Game One: Hockey is Back.

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.

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.

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.

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. Looking at the "War on Ice" report for the game, Detroit had 72% of the offensive zone starts at even strength, and kept the Bruins on their heels.

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.

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!

The 2014 IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship Results (Part Five)

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.

Links for Part One, Two, Three, and Four are right here, where I painstakingly checked out Division III, Division II B, Division II A, and Division I B respectively.

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.

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:

All charts courtesy of Wikipedia

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.

Why the hell were these guys named to the team when there was no G-D way they were going to play?!?

Perhaps they thought the threat of Kopitar and Grabner was enough to have the other teams roll over. Looks like it all worked out anyway.

Here's the tournament's top scorers:

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.

Here the top goaltenders:

Not exactly a goaltending duel in any of these games. Oh well, here's some actual footage via YouTube:





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.

Tournament directorate named goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji of Japan (the first Japanese player to make the NHL), Austrian defenseman Dominique Heinrich, and forward Jan Muršak 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.

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!

The Detroit Red Wings' Top Ten Goaltenders (1932-2013)

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.

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 how wrong I am. Enjoy and destroy!

 10. Tim Cheveldae

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.

He looks like how we felt during his playoff games. Photo courtesy of "Maureen Landers" via Wikipedia.

 9. Manny Legace

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.

Jimmy looking very busy. Photo courtesy of "Anna Enriquez" via Flickr and Wikipedia.

 8. Jimmy Howard

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.

Photo via goaliesarchive.com.

7. Glenn Hall

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.

Lumley accidentally wearing another team's jersey with some random trophy. Photo from Wikipedia.

6. Harry Lumley

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.

Photo from beehivehockey.com

5. Norm Smith

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

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.

4. Dominik Hasek

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.

Crozier making a save. Without a helmet on, too. Photo from goaliesarchives.com

3. Roger Crozier

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.

The man, the myth, the legend. Photo from "Dan4th" via Wikipedia.

2. Chris Osgood

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

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.

No doubt the best Wing ever to tend goal. Photo from goaliesarchives.com via "Cold War by Mike Leonetti"

1. Terry Sawchuk

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, 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.

Assessing the Detroit Red Wings 2013 Season

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.

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".

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.

FORWARDS

Pavel Datsyuk

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.

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.

Henrik Zetterberg

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, Zetterberg scored 2 goals and 8 assists to lead the Red Wings into the playoffs. His season stats (11 goals, 37 assists, 48 points) were a reason why the Red Wings survived a difficult season. Zetterberg has already proven he is an excellent leader on the ice and the perfect captain for a long, long time.

The Bad: Similarly to Datsyuk, Zetterberg was quieter in the playoffs than expected, especially against Chicago. He had two long streaks with no goals (nine and ten games) which contributed to a lesser season that what could have been.

Johan Franzen

The Good: Franzen finished third on the Red Wings with 14 goals and 17 assists, and was a real pest for teams trying to play defense.

The Bad: To be blunt, if Johan Franzen ever has a biography written, it should be titled "Streaky". His tendency to go ice cold during the regular season is infuriating and Mike Babcock himself commented on it a while back. For all the talk about Franzen in the playoffs, where's he been the last three seasons?

Damien Brunner

The Good: Brunner's first season in the NHL was positive; the Swiss scored 12 goals and 14 assists in 44 games. Brunner meshed very well with any line he was on, with or without fellow Swiss league teammate Henrik Zetterberg. Was electric on the ice with fellow youngsters Gustav Nyquist and Joakim Andersson during the playoffs with 5 goals and 9 points.

The Bad: Brunner's scoring virtually disappeared in the second half of the season, scoring just twice in the regular season after a 2 goal, 2 assist performance against Vancouver that saw Roberto Luongo give up eight goals. Brunner took some time in the regular season to adapt to new linemates.

Valtteri Filppula

The Good: Defensively speaking, Filppula is everything you could ask for in a second line center. He contributed 17 points in a shortened season that saw him play just 41 games. Filppula was supposed to be THE next guy to elevate his game after a 60 point season, and still has that capacity...

The Bad: ...except he never stepped up on offence all season. Filppula was -4, barely shot the puck at all this season, and was injured at the beginning of Game Seven against Chicago. He was the lightning rod of criticism among fans and bloggers, leaving a lot of doubt whether he is worth the five million per season he has reportedly demanded. This was a season to forget for Filppula, and provided he dramatically drops his asking price in Detroit, I'd like to see him have the chance to redeem himself.

