Abel to Yzerman
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by IwoCPO on 11/24/08 at 07:57 AM ET
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Note to readers: this post started out as normal as any other. I have no idea where or why it took the turn that it did. I’m just sayin’.
Man, there is no better way to start the short work week than a frigging 2200 faceoff way out West. Uncle Mike’s found you a reason to stay up.
Babcock sang the praises of the Canucks emerging young speedsters, the team’s disciplined play without the puck and the team’s solid back-end.
And, he said with a big grin, he was intrigued by a Pavol Demitra quote in Sunday’s Province:
“I read in the paper that Demitra and the Sedins are the best line in hockey, so we’ll see if that’s true.”
Actually, it was a little milder than that…
Demitra has talked openly about his love of Vancouver and how he believes his union with Henrik and Daniel Sedin has the potential to be the league’s top line. Well, that might be a stretch, but it speaks to how an often-misunderstood Demitra has bought into the program.
...but whatever works.
So...the Wings win tonite and they’ll have a 15-2-3 record after twenty games. Yet...we bitch. Can you believe that? And I’m not pointing fingers. I’m guiltier than all of you. I’m sitting in my car this morning, literally stressing about goaltending. Seriously. In the parking lot at work literally staring off into space worrying about whether Conklin should be starting tonite, but if he does what does that do to Osgood’s psyche but Osgood’s psyche has never been a problem it’s his GAA and save percentage that are the real issues but since when have stats really defined Osgood or any other Wing goalie man I’ve got to get into work I’m late I wonder if Homer’s back is some sort of degenerative thing or is it a result of all the MFing slashes he takes from dirty filthy horrible people like Turco or whoever the last bastard was to lay the wood to his back and do I even know what degenerative means?
Oh, don’t you sit there and laugh at me. Don’t you do it. You frigging hypocrites. You’ve all done that. Hell, you’ve probably done that three times today already. That, my friends, is our communal lot in life.
They talk about you, you know. Fans of other teams. They wonder where you get the frigging GALL to worry about a team so talented. I have no answer for them. It is what it is. It’s who we are.
I read HockeyinHD’s comment this morning on this post. You see, I’d moved on from the goaltending straight to the Big Three. I was focused. Walking into the office I had convinced myself that Hossa was going to call Tick Tock tonite and say this, “It is love that I have playing for these Red Wings. Please allow me to do so for a term of 36 months and for money not more than 6 million dollars per year. That is the love that I have.”
I’m not kidding. I imagined that conversation. Then I read HinHD’s comments.
It’s not going to happen. All three aren’t staying. Get over it.
Now, if any or all of them decide to play for peanuts, sure… but we’re talking about Z and Hossa both signing for <7 mil a year and Franzen signing for <4. That’s the only way you can even begin to make a valid case for all three returning, and those expectations are irrational at best.
The depth guys already make ~ a mil, so replacing all of them with kids who make barely less than that doesn’t provide any room. The team IS NOT going to trade a Cleary or a Filppula, the only forwards besides Datsyuk who have long term deals above a million bucks. The team IS NOT going to trade Stuart, or Kronwall, or Rafalski… they have NTC or NMCs and it’s just stupid to trade them.\
Unless the cap climbs north of 60 mil the room to retain all three guys simply does not exist.
Hell, keeping just TWO of them may be more than the Wings can manage if the cap drops to 55 as has been reported by ‘sources’.
If someone were to say that to me in person, to offer that argument, to provide that kind of rational thought...I’d tell them to shut their whore mouth. I like my Hossa/Holland confab a whole hell of a lot better.
Oh...I forgot. We’re supposed to be enjoying this year. We’re supposed to think in the now. Oh yes. I’m sure I’ve heard that somewhere.
Just who the hell do you think you are? Do you not understand your role? You are Red Wing fans. You must stress. It is mandatory.
15-2-3. What fan of what team wouldn’t kill for that mark after 20?
Not us. Nope. What are we looking at now? Six in a row after the Pittsburgh loss? Has there been one mention of that on any comment the last few days? Not that I remember. I certainly haven’t brought it up. Not appropriate. Who are we to talk about a little six gamer when the last loss was so horrific? Absolutely in...appropriate.
You know what. I give up. It’s not even possible to enjoy the games anymore. Our expectations are so high, so unrealistic, that we’ve forgotten what it’s like to just...like the sport.
So, I’m taking a stand. I’ve decided I won’t be watching the game tonite. I’m going to watch the 24 I DVR’d last night and be amazed at the tenacity and perseverance of one Jack Bauer.
