You could also turn the argument around. We lose our #2/3 in Darren Helm and we have plenty of options. We have Joakim Andersson, Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Stephen Weiss, and then Corey Emmerton/Luke Glendening capable of playing centre. If Toronto loses Tyler Bozak, they're forced to use Dave Bolland as a legit every day top six forward. They lose two, then they're totally screwed. Even while having Datsyuk and Zetterberg out, Weiss playing like an ECHL'er, we've still got some solid options.
I'd say we have strong wingers too. Like you said, you have Alfredsson, Franzen, Abdelkader, Nyquist, Tatar, Zetterberg at times, and then a serviceable player in Bertuzzi. Not many teams have depth like Detroit.
Can you blame him? He has 3 points in 22 games. I think he had 2 points through his first 5 games. That's 1 point in a 17 game span. He might have had 3 points through 10 games as well. Weiss has been the second worst forward behind Sammy. We can all rip on Cleary, but Cleary has been better all season. Cleary is not a liability as he can play some real solid defensive hockey, and can get a good dump in offensively.
Stephen Weiss started the season off by spending every single shift in his own end. That second line was absolute garbage. Then Alfredsson and Franzen were off his wing, and the exact same thing was occuring. Weiss' backcheck hasn't been great. He refuses to skate with the puck. Every other centre for the most part skates the puck in, waits, finds an open teammate, etc. Weiss simply dumps it in leaving no chance to regain the puck. His confidence is at an all-time low. Giving him this chance is very key. Even when he's not performing, Nyquist and Franzen can carry him.
I'm curious about the PP for tonight. Will Weiss jump onto unit 1 with Franzen, Alfredsson, Kronwall and Abdelkader or will Nyquist slide up?
