"Yzerman had to turn over the roster and get rid of bad contracts".

This is a cop out. Yes he had some bad deals and wisely let many players walk. But many of the bad contracts we have today are his own doing. He signed Chiarot to a 4 year $19m deal. He signed Husso. He signed Copp. He had a chance to trade Perron as a rental last year but instead extended him for 2 more years. Same thing with Fabbri, but we brought him back for 3 more years. He signed Holl for 3 years and the guy lasted 3 weeks. If a new GM came in today he'd say we need patience to clean up this mess. Stop blaming Holland. Yzerman created this.

"Yzerman had to turn over the roster and get rid of bad contracts".

This is a cop out. Yes he had some bad deals and wisely let many players walk. But many of the bad contracts we have today are his own doing. He signed Chiarot to a 4 year $19m deal. He signed Husso. He signed Copp. He had a chance to trade Perron as a rental last year but instead extended him for 2 more years. Same thing with Fabbri, but we brought him back for 3 more years. He signed Holl for 3 years and the guy lasted 3 weeks. If a new GM came in today he'd say we need patience to clean up this mess. Stop blaming Holland. Yzerman created this.
- HockeyBuzzed

The only contracts i have a problem with are Chiarot, Copp and Holl. Chiarot is mostly the term he was given more than the salary. I should also add i didn't want Petry or Debrincat for that matter and he is overpaid for a guy that brings nothing if he isn't scoring. They get the same from Sprong but he isn't costing them almost 8 million a year.

I might be one of the only ones but i think Husso would be fine behind a good defense. Put Husso on Boston and i think he has solid numbers.

All the Wings goalies the last 2 or 3 years all start off good but eventually their confidence gets destroyed over time playing behind that garbage defense and how the forwards play or the lack of playing defense. This is why i say only an elite goalie would make a difference behind this team defense. Wings are not getting one of those so instead of just continuing to change goalies every year, it is probably much better to just fix the problem instead with that defense and team defense. That would allow this team to take another step forward.

The other issue is at center. Larkin goes down and this team can't win because they don't have anyone that can play top 6 minutes and produce at center when he goes down. Maybe Kasper or Danielson can fix that but that has yet to be proven.
- dcz28

I'm not anti-Husso. I'm not a fan, of course. The issues he's had with us are much the same as he had in STL by all accounts. So it comes down to coaching him into a more potent G. In order to do, video & G coaching needs to be in place. From what we've seen since Blash is substandard G play that's preceded by a strong start then the bottom falls out. For me, 2 reasons; team D is wholly absent, and G coaching doesn't have the tools to refine performance.

Team D.....yikes. Have had some great runs where we closed gaps, eliminated space, jammed passing lanes, fore-checked like beasts. Then? Yikes. That's probably coaching and the ability to adapt on-the-fly. I don't see Lalonde being able to do that. This has got to be fixed. Copp, Compher, Sprong...they've all played some strong D but then? Yeah.

Coaching. Something needs to give. Boughner's smart, was a stud D-dude, physical as the day is long. Tanguay was a very good F on a very good AVs team, he knows how to defend as a F. We're nit as talented, but history shows the team can defend well.

Fix the D across the board and we might get better. Get a strong defense and we will be better.

Larkin's not a Crosby or Matthews. He's capable of being physical. He plays well across the spectrum so he's not going to give us 60-70 G a year, that's not his style. He's more rounded as a player. When he went down, the impact was epic. Gotta have someone more like him as a C. Kasper's shown he has the tools to ve a pgysical, adept Centerman. My fear is the coaching we have will not be efficient in rounding out his game to make him a formidable player. Drafted players develop according to how they're coached, there is much to be desired in how he'll be coached.

"Yzerman had to turn over the roster and get rid of bad contracts".

This is a cop out. Yes he had some bad deals and wisely let many players walk. But many of the bad contracts we have today are his own doing. He signed Chiarot to a 4 year $19m deal. He signed Husso. He signed Copp. He had a chance to trade Perron as a rental last year but instead extended him for 2 more years. Same thing with Fabbri, but we brought him back for 3 more years. He signed Holl for 3 years and the guy lasted 3 weeks. If a new GM came in today he'd say we need patience to clean up this mess. Stop blaming Holland. Yzerman created this.
- HockeyBuzzed

How is that a cop out? How many players are left from when he came in? How many did he give a shot then sent packing? Chiarot, bad deal absolutely. Yzerman literally cleaned out the locker room. That’s not making an excuse. And no, a GM who came in today would have several better players than what Yzerman had available. I know we disagree at times, but that’s just an untrue statement and premise.

