tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11474168762798524762024-03-05T01:42:11.052-08:00The Wizard of OsgoodFormerly a Detroit Red Wings exclusive blog, The Wizard of Osgood is now a blog for hockey of all sorts including NHL, QMJHL, and international competitions. Still often unintelligible...P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-12505477933538811752014-10-10T07:23:00.001-07:002014-10-10T07:23:42.809-07:00Game One: Hockey is Back.<div style="text-align: center;">
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Hockey's back, folks! We're on to day three of the NHL returning, and it's already off to a great start for Detroit Red Wing fans. Last night the Wings faced the Boston Bruins in the season/home opener and squeezed in a 2-1 win in regulation. Johan Franzen finished the night with two assists and the game winner came from Gustav Nyquist, who was supposed to be due for a regression this season. It's obviously too early to say anything about the club, or any individual player, but the Red Wings faced the team that bounced them in five games during last season's playoffs and took them to task.</div>
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Early in the game the Red Wings were dominating with a shot advantage of 7-0 when Jonathan Ericsson got lazy and threw a pass up the middle of the ice to not-his-teammate Patrice Bergeron. Being Patrice Bergeron, he buried it behind Jimmy Howard and images of last year's defensively inept team began dancing in my head. You can flip to about 30 seconds into that snazzy highlight reel video to see Riggy's brain cramp leading to the goal.</div>
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At first, I was furious at Howard for getting beat on the first shot of the season, but this goal was not a Howard mistake. After this momentary stumble, Howard was golden last night. He stopped the other 16 shots he faced en route to a solid win.</div>
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The most impressive element of last night was how quickly the team accepted the goal against and went right back to dominating possession and controlling the flow of the game. <a href="http://war-on-ice.com/game.html?seasongcode=2014201520009">Looking at the "War on Ice" report for the game</a>, Detroit had 72% of the offensive zone starts at even strength, and kept the Bruins on their heels.<br />
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I'm fairly new at the "advanced stats" world, but for this season I want to incorporate more of it into any post-game discussion I blog this season. That website I linked to is great because it has a glossary of terms for you to learn as you dive into the world of intense statistical analysis. Using one game's data would be too small a sample size to say much about how the Red Wings are faring, so to keep it simple, they did well tonight to limit the Bruins chances and looked like the Red Wings of old, before all the retirements and mediocre defensemen getting re-signed.<br />
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For now that's good enough to keep me excited that HOCKEY IS BACK and the Red Wings are two points closer to getting in to the playoffs. It's early in the season but like everyone else I'm thinking about "the streak" and whether this team is going to improve on last year. Are they an also-ran team, or are the kids well seasoned enough to take over and take the team to new (old) heights? Feel free to comment down there in the comments section!</div>
P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-80695344132638902882014-05-23T06:53:00.000-07:002014-05-23T06:53:37.293-07:00The 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship Results (Part Five)<i>Welcome to the fifth post of a miniseries of posts I am going to make about the 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship tournament. Most people don't realize that this tournament isn't just sixteen teams competing to win the gold medal. There are dozens of countries in various divisions competing to rise up the ladder of international ice hockey. In this, the 78th edition of the IIHF tournament, there are actually 46 teams trying to improve their international ranking and someday grab the gold medal.</i><br />
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<i>Links for <a href="http://wizofozzy.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-2014-iihf-world-ice-hockey.html">Part One</a>, <a href="http://wizofozzy.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-2014-iihf-world-ice-hockey_20.html">Two</a>, <a href="http://wizofozzy.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-2014-iihf-world-ice-hockey_21.html">Three</a>, and <a href="http://wizofozzy.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-2014-iihf-world-ice-hockey_22.html">Four</a> are right here, where I painstakingly checked out Division III, Division II B, Division II A, and Division I B respectively.</i><br />
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Yesterday's post covered the triumph of Poland in Division I B. Congrats to the Poles for moving one step closer to joining the championship tournament. Next year, they'll compete in today's subject, Division I A, and attempt the leap into the top tier. While one team rises, one must fall, so Romania will sink into Division II A and attempt to move back up next year.<br />
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Speaking of Division I A, that would be our subject today. The second tier of the IIHF tournament ladder features six teams similarly to the preceding Division II, but there's more at stake than any other tournament. Winning in this tier means a shot at the gold medal in the IIHF World Championship tournament, the ultimate goal of the annual series of tournaments. Even more interesting is how two teams are promoted to the Top Division, while only one moves down. It's a tougher division to try to move up but plenty of the teams in the division now have bobbed up and down the bottom tiers in the last decade. The rising teams must compete against the likes of Canada, Russia, United States, Sweden, Finland, and all the other mainstays in the upper tier, which is quite the tall task. For this year, the Division I A tournament took place in Goyang, South Korea from April 20th to 26. Here are the final standings:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1ZXSIneCbRPv-Aq5rF61_F5rhfeWQZMjylw0Qs4N-1_58QlfcBoXDlJ_-CsRGRPkQxBB5K43hny-bEafD2MHfPhN3p3uMwrNShyphenhyphenzzO0TfqSONYdtzgjxARTsDyAJWKvnXzioBzGIfTk5/s1600/DIVIASTAND.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1ZXSIneCbRPv-Aq5rF61_F5rhfeWQZMjylw0Qs4N-1_58QlfcBoXDlJ_-CsRGRPkQxBB5K43hny-bEafD2MHfPhN3p3uMwrNShyphenhyphenzzO0TfqSONYdtzgjxARTsDyAJWKvnXzioBzGIfTk5/s1600/DIVIASTAND.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All charts courtesy of Wikipedia</td></tr>
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Slovenia and Austria rise from the absolute dogfight that took place in this tier, while host South Korea were throttled in all five of their games and see demotion after being shut out of points. The difference-making games in this tier were Austria's overtime wins over Ukraine (3-2) and Hungary (5-4). Notable players in this tier's roster list were Austria's Michael Grabner (New York Islanders), Michael Raffl (Philadelphia Flyers), former Detroit Red Wing and the world's second most successful Slovenian player Jan Mursak, and his superior Anze Kopitar. Wait a minute...you must be asking yourself how Kopitar can be in two places at once. Great question! The NHLers I mentioned didn't actually play a single shift in the tournament. I can't say for sure what Grabner and Raffl were doing but Kopitar is a little busy winning playoff games in the NHL to play for his country. So this all begs the question.<br />
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<i>Why the hell were these guys named to the team when there was no G-D way they were going to play?!?</i><br />
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Perhaps they thought the<i> threat</i> of Kopitar and Grabner was enough to have the other teams roll over. Looks like it all worked out anyway.<br />
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Here's the tournament's top scorers:<br />
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Good job, Thomas Koch, for winning the scoring race without scoring. Austria obviously dominated the scoring in this tournament, but kudos to seeing Kim Ki-sung of lowly South Korea get seven points in five brutal losses.<br />
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Here the top goaltenders:<br />
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Not exactly a goaltending duel in any of these games. Oh well, here's some actual footage via YouTube:<br />
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The Hungarian jerseys are awesome, and at one point a lot of Hungarians were reading this blog so here's a little something for them.<br />
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Tournament directorate named goaltender <a href="http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=70188">Yutaka Fukufuji</a> of Japan (the first Japanese player to make the NHL), Austrian defenseman Dominique Heinrich, and forward <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Mur%C5%A1ak">Jan Muršak</a> of Slovenia the best positional players. How does three points in five games get you the tournament's best forward? Maybe he killed every penalty or something. I don't know, I'm running out of steam for this tier.<br />
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Starting Monday I dig into the big tournament. You know, the one you all probably thought all these posts was about but I tricked you into reading five other posts first. See you then!P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-22871151589364762792014-05-22T04:04:00.001-07:002014-05-22T07:17:55.414-07:00The 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship Results (Part Four)<i>Welcome to the fourth post of a miniseries of posts I am going to make about the 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship tournament. Most people don't realize that this tournament isn't just sixteen teams competing to win the gold medal. There are dozens of countries in various divisions competing to rise up the ladder of international ice hockey. In this, the 78th edition of the IIHF tournament, there are actually 46 teams trying to improve their international ranking and someday grab the gold medal.</i><br />
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<i>Links for <a href="http://wizofozzy.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-2014-iihf-world-ice-hockey.html">Part One</a>, <a href="http://wizofozzy.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-2014-iihf-world-ice-hockey_20.html">Two</a>, and <a href="http://wizofozzy.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-2014-iihf-world-ice-hockey_21.html">Three</a> are right here, where I painstakingly checked out Division III, Division II B, and Division II A respectively.</i><br />
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Yesterday's post described Division II A in all its glory. Congratulations to the Estonian national team for clobbering Division II A and moving up into Division I B for next year's tournament. I-B is the subject of today's post, as it is the third tier of the IIHF tournament. This year's iteration took place in beautiful Vilnius, Lithuania from April 20th to 26th and THANK GOD SOME NHLERS ARE IN THIS TOURNAMENT. All due respect to other leagues in Europe, I know nothing about their players unless they played at some point in North America. It's been a struggle reporting on these lower tiers but finally I have a chance to talk about players I am familiar with. Here are the tournament standings:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkiIPSqtPGXdE22XnaOGKOKdkL3bsPavn_y-tGCzVnFjFENj8BQH_Glq_c8ut5LNiRtP4MqdLeoU2I8i2vMFyNi8vidc4QcQT7MNLInBApxA8d8Ijekzipz9_voiXjCOUxnv1rHAwV82c/s1600/DIVIBSTAND.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRkiIPSqtPGXdE22XnaOGKOKdkL3bsPavn_y-tGCzVnFjFENj8BQH_Glq_c8ut5LNiRtP4MqdLeoU2I8i2vMFyNi8vidc4QcQT7MNLInBApxA8d8Ijekzipz9_voiXjCOUxnv1rHAwV82c/s1600/DIVIBSTAND.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All standings are courtesy of Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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Poland advances in to Division I A and moves one step closer to getting a chance to play in the top tier. Poland's win is all the more impressive because they were able to defeat a Lithuania team led by this man.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Dainius_Zubrus_-_New_Jersey_Devils.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Dainius_Zubrus_-_New_Jersey_Devils.jpg" height="320" width="291" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of Lisa Gansky via Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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That's right, it's New Jersey Devils forward Danius Zubrus! He had a great tournament with 9 points in 5 games, but the Lithuanians fells short of rising to the top in a very competitive division. The top four teams finished within three points of each other and there were several one goal games that were key in setting up sight a tight contest. Great Britain had a great showing this year, winning a 4-2 contest against the eventual champion, Poland.<br />
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Here are the tournament's top scorers:<br />
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Zubrus and his linemates were the toast of the tournament. Shoutout to Colin Shields of Great Britain, who netted a hatrick against the Poles. Most impressive. I predict next tournament Great Britain pushes up the standings and contends to move up to Division I A.<br />
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Here are the tournament goaltenders:<br />
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Polish goaltender <a href="http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=31396">Przemyslaw Odrobny</a> was arguably the MVP of the Division I B tournament, winning four games and only conceding four goals with a .955 save percentage. This division, more-so than the previous ones, was very tight series of contests that turned into goaltending duels. Those are some impressive stat lines for the goaltenders. The tournament directive selected Zubrus as top forward, Odrobny as goaltender, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Letang">Alan Letang</a> from Canada...er, Croatia for defenseman. Letang had a cup of coffee in the NHL, playing in 14 games with only 2 PIM to show for it. He has been a mainstay in the German and Austrian leagues for the vast majority of his career.<br />
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Tomorrow we visit Division I A, the second highest tier on the IIHF tournament. Thanks for taking the time to check out these surveys of the tournaments, it's been a pleasure writing them. See you again tomorrow!P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-76689380328616787942014-05-21T03:55:00.000-07:002014-05-21T03:55:37.099-07:00The 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship Results (Part Three)<i>Welcome to the third of a miniseries of posts I am going to make about the 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship tournament. Most people don't realize that this tournament isn't just sixteen teams competing to win the gold medal. There are dozens of countries in various divisions competing to rise up the ladder of international ice hockey. In this, the 78th edition of the IIHF tournament, there are actually 46 teams trying to improve their international ranking and someday grab the gold medal.</i><br />
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<i>Click <a href="http://wizofozzy.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-2014-iihf-world-ice-hockey.html">here</a> and <a href="http://wizofozzy.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-2014-iihf-world-ice-hockey_20.html">here</a> for parts one and two, respectively, where we had a look at Division III and Division II B.</i><br />
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As I mentioned in Part Two of the mega-post, Division II is sliced into group A and B. Group A is the upper tier of the division, and represents the fourth tier of the IIHF tournament. This year's edition was hosted in beautiful Belgrade, Serbia, from April 9th to April 15th. Here are the standings:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All charts courtesy of Wikipedia.</td></tr>
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Estonia dominated this division, going 5-0 and only giving up 8 goals in five games. They were last year's losing team in Division I B and sank into the lower tier. It's a recurring trend for relegated teams to bounce between divisions until they can improve just enough to hold on to a slot in the division. Host Serbia improved on its fifth place finish last year, finishing 3rd. Israel just misses holding on to a spot in the division, losing a 4-3 decision in overtime to Belgium as well as a 4-3 contest to Iceland in a shootout. The 16-3 thumping to Estonia didn't help matters, and now Israel will have to claw its way back up into a division group that had four teams finish within three points of one another.<br />
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Here are the tournament's top scorers:<br />
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And the top goaltenders:<br />
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Directorate selected all-stars were <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rooba">Estonia's Robert Rooba</a> for forward, <a href="http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=24130">Iceland's Ingvar Thor Jönsson</a> for defenseman, and <a href="http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=50634">Serbia's Arsenije Ranković</a> for goaltender. Yes, that guy's middle name is Thor. Iceland's players always have the best names. Remember Gunnar Stahl from D2: The Mighty Ducks?<br />
<br />
This tournament<i> finally</i> featured players that were possible to find in European leagues across the continent. Rooba's an SM-liiga player for the Espoo Blues, and this season had four points in 36 games. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliezer_Sherbatov"> Eliezer Sherbatov</a> is an Israeli hockey player who had notable time with The Montreal Junior Hockey Club from 2009 to 2011, later with with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. He's currently trying out for teams in France. <a href="http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=14463&lang=en">Oren Eizenman</a> is an Israeli-Canadian centre who had two brothers who played hockey as well, but he most recently played in the Asia League with the Nippon Paper Cranes before playing for Israel last year and this year in the IIHF tournament. He had a cup of coffee in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch and Connecticut Whale in 2010-11, but never got a whiff of the NHL. The year before hit pit stop in the AHL he scored 19 points in 15 games with the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL. If you like weird random facts about hockey players, Oren's father, Brett, helped to found the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Baseball_League">Israel Baseball League</a>. Hey, I thought it was cool.<br />
<br />
Next up for this mega-series is Division I A and finally we see some NHLers in the lower tiers of the tournament. Stay tuned for the inevitable Dainius Zubrus love-fest. Go Lithuania!P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-2387155277537154072014-05-20T04:04:00.000-07:002014-05-20T05:22:57.062-07:00The 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship Results (Part Two)<i>Welcome to the second of a miniseries of posts I am going to make about the 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship tournament. Most people don't realize that this tournament isn't just sixteen teams competing to win the gold medal. There are dozens of countries in various divisions competing to rise up the ladder of international ice hockey. In this, the 78th edition of the IIHF tournament, there are actually 46 teams trying to improve their international ranking and someday grab the gold medal.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
In <a href="http://wizofozzy.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-2014-iihf-world-ice-hockey.html">yesterdays' post</a> I had a look at the tournament's sixth tier and the triumph of Bulgaria. The Bulgarians will compete next year in the 79th annual tournament in today's subject, Division II B. The fourth tier of the IIHF, Division II, is actually split into two sections, A and B. As one could guess, section B is the lower tier and section A is the higher tier.<br />
