Abel to Yzerman
Next entry: DC Bound
Previous entry: NBC Blasts Wings
Scotty…Please Help
by IwoCPO on 11/29/06 at 04:39 AM ET
Comments (10)
Warning: This one’s going to be all over the place. Domestic metaphors, movie references, mind wandering. Crazy, disjointed stuff. Stick with it. A point will be made.
The common theme amongst our DD’s today?
Ted Kulfan/Detroit News
“Whether the Wings need one, an enforcer, that is, is the growing question.”
Khan(!)/MLive
“Holland doesn’t believe the Wings need to bring in a player for the sole purpose of being their enforcer.”
Bruce MacLeod/Macomb Daily Tribune
“So do the Red Wings need to add an enforcer to keep opponents from taking liberties?”
Would we be having this conversation if the Wings were scoring? Nope. But, as we know, this is a chicken-egg-Kocur question. Oh, you need me to explain that? Well, I can’t. It is a chicken and egg thing, but I just threw Joey’s name in there because we’re talking toughness. Confused? I understand.
The “need for an enforcer” issue would be tabled if there wasn’t a perception that teams were “taking liberties” due to the Wings’ less than stellar power play. It was almost refreshing to see a quote from an opposing player actually admitting teams are game-planning with this in mind.
Vancouver’s Brendan Morrison pointed out the opposition’s different attitude towards the Red Wings this season now that Detroit’s power play is anemic.
“You might think twice about taking chances with penalties if they were scoring at their normal rate,” said Morrison.
A four-year old grabs the squeeze bottle of Hershey’s chocolate out of the fridge ten minutes before dinner. She slyly glances at Mom and Dad, who watch her and smile. Emboldened, she lifts it over her head and looks again. Her parents smile again. Flushed with confidence, she drinks the chocolate straight from the bottle. She didn’t expect to get away with it in the first place, but she had to try. She’s 4. Easily correctable. All it would have taken was one “WTF ?” glance from Mom and it would have been over.
Hagman drank chocolate from the bottle, so did Mitchell. He took a big old swig. Torres did too.
We don’t need an enforcer. We don’t need Norton taking up space and minutes. We don’t need Bootland. We have enough forwards who aren’t scoring.
What we NEED is production. What we need is a power play. And it’s time we said it.
What the Wings need right now, more than anything, is coaching. If Mike Babcock is having trouble getting his mind around this problem, it’s time he sought help fixing it. Oh, but where can he turn? If only he had a trusted agent, a confidante within the organ-I-zation. That would be so cool.
What? Did you say he has someone like that? Someone who fits that description?
Bowman to Hockeytown. Bowman to Hockeytown...STAT.
“Remember The Titans” is in the IwoCPO top ten of movies (Behind “Hoosiers”, “Rocky” and the original “Bad News Bears”, but just before “The Natural” and “Goodfellas"). Remember the scene, halftime of the state championship game, when the defensive coordinator swallows his pride and turns to Denzel Washington for help? “Herman,” he says, “Ed Henry is kicking my ass out there.”
Well, Ed Henry is the power play and it’s kicking Mike Babcock’s ass. We’ve read the fuzzy-tummy stories for a year now, how he turns to Scotty for advice, how they talk frequently, how Babcock’s style and Bowman’s are similar. Well, it seems pretty clear to me that either that relationship was blown way out of proportion or it’s cooled off.
Because there is no frigging way Scotty Bowman couldn’t fix this.
If you haven’t yet, Mike. It’s time to ask. Look, buddy. Defensively? Great. You’re doing great things. We like it. We like you for that. But, man, it’s time to realize that every coach, but one, has his limitations. Yours just may be a lack of creativity.
Soooo.....ask for help.
Detroit’s man advantage is like a Stephen King novel. The dustjacket looks interesting. It starts out good, lags in the middle and by the time it’s over you can’t believe you wasted two minutes reading it. Scotty can fix that.
