Red Wings Fans Will Have to Wait Until Summer (Again)

I'm not going to beat a dead horse regarding our "deadline acquisitions" getting healthy.  It is what it is.

I will say this though: if Ken Holland and the Detroit Red Wings are truly "rebuilding" or "reloading" then I think it starts with letting Filppula walk in the summer (which is why I wanted to trade him but whatever).  His skill set (passer) is redundant on this team.  Especially for the money he's asking for ($5MM per year).  No thanks.  Not for what this team needs to spend that money on (goal-scorer, top-4 defenseman).  I'll be happy to have Nyquist or a FA/buyout casualty take his spot.  Thanks for the service but it's a business and it's time to move on.  There comes a time in all sports when a player has ran his course with a team.  That time is now for Filppula.  I'm not saying he's a bad player but he's just not a fit for the Detroit Red Wings moving forward.

After that it's time to waive bye-bye to Colaiacovo (buyout), Samuelsson (buyout), White (UFA), Cleary (UFA) and maybe even Miller (UFA).  It's time to trim the fat and these players are hampering the development of the young players and wasting roster spots, money and in a couple cases, the strength and conditioning staff's time.

Make these subtractions and infuse a mix of the kids full-time (Nyquist and Tatar at the very least) and UFA/buyout casualties/trade(s) to replace them and Kenny can truly revive a stale roster.  It's obvious there is just too much dead weight that needs to be let go.  It's time to make "tough" decisions.

However, if Holland brings back any or, God help us, all of the above players (especially if he backs up the Brink's truck for Filppula) then all his talk of a "youth movement," "rebuilding," "reloading" and "transition" is nothing more than the organization blowing smoke. 

The Wings are at a fork in the road and they need to choose a definitive path.  Floundering in the middle isn't going to cut it anymore.  We'll find out a lot about the true mindset of Holland this summer (again).

GO WINGS!!

Don't Expect Big Deadline Deal for Red Wings

Remember the good ol' days?  The days where the Red Wings, Avalanche and Rangers would have an arms race during the NHL trade deadline to load up for the playoffs?  Those were the days...and they are over, especially for Ken Holland and the Detroit Red Wings, at least in recent years. 

Since acquiring Brad Stuart before the 2008 Cup run, Holland has not made any moves of significance (please don't retort with Kyle Quincey) via trade at the deadline (or at any point of the season for that matter).  For fellow Wings fans, don't hold your breath thinking that this year will be any different.  I'm serious, you may pass out.

The biggest reason, which is of no control of Ken Holland, is that the market is incredibly thin.  Gary Bettman's coveted parity in the NHL is at an all-time high.  As of today, four points separate the eight and final playoff spot and the 14th team and only seven points for the last-placed team in the Eastern Conference.  In the West that gap is seven and nine points respectively.  With virtually every team having at least a slim chance of sneaking into the playoffs, it's hard to imagine that there will be many teams willing to part with high profile players as long as they think they have a shot.  Welcome to the "New NHL."  One in which the NHL trade deadline is no longer like Christmas for hockey fans, but more like the soup kitchen for the homeless.  There are scraps available and not enough to go around.  Thanks, Gary.

One big clue that Holland is not going to make a splash prior to Wednesday's deadline is he's already publicly given his "getting Helm, Bertuzzi, Samuelsson (laughable, I know) and Colaiacovo (just as funny) will be like deadline acquisitions" state of the team address.  Yep, that rhetoric has already been circulating in the media for weeks now. 

This has become somewhat of an annual speech as the Wings get ravaged by injuries each and every season it seems.  Is it because of the insistence of signing and re-signing aging/injury-prone players?  Maybe.  Regardless of the reason it's becoming a trend and not just dumb luck.  That trend has led to Holland's reluctance to make any significant trades in the hopes that the cavalry of injured players will return and magically fill the team's glaring needs.  The payout on this annual gamble has been minimal to say the least.  If I were a betting man, my money says it will be more of the same this year because Helm, Bertuzzi, Samuelsson and Colaiacovo do not fill the desperate needs of a top-pairing defenseman or a top-six goal-scorer.  Not by a long shot.

Holland has also said he will not spend a 1st round draft pick for an acquisition.  I can't say I blame him.  It appears he realizes that last year's "splash" of burning such a pick on Kyle Quincey was a bonehead move.  However, if there is a deal to be made that could fill one of the voids aforementioned then I would assume he would take moving that pick into serious consideration.  Maybe I should not assume such things anymore...

