Quick Hits: More and More Goalie Controversies

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Oct 27, 2011 7:33 AM CDT in Quick Hits

The Luongo controversy in Vancouver is getting more and more hilarious with each passing game.

Yesterday was supposed to be a day off for the Red Wings, but Mike Babcock called a practice in response to their play on Tuesday. Hopefully this will wake some of ours guys up before we play San Jose. [Detroit Free Press]
Jan Mursak had his cast taken off yesterday. He is still quite a ways away from returning, however, as he won't be cleared to wear skates for another six weeks. [Red Wings Fronts]
Mike Modano is... a little odd without hockey. [NBC Sports]
NOHS is holding a Red Wings costume contest for Halloween. If you enter, be sure to post a picture on here. We'd love to see. [Nightmare on Helm Street]
Senators rookie sensation Mika Zibanejad has been sent back to Sweden for the year and ruined one of Jeff's bold prediction. [Silver Seven]
In a surprise move, the Canadiens fired assistant coach Perry Pearn yesterday. Why he was fired instead of head coach Jacques Martin is a mystery. Don't expect Pearn to be jobless for long, though, many have him pegged as the assistant coach most likely to get a head coaching job. [ESPN]
The city of Edmonton approved a monstrous new arena deal for the Oilers yesterday that makes the team, at least in one way, better than the Islanders. Congratulations! [NBC Sports]
Looks like Drew Doughty should return either tonight or Saturday; he's been cleared for full practice. [LA Kings Insider]
Anaheim Calling believes their team is the deepest since '09. I don't see it. They still have one great defenseman, two average defensemen, and 3 sub-par defensemen. That isn't very much depth in my eyes, especially when you are trying to compare it to a team that had both Scott Neidermayer and Chris Pronger.
Not to upstage Roberto Luongo, who is on his way to a Patrick Roy exit from Vancouver, Jaroslav Halak is having a similar problem with his backup, Brian Elliott of all people, in St. Louis and is great danger of losing his starting position. Elliott might be a good pickup for your fantasy team. [Puck Daddy]
The Winter Classic alumni game may be more interesting than the big game itself. Eric Lindros confirmed yesterday that he will lace up and play, all but confirming the legendary Legion of Doom will play together once more. [Broadstreet Hockey]

Discussion of the Day: Which former Red Wings line would you like to see reunited for an event like the Winter Classic alumni game? (hint: the correct answer is The Russian Five with Sergei Fedorov on defense and Pavel Datsyuk taking his place as a forward)

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Only if Fedorov wears #16. The forward line can have two #13s though.

by J.J. from Kansas on Oct 27, 2011 7:39 AM CDT reply actions

then i'm sure no one would have any qualms about giving Ericsson #91

You wanna tell me that to mah face?!
YET ANOTHER Detroit Red Wings blog.

by uvgt2bkdnme on Oct 27, 2011 9:45 AM CDT via iPhone app up reply actions 2 recs

Done!

by J.J. from Kansas on Oct 27, 2011 9:50 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

I hate both of you, you know

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Oct 27, 2011 10:42 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

I believe it is comments like these...

…for which the “Report” button was invented.

Dancing Datsyuk Decidedly Dazzles Dainty Defensemen

by Robocop on Oct 27, 2011 10:44 AM CDT up reply actions

It’s a joke stemming from one of the game threads that has popped up a few times now. No biggie.

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Oct 27, 2011 10:52 AM CDT up reply actions

joke?

i believe i sent a fan letter to the Red Wings organization specifically requesting that Ericsson be given #91.

this is no joke.

You wanna tell me that to mah face?!
YET ANOTHER Detroit Red Wings blog.

by uvgt2bkdnme on Oct 27, 2011 11:51 AM CDT up reply actions

It’s negated by my fan letter asking for 91 to be retired.

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Oct 27, 2011 12:19 PM CDT up reply actions

I hope they don't get them mixed up

and give Ericsson #91 and then retire it. * beats self up for even saying it*

by SlapshotGoal on Oct 27, 2011 12:31 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm aware it all is...

