Hughes missed 1 game last week. He came back and has points in 3 straight games. He's playing a whopping 26 minutes per night. Last year he played every game. Otherwise, good insight here! 🤣
- HockeyBuzzard

Oh yeah , it is Jack this time...next year there will be 3 of them...at least.

Oh yeah , it is Jack this time...next year there will be 3 of them...at least.

- HenryHockey

I’m just waiting for the first Jack Hughes vs Jack Hughes matchup.

Dude Suter and Zadina are way better than Rasmussen.
- Feds91Stammer

Raz really blew that wide open chance! shot it right to Vanny's belt line after getting in too tight.

I’m just waiting for the first Jack Hughes vs Jack Hughes matchup.
- Feds91Stammer

"Will the REAL Jack Hughes stand up" Gonna have ta use his middle initial!

Dude Suter and Zadina are way better than Rasmussen.
- Feds91Stammer

Maybe they are... clearly in a Wings uniform they aren't playing like 2nd liners... my point is a change is necessary... maybe Rasmussen clicks with Suter or Zadina.. maybe not, but clearly the current line isn't working well together....

Maybe they are... clearly in a Wings uniform they aren't playing like 2nd liners... my point is a change is necessary... maybe Rasmussen clicks with Suter or Zadina.. maybe not, but clearly the current line isn't working well together....
- angryagain

I know it’s hard to follow because the wings broadcast sucks but they switched it up in the 3rd last night and the Suter line got the tying goal.

Fabbri - Suter - Erne
Vlad - Raz - Zadina

I know it’s hard to follow because the wings broadcast sucks but they switched it up in the 3rd last night and the Suter line got the tying goal.

Fabbri - Suter - Erne
Vlad - Raz - Zadina
- Feds91Stammer

Yeah.. I saw that... still like a bigger sample size of a couple different line combinations.... I want the guys to succeed but whether its Blashill or just lack of chemistry or both I'd like to see something done differently....and yeah, agreed on the broadcast...

Yeah.. I saw that... still like a bigger sample size of a couple different line combinations.... I want the guys to succeed but whether its Blashill or just lack of chemistry or both I'd like to see something done differently....and yeah, agreed on the broadcast...
- angryagain

I'm all for trying different combos, but I suspect it's more of a talent issue than a chemistry or coaching issue. Bertuzzi, Larkin, and Raymond is a decent first line by NHL standards but after that the Red Wings really don't have any (healthy) players with the talent to anchor a solid second line.

Zadina and Fabbri are low-end second liners / high-end third liners who probably need a really strong center to thrive. Suter is clearly a 3C. Erne, Gagner, Namestnikov are all clear bottom sixers. Rasmussen is a fringe NHLer, at least at even strength (might still have some PP specialist potential).

You can choose any three of those guys and combine them in any way you want, but I don't think you're ever going to construct a good second line out of those parts no matter what you do. At least not without Zadina taking a couple more big steps forward.

Yeah.. I saw that... still like a bigger sample size of a couple different line combinations.... I want the guys to succeed but whether its Blashill or just lack of chemistry or both I'd like to see something done differently....and yeah, agreed on the broadcast...
- angryagain

It’s lack of skill. Both new lines were solid in the 3rd.

I know it’s hard to follow because the wings broadcast sucks but they switched it up in the 3rd last night and the Suter line got the tying goal.

Fabbri - Suter - Erne
Vlad - Raz - Zadina
- Feds91Stammer

Vlad - Raz - Zadina could be a shut-down line, but Raz is slow so may only work against another teams 2nd line

It doesn’t matter.
- Feds91Stammer

The answer is NO.

MO SEIDER:

Half of Mo's points so far have come on the powerplay, so don't help his +/-.

Also, he only has a 1.9% On-Ice team shooting percentage, which is dragging down his PDO.

Sample size is small (only 32 minutes together) but Seider has a 53.33 CF without DDK, 40 CF with.

The really interesting one is Seider without Leddy 37.5 CF, Leddy without Seider 46.55 CF, Seider with Leddy 56.6 CF.

The answer is NO.
- danimal6777

I like how people act like Zadina wasn’t a consensus good pick or that Yzerman would have taken Hughes, a player that clearly doesn’t fit the archetype he likes on D.

I like how people act like Zadina wasn’t a consensus good pick or that Yzerman would have taken Hughes, a player that clearly doesn’t fit the archetype he likes on D.
- Feds91Stammer

Zadina was ranked 4th or 5th and slipped to 6. Hughes, Dobson, Bouchard were all ranked 5-10 depending on various rankings. The issue was that we already had numerous top 6 wingers on the roster or developing in the system. But our pipeline on defense was awful. You generally take best player available, but when the margin between two players is basically insignificant, then you have to better account for organizational need. I anticipated Hughes to be a top pair PP QB whereas Zadina was a pretty one-dimensional goal scoring winger, at best. So thr next Tatar but maybe the next Pulkinnen. It was an awful decision. Said it that day. Stick to it now.

Zadina was ranked 4th or 5th and slipped to 6. Hughes, Dobson, Bouchard were all ranked 5-10 depending on various rankings. The issue was that we already had numerous top 6 wingers on the roster or developing in the system. But our pipeline on defense was awful. You generally take best player available, but when the margin between two players is basically insignificant, then you have to better account for organizational need. I anticipated Hughes to be a top pair PP QB whereas Zadina was a pretty one-dimensional goal scoring winger, at best. So thr next Tatar but maybe the next Pulkinnen. It was an awful decision. Said it that day. Stick to it now.
- HockeyBuzzed

No

No
- Feds91Stammer

I wanted Bouchard or Quinn at the time, but preferred Bouchard. I was happy with the Zadina pick, but still thought the Wings should have picked a D-man because of all he glaring need for D in the pipeline. Now they have plenty of D in the pipeline...I would have preferred Eklund at #4. But Eddy seems to be progressing nicely. So I am content with that.

