Post-Game Talk: The Price is Wrong

[Wood Stick]

Vanek has an awful contract? What the ****. The team is like 6-2-0 with him and he's over a PPG on a one year 2.4M AAV.

 

[Run the Jewels]

No, his current contract is brilliant. Just bracing for when Holland signs him to an extension. You know it's gonna happen, right?

 

[Run the Jewels]

And it has happened the Leafs are a better team than we are lol! Oh god.

I remember when the Oilers were thrown out as an example to everyone of what happens to your franchise if you aren't committed to a tooth and nail fight every single game for your playoff life.

 

[Frk It]

Realistically, we could finish 24~ and get lucky, and draft an impact player (Liljegren).

That's not realistic at all.

 

[Pavels Dog]

At least Vancouver is bad. They have the hope that there is a decent chance that their first rounder will turn into a good nhl player. What do we have? A cup from almost a decade ago I guess

Well that I disagree with. Vancouver is one of few teams that are worse than us currently and likely worse in the future too.

I like our young players, but I really question if Blashill is the right choice. He punishes the young guys for mistakes harder than Babcock did, leans harder on Z than Babcock did when Z was younger and better, seems to have no feel for what the issues of the team are, and overall gives the impression that he is just clueless as to how to fix the problems that have plagued the team since he took over. He's not given a lot to work with but nearly every player should not be underperforming compared to career numbers.

Personnel decisions are extremely important for us. We need to maximize how much we get out of this group. Anyone feels like Blashill is doing that?

 

[Claypool]

After really thinking about it, what sort of magic did it take? It would have pretty hard for Holland to f**k up said transition with Bowman babysitting, and Nill running the draft.

Ah, yes, the old argument that Holland's success, pre and post salary cap, is a complete fallacy and all of the credit should be given to his support staff instead. The man has made a 20+ year career as a general manager based on a lie.

 

[Claypool]

I like our young players, but I really question if Blashill is the right choice. He punishes the young guys for mistakes harder than Babcock did, leans harder on Z than Babcock did when Z was younger and better, seems to have no feel for what the issues of the team are, and overall gives the impression that he is just clueless as to how to fix the problems that have plagued the team since he took over. He's not given a lot to work with but nearly every player should not be underperforming compared to career numbers.

Personnel decisions are extremely important for us. We need to maximize how much we get out of this group. Anyone feels like Blashill is doing that?

Babcock had a way better team when he joined Detroit than Blashill does currently.

Blashill is in a predicament. He has to win while developing the kids. Not an easy feat to do. He's leaning on Zetterberg because when Larkin is turning the puck over, or AA is missing the net, or Sheahan can't score a goal to save his life, he has to rely on players that are ultimately going to help him win. He's hoping Kronwall on his gimpy leg can play better than Sproul or Ouellet.

Now, if this was a true rebuilding year, and the expectation was that this team is going to "go with the kids" you might have an argument against Blashill. He's coaching for job security. He doesn't care about fair distribution of ice time right now because he might be gone this offseason.

 

[avssuc]

Ah, yes, the old argument that Holland's success, pre and post salary cap, is a complete fallacy and all of the credit should be given to his support staff instead. The man has made a 20+ year career as a general manager based on a lie.

^^^
From the guy saying Howie is the best tender, and that the Wings should trade Mrazek, !


MOD

 

[Claypool]

^^^
From the guy saying Howie is the best tender, and that the Wings should trade Mrazek, !


MOD

Never said they should trade Mrazek. Yes, Howard is playing better than Mrazek right now. That's a factual statement.

 

[avssuc]

Never said they should trade Mrazek. Yes, Howard is playing better than Mrazek right now. That's a factual statement.

While you may not have overtly said Mrazek should be traded, you said the following on:

So, what if the goalie contract we need to get rid of is Mrazek's?

So I guess you're saying that you think the Wings should keep the lesser goalie... you know, trade the guy whose 'best is better'? Is that correct?

Cool story bro

 

[Pavels Dog]

Babcock had a way better team when he joined Detroit than Blashill does currently.

Blashill is in a predicament. He has to win while developing the kids. Not an easy feat to do. He's leaning on Zetterberg because when Larkin is turning the puck over, or AA is missing the net, or Sheahan can't score a goal to save his life, he has to rely on players that are ultimately going to help him win. He's hoping Kronwall on his gimpy leg can play better than Sproul or Ouellet.

Now, if this was a true rebuilding year, and the expectation was that this team is going to "go with the kids" you might have an argument against Blashill. He's coaching for job security. He doesn't care about fair distribution of ice time right now because he might be gone this offseason.