Bauer. Bauer...my first skates were Bauer turbos. Who plays Jack Bauer? Oh, that’s right. Kiefer Sutherland. Every time I hear his voice it reminds me of those Stanley Cup commercials. Those were cool. Now if this was a playoff game would I be watching 24 or the game. It’s not the playoffs. It’s November. I’m not watching the game. I vowed I wouldn’t. Plus 24’s on. But it’s DVR’d. You can watch it any time. It’s a Wing game. Wonder how Osgood’s playing? He needs to play well, needs to snap out of it, can’t let in three goals again, need to get him out of that funk, what can I do, can I somehow fix that?
See you at 10. Live blog starts at 9:30.
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Comments
You know, we’ve won six in a row since that Pittsburgh loss.
I’m just sayin’…
Posted by Garth on 11/24/08 at 09:12 AM ET
Brilliant post, Chief.
Now if only I could explain all of this to my wife. Perhaps I wouldn’t have to hear things like: “Why are you upset? They won!”
Posted by BuzzFledderjohn on 11/24/08 at 09:56 AM ET
The two L’s? Toronto in the opener and San Josie. The three OTL’s? Anaheim, Pittsboigh...and Vancouver? How dare they. Tonight...REVENGE!
Posted by cephalopod from Chicago, on the poop deck, not over it yet on 11/24/08 at 10:10 AM ET
do I even know what degenerative means?
Chief, look in the mirror.
You will see us ... 19 definitions of degenerate.
Posted by w2j2 on 11/24/08 at 10:24 AM ET
Chief, watch the caffeine there ole sport.. Work is where we go to relax between games.
Posted by Rumbear from Sandy Eggo on 11/24/08 at 10:47 AM ET
Oh, don’t you sit there and laugh at me.
Laughing with you, not at you. I’ve had to prepare a list of appropriate responses for anytime my wife asks me what’s on my mind. It turns out that “I was thinking about your birthday” goes over a hell of a lot better than “How is it that Samuelsson has more points than either Zetterberg, Filppula, Hudler or Franzen?”
Posted by Gabriel from San Diego, CA on 11/24/08 at 10:52 AM ET
What fans wouldn’t kill for 33 points after 20 games? Sharks fans, that’s who. Because that’s exactly how many points San Jose had. Oh, and then they won the game after that.
Remember how the Wings won 5-2 last game? It doesn’t even matter who they were playing, because, well, San Jose won 7-2 that night.
Five straight wins since that OT loss to Pittsburgh? San Jose lost in OT that night, too. They haven’t lost since, either.
That’s why I stress.
Well, that and Datsyuk’s going through the worst stretch I can remember. And the top line really needs Holmstrom, or at least Cleary. And because of Osgood. And because the first goal Conklin let in against the Flames was terrible. And because so much of the scoring the last few games has come from guys like Lebda, Lilja, and Maltby.
Posted by Ryan from Toronto on 11/24/08 at 10:59 AM ET
What? We can’t do both?
Us bi-polar hockey fans are the best kind. I think its at that point when you’ve reached the pinnacle of fandom. Nevermind how much swag you’ve got.
Posted by Nate A from Dark side of the moon on 11/24/08 at 11:00 AM ET
Six in a row after the Pittsburgh loss
could end up being the best thing that happened to the wings this season
Posted by rwingscup19 from Dallas on 11/24/08 at 11:21 AM ET
could end up being the best thing that happened to the wings this season
True, but it still concerns me that even after that loss the Wings haven’t exactly fixed all of their problems. Yes, they’ve won every game but they are still giving up leads late in the game. It’s pretty sad when I see the Wings get a 3-goal lead and my first thought is, ‘uh oh.’
Posted by clemshady from Greenwood, SC on 11/24/08 at 12:00 PM ET
It turns out that “I was thinking about your birthday” goes over a hell of a lot better than “How is it that Samuelsson has more points than either Zetterberg, Filppula, Hudler or Franzen?”
Pure gold, Gabe! But the truth is Hank and Happy do have more points than Slapshot Sammy. And Mule missed five games. But we shouldn’t let the facts get in the way of the best line of the month so far. 
...Datsyuk’s going through the worst stretch I can remember.
He’s got 20 points in 19 games, fer cripe sake. Stressing over that is like stressing over the Wings being only 14-2-3 after 19 games. Oh, right. I get it. Never mind.
Honestly, I get a kick out of those who say, “Relax. It’s only November. It’s way too early to stress over this season, let alone next season.”
Who are these people? Are they on Prozac? Literally, I started stressing over this season before the preseason ended (mostly because Pavel had only played one warm-up game with Hossa). And next season? That stress started the moment it became obvious that Hossa it a frigging beast at both ends of the ice. I think that was in game 2 of the regular season, but it might have been as late as game 4.