Heck. I’m no deep digger. I don’t have wasted access to the Wings. I have no idea. Maybe Bowman’s been in Detroit the last month. Maybe he and Babcock are discussing this daily. Maybe they’re exchanging text messages that have happy faces, LOL’s and BRB’s.
Or maybe Babcock’s so stubborn that he can’t allow himself to seek out help from the greatest hockey mind in history. That would kinda suck because, well, it would mean the Wings hired a stupid man to coach this team when they could have hired a proven smart man (Barry Smith) after Bowman left.
Ohhh...yes I did. Yep. The “Barry Smith” issue. Ok. We’ll table that. We’ll put it on the back burner, put in the vault for later. ‘Cause, you know, it would suck to remember that Scott Bowman’s advice was disregarded three years ago. Woops...that’s right, it was. So what you’re saying is....
...the Wings have a history of ignoring Bowman’s suggestions? So, considering they’ve ignored him in the past, maybe he’s less than willing to help now?
Oh. Interesting theory. But, Bowman’s been available since then. He was probably even sought out by Holland before they hired Babcock. Well, it’s time to break the glass again and bring the old man in for some consulting work.
23 games in. 10 percent. 30th in the league. Datsyuk: zero PP goals. Liberties are being taken. 1 game with multiple PP goals.
Scotty to Hockeytown...STAT.
Filed in: | Abel to Yzerman | Permalink
Comments
Enforcers are dead in this league now. But that doesn’t mean this team shouldn’t have a few guys who are capable and willing to drop ‘em if necessary. Guys like Bill Guerin, Danny Hinote, Shane Doan, Matt Barnaby come to mind. Guys that can play effective minutes AND protect their mates when necessary. This team is soft, and that hurts when the playoffs roll around, they can use some crease crashers
Posted by Bababooey on 11/29/06 at 08:47 AM ET
I did a little math…
The powerplay wouldn’t be where it is if the Wings had a player who shoots the puck. Lets look at Shanny he has 8 PP goals and 7 PP assists. If Shanny played for the Wings we would go from 12 to 20 PP goals that would move Detroit to the middle of the pack… If Shanny set up 7 more PP goals that gives Detroit 27 PP goals, and moves Detroit into the top 3. Not forgetting that Yzerman (a shooter) also notched a few goals and a few helpers by this point too.
If we had Shanny this year so far we would be ranked 10th IF he didn’t help set any goals up… Shanny isn’t much of a passer so I can only assume that the majority of his assists are shots which people have turned into rebound goals. There is nobody better than putting in rebound goals than Holmstrom, and there is no doubt that he too is hurting from not having a shooter in the lineup.
Unless Babcock is the one passing up shots, I’d pretty much say its not his fault.
Posted by Jdunc from Flint, MI on 11/29/06 at 01:58 PM ET
Babcock’s not passing up shots, but since you mention Yzerman and Shanahan...how much did he do to keep either, particularly Shanny? I don’t blame it all on Babcock, JD. But, there’s a lot of talent on the two PP units and none of it’s being realized.
Posted by IwoCPO from Washington, DC on 11/29/06 at 02:30 PM ET
Way too much emphasis by the commenters and the media about the PP. Last year about this time the subject was lack of ESG’s. That is not lacking this year, and a far bigger worry than PPG’s. To score a PPG, you are depending on a penalty being called. In the past, the wings were way to dependent on their PP, and when they got in a game without penalties they were shut down. That caused an early out in the playoffs more than once. PP averages fail
to take into consideration the SHG’s scored and of course the SHG’s allowed. I don’t find it necessary to even discuss PP and personal stats when the only real issue is GWG’s. Going there, the numbers do not match the discussion. The Rangers are 13-9-3 and the Wings are 13-6-4. Shanahan has 3 GWG and Robert Lang has 4.
As far as Personal Stats go, how do you compensate for the fact that Shanahan only has to face W Conf goaltending and Defense for 10 games this year. You need to study all the stats before you slide into tunnel vision.
