Jeremy Laura: Wings embarrass themselves, give up 4-1 lead to Leafs

Yeah come on. I was having a nice little grin at the expense of the leafs. Now its a frown.

Howdy, J!! Good to see you. Praying you’re finding some sense of normalcy. Kills me that you’re consistently off. Yet you still drop in to give us your insights. I’ve no clue how you do it, brother. But you can definitely count me as wholly impressed. Thank you. But PLEASE don’t feel pressure to come on here if you’re hurting. We understand.

The PIT game was awesome to watch. Pickard was incredible for not playing in around a year (at the NHL-level). Great to see Zadina & Raymond hit the back of the net. The defense was on-point….without Dekeyser. Not sure Osterle is an upgrade, but the D seemed somewhat more competent….LAST NIGHT.

Tonight was just awesome….until the 4th, then the wheels completely fell off. I can’t begin to conduct a worthwhile analysis of what happened. TOR stepped it up in the 4th & simply owned the Wings. They’re loaded for bear, wonder how they’ll fare in the SCPO.

The even more bad news is that the Wings have one of the toughest schedules in the 2d half of the season. That does not bode well for HockeyTown.

Been reading around about the TDL. Saw a quick dump on whether or not The Captain would be in on Klingberg…said that the only way it makes sense if there’s an extension in place. That makes sense. We lose Dekeyser, Osterle, & Staal at the end of the season. Something’s got to give on the back-end. Chychurn, Kilngberg….something needs to change. Stetcher coming back will help, but it’s not realistic to expect him to carry the mail straight-away. And, he’s only a middle guy, so…yeah. Need something. Waiting on Eddy to be Mo Sides 2.0 is not realistic, and we need more than 1 guy. Vrana coming back should be a shot in the arm (sorry, didn’t mean to make light of his arm/shoulder…). There are many areas that seem to need attention. Hard to watch, but not as bad as last year!!!!

The good news is that we have 2 solid rookies who’re in the national spot-light in the ROY race….haven’t seen that in, well, forever.

Yeah Mike, gotta have some LD vets for next year, Klingberg is a RD. He wants a 7 x $8M contract, too much term and pay for a soon to be 30 yo and the rebuilding Wings. Maybe try for Lindholm or Zadorov or McNabb if they hit FA. Otherwise maybe Eddy or Johansson might be ready.

Big 3rd for the Leafs, I did not think the Wings were going to hold them...But the first 2 periods were fun!
Was fun to see Zadina and his good 2-way play in the past 2 games. Larkin is digging deep, and Bert can play ALL positions including GOALIE!

Yeah Mike, gotta have some LD vets for next year, Klingberg is a RD. He wants a 7 x $8M contract, too much term and pay for a soon to be 30 yo and the rebuilding Wings. Maybe try for Lindholm or Zadorov or McNabb if they hit FA. Otherwise maybe Eddy or Johansson might be ready.

Big 3rd for the Leafs, I did not think the Wings were going to hold them...But the first 2 periods were fun!
Was fun to see Zadina and his good 2-way play in the past 2 games. Larkin is digging deep, and Bert can play ALL positions including GOALIE!
- HenryHockey

Good catch, H2! My bad, but appreciate the call-out See, isn't it nice to be able to have a human conversation with an adult who's ok being wrong and having it noted....without ridiculing the caller-outer?!?!?!? Something about the respectful manner in which that takes place is just sooo....I dunno, human.

Indeed, great progression with Zadina..... He may well not fulfil the initial expectations, but the kid works his tail off to be as close to what the teams needs as he can be. I truly hope he fares well. NOW, if he's traded (and no one truly knows what's being planned or worked on), I'd wish him well, and hope we'd get a nice return on him. With him & Veleno, maybe Ras, I could see working with them to get them better. It's not like we need them to be 40 goal guys right now. But, if they aren.t going to fit a role/position, then sure. Heck, I would almost say anyone could be traded......

Bert. He had an AWESOME 2-pad stack at the end of the game. That dude is something special. LOVE watching him play. Sheer poetry!