Daniel Cleary

The Good: Wow, the playoffs can make heros out of anyone if the effort is there. After racking up a respectable 9 goals and 15 points in the regular season, Cleary had 4 goals and 10 points during the playoff run. Cleary took a lot of hits and drew a lot of ire away from the superstars season long, which went unnoticed by myself for most of the season.

The Bad: To be blunt, Dan Cleary is a player who has seen better days and his inconsistently could lead to either retirement or a trade. He has a role on this team but he didn't quite fulfil it. His shot could use a little work but at his age, he's past his learning curve. And his peak. Maybe even past his decline, I'm not sure what to think after the playoffs.

Justin Abdelkader

The Good: "Abby" is the guy who mucks around in the corners and draws the fire away from Pavel Datsyuk. This year he scored 10 goals and 13 points, the former being a career high. At times he looked sufficient on the top line. Had 3 points in the playoffs.

The Bad: As much as Abdelkader is a popular guy for his work ethic, he lacks the skill needed to perform on the top line. Abby's rightful place is on the third or fourth line providing energy and effort. I want to argue he was misused this season, but Babcock is rarely wrong about anything and I'm rarely right about anything. The question is whether Abby goes back to a bottom six role where Cory Emmerton is already helming the fourth line and Darren Helm won't be injured forever.

Jordan Tootoo

The Good: Tootoo does exactly what he was signed to do: fight, hit, and sometimes score. He picked up 8 points in this role during the regular season, and provided some zest in the bottom six when the top six were struggling to score.

The Bad: I disagreed with his signing when it happened, and I still don't see his place on this team in the long term. He's obviously an NHL calibre player who plays the game with little ambiguity about his role, but does this team need someone to carry the team balls? I'm not convinced.

Patrick Eaves

The Good: Eaves picked up 8 points in 34 games and also provides zest in the bottom six. Except with 5% of the penalties! Plus, and I only speak for myself, he is a big fan favorite on the team. His recovery from a very scary concussion is inspiring.

The Bad: Eaves is one of several players who will be competing next year for limited bottom six positions. I don't think there is anything that distinguishes him from Tootoo, Nyquist, Cleary, Bertuzzi, Samuelsson, Miller, Emmerton, Tatar, Abdelkader, Helm, and whoever from Grand Rapids contends for a spot.

Drew Miller

The Good: Miller scored 8 points in 44 games, and provides Detroit with depth. Sound familiar?

The Bad: I could copy/paste the same information for Eaves, so the extra thing I will add for Miller is that he will be a UFA some July 1st.

Cory Emmerton

The Good: Emmerton registered 5 goals and 8 points, etc. He's actually a decent center. Don't look up his faceoff winning %, though.

The Bad: He may be a victim of circumstance where the Brunner-Andersson-Nyquist might be the third line moving forward and Darren Helm returning. I didn't think Emmerton would be here this year, but Helm's absence made him necessary.

Joakim Andersson

The Good: Andersson was quite impressive during the end of the regular season and playoffs, scoring five points in the postseason and providing a heaping pile of talent and energy to the bottom six forwards. He's only going to get better, unlike much of his competition for a roster spot.

The Bad: The hodgepodge of forwards Detroit has to resign, move, or reassign makes it hard to determine who stands out. The youth injected into Detroit had some growing pains, but they could just as easily be replaced by Cleary-Samuelsson-Bertuzzi if management is not confident they can repeat this season's improvements.

Tomas Tatar

The Good: Tatar scored 7 points in 18 games this season, and has kicked a lot of butt in Grand Rapids. He will find his way into a lineup in a season or two, but will he be patient for it? He has a lot of speed, as well.

The Bad: Tatar is in the same boat as the other young forwards, except he's lower on the depth chart and he may be asked to repeat his success in Grand Rapids, or he might get traded knowing there's more resources coming up behind him (Jurco, Frk).

Gustav Nyquist

The Good: Nyquist reminds me a LOT of a certain pair of Russian and Swedish players who have game breaking skillsets. Great hands and his 6 points in 22 games is going to increase next season. In the playoffs, Nyquist was dynamic with Andersson and Brunner, scoring 5 points.