My point was that Babcock played Z less 2 seasons ago, when Z was still pretty darn good, than Blashill did last year and is doing now when Z is a shell of what he used to be. Babcock also got criticized for not playing kids enough, but unlike Blashill he didn't staple those kids to the bench for the last 5-10 minutes of every game or more if they made a mistake. Hey here's a crazy thought, what if double-shifting broken down 35 year olds and no-skill grinders in the 3rd period everytime we have a lead has something to do with why we're one of the worst 3rd period teams in the league over the last 2 seasons?

I have no problem with Kronwall playing over XO/Sproul, but a guy like Marchenko should not be untouchable when Sproul directly adresses several weaknesses that our D has. Smith is also completely useless for this team now and in the future.

If Blashill wants to win, he isn't doing a great job. What good is leaning on Z, Sheahan, Abby, Kronwall etc. when we don't see results? The PP has been abysmal for a long time now. Could no one else see how much more dynamic it looked with Sproul out there? Did you see Mantha's zone entry and puck recovery skills in this game?
It's sad watching us trying to score on the PP with the firepower of Nielsen, Sheahan, Kronwall, Z out there..

 

[JPE123]

The only addition to the team from last year is Vanek. He's not playing. Nielsen is non-existent, a ghost. Several players have regressed. A terribly boring team to watch.

And for the love of god, what did Sproul do to get benched. At least it was fun watching young guys develop. As I said early on it's gonna be a long season. Is it April yet?

 

[8snake]

The most frustrating aspect of watching the Wings play currently isn't the actual product on the ice...this is a bad team with an awful coach...I expected a season like this and games like last night. I get upset when I think about the number of bad contracts. We have some of the worst contracts in the league all on one team.

 

[ap3x]

I'm pretty tired of Blashill's way to coach, making a bad team even worse. Stubborn personal management, distribution of IT, PP, constant dumping the puck - strategy, you name it. This team is headed in no direction at all. With some guys on this roster - especially goaltending - we won't lose as much to score big time in the draft. But - as it looks right now - we won't come anywhere close to making an impact in our division either.

Not so sure anymore how I was looking forward to Blash coming in, hoping for a step forward after Babs time being over. Who out there plays better since he came here?

 

[jkutswings]

While I don't think Blashill is doing a good job, I also think he's in a lose-lose situation. Realistically, this franchise should have rebuilt a few years ago, and Babcock, for all the frustration many of us had with him in his final years here, played the best style he could to hide the deficiencies (even if it was boring to watch).

Now Blash is stuck in an environment where the talent has eroded even further, yet management keeps touting the "rebuild on the fly" nonsense. So either you try to replicate Babcock's approach, and likely have worse results due to talent, or you open it up a bit, and roll the dice of getting exposed fairly often. The dice came up hot to start the year, but via some very unsustainable metrics, and now the rolls of snake eyes are happening. The truth is probably somewhere in between the hot and cold streaks, but it's not a team heading in the right direction.

I think he's got a lot to learn behind a pro bench, but there's only so much lipstick you can put on a pig.

 

[Reddwit]

How did Mantha look? Couldn't catch the game.

 

[ap3x]

Started off with two great plays (first to backcheck & first to forecheck in one scene, setting a good chance up). But all in all a limited impact due to
the team's overall performance. Confirmed why it would be good to have a big body like him as net front though - did a better job than Abby, imao.

 

[HisNoodliness]

How did Mantha look? Couldn't catch the game.

It's hard to look good when the entire team is so bad...but he was definitely one of the few who made some good plays. He was forechecking and backchecking well. Had a couple of really nice passes to set other people up but I also wish he was a little bit more willing to shoot because he passed away a couple of opportunities. This actually seems to be typical of him in new leagues. In the AHL he had a problem with over-passing before he got more confident. So I think he'll fix that if he remains with the team for a while.

He looks good in the net- front role as our power play actually works when he's there. Unfortunately nothing to show for it yesterday but Mantha wasn't one of the many problems. He also did really well on zone entries which surprised me, but I guess once he picks up speed his reach makes him really hard to stop. If only anyone else on our team could exit our zone or enter theirs.

He occasionally looked a little lost and you can tell he's not quite used to NHL speed. That being said when he has the puck he's very difficult for defenders to approach so he usually maintains possession/gets the puck to safety even when he's caught in a bad situation which is also a breath of fresh air compared to everyone else whose emergency response is to give the opponent a breakaway.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

I'm pretty tired of Blashill's way to coach, making a bad team even worse. Stubborn personal management, distribution of IT, PP, constant dumping the puck - strategy, you name it. This team is headed in no direction at all. With some guys on this roster - especially goaltending - we won't lose as much to score big time in the draft. But - as it looks right now - we won't come anywhere close to making an impact in our division either.

Not so sure anymore how I was looking forward to Blash coming in, hoping for a step forward after Babs time being over. Who out there plays better since he came here?