<br />
The Division B tournament was hosted by Spain, a team recently relegated from Division II A, and took place from April 5th to April 11th. It features six teams. Here are the standings:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjeScgkmQdaK7tCSa2gaKaNLDK_oC8cfoZvxH7r-l010IFgXEq39svWo39ybQmYTTfefrsJaw1WCZbIY1NSZ2IPj-0oDI_HNuTdk8ZulBAKSyhtBYVhE5IOWBC4KCVVI3jeOb6ohHoe3Z/s1600/DIV2BSTAND.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcjeScgkmQdaK7tCSa2gaKaNLDK_oC8cfoZvxH7r-l010IFgXEq39svWo39ybQmYTTfefrsJaw1WCZbIY1NSZ2IPj-0oDI_HNuTdk8ZulBAKSyhtBYVhE5IOWBC4KCVVI3jeOb6ohHoe3Z/s1600/DIV2BSTAND.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All graphs and charts courtesy of Wikipedia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
As you can see, the results are somewhat similar to Division III. There's is a massive discrepancy between the top three teams and the bottom three, and it becomes a dogfight to inch out a victory to avoid being relegated. Host Spain dominated every game it played and once again gets promoted back into Division A, while Turkey pays the price of losing a 4-2 game to South Africa and gets relegated to Division III. The majority of the teams in this division are (relative) newcomers to international ice hockey, with Spain being the exception. Not to criticize the success of Spain but one would think a 92 year old hockey system would be able to generate a competitive enough program to avoid being dropped into a low tier. They were as close as Division I A in 2011, but were torched in that tournament and were relegated again two years later in 2013.<br />
<br />
Here are the top scorers for the tournament:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4XJqTbuj_H2XCKMY7pp_gO-5v3knur18JyyQ9ZY1ETgWyl3FsH6kxtDFhoLGT1lU7hwJs5DudOPel_GLVoqg2s6kkxLxki61cfkIrPkma-r8g9OpTZiHMtl51jx0wLlAGLiG4X6zOGnJi/s1600/DIV2BSCORE.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4XJqTbuj_H2XCKMY7pp_gO-5v3knur18JyyQ9ZY1ETgWyl3FsH6kxtDFhoLGT1lU7hwJs5DudOPel_GLVoqg2s6kkxLxki61cfkIrPkma-r8g9OpTZiHMtl51jx0wLlAGLiG4X6zOGnJi/s1600/DIV2BSCORE.png" height="293" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
And the top goaltenders:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQq6USWGzgOyFFrM7EDxVSX_Y0C91fSpj1a0xix74D_tYE657ER6NmipLAuqOh2RxlCFU66hMv6Z-o-DbW81el5LgGlkIZRCKO5MDz90thr9HMeU1HUSktQNzNnSkv6NanEMT_LqZYm_de/s1600/DIV2BGOALIE.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQq6USWGzgOyFFrM7EDxVSX_Y0C91fSpj1a0xix74D_tYE657ER6NmipLAuqOh2RxlCFU66hMv6Z-o-DbW81el5LgGlkIZRCKO5MDz90thr9HMeU1HUSktQNzNnSkv6NanEMT_LqZYm_de/s1600/DIV2BGOALIE.png" height="201" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
The top honours according to the tournament directorate went to Oriol Boronat for forward, Juan José Palacín for defenseman, and Ander Alcaine for goaltender; all three men hail from Spain. It's interesting to note <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Cox">Andrew Cox</a> of New Zealand scored nine goals in five games for the Kiwis...could he be the Crosby of the land down under? New Zealand has had its own misfortune in the IIHF tournaments, bouncing between being ranked 32nd to 37th in the last five years, going as low as 41st in 2008. A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_men%27s_national_ice_hockey_team">quick glance at their roster</a> shows their team is quite young, so a reversal of poor performances could be in order as the team competes more in the B division tournaments.<br />
<br />
Tomorrow, a look at Division II A. It's still pretty difficult to find good information on the players participating, but Division A has a couple of European teams that have professionals who play in some domestic leagues, so here's hoping these reports get more interesting...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://wizofozzy.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-2014-iihf-world-ice-hockey.html">Click here for Part One</a>.P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-14933320399214706762014-05-19T03:40:00.001-07:002014-05-20T05:21:51.252-07:00The 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship Results (Part One)<i>Welcome to the first of a miniseries of posts I am going to make about the 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship tournament. Most people don't realize that this tournament isn't just sixteen teams competing to win the gold medal. Not true. There are dozens of countries in various divisions competing to rise up the ladder of international ice hockey. In this, the 78th edition of the IIHF tournament, there are actually 46 teams trying to improve their international ranking and someday grab the gold medal. It's fascinating to me to see countries you never would have expected to even have an ice hockey team battling in all of the divisions, desperate to climb the ladder and topple the hockey giants like Sweden, Canada, and Russia.</i><br />
<br />
Today I'm going to look at the sixth tier of the tournament, known as "Division III". This tournament took place in Luxembourg from April 6th to April 12th, and featured six teams. Here are the standings:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicL5eT4TLVKCYvivS70mqRr4dIRjG-8yuS4iKih64d5QYkILtFEr4EluFk6G6uZrjE0AWLgSuJnDQQIF-mVWwRHQnC2VBxXWNAZB0gRNxic31cvz6oSsWtHc2GdZGagwQw257CwIzNqj2m/s1600/DIV3STAND.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicL5eT4TLVKCYvivS70mqRr4dIRjG-8yuS4iKih64d5QYkILtFEr4EluFk6G6uZrjE0AWLgSuJnDQQIF-mVWwRHQnC2VBxXWNAZB0gRNxic31cvz6oSsWtHc2GdZGagwQw257CwIzNqj2m/s1600/DIV3STAND.png" height="173" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All graphs and charts for this series are courtesy of Wikipedia. Their graphs are so neat.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
As you can see, the tournament has a lot of relatively new programs competing against European countries who have long been participating in the lower tiers of the IIHF. This was Hong Kong's first participation in the tournament since 1987, which led to its first taste of competition against European countries. UAE's team is brand hammer new, with its first international game taking place in 2007. North Korea's team is also only 30 years old. Luxembourg's is only 22 years old.<br />
<br />
At first glance, this seems like an unbalanced edition of the tournament, with nearly 12 goals scored a game and the three top teams vying for the chance to be promoted to the next division. Most of the teams' rosters are the country's best teams throwing on a national jersey. Bulgaria's roster being mainly CSKA Sofia, North Korea's a hodgepodge of Pyongyang Choldo and Taesongsan, Luxembourg being Tornado Luxembourg, and Georgia's being Mimino Bakuriani. It's quite the contrast to upper tiers of the IIHF where the best players come from numerous talent pools but often only the upper echelons of domestic leagues.<br />
<br />
Here's a list of the top scorers:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaALDTbRAyBAMjewQPHHn6zK5JDZdQTXhvHgj0IqK3gv8VoIKdVuV_ctXesv2vTgQPuwbxRwtqGVfsiaSi0y8b57ugAn7dvhKQ3sjZsMJpfRofYejcAooQA2apJ8_uWpqkqm0yNH_fHtXt/s1600/DIV3SCORE.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaALDTbRAyBAMjewQPHHn6zK5JDZdQTXhvHgj0IqK3gv8VoIKdVuV_ctXesv2vTgQPuwbxRwtqGVfsiaSi0y8b57ugAn7dvhKQ3sjZsMJpfRofYejcAooQA2apJ8_uWpqkqm0yNH_fHtXt/s1600/DIV3SCORE.png" height="313" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
And the top goaltenders:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVTAIpz4D5ct4ckQGX_FbCBX8KXU6mK1Bj7GmgaJTG8GU9LpHbb3mAMNfP3AJ82Umz2pSgZoN8K9PdxearDFd3SA9mCu2y6-6jLevKrmacr4vVt8AQ6-68UpJqYgAW12tPg1EozfX-GBJo/s1600/DIV3GOALIE.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVTAIpz4D5ct4ckQGX_FbCBX8KXU6mK1Bj7GmgaJTG8GU9LpHbb3mAMNfP3AJ82Umz2pSgZoN8K9PdxearDFd3SA9mCu2y6-6jLevKrmacr4vVt8AQ6-68UpJqYgAW12tPg1EozfX-GBJo/s1600/DIV3GOALIE.png" height="177" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Top honours went to <a href="http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=35604">Alexei Yotov</a>, <a href="http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=189641">Clement Waltener</a>, and Ho King Chi King for top forward, defenseman, and goaltender respectively. Bulgaria gets promoted up to the fifth tier of the IIHF, Division II B. The rest will have to wait until next year's competition to earn its way out of the IIHF's basement.<br />
<br />
Next up, Division II B in this series of posts all about the IIHF mega-tournament. Hopefully as we rise the ladder it will be easier to find information on some of these players...P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-41870267957541842722014-05-06T06:55:00.002-07:002014-05-06T06:55:50.331-07:00Where do the Red Wings go from here?<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/KbZNKYMaexU" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
The season's over, folks.<br />
<br />
It was a tough pill to swallow, but the Detroit Red Wings were eliminated by the Boston Bruins in five games. The series wasn't very close, if we're being honest with ourselves. Yes, the scores were pretty close, but the Red Wings struggled to find their offense and couldn't beat Tukka Rask for more than two goals in a game. I am not interested in performing a postmortem on the season, the injuries, the disappointments, or the playoffs. There's tonnes of great bloggers out there who can do that better than I can.<br />
<br />
Today I'm asking the hard question of where the Red Wings go from here.<br />
<br />
Earlier in the week Ryan Lambert of Puck Daddy wrote a pretty good piece that was critical of the Red Wings and whatnot. Lambert gets a crazy amount of attention from Red Wing fans, as though he is telling them they are bad people for choosing the Red Wings, but he's on point about one thing: the Detroit Red Wings are going to look differently after this season.<br />
<br />
You can go <a href="http://capgeek.com/redwings/depth-chart/">over here</a> to look at the roster before July 1st and free agency begins. To keep things moving, here's a list of UFAs come July 1st, along with their cap hits I've bolded the players most likely/definite to be re-signed, and the possibilities are italicized.<br />
<br />
(LW) Danny Cleary, $1.75m<br />
(C) David Legwand, $4.5m<br />
<b>(RW) Daniel Alfredsson, $5.5m</b><br />
(RW) Mikael Samuelsson, $3m<br />
(RW) Todd Bertuzzi, $2.075m<br />
(D) Kyle Quincey, $3.375m<br />
<i>(G) Jonas Gustavsson, $1.5m</i><br />
<br />
And here are the RFAs that need to be signed or a decision needs to be made:<br />
<br />
<b>(LW) Riley Sheahan, $900,000</b><br />
(LW) Andrej Nestrasil $597,500<br />
(C) Landon Ferraro $870,000<br />
<i>(C) Cory Emmerton $533,333</i><br />
<b>(RW) Tomas Tatar $840,000</b><br />
<i>(RW) Mitchell Calahan $565,278</i><br />
(RW) Trevor Parkes $554,167<br />
(RW) Willie Coetzee $543,611<br />
<b>(D) Danny DeKeyser $1,350,000</b><br />
(D) Gleason Fournier $890,833<br />
(D) Max Nicastro $887,500<br />
<b>(D) Adam Almquist $694,167</b><br />
<br />
In short, the Red Wings have a lot of options. They can either a) re-sign most of the team under the belief that the injuries were the reason why the team failed, b)sign some of the UFAs and RFAs hoping the majority of the team with small adjustments can improve on getting stomped in the first round, or c) clean house and pursue UFAs aggressively.<br />
<br />
Helene St. James <a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20140428/SPORTS05/304280021/detroit-red-wings-quick-playoffs-exit">wrote a nice piece</a> pondering what might happen next year, and she repeats Ken Holland's stance on Johan Franzen staying in Detroit. That's a whole other blog post but for now we'll stay on point. She mentions a few Grand Rapids Griffin stars like defensemen Ryan Sproul, Xaiver Ouellet, and goaltender Petr Mrazek. It's getting to be that time for the organization to accept that the Griffins have accomplished everything they can in their current iteration and graduation day is coming. The team is currently battling in the first round of the AHL Calder Cup playoffs (up 2-1 in a best-of-five vs. the Abbotsford Heat) with some of their graduates from this year returning to the team, but this is the last ride in a Griffins uniform for many of them.<br />
<br />
It's safe to say players like Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, Riley Sheahan, and Joakim Andersson are with the Red Wings for good. Mike Babcock has already stated that the youngsters who propped up the team in March and April have earned jobs moving forward. Good news for these former Griffins. Bad news for the pending UFA forwards who want to re-sign. Of all of the UFAs, including defensemen and goaltenders, the only player who could be brought back without the cocking of one's eyebrow is Daniel Alfredsson. He's already stated if he plays another season, the logical choice is to remain in Detroit, especially since he's also said his family loved it there. CBC's Tim Warnsby <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/sports-content/hockey/opinion/2014/04/a-year-later-daniel-alfredssons-remarks-sound-familiar.html">pumped out this agenda-laden piece</a> about how he was saying similar things about Ottawa before he split on the team. The revelation of persistent back injuries is a caution flag, but Alfredsson's production was impressive (49 points in 68 games) considering the lack of support at times. It seems most likely that Bertuzzi, Cleary, and Samuelsson will be moving on to other teams or retiring. <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2014/04/27/red-wings-free-agent-list/8294157/">Another Helene St. James piece states</a> Cleary will wind up with a front office job within the organization. One imagines Samuelsson will be jettisoned into space. Kyle Quincey has been a lightning rod of criticism since he was traded back to the Red Wings, and his relatively poor season-long performance isn't worth a second showing. David Legwand may very well boomerang back to Nashville if a reasonable deal cannot be struck with the Red Wings, but it begs the question why a first/second line center would rejoin this team knowing that the team is in transition looking to inject youth into the lineup. Unless one of Darren Helm, Joakim Andersson, Stephen Weiss, and Luke Glendening are being dumped, Legwand has no spot in the lineup. Jonas Gustavsson may be the only other UFA sticking around, depending on whether the organization feels Petr Mrazek is ready for prime-time. Spoiler alert: he is definitely ready.<br />
<br />
The Red Wings defense was woefully mismatched against the Bruins. Are Sproul and Ouellet the answer? One could argue the lack of Jonathan Ericsson was a major factor in the play of the defense, but just like Ken Holland said when he defended Johan Franzen, one player isn't the difference maker. So is the answer to Detroit's defensive flaws a total flush of the bowl? Obviously Kronwall, Ericsson, and Dekeyser are going to be returning, the latter of whom is going to see both a pay hike and a delicious long term contract that will satisfy both the player, the team, and the fans. There's a lot of questions as to whether Brendan Smith, Jakub Kindl, and Brian Lashoff are good enough to keep their jobs over younger, possibly better youngsters like Sproul and Ouellet. Quincey's departure leaves one space open, but there's also Adam Almquist in Grand Rapids to consider. Almquist had 53 points in 73 games as a defenseman, 49 of those being assists. Red Wings fans have been pining for a first-pass-out-of-the-zone defensive stud since Nick Lidstrom retired....<br />
<br />
The goaltending situation is most intriguing. Jimmy Howard is the man in Detroit, like it or not. Jonas Gustavsson had a hot start to the season but settled down to numbers below Howard. Mrazek was very impressive in his showings with the big club, registering a .927 save percentage in nine showings and a 1.74 GAA. His record of 2-4 is more reflective of how few goals the Red Wings scored during his stay with the team, and it has to be mentioned that both wins were shutouts. Mrazek is ready to shoulder at least 15-20 games as a backup, and typically Jimmy Howard has shouldered at least 50-60 games a season, depending on his own injuries. This may be the ideal time to graduate Mrazek and leave Tom McCollum as the sole returning goaltender in Grand Rapids, with the idea that Saginaw Spirit's Jake Paterson joins the club on the long road to earning a job in Detroit eventually. Straight up, McCollum has no chance of suiting up in Detroit given how Howard, Mrazek, and even the most likely departing Gustavsson would be ranked before him. He's also not signed to Detroit currently and is an asset of the Griffins themselves. There's also Jared Coreau to consider, but he and Paterson will likely be the Mrazek/McCollum tandem of the future.<br />
<br />
There's a lot of other possibilities in the realm of free agency. A quick use of the "Armchair GM" mode on Capgeek's website assuming a few signings leaves the team sporting 27 players. Keep in mind this isn't a lineup sheet, it's a list of players and their assumed cap hits.<br />
<br />
FORWARDS<br />
<br />
Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($7.500m) / Justin Abdelkader ($1.800m)<br />
Johan Franzen ($3.955m) / Stephen Weiss ($4.900m) / Tomas Jurco ($0.709m)<br />
Drew Miller ($1.350m) / Darren Helm ($2.125m) / Tomas Tatar ($0.715m)<br />
Gustav Nyquist ($0.950m) / Joakim Andersson ($0.733m) / Daniel Alfredsson ($5.500m)<br />
Riley Sheahan ($0.715m) / Luke Glendening ($0.628m) /
Cory Emmerton ($0.605m) /<br />
<br />
DEFENSEMEN<br />
<br />
Niklas Kronwall ($4.750m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($4.250m)<br />
Jakub Kindl ($2.400m) / Brendan Smith ($1.263m)
<br />
Brian Lashoff ($0.725m) / Xavier Ouellet ($0.670m)
<br />
Ryan Sproul ($0.620m) / Adam Almquist ($0.605m)<br />
Danny DeKeyser ($0.874m)<br />
<br />
GOALTENDERS<br />
Jimmy Howard ($5.292m)<br />
Petr Mrazek ($0.595m)<br />
Jonas Gustavsson ($1.500m)<br />
<br />
BUYOUTS<br />
<br />
Carlo Colaiacovo ($0.000m)<br />
<br />
BURIED<br />
<br />
Jordin Tootoo ($0.975m)<br />
<br />
(estimations for 2014-15)<br />
SALARY CAP: $71,100,000<br />
CAP PAYROLL: $62,786,170<br />
BONUSES: $917,500<br />
CAP SPACE (27-man roster): $8,313,830<br />
<br />
Even with this illegal, bloated roaster there's over $8 million dollars in salary cap space. It stands to reason resigned players like DeKeyser, Sheahan, and Tatar are going to see pay raises. The Red Wings are also not going to field nine defensemen on opening day so in the end the team will probably have about $10 million in cap space and a full lineup potentially ready for puck drop in October. The big question is whether Ken Holland will dip into that number for a chance at free agency, or will he stick to his team for now and assume injuries will lead to some necessary trades and incoming behemoth sized salaries. At the very least, it needs to be said that the Red Wings should inquire about improving their defense. Whether that means saying adieu to Quincey and one or more of Lashoff/Smith/Kindl is completely unknown, but fielding the same team isn't going to improve the results, even assuming no one gets injured.<br />
<br />
So the question is simple. Where do the Red Wings go from here? Leave a comment below and we'll get to the bottom of this.P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-52222583772143215702014-02-26T05:09:00.000-08:002014-02-26T05:09:48.151-08:00A Retrospective on the 2014 Women's Ice Hockey Olympic TournamentCongratulations to the teams that had the honour of participating in the 2014 Winter Olympic Games Ice Hockey Tournament. Long considered a cornerstone event in the games, the ice hockey tournament has vastly increased its profile since the arrival of professional hockey players in 1998 with the games in Nagano, Japan, and the introduction of the women's tournament the same year. Sixteen years later, the Sochi games provided a tournament more rich with storylines than a hockey fan could dream of. One almost laments that the journey must end as the closing ceremony ends and all athletes return to their counties across the planet, their lives forever changed.<br />
<br />
Today I want to briefly recap the women's tournament. Each team had some great moments and this year's gold medal game was the most exciting hockey game of 2014 so far. Despite Canada defending its gold for the third time and capturing its fourth gold medal, the games showcased some new stars and demonstrated how the rest of the world is starting to find its footing in the otherwise North American dominated hockey tournaments.<br />