Hate to state the obvious here...but the headline about blowing a 4-1 lead doesn't make any sense. At no point did the Wings have a 4-1 lead. Also had a laugh about the poster saying things fell apart in the 4th. What sport is this again?

Now we know why Carolina gave there goalie away for nothing. Everyone thought yzerman made a steal , Carolina knew all along he wasn’t any good. The wings have improved much this season . Forwards are better , Defense is starting to be legit. Coaching continues to suck and goaltending is a big issue.

Now we know why Carolina gave there goalie away for nothing. Everyone thought yzerman made a steal , Carolina knew all along he wasn’t any good. The wings have improved much this season . Forwards are better , Defense is starting to be legit. Coaching continues to suck and goaltending is a big issue.
- saintdog19

The whole 3rd period was a TEAM effort to lose. Ned can't be faulted on any of those goals against in that period. He was hung out to dry(die).

Ned wasn't to blame for blowing this game. A bunch of deflections goals or guys leaving players all alone in front of the net despite them playing that stupid collapsing defensive system (god do i ever hate that system with a passion). If it were up to me, i would fire any coach that uses that system the way Blashill is.


That Rasmussen, Zadina and Erne line was crap defensively against the Leafs. Both Zadina and Erne were -3 and Ras -2 because he bailed out early for Veleno to get his minus. Zadina was bad defensively last night and it wasn't all just unlucky to be on the ice when the other team scored. I watched him closely and he had Bunting covered and then just went chasing someone else leaving Bunting alone in front of Ned to score. He was running around confusing teammates (not just him though) on who had who leaving players uncovered. Just the fact they use that stupid system to have all 5 players below the top of the circles and they still score while you have 4 or 5 Wings players around them just looking around is irritating to no end.

Wings have got to be leading the NHL in allowing empty net goals. I can't remember the last time they actually scored a goal at the end of the game with the goalie pulled. It's usually an automatic goal for the opponents if not 2. Wings goal differential has to be a bit off because of all those empty net goals they allow.

Ned wasn't to blame for blowing this game. A bunch of deflections goals or guys leaving players all alone in front of the net despite them playing that stupid collapsing defensive system (god do i ever hate that system with a passion). If it were up to me, i would fire any coach that uses that system the way Blashill is.


That Rasmussen, Zadina and Erne line was crap defensively against the Leafs. Both Zadina and Erne were -3 and Ras -2 because he bailed out early for Veleno to get his minus. Zadina was bad defensively last night and it wasn't all just unlucky to be on the ice when the other team scored. I watched him closely and he had Bunting covered and then just went chasing someone else leaving Bunting alone in front of Ned to score. He was running around confusing teammates (not just him though) on who had who leaving players uncovered. Just the fact they use that stupid system to have all 5 players below the top of the circles and they still score while you have 4 or 5 Wings players around them just looking around is irritating to no end.

Wings have got to be leading the NHL in allowing empty net goals. I can't remember the last time they actually scored a goal at the end of the game with the goalie pulled. It's usually an automatic goal for the opponents if not 2. Wings goal differential has to be a bit off because of all those empty net goals they allow.
- dcz28

That last goal was not Raz's fault.

they showed that Rasmussen kicked the puck up and was playing to try to get it past the coverage when his stick was disrupted. Getting it out of the zone when he was covered 3-on-1 with no help is something he absolutely should have done, but saying that's the play he "simply should have done" is a pretty silly demand on the play considering there were three other teammates that should have been doing things that actually WERE simple plays while we're busy demanding Rasmussen do some Datsyukian poop.

Facts would be Michael Rasmussen has blocked 37 shots this year, leading all forwards on the Red Wings. He has 51 hits this year, placing him at 5th on the team for hits. Among similarly aged players on the team (Joe Veleno, Filip Zadina) he is leading in points, despite 56% of his starts coming in the defensive zone. And this is all while being second on our team in penalties drawn, in addition to getting hit more often than any other player on the team (64) Finally, he is one of only four players on the Red Wings with more takeaways (getting the puck) than giveaways (losing the puck). There's a whole bunch of stats out there which show that Rasmussen is producing great value to our team, though it's not always showing on the score sheet. One of my favorite stats is: back in November, we went something like 18 PKs in a row without giving up a goal. That streak ended when Michael Rasmussen took a penalty for holding and wasn't able to play on the PK.

