newfy
Registered User
- Jul 28, 2010
- 14,987
- 8,764
He actually isnt, SMith has been good for it the last 2 years though. A little weaker comp but much better possession unmbers
Smith, 5pts, -5 in last 38 games
- Thread starter SoupGuru
- Start date
He actually isnt, SMith has been good for it the last 2 years though. A little weaker comp but much better possession unmbers
DDK is an interesting guy. He takes some risks with stretch passes sometimes that you wouldn't think he'd be up for. Sometimes he fails miserably, but I like that he takes a swing, particularly as he often covers his own gaffes.
I don't see that from Smith and aside from Kindl I don't know that I trust any of Detroit's Dmen less than he to shut down a 2 on 1 breakaway. DDK is routinely a black hole on those plays and has even made me miss...dare I say it...Lidstrom a bit less on a few plays.
Smith is older than DDK and has more nhl experience, but just can't put it all together.
I don't see that from Smith and aside from Kindl I don't know that I trust any of Detroit's Dmen less than he to shut down a 2 on 1 breakaway. DDK is routinely a black hole on those plays and has even made me miss...dare I say it...Lidstrom a bit less on a few plays.
Smith is older than DDK and has more nhl experience, but just can't put it all together.
Cyborg Yzerberg
Registered User
You can't just define it for me simply? I'm not really interested in reading a novel with Randomly Capitalized and Bold Words.
I think what you're trying to say is Corsi and Fenwick...
But what I hear people saying is "The guy that has 3 points in 27 games is a super awesome offensive player!"
Here are some fun facts, looking at careers:
Lebda has a better even strength points/60 than both DeKeyser and Smith.
DeKeyser has a better points/60 overall than Lebda who is better than Smith.
Lebda destroys both DeKeyser and Smith in shot related stats.
Frk It
Mo Seider Less Problems
- Jul 27, 2010
- 36,865
- 15,742
Here you are sir:
It's a way to measure how big (or small) an impact a player is having on his team's territorial dominance during a shift.
I believe Smith's major issue is a lack of confidence. A little less than a year ago, he was on our top pairing and people were talking about his long awaited emergence. Question is, was that a hot streak, or is his potential still at a top pairing level?
I believe the potential is there but Babcock's demanding nature has impeded Smith's game. I'd like to see Smith given a 5 or 6 game stretch on that top pairing again. Give him some PP time and encourage a few offensive jumps. Let's give him the reigns to optimize his skill set and see what happens.
Alas, with a playoff push looming and Babcock around this is all nothing more than wishful thinking on my part. I won't go so far to wish Injury on anyone but maybe a "minor muscle tweak" for Ericsson (I actually like E's game, I just would love to see Smith given another opportunity to shine) could open the window for an intriguing 6 man unit:
Kronwall-Smith
Dekeyser -Q
XO - Marchenko
I believe the potential is there but Babcock's demanding nature has impeded Smith's game. I'd like to see Smith given a 5 or 6 game stretch on that top pairing again. Give him some PP time and encourage a few offensive jumps. Let's give him the reigns to optimize his skill set and see what happens.
Alas, with a playoff push looming and Babcock around this is all nothing more than wishful thinking on my part. I won't go so far to wish Injury on anyone but maybe a "minor muscle tweak" for Ericsson (I actually like E's game, I just would love to see Smith given another opportunity to shine) could open the window for an intriguing 6 man unit:
Kronwall-Smith
Dekeyser -Q
XO - Marchenko
Smith has all the tools in the toolbox imo. He just routinely seems to grab the wrong tool at the wrong time. Hopefully that beautiful laser he smoked between the wickets against the Isles gets his confidence up. I'd LOVE to see Smith get it going and bump Ericsson.
Petes2424
Registered User
- Aug 4, 2005
- 8,498
- 3,300
Petes2424
Registered User
- Aug 4, 2005
- 8,498
- 3,300
It's silly really. I've seen comments on here about Smith having "no confidence"... He actually is over confident on most of his oops moments.
Smith is just fine. They have a slot to fill. They're giving Ouellet and Marchenko the minutes right now but that will be the spot filled with a RHD. It'll probably be Jeff Petry. He will quickly become the RH Kyle Quincey in a lot of minds here when he makes three mistakes his first three games.