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<b>Group A Teams</b><br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cf/Flag_of_Canada.svg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cf/Flag_of_Canada.svg" height="100" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Canada:</b> Of course, Canada defended its gold medal on the backs of elite veterans like Jayna Hefford, Caroline Oullette, and Hayley Wickenheiser. Arguably, goaltender Shannon Szabados was the top keeper of the tournament and MVP of the team, but it's hard to argue who among the well-oiled machine stood out the most. Marie-Phillip Poulin came through again with two goals in the gold medal game. Her legend continues to grow. Maybe Jordan Eberle is the Marie-Phillip Poulin of men's hockey, instead of thinking of it vice versa.<br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Flag_of_Finland.svg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Flag_of_Finland.svg" height="121" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Finland:</b> The Finns entered the tournament as the most likely to compete with the North American powerhouses, but just barely got past the Swiss in overtime in the round robin and were stunned by the Swedes in the qualification round. On the bright side, the Finns played well in the 5th to 8th place bracket, finishing in 5th place overall and seeing Michelle Karvinen emerge as a superstar with five goals in the tournament. From the sounds of it, star goalie <a href="http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/finland-goalie-noora-raty-quitting-women-hockey-due-213004672.html">Noora Raty wants to call it quits</a> due to a lack of a women's professional league. Jenni Hiirikoski also won the tournament's top defensemen honour.<br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Flag_of_Switzerland_(Pantone).svg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Flag_of_Switzerland_(Pantone).svg" height="200" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Switzerland:</b> The big shock in this tournament was the emergence of Switzerland as a legitimate team as they captured the bronze medal in an outstanding comeback, stunning the Swedes 4-3. Swiss keeper Florence Schelling won both media keeper of the tournament as well as directorate and tournament MVP honours.Schelling kept them in the 3-1 loss to Canada that certainly bristled the favourites. The 2-0 shocker versus the Russians helped to build her resume as one of the world's top goaltenders among women, and it gives the Swiss a star to build on. 15 year old Alina Müller became a media darling, not only for scoring goals but showing how far along women's hockey has truly come in 16 years. She was born when women's hockey in the Olympics had just started. She will be a star in tournaments to come.<br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg" height="105" width="200" /></a><b>United States of America: </b>Team USA were so, so close to ending Canada's streak of gold medals. Whether it be nerves, unfavorable penalties, losing to the better team, or whatever reasons anyone want to come up with, the team walks away with silver. There is absolutely nothing to be ashamed about with their performance as the difference between gold and silver was so slight that a missed empty netter could have sealed their fate as tournament winners. Amanda Kessel will almost surely replaced Hayley Wickenheiser as the world's greatest female hockey player; she might even be the better Kessel! With the right coach, I see the 2018 tournament as their time to topple their rivals.<br />
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<b>Group B Teams</b><br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg" height="133" width="200" /></a><b>Russia: </b>A lot was expected of the Russian ice hockey teams in Sochi, and both fell short of the medals. Even though the women went undefeated in the round robin portion of the tournament, they were ousted by the Swiss in the 2-0 game mentioned earlier in this post. In the meaningless 5th-8th place tournament, Russia stomped Japan 6-3 only to go down 4-0 to the Finns in the 5th place game. On the bright side, Russia proved that they are perhaps the mightiest of the non-Group A teams. The disappointment of Sochi will be a motivator in international tournaments to come.<br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4c/Flag_of_Sweden.svg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4c/Flag_of_Sweden.svg" height="125" width="200" /></a><b>Sweden: </b>Sweden finished 4th at Sochi after blowing the bronze medal game to the Swiss, ending their Olympic medal streak at two (bronze in Salt Lake City, Silver in Torino). The women's team has been sliding slowly down the tournament brackets since Torino, and hasn't medaled at the IIHF tournaments since 2007. Pernilla Winberg remains the team's best star since her breakout performance in 2006. If they can find the means to protect their two goal leads, they have a chance to recapture the magic of better tournaments gone by and reclaim the title of Europe's best women's team.<br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/ba/Flag_of_Germany.svg" height="120" width="200" /></a><b>Germany:</b> Germany did not fare well in Sochi, winning only against Japan and losing to everyone else. Goaltender Viona Harrer was statistically the second best keeper in the tournament, posting a .935 save percentage in three games and grabbing a single shutout. The best moment of the tournament may have been the most bitter loss of 2-1 to the Finns in the 5th-8th place bracket. It showed they were close (somewhat) to the rest of the pack.<br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9e/Flag_of_Japan.svg" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
<b>Japan: </b>Undeniably the weakest team at the tournament, Japan was okie-doked by the referees and goal judges when this goal wasn't to be:<br />
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That's quite obviously a goal there at :38 seconds into the clip. I wonder why that goal against the host country Russia wasn't counted. They did pot one goal in the round robin tournament, which led to the greatest celebration ever seen on ice for a goal:<br />
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The Japanese can walk away from this tournament knowing they are as competitive as Germany, and while not exactly the best team in Asia (watch out Kazakhstan!) they should be consistently showing up at international tournaments and continuously improving. It took them sixteen years to get back to the women's tournament after hosting the '98 Olympics. If they can continue to play the way they did against Germany, they will eventually defeat them and seek out a new team they can strive to replace in the standings.</div>
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<b>FINAL THOUGHTS</b></div>
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The real reason I wanted to write this post was immerse myself in the less-viewed women's tournament and look at how some of the non-usual suspects performed. Admittedly, I've only ever paid attention to the gold medal games because that's where Canada resides (and apparently dominates). I took in some more of the round robin games this time around and it's impressive to see how far along women's hockey has come. It's a farce to say it has only progressed as much as the North American teams have. The truth is that beyond the competitors of Team USA and Team Canada, there are some legitimate superstars rising out of the other countries. Are any of the teams as good as their North American counterparts? Hardly. But the point of having these tournaments isn't just to have the two powerhouse teams clobber the lesser teams for sport before their big showdown. The bigger story here is that across Europe and Asia we are seeing countries explore women's hockey and improve as each tournament plays. Arguably, Canada and the United States were four to five steps ahead of all other women's hockey teams from 1998 to 2006. Sweden took one massive leap forward shocking the Americans, but one equally massive step backwards in subsequent tournaments. In the meantime, other European countries like Finland and Switzerland have produced their own all-stars who outshine North American players individually:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGd1ivaFrZCLNtuZJSaTQa8wknJB3Fo8onIDg1OY8-gYRpslHdLl5S6wkON3G_S7QMvv8OpUGeD0RcsBYWVJ7auAi3yejzo-XWgwhzNSolLhtWZ0txTTJzcA1N0XM8_QUsYEITtfZVkfJT/s1600/tournament.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGd1ivaFrZCLNtuZJSaTQa8wknJB3Fo8onIDg1OY8-gYRpslHdLl5S6wkON3G_S7QMvv8OpUGeD0RcsBYWVJ7auAi3yejzo-XWgwhzNSolLhtWZ0txTTJzcA1N0XM8_QUsYEITtfZVkfJT/s1600/tournament.png" height="246" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Copied from Wikipedia.</span></b></div>
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I only see one Canadian on this entire list, and just three Americans. This is a step in the right direction for women's hockey. The rest of the world are slowly but surely catching up with North America.</div>
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<br />P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-80406320306024088622014-01-22T16:23:00.001-08:002014-01-22T16:23:13.827-08:00Five Jerseys on NHL Shop That Make No Sense<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Most hockey fans have team-related gear in their homes. Whether it is t shirts, hats, jerseys, scarves, flags, pucks, or even underwear, everyone who takes fandom (too) seriously has something from the NHL's official shop page. Heck, I have a Detroit Red Wings t-shirt for every day of the week as well as two home jerseys.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Unfortunately, not everything on the shop page is good. <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/10-creepiest-nhl-officially-licensed-gnomes-photos-132317089--nhl.html">Check out this article written by "Puck Daddy" about creepy gnomes that were/are on the site</a>. Yes, those are official NHL gnomes. Is there even a demand for these creepy buggers? I digress because the purpose of this article is to make fun of some of the dumbest jersey concepts that are for sale on the 'Shop. Without any further diatribe about the "sinking Red Wings" or injuries or blah blah blah playoff streak in jeopardy, here's a fun look at some terrible NHL jerseys for sale!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>5. Reebok Accelerator Premier Jersey</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://nhl.frgimages.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=%2fproductImages%2f_1420000%2fff_1420537_xl.jpg&w=400" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://nhl.frgimages.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=%2fproductImages%2f_1420000%2fff_1420537_xl.jpg&w=400" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't know what possessed someone to run a Red Wings logo through an old fax machine and then slap it on an all-black jersey, but here we are wishing we could carve our eyeballs out. The Microsoft Office '98 WordArt numbers are the cherry on top of this crap sundae. I wonder how many of these are floating around the real world. If you bought this, you are either colour blind or you already own every other Red Wing jersey ever made and just needed this one to complete the collection. Either way, I feel bad money was spent on this. Does anyone else see weird stripes on the arms and at the bottom occasionally? I feel like sometimes they are there but then they aren't.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>4. Super Discounts on Jerseys of Former Team Players</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://nhl.frgimages.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=%2fproductImages%2f_1392000%2fff_1392954_xl.jpg&w=400" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://nhl.frgimages.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=%2fproductImages%2f_1392000%2fff_1392954_xl.jpg&w=400" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This one hits me a little too close to home, but the fact is that sometimes players leave your favorite team. Like a scorned lover posting Facebook pictures because you forgot to unfriend them, this one burns your eyes in a bittersweet way. On one hand, it's still a good looking jersey that's on sale for a ludicrous price. On the other hand, F*%k that player forever for leaving for greener/bluer pastures. Too soon, NHL Shop. Too soon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>3. Fashion Replica Jerseys</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://nhl.frgimages.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=%2fproductImages%2f_1624000%2fff_1624319_xl.jpg&w=400" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://nhl.frgimages.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=%2fproductImages%2f_1624000%2fff_1624319_xl.jpg&w=400" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This might be the laziest thing I've ever seen in my life, and I live with myself. It's just a team logo with monochrome old-school Pittsburgh Penguin stripes and numbers high on the shoulder. What is fashionable about this f*%king thing? Don't piss away your cash on this thing, just buy a real jersey. Even if it is fifty bucks cheaper, you can't save money on protecting yourself from every day ridicule from your knowledgeable puck buddies. This is some lazy stuff.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>2. Veterans Day Practice V-Neck Jersey with Digital Camo</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://nhl.frgimages.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=%2fproductImages%2f_1363000%2fff_1363035_xl.jpg&w=400" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://nhl.frgimages.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=%2fproductImages%2f_1363000%2fff_1363035_xl.jpg&w=400" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In the field of "Most Likely to Appear on Duck Dynasty" we have the camo jersey. Again, NHL shop offends us by running off a black and white Detroit RED Wing logo, then slaps it on camo. I don't even want to call this lazy. It's stupid. Even worse is that it's a "Veteran's Day" jersey but there's no other goodwill gesture like perhaps donating proceeds towards funding for retired veterans. It's a cheap cash in on a holiday that I thought was meaningful. Barf.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>1. "Authentic Edge Jersey"</b></span><br />
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<a href="http://nhl.frgimages.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=%2fproductImages%2f_1211000%2fff_1211972_xl.jpg&w=400" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" src="http://nhl.frgimages.com/FFImage/thumb.aspx?i=%2fproductImages%2f_1211000%2fff_1211972_xl.jpg&w=400" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This one's bad just for the logo on the front of it, but there's more to this choice. Here we have a jersey whose perks read as follows (<a href="http://shop.nhl.com/Toronto_Maple_Leafs_Jerseys/Reebok_Toronto_Maple_Leafs_Authentic_Edge_Jersey">courtesy of the jersey's page</a>):</span><br />
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<li style="background-image: url(http://images.footballfanatics.com/partners/ff_wide/pdp/pdp_detail_bullet_round.gif); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">100% Double-knit polyester</span></li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://images.footballfanatics.com/partners/ff_wide/pdp/pdp_detail_bullet_round.gif); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Authentic tie-down "fight" strap attached inside back of jersey</span></li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://images.footballfanatics.com/partners/ff_wide/pdp/pdp_detail_bullet_round.gif); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Decorated in the team colors</span></li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://images.footballfanatics.com/partners/ff_wide/pdp/pdp_detail_bullet_round.gif); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Imported</span></li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://images.footballfanatics.com/partners/ff_wide/pdp/pdp_detail_bullet_round.gif); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">NHL&reg; Shield patch is sewn on the bottom front of the collar fabric insert</span></li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://images.footballfanatics.com/partners/ff_wide/pdp/pdp_detail_bullet_round.gif); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Officially licensed</span></li>
<li style="background-image: url(http://images.footballfanatics.com/partners/ff_wide/pdp/pdp_detail_bullet_round.gif); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 10px 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Reinforced stitching on all seams and hems</span></li>
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<span style="line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, if I wasn't sold on "Imported" now I'm hot and bothered under the Lycratalic collar. I'm still trying to figure out why this is over $120 more than a standard jersey at $300+ a pop. I wouldn't wish that robbery on even a Maple Leafs fan. The price and the missing double stripe at the bottom make this feel like an empty, meaningless purchase. Does anyone NEED a fight strap on their jersey? Presumably they would only ever wear this at home among friends or maybe a game at the ACC. Do people get assaulted frequently at NHL games and have their jerseys yanked over their heads?</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">These are all pretty nonsensical, terrible sweaters. Have a jersey story of your own? Share it in the comment section below!</span></span></div>
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P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-14039201705258960452014-01-03T11:27:00.000-08:002014-01-03T11:27:41.920-08:00The Detroit Red Wings' Top Ten Goaltenders (1932-2013)<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">The Detroit Red Wings are one of
the oldest franchises in the National Hockey League. Inevitably, when
you're talking about the all-time best players per position,
there are going to be a few Red Wings that pop up on the list. Now
seems like a good time to reflect on over eighty years of players and
do one of these Top Ten lists.</span></div>
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Self-deprecation aside, here's my top ten list of Detroit's ten best
goaltenders all-time. Please feel free to chime in on the comments
section and tell me <span style="font-size: 11pt;">how wrong I am. Enjoy and destroy!</span></div>
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<b><i> 10. Tim Cheveldae</i></b></div>
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Tim Cheveldae served in Detroit from 1988-89 to 1993-94, appearing in
264 games, going 128-93-30 with a 3.40 GAA and an .883 save
percentage. Those numbers don't seem very impressive but Cheveldae
played during a time where goal scoring came much easier. A true
workhorse, he holds the team record for appearances in a single
season (72 in 1991-92) as well as career points (15, tied with Chris
Osgood and Greg Stefan). During the 91-92 season Cheveldae led the
NHL in games played, wins, and appeared in the NHL All-Star Game.
That season, the Red Wings squeezed out a game seven victory over the
Minnesota North Stars before being knocked out by the Chicago
Blackhawks in four games in the Division Finals. During the 1993-94
season Cheveldae was traded to the Winnipeg Jets when Chris Osgood
emerged as the starting goaltender, and his career declined quickly
in Winnipeg. While his legacy may be a little tarnished by not
capitalizing on a very good Red Wings team with Steve Yzerman in his
prime, Cheveldae deserves a place on this list for his string of
excellent regular seasons.</div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Manny_legace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Manny_legace.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>He looks like how we felt during his playoff games. Photo courtesy of "Maureen Landers" via Wikipedia.</b></span></div>
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<i><b> 9. Manny Legace</b></i></div>
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Manny Legace is a surprise on this list as I believe he doesn't
receive much credit for his regular season performances. Legace's
time with Detroit saw him rack up a 112-34-19 record in the regular
season with a 2.18 GAA and a .918 save percentage. His playoff record
is 4-6 with a 2.54 GAA and an .888 save percentage...which is why
Legace is often forgotten in any conversations about good Red Wing
goaltenders. He's still a Stanley Cup champion thanks to the 2002
team, but the massive caveat is that he stayed far away from the
action on the ice. Personally, I thought Legace's performance in the
2005-06 regular season was Vezina calibre, but that just makes his
performance in the playoffs against Edmonton even harder to digest.