Anyway, they say stress is a killer. Well, hell, so is beer, but you don’t see anyone here advocating giving up beer. So, let’s enjoy both for as long as we can. Because that’s the way we..., well, you know.
Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 11/24/08 at 12:01 PM ET
So...the Wings win tonite and they’ll have a 15-2-3 record after twenty games.
15-2-3 is very pretty.....
Don’t be sucked into little gary’s game....
In reality that is 15-5
Try to keep at least one foot on the ground.
Posted by HockeyTownTodd from upset when blogs dont live up to my expectations on 11/24/08 at 01:20 PM ET
The two L’s? Toronto in the opener and San Josie. The three OTL’s? Anaheim, Pittsboigh...and Vancouver? How dare they. Tonight...REVENGE!
Thing about those losses is that three of them (Ducks, Pens, Leafs) are real bitter. They played a much more complete game than the Ducks and Pens did, but lost on some horrible miscues at critical moments. Should’ve been two point games, not one pointers.
I could’ve told you when the schedule came out for this season that the Wings were going to lose that San Jose game. Five games in eight days. Two back-to-backs in that stretch. Traveling three time zones west (much harder, in my opinion, than traveling from the west to the east). San Jose being the last game on a west coast trip, including being the second of back-to-back games (with the first game being the Ducks, no less). That is one loss that I am not the least bit upset about.
What fans wouldn’t kill for 33 points after 20 games? Sharks fans, that’s who. Because that’s exactly how many points San Jose had. Oh, and then they won the game after that.
...
That’s why I stress.
Point taken, but is the story from San Jose really all that different? When we get to the playoffs, then we’ll see if the new or old Joe Thornton shows up.
Also, note that the Sharks have played more home games than road games thus far, and have only made one trip to the eastern time zone, whereas Detroit has played more road games than home games, and has made two trips out west already. And again, I think it’s harder playing a game with your biological clock thinking it’s 10:30pm than it is to play a game thinking it’s 4:30pm.
And because so much of the scoring the last few games has come from guys like Lebda, Lilja, and Maltby.
This is a bad thing? Other than Homer, the top seven forwards are still on roughly PPG paces. Obviously, I don’t expect Franzen, Samuelsson, or Hudler to finish with a PPG pace, but I also expect Datsyuk and Zetterberg to improve their current paces (which are still excellent, by the way) just a bit. A scoring burst here and there throughout the season from your role players is a big plus—you worry when the top six hit a lull for a few games and the role players can’t pick up the slack.
15-2-3 is very pretty.....
Don’t be sucked into little gary’s game....
In reality that is 15-5
Try to keep at least one foot on the ground.
15-5 is very pretty. That’s a 123 point pace, even if the system didn’t reward teams for failure. Even if they lose tonight and are 14-6, we’re talking a 115 point pace.
Only within the 19 can a 14-5 record after 19 games, despite the fact the team is only playing to about 70% of their ability, cause stress.
I’ve said it before—we look at the situation and think, “Crap, they really need to improve.” Coaches around the league (Todd McClellan included) look at this situation and think, “Crap, we really need to improve because we’re playing our absolute best hockey, they’re playing to only a fraction of their ability, and they’re still keeping up with our pace.”
Posted by Nathan on 11/24/08 at 01:57 PM ET
But the truth is Hank and Happy do have more points than Slapshot Sammy.
You’re correct...unfortunately that was an actual thought that went through my head sometime last week when I think it was true. (Z and Sammy mighta been tied for points at the time...but STILL!)
Admittedly, I shoulda checked though.
Posted by Gabriel from San Diego, CA on 11/24/08 at 02:01 PM ET
Listen, I am going to worry incessantly about the cap until I see the final figure. What has been driving increases in the cap over the last several years is the relative strength of the Canadian dollar to the American dollar, rather than actual increases in revenue. In the fall of 2007, the CAD reached value parity with American dollar for the first time since 1976. Today the CAD is only trading at about 77 American cents.
This means that the Canadian hockey teams are going to report a 23% loss in revenue compared to American clubs over last year presuming sales volume remains constant (and that is a HUGE assumption given how the economy is right now).
Also, look at a team like the Red Wings, who contribute a massive amount to league-wide revenue. Does anyone actually think the Wings are going to report a higher revenue number this year than last? When the Wings win the Stanley Cup this year, they will have another deep playoff run to refill the coffers. But with the economy the way it is and Wings cutting ticket prices, I do not expect them to keep the league afloat as they have in years past.
