GDT: Wings @ Rangers

[Steve Yzerlland]

Hirose > Mantha

Ahahahha I'm not the biggest Mantha fan but c'mon.

 

[Ezekial]

Anything happen to Osgood? Seems like his mouth isn't moving right.

Been like that for a couple weeks now, ever since he came back, his upper jaw is messed up and idk why.

 

[Bondurant]

How was Hirose tonight?

 

[SoupGuru]

Hirose looked awesome. It seemed like he sees the game pretty well. He tried some things that didn't work, of course. But he seems to have a spark.

That's nuts about JDLR. I hope he's OK.

 

[FireGerardGallant]

Ranger fan coming in peace, Athanasiou is a beast. Good luck with your rebuild I like what you guys are doing so far with it

 

[DetroitRed]

Oh man! Not good.

 

[Gniwder]

Also, does anyone have Jimmy Howard's stats vs Rangers in his career? I don't think he never loses to them haha

Before tonight's game from NHL.com:
"In 15 career games against the Rangers, Howard is 9-3-3 with a 1.75 goals-against average and .948 save percentage."

So if Howard played against the Rangers every night he'd be HOFer for sure.

 

[Goalie guy]

You will have to show me multiple quotes on this. I just don’t believe it.

Then you have not paid attention or just joined the page because A LOT of people said he sucked and wanted him gone for what ever we could get for him.

 

[odin1981]

Winning at this point is totally meaningless. The tank job is already done.

Last season I did get pissed of some wins, and man, when the draft came and when I did see how the players will be picked, I was even more mad for myself being mad of Red Wings winning. This year I won't care less, even though they would win all the games in the end.

There's just so many variables, first those lottery odds, and then teams in the draft go for their own favourites, and some 3rd ranked "zadinas" can be there at 6th-7th overall. Everybody will get their own 3rd overall from the list at 3-4-5-6-7-8 spots.

So, enjoy hockey and don't whine about wins. Celebrate when other tankers will win, that will put some money on our bank, but don't whine when Red Wings will do it. It has been rare joy on latest years and it has 0.000001% effect for our next drafted player.

Only A-holes hope for losing.

Wow calling fans who care for long term health of the franchise assholes how mature.

 

[RedMenace]

Howard didn't seem nearly as busy with 40+ shots as Bernier did the other night. Makes me wonder if the MSG shot counter isn't padding a little.

Hirose looked much better than Huffner* did. Small sample wise, I'd take Hirose over Fluffner* 11 times out of 10.

DLR with a cardiac episode? As someone who suffers from even minor cardiac issues, f*** me, I hope he's okay.

* - I'm drunk and can't remember the other kid's name... sorry, that was weeks ago. I'm newly unemployed and trying to forget it.

 

[Invictus12]

Heavy ?

Rasmussen's problem is that he is too thin for his height. He needs 20 lbs of muscle to become competitive in the NHL. Mantha has finally filled out and he has shown glimpses of being a power forward this season, unfortunately it is not sustained. Rasmussen will also take several years to fill out before he stops getting pushed around like a mop.

He's 220lbs? That's what Prongers weight was and he was fine... He can gain some weight sure but he is a big guy as it is. I don't think its as much as him filling out as much as him making a jump from boys league to a mans league. He's not good at leveraging his size to his advantage and thats probably because he didn't have to as much before.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Winning at this point is totally meaningless. The tank job is already done.

Last season I did get pissed of some wins, and man, when the draft came and when I did see how the players will be picked, I was even more mad for myself being mad of Red Wings winning. This year I won't care less, even though they would win all the games in the end.

There's just so many variables, first those lottery odds, and then teams in the draft go for their own favourites, and some 3rd ranked "zadinas" can be there at 6th-7th overall. Everybody will get their own 3rd overall from the list at 3-4-5-6-7-8 spots.

So, enjoy hockey and don't whine about wins. Celebrate when other tankers will win, that will put some money on our bank, but don't whine when Red Wings will do it. It has been rare joy on latest years and it has 0.000001% effect for our next drafted player.

