Make sure to follow Mark on Twitter!
Red Wings fans have had
ENOUGH.
Following Wednesday night's disappointing 3rd period meltdown in Calgary which resulted in a 5-2 defeat and Detroit's 3rd consecutive loss, the tone and demeanour of Red Wing fans was one of disgust and apathy with the continuous streakiness of this year's edition of the Winged Wheel.
Only a week ago, Detroit polished off the Edmonton Oilers in a decisive 3-0 victory to win their fifth game in seven contests to propel the Red Wings to 4th in the Western Conference.
A week later, the Red Wings sit in Edmonton awaiting a rematch with the Oilers having only garnered one out of a possible six points during a home-and-home series with the Columbus Blue Jackets and last night's debacle with the Flames.
Now Detroit sits in a tie for the 8th and final playoff spot with Phoenix while facing a difficult back-to-back situation this weekend against a resurgent Edmonton team fresh off two wins in Chicago and Colorado to complete their torturous 9-game road trip, followed by the rested Vancouver Canucks looking to grab a stranglehold of the Northwest Division.
Making matters worse for Detroit, are the following stats:
* They have played the fewest road games of any team in the league to date
* They are 3-6-2 on the road to date with 13 of their final 21 on the road
* They are a league worst 1-for-38 on the power play through 11 road games
Wednesday's loss was marred by a 4+ minute stretch in the 3rd period where Red Wing turnovers and lackadaisical defensive play ruined a pretty dominant performance where Detroit outshot Calgary 27-11.
Mike Babcock suggested there could be several lineup changes on Friday night, as a wake-up call to the roster to reiterate blown opportunities like the one squandered at the "Saddledome" will not be tolerated.
This weekend's pair of contests will likely help finalize management's intentions at the trade deadline. Let's face facts....if the Wings win at least 3 of the possible 4 points up for grabs this weekend, the probable "company" line is that the current contingent is sufficient to garner a playoff spot. And that very well could be the case.
However, a disastrous road trip through Alberta and British Columbia could be the elixir needed to force
Ken Holland into the uncomfortable position of making an in-season trade to attempt to provide the Wings with a better opportunity of reaching the postseason for a 22nd consecutive season.
************************************************************************
Following Wednesday's contest, word came out
courtesy of Wings beatwriter
Ansar Khan of mlive.com that the Red Wings are getting close to reaching a long-term contract extension to secure Wings goaltender
Jimmy Howard. Khan's source suggests a six or seven year deal for Howard in the vicinity of $5 million per season, more than double his current $2.25 million salary.
Early reaction to these figures, if they do indeed come to fruition, appears to be mixed. However, in my humble opinion, I feel the salary figure is fair based on Howard's age and body of work since arriving on the scene full-time in Detroit during the 2009-10 season when he rescued the Red Wings goaltending situation when starter
Chris Osgood play declined due to injuries and age.
Let's examine the top 20 goaltenders (in salary) for the 2013-14 season and see where Howard at $5 million per season would have him end up.
GOALTENDERS (salary in millions)
1) Pekka Rinne, Nashville $7.0
2) Henrik Lundqvist, NY Rangers $6.875
3) Carey Price, Montreal $6.5
4) Cam Ward, Carolina $6.3
5) Ryan Miller, Buffalo $6.2
6) Kari Lehtonen, Dallas $5.9
7) Miikka Kiprusoff, Calgary $5.83
8) Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles $5.8
9) Ilya Bryzgalov, Phoenix $5.67
10) Roberto Luongo, Vancouver $5.3
11) Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh $5.0
12) Jimmy Howard, Detroit $5.0 (estimated)
13) Jonas Hiller, Anaheim $4.5
14) Martin Brodeur, New Jersey $4.5
15) Cory Schneider, Vancouver $4.0
16) Ondrej Pavelec, Winnipeg $3.9
17) Antii Niemi, San Jose $3.8
18) Jaroslav Halak, St. Louis $3.75
19) Devan Dubnyk, Edmonton $3.5
20) Craig Anderson, Ottawa $3.187
Based on that rundown of goaltenders, I don't see any issue with the Red Wings offering Howard $5 million per campaign, despite the proposed lengthy term of 6-7 years. Howard turns 29 later this month and is entering the prime of his career. If these numbers leaked are legit, Red Wing fans shouldn't be upset with the commitment being made to Howard, who has proven to be a good goaltender in this league thus far, with the potential to continue improving and perhaps become a very good, if not, great goaltender in this league.
In addition, Khan's source suggests that potential unrestricted free agent
Valtteri Filppula is asking in excess of $5 million per season for a new contract. I believe the Wings have a desire to keep Filppula to help aid in bridging the gap between
Pavel Datsyuk's probable departure following next season and the Red Wings hope of having either
Calle Jarnkrok and/or
Gustav Nyquist become Detroit's top-six centers along with
Henrik Zetterberg.
However, if he and his agent are adamant that it will cost the Red Wings north of $5 million per season to keep him, I cannot see the Red Wings giving in and paying him that amount. Only time will tell if they pay him or if they attempt to move him prior to the trade deadline and retrieve something for a substantial asset.
Furthermore, the Red Wings are attempting to lock up 27 year-old
Damien Brunner, who can become an unrestricted free agent in the summer. Although both sides are having difficulty finding a figure they both feel is reasonable given Brunner's short tenure in the National Hockey League, I fully expect the Red Wings to sign Brunner to a 2-3 year contract in the $2.5 million range to secure the services of a player who would be on pace to score 30 goals in a normal 82-game season. Brunner's contract for this season is $925,000, with the potential to earn bonuses of $500,000 plus.
************************************************************************
News
filtered out this evening courtesy of the Godfather of hockey insiders TSN's
Bob McKenzie, that the Red Wings
could be in play to sign a 6'6" college free agent center named
Kellan Lain of Lake State.
Here is a
scouting report on Lain provided by Inside College Hockey.
The Red Wings also remain one of the favorites to land highly sought after free agent college defensemen
Danny DeKeyser of Western Michigan University. The Red Wings are one of the frontrunners in the chase by many suitors for his signature.
[email protected]
Make sure to follow Mark on Twitter!
Detroit Red Wings Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»