Huge game for Detroit tonight against Phoenix. If they lose this, it's pretty much over.
I'm torn on what I want to happen. It's the Wings, and I want them to win. That said, I predicted this would be the year they missed the playoffs and I really think they need a major shakeup or else it's just going to get worse.
My only worry is that even if they miss, they'll still use the excuse that they were "only 2 or 3 points out of it" and they'll say that was due to the injuries which means they won't do anything major over the summer. I wish they would wake up and realize that having Helm, Samuelsson, and Bertuzzi back at full health for a full season wasn't the issue with this team. While I love Helm, he's not a goal scorer and never will be. He's a good shutdown grinder with a ton of speed. If he gets you 10 goals a year, then great, but I don't expect him to. Samuelsson just doesn't have it anymore, period. Bertuzzi is still useful for about 15 goals a year, but he's slow and doesn't have much left in the tank either.
In a dream world, I'd ship Franzen, Smith or Quincey, and a pick to Buffalo for Vanek. Let Filppula, Cleary, Miller, and White walk, buyout Samuelsson and bring up a bunch of our guys that are ready to play.
Vanek/Datsyuk/Nyquist
Tatar/Zetterberg/Brunner
Abdelkader/Helm/Bertuzzi
Eaves/Andersson/Tootoo
Emmerton/Jurco/Sheahan as your extras
Kronwall/Ericsson
Quincey/Smith/DeKeyser
Kindl/Colaiacovo
Lashoff
Howard
Gustavsson
If you look at how the D has been the past few weeks, that hasn't been an issue. Once everyone started getting comfortable together, they jelled really well. The problem has been scoring goals. Would I still love another proven top 4 guy? Yeah, but I can live with the dmen we have for another season if need be. Howard has been lights out the past few weeks as well (though he sucks in shootouts all of a sudden).