Only A-holes hope for losing.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Extremely delighted by AA's season, just dunking on the critics left and right.

 

[TCNorthstars]

Then you have not paid attention or just joined the page because A LOT of people said he sucked and wanted him gone for what ever we could get for him.

Still going to need to see direct quotes on getting rid of him for seconds or thirds or whatever they can get. And a lot of them to get to that 50% that was quoted.

 

[Winger98]

Extremely delighted by AA's season, just dunking on the critics left and right.

The thing with AA is that the criticism was warranted. The kid deserves a lot of credit for working on his game the way he has. And the wings coaching/management deserve credit for guiding him to this point.

Then you have not paid attention or just joined the page because A LOT of people said he sucked and wanted him gone for what ever we could get for him.

I remember a lot of frustration posts like that when he'd go out and loaf through a game or a week, but when there were threads pushing his trade a bit harder, I think the majority wanted to try to move him for a D somewhere. And whenever I looked on the trade board, wings fans were routinely shooting down deals where the Wings weren't getting value back on the kid.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

The thing with AA is that the criticism was warranted. The kid deserves a lot of credit for working on his game the way he has. And the wings coaching/management deserve credit for guiding him to this point.

It was warranted to the extent that he needed to improve his game, but he received a lot more criticism than most third round 22-23 year olds typically get. He was a whipping boy for no apparent reason as a developing player. Obviously coaching and management deserve praise for their work with him, but this is a kid who has stepped up and silenced some pretty ridiculous condemnation.

 

[Winger98]

It was warranted to the extent that he needed to improve his game, but he received a lot more criticism than most third round 22-23 year olds typically get. He was a whipping boy for no apparent reason as a developing player. Obviously coaching and management deserve praise for their work with him, but this is a kid who has stepped up and silenced some pretty ridiculous condemnation.

I think it's a combination of the kid always having a ridiculous skill set and there being not a whole lot else for us to focus on with this team. There's Larkin, old guys who aren't very good, and some kids we are all desperately hoping turn into something good. If this was 2008 I don't think he gets half the focus he got.

If he keeps evolving his game and bringing the effort next season, he makes the rebuild so much easier.

 

[Larkin2AA]

Hirose > Mantha

I'm glad Mantha got pushed to the 4th line in the 3rd. He needs to stay there because he has been absolutely awful.

 

[Hen Kolland]

It was warranted to the extent that he needed to improve his game, but he received a lot more criticism than most third round 22-23 year olds typically get. He was a whipping boy for no apparent reason as a developing player. Obviously coaching and management deserve praise for their work with him, but this is a kid who has stepped up and silenced some pretty ridiculous condemnation.

He wasn't the whipping boy for no apparent reason...I think he put himself in the crosshairs with how opinionated he always appeared to be publicly. That he thought he could play center, that he thought he needed more minutes, that he thought he needed more money; eventually it tested the patience of the fan base to the point that the rhetoric flipped as he started getting those things he wanted, and the fan base started saying, "Okay man, this is what you wanted, you told us you could do it. Put up or shut up." It was unfortunate because we were, and still are, talking about a player still in his development stage.

By no means was it a smooth sailing learning curve, but the worst of it seems to be behind us, and the best of it looks like it's still coming.

 

[Invictus12]

Extremely delighted by AA's season, just dunking on the critics left and right.

Yeah, I remember last summer many folks were itching to ship him out. Hopefully Mantha follows same path next season and steps up more as well.

 

[Invictus12]

He wasn't the whipping boy for no apparent reason...I think he put himself in the crosshairs with how opinionated he always appeared to be publicly. That he thought he could play center, that he thought he needed more minutes, that he thought he needed more money; eventually it tested the patience of the fan base to the point that the rhetoric flipped as he started getting those things he wanted, and the fan base started saying, "Okay man, this is what you wanted, you told us you could do it. Put up or shut up." It was unfortunate because we were, and still are, talking about a player still in his development stage.