Smith is the least of the Wings worries. He's come to the plate in big games over the last year, including the stretch drive last year and the playoffs. He'll be fine.
Petes2424
Registered User
- Aug 4, 2005
- 8,498
- 3,300
He should be. That said, he's what he is. He moves the puck, and he's shown he can play important minutes. Brad Stuart went through similar issues in his 20s and settled right into a great defensive player. To continually whine about every mistake he makes is ridiculous though. And we see it constantly on this board when people overlook all these other players making similar mistakes. Hell, Kronwall still has a lot of oops moments. All D do. I honestly think it has a lot to do with people watching Lidstrom all those years and not understanding he was about as unique as you can get in the mistake area. He rarely made one.
Look at Dougie Hamilton, Morgan Rielly, Dmitri Kulikov, Gudbranson, Johnson, and the list goes on. They all have oops moments.
Kulikov is a great example. Much more was expected from him offensively than he's produced but he's still a very good player. The Brad Stuart comparison is a very good one. Some guys offense never translates to the NHL. We see it more with forwards but it does happen with D. Eric Johnson is another guy who until recently had some stretches of really struggling to produce points. Like a 200 game stretch where he was about .3 ppg.
It may still come. We see the skill on occasions and like mentioned. He's not on the PP where some of us feel he should be. Where guys like Kulikov and Johnson were, even during their struggles to produce.
SpookyTsuki
Registered User
- Dec 3, 2014
- 15,919
- 675
That doesn't exactly mean much given that trio. Granted its at least something but really it would be hard not to be the best out of that bunch.
When has Smith showed he can play important minutes?
When has Smith showed consistent offense?
Do you really think the other defensemen make as many mistakes as Smith?
Why should Smith get PP time over someone that has actually shown the ability to score this year?
I just don't understand why Smith gets such a long leash.
Frk It
Mo Seider Less Problems
- Jul 27, 2010
- 36,865
- 15,742
Last year when Ericsson got hurt and he played top pairing for several months, and looked good.
Last year when he was the most productive defenseman on the team at ES, and outproduced many good players in even strength scoring per 60 minutes around the league.
Doesn't help when you celebrate his failures and ignore any success.
Petes2424
Registered User
- Aug 4, 2005
- 8,498
- 3,300
All D DONT have to show "Consistent Offense." He moves the puck well enough to play on this team. That is a pre-requisite for playing on the Wings. Yes, all guys on the backend make mistakes every game. Some are more costly than others. That's just the way the game works. Smith's are no different than any other guy on the team over the last year. People on here just like to point them out more compared with other guys because they're disappointed he hasnt become that instant star they thought, so it's turned to crapping on everything he does wrong.
It's that simple.
He plays an attack type game. That he needs to control more and that comes with experience. We've seen a major step over the last year. That's why his leash is so long. He has all the talent you could ask for.
All the talent you can ask for and none of the intelligence. He's a dog chasing a car. Even if he chases it down he just won't know what to do with it.
Think he'll end up being a mainstay in the middle pairing, nothing wrong with that.
Think he'll end up being a mainstay in the middle pairing, nothing wrong with that.
Sentinel
Registered User
Everything I've seen from Smith was not flattering. From "OK, that didn't work" to "WTF was that?!" If we could trade him for someone, that'd be nice.
probertrules24
Registered User
PelagicJoe
Registered User
All of this. Only Kindl is worse. Ship 'em both out. Kindl first, because he is waaay overpaid.
Heaton
Moderator
Yes, his career 18 PPP in 241 games really gives him more value. I have no idea why Smith doesn't play on the powerplay, but he can't do worse than that.
I can't wait for smith to finish his development, there's gonna be so many feet in mouths.
Last 8 games. 2pts, +3. But let's not acknowledge that. he sucks. Might as well give up on him too early. That's worked out for the leafs in the past. Might as well follow there lead on premature prospect abandonment haha
Last 8 games. 2pts, +3. But let's not acknowledge that. he sucks. Might as well give up on him too early. That's worked out for the leafs in the past. Might as well follow there lead on premature prospect abandonment haha
ricky0034
Registered User
- Jun 8, 2010
- 15,473
- 7,941
Dan Cleary was better than Tatar and Nyquist at the start of the year last year,Cleary at least had a roster spot