Still, the regular season numbers are enough for me to put Legace on
this list.<br /></div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/JimmyHowardRW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/JimmyHowardRW.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Jimmy looking very busy. Photo courtesy of "Anna Enriquez" via Flickr and Wikipedia.</b></span></div>
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<b><i> 8. Jimmy Howard</i></b></div>
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Jimmy Howard is Detroit's current starting goaltender and has already
impressed with a 131-67-26 regular season record, boasting a career
GAA of 2.29 and a save percentage of .920. His playoff numbers
(20-22, 2.57 GAA and .918 sv%) leave a little to be desired but there
is still a lot of time for Howard to prove himself as an elite NHL
goaltender. It's bizarre to see Howard on this list even though he
has played less games than others, but Howard represents a new era
for the Red Wings and a new method to signing and developing
goaltenders. It took several years in the minors before Howard was
given the nod as the starter, and the approach to his development is
paying off in dividends thus far.</div>
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<a href="http://www.goaliesarchive.com/wings/goalie/hall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="http://www.goaliesarchive.com/wings/goalie/hall.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo via goaliesarchive.com.</span></b></div>
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<b><i>7. Glenn Hall</i></b></div>
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The sum of Glenn Hall's career might make him the best goaltender on the list, but since we're looking at his time as a Red Wing, Hall squeezes onto the list with a 74-45-29 record with a sparkling 2.12 GAA. Hall won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 1956 during a season where he tied team records in ties in a season (16 tied with Terry Sawchuk) and shutouts in a season (12 , also tied with Sawchuk). Hall's time in Detroit was cut short as he was shipped with Ted Lindsay to Chicago in 1957 for a bunch of players who never made the same impact. Hall went on to be an NHL iron man, playing in 502 consecutive games without wearing a helmet. His multiple Stanley Cup championships, Vezina Trophies, and All-Star Games made him one of the game's best goaltenders, but one cannot forget he started off his streak and his impressive play in Detroit.</div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/28/Harry_Lumley_hockey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/28/Harry_Lumley_hockey.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Lumley accidentally wearing another team's jersey with some random trophy. Photo from Wikipedia.</span></b></div>
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<b><i>6. Harry Lumley</i></b></div>
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Harry Lumley is another goaltender that gets lost in the shuffle when talking about Detroit's best goalies. Lumley sports a regular season record of 163-105-56 with a 2.75 GAA, and a playoff record of 24-30 with a 2.30 GAA. Lumley's best moment might have been winning the Stanley Cup championship in 1950, although he took Detroit as far as they could, losing the Stanley Cup in 1945 by just one goal in the seventh game. Lumley may have been the best goaltender in the NHL from 1947-1950 and certainly pulled through for Detroit during playoff runs. Time is really the only enemy to his case for being one of the best Detroit Red Wings goaltender of all time.<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.beehivehockey.com/images/player_images_group1/normansmith1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://www.beehivehockey.com/images/player_images_group1/normansmith1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo from beehivehockey.com</span></b></div>
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<b><i>5. Norm Smith</i></b></div>
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Norm Smith is the player on this list who began his career the earliest and thus is furthest removed from the public's historical consciousness. As someone born more than 40 years after his playing career ended, it's impossible for me to comment on anything but his statistics, but it's interesting to see the</div>
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accolades he achieved during the Red Wings' earlier year. He helped the team win the Stanley Cup in 1936 and 1937, winning the Vezina Trophy once in 1937. Smith's most notable career victory was a 1-0 shutout in the longest game in NHL history, where the Red Wings won on a Mud Bruneteau goal in the sixth overtime. Smith retired in 1938 after refusing to report to Boston after a trade, but was recalled during World War II on an emergency basis only. Smith is a great addition to this list from the early years, and his 76-71-31 record and 2.26 GAA in the early years of the Red Wings deserve recognition nearly eighty years after his start with Hockeytown.</div>
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<b><i>4. Dominik Hasek</i></b></div>
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Hasek is yet another example of a goaltender whose total career includes many more accolades than he received during his tenure in Detroit, but unlike Glenn Hall, Hasek's later years were spent with the Red Wings. Hasek's record with the Red Wings (114-39-19 regular season, 28-17 playoffs) is very strong, along with his 2.13 GAA and .911 save percentage demonstrate a lack of a decline in his career even on a Detroit team that didn't need superb goal-tending Hasek won the Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2002 and 2008, along with a William Jennings Trophy in 2008 that was shared with Chris Osgood. Hasek's time with Detroit is stunted by the mediocre performance in his 4 starts during the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs. He was replaced by Chris Osgood, who put up a Conn Smythe calibre performance en route to the Stanley Cup. Hasek is low on this list, but in terms of all time greatest goaltenders, he's undeniably near the top.</div>
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<a href="http://www.goaliesarchive.com/wings/goalie/crozier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.goaliesarchive.com/wings/goalie/crozier.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">Crozier making a save. Without a helmet on, too. Photo from goaliesarchives.com</span></b></div>
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<b><i>3. Roger Crozier</i></b></div>
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Roger Crozier played for the Red Wings from 1963-64 to 1969-70, where he amassed an impressive 131-121-41 record in 313 games played, boasting a 2.93 GAA. Crozier took the Red Wings to the finals during the 1966 Stanley Cup playoffs, becoming the first player in the history of the NHL to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP despite losing, as well as the first goaltender. Crozier battled pancreatic and ulcer problems throughout his career, but still took home the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year in 1965 and had an NHL trophy named after him, dubbed the Roger Crozier Saving Grace Award for the NHL's best save percentage. One could argue that Crozier wasn't able to take advantage of a still strong Detroit lineup and win multiple Stanley Cups, but his individual trophies and legacy in the form of a (retired) trophy is impressive enough.</div>
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Chris_Osgood_2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Chris_Osgood_2008.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">The man, the myth, the legend. Photo from "Dan4th" via Wikipedia.</span></b></div>
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<b><i>2. Chris Osgood</i></b></div>
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While it is true that this blog is named after Chris Osgood, I did try to remain as objective as possible when it came to this list. That being said, Chris Osgood on this list is inevitable as is the discussion about his career. Winner of three Stanley Cups (1997, 1998, 2008), two William Jennings Memorial</div>
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Trophies (1996, 2008), four time NHL All-Star (1996, 1997, 1998, 2008), and holder of most team records for goal-tending in the playoffs, Osgood embodies the mentality of the Detroit Red Wings during their current 23 season playoff streak: just win the game. While Osgood may have a litany of detractors and naysayers who argue he has no place in the Hockey Hall of Fame, few goaltenders have accomplished what he has in his career. Only Terry Sawchuk and Chris Osgood have won Stanley Cups as the starting goaltender a decade apart, and he has top ten all time numbers in wins (10th), goals against average (10th), and winning percentage (4th). As a Red Wing, he boasts 317 career victories in the regular season, and 67 wins in the postseason. Admittedly, there was never a great deal of pressure on Osgood to steal games simply because the Detroit teams he played on were stacked with Hall-of-Fame forwards and defenders. But then the 2008 and 2009 playoffs completely validated his ticket to the Hall-of-Fame, and his status as one of the NHL's best goaltenders of all-time.<br />
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<a href="http://www.goaliesarchive.com/wings/goalie/sawchuk3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.goaliesarchive.com/wings/goalie/sawchuk3.jpg" width="269" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">No doubt the best Wing ever to tend goal. Photo from goaliesarchives.com via "Cold War by Mike Leonetti"</span></b></div>
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<b><i>1. Terry
Sawchuk</i></b></div>
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Terry Sawchuk might be the best goaltender in NHL history. All due
respect to Martin Brodeur, who is still increasing his all-time lead
in most goal-tending categories, Terry Sawchuk might be his stiffest
competition. While his career was cut short with his death in 1970,
Sawchuk played in 14 season for Detroit, registering an incredible
351-243-132 record with a 2.44 GAA. The list of accolades is endless
for Sawchuk as a Red Wing: three Vezina Trophies (1952, 1953, 1955),
three Stanley Cup Championships (1952, 1954, 1955), a Calder Memorial
Trophy (1951), Six All-Star games in a row (1950-55), the NHL record
for ties (172) and a 39 year streak where his career total in
shutouts was unmatched until Brodeur broke it in 2009. Sawchuk, along
with Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay, <span style="font-size: 11pt;">were central to Detroit's success in the 1950s, and a number of his
records remained unmatched until Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur
shattered his records decades later. Sawchuk battled personal demons
his entire career, but his posthumous election to the Hockey Hall of
Fame in 1970 as well as his awarding of the Lester Patrick Trophy in
1971 were indicative of his impact on the game as well as the shock
of losing a tremendous talent.</span></div>
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P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-18342935811500949292013-12-24T12:22:00.003-08:002014-02-22T19:57:11.140-08:00Wake Up.In lieu of writing some very interesting pieces on my road to an NHL game, I've made a pit stop to address the current state of the Red Wings. Rather than flood my Twitter any further with madness, I'm going to take the time to speak my mind here.<br />
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The 2013-14 Detroit Red Wings have been more frustrating than Chris Brown fans on Twitter. As of today, Christmas Eve, The Red Wings are 17-13-9, which is a really soft way of saying they have won 17 games and lost 22, and we're very nearly halfway through the season. The team has not performed this poorly in the first half of the season in recent memory, and are clinging to one of the Wild Card playoff spots over the Toronto Maple Leafs (18-16-5) in the final spot and the New York Rangers (18-18-2), who continue to bumble their way up the standings.<br />
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To put it nicely, this is nowhere near where the team should be at this point in the season. The teams above (Boston, Tampa Bay, Montreal) are starting to pick up the pace, making it more difficult to rise up the standings later in the season. After a mediocre November that saw the Wings lose FIVE times in a row after regulation, and a current 3-5-2 backslide, the situation is not getting better. The terrible teams in the Metropolitan Division are slowly improving on their terribleness. Mediocrity and laziness are settling in. Everybody's injured. Mike Babcock is probably always angry. Cats and dogs have begun living together.<br />
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In all seriousness, the team has not been very good. It would be easy to lean on the reasoning that the injuries make it difficult to win games, especially when the likes of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Jimmy Howard, Jonathan Ericsson, Darren Helm, Stephen Weiss, and Daniel DeKeyser have all been out of the lineup at some point due to injuries. Unfortunately, I don't accept this as a valid enough argument for defending the team's awful play. I also don't think it's fair to praise the bevy of talent in Grand Rapids for existing but not delivering wins when they are called up to fill in the roster gaps. Yes, players like Tomas Jurco, Riley Sheahan, and Gustav Nyquist have been very good, but not good enough to turn the (mis)fortunes of the team around. Statistics and potential don't matter at this moment. Wins do, and we need more of them to separate us from the dogfight that is going to take place in March.<br />
<br />
So, where is the problem?<br />
<br />
Based on the numbers available <a href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/teamstats.htm?fetchKey=20142ALLSAAAll&sort=gamesPlayed&viewName=summary">here</a>, you could make a fantastic case that the Red Wings, as a team, are the definition of average at every possible category with the exception of a few. They rank in the middle at goals per game (18th), goals against per game (13th), 5 on 5 goals for/against efficiency (15th), power play (16th), shots per game (14th), shots against per game (11th), win percentage when trailing first (13th), and winning when outshooting opponents (15th). It gets worse.<br />
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The positives from team statistics are surprising. They rank in the top 10 in penalty kill (8th) and faceoff winning percentage (9th). The negatives tell the true tale of the season. They bomb in win percentage when being outshot (23rd), win percentage when scoring 1st (26th!), win percentage when leading after 1 period (25th!), and win percentage when leading after 2 periods (29th!!!).<br />
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As a team, the definition of the Red Wings becomes more lucid looking at these numbers. They are in virtually every way a middle of the pack team that is good at killing penalties and winning faceoffs, but are among the league's worst when it comes to holding a lead and maintaining any lead the later the game goes. I recognize that one stats page doesn't tell a story, but is is what the team has been doing so far and hockey is a team sport. I'm not going to dump the team's poor performance on Kyle Quincey, Ken Holland, Dan Cleary's Reanimated Corpse, Jimmy Howard, or the porcelain company responsible for crafting Detroit Red Wing players. As a team, they are not playing well. They can't hold leads. They aren't scoring enough. The Christmas break will help some players get their shit together. Others will be waived. Returning players from injuries have to step up. The veterans on this team need to right the ship. The rookies need to keep playing with intensity and not let up any steam their pro careers have.<br />
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I have gone MAD trying to find the right words to describe what the team needs to do moving forward. 2013 wasn't good for Red Wings hockey. Last year's playoffs notwithstanding, I think as a team (and a fanbase) everyone has learned that winning won't come easy anymore and nobody is going to be walking into the playoffs this season. 2014 is a chance to turn around the mediocrity and start driving towards the playoffs instead of sliding sideways with OT losses and shootout losses. There's still plenty of time left on the calendar, let's hope the team uses it and doesn't piss away the reputation the team has fought to withhold the last 22 seasons.P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-58517878175958890132013-11-01T10:00:00.000-07:002013-11-01T05:57:39.977-07:00The Wiz's History Lesson: Puck Poetry<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Plante_Mask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Plante_Mask.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<b>Jacques Plante's mask, currently enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.</b></div>
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On November 1st 1959, Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens wore a goaltending mask for the first time in NHL regular season history. The game he wore the mask as well a little bit of historical background can be found <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Plante#Mask">right here on Plante's Wikipedia page</a>. The mask has become an iconic piece of equipment in hockey, with many masks becoming infamous pieces of art in 20th century sports history. Today I would like to present a historical poem describing the game, the mask, Plante, and the historical moment.<br />
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<b>THE MASK</b><br />
<br />
Headache tonight<br />
Won't go away.<br />
Something is needed<br />
To keep it at bay.<br />
<br />
Bathgate's shot<br />
There goes his nose.<br />
The play is stopped<br />
As the blood overflows.<br />
<br />
Bleu blanc et rouge<br />
More rouge tonight.<br />
Toe needs something<br />
To stay in this fight.<br />
<br />
Toe had no choice<br />
It was all Jacques' call.<br />
With no one at backup<br />
It was nothing, or all.<br />
<br />
Keeper got his way<br />
Now he's back on the ice.<br />
Can he see down?<br />
It's a roll of the dice.<br />
<br />
Plante with the save!<br />
The crowd roars with the play.<br />
With blood on his sweater,<br />
Look's like Jacques is okay.<br />
<br />
"He'll get rid of it soon,"<br />
Toe said with some snark.<br />
"He won't use that thing,<br />
this is just for a lark."<br />
<br />
Sixty-three years<br />
Have gone by since that night.<br />
When Jacques Plante wore the mask,<br />
Keepers had won their own right.<br />
<br />
The mask's down the Hall,<br />
Locked out in its case.<br />
The shield of the keeper,<br />
Protecting the face.<br />
<br />
--PG Marsh<br />
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I recognize that to many, this poem may be cheesy, or corny, or both. I had a lot of fun writing it, and since we're all locked out of writing about the NHL (for now), I thought I would take advantage of the current date and write about one of the greatest goaltenders of all time and his innovation to the game.<br />
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Your bonus from me: the Canadian Heritage Moment describing Plante and the Mask.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2QCDBMwUXf0" width="420"></iframe>
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<br />P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-72012392675352019232013-06-06T09:38:00.000-07:002013-06-06T10:03:00.618-07:00Assessing the Detroit Red Wings 2013 Season<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEqCC03Km25ZPZjsvpQa6GCO_iQo9zAhIq37ewbKLA72DlDLKqmSEBlfcx0Ev3_C6mVvbrufsI8gQ7Z1CxUNQToUDKSd7AlTPN8jUQeiUReXvqdToz-fMDJthm-5Bjg7cEKp9dvQbNTXo/s1600/Red_Wings_retired_Banners.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEqCC03Km25ZPZjsvpQa6GCO_iQo9zAhIq37ewbKLA72DlDLKqmSEBlfcx0Ev3_C6mVvbrufsI8gQ7Z1CxUNQToUDKSd7AlTPN8jUQeiUReXvqdToz-fMDJthm-5Bjg7cEKp9dvQbNTXo/s640/Red_Wings_retired_Banners.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Not a relevent photo for this post, but I was reflecting on what it means to have your number retired. Photo courtesy of "Schmackity" on Wikipedia.</b></span></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">With
the season over thanks to an agonizing game seven overtime defeat at
the hands of media favorites, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Detroit Red
Wings have cleaned out their lockers and reflected on coming so far
but just missing out on the Western Conference Finals. The series
winning goal should have been the goal scored by Chicago defenseman
Niklas Hjalmarsson, but NHL referee Steve Walkom botched the call and
kept the game going. Unfortunately for the Red Wings they were unable
to capitalize on this "second chance".</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">A
lot of fans and blogs have already weighed in on the controversy
about the blown goal call, the missed boarding call that should have
been drawn by Gustav Nyquist, and the painful nature of the series ending
goal. Rather
than focus on how the season ended, I am going to push forward and
celebrate the success of the 2013 Detroit Red Wings for being as
successful as they were in a shortened, transitional season. The
format for this review will involve short comments on the positive
and negatives for each player on the roster. This is not meant to be a deeply analytic piece, just basic observations.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>FORWARDS</b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Pavel
Datsyuk</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Datsyuk scored an impressive 15 goals and 34 assists, while
remaining a +21 and finishing tied for first in takeaways (56). His
faceoff percentage (55%) was impressive and was a human highlight
reel all season. He's still the most complete player in the world and
has the best attitude when it comes to playing the game.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: Datsyuk had a much quieter postseason than was expected, with
just 3 goals and 9 points in Detroit's 14 playoff games. There isn't
much to criticize when it comes to Datsyuk's game, but his playoff
performance was less than expected.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Henrik
Zetterberg</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: When the chips were down and the Red Wings had their backs
against the wall, Zetterberg was the hero. In the final four games of
the season, </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Zetterberg
scored 2 goals and 8 assists to lead the Red Wings into the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">playoffs.
His season stats (11 goals, 37 assists, 48 points) were a reason why </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">the
Red Wings survived a difficult season. Zetterberg has already proven
he is </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">an
excellent leader on the ice and the perfect captain for a long, long
time.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: Similarly to Datsyuk, Zetterberg was quieter in the playoffs
than </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">expected,
especially against Chicago. He had two long streaks with no goals </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">(nine
and ten games) which contributed to a lesser season that what could
have </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">been.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Johan
Franzen</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Franzen finished third on the Red Wings with 14 goals and 17 </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">assists,
and was a real pest for teams trying to play defense.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: To be blunt, if Johan Franzen ever has a biography written, it
should </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">be
titled "Streaky". His tendency to go ice cold during the
regular season is </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">infuriating
and Mike Babcock himself commented on it a while back. For all the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">talk
about Franzen in the playoffs, where's he been the last three
seasons?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Damien
Brunner</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Brunner's first season in the NHL was positive; the Swiss
scored 12 </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">goals
and 14 assists in 44 games. Brunner meshed very well with any line he </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">was
on, with or without fellow Swiss league teammate Henrik Zetterberg.
Was </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">electric
on the ice with fellow youngsters Gustav Nyquist and Joakim Andersson </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">during
the playoffs with 5 goals and 9 points.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: Brunner's scoring virtually disappeared in the second half of
the </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">season,
scoring just twice in the regular season after a 2 goal, 2 assist </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">performance
against Vancouver that saw Roberto Luongo give up eight goals. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Brunner
took some time in the regular season to adapt to new linemates.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Valtteri
Filppula</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Defensively speaking, Filppula is everything you could ask for
in a </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">second
line center. He contributed 17 points in a shortened season that saw </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">him
play just 41 games. Filppula was supposed to be THE next guy to
elevate </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">his
game after a 60 point season, and still has that capacity...</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: ...except he never stepped up on offence all season. Filppula
was -4, </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">barely
shot the puck at all this season, and was injured at the beginning of </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Game
Seven against Chicago. He was the lightning rod of criticism among
fans </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">and
bloggers, leaving a lot of doubt whether he is worth the five million
per </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">season
he has reportedly demanded. This was a season to forget for Filppula, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">and
provided he dramatically drops his asking price in Detroit, I'd like
to </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">see
him have the chance to redeem himself.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Daniel
Cleary</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Wow, the playoffs can make heros out of anyone if the effort is </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">there.
After racking up a respectable 9 goals and 15 points in the regular </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">season,
Cleary had 4 goals and 10 points during the playoff run. Cleary took
a </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">lot
of hits and drew a lot of ire away from the superstars season long,
which </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">went
unnoticed by myself for most of the season.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: To be blunt, Dan Cleary is a player who has seen better days and
his </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">inconsistently
could lead to either retirement or a trade. He has a role on </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">this
team but he didn't quite fulfil it. His shot could use a little work
but </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">at
his age, he's past his learning curve. And his peak. Maybe even past
his </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">decline,
I'm not sure what to think after the playoffs.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Justin
Abdelkader</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: "Abby" is the guy who mucks around in the corners and
draws the fire </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">away
from Pavel Datsyuk. This year he scored 10 goals and 13 points, the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">former
being a career high. At times he looked sufficient on the top line.