Though the deadline hasn't been as exciting in recent years, there always seems to be a team or two that manages to make some bold moves that betters their team.  The GM of the Penguins, Ray Shero, seems to make said moves each year.  This year, after already trading for Douglas Murray and Brendan Morrow, he goes out and gets Jerome Iginlia.  I can't help but to applaud that aggressiveness.  Do these moves guarantee the Pens win the Cup?  No.  But they are certainly a better squad now and I'd rather be aggressive and fail than be passive and fail.  That's just me.

Look, I'd love to see the Wings explore moving Filppula instead of possibly losing him to free agency.  I sure hope they don't pay him the $5MM per year he wants.  I'd love to see them at least see what they could get in return for Datsyuk instead of seeing him return home to Russia after next season.  I'd be thrilled if they decided to be bold and go out and deal for Yandle, Bouwmeester or Gaborik.  Maybe they will.  They probably won't.  If Holland does indeed swing a deal to acquire one or, Heaven forbid, TWO of those players I will gladly enjoy the taste of my foot in my mouth.  However, logic tells me I'll be sticking to the four major food groups.

GO WINGS!!

Wings Powerless Powerplay No Shock

I have held back drawing any real conclusions and/or blogging about the Red Wings until after a few games.  Well, it's been five games, the Wings sit 2-2-1, and I have seen enough to come to the conclusion that they have a God-awful powerplay.  However, unlike some, I am far from surprised let alone shocked.

The Red Wings are an abysmal 2-26 (7.7%) on the powerplay which is good enough (or bad enough) for the 28th spot in the NHL.  It feels so long ago when their play with a man advantage was considered the ultimate enforcer to those teams that tried to goon it up with the Wings and take liberties with their star players.  Now it appears every player is afraid to shoot, they do nothing but pass and wait for the perfect shot, give up a bevy of shorthanded chances, and they more times than not are one-and-done in the offensive zone.  They look downright spooked.  They look as scared as a teenage boy who is about to make out with a girl for the first time.

Many think this is a direct result of the retirements of Nick Lidstrom and Tomas Holmstrom.  Well, yes and no.  While it's true they miss Lidstrom's laser-like accuracy from the point and the unmatched goalie screening ability of Holmstrom, the powerplay ills were on display last season and at times in previous seasons post-2009. 

While it's true the Red Wings still have an abundance of offensively skilled forwards, they do not possess the true goal-scorer with the shooter's mentality AND the accurate shot (meaning Samuelsson does not fit the bill) needed to be a consistent scoring source.  Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Filppula, Bertuzzi are gifted players but they are creative passers (playmakers) first and goal-scorers second.  They always have been .  They had the likes of Hull, Shanahan, and Hossa in the past to dish the puck to and bury it in the net...CONSISTENTLY.  They miss that sniper dearly and have been since after Game 7 of the 2009 Finals when they essentially let Hossa walk in favor of Johan Franzen.

Speaking of the "Mule," he was supposed to be that next elite power forward.  That constant scoring threat.  He was supposed to be THE GUY.  With his size, skill, and wicked shot he is dominant when he uses all three elements...especially his size.  It seems that since he got his contract he has used his size less and less and has become a little bit of a floater.  His willingness to go to the net and get the dirty goals has become spotty.  To be nice, he's been very inconsistent.  It seems more and more evident that the decision to keep Franzen over Hossa was a mistake.  The Wings sorely miss Hossa's size, speed, shot, and compete level night in and night out.  This move was the beginning of the steady erosion of the Red Wings' roster.

You add the lack of sniper aspect with the fact that they have lost Lidstrom, Rafalski, and Stuart at the back end without adequately filling those voids and you get what you are seeing through five games which is a slow, stale and ineffective roster that struggles to score and looks inept on the powerplay.  None of the big departures have been significantly replaced.  Forgive me if I don't see Samuelsson, Tootoo, Colaiacovo, and Huskins (Hudler, Bertuzzi, and White in previous years) as adequate replacements for the aforementioned players.  Damien Brunner may end up being a consistent scorer but that still remains to be seen.  However, in the here and now, whether it is due to the inability or the refusal to spend the money and pay elite players market value, the fact is that putting band aids on bullet wounds finally has caught up to Ken Holland and the Wings.

Barring a significant move or moves to bring in a top six goal-scorer and/or a top four defenseman capable of quarterbacking a powerplay, do not expect the returns of Samuelsson, Colaiacovo, or Helm to suddenly turn the Wings' powerplay around.  They need some new blood and not an aging star who used to be good.  Not reclamation projects.  They need a difference-maker or maybe two.  The time is now for Ken Holland to be aggressive.  If not, this is going to be a long and agonizing season.