The Wings just had their lowest scoring since since 1976...

[Heaton]

Do you believe the team will score more or less next season? If more, how much of that will be due to the new goalie equipment rules and how much because of the UFA additions and young players continuing to progress?

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[Run the Jewels]

The team is in a tough spot because they get so little offensive help from the blueline. We have three guys who each have a good chance to lead the team in scoring: Larkin, Nyquist and Tatar. I'd be shocked if anyone else on the roster had a career year, and everyone else could potentially have yet another bad season. I wrote after the season that we had a large percentage of guys who had the worst year of their career last year. There were a few exceptions, ie their rookie season was worse in a few cases.

Larkin is the only real bright spot where we can reasonably count on him to have the best year of his career. I do wonder how many guys will improve on last year's production, let alone have career years.

 

[Winger98]

Do you believe the team will score more or less next season? If more, how much of that will be due to the new goalie equipment rules and how much because of the UFA additions and young players continuing to progress?

I can't imagine we'll score less, but I don't think we'll score significantly more, either. I think scoring goals and maintaining offensive pressure will still be a problem, and we're going to see a lot of time spent screwing around in our own zone, desperately trying to get the puck down the ice far enough for a line change but not icing it.

 

[Frk It]

Do you believe the team will score more or less next season? If more, how much of that will be due to the new goalie equipment rules and how much because of the UFA additions and young players continuing to progress?

Slightly more.

Not because of UFA additions, or goalie equipment changes. Frankly I think Ferschweiller had no structure or direction with our PP at all. That PP looked a hot mess, it's a miracle we finished in the top half of the league with how disorganized that looked. Have a hard time seeing it be worse. That should boost some totals for guys like Nyquist, Vanek, Green.

I think we will be more settled into Blashill's system. I think Nyquist and Tatar are better players than what we saw last season. I think Sheahan is a better player than what we saw last season. I'm expecting a rebound season from a bunch of guys.

 

[njx9]

About the same. The defense still isn't very good at moving the puck, and we still have too many guys who are offensively limited, to put it nicely, in the top 9. Guys like Sheahan will need to take a *huge* step forward, if the offense is really going to improve. That said, it's hard to imagine the PP being more inept, so that should show at least some improvement.

 

[Frk It]

About the same. The defense still isn't very good at moving the puck, and we still have too many guys who are offensively limited, to put it nicely, in the top 9. Guys like Sheahan will need to take a *huge* step forward, if the offense is really going to improve. That said, it's hard to imagine the PP being more inept, so that should show at least some improvement.

Why are we harping on Sheahan?

Believe he was a around a .5 ppg for his career before last year, and he has some nice tools.

Lot more worried about Helm potentially being a 2nd line winger, as opposed to Sheahan centering our 3rd line.

 

[Ezekial]

I think it's totally reliant on Blash and his asset usage.

Does he continually play players like he did with pav and hank, giving them 20 minutes a night while they are not/marginally effective? Are you giving the top goal and point producer relative to minutes less time than any regular forward? Do you under utilize players who have proven to be effective in limited time a la AA?

If they do not continue this trend and try to distribute minutes I think they will score more. I think the PP will be better (even if marginal) with Fersh out and Vanek and Fransy in, even without Datsyuk. Hopefully they don't continue with Kronwall PP1 unless he's healthy and effective.

Idk Mrazek well be playing most games and it seems they don't like to give him goal support.

 

[njx9]

Why are we harping on Sheahan?

Because I think he's extremely offensively limited. He's a big body that doesn't play like one, and doesn't have the skill to play a finesse game. He had very sheltered minutes his first two years, and his PPG have been on a steady downward trend, all 3 years. I'm not saying he's a junk player, but I don't think he's very good offensively.

Believe he was a around a .5 ppg for his career before last year, and he has some nice tools.

Er, which tools? Honestly asking. I don't see them. He's not particularly fast, he doesn't use his body very well... I guess he's an ok skater, maybe?

Lot more worried about Helm potentially being a 2nd line winger, as opposed to Sheahan centering our 3rd line.

Of course, I just feel like I've talked about Helm enough this offseason. It seems likely he'll be the worst offensive player on any line he plays on. That said, his PPG was better than Sheahan's the last two years, and wasn't that much worse in 2013.

 

[Peter Tosh]

Best case scenario: Larkin continues to evolve and leads our offensive, while Nyquist and Tatar provides the kind of numbers many of us once expected from them.

 

[Frk It]

Er, which tools? Honestly asking. I don't see them. He's not particularly fast, he doesn't use his body very well... I guess he's an ok skater, maybe?

He has a good shot, he just never uses it. Also is a pretty good stickhandler. Throws some really nice saucer passes too.

He has a sneaky good skill set, he's just *very* inconsistent. He was a 1st rounder for a reason.

 

[Ezekial]

Best case scenario: Larkin continues to evolve and leads our offensive, while Nyquist and Tatar provides the kind of numbers many of us once expected from them.

0 players in the NHL last season who averaged less than 15 minutes a game scored 50 points. Tomas Tatar led the league with 45.

 

[Retire91]

I think slightly more. I think the UFA although mediocre can mostly refill Daytsuk's production while the rest of the team had kind of a down year.

Oddly enough I think it depends a lot on blash. If he wares out the Vets again and makes nonsensical line decisions like Abby and Helm in the top 6 then we could see worse results.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

I think slightly more. I think the UFA although mediocre can mostly refill Daytsuk's production while the rest of the team had kind of a down year.

Oddly enough I think it depends a lot on blash. If he wares out the Vets again and makes nonsensical line decisions like Abby and Helm in the top 6 then we could see worse results.