Blocked Shots and hits stats courtesy of hockey-reference.com
Zone Starts, Penalties Drawn, Giveaways/Takeaways, and Hits Taken courtesy of naturalstattrick.com

That last goal was not Raz's fault.
- HenryHockey

May not have entirely been his fault but that line was still crap to me. I know they were on the ice for at least 2 of the Bunting goals and one of them Zadina had him but then just let him go.


I wouldn't be mad at all if the Wings traded Rasmussen. For a guy 6'6, he gets knocked down every single game by guys way smaller. His balance is awful and his hockey IQ is questionable. His hits are soft and him being at the top of the team doesn't really say much since the Wings as a team are one of the lowest hitting team in the league. He has improved his faceoffs which is good but he has a lot of work to do in all other areas of the game or else he will be passed on by better options in the near future. Personally i would trade him for Lawson Crouse but i'm not sure Arizona would make that trade unless the Wings add to it.

I'm not sure that the Wings will have a shot at a top end center in this draft and if they don't, i hope Yzerman goes out and signs Hertl or Trocheck in the off-season along with Lindholm and let Leddy, DeKeyser and maybe even Staal walk if they aren't traded at the deadline.


Have something like this for next season:

Bertuzzi - Larkin - Raymond
Fabbri - Hertl/Trocheck - Vrana
Veleno - Suter - Berggren
Smith - Stephens - Crouse

Lindholm - Seider
Edvinsson/Johanssen - Hronek
Oesterle - Lindstrom

Ned
whoever

I think that would be a playoff team depending on injures and how some of the young players play. I doubt any of this will happen though.

May not have entirely been his fault but that line was still crap to me. I know they were on the ice for at least 2 of the Bunting goals and one of them Zadina had him but then just let him go.


I wouldn't be mad at all if the Wings traded Rasmussen. For a guy 6'6, he gets knocked down every single game by guys way smaller. His balance is awful and his hockey IQ is questionable. His hits are soft and him being at the top of the team doesn't really say much since the Wings as a team are one of the lowest hitting team in the league. He has improved his faceoffs which is good but he has a lot of work to do in all other areas of the game or else he will be passed on by better options in the near future. Personally i would trade him for Lawson Crouse but i'm not sure Arizona would make that trade unless the Wings add to it.

I'm not sure that the Wings will have a shot at a top end center in this draft and if they don't, i hope Yzerman goes out and signs Hertl or Trocheck in the off-season along with Lindholm and let Leddy, DeKeyser and maybe even Staal walk if they aren't traded at the deadline.


Have something like this for next season:

Bertuzzi - Larkin - Raymond
Fabbri - Hertl/Trocheck - Vrana
Veleno - Suter - Berggren
Smith - Stephens - Crouse

Lindholm - Seider
Edvinsson/Johanssen - Hronek
Oesterle - Lindstrom

Ned
whoever

I think that would be a playoff team depending on injures and how some of the young players play. I doubt any of this will happen though.
- dcz28

That's not a playoff team.

Agree that Zadina was awful. But looks like it's OK for you to say that, but not me.

Rasmussen is meh. Dime a dozen waiver fodder.

But you shouldn't say that line was crap. Can we show more respect. I'm sure they did better than you would have. Mmkay.

Have something like this for next season:

Bertuzzi - Larkin - Raymond
Fabbri - Ryan Strome - Vrana
Veleno - Suter - Berggren/Zadina
Smith - Stephens / Raz /other Smith

Lindholm - Seider
Edvinsson/Johanssen - Hronek
Nikita Zadorov/Oesterle/Lindstrom

Ned
Halak

That's not a playoff team.

Agree that Zadina was awful. But looks like it's OK for you to say that, but not me.