How is that a cop out? How many players are left from when he came in? How many did he give a shot then sent packing? Chiarot, bad deal absolutely. Yzerman literally cleaned out the locker room. That’s not making an excuse. And no, a GM who came in today would have several better players than what Yzerman had available. I know we disagree at times, but that’s just an untrue statement and premise.
- Jeremy Laura

No matter the situation or the players involved . 6 years is too long for a team not to be in the playoffs plain and simple. Even the dead wings of the 70s didn’t go this long between playoff appearances. Would you keep a financial advisor that lost money for six years straight that keeps blaming the market

How is that a cop out? How many players are left from when he came in? How many did he give a shot then sent packing? Chiarot, bad deal absolutely. Yzerman literally cleaned out the locker room. That’s not making an excuse. And no, a GM who came in today would have several better players than what Yzerman had available. I know we disagree at times, but that’s just an untrue statement and premise.
- Jeremy Laura

I don't understand your point. Yes, Yzerman inherited a mess. He got rid of Abdelkader, waited for junk like Dekeyser, Helm, Howard, etc...to expire. Traded away Mantha, Athanasiou, Bertuzzi for some good assets. There is nothing untrue in that.

But then he turned around and added Chiarot, Holl, Petry, Copp, Husso, Fabbri, etc...So he's created his own mess with a new pile of bloated contracts. And the drafting in this period has been awful.

The point is, we should stop making excuses for Yzerman just because he started with a bad hand. He's made some really poor choices along the way. Finally, I never said a new GM today wouldn't inherit a better situation than Yzerman did. Seider is a stud. Raymond is a decent 2nd line winger. A few decent prospects on the way. DeBrincat, Compher, Rasmussen, Walman are all legit players. But any new GM coming in today would sadly look to get rid of many of Yzerman's other additions - Holl, Petry, Husso, etc...

Very good discussions and opinions. Good stuff. Now I'll chime in.

Yes it stinks they lost to one of the elite teams last night. We knew it was not going to be a cakewalk. They hung in there until Perron took that bone-headed penalty at the end of the third. I'm here to tell you I think the prospects in GR are going to have a big impact on this team. Wings have had no lotto luck... and Yzerman inherited a dumpster fire with no talent to work with or trade... and the team was in salary cap hell. It does not get any worse than that. He hasn't been perfect... there's a few contracts I didn't like (Holl, Copp and maybe Chaiarot). To say he's totally blown it a this point is BS and too say we need a new tear down at this point is nonsense and premature given the talent we still have in the pipeline. This team has shown good progress in terms of offense.. but the defense needs work along with depth at center. Some team toughness / sandpaper wouldn't hurt either.

In terms of the top prospects as I've said all along... the players to watch are Edvinsson and Danielsson who both have the highest ceiling IMO. You can say I'm too optimistic... whatever. I don't give a $hit. I think Danielson will be a special player and hopefully the top level center they need to complement or surpass Larkin. I've watched a ton of GR Griffins games this year and this is best team they've had in terms of talent by far in over a decade. Johansson and Wallinder are both solid defensive prospects. I haven't seen Axel Sandin Pellika play this year but I've heard he's also doing well. Mazur and finally Kasper (who had a slow start) are both looking very good. Cossa has really improved his game. I was a skeptic after last season.. but this year he looks so much better in terms of his mobility, lateral movement, and overall athleticism. He seems to track the puck better too with traffic in front of him.

So stay positive folks... the sky isn't falling. They may not make the playoffs... but this is exactly where most of us expected them to be. Petry, Perron and a couple other veteran placeholders will be gone. This team is about to get younger. I think Husso will probably be bought out (as he should be). Lyon, unlike Husso.. was a good pickup and worth keeping. Especially with his league minimum salary of $750K (or something close to it).

No matter the situation or the players involved . 6 years is too long for a team not to be in the playoffs plain and simple. Even the dead wings of the 70s didn’t go this long between playoff appearances. Would you keep a financial advisor that lost money for six years straight that keeps blaming the market
- saintdog19

Things are a lot different than they were during the late 70's and early 80's. No salary cap and less teams. You finished last, you picked 1st overall no stupid lottery. One of the things that helped build the Wings into a powerhouse for a long time....scouting in Europe was pretty weak for a lot of teams. These days even fans can catch Euro or Russian games from the comfort of their own house on the internet. Teams can have every shift from a player they are interested in put into a compilation by a video guy and not even have to go over there to see him play.

There have been plenty of teams that have gotten multiple 1st overalls that missed the playoffs for a long time...hell the Sabres are up to what 12 years now? Edmonton missed them for how long? Devils missed for a while too. Senators are still missing them. Chicago will be missing them for a while even with Bedard.

Before the start of the season i had the Wings fighting for a wildcard spot until the end but missing the playoffs...pretty much what it is now although i kind of expected them to make it before Larkin got injured and they crapped the bed for 8 games and they probably would be in a playoff spot easily if not for that injury but that just goes to show the team still has holes to fill that haven't been filled yet. One guy missing should not collapse a team like that.