By no means was it a smooth sailing learning curve, but the worst of it seems to be behind us, and the best of it looks like it's still coming.

Critique was deserved but some patience was also needed. There is some sort of time line with fans that if a youngster doesn't develop entirely in the first few seasons, there's no use to them... Ofcourse before that, he wasn't given a 'proper chance' in the minds of many.... We can all be glad that he took a huge step in the right direction this season!

 

[jkutswings]

He was a whipping boy for no apparent reason as a developing player. Obviously coaching and management deserve praise for their work with him, but this is a kid who has stepped up and silenced some pretty ridiculous condemnation.

I hate to blow your mind, but I'd still be perfectly fine with trading AA, if the right offer came along. It's not "ridiculous condemnation" when you criticize a lack of effort. Kids make mistakes, so a blown assignment is no big deal, but that's a far cry from (previously) looking like you don't care about what happens on the ice for 90 percent of the game, then put all your effort into that 10 percent strictly because it means you get a breakaway.

Am I anxious to unload the kid for whatever we could get? No. But he could score 40 goals, and I still wouldn't view him as untouchable, because, despite major improvements this year, he still is a relatively one dimensional player. A good one, but certainly not above reproach.

Keeping him and using him for what he is - even if you want to keep trying to grow him - is fine. But before this season, AA deserved every ounce of criticism he got, because the one thing first and seventh round picks are equally accountable for is a professional degree of effort.

 

[Invictus12]

I hate to blow your mind, but I'd still be perfectly fine with trading AA, if the right offer came along. It's not "ridiculous condemnation" when you criticize a lack of effort. Kids make mistakes, so a blown assignment is no big deal, but that's a far cry from (previously) looking like you don't care about what happens on the ice for 90 percent of the game, then put all your effort into that 10 percent strictly because it means you get a breakaway.

Am I anxious to unload the kid for whatever we could get? No. But he could score 40 goals, and I still wouldn't view him as untouchable, because, despite major improvements this year, he still is a relatively one dimensional player. A good one, but certainly not above reproach.

Keeping him and using him for what he is - even if you want to keep trying to grow him - is fine. But before this season, AA deserved every ounce of criticism he got, because the one thing first and seventh round picks are equally accountable for is a professional degree of effort.

In spades, he has shown some desire to play defensively and quite frankly, when he has, he shown a good abilty to pressure opponents into making mistakes. If he improves on that, honestly, he'd be pretty much on the same level as Larkin to me when it comes my willingness in players I'd be okay with trading.

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Wow calling fans who care for long term health of the franchise *******s how mature.

There is caring about the long term health of the franchise and then there is being an *******.

I get wanting the best odds... but even if they were to win out (which they won't) but even if they were, they've got damn good odds at a top 5 pick.

If the people decrying the tank cared about the long term health of the franchise, they wouldn't have been trying to run Howard out of town on a rail for a bag of pucks. That's the one thing about the "tank" commanders I dislike. It isn't somehow more forward thinking to want to lose every game. It is lazy and pinning your hopes on a lottery. I mean, yes, try to get the best odds you can... but losing to get 100 ping pong balls instead of 90 or 95 should not be the end goal. I like what they're doing with Hirose and Kuffner and showing Zadina and Rasmussen what they need to do to be future players. The Wings need to develop a plan that doesn't rely on getting a #1OA pick. If it happens, fantastic, but if you rely on winning the lottery or winning a top 3 pick, that's not a foundation I want to be building my team on. Control what you can control and let getting Hughes instead of Turcotte or Byram just happen.

 

[Goalie guy]

Every thing that is/was being said about why people justified the dislike of AA is text book Mantha like to the letter. Lazy uninspired, slow to come back. floats around in the ozone looking for gifts, soft as butter. So much good can be seen is short spurts it just gets under my skin. Remember how good he was the first few games he came back this year? Like a totally different player.