Hate to say it, but Wings streak is toast.
Been a die hard Red Wings fan for about 40 years. Started out listening to Bruce Martin and Sid Abel on WJR as a kid and watching Hockey Night in Canada on CBC (when there were only about 5 total TV stations). Even when they were the Dead Wings, I was hooked. Listening to the passion from the radio announcers was incredible. Suffered through many painful seasons. Then Stevie Y came to town. And the Wings were like the Sharks of today. Winning Presidents Cups but always losing in the playoffs to a hot goalie.
THEN, if finally happened. The 1997 Finals against the Flyers!!! Yzerman, Shanahan, Fedorov (the Russian 5). I almost couldn't believe they won. When McCarty scored on a beautiful breakaway like he was an actual skilled forward, I think I laughed out loud I couldn't believe it. Winning back to back in 1998. The tragedy of Konstantinov. Unreal.
Then 2 more Cups followed. The best front office in sports. Drafting talent in the lower rounds. Getting lifers like Lidstrom, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg. Adding the right pieces in Shanahan, Chelios, Murphy, etc. Never having a great goalie (see Ozzie and Vernon).
The streak was taken for granted. But losing all world Lidstrom and then Datsyuk. Too much to overcome. Fast forward to today. Blashill, not a known coach. Howard has played great finally, and is now injured. Mrazek is terrible. Coreau has been a pleasant surprise. Larkin is injured. They have gone from a borderline playoff team to one that is almost certain to miss the playoffs.
This is painful for me because I love the Red Wings. Grew up in Ann Arbor (kindergarten through college). Always root for all Michigan and Detroit Teams. The Wings were always my favorite. Live in Cali now but have traveled to other stadiums to see Detroit.
Sorry, no question to ask. Just sharing my sorrow. Hopefully, we can be back before too long.
LET'S GO RED WINGS!
January 26th, 2017 at 12:00 AM ^
January 26th, 2017 at 1:28 AM ^
The major trade that has probably killed us more than the ones you mentioned was the Legwand trade. Calle Jarnkrok, Patrick Eaves, and what turned out to be a second round pick (#46). All of that for a forward who didn't do anything in about a 1/3rd of the season and ended the playoffs on the fourth line. Jarnkrok has played 215 NHL games to date and Patrick Eaves would be our leading goal scorer. That trade was the begining of the end.
January 26th, 2017 at 6:55 AM ^
The Legwand trade was a "big deal" only to armchair GMs.
The issue with the club is NOT the absence of Patrick Eaves and Calle Jarnkrok. It is the absence of star players (F and D) to anchor around.
You can't win in the NHL without difference makers. Much was rightly made of our team depth through the glory years ... but all depth and no stars means no chance to win. Zero.
We have no superstars. Glad for Larkin and Mantha (and AA, to some extent), who can be legit, important NHL players. But neither of them appear to be superstar-level players. We need a superstar C, a superstar D, and another star F and star D.
It's going to be a long, long process, I'm afraid.
January 26th, 2017 at 11:01 AM ^
I think the Legwand trade gets overrated as a bad trade. Yes, Jarnkrok has played in 215 games, but his best season was last year for 30 points, and this season, he's only got 13 points so far. For reference, Glendening has 11 points this year
And Eaves is disappointing, but at the time he was traded it wasn't certain about his long term health. Remember that he had those really terrible concussions that sidelined him for almost an entire year.
January 25th, 2017 at 11:09 PM ^
I am also old enough to remember the Dead Wings. Then the slow build up of the late '80s and early '90s. Then all the heartbreaks: losing in the first round to San Jose in '94, getting swept by the Devils in the Cup Finals in '95 and then losing to Colorado in the '96 CF (Claude Lemieux can still eat a bag of dicks).
That all changed on June 7, 1997 when the Wings finally ended that 42 year drought. I was living in California at the time and went to a party after the game proudly sporting my Steve Yzerman sweater. It was at this party where I met my wife who was in town for her brother's (and my great friend's) wedding. Two years later, we were married ourselves.
We've been married 17 years now and it's hard to believe the Wings haven't had one really bad year during that entire time, but this slow decline is hard to watch. What makes it most frustrating is that the Wings are clearly not on a glide path to make them Cup contenders anytime soon. Right now, Holland is content with sneaking into the playoffs and hoping to get on a run. "Hope is not a plan", right?