….and I was referring to uvgt2b’s post, not yours

Dancing Datsyuk Decidedly Dazzles Dainty Defensemen

by Robocop on Oct 27, 2011 9:43 PM CDT up reply actions

Despite all the shit I give Edmonton (because I believe their GM actually hates hockey and hockey players)

But I’m glad to see that they committed to a new arena for their team.

by J.J. from Kansas on Oct 27, 2011 7:41 AM CDT reply actions

Don't forget

there seems to be a bit of a goalie controversy in Tampa as well. Rolo isn’t as sharp so far this year. I’ve got his backup and he’s been pretty decent the past few games. There’s going to be a lot of overpaid goalies riding pine this season.

Get your Al the Octopus

byjenniferleigh.etsy.com/

by Josh Howard on Oct 27, 2011 7:47 AM CDT reply actions

Yeah, I actually would not be surprised if Yzerman makes a move for Schneider at the deadline

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Oct 27, 2011 7:50 AM CDT up reply actions

Or Us?

Imagine us paying Schneider what Howwie makes and haveing 2 Starting caliber goalies on your team for the bargain price of < LouonSuck?

by Red Wing Nut on Oct 27, 2011 8:30 AM CDT reply actions

Two starting goalies in the twilight of their careers has worked in the past for us but… two goalies about to enter their primes? I don’t see that working.

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Oct 27, 2011 9:02 AM CDT up reply actions

It would work if both goalies knew they were going to be interchanged and didn’t care. However, there is always the ego factor and it’s the coach’s responsibility to always put the best product on the ice to get the W. I don’t see 2 starting goalies doing that. 1 goalie will always rise to the top.

Get your Al the Octopus

byjenniferleigh.etsy.com/

by Josh Howard on Oct 27, 2011 10:11 AM CDT up reply actions

Exactly. It worked during the regular season in 08 with Hasek and Ozzy, but Hasek got pretty upset when he was benched in the playoffs even though Ozzy was having one of the single greatest playoffs in Wings history. Same thing in 09 when Tiberius came in as a 1b to Ozzy’s 1a and ended up becoming 1a; Ozzy was not a fan at first. Cujo complained repeatedly when Hasek came back, though he definitely had a right to.

And look around the league. Didn’t work with Turco and Crawford in Chicago. Nor in Washington with Varmalov and Neuvirth (if I remembered his name, I will be entirely surprised). San Jose tried doing it with Niemi and Nittymaki and Nittymaki ended up being pushed out of the rotation. It was a disaster in Philly, though they did try to have three starters. Quick has pretty much made Bernier irrelevant in LA, too. It also caused some issues in Tampa Bay last season.

The whole 1a and 1b thing just doesn’t seem to work unless you have two selfless netminders. I love Jimmy, but I doubt he would be okay with splitting time 50-50 with another guy at this point.

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Oct 27, 2011 10:52 AM CDT up reply actions

EXACTLY

I’m sure he wants 70-30 so he can get some rest, but guys are guys and though they play FOR their team… they also play FOR themselves. I can remember playing nhl10 the other day and Jimmy Howard got traded to St. Louis. Not sure how many years in I was, but at least 3. I laughed at first, but then got to thinking, if anyone isn’t happy in an organization… they will go where they can be considered 1st string instead of 2nd fiddle. It’s human nature to want to be the best. This goes for forwards and defensemen too… There are always young guns pushing the old guys to keep their positions. There are a few selfless guys out there, but I don’t think they play goalie. lol

Get your Al the Octopus

byjenniferleigh.etsy.com/

by Josh Howard on Oct 27, 2011 10:58 AM CDT up reply actions

Ok, so if we're talking abou trading for Schneider

who do we give up to get him? Vancouver knows he’s a valuable goalie. Hudler is off to really hot start. Would they even want him?

by J.J. from Kansas on Oct 27, 2011 11:41 AM CDT up reply actions

It might still be a good hedge bet to bring in a "1b" goalie

if for no other reason because Jimmy just became a first-time dad. Look at what happened to Mule last season; new kid arrived and his production went to hell. If something even remotely similar happens to Jimmy, the Wings are in trouble. Conks hasn’t exactly been inspiring confidence lately, so having a second goalie that can no-questions-asked play the starter if need be might not be a bad idea.