Rasmussen is meh. Dime a dozen waiver fodder.

But you shouldn't say that line was crap. Can we show more respect. I'm sure they did better than you would have. Mmkay.
- HockeyBuzzed

I think they would be a playoff team if they don't have too many long term injuries to key players and the young players continue to improve....Ned would also need to be good or whoever the backup goalie will be.

Last night Zadina was awful and he might benefit from a couple of games in the AHL to gain some confidence. Difference is i don't come on every blog to say he is awful. I don't think he has been awful all season.

I admit i never liked the Rasmussen pick but my problem with him is he is too soft for a guy that big. I could even deal with that if he was more skilled or better well rounded but so far he isn't. That's why i would trade him in a heartbeat for Crouse or a in a package for a good left defenseman or a proven top 6 center. To be fair about Rasmussen, you look at that draft and nobody really taken right after him stand out. You almost have to go into the late teens early 20's so...it could have been worst.

The Ras line was crap last night. They didn't produce anything offensively and were on the ice for a couple of goals. Leddy could be added in this with his team worst -4. Leddy hasn't produced as expected and he needs to produce to off-set his defensive issues.

Hate to state the obvious here...but the headline about blowing a 4-1 lead doesn't make any sense. At no point did the Wings have a 4-1 lead. Also had a laugh about the poster saying things fell apart in the 4th. What sport is this again?
- HockeyBuzzed

Wow, so someone mis-types and the ridicule starts.

You just really aren’t worth the effort, Kooleus…I mean HockeyBuzzed. Sorry, another typo. I shall whip myself because of it. Forgive me?

Treatment programs are available. Just sayen.

That's not a playoff team.

Agree that Zadina was awful. But looks like it's OK for you to say that, but not me.

Rasmussen is meh. Dime a dozen waiver fodder.

But you shouldn't say that line was crap. Can we show more respect. I'm sure they did better than you would have. Mmkay.
- HockeyBuzzed

Feeling better, Pumpkin? Did ya get that out of your system? No?? Not surprised. Reckon we all should just kiss the ring, huh?

Treatment programs are available. Just sayen.

Have something like this for next season:

Bertuzzi - Larkin - Raymond
Fabbri - Ryan Strome - Vrana
Veleno - Suter - Berggren/Zadina
Smith - Stephens / Raz /other Smith

Lindholm - Seider
Edvinsson/Johanssen - Hronek
Nikita Zadorov/Oesterle/Lindstrom

Ned
Halak
- HenryHockey

I forgot about Zadina

I'm not sure the Rangers are going to let Strome walk. I think they will have the cap space to sign him and as far as i know they don't have a replacement for him in the system. Hertl and Trocheck i think are more likely to hit the market.

I wouldn't mind Zadorov as the 6th or 7th guy. Hell i would put him on the wing of the 4th line if need be just to add some physicality to this team on the forecheck. So tired of seeing Wings players slow down/break before hitting softly or just do fly by and not even hit. Need some guys to throw hits and grind the other teams defense into the boards to get the team and the crowd going from time to time.

I think they would be a playoff team if they don't have too many long term injuries to key players and the young players continue to improve....Ned would also need to be good or whoever the backup goalie will be.

Last night Zadina was awful and he might benefit from a couple of games in the AHL to gain some confidence. Difference is i don't come on every blog to say he is awful. I don't think he has been awful all season.

I admit i never liked the Rasmussen pick but my problem with him is he is too soft for a guy that big. I could even deal with that if he was more skilled or better well rounded but so far he isn't. That's why i would trade him in a heartbeat for Crouse or a in a package for a good left defenseman or a proven top 6 center. To be fair about Rasmussen, you look at that draft and nobody really taken right after him stand out. You almost have to go into the late teens early 20's so...it could have been worst.

