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Post by bootland27 on Feb 5, 2007 11:08:40 GMT -5
I agree Gus, at some point you have to put some blind faith in your top prospect and let him sink or swim. Besides, Jason Williams was given his role on a platter without earning it
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Post by 19forpresident on Feb 5, 2007 11:25:00 GMT -5
If you keep a good enough defense it should be that bad. I'd rather see Howard get in pre- Lids leaving then after lol. The Wings don't really need to rebuild if they make some good trades and UFA choices. There does need to be an influx of youth but they don't have to do a total rebuild. The Wings have a bunch of very good young dman that will be ready soon, so the Wings are good there. They also have a starting goalie waiting in the Wings. Now mind you I wouldn't mind them waiting one more year on Howard but no more than that. I'd prefer to have a better goalie that Ozzie out there with Howard. I'd try to sign a guy like Biron possibily and split that starts. Or atleast give Howard backup duty next year and ditch Ozzie. They also have a very good young player on the team in Flip that should be ready for the number 3 role next year. Grigs will also be comming over hopefully, and I'll peg him in for a 3rd line role as well. I'd dump Schneider for a younger top 4 dman ala Phillips or Hannan. Possibly bring in some more middle age wingers.
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Post by guschiggins on Feb 5, 2007 12:18:00 GMT -5
That's part of the problem of having Osgood signed for 2 years - he's been given the backup job through next season, so Howard has to win the starter's job outright, or he goes back to the minors. What are the odds that the Wings will go into camp with Osgood and Howard as the top 2 goalies? Slim and none, in my opinion. They'll either bring back Hasek or they'll make some other move, like Biron or Aebischer. Holland will be quoted in August saying that there is "open competition" for the goaltending tandem in Detroit, when in reality it will be Osgood backing up whoever they bring in over the summer. We've seen all this before.
You don't necessarily want to throw him right into the fire and give him the #1 job, but bringing him up to be the backup/split starter would be the next step in his progression.
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Post by djoos36 on Feb 5, 2007 13:03:40 GMT -5
I still want to know what the plan is in goal for next year. It still sounds to me like Howard isn't going to be ready to be the starter. Sounds to me like whether he looks ready in camp or not, Holland doesn't think he'll be ready. The most interesting part of this article was this quote: "During the summer, we're going to have to decide whether we're going to continue to be a Cup contender, or do we want to move some kids into the lineup, maybe take a half-step back in order to take two steps ahead in the future." This is exactly what I have been saying. So on one hand, it's good to know that this thought has at least OCCURRED to Holland. But on the other hand, if he believes that going with any player who is not "proven" enough (i.e. is under 35 years old) will cause the team to not be a cup contender, and he's always insisted on the team being a cup contender every year, then that means that Howard will never be the starter for the Red Wings, because he will never be proven enough for Holland. And what really bothers me is that Holland has seen his team get flat out embarassed 3 playoffs in a row, and he's put bandaids on a gaping wound. If he thinks this team is a contender (it is well established that I don't), then he will think that any team he puts together in the future is a contender. I'm torn between the optimism that Holland's "step back to step forward" statement promises, and my pessimism about him actually following through with that statement in any way. I don't get a warm fuzzy feeling about Howard's future in Detroit. Also, I think that someone needs to make a DVD presentation about Cam Ward and force Holland to watch it. If you have the right players on offense and defense, your goaltender does not need to be a 300 game winner. He needs to be capable, healthy, and hot at the right time. There's no reason why that can't be Jimmy Howard next season. He should at least be the Wings' backup next year. If he plays the year in GR, I don't think they're ever going to seriously give him a shot. So we shouldn't bet on a team that's competitive with every other team in the NHL to have a chance in the playoffs, but we should bet on a mediocre AHL goalie to suddenly be "hot at the right time" and dominate in the playoffs?
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Post by djoos36 on Feb 5, 2007 13:05:19 GMT -5
I agree Gus, at some point you have to put some blind faith in your top prospect and let him sink or swim. Besides, Jason Williams was given his role on a platter without earning it And you think that worked out well?
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Post by bootland27 on Feb 5, 2007 13:08:48 GMT -5
I agree Gus, at some point you have to put some blind faith in your top prospect and let him sink or swim. Besides, Jason Williams was given his role on a platter without earning it And you think that worked out well? No, I'm a Williams hater, my point was that they have made exceptions in the past in handing out bigger roles to guys that didn't prove first they could handle it
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Post by ghostwing on Feb 5, 2007 13:35:32 GMT -5
I'm just happy we have goalie coaches and scouts to know when our goalie prospects are ready to move up, lest we ruin our prospects trying to force them to be another "Cam Ward" I agree Gus, at some point you have to put some blind faith in your top prospect and let him sink or swim. Besides, Jason Williams was given his role on a platter without earning it
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Post by 19forpresident on Feb 5, 2007 13:41:49 GMT -5
I agree ghost, but if you wait too long Howard will just turn into another Joey Mac. This will be his second full season. My ideal progression would be he backsup next year and the Wings grab a starter. Then he could either earn the role outright the next year or split starts. There is no need to rush him, but you do have to get the ball moving. The Wings could do another 3 goalie rotation like this year, and have Ozzie be the 3rd goalie. It'd cut cap space a bit but not by that much. It is possible that a team might end up looking for a cheap backup as well at some point. Ozzie is a good lockeroom guy. He could probably teach Howard a thing or two about mental toughness.
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Post by octopus on Feb 5, 2007 13:51:49 GMT -5
Right. "?" Please. Cut it out. Heh. Dude, I just gotta say one word, and Matt will baninate your a$$ FohEvah! Say it, then. Would save me a lot of headaches. It IS a little odd, that both you and "Yzyman" called the Wings Cup-win in 2002 a "fluke," in the same week. Hard to believe there could be two people that dense, in the same hockey forum, but I suppose it's possible. Barely.
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Post by octopus on Feb 5, 2007 13:55:33 GMT -5
No idea who newsguy is.. ask norris nick, ive got a long and storied history on letsgowings.com Yes, letsgowings.com...another forum with no IP's shown. I'm sure "Norrisnick" would be happy to fill me in, on that.
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