As for their egos, Babcock can just glare at whoever’s giving him grief until they shut up, swallow hard, and say “Yes Coach.”

Think about how stupid the average person is, and then realize that half of them are even stupider! --George Carlin

by J_Stone on Oct 27, 2011 11:41 AM CDT up reply actions

Egos Schmegos

It’s about who gives the team the best chance to win on any given night. If the Wings did decide that they wanted to go after Schneider and brought him in and he played better than Jimmy, then play Schneider.

I do believe that a 1A/1B type of platoon can work if the coach is strong enough to control the situation (which Babcock is). Josh pointed out some examples above of teams that had 2 seemingly good starting goalies where one goalie emerged as the de facto starter. I agree that platoons didn’t work, but from my understanding of the different situations, it wasn’t due to egos:

Chicago: Turco sucked and Crawford came in as a heralded rookie and won the job with his strong play. Same thing with Jimmy in 2010.
Washington: Varlamov got hurt, allowing Neuvirth to play and win the job when Varlamov came back.
San Jose: Niemi played so well he won the job after Nittymaki got hurt.
Philly: They destroy goalies, so it doesn’t matter who has the starting job.
LA: Quick has played too good to allow Bernier a chance to steal the job, despite Bernier being the “better” prospect.

If the Wings decided that they needed a new backup because Conklin isn’t cutting it (and let’s not jump off the bridge yet since he’s only played 2 games), and that guy ends up being the Wings’ better goalie, then play him and forget Jimmy and his feelings. If Jimmy were to get upset about not playing, then he needs to step up his game and play better and make the team put him in the net.

And now all I can hear in my head is “George is getting upset!”

Winging It In Motown

by Amerinadian on Oct 27, 2011 1:03 PM CDT up reply actions

You know things don’t usually work that way, right? And it would end up hurting three of our goalies. We were Conk’s last chance, Joey Mac assumes he is the backup next season and would end up having to deal with waivers instead, and Jimmy would see that we are not confident in him (because Schneider is most definitely not a backup. He and Harding both are good enough to start for 90% of the teams in this league)

by Apocalyptic0n3 on Oct 27, 2011 1:17 PM CDT up reply actions

Work what way? Where one goalie either gets hurt or plays terrible and the other guy wins the job? That’s happened enough times in Detroit (Osgood, Legace). That happens all the time. Hell, look at Nashville; until Rinne came along, they had a different starting goalie every year because the backups played better than the original starters.

I said it before and I’ll repeat this again, because it’s my mantra: whoever gives the Wings the best chance to win should be the one playing. This goes for every single position, not just goalie. If Pavel Datsyuk became a liability all of a sudden, I’d thank him for everything he’s done and then ask that he sit down until he plays better.

We were Conk’s last chance, Joey Mac assumes he is the backup next season and would end up having to deal with waivers instead, and Jimmy would see that we are not confident in him

Maybe I’m cold-hearted (in fact, I know I am), but I could give a shit about what any of them feel personally about getting playing time or their role on the team. If Conklin had played well in St Louis, the Wings wouldn’t be his last chance; if Joey Mac were a better goalie, he wouldn’t have to worry about being sent down; and Jimmy should be motivated to play better if the Wings think they need someone better to back him up, not upset.

Plus, the signing of a strong backup is not necessarily a shot at Jimmy; it could mean that they want to give him some more time off by having a competent goalie they trust to play while they save Jimmy for the playoffs.

Winging It In Motown

by Amerinadian on Oct 27, 2011 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions

Why Modano Why?!!

The Horror…….

Also I totally wore a red wings shirt to work today, thinking “The red wings have to play today. Surely they would have a 2 day break after a 7 day break. That wouldn’t make sense.”

Logged on here for the morning skate and….. quick hits. Which is awesome Josh, thank you very much for the recap around the nhl. Just really wanted it to be the morning skate today… There is always tomorrow. (Is it poor form to wear the same red wings shirt in a row to work? I have a good feeling about it and its mojo.)

