Detroit Redwings Downfall

[Lazytrout]

The problem with keeping Hronek is that it's not about 1 season. He's on an 8 year deal at a 7+ mil cap hit. They needed to decide if he was a core part of their rebuild or not.

That's fair enough

 

[dekelikekocur]

I may not speak for the majority of Wings fans but this season is shaking down pretty much how it was predicted. Playing meaningful games down the stretch, close to the final wild card... unfortunately looking more likely they will miss as each game passes.

The positives - Core guys all look good, and signed to to nice deals for the most part. Larkin and Raymond have been more cold than hot since 4 nations, but that should not be an excuse. Other teams had their top guys at the same tournament. Edvinsson & Johansson look legit, Ed like a guy who will run his own top 4 pairing and AlJo as a real nice partner/low maintenance guy. Kasper looks like a gem and great value for where they ended up in that draft. The way he has played the second half of the season between the top line and now playing middle between Kane & Debrincat is encouraging. His tenacity and skill are both equal parts of what makes him effective.

Negatives - Bottom 6 is garbage and some of those guys need to play up the line up. Half the defense is also garbage although I personally do not mind Chiarot the majority of games. He is far from the problem that Gus, Holl, Petry have been. Goaltending has been hit or miss second half of the season but thanfully... no one is signed long term. Mrazek is always going to be hot & cold but after July 1st having him & Talbot signed to for 1 year may be the lesser of all the evils available of the goaltending market.

End of the day... Larkin, Raymond, Seider are all signed to nice long term deals. Cap flexibility for future years and they own all their own picks going forward. Likely this is finally the off season that most fans (or outside watchers) have been waiting for. Yzerman will get aggressive, he gave McLellan time to evaluate the roster and what guys can work and what guys need to be moved on from. Should have 22-23? million to work with in the off season without any other potential moves.. lots of flexibility to cut the fat off the team & improve.

Is it flashy and sexy? Nope. But progression has been steady and constantly moving forward so its going the right direction. This season seems lateral but the fact the young guys have stepped up and they have not sunk in the standings is enough to show the ship is still going in the right direction, for me anyways. The future of the team is not the current problem, its the place holders. Yzerman has not done a good job of finding guys that can produce results in those spots. Its strange to say but the Copp signing isn't looking too bad these days, the team sorely misses him and Compher has not been able to reproduce what he brought to the table so far to finish this season.

I am sure someone is going to tell me that is not good enough, the core is flawed, the Yzerplan gets too much of a free pass, drafting 10-15 is a trap you get stuck in for eternity, etc. , etc.

I honestly expected some regression this year as they brought up more kids. Not to the point Lalonde was showing, I also wonder if we had Todd from the beginning of the season how much different the point total would be currently.

 

[FriendlyGhost92]

The problem with keeping Hronek is that it's not about 1 season. He's on an 8 year deal at a 7+ mil cap hit. They needed to decide if he was a core part of their rebuild or not.

Nevermind that Hronek was never going to be this Hronek playing behind Seider.

 

[Czechboy]

I mean if you just asked instead of stat watched you'd know that the clear top four since Todd took over has been Chiarot/Seider and Edvinsson/AlJo.

Gustafsson is hot garbage.

I didn't say Gustaffson was top 4.

 

[Dotter]

Maybe in 3-4 more years boys

I'll eat my hat if Red Wings win a cup in 3 years. Anything is possible.

 

[Fatass]

Nevermind that Hronek was never going to be this Hronek playing behind Seider.

Yup. Hronek is a perfect #2 with an elite #1. Imo Yzerman needs to find a left shot elite #1 D man so Seider can fill that #2 role that he’s best suited for.

 

[Mr Nogatco]

It’s not officially documented anywhere, but the rumbling that came from the Walman trade was nothing but positive from the locker room and coaching staff.

Not sure what he did to be so hated, but he somehow managed to become a cancer in the locker room. Maybe he stole Larkin’s cheerios one morning, who knows.