We could dump Blashill tomorrow and I would not shed a tear. His successor, however, is not going to get materially different results and is going to do many of the same things that piss everyone off. We dump the puck because we aren't very skilled and turning the puck over at the blue lines is the kiss of death. We play Z so heavily because he is one of the few truly skilled players we have left on this roster. Blash's successor will figure both of these things out in short order. I am not one to blame coaching for the sins of management.

The Wings just aren't that good at this point. A lot of posters spent a lot of time trying to argue otherwise mainly because they simply wanted the Wings to be better and feared that they would not be good. Wishing doesn't get you very far in life, which is why we don't see many little girls with unicorns and little boys with Dragons.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

While I don't think Blashill is doing a good job, I also think he's in a lose-lose situation. Realistically, this franchise should have rebuilt a few years ago, and Babcock, for all the frustration many of us had with him in his final years here, played the best style he could to hide the deficiencies (even if it was boring to watch).

Now Blash is stuck in an environment where the talent has eroded even further, yet management keeps touting the "rebuild on the fly" nonsense. So either you try to replicate Babcock's approach, and likely have worse results due to talent, or you open it up a bit, and roll the dice of getting exposed fairly often. The dice came up hot to start the year, but via some very unsustainable metrics, and now the rolls of snake eyes are happening. The truth is probably somewhere in between the hot and cold streaks, but it's not a team heading in the right direction.

I think he's got a lot to learn behind a pro bench, but there's only so much lipstick you can put on a pig.

Yup. I don't think Blash is a bad coach, but what can he do with this? There's no real way to coach around having this kind of a defense. They are what they are, and what they are is pretty bad.

I think the Wings are going to get a new coach, but it'll be business as usual. Blashill is going to take the fall for Holland and Ilitch's pride, and it'll change nothing.

 

[Run the Jewels]

The most frustrating aspect of watching the Wings play currently isn't the actual product on the ice...this is a bad team with an awful coach...I expected a season like this and games like last night. I get upset when I think about the number of bad contracts. We have some of the worst contracts in the league all on one team.

This sums it up quite nicely. Then throw in the fact there is little to no prospect development taking place and it's hard to see anything different happening for the remainder of Ken Holland's run as GM. If it's unpleasant for us as fans you have to wonder what it's like for guys like Z and Kronner who don't have much left in the tank. It's why I don't blame Datsyuk for saying peace out. The guy has always been one or two moves ahead of everyone else on the ice so it shouldn't be a shock after one season with Blashill he decided to call it a career.

 

[ap3x]

We could dump Blashill tomorrow and I would not shed a tear. His successor, however, is not going to get materially different results and is going to do many of the same things that piss everyone off. We dump the puck because we aren't very skilled and turning the puck over at the blue lines is the kiss of death. We play Z so heavily because he is one of the few truly skilled players we have left on this roster. Blash's successor will figure both of these things out in short order. I am not one to blame coaching for the sins of management.

The Wings just aren't that good at this point. A lot of posters spent a lot of time trying to argue otherwise mainly because they simply wanted the Wings to be better and feared that they would not be good. Wishing doesn't get you very far in life, which is why we don't see many little girls with unicorns and little boys with Dragons.

Just 'cause they aren't "that good at this point", it's crucial to have a coach behind the bench that's getting the most out of the team. As limited as this team's capabilities may be, I don't see Blash doing that at all. What's the game plan, what's the reasoning for his personal management and distribution of IT?

No fan of just blaming the coach, and due to the performance we see day in, day out, there's no need to. But he's nothing like I expected him to be.
There's a reason for picking him as Babs' successor. Since then he's just trying to imitate him in a cheap way though.

As much blame as there has to be put on Holland, does anybody really think that he's telling him to coach like that?
Cowardish coaching so far, still the opinion that he could do so much better.

 

[Run the Jewels]

While you may not have overtly said Mrazek should be traded, you said the following on:

So, what if the goalie contract we need to get rid of is Mrazek's?

So I guess you're saying that you think the Wings should keep the lesser goalie... you know, trade the guy whose 'best is better'? Is that correct?

Cool story bro

I think we can expect Blashill to play Howard the bulk of the minutes. Howard always starts off strong and falters over the course of the season. Blashill is coaching scared and with that being the case he needs to go with Howard and hope he doesn't fall off like he always does.

There's zero concern for icing the best team when they open the new barn. It's all about trying to keep the playoff streak alive. When the bottom falls out this franchise will be in free fall. I'm not happy about the way this has been handled, it's just obvious based on the way the franchise has been run for the past half dozen years. Before you know it we'll be a decade into rebuild on the fly with no end in sight.

 

[grewalwings]

Blaming coach for this one

 

[Mount Suribachi]

So does anywhere track the number of breakaways each team has given up? Cos right now I feel like we gotta be at the top of that list.