The Bad: As electric as Nyquist is, he didn't impress me as having enough finish on plays where he generated chances. I may be wrong, but his inexperience led to his inability to finish fancy looking plays. He may have to fight a little bit harder to keep his spot, and negotiating with an unhappy Nyquist about his place on the team may lead to an inflated salary.

Todd Bertuzzi

The Good: Bert didn't have much of a season, playing in only 7 games and scoring 3 points. Bertuzzi was scoreless in 6 playoff games...there's really nothing to say except he didn't play worse than he has in previous seasons.

The Bad:The injury begs the question of whether he will be kept. Bert has a lot of upside compared to an unproven rookie...but now those rookies have shown they are the future. Will Bert be bought out?

Mikael Samuelsson

The Good: Samuelsson is a proven talent that can score goals when paired with the best players on the team. He had an assist in one of his 4 regular season games, that's more points than I scored this season.

The Bad: He was injured 200 times this season and might just be the worst signing of the 2012 NHL offseason. Jeff over at Winging it in Motown was right all along about him. He is the top choice for a buyout. It makes more sense to play any other forward than him.

Darren Helm

The Good: Helm played one game this season. He's possibly the best third line center in the league, when healthy.

The Bad: He's not healthy, and he's not done being unhealthy. This could spell trouble for his career as well as his tenure in Detroit.

Jan Mursak

The Good: Mursak made the best of his time in Detroit, and found a job elsewhere. I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavours.

The Bad: There just wasn't a place for him in Detroit.

Riley Sheahan

The Good: Sheahan played one game this season without much fanfare. He looked good in Grand Rapids, I guess.

The Bad: Sheahan's previous criminal transgressions frustrate me. I know young men do stupid things but the Sheahan saga really soured me on him, even if he finds the means to move up the depth chart and into the Red Wings' lineup in the next three seasons. He has a lot to prove before then.

DEFENSE

Niklas Kronwall

The Good: This was Kronwall's first season as Detroit's top defenseman, and he registered a

respectful 5 goals and 29 points in the regular season. Kronwall is a physical defenseman who

isn't afraid to land game-changing hits, and he did so all season right until the very last goal

was conceded.

The Bad: Much was expected of Kronwall this season, and while following Nick Lidstrom was going to be a tall task, there were times where Kronwall didn't deliver the offence he has the

potential for. Two assists in 14 games during the postseason isn't acceptable from our top

defenseman.

Jonathan Ericsson

The Good: Many who watch the Red Wings could make the argument that Ericsson was the best defenseman on the team during this transitional season, and I buy in to that argument. While his offence was respectable (3 goals, 10 assists), Ericsson played a significantly more mature game than was expected, and that's what I take away from his season. I like the new nickname "Riggy".

The Bad: "Riggy" still takes untimely penalties, but was only slightly more visible on the

scoresheet than Kronwall with just 3 assists in 14 playoff games. I'm aware Ericsson isn't on

the team to score, but more was expected.

Jakub Kindl

The Good: Kindl served the team well while other defensemen were injured, scoring 4 goals and 9 assists in the regular season along with a goal and 4 assists in the playoffs. This season saw him resurrect his status from "expendable" to "reliable 5-6 defenseman". Scored a goal in the playoffs that sticks in my head as impressive.

The Bad: Kindl is still a bit of a whipping boy for criticism, with many gaffes occurring in the

playoffs. He's 26 and can't be sheltered as a "rookie" or "prospect" any longer. He's definitely

low on the depth chart and might still be expendable.

Brendan Smith

The Good: Smith had 8 assists in 34 games in the regular season, and 2 goals and 3 assists in

the playoffs. I'm very interested in seeing how he elevates his game in a full NHL season, as I

believe he will produce more offence than he already has.

The Bad: Smith is definitely the whipping boy of the defensive corps. He looked extremely

vulnerable during the playoffs and while he showed some offensive flair, he was responsible for

more goals.

Brian Lashoff

The Good: I really don't know where Lashoff came from but he was quite impressive during the

regular season as a 22 year old who was certainly not weened into his position like Smith was.

He has done great things in Grand Rapids and the future looks bright for him.

The Bad: Lashoff might wind up spending more time in Grand Rapids as there are more experienced

defenders who the Red Wings might consider putting in the lineup for the sake of "winning now".

I'm not sure he's paid enough dues to find a regular spot in the lineup yet.

Ian White

The Good: Ian White was supposed to be one of the top defenders on Detroit in a post-Lidstrom era, having gleaned some experience and good numbers from playing on a deep Detroit blueline. Had 4 points in 25 games despite limited playing time.