Overall scoring is way down this year. and the W Conf is seeing the biggest drop. Check out the GAGA between the Conferences.
Posted by Gramps from Hockeytown on 11/29/06 at 06:19 PM ET
Babcock didn’t want Shanny to go from what I remember, I remember the Wings matching New Yorks offer, and Shanny turning it down. Yzerman made his decision because he was old. If he thought he had another year to go, he would have played it reguardless if Babcock was there or not.
I know Lang has 4 GWGs of which I’m proud for. but what if you add Shanny’s 3 GWGs to that? you have three more games won, and Detroit’s in first. I know the Western Conf. goalies are tougher, but you can’t tell me that having a guy shoot pucks, who is a particular good shooter, isn’t going to help you win games, and isn’t going to help your powerplay. I’m not talking just about Shanny, their are alot of shooters out there the Wings could trade for come deadline time.
Posted by Jdunc from Flint, MI on 11/30/06 at 07:03 AM ET
Hey, I have nothing against Shanny, I would have been happy to have him stay. He didn’t want to play anymore in DET, he is gone .. get over it. The point is too much emphasis on PP stats. If you still haven’t considered all the stats..
Shanahan -5 for the Rangers (13-9-3) 8 PPG, 7 PPA
Lang +11 for the Wings (13-6-4) 1 PPG, 2 PPA
Posted by Gramps from Hockeytown on 11/30/06 at 11:33 AM ET
Unfortunatly -5 is the price you pay for an offensive minded guy. Also remember that he plays on a considerbly weaker defensive team. If he had the oppurtunity to play with Lidstrom his +/- minus would go up.
Its not about Shanny its about the Powerplay which is what the story was about, I’m simply saying that Detroit’s PP would be better if they had a guy who is a natural goal scorer. Special teams have a huge impact on the game, sometimes we put too much emphasis on them. The Wings play has been better than last season’s except for the powerplay which struggles because we arn’t taking enough quality shots.
Posted by Jdunc from Flint, MI on 11/30/06 at 11:54 AM ET
Team takes too many shots from the perimeter, and the team just stands around on the powerplay. Face it, once the Oilers figured out the Wings powerplay in the playoffs it carried over into this season. The Wings generate offense by the shots from the point, that’s it, once you can play those guys, crowd the front to handle rebounds, their powerplay becomes human. I don’t see how much better the powerplay can or will improve.
Posted by Bababooey on 11/30/06 at 12:00 PM ET
AMEN.. creativity is babcocks problem, and the strategy is this power plays problem. Shanny shanny shanny.. pfffft! shanny did not play with datsyuk homer and hank, and they were effective as a power play unit. WERE. Now look at them.. all 3 of them within 15 feet of each other all in teh same circle, or along the same boards with a point man behind them! There is only 1 guy in position to get off a dangerous shot.. the guy at the far point, and his man is stickin to him like glue, because theres not another wing in sight. Theres nobody in the slot, theres nobody in teh far circle, nobody on the far post Just 3 guys in the corner playing keepaway in a 15 foot area, and 2 defensemen covering them. the goalie just hugs the post.. he knows hes not going to have to move..We all know the plan .. suck the D down low and feed the cross ice diagonal pass for the point shot.. Too bad the other team knows the plan.If that front forward had to respect a shooter in the far circle, hed have to sag, opening up said point shot, but our point man is alone.. Like iwocpo says.. zero creativity.. point shots and rebounds are the only offensive strategy babcock understands, and its killing datsyuk and hank. Playmaking isnt a very valuable asset when the strategy doesnt call for a shooter in a quality scoring area. Sammy, homer, cleaary(nice ppg tonight..or just after), hudler, hank, datsyuk.. these guys can shoot, maybe not like shanny, but well enough to score from good scoring areas.. its up to babcock to come up with a strategy, or get help, to get them to those areas.. our playmakers can do the rest.