I'm a Homer

by holmstrom96 on Oct 27, 2011 9:21 AM CDT reply actions

The answer to your question may lie (lay?) in what you do

(Is it poor form to wear the same red wings shirt in a row to work? I have a good feeling about it and its mojo.)

I’m sure it would be fine to wear the same shirt two days in a row as long as there was limited physical labor involved in your job (aka low sweat potential). You just might get a few strange looks from people wondering what you had done the night before since you were coming into work wearing the same shirt. Unless, of course, you already get strange looks from people when you come into work! ;-)

by zfan16 on Oct 27, 2011 9:27 AM CDT up reply actions

Haha its a pretty low physical activity job, so I should be alright unless they turn the heater way up. And its currently under a sweater, so I’ll just get the normal strange looks.

I'm a Homer

by holmstrom96 on Oct 27, 2011 10:27 AM CDT up reply actions

Why Modanno Why???

Because Willa… that’s why.

Get your Al the Octopus

byjenniferleigh.etsy.com/

by Josh Howard on Oct 27, 2011 10:58 AM CDT up reply actions

I'd be very surprised

If it’s actually him. Mo has always been a pretty reserved guy, on and off the ice. Plus figure he’d have a much nicer bathroom/house.

We need a National Geographic team from “Is it Real?” (which they’ve been showing all morning) to do some research on the photo, etc. Look for a huge scar on his wrist maybe?

Unless he’s really just lost it, for real this time.

Let's GO..Wings, Tigers, Lions, Wolverines (oh my!) & Bolts!!!!

by Let's JOE WINGS-BOLTS on Oct 27, 2011 11:48 AM CDT up reply actions

I don’t think I want to look that closely at that picture…

I'm a Homer

by holmstrom96 on Oct 27, 2011 12:00 PM CDT up reply actions

In response to today's discussion,

I would love to see any line which included Igor Larionov. I always enjoyed watching him play, with the way he could see the ice, make the perfect pass and then get into position for either a return pass or to clean up a rebound. To me, in many ways, he played the forward position in the same low-key, intelligent way that TPH plays defense. You never had the sense that he was working hard, yet he always seemed to make the right decision and play.

by zfan16 on Oct 27, 2011 9:35 AM CDT reply actions

The Grind Line (Maltby, Draper, McCarty, and even Kocur)

Shanahan, Yzerman, Fedorov

Any line with Dougie Brown

Brendan Smith fan

by JeffHancock41 on Oct 27, 2011 10:07 AM CDT reply actions

Sooooo many players to choose from..

It would be a hard task, I’m sure. Either have to do 2 games or just play against each other? Definitely the players listed thus far, would be a must, for sure!! Grind line, Russian 5, etc.

Maybe… Team Red Wing Sweden VS. Team Red Wing Russia?? That would be interesting.

Let's GO..Wings, Tigers, Lions, Wolverines (oh my!) & Bolts!!!!

by Let's JOE WINGS-BOLTS on Oct 27, 2011 11:53 AM CDT up reply actions 2 recs

all in their primes?

oh man that would be something to see

by Pentatonic on Oct 27, 2011 12:09 PM CDT up reply actions

Doug Brown

Remember the jersey Brown had made up back then that had “Brownov” on the back?

by dteowner on Oct 27, 2011 12:05 PM CDT up reply actions

Now I feel the need to wear my Brownie jersey for the game tomorrow!! gotta love some Doug Brown!!

by Birddog17 on Oct 27, 2011 12:30 PM CDT up reply actions

Costume contest

Do really old pics from when I was a kid count? Regardless, wish I could find them to post anyways. Being born in Michigan to a hockey (Red Wing) family and then moving to Florida at age 4(pre- Lightning)… I went dressed as (more than once) some type of zombie Red Wings player or maybe a bloody, bruised Wing player, which was a rare site in reality.. especially in Florida, haha.

Let's GO..Wings, Tigers, Lions, Wolverines (oh my!) & Bolts!!!!

by Let's JOE WINGS-BOLTS on Oct 27, 2011 11:42 AM CDT reply actions