The cap will go down this year, and if it only goes down by $2 million I think we should count our lucky stars.
But wait....would a drop in the cap actually increase the chance that the Wings will be able to keep The Three? I think so, because it will depress the labor market and most likely lower salaries a little bit. If the cap is lowered, teams will have a much stronger bargaining position with their players because it will force most players to take a pay-cut or play the open market. But the open market will not be friendly this year because of the lowered cap---it stands to reason that most teams will be facing salary cuts and therefore are not going to be in the position to offer huge contracts to free agents. Therefore, the real decision most players will make is take a pay-cut or go unsigned. It is hard to imagine players like Hossa, Zetterberg, or Franzen would go unsigned--but would they get $6, $7, or $8 million dollar offers from other teams? If the cap drops, say, $2 million, it might exert enough downward pressure on salaries for the Wings to sign all three to contracts, whilst they promise to reward them greatly once revenues kick in.
There are some great arguments in favor of them signing under this circumstance once you look at the overall labor market. I bet most teams haven’t managed the cap well enough to survive a drop to the cap, and most rosters in the league would probably suffer greatly because of it. The Wings would therefore have a much clearer path to the cup, and that could be enticement enough for some bargain deals. It would create a disincentive for The Three to leave (because most other teams they would entertain signing with would most likely not be able to compete for the cup) and it would create in incentive to stay with the Wings (because the Wings would compete, and most likely would be able to still outbid other teams that were having difficulty coming up with superstar sized cap space as a result of the drop in the cap).
The only wrench in the works is if the cap drops more than $2 million I think we will see A LOT of contracts bought out this summer and that could potentially create the cap room for teams to make superstar sized contract offers to Hossa and Z.
Posted by John in Pittsburgh (Wings fan for life!) from Pittsburgh, PA on 11/24/08 at 02:22 PM ET
It’s pretty sad when I see the Wings get a 3-goal lead and my first thought is, ‘uh oh.
No doubt Clem. As I said the other night, I hate when I hate having a lead at the end of a game, and yes only a Wing fan understands.
Honestly, I get a kick out of those who say, “Relax. It’s only November. It’s way too early to stress over this season, let alone next season.”
I won’t say I get a kick out of it, it kinda bugs me to have the nonchalalnt attitude and think we can rely on talent and flip a swicth to turn off the bad habits that become long lived trends… say like blowing leads. If we don’t work out the bugs we won’t be able to rely on talent when it really matters.
It’s not just nit picking a team with a very good record, it’s us looking for improvement where we know there’s plenty of room to improve. I don’t feel dirty in the least bitching or asking for the guys to step up the overall play of the team. Not til we seal the deal on a few full 60 minute games.
Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 11/24/08 at 02:25 PM ET
whilst they promise to reward them greatly once revenues kick in.
Without major changes in the CBA, and Salary Cap, this probably means
a lot of 1 yr contracts will be signed instead of multi-year.
Posted by HockeyTownTodd from upset when blogs dont live up to my expectations on 11/24/08 at 02:52 PM ET
I won’t say I get a kick out of it, it kinda bugs me to have the nonchalalnt attitude and think we can rely on talent and flip a swicth to turn off the bad habits that become long lived trends… say like blowing leads. If we don’t work out the bugs we won’t be able to rely on talent when it really matters.
You’re absolutely right. My point is that you shouldn’t take a 14-5 record for granted, especially in light of how blah the team’s performances were up until this current five game stretch where it’s finally started to show some gradual improvement (not worlds different, but they are moving in the right direction, you have to admit that).
I am concerned, but let’s not forget how well they are doing where it counts (standings). And furthermore, they have this record having played mostly on the road against west coast and western Canadian teams. They haven’t really had a chance to beat up on the so-called “weak” Central yet.
Posted by Nathan on 11/24/08 at 03:27 PM ET
Sometimes my family makes me feel like a psycho the way I act. I’m glad there are many Wings fans like this.
Posted by Tyler from Arizona on 11/24/08 at 04:50 PM ET
HTT, I couldn’t agree more:
his probably means a lot of 1 yr contracts will be signed
That also means the opportunity cost of re-signing with your current team is also very low, but the opportunity cost of entering the market is potentially very high--especially for mid-range talents who might get squeezed out of a team’s salary structure by over-paid starters and over-achieving youngsters.
Posted by John in Pittsburgh (Wings fan for life!) from Pittsburgh, PA on 11/24/08 at 04:59 PM ET
There’s no such thing as a safe lead this year. That’s my stress this year, Chief.
Posted by SYF from Las Vegas, NV on 11/24/08 at 07:57 PM ET
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