Had </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">3
points in the playoffs.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: As much as Abdelkader is a popular guy for his work ethic, he
lacks </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">the
skill needed to perform on the top line. Abby's rightful place is on
the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">third
or fourth line providing energy and effort. I want to argue he was </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">misused
this season, but Babcock is rarely wrong about anything and I'm
rarely </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">right
about anything. The question is whether Abby goes back to a bottom
six </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">role
where Cory Emmerton is already helming the fourth line and Darren
Helm </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">won't
be injured forever.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jordan
Tootoo</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Tootoo does exactly what he was signed to do: fight, hit, and </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">sometimes
score. He picked up 8 points in this role during the regular season, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">and
provided some zest in the bottom six when the top six were struggling
to </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">score.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: I disagreed with his signing when it happened, and I still don't
see </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">his
place on this team in the long term. He's obviously an NHL calibre
player </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">who
plays the game with little ambiguity about his role, but does this
team </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">need
someone to carry the team balls? I'm not convinced.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Patrick
Eaves</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Eaves picked up 8 points in 34 games and also provides zest in
the </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">bottom
six. Except with 5% of the penalties! Plus, and I only speak for </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">myself,
he is a big fan favorite on the team. His recovery from a very scary </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">concussion
is inspiring.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: Eaves is one of several players who will be competing next year
for </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">limited
bottom six positions. I don't think there is anything that </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">distinguishes
him from Tootoo, Nyquist, Cleary, Bertuzzi, Samuelsson, Miller, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Emmerton,
Tatar, Abdelkader, Helm, and whoever from Grand Rapids contends for </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">a
spot.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Drew
Miller</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Miller scored 8 points in 44 games, and provides Detroit with
depth. </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Sound familiar?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: I could copy/paste the same information for Eaves, so the extra
thing </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
will add for Miller is that he will be a UFA some July 1st.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Cory
Emmerton</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Emmerton registered 5 goals and 8 points, etc. He's actually a </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">decent
center. Don't look up his faceoff winning %, though.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: He may be a victim of circumstance where the </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Brunner-Andersson-Nyquist
might be the third line moving forward and Darren </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Helm
returning. I didn't think Emmerton would be here this year, but
Helm's </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">absence
made him necessary.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Joakim
Andersson</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Andersson was quite impressive during the end of the regular
season </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">and
playoffs, scoring five points in the postseason and providing a
heaping </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">pile
of talent and energy to the bottom six forwards. He's only going to
get </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">better,
unlike much of his competition for a roster spot.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: The hodgepodge of forwards Detroit has to resign, move, or
reassign </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">makes
it hard to determine who stands out. The youth injected into Detroit
had </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">some
growing pains, but they could just as easily be replaced by </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Cleary-Samuelsson-Bertuzzi
if management is not confident they can repeat this </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">season's
improvements.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Tomas
Tatar</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Tatar scored 7 points in 18 games this season, and has kicked a
lot </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">of
butt in Grand Rapids. He will find his way into a lineup in a season
or </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">two,
but will he be patient for it? He has a lot of speed, as well.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: Tatar is in the same boat as the other young forwards, except
he's </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">lower
on the depth chart and he may be asked to repeat his success in Grand </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Rapids,
or he might get traded knowing there's more resources coming up
behind </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">him
(Jurco, Frk).</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Gustav
Nyquist</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Nyquist reminds me a LOT of a certain pair of Russian and
Swedish </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">players
who have game breaking skillsets. Great hands and his 6 points in 22 </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">games
is going to increase next season. In the playoffs, Nyquist was
dynamic </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">with
Andersson and Brunner, scoring 5 points.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: As electric as Nyquist is, he didn't impress me as having enough </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">finish
on plays where he generated chances. I may be wrong, but his </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">inexperience
led to his inability to finish fancy looking plays. He may have </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">to
fight a little bit harder to keep his spot, and negotiating with an
unhappy </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Nyquist
about his place on the team may lead to an inflated salary.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Todd
Bertuzzi</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Bert didn't have much of a season, playing in only 7 games and </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">scoring
3 points. Bertuzzi was scoreless in 6 playoff games...there's really </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">nothing
to say except he didn't play worse than he has in previous seasons.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad:The injury begs the question of whether he will be kept. Bert has
a </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">lot
of upside compared to an unproven rookie...but now those rookies have </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">shown
they are the future. Will Bert be bought out?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mikael
Samuelsson</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Samuelsson is a proven talent that can score goals when paired
with </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">the
best players on the team. He had an assist in one of his 4 regular
season </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">games,
that's more points than I scored this season.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: He was injured 200 times this season and might just be the worst </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">signing
of the 2012 NHL offseason. Jeff over at Winging it in Motown was
right </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">all
along about him. He is the top choice for a buyout. It makes more
sense to </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">play
any other forward than him.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Darren
Helm</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Helm played one game this season. He's possibly the best third
line </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">center
in the league, when healthy.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: He's not healthy, and he's not done being unhealthy. This could
spell </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">trouble
for his career as well as his tenure in Detroit.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jan
Mursak</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Mursak made the best of his time in Detroit, and found a job </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">elsewhere.
I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: There just wasn't a place for him in Detroit.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Riley
Sheahan</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Sheahan played one game this season without much fanfare. He
looked </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">good
in Grand Rapids, I guess.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: Sheahan's previous criminal transgressions frustrate me. I know
young </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">men
do stupid things but the Sheahan saga really soured me on him, even
if he </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">finds
the means to move up the depth chart and into the Red Wings' lineup
in </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">the
next three seasons. He has a lot to prove before then.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>DEFENSE</b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Niklas
Kronwall</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: This was Kronwall's first season as Detroit's top defenseman,
and he registered a</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">respectful
5 goals and 29 points in the regular season. Kronwall is a physical
defenseman who</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">isn't
afraid to land game-changing hits, and he did so all season right
until the very last goal</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">was
conceded.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: Much was expected of Kronwall this season, and while following
Nick Lidstrom was going </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">to
be a tall task, there were times where Kronwall didn't deliver the
offence he has the</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">potential
for. Two assists in 14 games during the postseason isn't acceptable
from our top</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">defenseman.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jonathan
Ericsson</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Many who watch the Red Wings could make the argument that
Ericsson was the best </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">defenseman
on the team during this transitional season, and I buy in to that
argument. While his </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">offence
was respectable (3 goals, 10 assists), Ericsson played a
significantly more mature game </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">than
was expected, and that's what I take away from his season. I like the new nickname "Riggy".</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: "Riggy" still takes untimely penalties, but was only
slightly more visible on the</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">scoresheet
than Kronwall with just 3 assists in 14 playoff games. I'm aware
Ericsson isn't on</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">the
team to score, but more was expected.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jakub
Kindl</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Kindl served the team well while other defensemen were injured,
scoring 4 goals and 9 </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">assists
in the regular season along with a goal and 4 assists in the
playoffs. This season saw </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">him
resurrect his status from "expendable" to "reliable
5-6 defenseman". Scored a goal in the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">playoffs
that sticks in my head as impressive.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: Kindl is still a bit of a whipping boy for criticism, with many
gaffes occurring in the</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">playoffs.
He's 26 and can't be sheltered as a "rookie" or "prospect"
any longer. He's definitely</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">low
on the depth chart and might still be expendable.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hE_JfcGVAgA" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Brendan
Smith</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Smith had 8 assists in 34 games in the regular season, and 2
goals and 3 assists in</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">the
playoffs. I'm very interested in seeing how he elevates his game in a
full NHL season, as I</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">believe
he will produce more offence than he already has.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: Smith is definitely the whipping boy of the defensive corps. He
looked extremely</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">vulnerable
during the playoffs and while he showed some offensive flair, he was
responsible for</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">more
goals.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Brian
Lashoff</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: I really don't know where Lashoff came from but he was quite
impressive during the</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">regular
season as a 22 year old who was certainly not weened into his
position like Smith was.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">He
has done great things in Grand Rapids and the future looks bright for
him.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: Lashoff might wind up spending more time in Grand Rapids as
there are more experienced</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">defenders
who the Red Wings might consider putting in the lineup for the sake
of "winning now".</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I'm
not sure he's paid enough dues to find a regular spot in the lineup
yet.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ian
White</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Ian White was supposed to be one of the top defenders on
Detroit in a post-Lidstrom </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">era,
having gleaned some experience and good numbers from playing on a
deep Detroit blueline. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Had
4 points in 25 games despite limited playing time.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: White is not long for Detroit as he has a tendency to say stupid
things to the media</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">and
really has not been playing better than any of the other defensemen
on this list. The former</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">isn't
a good reason to get rid of him, but it makes more sense to play a
younger defenseman</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">still
capable of improving. He is a UFA so that doesn't work in his favor.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kyle
Quincey</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Quincey had a goal and 3 points in an injury shortened lockout
season. He was a solid </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">defender
in the bottom pairings and is a great story about having a second
chance.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: He was acquired for a 1st round draft pick and is being paid
3.375 million dollars to</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">do
what any number of our younger players would be capable of doing.
Still has a year left, but</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">after
that, if he doesn't improve, he's likely gone.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Carlo
Colaiacovo</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Cola looked good in the 15 games he played all season. I really
can't remember</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">anything
he did so this section is a wash.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: "Splodey Bones" is made of glass and while the 2.5
million cap hit is decent there are </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">younger
players who could use the playing experience. Might not like being a
6-7 option on this </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">team.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Danny
DeKeyser</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: The best available college free agent signed with the hometown
team and impressed </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">everyone
by being an excellent first-pass defenseman who played with the
maturity of a veteran </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">during
his limited playing time. He is the player I am most excited to watch play next season.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: The bad for DeKeyser so far is the fact that his limited playing
time doesn't provide</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">enough
data to know what he is capable of. His request of being in the
lineup immediately</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">rustled
my concern he could wind up demanding more money after the initial
contract is done, but </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">there's
just not enough data to say much about him except we're all excited
he's here.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Kent
Huskins</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Huskins stepped in when the team needed someone to be signed
and fill the void. He did </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">it
well and found employment elsewhere.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: Nothing bad to say about a player in his situation. I hope he
finds NHL employment</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">elsewhere.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><b>GOALTENDERS</b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jimmy
Howard</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Jimmy was Detroit's MVP all season and put up All-Star stats in
the regular season and </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">playoffs.
He was the reason Detroit went the distance against Chicago and
nearly defeated them.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: As elite as Howard was this season, even more will be expected
next season in the new </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">division
against newer competition. I am unsure if he can repeat the same
MVP-like season next </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">year,
but I wouldn't bet against him. I would like to see more rebound
control, if I had to </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">lodge
a legitimate complaint.</span><br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/joJV2l4W-ac" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Jonas
Gustavsson</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: He didn't lose every game he played.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: His stats were poor, he was unreliable as a backup, and is due
for a buyout.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Petr
Mrazek</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Good: Mrazek has performed brilliantly for Grand Rapids all season,
and he was quite</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">impressive
in his two NHL games, especially his first career start, a 5-1
victory against the</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">St.
Louis Blues.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
Bad: With only two games of NHL experience, it's hard to say whether
Mrazek is ready to</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">shoulder
a full season load of games as Detroit's backup. He's obviously the
future of the team</span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">in
goal, but there's a lot of time before that becomes a reality, if it
does.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-44814398084380382842013-04-28T19:18:00.002-07:002013-04-28T19:22:57.538-07:00Stanley Cup Playoff Preview: (2) Anaheim Ducks vs (7) Detroit Red Wings<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We did it.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I use the term "we" because I am that guy. I am a fan who treats the Red Wings like they are a part of who I am and how I live my life. There are fan circles who detract others for using the royal "we" in reference to the team they support. My blog isn't affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings organization in any way. I've never met a player who plays for them. But I belong to a very large community online and offline that identifies with what the team represents and how they play the game. I've met a lot of great people who feel the same way about the Red Wings. This season, more than others, has brought our community together as the Red Wings struggled harder than they ever have to continue their playoff streak.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And they did it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Twenty-two consecutive playoffs. It's an impressive feat, although nowhere near the record. For those curious, the longest postseason streak belongs to the Boston Bruins, who made it 29 seasons in a row before missing. Former Central Division rivals Chicago Blackhawks (28) and Saint Louis Blues (25) also have longer streaks, but during those streaks, neither team was capable of capturing the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings have been able to score six Stanley Cup finals appearances, four of which turned into championships.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The relief of continuing the streak has provided time for insight on the regular season and how to grade this team. I will be posting the second of the promised "The Good, Bad, and the Ugly" upon completion, but in the meantime, let's get to brass tacks and talk about the playoff series that begins on Tuesday evening.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">DUCK HUNT</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Detroit Red Wings find themselves seeded seventh, which means that they will face the second seeded Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference Quarter Finals. The most interesting statistic Red Wings fans will clutch tightly is Detroit's record against Anaheim this season: 2 wins to one loss. The Ducks took the first game of the season February 15th (Flag Day in Canada!) <a href="http://redwings.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2012020200">5-2 at Joe Louis Arena</a>, lighting up Jimmy Howard and the Wings at the peak of a 10-2-1 streak. More notable was the fact that this was just the fourth time in thirty-seven visits to Joe Louis Arena that Anaheim has earned a victory. It was also the first time since February 10th 2008 that the Ducks beat the Red Wings at the Joe. The game was tied 2-2 going in to the third when Detroit collapsed on themselves and gave up two quick goals two minutes into the third.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The second game was a blowout by the Red Wings, <a href="http://redwings.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2012020455">winning 5-1 on the back of a Justin Abdeldaker hat trick</a>. Rookie (and regrettably ineligible for Calder nomination) goaltender Victor Fasth was chased from goal on a rare off night for the Swede. The legendary Teemu Selanne scored the lone goal for Anaheim. I may be the only Red Wings fan left who appreciates the Finnish Flash.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The third game was another <a href="http://redwings.nhl.com/club/recap.htm?id=2012020471">2-1 victory for Detroit</a> , but it was also a symbolic victory in that in the final minute of play, Corey Perry, Teemu Selanne, and Ryan Gezlaf were all ejected thanks to their frustration. Strangely enough, the only penalty called until this triple-headed tantrum was a Johan Franzen tripping penalty. I'm very curious as to how an Anaheim fan/blogger can explain it. I still can't wrap my head around it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Are the Red Wings living rent free in the heads of Anaheim's best players? They chased Victor Fasth, make the top line rage quit, and took the season series. If there was a psychological edge to this series, Detroit has to be a leg up on Anaheim, and not just because of the tantrums. The Red Wings are red hot coming into the series, with Jimmy Howard winning the last four starts for them, conceding just three goals in four games. Anaheim didn't exactly limp into the playoffs themselves, beating up on the Edmonton Oilers twice and the Vancouver Canucks before getting beat down by the Phoenix Coyotes 5-3 on home ice Saturday night. Still, the Red Wings would have been the last team the Ducks would want to see in the first round.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">HISTORIC RIVALRY?</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Red Wings and the Ducks have a great deal of history with one another. The Ducks may be a younger franchise but these two teams have already competed in five different playoff series:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1997: The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 4-0 in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. The Ducks edged the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 but were swept by the Wings, losing three of four games by one goal. The Red Wings would go on to win their first Stanley Cup Championship in 42 years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1999: The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 4-0 in the Western Conference Quarter-Finals. The Wings outscored the Ducks 17-6 in another sweep, but would be bounced by Colorado 4-2 in the Semi-Finals after winning two consecutive Stanley Cup Championships.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2003: The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-0 in the Western Conference Quarter Finals. Future head coach of the Red Wings Mike Babcock coached the Ducks to four one goal victories, and the Ducks fell just one win short of capturing the Stanley Cup, losing to the New Jersey Devils.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2007: The Anaheim Ducks defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 in the Western Conference Finals 4-2 in what some would say was a series more worthy of a Stanley Cup Final. Two overtime victories for the Ducks and four one-goal games were thrilling to watch. The Ducks finally won the Stanley Cup this year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2009: The Detroit Red Wings edged the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 in a thrilling Western Conference Semi-Final. There were five one-goal games, a triple overtime game, and a series-clinching goal by Dan Cleary that no one could ever have expected.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The lifetime playoff series belongs to the Red Wings with three wins to two. None of these victories came with much ease, and as time progressed, the Ducks became more and more fierce opponents, almost to the point of being evenly matched with a Detroit team that captured four Stanley Cups between 1997 and 2008. This kind of history will be missed when the Red Wings move to the "Northeast" Conference for 2013-2014. I truly hope this isn't the last of the battles between these two teams.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">PREDICTIONS</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The stage has been set for the playoff battle between the Red Wings and the Ducks. You all now know the history, so let's get down to brass tacks about how this series is going to unfold.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Why the Ducks will win:</b> Quite frankly, the Ducks were not only the more consistent team of the two. They registered more wins (30 to 24), scored more goals per game (2.79 to 2.54), and had the better power play (21.5% to 18.4%). On paper, the team that scores more wins games. There's really not much else to say.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Why the Red Wings will win:</b> The Red Wings have already proven they can control the game from start to finish against the 2013 Anaheim Ducks, and as I mentioned before, they are living rent free in the bulbous skulls of the Ducks' top line. Like it or not, if your top line is so rattled they all get ejected like a bunch of petulant sore losers, you've lost a major psychological battle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Who will shine: </b>For Anaheim, it's going to be Corey Perry. Whether you like him as a person or not, Corey Perry is an elite NHL talent who can score goals like Britney Spears churned out number one hits in the late 1990s. Similarly to Spears, Perry's meltdowns and foolish on-ice behaviour can develop into a sideshow of their own and take away from the task at hand.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For Detroit, it's going to be Jimmy Howard. Coming into the 2013 playoffs, Jimmy Howard has won his last four starts, conceding just three goals during the extremely tense final stretch of the season. There's nobody hotter than Howard in goal right now. The stark truth is that Howard played poorly against Nashville last playoffs, and that was with Nick Lidstrom in front of him. Don't...look up those stats. They hurt to read.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Dark Horse Picks: </b>Victor Fasth and Justin Abdelkader. The former because he's a random Anaheim goaltender who could just as easily make 35 save performances en route to infuriating 2-1 victories as he could get lit up the same way he did in the 5-1 throttling the Red Wings handed him. The latter, because he seems to have found the means to kickstart scoring on a line with Pavel Datsyuk. If there's one thing I've learned from the Ducks over the years, if a fire hydrant like Steve Rucchin can have 50+ point seasons playing on a line with Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, Justin Abdelkader's got a chance to shine.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Final Prediction: </b>This one goes seven, no way it doesn't. Detroit holds an edge in terms of psychology, but Anaheim was the stronger team overall this season. The differences between these teams in terms of competitiveness are so small they may be negligible. It may once again come down to coaching. Bruce Boudreau vs. Mike Babcock in a steel cage match, perhaps?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Red Wings win a seven game slobberknocker, with at least two games going to overtime. Buckle up for this one, folks. It's going to be a hell of a ride.</span></div>
