Comments on: Datsyuk out against Ducks with undisclosed injury

By: eastcoastwingette

eastcoastwingette — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 07:40:40 +0000

@19and77. I think we might be arguing over semantics. Obviously Datsyuk and Z are our top forwards. They’re, what, 34 and 32? Pavel’s contract is up at the end of next year and he wants to go home and play in Russia before it’s too late. And you can’t fault him for that. Unless we can string him out on about 3 one-year deals like Kenny did with Lidstrom (feasible), he could realistically be gone in the next two years. Hank’s in I think year 7 of a 15 year contract so he’ll be around for a while.
Who would you name as our “top” aging guys? Howie’s 29, and the next goalie for the Wings is already obvious. Would you peg Franzen? He’s 33, and either trade bait or not trade bate–but his salary is fantastic and he enrages us all. Filpulla is 28, in a contract year, and not doing much on the offensive end at the moment. Brunner’s 26, Bertuzzi is going nowhere at 38–still has sick hands… hmm. Now that I look at that I see your point. My point was the guys we have coming up can’t replace what we have.
What I wouldn’t give for a Grind Line 2.0.

By: dtownbeatdown

dtownbeatdown — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 05:34:09 +0000

I am not sure if I would call it a “bad” season. But none the less they definitely have to dig deeper this year to squeeze out a win. Even with the struggles, and the grand rapids griffins now are the red wings, they are still a top 8 team as of right now in the west. I wouldn’t lose all faith, but I sure as hell hope they make some big moves here soon to fill some skates, unless going to the playoffs every year might not be so much anymore. And i don’t think late draft picks are going to get it done for us magically anymore. I cant remember the last time the wings had a top 5 draft pick. Maybe Joe Murphy? lol

By: 19to77

19to77 — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 05:15:41 +0000

So, what, it’s not true that the Wings’ top players are all up there in years, or that guys at that age start missing more games more often? I mean, you’re not wrong, but come on, it’s a simple truth that when your top guys are missing more games than most teams’ top guys, you’ll struggle. And age plays into that quite a bit for the Wings.

By: eastcoastwingette

eastcoastwingette — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 04:48:37 +0000

Can we please, PLEASE stop with the “aging roster” excuse? It’s the b.s. everyone’s been saying for the last 2 (3,4,5,8) years. And at this point, no longer valid. How many rookies did we have on the ice right tonight? 4? 5?
The real issue is we have no franchise prospects on forward ready to immediately jump in (and let’s face it, we all knew when Nyquist was brought up tonight it was because he would potentially fill in for one of our top 4: Fil, Brunner, Datsyuk, or Zetterburg). Nothing against Gus, but he’s no Yzerman, Datsyuk, or Z.
The Wings’ system is not programmed to “magically” rely on players to hit a certain age and be, well, magical. The great players are supposed to teach their proteges. Zetterburg was taught by Yzerman for years; Datsyuk was coached by Larionov. I think our huge gap in D is partially due to Jiri Fischer’s situation, as he was more or less Lidstrom’s protege. I know no one likes to bring that situation up, but he was heralded as our next defenseman. Had things gone well, he’d be what, early 30′s now and training the likes of Lashoff and Smith along with Kronner. Not that he’s not doing an incredible job developing d-men and being involved with local outreach programs. Incredible guy, hands down.

By: 19to77

19to77 — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 01:32:22 +0000

This is the real danger of an aging roster. People act like Datsyuk and Zetterberg will hit a magical age and go from the elite of the NHL to unable to get the job done overnight, but that’s ridiculous. The threat is in how much time they have to miss per season creeping up a little more every year. Detroit’s got a lot of veterans. They’re probably going to have to deal with a lot of man-games lost in the next few years.

By: 0ffsides

0ffsides — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 00:25:42 +0000

The Wings are severely depleted already and now lose all the intangibles Dats brings night in and night out. A bad season in Motown is getting worse by the day.