Posted by attica on 12/02/06 at 03:17 AM ET
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Most Recent Blog Posts
73 Men Sailed Up For This Live Blog and It Was 19 Who Led Them
Bartender, Statesman, Instigator…Voox
If The Sun Refused To Shine…We’d Live Blog
Jimmy D: “We’d Be Happy With A Top Ten Pick”
Swine Flu Or Not? The Levee’s Gonna Break And We’re Gonna Live Blog It
About Abel to Yzerman
Welcome to Abel to Yzerman, a Red Wing blog since 1977. No other site on the internet has better-researched, fact-laden and better prepared discussions than A2Y. Re-phrase: we do little research, find facts and stats highly overrated and claim little to no preparation. There are 19 readers of A2Y. No more, no less. All of them, except maybe one, are juvenile in nature. Reminding them of that in the comment section will only encourage them to prove that. Your suggestions and critiques are welcome:
A2Y Stuff
-----------------------------
Wanna Feel Smart?
Does confusion make you sad? When you read words like "enigma" and phrases like "Thanks Gary. Ass", do you wonder why mean people speak in languages you don't understand? Fret no longer friend! The A2Y Glossary will bring you great joy and enlightenment.
-----------------------------
How Others View The A2Y 19
"Hell, I guarantee the content co-opters at Abel to Yzerman were about to link this article under the heading “Bitter Blues Fans” again right up until they just read that last half-sentance. Thanks but no thanks, you Kukla hangers-on."
--St. Louis Game Time
"I realize it’s the slow summer season, but can this guy tone down the tough-guy histrionics? His posts are fatiguing on an otherwise excellent site."
--A2Y Fan, Eternal_Fields
"I constantly marvel at how Bill (IwoCPO) and his disciples at Abel To Yzerman can be so pompous and full of themselves throughout every regular season, but come playoff time they collapse into wavering puddles of stress and nervousness as they anxiously await the impending and unavoidable collapse of the Red Wings in the post-season."
--Mile High Hockey
"I hate them because they are better than us. Of all the frigging teams…"
--In The Cheap Seats
"It's just a shame that the most classless, uneducated, lowbrow fanbase in the league gets this sweep. Red Wing fans don't deserve their team."
--Thhom
"I really don’t care what fans or bloggers think."
--Drew Sharp
"Why is it you Detroit fans are still so classless when you have such a classy hockey team, with such a professional GM and gentlemen players? I understand that the author of this blog is a manner-less cad, but the rest of you should be better."
--A2Y Fan, Jeff Beaumont
"Have you ever *read* A2Y? Its the most opinionated, juvenile stuff i've read."
--Paul Nicholson
"I actually like the Detroit team and have a sh&% load of respect for them, but their fans are the biggest douches next to Canadians."
--KStewy, PensBlog Commenter
"Just when it looks like we have bottomed out, the 19 hit a new low."
-A2Y legend, Hockeytown Todd
"And for the record, I don't hate the Red Wings, I hate their fans."
--Douche Bag at Puck Daddy who isn't Wyshynski
"You’re nothing but a douchebag ****, c3po. Go f**k yourself, and learn something about hockey in the process. Nothing ruins my day more than seeing your byline on the kk page."
--Hector, A2Y fan, statesman, Pittsburgh Chapter of Jonas Brothers Fan Club President
"I can just imagine the kindergarten teacher’s reaction when the tyke blurts out 'Mommy says Gary Bettman is a f*cking f*ckface! He wants to give ‘Rosby the bad touch.' ”
--Bella, of the 19
Head to Hockeytown
Blogs the Chief Likes
If they are not consulting Bowman regarding the pp, why have him on the payroll? I suppose whether they are or are not, we will never know. Barry Smith...yeah… and look how Dave Lewis is turning things around in Beantown! Good on ya, Lewie!!!
Posted by w2j2 on 11/29/06 at 08:02 AM ET