The Ras line was crap last night. They didn't produce anything offensively and were on the ice for a couple of goals. Leddy could be added in this with his team worst -4. Leddy hasn't produced as expected and he needs to produce to off-set his defensive issues.
- dcz28

Zadina has issues for sure. I don’t think anyone’s denying that. What I like about him is the work he put in to change his game to be more defensive ( and he still has work to do there…). There seems to be, logically, a huge shift from the bus leagues to the NHL; players predominantly can’t just expect to “…fill the net with pucks…”. They have to learn to be defensive (Gretzky, The Great 8, etc… are exceptions for sure). He’s got a way to go, of that there is no doubt.

Ras…I’m befuddled about him. Big guy, would think he’d camp net-front using his size to block the goalie, and tip in a brazillion shots. Something’s off with him. Now, he is decent on FOW…sometimes.

Ned…sheesh. I fall into the category of believing he’d be the saviour. What I failed to realize is that he had less than 25 games under his belt last year. So, even now, he doesn’t have a full season in the NHL. Pickard looked ok v PIT. Ned needs a good coach to help him refine his game, I think. But he definitely needs help in front of him.

Now, despite all of these issues, we sit 1 game under .500. That’s impressive. The problem is, the better we do, the worse we do in the draft. Hard to improve when the lottery doesn’t fall your way, you have systemic issues behind the bench, and so many other areas need help. There are some guys that probably should go. Rebuilds seem to take time, and luck. The season’s just going to get tougher as we close in on the end of the season and cusp teams amp up their game. We’re still closer to the SCPO than last year, but catching BOS (or whomever they pass on their meteoric climb…) is probably a bridge too far. Would be nice to see one of PIT or WAS just fall apart and we sneak into the WC! But, the reality is that would further hurt us in the draft.

Last night stunk. Of that there is no doubt. Tough division, tough teams, and we lack much of the talent to run with the big dogs right now. But we’re better than last year!!! And we’ll only get better.

I forgot about Zadina

I wouldn't mind Zadorov as the 6th or 7th guy. Hell i would put him on the wing of the 4th line if need be just to add some physicality to this team on the forecheck.
- dcz28

Didn’t Fedorov play D in his early days in Detroit? Kocer’s still around…..we need some grit!

I like the idea of Hertl or Trocheck. We need the help. I read something Jeremy wrote (pretty sure it was Jeremy…) a while ago saying there’s only a few ways to get a good C; draft him in the 1st three choices of the draft, trade everything but the kitchen sink for him, or have a boat-load of cap-space. But we’ve got gaps aplenty. Thankfully, there’s cap-space 🤣🤣🤣

In the third period, they looked like a team on a back to back.

Played well for five periods straight.

Zadina has issues for sure. I don’t think anyone’s denying that. What I like about him is the work he put in to change his game to be more defensive ( and he still has work to do there…). There seems to be, logically, a huge shift from the bus leagues to the NHL; players predominantly can’t just expect to “…fill the net with pucks…”. They have to learn to be defensive (Gretzky, The Great 8, etc… are exceptions for sure). He’s got a way to go, of that there is no doubt.

Ras…I’m befuddled about him. Big guy, would think he’d camp net-front using his size to block the goalie, and tip in a brazillion shots. Something’s off with him. Now, he is decent on FOW…sometimes.

Ned…sheesh. I fall into the category of believing he’d be the saviour. What I failed to realize is that he had less than 25 games under his belt last year. So, even now, he doesn’t have a full season in the NHL. Pickard looked ok v PIT. Ned needs a good coach to help him refine his game, I think. But he definitely needs help in front of him.

Now, despite all of these issues, we sit 1 game under .500. That’s impressive. The problem is, the better we do, the worse we do in the draft. Hard to improve when the lottery doesn’t fall your way, you have systemic issues behind the bench, and so many other areas need help. There are some guys that probably should go. Rebuilds seem to take time, and luck. The season’s just going to get tougher as we close in on the end of the season and cusp teams amp up their game. We’re still closer to the SCPO than last year, but catching BOS (or whomever they pass on their meteoric climb…) is probably a bridge too far. Would be nice to see one of PIT or WAS just fall apart and we sneak into the WC! But, the reality is that would further hurt us in the draft.

