Frkwatch Update, PK Subban in Detroit, and Blaming Jimmy Howard

Imagine this fellow in a Red Wings uniform. Photo courtesy of "Keith and Alyssa" via Wikipedia.

FRKWATCH!

It's been a while since I talked about Detroit Red Wings prospect Marty Frk, 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 they sit atop the CHL rankings as Canada's top junior level team.

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.

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.

EVERYBODY LOVES PK?

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 outstanding analysis of JJ from Winging it in Motown, 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?

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.

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.

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?

Editor's Update: According to multiple sources, PK Subban will remain a Canadien for the next two seasons, provided he is not traded. 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.




Whatever the payment is for this guy, pay it.


BLAME JIMMY?

It isn't Jimmy's fault, so stop blaming him, ragamuffins! Photo courtesy of "LAX" via Wikipedia.

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?

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?

Really?

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?

No.

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.

Great save by Jimmy in the loss against the Stars. Coulda' been 3-0 there. 

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.

Do 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.

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.

And now they are not.

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.

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.

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.

So rather than dwell on the past, what is there for Ken Holland and Mike Babcock to do?

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.

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.

And that man is sitting in Montreal waiting for a contract.

Mark Recchi: The People's Champ?

As it has been reported via several different news mediums, Mark Recchi has risen from the crypt to weigh in on the almost-forgotten days of the Max Pacioretty Incident. Days of Y'Orr, a really good Boston Bruins blog, gives us a brief transcript of what Recchi said this afternoon regarding the hit, Patches' recovery, and how the league was justified in its decision not to suspend Zdeno Chara.

Audio. Is. Here.

To sum it up, Recchi believes the report of Patches' injury was the result of an unfortunate hockey play, that the injury report was embellished, and that the Habs were looking to get Zdeno suspended to gain an advantage in a playoff race. Huh. Interesting.

Aside from the devout homerism of the guys who conducted the interview, or the Days of Y'Orr blog itself, does Recchi have a point?

It's okay to defend your player from scrutiny, but to suggest some sort of conspiracy to get the "best defenseman" suspended to get an advantage? Them's fighting words. If I recall correctly, the last time these teams played, Montreal handed Boston their lunch. Then took it back and ate it right in front of them. Thursday game should be another highly entertaining showdown of two teams who legitimately despise each other.

As for Recchi, it's hard not to respect a guy who has been a mainstay in the NHL since the Jurassic era. Still, he's got an obvious bias, and if my team were crumbling (4-3-3 in their last 10) I would do what I could to distract everyone from that fact as well.

Canadian Content: The NHL's Canadian Teams This Week

Overall, it wasn't a very good week for Canadian clubs the National Hockey League. As it stands today, Montreal and Vancouver are Canada's only hopes for the Stanley Cup to return to it's home and native land. Toronto and Calgary continue to struggle their way into a playoff spot, but they aren't doing themselves any favors by losing key matches. For now, it looks like one third of Canada's teams are going to get into the playoffs.

Montreal: Not a good week for the Habs, losing two of three to playoff hopefuls Washington (4-2) and the New York Rangers (6-3). The game against Washington appeared to be in reach until Mike Knuble potted a late 3rd period goal to pad the lead. The game against the Rangers was a gong show from the beginning, with the Rangers scoring five on Carey Price in the first period alone. The bright spot for the Habs this week was their 3-2 shootout win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Shootout wins imply a close game, which is to be expected in the late stages of the season, but when you lost your other two games on the week it doesn't look good. Luckily, as this column is being completed, Montreal holds an 8-1 lead over Minnesota. Woah.

Toronto: The Leafs didn't do themselves any favors this week by losing two of four, including a game against the Florida Panthers (4-0) that should have been a gimme. Their wins against Carolina (3-1) and Boston (5-2) were big statements saying "hey, we're not done yet!" Hopefully in the upcoming week, the Leafs can handle a hungry Minnesota team early in the week, a weak Colorado team with nothing to play for, and at least compete with the Red Wings on Saturday night. They're still in it, but it doesn't look good. Every game is a must-win.

Ottawa: The Sens are out of it but have pride to play for. They went 2-2, beating Tampa on Saturday night and driving a stake through the heart of the resurrected New Jersey Devils two night before that. Good way to end the week, considering their net was filled against Buffalo (6-4) and Pittsburgh (5-1) at the start of the week. At least they have a chance to play spoiler against Carolina and the Rangers this week.

Edmonton: A light week for Edmonton, with three games played spread out nicely. Unfortunately, it resulted in three losses, including a crushing loss to Colorado at home in a shootout. Next year is promising...so long as Khabibulin isn't in nets. 2-17-1 in his last 20, the Bulin wall is just picking up a paycheck. It's a little sickening at this point.

Calgary: Only two games in the week for Calgary as other teams caught up in games played. Both were played at home to Phoenix (4-3 Loss) and Colorado (5-2 Win). Calgary has everything it needs to push into the playoffs. Right now, stars like Jerome Iginla and Miikka Kiprusoff need to stay sharp and play their best as other teams play furiously. It's a heavy schedule this week with Anaheim tonight, Los Angeles Monday, San Jose Wednesday, and Edmonton on Saturday night. It's a California trip the Flames can't afford to treat like a vacation.

Vancouver: The Canucks are the toast of the league and had a 2-1 week which featured a 3-1 loss to Phoenix team that keeps winning. Their position as a division winner is clinched, but with a huge matchup against Detroit at Joe Louis Arena, they might want to wait until the weekend to start resting their stars. From this point forward, it's about maintaining momentum but protecting the team leaders.