Being a good cop is not his job. His job is to use that whip to push guys.

 

[GoAwayDanCleary]

The losses are a lot easier to handle when you look at each one of them as one more step towards rebuilding.

It's impossible to go into a rebuild with the amount of ludicrous contracts gifted to veteran players. We are going to be stuck in this situation(or worse) for a loooong time.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

holland intentionally failed miserably when he chose not to address three things
-the defence
-team roles(toughness, character, scoring, etc)
-the fact we're not a good team

oh well,

 

[ap3x]

 

[InGusWeTrust]

Hope this guy can bring in some energy to that 3rd line..assuming he plays there.

 

[Mister Ed]

Bittersweet, love seeing Bertuzzi up, should be Mantha coming up. Could be cap-related, Bertuzzi makes 661K and Mantha makes 863K.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

Bittersweet, love seeing Bertuzzi up, should be Mantha coming up. Could be cap-related, Bertuzzi makes 661K and Mantha makes 863K.

thats embarassing

to not be able to afford 200k in salary when you're a bottom 12 team

 

[ArGarBarGar]

Again, what's the rationale behind Bertuzzi over Mantha?

We lose a top-9 scorer so we call up a 4th liner to replace him when we have a top-9 prospect who is waiting in the wings?

 

[Frk It]

Again, what's the rationale behind Bertuzzi over Mantha?

We lose a top-9 scorer so we call up a 4th liner to replace him when we have a top-9 prospect who is waiting in the wings?

Almost guarantee that it is cap driven.

Would find it hard to believe they would call up Bertuzzi over Mantha, if they could afford both.

 

[Yemack]

Again, what's the rationale behind Bertuzzi over Mantha?

We lose a top-9 scorer so we call up a 4th liner to replace him when we have a top-9 prospect who is waiting in the wings?

might have to do with the fact that Bert brings energy and forechecking which this team lacks quite a lot.

 

[LarKing]

Yeah that's basically my mindset.

How many more years before we go into a rebuild? I'd say the next two seasons are going to be more of the same - Holland/I'll itch doesn't want to end the Joe or enter LCA with a bad team. After that idk. In 18-19 I think a rebuild might actually start.

Let's give ourselves 3-5 years for that to go thru, that means the earliest I see us contending for a cup is 21-22 if we're lucky but something like 23-24 is more likely.

At that point, most of the horrible contracts will be ending, Larkin will still be in the middle of his prime.

Soo... Almost 8 more seasons to go! That is assuming we get good pieces with our top picks. If that doesn't happen then it will only be longer.

Eh I think that's a pretty big overestimation. We're going to get a good pick (at least top ten imo) in these next few drafts whether we're officially rebuilding or not. We also have a lot of good secondary guys already (Nyquist, Tatar, Larkin, Dekeyser) who are not old. Larkin obviously having the potential to be a lot more than just a secondary guy. We wouldn't be going scorched earth type where our only good players are old in that scenario and we trade everything good away essentially (Buffalo, Toronto, Edmonton). We really only need 2-3 good drafts with high picks and we can start looking at the playoffs again right after that. Hopefully we'll be buying out some of these terrible contracts/trading them at the deadline to teams desperate for that final piece (Helm, Abdelkader, Howard).

 

[LarKing]

It's impossible to go into a rebuild with the amount of ludicrous contracts gifted to veteran players. We are going to be stuck in this situation(or worse) for a loooong time.

It's impossible to go into a rebuild because we're up against the cap? I know it's been a very long time since the Wings rebuilt but rebuilding doesn't require cap space. We wouldn't need the cap space to be signing other free agents. We'd be selling at the deadline and gaining cap space.

Or are you saying it's impossible to rebuild because we simply don't have the roster spots with the veteran contracts? Either way I don't really see those as big obstacles to rebuilding.

 

[Run the Jewels]

It's impossible to go into a rebuild with the amount of ludicrous contracts gifted to veteran players. We are going to be stuck in this situation(or worse) for a loooong time.

This is what is truly breaktaking: people - including our GM - thought giving out those contracts was a way to remain competitive. Not only are we becoming less and less competitive, it is going to take us much longer to lose the bad contracts and get into a reasonably good cap situation where you can be a partner to a trade that addresses an organizational need. Not that Holland would ever do that, it is simply tying the hands of the guy who eventually replaces him as GM.

 

[InGusWeTrust]

What if I told you all that......we won 6 games in a row and lost 6 games in a row and that its not the end of the world? Would everyone be blowing up if we won/loss/won/loss/won/loss etc.

 

[ap3x]

 

[ap3x]

Oh my.

 

[Pavels Dog]

That last paragraph? Players don't just play in the NHL because they're big enough. Come on dude.

On the flip side, d-men with the physical tools that Chychrun has usually get drafted in the top 5 if they also have the required skill and hockey sense to be even remotely likely to become #1 d-men.

Because 10 games of a rookie season is a much better sample size than 5 years (and counting) of token playoff appearances that have no chance at winning a championship.

As far away as he is, Chychrun would win a Norris before this roster wins 16 playoff games. I'll take my chances on acquiring young talent at positions of need. And when the Leafs have passed Detroit in the standings, I don't think crying over things is so inappropriate.

And, in general, people need to stop thinking that the next Lidstrom is walking through the door ever again, or that one impact defenseman is the magic bullet needed. The Wings would be a significantly better team if their entire defense consisted of #2's and #3's, instead of the trash they're surrounding Green with at the moment.

We acquired talent on positions of need at the draft. I think Wings fans of all people should understand that it's not always the prospects that are NHL ready the fastest that end up the best players. At the same time as most people seem to understand that we need elite players, so many are screaming for the 'quick fix'. I couldn't disagree with you more that we need to go after #2-3 d-men. The next Lidstrom definitely is never walking through the door, but a Duncan Keith or Drew Doughty or Shea Weber definitely does more for a defense than any amount of #2-3s can.

The guy's 18 years old. If he can step into the NHL as an 18 year old, continue to put up .3 ppg, and keep his head above water defensively, that is very impressive, and something we haven't seen since Fischer. And Fischer didn't put up points at even that pace.

I'm not saying I'd rather have him over Cholo, I really didn't know enough about any of these kids on draft night to make any sort of educated opinion on it. But Chychrun is doing pretty darn well.

He's doing very well. But we don't need a d-man that simply does well. Like mentioned, if we drafted him he'd probably be in GR. Because right now we don't need a guy that can be a solid #4-5, even if he is only 18.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

Oh my.

Maintenance day is my guess.

 

[ap3x]

 

[Frk It]

He's doing very well. But we don't need a d-man that simply does well. Like mentioned, if we drafted him he'd probably be in GR. Because right now we don't need a guy that can be a solid #4-5, even if he is only 18.

I'm not sure it is the best thing for his development, to be perfectly honest.

 

[blupye*]

Oiler fan in peace.
Always asking opposing teams what they think of us now. Do we look better? I think our size is great, lines are balanced and our goaltending is great. The defence is still a work in progress but much better then last year. I feel we are a power play QB away from a powerful team