Compunding the Red Wings' mindset of mediocrity is the current CBA in the NHL. You really need 3-4 stars plus a strong supporting cast to contend for Cups. However trades are difficult if not almost impossible because 1) making the salaries fit within the cap is extremely hard and 2) with all of these 3-point OT games (2 points for a win, 1 point for the OT loss) most teams remain within spitting distance of the playoffs which means there are very few sellers. Virtually every team locks up their stars to very long term deals so there are rarely any really good free agents. Any decent free agent can command ridiculous deals in terms of salary and term which usually end up hurting the team that signs them in the long run.
So that leaves only one real way to get studs and that is through the draft and studs (especially defensemen) are usually only availble in the top 10-15 picks where the Wings haven't drafted in an eternity. That means the Wings probably need to tank if they truly want to rebuild their organization with the studs they need to contend for Cups. Unfortunately, Ilitch and Holland aren't at the stages of their lives/careers where they want to rebuild. Moving into the pizza palace next year is a factor too - can't have a crap team in the new building. Holland thinks it would take 8-10 years go this route. With some of the pieces they currently have, I don't think it would take quite that long.
Bottom line is the Streak ending could be the first positive step to moving where this team really needs to go (as counter-intuitive as that sounds).
January 26th, 2017 at 5:37 AM ^
and that your wife doesn't try to waive you or trade you for 'studs' to contend for the cup!
January 25th, 2017 at 11:20 PM ^
Hockey sucks in 2016-17.
Losing Jim Nill hurt more then it should have.
January 25th, 2017 at 11:45 PM ^
January 26th, 2017 at 12:01 AM ^
It's borderline impressive to be honest. I've never encountered anyone in my life, either here or in reality, so singularly dedicated to saying something unpleasant to everyone they meet on any topic up for discussion. Did you take a vow or something?
January 25th, 2017 at 11:50 PM ^
January 26th, 2017 at 1:37 AM ^
The management of this team is not adapted for the modern NHL. Overrating role players like Abdelkader, Miller, Ott, Helm, and Glendening has sunk this team for years to come. Three of those players are signed until the end of the 2021 season for a combined cap hit of 9.9 million. Three mediocre defensemen are signed for at least two more years for a cap hit of 14 million (Kronwall, Ericsson, and DeKeyser). In addition to this, Howard is signed for two more years for 5.29 million per year. At most, one of these contracts will come off the books from the Expansion Draft. However, with the 7 F/3 D/1 G protection strategy, Abdelkader, DeKeyser, Kronwall, Helm, and Glendening will be protected over better players such as Athanasiou and Mantha because it's a "Man's Leauge."
January 26th, 2017 at 6:27 AM ^
They are not, not going to protect AA and Mantha, cmon man.
I mean stuff like Dan Cleary resigning is dumb stuff in the salary cap era.
Even with a lot of free money (if they had it) the guy earlier in this thread said it best; it's difficult to acquiare A talent because people sign their A talent and let the B talent go. So you get Nielson .. .a B talent; a solid 2nd line guy for a mid level team. Not a game changer. The Red Wings have supporting cast - as Babock said right before he left where is the next Pavel. You hope Larkin would be it, but sophomore slump.
As for contracts
- Z at 36, is signed til 20-21 at $6M per. Sadly at his aged state and back always of concern he still is probably the best player.
- Nielson was just signed at 32 all the way out to 21-22 at $5.25M. Adequate 2nd line guy. Contract will look like crap in a few years I assume as he ages but he is what he is in today's NHL.
- Nyquist still has 2 years after this at $4.75M. Easy to say in retrospect horrible contract but he was coming off 2 years of 28 and 27 goals and has slumped horribly since with 17 goals last year and only 7 this year. He is small and ineffective in playoffs - even in his good years.
- Abby I get the contract as he is a "power forward" but yes like Marty LaPointe is awesome at doing stupid things. But you are stuck with him as he is signed thru 22-23. In today's NHL he is an ok value at his 20 goals a year rate but fergoodness sake the term on that contract; another guy going through a horrible slump this year @ 4 goals.
- Helm was a risk with his injury history - he held up well past 2 seasons but seems always to be slowed by something and of course upon signing for 4 extra years immediately gets hurt... which seems to be his destiny.
Those are your big forward contracts. Tatar is next at $2.75M and restricted free agent. At his 20 goals a year pace surely Kenny will give him an extension to 2027 at $5.5M per.
Riley Sheahan's $2M a year is getting you 0 goals thus far. That projects to 0 goals for the entire year if my math is correct. Disaster.