P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-25746858538879154582013-04-27T08:00:00.001-07:002013-04-27T08:02:14.714-07:00The 2013 Detroit Red Wings Regular Season Finale<br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>Worst. Shop. Ever.</i></span></div>
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In 1966, Italian director Sergio Leone directed the Spaghetti western classic "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly", or if you're feeling snobbish, "Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo". The iconic film, starring Clint Eastwood, is about three gunfighters battling for a secret fortune amidst the United States Civil War. It is the third and final entry into the iconic "Dollars Trilogy" that stars Eastwood. If you have never seen it, you should check it out. I'm sure it's on Netflix, OnDemand, or cable somewhere.</div>
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I mention "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" because I can think of no better term, phrase, or movie title to compare to the 2013 Detroit Red Wings season. Thursday night's 5-2 triumph over the Nashville Predators was the feel-good moment of the regular season. They looked like the Red Wings of old; the ones who could find themselves playoff bound for a 22nd consecutive year. Sadly, the entire season has not been this joyous. There's been injuries, overtime losses, and did I mention injuries? I don't even remember what Darren Helm looks like. Tomorrow, I will be running a full post on my review of the regular season. Meanwhile, we have a game to discuss.</div>
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We have reached the final game of the regular season, and the team's fate in its own hands. The showdown Saturday night in Dallas is (surprise) the most important of the season. A win means the playoffs; a loss means having to rely on Minnesota and/or Columbus losing in order to squeeze into the playoffs. The team will finish in 7th or 8th place, meaning Detroit will either face longtime rivals Chicago or the despised Anaheim Ducks. I remember the last time the 2nd seeded Red Wings were toppled by the 7th seed Ducks. The shoe would appear to be on the other foot this time around...and it happens to be ten years since the shocking series sweep.</div>
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The Red Wings find themselves crawling into the playoffs. A question I have asked myself several times the past month is whether continuing the streak is worth limping into the playoffs just to get bounced by Chicago or Anaheim. The painful, obvious, irrefutable truth for me is HELL YES. The *only* thing that matters is that your team makes it into the playoffs. The 2011-2012 Los Angeles Kings shattered the illusion that the 8th seed can't get the job done. They went 16-4 and absolutely dominated the playoffs in a way that I can't recall anyone else doing. Can the 2013 Detroit Red Wings do the same?</div>
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Tonight is going to be a big game. If Johan Franzen keeps playing like his playoff alter-ego, Jimmy Howard remains a rock in goal, and special teams capitalizes on mistakes, winning is going to be a hell of a lot easier. There's no time to be nervous, no time to hesitate. Win and we're in. Lose, and Columbus and Minnesota almost deserve to go over. I would rather cut my eyeballs out than watch another Minnesota/Anaheim series.</div>
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Tomorrow I will continue the "Good, Bad, Ugly" theme with a second piece about what parts of the 2013 regular season Detroit Red Wings I thought were good, bad, and ugly. Until then, GO WINGS GO.</div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Don't Stop Believing'.</span></div>
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P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-11917028925976569672013-04-22T16:46:00.001-07:002013-04-22T16:46:50.391-07:00Frkwatch Update: Playoff Overtime Winner Edition!<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">It's been a roller-coaster month for Detroit Red Wings fans. Better men/women/blogger robots have already dissected the struggle to reach the playoffs. If you want a gander at those posts, go over to Winging it in Motown or The Malik Report. For now, I defer to the major leagues while yours truly spends his time establishing himself as the authority on a single Red Wing (prospect) player. Someday, we'll all look back on this blog together fondly of how we watched a true legend rise from a little metropolis known as Halifax.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So while the big boys keep sucking, the Red Wings prospects across the CHL and even the AHL continue to make the future bright for Hockeytown. Xavier Ouellet and Marty Frk are still kicking around in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's playoff semifinals, and the news is pretty good, mostly. Ouellet drew an assist in the Blainville-Broisbiand Armada's 2-1 loss to the Baie-Comeau Drakkar in Game Two. Before I continue, can you believe these names? I kid you not, these are REAL teams in the QMJHL. They both have significant meaning for the areas they represent, but to an outsider these are about as bizarre and confusing as any European team name. I'm still not sure what a <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">Chicoutimi Saguenéen is even after Googling it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;">Anyway, the Armada are down 2-0 to the Drakkar after two 2-1 losses. Unfortunate for Ouellet, but while one Red Wings prospect falls, another rises. Marty Frk continues to tear it up in the playoffs, scoring the overtime winner in a 5-4 Game Two matchup between the Halifax Mooseheads and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. Here's a clip of the overtime winner, care of the Mooseheads' YouTube page:</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 19.1875px;">Here's another angle of the winner:</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.1875px;"><br />That's 10,000 Haligonians cheering on the victory. As you can see, Frk pots the biggest goal of his life thus far. The Mooseheads are up 2-0 against the Huskies in the best-of-seven series and could very well have a stranglehold on the series by week's end. Let's have a quick peak at the top scorers in the QMJHL playoffs so far:</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 19.1875px;">As you can see, Frk has twenty points in ten games. He's fourth on his team in scoring, but unlike his linemates who precede him on the top scoring list, Frk also has 20 PIMs. This should come as no surprise to those of you who have been following Frkwatch since the season's beginning. Frk likes to get his hands dirty. I like that.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 19.1875px;">Not much else is to be said of Frk and the Moose aside from the likeliness that they will compete for the President's Cup very soon. All due respect for Rouyn-Noranda, the Moose are built to win championships. Next season will see most of the top players move on, but in the moment this team looks poised to become the Q's best team and a Memorial Cup lock. Catch you all next time.</span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19.1875px;"><br /></span>P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-60020605410844042862013-04-03T19:34:00.000-07:002013-04-03T19:34:46.076-07:00Trade Deadline ThoughtsWell, the 2013 NHL Trade Deadline has passed, and the Detroit Red Wings made no trades at the last minute to bolster the forwards, defense, or goaltending of their team. That sound you year is half the hockey world slamming down the panic button for the soon-to-be-Dead-Things.<br />
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Hold on a minute, geniuses.<br />
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If you'd like a rather complete explanation as to why the Detroit Red Wings did little to improve the team, here's <a href="http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/st.-james-as-expected-the-red-wings-will-stand-pat">The Malik Report with a litany of quotes, tweets, and some comments from a host of people who cover the Red Wings on a daily basis</a>. This should satisfy your need to know why nothing was done, or at least give you a modicum of sanity while you tear your hair out over Detroit missing out on overpaying for Jay Bouwmeester.<br />
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Most Red Wings fans (I hope) have accepted the reality that the Detroit Red Wings are rebuilding. Management are doing everything they can to keep the team competitive enough to continue making the playoffs and keep the Western Conference annoyed that a playoff slot is going to be taken up by those bastards in the red and white. At this point, it's all anyone can do not to despise the Red Wings and their success. Let's face it, the Red Wings are that guy in the office you <i>can't stand </i>to be around because he has the nice car, the nice apartment, the better cell phone, and that poisonous smile that you just want to sucker punch at lunch time while he eats from his expensive Tupperware containers. If you're not a fan, you're tired of hearing about them and their success and their banners and their late round draft picks who keep taking the damn puck away from you. You're tired of it all, and you want this team buried in the standings.<br />
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But they just won't die. They aren't dead yet, and it kills you to know they are rebuilding on the fly and won't go down without snagging one more chance at the Stanley Cup. For those of us grounded in reality in Motown (the figurative one that the global fan community belongs to), we get it. We knew a season like this was coming. We knew a trade deadline would loom and there would be a market the Red Wings couldn't get anything done in because it was time to stop trading away youngsters and draft picks. 2013 was the year Ken Holland said "ain't nobody got time for that". (Note: he didn't say that. But we were all thinking it.)<br />
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Deadline Day 2013 was a perplexing array of trades that, on paper, would be wholeheartedly rejected by fan communities. If you want a(n in)comprehensive look at what it means to play "Dumbass Trade Roulette", check out Twitter or HFBoards' trade section, where nothing matters but your top five prospects and first round draft picks. Seriously, don't go there because you will hurt yourself tripping over the lopsided proposals. If you must, go with the understanding that it's all trolling and jokingly bad trade proposals. Otherwise your head will be spinning and you'll be vomiting up pea soup faster than you can say "Filppula for a 2nd round pick and a prospect".<br />
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Detroit didn't really participate in the deadline, unless you count missing out on JayBouw and sending Kent Huskins to a place that needed him far more than Detroit. I honestly wish him well and hope he finds a place in Philly. Last time we sent a player their it worked out well. Right, Ville Leino? I do love what you've done in Buffalo. Snark aside for a moment, Ken Holland didn't indulge the bizarre trade market this year in order to spare the prospects from doom elsewhere and preserve the draft picks the team desperately needs to refresh its roster. How many times can we re-sign Todd Bertuzzi and Mikael Samuelsson to contract and deny our gems like Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist a chance to shine? I guess we'll find out in July.<br />
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A quick glance at Detroit's injured players, we see it includes the third-line center and penalty killing machine Darren Helm, the above mentioned Todd Bertuzzi, Mikael Samuelsson (more than one injury this season), Kyle Quincey, and now Henrik Zetterberg, although thankfully the captain is not going to miss a lot of time.<br />
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Well, that list includes, in a pessimistic analysis, two thirds of the third line, a second line RW, and our theoretical second pairing defenseman. We did just get Carlo Colaiacovo back, so when Quincey returns there's the second pairing finally back in one piece. Within a couple of weeks, Detroit will have its depth scoring back from its veteran wingers and hopefully special teams will see a boost from the speedy Helm.<br />
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So, did Detroit need to do anything at the deadline?<br />
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Nope. So we didn't panic and throw away our future for the sake of acquiring players that would cost a fortune in salary. I guess you should give Ken Holland an "F" for that effort.<br />
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If you thought the Red Wings would do something like throw a pupu platter of picks and prospects for Pominville or let a team grab a gob of our greenhorns for Gaborik, you can't see the forest for the trees here in Detroit. I'd lend you my glasses, but they're both dirty and unsuitable for people who lack depth perception. Pun entirely intended.<br />
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Now, I won't go far as to suggest a certain Patriarch of the Puck is barking up the wrong tree, because I adore him, but to consider an idle Detroit who are supposedly a "win-now team" the only true failure among a class of 30 teams is folly. To punish a team desperate for a rebuild who chose not to buy up pieces in a patchwork job is folly. Detroit can no longer afford to give their young stars the boot to other teams looking to sell assets because they've done it for too long. The magical spring of Datsyuks and Zetterbergs has run dry. There's plenty of great prospects in the system, despite the tired trope of Red Wings fans over-hyping their future players, and there's no reason to toss aside a plan for a rebuild just to continue a playoff streak that is neither the longest in NHL history nor relevant in the modern age of hockey. 21 seasons is playoffs is impressive. Four Stanley Cups is impressive. Remaining competitive is impressive. You know what's more impressive? Bouncing back from a bad season immediately to rise back up the standings. I'm looking at you, Montreal.<br />
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Detroit's recovery begins now that they have secured their own 2013 first round draft pick. Here's hoping it can be used to draft someone with offensive firepower, or perhaps that top pairing defenseman we pine for. Really, one could argue the recovery began symbolically by landing college free agent Danny DeKeyser. It's still exciting that the kid chose the Red Wings when 29 other teams were competing.<br />
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As a final thought to Deadline Day, I'd like to adress the most frustrating element of the last two weeks: the status of Valtteri Filppula. Many fans, myself included, have questioned whether Filppula will return to the Red Wings next season. You can sniff around the internet to see that there's been all sorts of quotes about how that's not the focus of Filppula or management right now, but reality is he is looking for a two million dollar per season pay increase. As I pondered this week on Twitter, what has Filppula done since his last contract to warrant a pay hike like that? He had a fantastic 2011-2012, scoring over sixty points for the first time. Jubilation all around Motown. This season, Filppula has looked well defensively, but his offense is paltry, netting six goals and thirteen points in 29 games. As a reference point, six Red Wings have more goals than the Finnish playmaker, including now-top line superstar Justin Abdelkader (maybe a little sarcasm there). It hasn't been a good year for Filppula to show he's worth the 5 million a year, long term deal he's looking for. What should Ken Holland do?<br />
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Some suggested we trade Filppula today to get maximum value for him before he walks for nothing. In theory, that's an excellent idea. Today proved to be a bizarre deadline where great players were sent to strange places for curiously diluted packages. All due respect for the players traded for the Gaboriks and Pominvilles, I'm still scratching my scalp. In the end, Holland didn't pull the trigger and that can give us some insight into the Filppula situation. Perhaps he wasn't moved because he's never going anywhere. There could be a plan to keep him. Or it's a gesture of hope that he will resign for a more reasonable amount of money. Or Ken Holland just couldn't get value for him. We'll never know because it makes no sense for Holland to let on that he shopped a guy we kind of want to re-sign.<br />
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As another deadline day passes and all the major sports networks pack up their big sets and the poor bastards who had to spend 14 hours covering this dull affair get some rest from their mobile phones, take solace in the fact that the Detroit Red Wings are no worse than they were yesterday. In fact, if you think about it, they're better than they were a week ago. And in two weeks when all of our players aren't beaten up with injures, they'll be better than they are now.<br />
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I can live with that.<br />
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<br />P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-52911628850568775032013-03-31T15:32:00.001-07:002013-03-31T16:29:47.536-07:00Frkwatch: Playoff Update and Regular Season Thoughts<br />
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<b>My seats for Game Two vs. Saint John. Not pictured: Frk scoring half a dozen goals, the chunky kid who ruined 75% of the photos I tried to take.</b></div>
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It's been a while since I updated the blog or made an attempt to post. While traffic soared during January and February thanks in large to a lot of good posts, I was incredibly busy with life in February and March, and got quite ill the last few weeks with some kind of bizarre chest cold that sapped the life out of me. I'm on the mend but between work and life it's been hard to maintain some kind of consistency in terms of writing. Kudos to the fellas at Winging it in Motown for keeping things interesting the past few weeks. If you don't already participate in the game threads like I do from time to time, you should join in on the shenanigans. All your favorite WIIM guys are there acting silly. Sometimes JJ gets stern but someone has to, otherwise we all go insane.</div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Special shoutout to Graham Hathway for a rather controversial post about the now-signed Daniel DeKeyser. While some disagreed that missing the boat on signing DeKeyser would be a miserable failure, Graham had <a href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2013/3/27/4151158/dan-dekeyser-red-wings">some excellent points in the article he wrote and the comment section about his value to the Red Wings</a>. What was more interesting about the article Graham wrote was the bizarre assault "GallopingGreg" attempted on Graham and his analysis. It was a real treat to see the Red Wings community throttle Graham's would-be nemesis. He didn't have a leg to stand on at any point and it's a beautiful thing to see the community come together to dispatch a troll. Anyway, please send your love to Graham over at <a href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/">Winging it in Motown</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/GrahamWIIM">Twitter</a>. He's Canadian, which instantly makes him more likable than all other Red Wings fans. Just kidding. Sorry.</span></div>
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Time to get down to business. The QMJHL regular season ended recently and it was a very interesting final 20 games or so for the Moosehead, as Nathan MacKinnon got injured near the end of the season and while he's back now, there was concern the team would struggle without him. Enter Marty Frk. In the month of February, Frk played in 11 games, scoring 11 goals and 20 points with a plus/minus of 10 and 14 PIM. In March, Frk played in 9 games, scoring 4 and registering 11 points with a plus/minus of just +1 and 8 PIM. Frk finished the regular season with 56 games played, 35 goals, 49 assists, 84 points, a plus/minus of +31, 84 PIM, which was all good for 13th in QMJHL scoring. Frk was quite impressive in the final three months of the season, matching the creativity of his linemates and future first round draft picks Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin.</div>
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I was able to attend a couple of games in the final months of the regular season and I had a few follow up thoughts to Frk's impressive scoring run at the end of the season. The biggest lesson learned from Frkwatch is that Frk possess that rare game-breaking ability that generational forwards like his idols Jaromir Jagr and Sergei Fedorov have. Marty Frk is the kind of player who can take over a game and use his offensive prowess to frustrate and stifle defenses and goaltenders with a blistering shot and his uncanny ability to find open ice. He has a real nose for the net and finding the right place to be when it comes to scoring. Junior hockey is one thing but Frk always looked out of place with the Moose, if only because he already knows how to play the offensive weapon role he is most suited for. Obviously his development required him to "grow up" in junior, but he possesses an offensive maturity that fueled both his game and MacKinnon and Drouin's throughout the season. That line was lethal whenever it was on the ice.</div>
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Unfortunately, Frk's strength is also his biggest weakness: his ability to make the game all about him caused some trouble when it came to penalties. Early in the season, Frk struggled to get into form due in large part to the leg injury he sustained late in the summer. Frk's "double tap" skating method (which I covered earlier in the season), caused him to very slowly leave the offensive zone and lag behind very slowly on backcheck. This backchecking improved drastically as the season went on, but Frk's tendency to take stupid penalties, namely retaliatory ones, never faded. A lot of this is mental maturity: it's hard to be critical of a nineteen year old kid bound for the NHL, but rather than pretend this player has no flaws, I'll lay it out there as I see it. Frk may be able to take over a game, but his tendency to pester defenses and retaliate when they use their physical frames to push him around is a glaring weakness in his game.</div>
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The 84 PIMs are an early warning sign of a particular attitude on the ice. No, Frk isn't a whiner or a diver or the kind of player who won't own up to his mistakes. Frk is intense. He wants the puck and wants to lead the forecheck and he wants all passes directed to him. I would argue this nature is precisely the kind of aggression Fedorov and Jagr expressed during the early years of their career, before defense became a top concern. Frk has that special nature and while it comes with a propensity to draw dumb penalties, that immaturity will wain in time as Frk learns to play a two way game in Detroit. At the very least, the lack of defensive responsibility will be hammered out of him in Grand Rapids, where he will no doubt spend the next two seasons.</div>
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<b>FRK YEAH, MOOSE DIVE HEADFIRST INTO THE PLAYOFFS</b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The "</span>Frk<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> Yeah" saying will no doubt be abused by Red Wings fans for years to come (provided he isn't traded for an overpaid </span>defensemen<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">) and has already become a regularly occurring rally cry on Winging it in Motown's </span>game threads<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">. Halifax </span>Moosehead<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> fans have been saying "</span>Frk<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> Yeah" for a few years and were going crazy at the Metro Centre on Friday March 22nd when the playoffs began for the </span>QMJHL<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">. </span>Frk<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> kicked off the playoffs with a show of his skills, scoring a </span>Moosehead<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> record five goals and three assists for eight points with a plus/minus of 4 in an 11-1 thumping of the Saint John Sea Dogs. </span>Frk<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"> finished the four game sweep with six goals and four assists, good for fourth among playoff scorers in the Q League playoff scorers. He's tied with teammate Johnathan </span>Drouin<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">, for what it's worth. Here are the highlights of the game:</span></div>
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The eight point night is the perfect example of what Frk is capable of when he takes over a game. I was there for the second game where the Moose eaked out a one goal victory. Frk was all over the ice trying to make the offense run. Unfortunately Frk had a blank score sheet but had 5 shots on goal. Here are a couple of pictures and a video I took at the game:<br />
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<b>Frk during a faceoff, probably thinking about how soon he can replace Mikael Samuelsson. Photo courtesy of PG Marsh</b></div>
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<b>On the forecheck. He's always the last man to leave the zone. You can tell he loves to backcheck. Photo courtesy of PG Marsh.</b></div>
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As the Moose wait to commence their second round matchup against whatever ragamuffin team ekes out a win to face them, there's time to reflect on the strength of their opening round win. Kudos to Saint John goaltender Sebastien Auger for trying to keep his team in Game Two, but holy crap did that kid ever get hammered in goal. The second round is going to be slightly more difficult for the Moose, so expect more 4-1 or 5-2 scores. Can Frk keep up the production and lead the Moose to the Memorial Cup? Stay tuned to Frkwatch.<br />
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In the meantime, if you want to talk more about the Mooseheads (Meesehead?) please drop a line in the comment section, or shoot me a tweet at <a href="https://twitter.com/wizofozblog">my Twitter, @wizofozblog</a>.<br />
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P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-45539397998149667412013-02-07T10:24:00.000-08:002013-02-07T11:12:34.145-08:00Discussing Petr Mrazek (Redux)<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is a rehash of a post from last year where I spoke of Detroit Red Wings prospect Petr Mrazek. In light of him being named Detroit's starting goaltender in tonight's contest with the St. Louis Blues, here is a look back at some things I said about Mrazek, with a little bit added in about his 2012-13 season in Grand Rapids. Czech it out! (Sorry, it was a lame joke used in the first article and I felt the need to ring that bell a second time.)</span><br />
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Petr Mrázek</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Petr Mrázek is a 20 year old goaltender who previously belonged to the OHL's Ottawa 67s. During his tenure in Ottawa, Mrázek put up strong numbers, including two consecutive 30 win seasons that also included save percentages above .917. That's pretty good for a league filled with crazy talented kids putting up point per game or better seasons. As the highlight reel suggests, Mrázek THRIVES on competition, emotion, and excitement. If you want an excellent glimpse into Mrázek's personality, <a href="http://thegoalieguild.com/2012/05/petr-mrazek-tigr-tigr-burning-bright/">The Goalie Guild is all over this one</a>. The Guild gives a pretty outstanding endorsement and please do not hesitate to click on their link and check out the interviews. One thing I found interesting about Justin Goldman's article is the lack of references to a previously dominant Czech goalie who was both explosive and unorthodox in his style.What was his name?