I wanted Bouchard or Quinn at the time, but preferred Bouchard. I was happy with the Zadina pick, but still thought the Wings should have picked a D-man because of all he glaring need for D in the pipeline. Now they have plenty of D in the pipeline...I would have preferred Eklund at #4. But Eddy seems to be progressing nicely. So I am content with that.
- HenryHockey

The entire pipeline was terrible at the time of the Zadina pick.

We took Hughes in the mock draft NYRs blogger runs but that’s because Zadina was already gone.

What I find interesting was Mantha was considered a bust around this point in his career too. I think people get so hyped up that if a guy isn’t instantly scoring 30-40 goals he’s a bust.

The entire pipeline was terrible at the time of the Zadina pick.

We took Hughes in the mock draft NYRs blogger runs but that’s because Zadina was already gone.

What I find interesting was Mantha was considered a bust around this point in his career too. I think people get so hyped up that if a guy isn’t instantly scoring 30-40 goals he’s a bust.
- Feds91Stammer

Jimmy D saying he was "very, very disappointed", did not help at the time.
Mantha garnered a good return and will help the Wings more in that aspect. Yeah, but I still liked the guy a lot.

Danny Deke finally took his man out of the play!

https://www.prohockeyrumo...hie-out-week-to-week.html

Danny Deke finally took his man out of the play!

https://www.prohockeyrumo...hie-out-week-to-week.html
- HenryHockey

Best luck and a quick recovery to TJ

People will call any top-10 pick who doesn't become a first line / first pair player within a year or two a bust.

Which is insane. If you look at a list of every player ever taken at 6th overall and order them from best to worst, the median player is like Milan Michalek or Sam Gagner. Zadina is not even really underperforming his draft position, he's only ever played for trash teams, and he's not even 22 yet.

He's probably never going to be as good as we all wanted him to be, but to call him a bust at this point is still premature.

Jimmy D saying he was "very, very disappointed", did not help at the time.
Mantha garnered a good return and will help the Wings more in that aspect. Yeah, but I still liked the guy a lot.
- HenryHockey

Been some really interesting back n forth today. And some pretty insightful comments.

I’m not against Zadina, I like the guy and how he’s worked to mould his game to meet the needs of the organization. That shows maturity and talent. I think he needs work, for sure. My question is: With whom does he work to improve his game?? There’s some decent dudes; Zetterberg, hell even The Captain. But the core training team seems to be Blash/Tanguay, etc… And, for me, that’s a big zero. He’s got talent, just needs a really good mentor to help him. I think, once he gets it, he’ll be really good…maybe not super-star talented, but really good.

The burning question about drafts is, has been, and always will be; what if we got “X”? It’s such a hard call to make. Bouchard’s good. Hughes is good. Dats was good. Vladdy was good. The point is, gotta have a team of folks to mould young players. And I don’t know if we have them.
For what’s it’s worth; I like Bouchard and wanted us to take him. “Life is lack a boax uv chokolats.”

The entire pipeline was terrible at the time of the Zadina pick.

We took Hughes in the mock draft NYRs blogger runs but that’s because Zadina was already gone.

What I find interesting was Mantha was considered a bust around this point in his career too. I think people get so hyped up that if a guy isn’t instantly scoring 30-40 goals he’s a bust.
- Feds91Stammer

No. The pipeline at forward was not awful in 2018 at that draft. We already had Larkin on the roster. Mantha had just scored 24 goals and 48 points as a 23 year old. AA scored 18 goals, then 16 goals and was showing more promise as a 2nd line forward. Bertuzzi joined the roster that year and produced 24 points in just 48 games. At the time there were still high hopes for Svech, and we had just drafted Rasmussen who was going to be our 2C and net front PP guy. Sure some of these guys didn't pan out, but at the time we seemed to have some nice potential top 6 wingers. On defense we had pure trash on the roster - Kronwall, Green, Ericsson, Daley and a pipeline of Cholowski, Hronek, and total garbage.

People will call any top-10 pick who doesn't become a first line / first pair player within a year or two a bust.

Which is insane. If you look at a list of every player ever taken at 6th overall and order them from best to worst, the median player is like Milan Michalek or Sam Gagner. Zadina is not even really underperforming his draft position, he's only ever played for trash teams, and he's not even 22 yet.

He's probably never going to be as good as we all wanted him to be, but to call him a bust at this point is still premature.
- Sven22

Valid point. Who would’ve called Pavel D a super-star at #97 (or 106, whichever….definitely NOT a 1st rounder…). We really don’t know the limit on these guys until they explode or burn out. Zadina can be good, needs a really good mentor/coach, IMO.

I wanted Bouchard or Quinn at the time, but preferred Bouchard. I was happy with the Zadina pick, but still thought the Wings should have picked a D-man because of all he glaring need for D in the pipeline. Now they have plenty of D in the pipeline...I would have preferred Eklund at #4. But Eddy seems to be progressing nicely. So I am content with that.
- HenryHockey

Wings drafted #6 this year, not #4.