Abby is a top 6 forward. There is nothing about playing him there that doesn't make sense.

 

[njx9]

He has a good shot, he just never uses it. Also is a pretty good stickhandler. Throws some really nice saucer passes too.

He has a sneaky good skill set, he's just *very* inconsistent. He was a 1st rounder for a reason.

I'll have to watch the clips when I'm at home. I guess I could concede that he is skilled, but it seems like he very rarely uses any of those skills. Maybe it does come down to consistency, like you said, but he just seems like one of those guys who put it together enough to play in the NHL, but who never made the jump from 'average NHLer' to 'good player'.

I guess it might also be that Sheahan took lessons with Nyquist, in "how to defer to everyone else on the ice, all the time", especially seeing that his shot totals are significantly lower than even Helm's (I'm amazed Helm actually got 160 shots on goal, the last two years). If that's the case, I hope Blash breaks that habit for all of our guys.

 

[Frk It]

I'll have to watch the clips when I'm at home. I guess I could concede that he is skilled, but it seems like he very rarely uses any of those skills. Maybe it does come down to consistency, like you said, but he just seems like one of those guys who put it together enough to play in the NHL, but who never made the jump from 'average NHLer' to 'good player'.

I guess it might also be that Sheahan took lessons with Nyquist, in "how to defer to everyone else on the ice, all the time", especially seeing that his shot totals are significantly lower than even Helm's (I'm amazed Helm actually got 160 shots on goal, the last two years). If that's the case, I hope Blash breaks that habit for all of our guys.

Yeah, I don't know. I watch most every game of this team, and he has those nights when I'm like, "okay, yeah THAT'S why he was a 1st rounder". But it's not often enough. (Then again I said this with Kindl, too)

I would recommend watching those clips when you have a second. He has a heavy wrist shot. Places it well, but he scores a decent amount of goals even when the goalie makes some contact with the puck because his shot is that heavy. I mean he is listed at like ~225 lbs, so should not be surprising. He moves well for his size, and he can be slippery 1 on 1 when he has a head full of steam.

Honestly a lot of those goals where he skates into the zone and beats goalies with a heavy wrister look a lot like what Franzen used to do. Same path and everything. Going through a couple youtube pages, all the rest of his goals are net front or re-directs. Again, similar to Franzen. I would be very curious to see what Riley Sheahan on the wing looks like for a season. Think you could see a breakout similar to Filppula moving out wide.

 

[obey86]

I remember his first 2 seasons that Sheahan made quite a few nice passes as well......particularly when down low around the net.

 

[Frk It]

I remember his first 2 seasons that Sheahan made quite a few nice passes as well......particularly when down low around the net.

Yes, that's true as well. I think even some went as far to say he was one of the better passers on the team at the time, if I remember right.

 

[Retire91]

Abby is a top 6 forward. There is nothing about playing him there that doesn't make sense.

When management thinks there is no one in the lineup better than Abby and Helm it screams of a severe lack of talent on the roster. Abby is where the puck goes for offense to die he is not a top 6 player he is an above average grinder. Just beacause Zetterberg and Daytsuk padded his stats by bouncing pucks off of him into the net doesn't make him top 6 talent.

 

[TheOtherOne]

I would be very curious to see what Riley Sheahan on the wing looks like for a season.

From my perspective... I haven't seen anything from Riley yet that suggests to me that he's a good center.

Whenever I have been impressed by him, it was in the role of a wing (like screening the net for example).

 

[Claypool]

I feel like a lot of teams had their lowest-scoring season in decades. The NHL isn't a scoring league anymore. This isn't a Red Wings problem.

Also, I think Sheahan is a beast. Dude has only played two and a half seasons in the NHL. I think he'll be similar to Franzen in that it'll take time for him to begin to dominate and remain consistent. He just needs confidence.

 

[Ezekial]

When management thinks there is no one in the lineup better than Abby and Helm it screams of a severe lack of talent on the roster. Abby is where the puck goes for offense to die he is not a top 6 player he is an above average grinder. Just beacause Zetterberg and Daytsuk padded his stats by bouncing pucks off of him into the net doesn't make him top 6 talent.

There's nothing wrong with a player like Abby in his role in the top 6.
The second half of the season Zetterberg's stick is where the puck went for the offense to die. Abby was one of the better players on the team last year.

Helm shouldn't be in the top 6 in any capacity.

 

[WingedWheel1987]

I don't expect them to be any better.

Last season wasn't a fluke. It's what happens to teams with no blue line.

 

[Frk It]

From my perspective... I haven't seen anything from Riley yet that suggests to me that he's a good center.

Whenever I have been impressed by him, it was in the role of a wing (like screening the net for example).

Well, I would be all for moving Darren Helm back to 3rd line center. That was the role I have liked him in the most. I would be good with running Larkin-Nielsen-Helm-Glendening down the middle and moving Sheahan to the wing.

 

[njx9]

I'd rather see AA get the shot at C. I don't think Helm adds enough to play 3C. That said, I know 'what I want'<>'reality', so given the roster, I'd be all right with that shift (Sheahan->W, Helm->3C).

 

[jaster]

He has a good shot, he just never uses it. Also is a pretty good stickhandler. Throws some really nice saucer passes too.

He has a sneaky good skill set, he's just *very* inconsistent. He was a 1st rounder for a reason.

I was surprised when a recent article mentioned he finished last season with 7 goals and 5 assists in his final 21 games of the year. That's not setting the world on fire, but it was a stronger offensive finish than I remember. If he can become more consistent in terms of putting that skill set to use, and have the requisite offensive talent on his line, I can see him scoring 45 points this season. That's pretty darn good for a 2-way 3rd line center.