Last night stunk. Of that there is no doubt. Tough division, tough teams, and we lack much of the talent to run with the big dogs right now. But we’re better than last year!!! And we’ll only get better.
- mcmastermike1968

Is this a new blog? Kinda long.

Didn’t Fedorov play D in his early days in Detroit? Kocer’s still around…..we need some grit!

I like the idea of Hertl or Trocheck. We need the help. I read something Jeremy wrote (pretty sure it was Jeremy…) a while ago saying there’s only a few ways to get a good C; draft him in the 1st three choices of the draft, trade everything but the kitchen sink for him, or have a boat-load of cap-space. But we’ve got gaps aplenty. Thankfully, there’s cap-space 🤣🤣🤣
- mcmastermike1968

No Fedorov didn't play defense early in his career. That didn't happen until about 7 years later. And was simply a brief experiment after several d-men were hurt. It was tried again on a couple of other occasions. Who is Kocer?

In the third period, they looked like a team on a back to back.

Played well for five periods straight.
- Oilers4Life14

It was definitely painful in the 4th….opps, 3d!! They just looked lost. Hard to watch after being strong v PIT.

Heard Kane potted 1 in his 1st game w/you guys! Hope it works out; I like Leon D & Co.

Zadina has issues for sure. I don’t think anyone’s denying that. What I like about him is the work he put in to change his game to be more defensive ( and he still has work to do there…). There seems to be, logically, a huge shift from the bus leagues to the NHL; players predominantly can’t just expect to “…fill the net with pucks…”. They have to learn to be defensive (Gretzky, The Great 8, etc… are exceptions for sure). He’s got a way to go, of that there is no doubt.

Ras…I’m befuddled about him. Big guy, would think he’d camp net-front using his size to block the goalie, and tip in a brazillion shots. Something’s off with him. Now, he is decent on FOW…sometimes.

Ned…sheesh. I fall into the category of believing he’d be the saviour. What I failed to realize is that he had less than 25 games under his belt last year. So, even now, he doesn’t have a full season in the NHL. Pickard looked ok v PIT. Ned needs a good coach to help him refine his game, I think. But he definitely needs help in front of him.

Now, despite all of these issues, we sit 1 game under .500. That’s impressive. The problem is, the better we do, the worse we do in the draft. Hard to improve when the lottery doesn’t fall your way, you have systemic issues behind the bench, and so many other areas need help. There are some guys that probably should go. Rebuilds seem to take time, and luck. The season’s just going to get tougher as we close in on the end of the season and cusp teams amp up their game. We’re still closer to the SCPO than last year, but catching BOS (or whomever they pass on their meteoric climb…) is probably a bridge too far. Would be nice to see one of PIT or WAS just fall apart and we sneak into the WC! But, the reality is that would further hurt us in the draft.

Last night stunk. Of that there is no doubt. Tough division, tough teams, and we lack much of the talent to run with the big dogs right now. But we’re better than last year!!! And we’ll only get better.
- mcmastermike1968

I'm not down on Ned. He has been pretty good for the most part and has played a lot with how bad Greiss has been. I don't fault him too much for last night with a bunch of deflections or guys just left all alone in the slot. I like how he handles the puck and passes to the defense to help them out instead of just shooting it around the boards to an opposing forward just waiting for it.

I'm not sure the Wings will have a chance at a top center in this next draft and i don't expect the Wings to win the lottery. Maybe Lambert will still be there when they pick but it might only be centers that are a tier below and might not project as top 6 centers. If that is the case we might end up with a defenseman or a winger again. That is why i talked about Hertl or Trocheck. Yzerman needs to bring in a legit top 6 center to give the Wings that offensive center depth they need to compete better. He also needs to add a better left dman than Leddy, DeKeyser or Staal to give Edvinsson some time to adapt to the NHL and take pressure off of him...plus give Seider someone he doesn't need to carry.

Wings are doing better than i thought they would this season. I might seem like i complain a lot on here but there are positives from this season.

Is this a new blog? Kinda long.
- HockeyBuzzed

Bless your heart.