No matter the situation or the players involved . 6 years is too long for a team not to be in the playoffs plain and simple. Even the dead wings of the 70s didn’t go this long between playoff appearances. Would you keep a financial advisor that lost money for six years straight that keeps blaming the market
- saintdog19

3/4 of the league got into the play-offs back then!!!!

3/4 of the league got into the play-offs back then!!!!
- HenryHockey

Since you seem to know all please name some recent teams in the cap era that have gone longer than the wings for not making the playoffs. If you believe that in this era that a team should take longer than 7 years to get into the playoffs then you do not know much about hockey 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤪🥸😌😂😂😂😂🥲🤣

NYR is an example of a fast rebuild. They missed the playoffs for 2-3 years. They were shedding veterans and bad contracts. The organization even penned the letter to the fanbase that things would get worse before they got better.

But then they made several smart trades and signings. Panarin comes to town. They add Fox. Shesterkin emerges. Now a top contender. It can happen quickly...but not when you are signing Holl, Chiarot, Husso, etc...

NYR is an example of a fast rebuild. They missed the playoffs for 2-3 years. They were shedding veterans and bad contracts. The organization even penned the letter to the fanbase that things would get worse before they got better.

But then they made several smart trades and signings. Panarin comes to town. They add Fox. Shesterkin emerges. Now a top contender. It can happen quickly...but not when you are signing Holl, Chiarot, Husso, etc...
- HockeyBuzzed

And you conveniently omitted the fact that they got # 1 and # 2 overall picks in the process and already had studs like Zibanejad and Kreider

Since you seem to know all please name some recent teams in the cap era that have gone longer than the wings for not making the playoffs. If you believe that in this era that a team should take longer than 7 years to get into the playoffs then you do not know much about hockey 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤪🥸😌😂😂😂😂🥲🤣
- saintdog19

Well, obviously, it is harder to get in the play offs now simply because only half of them get in the play-offs. Buffalo is painfully aware of this. And because you are such a die-hard Wing fan and you have already abandoned this team and any chance of getting in the play-offs, you are just another fair-weather "fan". They have 6 more games or maybe less before you can really say they are in or out. So hang in there and maybe you see your prophesy of doom come to fruition. I am cheering for them to win during every game and not laying blame to anyone when they have already had a better season then last.

In reality, and I think most of you agree, the Wings are NOT a play-off caliber team.
They have absolutely no depth on the RD side, no 2nd line Center, and then half of you think Larkin is only a 2nd line C, Mediocre Goalies, yes even your beloved Lyon does have a consistency problem. So with ALL those problems, how are they so near a playoff spot!!!!!!!
Well I guess part of the answer must be coaching! Yeah, this team is sooooooo mediocre, how can they be this close! Coaching and all that loving fan support, cheering them on at every game! I guess Lalonde and Y can count on yawl to give them the support that they could use right now to get over the hump and into a playoff spot! And remember: That once you make the big dance.......ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!!!

And you conveniently omitted the fact that they got # 1 and # 2 overall picks in the process and already had studs like Zibanejad and Kreider
- StargateSG1

Neither of those picks have made a meaningful impact. Take Lafreniere and Kakko away and NYR is still a top contender.

Sure, they had Zib and Kreider while we had Larkin and Nyquist. Advantage NYR. The point remains. Other teams have made smarter trades, smarter signings, better drafting...Yzerman has been disappointing in several of these areas.

Neither of those picks have made a meaningful impact. Take Lafreniere and Kakko away and NYR is still a top contender.

Sure, they had Zib and Kreider while we had Larkin and Nyquist. Advantage NYR. The point remains. Other teams have made smarter trades, smarter signings, better drafting...Yzerman has been disappointing in several of these areas.
- HockeyBuzzed

You are seriously confused, while Kakko is still WIP, Laf is starting to contribute.
And to be honest, we don't give a damn around here about Coilers fans opinions.
Enjoy Kenny and the incompetence that follows with him.

You are seriously confused, while Kakko is still WIP, Laf is starting to contribute.
And to be honest, we don't give a damn around here about Coilers fans opinions.
Enjoy Kenny and the incompetence that follows with him.
- StargateSG1[/quot

Yes Laf is now finally having an impact. But he's hardly a key cog. Winning that lottery is not a main reason for NYR climbing to the top. Smart trades, smart signings, smart drafting. This is just one example. Dallas has drafted very well and are now reaping the rewards. But sure, let's all give Yzerman a pass since he was stuck having to get rid of a few bad contracts. Now let's pretend he didn't just replace those with equally bad deals.

Neither of those picks have made a meaningful impact. Take Lafreniere and Kakko away and NYR is still a top contender.