<span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Dominik Hašek</span>? <br /><br />Far be it for me to suggest Mrázek is the next 389 win, six time Vezina and two time Hart winning double Stanley Cup and Olympic gold champion. Reality is that there will never be another<span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> Hašek</span> . The comparison is not your average over-the-top-Wings-fandom cheerleading so much as an outlandish attempt at comparing the styles of the goalies. One could argue that the art of tending goal is so varied that it's like comparing Picasso's <i>Guernica</i> to Peter Bruegel's <i>The Triumph of Death</i>. There is a grain of truth in the comparisons, but ultimately it if futile to say one shares much in common with the other. In the case of the paintings, both are pieces of art. Both deal with the tragedy of death in some manner. Both are European painters. I'm sure there's a more postmodern comparison to be dug up but I digress. Mrázek and<span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> Hašek</span> can be compared much in the same manner. They're both goalies. They both come from Europe and the same country. They both play a unique style that bucks the trend of their generation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Most of all, it's that intangible, explosive personality that makes them both entertaining that draws my interest. During <span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Hašek</span> 's years in Detroit, he was still playing at an elite level (for the most part), but his best years were behind him. Despite Father Time beginning his slow but steady shin-whacking of the Dominator,
<span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><b> </b>Hašek</span> was ever the peppy netminder who bamboozled the NHL's best even on off nights.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/J8M2SNe6siA" width="420"></iframe><br /><br />For those without sound, that's a 40 goal machine, the Slovakian <b style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">Marián Gáborík</b> getting dumped on his face. Not much else to say there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Mrázek's big welcome to the spotlight came at the 2012 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he won the honour of Best Goaltender of the tournament despite the Czechs finishing 5th and getting dumped in the quarter finals by Russia. When all was said and done, the kid nearly finished off the best team in the tournament in the first round of knockouts by himself. The whole world started asking "who is this guy and why is he dominating" and "how do you say his name" all over the internet. Red Wings fans, atop their ivory towers, snickered at the thought of getting another Hašek from the eleventy-billionth round of a thin draft. Okay, that's the over-the-top-Wing cheerleader in me. I'll dial it back. He's not exactly a reserved kind of guy like Chris Osgood. He might even be the anti-Osgood. Cue the Ryan Lambert material here, if you please. No, Mrázek is not subtle:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CkPFCmk3-4M" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />Now that I would pay to see every night for 15 years. Eccentric goalies are often very up-and-down in terms of quality (see Bryzgalov, Ilya) and can often put forth some stinky performances (Dominator anyone?) but Mrázek sports something we haven't seen in Detroit in a few seasons. Mrázek plays with a passion for the game on his sleeve and lets that passion erupt in the form of crazy celebrations on the ice. I'm not only cool with that, I cannot wait to see this kid play (and win) in Detroit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the eve of Mrazek's NHL debut, it seems appropriate to bring everyone up to speed on his efforts down in Grand Rapids. So far with the Griffins, Mrazek has been AHL All-Star caliber. He boasts a 16-7-3-1 record with a 2.26 GAA and a sparkling .916 save percentage. He's outperformed fellow Griffin Tom McCollum and given the injuries to Gustavsson and Joey MacDonald, he is the logical choice for backup to Jimmy Howard...for now. As we approach his NHL debut there's still a lot of questions as to how the kid will perform under the big spotlight...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Cannot wait to see him in action tonight.</span><br />
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P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-43723240929267302782013-02-03T17:51:00.000-08:002013-02-03T17:51:34.409-08:00High Praise for Zetterberg, Czech out Mrazek!The weekend didn't go the way most Red Wings fans hoped. After picking up a satisfying (if not controversial) 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Friday, Detroit lost a rather humdrum affair to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday by a score of 4-2. That brings the Red Wings record to 4-3-1, good for a four way tie for 6th in the Western Conference. The log jam in the standings continues with two teams tied with eight points and two more teams tied with seven points. All of this means Detroit sits two points up on 13th place Columbus and two points back of 5th place Anaheim. If you want a good read on how the weekend went game-by-game, check out Winging it in Motown and JJ's analysis of the <a href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2013/2/2/3939976/cssi-analysis-red-wings-blues">5-3 win</a> and the <a href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2013/2/2/3944138/cssi-analysis-red-wings-blue-jackets">4-2 not-win</a>. They've got a nifty explanation of how CSSI analysis works. Here's a hint: CSSI stands for Common Sense Scoring Index.<br />
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Moving on as fast as possible from the weekend's cruddy results, one of the biggest surprises for Red Wings fans over the weekend was the high praise solicited from hockey's greatest scorer, Wayne Gretzky. In a piece I stumbled upon over at <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/DetroitRedWings/">r/DetroitRedWings</a>, The Great One offers up his opinion on Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg and his place in the game today. In essence, Gretzky declared that not only was Zetterberg <a href="http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=653805">his favorite player to watch, he believes Hank is the best Swede ever to play in the National Hockey League</a>. Not hard to fathom when Zetterberg is out there scoring like he did Friday against the Blues:<br />
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The third goal was kind of a goof by the Blues, kudos to Oshie for fighting hard to prevent the hat trick. Getting back to Gretzky's point about Zetterberg being the best Swede...I'm inclined to agree, but is he suggesting Lidstrom was inferior or that he transcends any comparisons? I love Hank as much as any Red Wing fan out there, but I'm not sure Lidstrom doesn't deserve the honour. What about Daniel Alfredsson over in Ottawa? Gretzky makes a terrific point, though. Zetterberg often doesn't get enough credit for his two-way play and his offensive output. Understandable when your line mate is often all-world superstar Pavel Datsyuk, but give Hank a full season as captain and I think people will be surprised at how successful this team can be, even after losing all the defensemen that made the team formidable in the late 2000s.<br />
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<b>CLIPPED WINGS?</b><br />
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The injuries are mounting pretty fast in Detroit. Currently out with some form of injury are the following:<br />
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Jan Mursak (collar bone? shoulder?)<br />
Carlo Colaiacovo (left shoulder)<br />
Ian White (left leg laceration)<br />
Mikael Samuelsson (groin)<br />
Darren Helm (back)<br />
Jonas Gustavsson (groin)<br />
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Unfortunately for the Red Wings, there's another injury we have to talk about.<br />
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Brendan Smith is down.<br />
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According to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press, <a href="http://www.freep.com/article/20130203/SPORTS05/130203015/Red-Wings-Brendan-Smith-out-at-least-10-14-days-with-shoulder-injury">everyone's favorite defenseman prodigy is now nursing an injured shoulder and will be out 10 to 14 days minimum</a>. If things didn't look bad with White and Colaiacovo out, the Wings are down another regular defenseman. At this point, the Red Wings defense kind of looks like this:<br />
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Kronwall-Ericsson<br />
Quincey-________<br />
A combination of Lashoff-Huskins-Kindl<br />
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The blank spot might/should be filled by Ian White come Tuesday against the Calgary Flames, and Kent Huskins isn't injured from the "head shot" perpetrated by David Backes. For what it's worth, Lashoff has earned his place in the starting lineup from the few games he has played thus far, and Jakub Kindl definitely has not. I come down hard on Kindl pretty hard for not proving his value, but this is a point where until the rest of the regulars return, Kindl HAS TO PLAY WELL. That means no more lapses. Kindl's time may be up in Detroit before the end of the season, and it appears with Lashoff playing well, he may be expendable come the trade deadline. Then again, there are so many injuries to the blueline, only Lashoff, Nick Kronwall and the venerable Kyle Quincey have escaped some kind of injury. Thank god for small mercies, eh?<br />
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<b>END ON A GOOD NOTE</b><br />
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On the upside, it looks like those aching to see Tomas Tatar and Petr Mrazek in the Red Wings lineup may get their chance. According to MLive (Khan!), <a href="http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2013/02/red_wings_recall_forward_tomas.html">both were recalled from Grand Rapids</a>. It's about damn time someone noticed ECHL calibre netminder Thomas McCollum was sitting on the Red Wings bench, potentially entering games. Mrazek on the bench gives me a sense of relief while Gustavsson ices his crotch. I had done my fair share of whining over McCollum in a couple of the Winging it in Motown game threads, so clearly management read what I said and looked at some game tape or something. I think this is the best thing for young Petr Mrazek, especially given how strong his play in the AHL for Grand Rapids has been.<br />
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As for Tatar, I'm not high on him but his play in Grand Rapids thus far has been exceptional. He has 39 points in 44 games with the Griffins. I'm not sure where Tatar will fit into the lineup, but the idea of Detroit actually bringing up their prospects to play is pleasing. I understand this season isn't anywhere close to being a wash, but the time has come to accept that signing 35 year old forwards to be invisible/injured is no longer going to be acceptable. It's time to shake up the lineup and give Tatar, Nyquist and company the chance to show that they are as good as what the Red Wings community hopes they are. Here's Tatar netting a hat trick Friday night:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PA-aPXjkWOw" width="420"></iframe><br />
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Any thoughts on Zetterberg, Tatar, Mrazek, or the Wings in general? Leave a comment!<br />
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<br />P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-37717468092151690312013-01-28T11:25:00.001-08:002013-01-28T16:57:14.195-08:00Frkwatch Update, PK Subban in Detroit, and Blaming Jimmy Howard<br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/P.K._Subban_2010_AHL.jpg/599px-P.K._Subban_2010_AHL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/P.K._Subban_2010_AHL.jpg/599px-P.K._Subban_2010_AHL.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>
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<b>Imagine this fellow in a Red Wings uniform. Photo courtesy of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:P.K._Subban_2010_AHL.jpg#filelinks">"Keith and Alyssa" via Wikipedia</a>.</b></div>
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<b>FRKWATCH!</b><br />
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It's been a while since I talked about Detroit Red Wings prospect <a href="http://theqmjhl.ca/roster/show/id/7199">Marty Frk</a>, so today I thought I would give a brief but insightful update on how the Czech forward is doing with the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. Currently, the Mooseheads sit unopposed as top team in the QMJHL with an astounding 39-5-2 record. As a team, they are number one in goals, number one in fewest goals against, number two in PP% (28.4%), number eight in PK% (79.4%), and have nine players averaging a point per game pace. Safe to say that they are pretty dominant. They are so dominant that <a href="http://www.chl.ca/article/chl-announces-bmo-chl-top-10-rankings_136887">they sit atop the CHL rankings as Canada's top junior level team</a>.<br />
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So where does Marty Frk picture in to this? Frk is still playing on the top line of the Mooseheads and is benefiting mightily by playing with potential top five draft picks Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin. Frk's numbers are pretty good at this point in the season, considering the slow start he had due to indifference, frustration, and a nagging leg injury. As of today Frk is 38th in the league in scoring with 18 goals, 32 assists, and 50 points in 35 games. What's more impressive is that he's performed so well in the midst of an early surgery as well as missing time for the World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he notched four points on a fairly weak Czech team. His +/- is up at +16, much better than the start of the season. He's also reduced his number of stupid penalties but still has 60 PIMs in 35 games.<br />
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There isn't much else to report on with Frk, except that it's interesting to see the Red Wings struggle early on in the shortened 2013 season from his perspective. Players like Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar are moving up the depth chart by necessity, which seems to indicated the Wings want to get their young talent into the NHL lineup as soon as possible. So far, Damien Brunner has been a successful experiment, which bodes poorly for Nyquist (for now) and even worse for Tatar. I have to imagine for Frk, who is signed to a three year entry level deal with the team, he's pleased to see the young forwards in front of him have their chance in Detroit, or potentially see them dealt for some kind of help on the blueline. I don't think Frk is going to be seeing a Red Wings lineup anytime soon, but he could get a sniff in a year or two if the same perfect storm of events happens in January for Detroit in 2014. Still, he's got to pay his dues.<br />
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<b>EVERYBODY LOVES PK?</b><br />
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Virtually every Red Wings blogger has expressed some disdain over the current lineup's defense corps. Even the mighty Nick Kronwall looks pedestrian, and patchwork replacements like Kent Huskins aren't going to change the game quite like the Rafalskis and Lidstroms of the good ol' days. I've already said my piece about what the Red Wings should do, and of course the best possible solution to the defensive woes of Hockeytown is signing or trading for current Montreal no-shower PK Subban. I'll defer to the <a href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2013/1/26/3918212/should-the-red-wings-give-pk-subban-an-offer-sheet">outstanding analysis of JJ from Winging it in Motown</a>, although the conversation should really be geared towards a trade rather than an offer sheet. The prospect of sacrificing four 1st round draft picks is more than just mortgaging for the future, it's putting all the chips on the current prospects and players in the system to be better than any potential picks for a long, long period of time. Realistically, Ken Holland won't be able to drag PK out of Montreal without blowing the mind-holes of upper management. Is there anyone on the Red Wings who can do that?<br />
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Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Filppula, Nick Kronwall, and Jimmy Howard are probably the only untouchables. That doesn't leave a lot of value on the table for Montreal to choose from. It'd take at least Franzen, a top prospect, a decent defenseman, and a draft pick coming back to equal PK's potential. This isn't just the typical HFBoards attempt at using NHL 13 to make good trade deals, or an overestimation of the quality of Detroit's trade bait. Reality is that a player like PK is going to come at a hefty price. Regardless of what Montreal want, it is worth paying. I would even go so far as to say that Filppula could be thrown out there as a potential body moving out the door, especially with his unrestricted free agency looming. Yes, the team has invested a lot in Filppula being the next Zetterberg-like leader on the team, but they did the same for Martin Lapointe during the Yzerman days and he was let go at one point.<br />
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I won't bother to postulate a real trade or how to measure PK Subban's value in this context. I'll keep it short and sweet: if we want this kid in Detroit, we are going to have to pay a very steep price. That price may not even help to bring the Red Wings success in 2013, but it will be worth it if Detroit can bring in an elite defenseman to help. You just can't lose three top four defensemen in three years and expect to maintain the same quality of play.<br />
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For what it's worth, I'm curious as to what Montreal Canadiens fans have to say on giving up PK Subban. What kind of offers would it take, within reason, to acquire his services?<br />
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Editor's Update: According to multiple sources, <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/p-k-subban-signs-2-deal-canadiens-forgoing-004352899--nhl.html">PK Subban will remain a Canadien for the next two seasons, provided he is not traded</a>. It was nice to think about Ken Holland living up to the hype he generates as a top GM, but no dice on Subban. Curious to see what (non)moves will be made if the Red Wings defense continues to struggle.<br />
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<b>Whatever the payment is for this guy, pay it.</b><br />
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<b>BLAME JIMMY?</b><br />
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<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Howard_20091112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Howard_20091112.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>It isn't Jimmy's fault, so stop blaming him, ragamuffins! Photo <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Howard_20091112.jpg">courtesy of "LAX" via Wikipedia</a>.</b></div>
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Five games into the season and all the Red Wing fans are asking themselves and each other who is to blame for the 2-2-1 start. While this start has us still within a point of 5th place, we're only a point up on 11th. Is five games even enough to start judging the path of an entire season?<br />
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The biggest concern is obviously defense, although the offense sure looked bad more than once so far in 2013. There isn't a lot of time to iron out the kinks on offense so the sooner Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and now Brunner can get it together and start filling the net, the happier everyone will be. Still, one can only ramble about defensive lapses and offense that is anemic before questioning....goaltending?<br />
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Really?<br />
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Jimmy didn't look great against St. Louis in the first game of the season. Credit to Tarasenkov, he make it all look easy. Jimmy's numbers so far aren't great, with a sv% below .900 and a GAA of 3.14, you'd swear that Jimmy was doing his best impression of Steve Mason. Division snarkiness aside, is Jimmy Howard a problem in Detroit?<br />
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No.<br />
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It's already headache-inducing to think that five starts against some quality opponents is enough to judge a player, especially one who has 110 wins in his first three seasons. He's at the very least the best starting goaltender in the division considering more than last season, and he's an All-Star caliber player who consistently bails out ragamuffins like Kyle Quincey and Jakub Kindl from having a plus minus in the triple digits.<br />
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<b>Great save by Jimmy in the loss against the Stars. Coulda' been 3-0 there. </b></div>
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Long story short, stop blaming Jimmy Howard on the losses. He's not Hasek out there right now but it's a pretty big learning curve going from relying on Nick Lidstrom to seeing Jakub Kindl as the last line of defense. Yes I know, they aren't in the same spot on the depth chart but my point is that everyone is rusty early in the season. Detroit might not be able to afford a slow start, but it is what it is. Still plenty of time to fight into a playoff spot.<br />
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<br />P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-62222667902044657122013-01-20T17:24:00.001-08:002013-01-20T17:25:19.813-08:00Do the Red Wings Need Help?After watching most of Detroit's first game of the season against St. Louis on Saturday night, it occurred to myself (and 99.9% of the fans) that the Red Wings were outmatched by St. Louis' physical style of hockey. David Backes was a force on the ice and that young Russian Vladimir Tarasenko made Jimmy Howard look like a beer league acquisition. It was a brutal game to watch if you're a Red Wings fan, and Blues fans across the world rejoiced with glee over their big home opener win.<br />
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I don't blame them. It's a big win, especially against a division rival who has taken them to school almost routinely since the 1990s. That isn't talk of the "glory days", it's just a fact that the Red Wings were kings of their domain in the Central Division for a long time.<br />
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And now they are not.<br />
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It's time for the storied franchise to knuckle up and accept that they are no longer going to cruise to division titles. If anything, it's been apparent since 2010 that Detroit's time in the sun is in jeopardy of ending. Chicago has been a fine team for a few seasons now, with envious defense corps and hard working forwards like Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews. There will be no haughty retorts about not having the chance to draft high in the first round here. The fact is that Detroit hasn't had a lot of luck in the first round in recent years, when they have drafted.<br />
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It's alright, though. We have one of the best general managers in the NHL. And a coach who goes perpetually unnoticed by Jack Adams voters. If anyone near the Red Wings franchise has any right to a chip on their shoulders these days, it's Mike Babcock.<br />
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After watching last night's shellacking, it's going to be up to these two men to right the ship. If you ask me, the pieces are there to field a competitive team. For the most part. I won't lie to anyone, this Detroit team is hurting after losing its number one and number three defensemen. No team can delude their fans or the rest of the hockey world into thinking everything is okay with a legend-of-legends type player riding off into the sunset. Especially not Nick Lidstrom, who, were he not robbed of a locked out season, could have easily snagged an eighth Norris Trophy. Brad Stuart is no slouch himself, and his prowess is clearly missed on defense. And believe me, no one forgets that Brian Rafalski retired the year before.<br />
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So rather than dwell on the past, what is there for Ken Holland and Mike Babcock to do?<br />
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The short answer is virtually nothing. Every single player who touched the ice Saturday is embarrassed at how poorly the team performed. They will not allow something like that to become a regular occurrence on the ice. I can imagine right now just how thirsty Jimmy Howard is to get back on the ice and compete. And win. He's learned a lot from guys like Joey MacDonald, Ty Conklin, and of course, Chris Osgood. if there's anyone from the team in the last fifteen years who knows what it takes to find ways to win, it's Ozzie.<br />
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The long answer, which is a whole other blog post, is Detroit needs to pick up a bona fide number one or two defenseman to pair with Nick Kronwall. For the most part, I believe hockey pundits will agree Kronwall is a great (if not elite?) defenseman who has the ability to make game changing hits. That's phenomenal. Given that Lidstrom was the kind of player who didn't hit and had incredible hockey sense that ignited scoring opportunities, I think Kronwall is miscast as the next "Lidstrom", if such a thing exists. Detroit needs an intelligent, scoring, dynamic defenseman who can spark plays, agitate the opposition, and turn a game on its ass when the team needs a goal or needs to keep the puck out of the net.<br />
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And that man is sitting in Montreal waiting for a contract.P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-33727336787659348182013-01-14T12:40:00.000-08:002013-01-14T12:51:13.722-08:00Who Will Fit on the Detroit Red Wings' Fourth Line?Now that the National Hockey League is back, it's time to get down to business here at the Wizard of Osgood. The Detroit Red Wings are back to training, and with training camp comes a litany of questions that should be answered before the puck drops. What will the line combinations be? What will the defensive pairings be? Are the players ready? Who is injured?