The Bad: White is not long for Detroit as he has a tendency to say stupid things to the media

and really has not been playing better than any of the other defensemen on this list. The former

isn't a good reason to get rid of him, but it makes more sense to play a younger defenseman

still capable of improving. He is a UFA so that doesn't work in his favor.

Kyle Quincey

The Good: Quincey had a goal and 3 points in an injury shortened lockout season. He was a solid defender in the bottom pairings and is a great story about having a second chance.

The Bad: He was acquired for a 1st round draft pick and is being paid 3.375 million dollars to

do what any number of our younger players would be capable of doing. Still has a year left, but

after that, if he doesn't improve, he's likely gone.

Carlo Colaiacovo

The Good: Cola looked good in the 15 games he played all season. I really can't remember

anything he did so this section is a wash.

The Bad: "Splodey Bones" is made of glass and while the 2.5 million cap hit is decent there are younger players who could use the playing experience. Might not like being a 6-7 option on this team.

Danny DeKeyser

The Good: The best available college free agent signed with the hometown team and impressed everyone by being an excellent first-pass defenseman who played with the maturity of a veteran during his limited playing time. He is the player I am most excited to watch play next season.

The Bad: The bad for DeKeyser so far is the fact that his limited playing time doesn't provide

enough data to know what he is capable of. His request of being in the lineup immediately

rustled my concern he could wind up demanding more money after the initial contract is done, but there's just not enough data to say much about him except we're all excited he's here.

Kent Huskins

The Good: Huskins stepped in when the team needed someone to be signed and fill the void. He did it well and found employment elsewhere.

The Bad: Nothing bad to say about a player in his situation. I hope he finds NHL employment

elsewhere.

GOALTENDERS

Jimmy Howard

The Good: Jimmy was Detroit's MVP all season and put up All-Star stats in the regular season and playoffs. He was the reason Detroit went the distance against Chicago and nearly defeated them.

The Bad: As elite as Howard was this season, even more will be expected next season in the new division against newer competition. I am unsure if he can repeat the same MVP-like season next year, but I wouldn't bet against him. I would like to see more rebound control, if I had to lodge a legitimate complaint.

Jonas Gustavsson

The Good: He didn't lose every game he played.

The Bad: His stats were poor, he was unreliable as a backup, and is due for a buyout.

Petr Mrazek

The Good: Mrazek has performed brilliantly for Grand Rapids all season, and he was quite

impressive in his two NHL games, especially his first career start, a 5-1 victory against the

St. Louis Blues.

The Bad: With only two games of NHL experience, it's hard to say whether Mrazek is ready to

shoulder a full season load of games as Detroit's backup. He's obviously the future of the team

in goal, but there's a lot of time before that becomes a reality, if it does.

The 2013 Detroit Red Wings Regular Season Finale

Worst. Shop. Ever.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Don't Stop Believing'.

Trade Deadline Thoughts

Well, 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.

Hold on a minute, geniuses.

If you'd like a rather complete explanation as to why the Detroit Red Wings did little to improve the team, here's 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. 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.

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 can't stand 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.

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.)

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".

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.

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.

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.

So, did Detroit need to do anything at the deadline?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

I can live with that.

Frkwatch: Playoff Update and Regular Season Thoughts

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.

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.

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 some excellent points in the article he wrote and the comment section about his value to the Red Wings. 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 Winging it in Motown or Twitter. He's Canadian, which instantly makes him more likable than all other Red Wings fans. Just kidding. Sorry.

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.

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.

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.

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.

FRK YEAH, MOOSE DIVE HEADFIRST INTO THE PLAYOFFS

The "Frk Yeah" saying will no doubt be abused by Red Wings fans for years to come (provided he isn't traded for an overpaid defensemen) and has already become a regularly occurring rally cry on Winging it in Motown's game threads. Halifax Moosehead fans have been saying "Frk Yeah" for a few years and were going crazy at the Metro Centre on Friday March 22nd when the playoffs began for the QMJHL. Frk kicked off the playoffs with a show of his skills, scoring a Moosehead 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. Frk 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 Drouin, for what it's worth. Here are the highlights of the game:

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:

Frk during a faceoff, probably thinking about how soon he can replace Mikael Samuelsson. Photo courtesy of PG Marsh

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.

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.

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 my Twitter, @wizofozblog.