You’re assuming Mac won’t be the one in the press box come playoff time.  I wouldn’t hop that train (pun intended).  While I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mac in the lineup during the playoffs, I think this might be a situation where Uncle Mike actually sticks with his “you get the ice time you earn” shtick.  He won’t take the hard line with Sammy, or Lilja, or Lebda, for some mysterious, frustrating reason, but with Mac, if Mac’s play really isn’t anything to write home about, I can see Babs sitting him.  I think Mac has, at minimum, to outplay Downey, which sounds easier than it probably is.  We’re talking a fight, a win, some offensive pressure, and no visible defensive mistakes.  Maybe Mac cracks that nut, maybe not.  But if he doesn’t, I think Babs, Holland, and everyone else realizes Mac will do the team more good sitting in the press box than wasting space on the bench…

Posted by mudshark from Divetown, Colorado on 03/08/08 at 11:28 AM ET

If McCarty is the one usually sitting out in the playoffs, I wonder if it might be because bringing him up from the Griffins was more of a move with an eye toward next season, IF he stays sober and can contribute a few minutes each game?

Is Drake’s contract up at the end of this year?

Maybe McCarty is a potential replacement for him next season even more than a potential player for the rest of this season.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 03/08/08 at 11:54 AM ET

‘Roque, yes, Drake is signed for one year.  His contract is up at the end of this season.

Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 03/08/08 at 12:42 PM ET

Next year and upcoming seasons are the key here.  Downey will probably sit a few more games than he would have otherwise, but he’ll smile and support the team because he knows he’s going to be around for awhile.  McCarty, meanwhile, doesn’t have many more years left in him. His style isn’t going to let him play until his 40’s.

Besides, all of this talk assumes one thing...and it’s a huge assumption: that all of our forwards stay healthy deep into the playoffs.  My bet is that this talk becomes irrelevent pretty quickly with day-to-day injuries or worse.

Finally, we should remember how grinding the playoffs are. We’ve seen it year after year - the puck posession game just doesn’t work in the post season.  I don’t think this team is lacking in grit...even with Hudler...but I imagine that Babs is going to go with whoever will fight most along the boards.

Posted by Gabriel from San Diego, CA on 03/08/08 at 12:46 PM ET

Bill, did you go to Catholic school?  I suppose it’s cause I’m young, but did the girls you went to high school with wear skirts every day?

Posted by Steve from New Jersey on 03/08/08 at 01:00 PM ET

My prediction is that McCarty will not have any problem at all outplaying Downey and playing 4th line role-player minutes--he just has more talent as a hockey player and his conditioning won’t be a huge issue if he’s only getting 6 minutes a game.  Drake will likely stay on the 3rd line and will continue to kill penalties.  Mac will get 4th line minutes unless he outplays Drake, which seems unlikely from a conditioning perspective.  Gabriel is likely right--someone’s going to go down during the playoffs and, assuming it’s not Mac, his ice time will increase.

Posted by PDXWing from Portland, OR on 03/08/08 at 01:00 PM ET

If I had to guess the first guy Mac could challenge for ice time would be Aaron Downey.  Downey only plays 4.42 mins/60 mins at even strength and doesn’t play on the specialty teams.

Baroque makes a great point about McCarty eventually replacing Drake.  I am not sure it can happen this season as Drake is getting 8.5 mins/60 mins at even strength and 1.92 mins/60 mins on the PK.  Is McCarty really ready to handle that amount of ice time?  It seems pretty unlikely.

But if he can replace Downey from time to time and maybe add a little something extra - offense, some PK ability, better forecheck, then he makes Detroit a better team.

And if he does well with those limited minutes he can likely replace Drake next season.  He’s younger, a little bigger, and as a result probably a little more willing to play the role that a nearly 40 year old Drake isn’t cut out for anymore.

Posted by Dave on 03/08/08 at 01:04 PM ET

Chief, I have to disagree with you. (Blasphemy, you say?). IMHO, there’s zero chance that Babs will play Flip on the fourth line. He’s got a man-crush on that fair-haired boy and he won’t waste him on a “throw-away” line. Happy, on the other hand, he just loves to stick down there.

Personally, I think Flip will be on the first or second line for the rest of the year, and probably for the rest of his career in Detroit. If anyone from your second line goes to the fourth line it will be The Mule. It should be Sammy, but, well, you know, it’s that man-crush thing again.

Just my 2¢.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 03/08/08 at 02:37 PM ET

McCarty has good hands, great hockey sense, most always in the right position.  He is slo-ow, not only was he out of shape, but obsolete in the new NHL.