Sure, they had Zib and Kreider while we had Larkin and Nyquist. Advantage NYR. The point remains. Other teams have made smarter trades, smarter signings, better drafting...Yzerman has been disappointing in several of these areas.
- HockeyBuzzed

Lafreniere would be 4th in points on the Wings this season.

Their top scorer Panarin only wanted to sign there. Fox their top defenseman only wanted to play there. Trouba (his impact is debatable) only wanted to play there. Players always want to play for the Rangers and live in New York as opposed to Detroit. Wings had that pull because of winning in the past but now it seems only Michigan players want to sign there and/or players have to be overpaid.

I'm on record here as not liking some of the bad signings Yzerman has made but i also don't know if the players i did want them to sign even wanted to sign with the Wings or not. Maybe this is the best Yzerman could get...if so that is pretty sad though.

You mention the Rangers but what about Buffalo who will be at 13 years without playoffs. Ottawa will hit 7 years. Ducks will hit 6 years. Sharks will be at 5 and they aren't close to be competing for the playoffs. Devils went a while without the playoffs and so did the Oilers.

I’ll give you credit on this, you certainly know what it looks like when your team isn’t really a contender, no matter how much you spend.
- Jeremy Laura

The Leafs made the playoffs prior to those contracts being given.

And it took 2 years

We are in year 5 for Yzerman and they still aren't a playoff team.

The Leafs made the playoffs prior to those contracts being given.

And it took 2 years

We are in year 5 for Yzerman and they still aren't a playoff team.
- Gertner

And you didn’t add any generational players in that time frame? Nothing like that, right?

It’s fairly clear that sitting down day after day, looking at the year over year has become a mostly wasted effort. You are all free to your opinions, and I want you to have them without being “banned” or “blocked”. That pisses me off, whether we agree or not.

It may just be time for a new voice who sees things the way many (or most) of you seem to insist. I’ve loved this journey but it seems clear you’re ready to move on. I’ll publish the rest of the games this season but my days may well be coming to an end. Than you all for stopping in, and for your passion for the game.

It’s fairly clear that sitting down day after day, looking at the year over year has become a mostly wasted effort. You are all free to your opinions, and I want you to have them without being “banned” or “blocked”. That pisses me off, whether we agree or not.

It may just be time for a new voice who sees things the way many (or most) of you seem to insist. I’ve loved this journey but it seems clear you’re ready to move on. I’ll publish the rest of the games this season but my days may well be coming to an end. Than you all for stopping in, and for your passion for the game.
- Jeremy Laura

J, take a step back, brother. We're all "homers" and wear that badge with honor & pride. For some folks, no matter how ardently you posit your team, others won't see it. And that's ok. Heck, before, we had folks saying other folks were "stupid". Meh, is what it is. Opinions are like.....

You've always been respectful & considerate. You've been pointed with some who've been less than genteel, but never nasty. This string got slughtly heated for sure. But that's bourne out of "homers" (I think it's AWESOME to be a homer, so not knocking anyone...) being "homers".

No need to step away from running this blig. I've read NUMEROUS comments from folks commending how respectful & kind ypu & this blog are. Now, if there are some folks who are messaging you directly and being asses, that's another story. And I refuse to condone folks doing that.

Take a breath, folks. We've come a long way as a team, have a long way to. Support your team (be a "homer" because it's cool, IMHO) and be respectul!!

LFGFRFW!!!!!!

J, take a step back, brother. We're all "homers" and wear that badge with honor & pride. For some folks, no matter how ardently you posit your team, others won't see it. And that's ok. Heck, before, we had folks saying other folks were "stupid". Meh, is what it is. Opinions are like.....

You've always been respectful & considerate. You've been pointed with some who've been less than genteel, but never nasty. This string got slughtly heated for sure. But that's bourne out of "homers" (I think it's AWESOME to be a homer, so not knocking anyone...) being "homers".

No need to step away from running this blig. I've read NUMEROUS comments from folks commending how respectful & kind ypu & this blog are. Now, if there are some folks who are messaging you directly and being asses, that's another story. And I refuse to condone folks doing that.

Take a breath, folks. We've come a long way as a team, have a long way to. Support your team (be a "homer" because it's cool, IMHO) and be respectul!!

LFGFRFW!!!!!!
- mcmastermike1968

I appreciate you brother. You’ve been an advocate for a long time. I understand things being heated especially in a close year, but I seem to be missing the mark badly. With other “stuff” in the background my bandwidth has become limited. I’m passionate but a student of the game as well. We’ve all been through a lot in this small tenure (shut downs, wars, empty arenas etc). I just have to make sure I’m able to do what I need to on those basic “human being” fronts. Right now, too many areas are lacking. Things can change in a second and last week they changed for the worse. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Yeah Ramond scores early!! LGRW's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SHOWTIME!!!!!!!!!!