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Detroit so far - 17-25-7
7 games remaining
My prediction from January - 19 wins
Current place - 24th
First round pick without lottery win - between 8 and 10
Steve Yzerman has a few important negotiations this summer with a handful of depth and prospect deals to look at. The organization currently has 45 total contracts, and that drops to 18 this summer, with only 8 NHL deals on the books.
Some of you have made some interesting observations regarding depth players like Lindstrom and newly acquired Brome. In essence, should Yzerman give another 1 year deal to the Swedish league standout who struggled to find his game in North America?
If I go under the assumption that Filppula, Helm and possibly Nielsen won’t be back, I’m fine with giving Brome another shot. If he can’t make the team, he can try to find his game in Grand Rapids. Detroit’s a bit of a tough nut to “find your game” if you’re not an established player in North America. There are prospects who have earned a shot for sure (Berggren, Seider, Veleno, possibly even Raymond) and assuming that the roster is healthy (and assuming that Vrana signs an extension) Larkin, Bertuzzi, Vrana, Fabbri, Zadina, and whoever the 6th top forward is (Namestnikov, Raymond, Ryan, ?) you are going to have a logjam bottom 6 (again) battling it out. Rasmussen has earned a 3rd line spot, I like Ryan with Zadina and Fabbri to start the year (if he re signs) so it could well be Svechnikov and Raymond on that third line. That would leave Berggren, Veleno, Glendening, and Erne all battling for the 4th line.
If Veleno can’t break the top 9, he’s far batter off getting reps in Grand Rapids. The same for Berggren. Playing 6-8 minutes a night isn’t great for development. Brome, on the other hand, can do well as a 4th line player. It’s a toss up. Givani Smith is looking for an opportunity as well I’d like to see Soderblom in North America, but his league play away from the world juniors was not great this year. He was demoted to the younger leagues.
All this brought me back around to the taxi squad. It’s an interesting option to keep guys nearby. The waiver rules ended up costing some teams a player or two (which is always interesting). Are any of you in favor of seeing the same or a modified version of the taxi squad going forward? You can’t bury a huge salary (the 1 million is upped to 1.25 for next year) and long road trips could benefit from having the extra goalie. It’s always strange when the “volunteer” goalie has to dress. It doesn’t happen often. But, having an extra forward and extra defenseman (I’m in favor of going down to a 3 man squad) during those long trips isn’t a terrible idea. Let me know what you think.
On to the series with Dallas. Dallas is leading the series 5-2 as we come into the final game. This week has been a brutal stretch for both teams, with two games in two days, flight to Detroit, game the next day, and finally a day off with no travel. The amount of contempt between the squads has grown admirably. Detroit had a breakout performance by Vrana and ran the scoreboard up with 7 tallies last game. However, Greiss had to be on top of his game stopping 43 of 46 shots while Detroit only had 23 shots on net. If the effort today is similar, it could be a rough finale.
At the end of this series, my only thought is a sense of relief. The limited divisional play this year has been a bit brutal. For whatever reason, it’s just not as much fun to watch the same 7 teams all season. I am hopeful that there will be some sort of normality next season to shake things up.
Detroit’s victory was impressive (if not incredible). The Wings will have to limit Dallas’s attempts more effectively today, and the Stars have a lot to play for. They stand just one point ahead of Chicago ( 2 games in hand) and 4 back of Nashville (3 games in hand) for the final playoff spot. The team is inching closer to getting Seguin back in the lineup, but have just 10 games left to get back to the post season. They would very nearly need to sweep if Nashville and Chicago continue to put up points. Today could be nasty.
So, where are you on the season series for the division? Did you enjoy the limited travel and lineup, or were you left wanting to see some other competition? Let me know your thoughts on that and the taxi squad, and I’ll see you after the game.
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
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