He is here to sell tickets, it was no accident the he was all over the sports pages here, 2 days in a row when you usually need a magnifying glass to find Wing coverage.  As far as replacing Drake, everyone needs to watch the entire game and notice that Drake is out there whenever the game is on the line for defensive purposes.  Can you honestly say you think Mac would be good on a 3 on 5 PK.  You are all having wet dreams.

Forsberg back in Colorado, Mac in Detroit...strictly to fill the seats.

Posted by HockeyTownTodd from upset when blogs don’t live up to my expectations on 03/08/08 at 04:00 PM ET

Considering Forsberg has 2 assists today for the Avs, I would think he’s not just there to sell seats.

As for the discussion, aren’t we jumping to conclusions a bit too soon? We haven’t seen Mac play one NHL game and people are quick to label him as slow and unlikely to keep up with the pace. The McCarty in Calgary was overweight and had lost the passion to play the game. I’ve had people tell me first hand that they’ve seen Mac in the AHL and that he looks leaner and is doing much better at keeping up with the speed of the game and is reacting well to different situations on the ice.

Now, is he better than Downey? Who knows. One thing I do know is that Downey has extremely limited offensive talented, while Mac has at least shown in his career that he’s had a marginal scoring touch. Both are obvious tough guys who serve their role very well. Mac knows what’s at stake here, and I’m sure he’ll be up to the challenge of bringing it when the time comes.

Posted by Jeremy on 03/08/08 at 05:27 PM ET

I think one of the biggest differences between Mac and Downey is that Downey is a “gentleman” fighter and Mac isn’t. In fact, I think Mac brings just enough uncertainty about how he’ll react to an inflammatory situation to cause the other team to back off...even if just little bit.

Of course, that only holds if Mac is still capable of throwing down with the light heavyweights and is willing to take a run at other teams star players. I never considered Mac a “dirty” player (in the TuTu, Phaneuf or Pronger mode), but he definitely had an “edge” to him. I guess his first few games back will tell us whether or not that edge is still sharp or whether it’s been dulled by age and the cumulative effects of his (former) unhealthy lifestyle.

I do agree with HTT that one reason Mac is back is to put some extra butts in the seats. But I think, at least I hope, it’s also beause the Wings really believe he’s capable of bringing something to the game that none of the other players can.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 03/08/08 at 06:23 PM ET

why is it either or?  Can you imagine a line with McCarty and Downey on it?  Especially against a team like the Blues?  AS for McCarty, I had always thought that he was a bit abrehensive with the true enforcer role, he was always more suited as a guy who could ride shotgun in the toughness department and not be the main driver.  I think with Downey around he may be a bit more effective and play with even more of an edge.  We’ll see

Posted by bababooey on 03/08/08 at 07:13 PM ET

What I think will happen:

Mac will not play against Nashville, may play against Chicago and will play against Dallas. Babs will spend some time evaluating him, letting others compete with Mac for ice time and, finally, give him a limited game time audition against Dallas.

Teammates will embrace Mac if they see that he is helping the team and watching their back. If they see any hint that Babs is capitulating to the history and/or audience entertainment, there will be abrasion. Otherwise, Babs gives them the glare and they pee in their cups.

What I hope will happen:

That Mac rises to the level of Cleary: we could always use another one of those.

That takes a run and beats the snot out of Pronger. Maybe warm up with Phaneuf (gaznutiet).

Oh pleeease let the last one happen. I really want to see that ape bloodied up from a beat down.

Posted by Osrt on 03/08/08 at 09:08 PM ET

Oh:

I’ll take one order of “He has to outplay Downey, including the eagerness to drop em”

...one order of “Forwards probably won’t stay healthy in the playoffs, so Mac will see ice time”

and a side order of “Fil on the fourth line??? And I thought I had drug issues”

Posted by Osrt on 03/08/08 at 09:12 PM ET

Mac has at least shown in his career that he’s had a marginal scoring touch.

Timing is everything.  Some guys score the clutch goal and lift the team with it.  See:  Yzerman, Lidstrom, Shanahan.  McCarty definitely isn’t in “their league” but he scores those timely goals.

One thing everyone always talks about in the playoffs is wearing down the other team’s defense in their own corners.  McCarty is one more guy that can do that.  Stuart can do it to opponents’ forwards in our corners.

I think this Wings team is one of the most balanced we’ve seen in quite a while.  Can they roll four lines like the good ol’ days (a few years ago), no.  But now they have lines that are all quite unique, and in different series against different teams, one will play a bigger role than the other.

The obvious intangible Darren McCarty brings to the Wings locker room…

Posted by PaulinMiamiBeach on 03/08/08 at 09:28 PM ET

From Snapshots, via (of course) all the Diggers:

Babs on Mac:

He can still ride (the bike), he rode forever today, and as soon as he can get back we’ll get him on the ice.

Riding forever is a good start.

Posted by Osrt on 03/09/08 at 09:28 AM ET