Some of these questions are tackled in <a href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/2013/1/14/3874586/winging-it-in-motown-radio-episode-31#comments">Episode 31 of Winging it in Motown Radio</a>, featuring yours truly making some wildly silly proposals about sending Johan Franzen out of town while he still has value. It might have been the sugar from the hot chocolate talking, but I think there's a valid point to offloading Franzen somewhere in exchange for a solid top tier defenseman, especially considering the number of forwards Detroit currently has signed. With that said, I fully acknowledge that it isn't a good idea to just deal Franzen for the sake of getting rid of that albatross of a contract. Especially not knowing how good Damien Brunner is going to be lining up with Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Perhaps this is a preview of what is to come:<br />
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I doubt many NHL teams will exhibit defense as poorly as EHC Biel does in this game, but that kind of chemistry is leaving a certain "puck patriarch" analyst intrigued.<br />
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The question on my mind last night and today is the situation with the Detroit Red Wings' fourth line. As it stands now, it appears that the top three lines are going to look like this:<br />
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Brunner/Datsyuk/Zetterberg<br />
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Franzen/Filppula/Samuelsson<br />
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Bertuzzi/Helm/Cleary<br />
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Those three lines are as good as any iteration of the same nine or ten forwards Detroit has fielded since reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2008 and 2009. Brunner is obviously a question mark as no one has ever seen him compete in an NHL environment before. Brunner isn't big but he's a skilled forward who was among the elite talents in European hockey leagues. It's another one of those Ville Leino/Fabian Brunnstrom experiments that could go either way. Obviously, the previous two didn't work out in Detroit, but the offense survived and chugged along with the usual top 10 in goals scored. The Bertuzzi/Helm/Cleary combination is as strong as any third line the NHL and Helm is still improving as a third line checking center. Bertuzzi has proven time and time again that despite previous transgressions, he still has what it takes to play and he still has great hands. Dan Cleary had a great season in 2010-11 with 26 goals, but played injured the next year and barely finished with 33 points before being invisible in the playoffs against Nashville. He will want to bounce back with a solid effort in the shortened season, knowing he is on the final year of a 2.8 million dollar contract that any number of young Red Wings prospects could be deserving of in the next couple of seasons.<br />
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So that brings us to the fourth line. And boy, what a log-jam of talented players there are. In no particular order you have Justin Abdelkader, Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller, Cory Emmerton, Jan Mursak, Jordan Tootoo, Gustav Nyquist, Tomas Tatar, and possibly Mike Knuble. That's nine guys competing for three positions. I'll make the obvious known now to get it out of the way: Justin Abdelkader will be the fourth line center, with Jordan Tootoo pissing everyone in the world off at right wing. That leaves seven able-bodied forwards competing for one job. Drew Miller seems like the easy choice at left wing, but where do Jan Mursak and Cory Emmerton go if not to Detroit? Nyquist can go back to Grand Rapids on his entry level contract, as can Tomas Tatar, but would Mike Knuble agree to a two-way deal at 40, knowing his career could either be over in the NHL? And what about Patrick Eaves, a player who is beloved by the Red Wings faithful and continues to fight through a bad concussion? There's way too many forwards clogging up the bottom six in Detroit, and the fact is that not everybody is going to be around come January 19th in St. Louis.<br />
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The painful reality of this situation is that several players are going to lose their jobs. The time is going to come for the Nyquists, the Tatars, the Ferraros, the Sheahans, the Jurcos, and later the Frks of the Red Wings system. They may have to accept that their time in Grand Rapids is not over. There is already some speculation that Tatar is growing restless in Grand Rapids and Gustav Nyquist is absolutely NHL ready, but the Brunner experiment and the signing of Samuelsson all but squashed the roster slots "Goose" should be filling. When Nyquist and Tatar return to Grand Rapids, that leaves Emmerton, Mursak, Miller, Eaves, and Knuble to compete for the final slot. As much as I've love to see number 17 back on the ice this season, Eaves was just cleared for contact and the season is five days away. Mike Knuble could be the Dallas Drake of 2013, so I am unsure if ruling out his potential veteran presence is wise. Miller played 80 games last season and potted 14 goals and 25 points. Those numbers are good enough to sell him as the top choice for the left wing position. That leaves Jan Mursak and Cory Emmerton as the odd men out.<br />
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So what happens to them?<br />
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The simple solution is to send both of them back to Grand Rapids, which must be frustrating and disappointing to both players. Emmerton played 71 games with Detroit last season, and Mursak 25 games. They both have NHL experience, but neither demonstrated an offensive flair during their time with the team. Both are 24 years old and are too old to be considered "prospects" if there are young players like Thomas Jurco and Marty Frk at 20 and 19. Should they accept the demotion? It may just be time for both to consider other teams that could use their skills. Even if some of the regulars get injured in the regular season (hopefully not), is it satisfying enough to take the scraps from the table? Probably not.<br />
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In conclusion, I believe things will play out as follows. Knuble will be offered a two way deal and he will either retire or enjoy the role as depth replacement should a serious injury occur. Patrick Eaves...will most likely miss another NHL season. Sucks to even type that but given the amount of forwards already fighting for a job, there's no reason to rush his return. The kids, Nyquist and Tatar, will remain in Grand Rapids for the season, unless Nyquist somehow proves to Babcock and company that he's better than Drew Miller's best. Drew Miller will be the fourth line left wing, where he will play his ass off for another contract. This leaves Jan Mursak and/or Cory Emmerton en route to a demotion, healthy scratch, or another city.<br />
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With Valtteri Filppula, Damien Brunner, Drew Miller, and Dan Cleary all in contract seasons, there's no doubt that there is a fire underneath (and maybe inside?) all of them to compete hard in the shortened season to prove their worth. There are enough forward prospects in the system to replaces all of them over the course of five years. Filppula is going to be a major piece of the future in Detroit, with Brunner being a potential boom or bust. Drew Miller and Dan Cleary have this season to justify another contract. If not, Nyquist and Tatar <i>will</i> get their chances next season on the team. Provided they aren't packaged in some zany deal to get a new number one defensemen.<br />
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One final post-edit comment: if you don't already know about Winging it in Motown or the radio show, <a href="http://www.wingingitinmotown.com/">please go look at their stuff</a>. I am the Padawan to their Red Wing mastery. Thanks to JJ, Jeff, Graham, and Tyler for having my dopey ass on the show again. I love doing it and can't wait to do it again some time.<br />
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<br />P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-61764127255555738502013-01-12T20:27:00.000-08:002013-01-12T20:27:11.987-08:00Reading Wiz: Bob Probert's Story<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1e/Bob_Probert_-_Darren_Langdon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1e/Bob_Probert_-_Darren_Langdon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Bob Probert fighting Darren Langdon. Photo via Wikipedia.</b><br />
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<i>This entry was brought over from my new blog: One Hundred Books in 2013. It's pretty relevent here.</i></div>
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My new blog, The One Hundred Book Challenge, has been met with a small amount of praise from friends and family since my first post, <a href="http://onehundredbooksin2013.blogspot.ca/2013/01/one-hundred-books-in-2013-kickoff-and.html">where I discussed Batman: Battle for the Cowl</a>. I'll admit that it was a peculiar way to kickoff a brand new blog, but it was the first book I finished in 2013. I couldn't wait long to jump into post number two, so I picked up a book I received for Christmas in 2011. Most people who know me know I have a passion for ice hockey. If you need any further proof, check out my other (more successful) blog, <a href="http://wizofozzy.blogspot.ca/">The Wizard of Osgood</a>, over here. With the National Hockey League recently ending the 2012-13 lockout, I thought it was a good idea to jump back into talking about hockey. I had not posted anything on the blog since December and despite picking away at a little piece on how I felt about the lockout, I didn't know what to post.<br />
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As soon as there is hockey to watch, I'll be there to talk about what I see. In the meantime, I read Detroit Red Wing alumni Bob Probert's biography,<i> Tough Guy: My Life on the Edge</i>, written by Probie himself and Kirstie McLellan Day. Day helped Theoren Fleury write his biography a couple of years before and I found his book to be one of the most captivating manuscripts I have ever written. I was hoping Bob Probert's book would continue the positive trend of detailing day-to-day player life. It turned out to be a very different read with a very different result.<br />
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To summarize, Bob Probert's biography documents his personal struggle to remain alcohol and drug free during his NHL career straight through to his death in July 2010. His story, compared to Fleury's, is not nearly as dark but sheds light on a different kind of player than Fleury: an enforcer. Probert was one of the most dominant enforcers in NHL history during his career, competing in 238 career fights. His ability to evoke fear into the hearts of opposing players is well known. Here's arguably his best fight, coming against fellow enforcer, Marty McSorley in 1994:<br />
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Bob Probert wasn't just a tough guy, though. Probie was also a scorer and had hands that even the most skilled forwards in the NHL wished they had, especially at his size. Check this one out:<br />
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Probert was the kind of player every team wanted and every team hated to play against. He could score, he could grind you down, and when the going got tough and Steve Yzerman needed someone to watch his back, Bob Probert stepped up. He was a force at his best with the Red Wings. Unfortunately for Probie, his drug and alcohol related problems limited his true potential as a scorer and a star.<br />
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The most striking element of Probert's book was how honest he was about his repeated lapses into substance abuse. I wouldn't say I expected a luxurious cruise through his life and how exciting it was to be an NHL player, but the book largely focuses on his personal life, with hockey providing a background. Some of the key figures in his life, such as Steve Yzerman, Mark "Trees" Laforest, Petr Klima, Sheldon "Mo Melly" Kennedy, and Jim Devellano are all Red Wing alumni and ice hockey personalities who influence or participate in Probert's personal life. Despite hockey being his first passion, Probert's book reads like a confessional of his crimes and misbehavior. It's an unsettling read for those who are unfamiliar with the fast life of a hockey player, especially those who have no understanding of the personal struggles of men with lots of money and deeply seeded personal troubles.<br />
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The most disappointing thing about Tough Guy is its' ending. It has none. Probert passed away in 2010, with very little of the book covering his life from 2007 until his passing. His wife helped bring the book to conclusion but there's a considerable gap in his final years. It leaves the reader hoping for a positive ending to the personal journey Probert takes from substance abuse to recovery to relapse to recovery to relapse and possibly a final recovery. There is no satisfaction to the end of this book. There is no happy ending to Bob Probert's story as it is written in <i>Tough Guy</i>. It is a remarkably tragic, disappointing end to a life that can be seen as a cautionary tale to young hockey talent.<br />
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With all of the personal tragedy Probert dealt with in life, his passing provided something that may yet be a "happy" ending. In fall of 2010 Probert's family announced they would donate Bob's brain to the Sports Legacy Institute in order to study the effects of concussions on the brains of athletes. The following year, it was discovered that Bob's brain had suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which can cause people to show symptoms of dementia, memory loss, depression, or aggression. I know next to nothing about the subject, or Bob Probert's life beyond the pages of <i>Tough Guy</i>, so I believe it is best to leave the postulating to more educated people. What I do know is that Bob Probert cared very deeply for his family once it was created, and in the final pages of his book, he begins to show an understanding for the value of what he had in his family: a reason to live long and stay clean.<br />
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In conclusion, similarly to the first book I read, this one has a particular market that would have an interest in its subject. I would not recommend someone with no knowledge of hockey or the lives of professional athletes. This book is better left on the shelf for fans of the game, the Red Wings, Bob Probert, and young players who are on the cusp of hockey greatness. It isn't written particularly well, even for a biography, but it is from the heart, it's honest, and even though it doesn't really have and ending, it's a captivating read that will entertain its reader. My final grade for Book Two of One Hundred Books in 2013 is C.<br />
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--PGP.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1147416876279852476.post-76675020784000917282012-12-11T11:21:00.000-08:002012-12-11T11:21:03.246-08:00Frkwatch Update: Moose Cruise in Q<i style="background-color: white; color: #920a0a; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">This is a semi-frequent piece that I will run as much as I can attend Detroit Red Wings' prospect Martin Frk's QMJHL games. The views and opinions are those of myself and ONLY myself. I can't claim objectivity; my sole purpose is to report what I see myself.</i><br />
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<b>Marty Frk buries a bizarre pass from Nathan MacKinnon. I was there!</b><br />
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It's been a while since I updated the progress of Detroit Red Wings' prospect Marty Frk. Since the last update I attended a game between the Halifax Moosehead and Cape Breton Screaming Eagles on November 23rd. The game was a 4-2 win for the Moose, but not without the Eagles putting up a strong effort. Frk had a goal, an assist, was +2, and took two very stupid penalties. It was more of the same for Frk, who displays an incredible array of speed, skill, and a nose for the net, as well as a tendency to take foolish penalties more often than desired. The checking-from-behind penalty he took in the first period led to a power play goal by the Eagles, and he drew a second penalty four minutes later. Still, it was a strong game for Frk, who has an increasing tendency to take over games one way or another.<br />
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Overall, Marty Frk's progress since the last report has been spectacular. Frk is the third man on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, who are second and seventh in the Q for scoring as of the publication of this entry. Frk himself sits 29th in scoring with 13 goals, 25 assists, 38 points, a shocking 52 penalty minutes, and a much improved +9. It appears as though the slow start due to leg surgery is a distant memory. Is the World Junior Hockey Championship the next destination for Frk?<br />
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I'll leave you with another video package, simply because There isn't much else for me to write about! Stay tuned for some more puck poetry and some World Junior talk!<br />
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<b><br /></b><b>Coach Russell talking about a 16 year old Martin Frk.</b>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #920a0a; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;">That concludes another of many forthcoming Frkwatch entries. I'd love to read some feedback so please feel free to comment here on the blog or follow me on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/wizofozblog" style="color: #e52203; text-decoration: initial;">@wizofozblog</a>. Thanks for reading and as a Canadian icon used to say, keep your stick on the ice.</i>P.G.M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02176230775821892566noreply@blogger.com0