On defense Green is fine - he comes off the books in a year at $6M per and they have no first defensive pair guys anymore with Kronwall aging by the week. DeKeyser much like Nyquist seemed to get his contract ($5M a year from now until he is 90 years old) and go downhill immediately. You hope he was a first pair defenseman, he is not. Kronwall has 2 more years past this one @ $4.75M - I don't know if his health allows him to play that. Then you have the much loved Ericsson at $4.25 thru 19-20. So that's your power 4 defensemen there woo hoo.
Franzen stil sitting there until 19-20 at $4M a year.. and damn Weiss til 20-21. Weiss a disaster on par with Uwe Krupp.
Bottom line they need a #1 and #2 defenseman so guys like DeKeyser can play in 2nd pair. Very few clubs are giving away a 1st pairing defenseman at any price. And they need to hope Mantha Larkin AA turn into poor man's Blackhawks forward. Then find 1 more guy to pair with them who is true top 15 in league talent ala Z and D in their prime. Tall order when you don't draft high.
January 26th, 2017 at 8:32 AM ^
January 26th, 2017 at 8:04 AM ^
January 26th, 2017 at 8:13 AM ^
Mrazek is not terrible and Coreau has to get replaced by Mrazek in the first period every third game or so! The only reason Howards numbers are good are that he played 10 games this season!
Our defense is pitiful. No goalie could look good in a Red Wings uniform this year.
January 26th, 2017 at 8:26 AM ^
Yeah - let's actually get a draft pick. And it didn't help to drive the best coach in the game out just because he makes veterans practice too hard.
January 26th, 2017 at 8:30 AM ^
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January 26th, 2017 at 8:35 AM ^
January 26th, 2017 at 9:07 AM ^
The best thing would be to tank, however this draft only has 1 quality player compared to the previous few years that had a decent handfull. So wouldn't expect the wings to gain a 'right out of the gate' player in the draft unless they get #1.
January 26th, 2017 at 9:14 AM ^
Ending the streak wouldn't be a bad thing. It would give Holland/his replacement the room to blow this thing up and rebuild from scratch rather than continuing what's now a nearly decade-long slow decline and contuinting to claw for 7/8 seeds (or whatever the hell we call them in the new playoffs) every year so we can say we still got it.
January 26th, 2017 at 10:07 AM ^
January 26th, 2017 at 10:18 AM ^
The streak is toast, but I don't hate to say it. You need one or two huge difference makers on your team to compete for a Stanley Cup, and we're not going to get those drafting in the #17 spot year after year. We'll get good Top 6 guys like Larkin and Mantha, but not difference makers.
I wish that they had abandoned the streak a few years ago and traded some of their aging veterans and mediocre, no longer young prospects when they could have gotten something for them. It's a little late for that, so the inevitable rebuild is going to take a year or two longer.
January 26th, 2017 at 11:04 AM ^
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January 26th, 2017 at 11:24 AM ^
This team will probably finish high enough where they don't make the playoffs, but also aren't in a draft position to get more than a mediocre first round pick, not a difference maker.
I can't see them competing for a Cup for at least 5-10 years.
They'll fill the new stadium for a year or two based solely on the novelty of a new arena, not the product on the ice. Then they'll have to deal with a real tank/rebuild process to get a top pick or two.
It's bleak and this is the least Wings hockey I've watched or paid attention to in 30 years.
January 26th, 2017 at 11:53 AM ^
I agree somewhat -- they are going to have to be rock bottom garbage for a couple of years to get a Connor MacDavid type. They aren't there yet. They probably won't be unless they trade some veterans for draft picks and let one or two seasons completely go to hell.
January 26th, 2017 at 4:50 PM ^
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January 26th, 2017 at 12:11 PM ^
Burn it down. Keep Larkin, Mantha, AA, some combination of Jensen/Sproul/Marchenko, and 1 goalie (don't really care which). Sell off everything else and promote your borderline AHL guys to see what they have to offer with steady playing time.
Green will fetch a good return.
Nyquist and/or Tatar could fetch a pretty decent return, because they they could be very successful in the right environment.
I feel bad for Blashill, as he walked into a bad situation with the roster, but he hasn't done much with it, either. He is probably gone.
They need to get Yzerman back by hook or by crook. It might take years, but it probably needs to happen.
January 26th, 2017 at 3:10 PM ^
trade some guys to playoffs team for up and comers. I am soo fine with the streak ending..we just get housed in the first round anyway.
Trade Vanek, Ericcson
I really hope Andreas is here for a bit,