I liked him on the wings, thought he was fun to watch with his cheeky gritty celebration, but when I heard from an ex-wings player in the offseason who was apart of the team that somebody (who he couldn’t name) that played on the blue line really caused lockeroom issues in the midst of the playoff run, I knew right away who it was when the trade had happened.

Good for San Jose on capitalizing on the opportunity. That organization made out like bandits in that trade. Turned one times problem into gold.

Am I concerned about the move the GM made to keep the locker room and coaching staff happy? No not at all. It was a hard decision, but he was traded for futures for a reason. That reason is to remind the locker room that no one man is greater than the team.

Also, I don’t think Detroit would have ever been able to receive a first rounder for Walman in the series of any events anyways. So at the end of the day even neglecting the fact that he was potentially a big problem in the room, it’s not as bad as some make it out to be.

weird how he was "potentially a big problem in the room" but you can definitively say "he was a cancer" who was "hated"

 

[Dr Quincy]

I may not speak for the majority of Wings fans but this season is shaking down pretty much how it was predicted. Playing meaningful games down the stretch, close to the final wild card... unfortunately looking more likely they will miss as each game passes.

The positives - Core guys all look good, and signed to to nice deals for the most part. Larkin and Raymond have been more cold than hot since 4 nations, but that should not be an excuse. Other teams had their top guys at the same tournament. Edvinsson & Johansson look legit, Ed like a guy who will run his own top 4 pairing and AlJo as a real nice partner/low maintenance guy. Kasper looks like a gem and great value for where they ended up in that draft. The way he has played the second half of the season between the top line and now playing middle between Kane & Debrincat is encouraging. His tenacity and skill are both equal parts of what makes him effective.

Negatives - Bottom 6 is garbage and some of those guys need to play up the line up. Half the defense is also garbage although I personally do not mind Chiarot the majority of games. He is far from the problem that Gus, Holl, Petry have been. Goaltending has been hit or miss second half of the season but thanfully... no one is signed long term. Mrazek is always going to be hot & cold but after July 1st having him & Talbot signed to for 1 year may be the lesser of all the evils available of the goaltending market.

End of the day... Larkin, Raymond, Seider are all signed to nice long term deals. Cap flexibility for future years and they own all their own picks going forward. Likely this is finally the off season that most fans (or outside watchers) have been waiting for. Yzerman will get aggressive, he gave McLellan time to evaluate the roster and what guys can work and what guys need to be moved on from. Should have 22-23? million to work with in the off season without any other potential moves.. lots of flexibility to cut the fat off the team & improve.

Is it flashy and sexy? Nope. But progression has been steady and constantly moving forward so its going the right direction. This season seems lateral but the fact the young guys have stepped up and they have not sunk in the standings is enough to show the ship is still going in the right direction, for me anyways. The future of the team is not the current problem, its the place holders. Yzerman has not done a good job of finding guys that can produce results in those spots. Its strange to say but the Copp signing isn't looking too bad these days, the team sorely misses him and Compher has not been able to reproduce what he brought to the table so far to finish this season.

I am sure someone is going to tell me that is not good enough, the core is flawed, the Yzerplan gets too much of a free pass, drafting 10-15 is a trap you get stuck in for eternity, etc. , etc.

If I said before the start of the year that DET would be 7 pts worse than last year's team I think most DRW fans would say I was being a hater and totally underestimating the steps their young players would make.

It's ridiculous to say that the progression has been steady and constantly moving forward when it literally is worse than the prior year.

 

[JediOrderPizza]

If I said before the start of the year that DET would be 7 pts worse than last year's team I think most DRW fans would say I was being a hater and totally underestimating the steps their young players would make.

It's ridiculous to say that the progression has been steady and constantly moving forward when it literally is worse than the prior year.

Nope, you should've seen our free agency thread and add the Walman trade we were extremely miffed. Some of us expected a regression with more rookies.

I will say the pieces that are important are doing well here, so when Gustafsson, Holl, Compher, Chiarot or whatever free agent stinks. It's a big who cares at this point. I care about Raymond, Seider, Kasper, Edvinsson, Johansson, and Soderblom. Things that will matter going forward.