Dear Gustav Nyquist

Blue Line Patrol Podcast:Episode 16

It feels like months since the Red Wings have played, but the Olympics are finally over and we can finally get back to watching the best league in the world. On the Xavier Ouellet episode of the podcast, we've got Griffins news, junior prospect news, an update on Tyler Bertuzzi, Wings talk, speculation, and a lot of questions. I was at the Griffins games this past weekend and there were a few players who really impressed me. Kevin's got your Wings updates to pump you up for the return of hockey.

You may listen to and download the podcast right over here ---> Episode 16

-AND-

We're also on iTunes now, so you can listen, subscribe, and leave us feedback there as well. 

Blue Line Patrol on iTunes

If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found here:

Kevin @KevinN37
Michelle @Slapshotg0al  
Blue Line Patrol @BlueLinePatrol 

and you can always e-mail us at Bluelinepatrol@gmail.com

Let's Go Red Wings!!! Let's Go Griffins!!! 

Poll: Do you want Shea Weber on the Red Wings?

It's no question that Shea Weber is a top defenseman in the NHL.  It's also no question he once tried to murder Henrik Zetterberg:

Ignore that fact that he didn't get a suspension (and the Wings won the next game regardless).  I have a question for a Wings fans:

Do you want Shea Weber on the Red Wings?  Please answer in the poll above.  Thanks!

Blue Line Patrol Podcast:Episode 15

We have a special guest for this Red Wings Prospect edition of the podcast. Kyle graced us with his presence as we took a deeper look at not only some of the Griffins prospects, but also some of the kids still in juniors and Europe.

• Which Griffins prospects are making a good case for themselves.
• Which prospects might be with the Wings next season and which ones might be gone.
• Which Junior prospects will be in Grand Rapids next year, and who's ready.
• With the defense we have in Grand Rapids, and the lacking defense on the Wings, what's going to happen?
• Prospects, prospects, prospects, and more prospects!
• Olympic predictions and thoughts.
• And much more.

Here are some additional information we referenced on the podcast:

Prospect Report Card: The Forwards
Prospect Report Card: The Defense and Goalie
Should I Stay Or Should I Go: Mitch Callahan

Thanks again to Kyle for chatting with us. You can follow him on Twitter @kylemcilmurray and why wouldn't you want to?

You may listen to and download the podcast right over here ---> Episode 15

-AND-

We're also on iTunes now, so you can listen, subscribe, and leave us feedback there as well. 

Blue Line Patrol on iTunes

If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found here:

Kevin @KevinN37
Michelle @Slapshotg0al  
Blue Line Patrol @BlueLinePatrol 

and you can always e-mail us at Bluelinepatrol@gmail.com

Let's Go Red Wings!!! Let's Go Griffins!!! 

ATTENTION: THE MOST ADORABLE GIF OF ALL TIME

ATTENTION: MOST ADORABLE PICTURE OF ALL TIME

What Will Happen To The Red Wings Defense?

We all know the Wings have a solid set of defensive prospects currently playing in Grand Rapids.  I've also seen lots of people on twitter (yes, this is my fault for reading what people have to say on twitter) freaking out about possible trades since one or more of these players are usually mentioned.

Let's take a look at the current Wings D, the possible top prospects, and what might happen in the coming years.

PLAYERS SIGNED TO A LONG-TERM CONTRACT WHO AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE

1. Kronwall
2. Ericsson

Pretty self-explanatory.

YOUNG PLAYERS WITH EXPIRING RFA CONTRACTS

1. DeKeyser (RFA after this season)
2. Smith (RFA after next season)
3. Lashoff (RFA after 2015-2016 season)

I think we all agree DDK will be here for a long time.  Smith is improving.  He still has some work to do, but for having less than 100 games played in the NHL as of this writing, he's looking to be a pretty decent player, and actually wouldn't shock me if he was one to get traded for a top four player (I doubt he will, but teams have wanted him in the past).  Lashoff is Lashoff.  He's a cheap 6/7 who can block shots and kill penalties.  Good depth player that if we happened to lose, not a huge deal.

YOUNG-ISH PLAYERS THE WINGS SIGNED TO A LONG(ISH)-TERM DEAL BASED ON A HALF SEASON

1. Kindl

After being sent to the press box for a few games as a healthy scratch, this contract (first year in a 4 year, $2.4M a year deal) doesn't look so good.  I wouldn't count on him being here the entire time if we can entice a team to take him.  He's almost 27, so I doubt there's much more developing left.

GONE BY JULY 2ND

1. Quincey

I don't think he's as bad as most Wings fans do, but he's definitely overpaid for a 4/5.  The beat writers are saying he won't be re-signed, and I believe them.  There have even been calls for him to be traded, so there's that.

WHERE DO WE STAND AFTER THE CURRENT TOP 7?

LOCKS:

1. Kronwall
2. Ericsson
3. DeKeyser

PROBABLY NOT GOING ANYWHERE BUT YOU NEVER KNOW:

4. Smith

NOT A KEY PART TO THE FUTURE:

5. Kindl
6. Lashoff
7. Quincey

OBVIOUS SUMMARY SECTION

The Wings have four players who are a key part to the next 3-5 seasons.  This leaves 3 spots remaining, and that's if the Wings don't sign/trade for another top 4 player.

WAITING IN THE WINGS  (because puns!)

1. Ouellet
2. Sproul
3. Almqu(v)ist
4. Marchenko
5. Jensen

The only player not in his rookie year in the AHL is Almquist.  I believe he is no longer exempt from waivers after this season, so the Wings risk losing him.  Ouellet and Marchenko have both played with the Wings this season as well, albeit briefly.  Sproul is a top offensive player who still could get a call up this year, and Jensen's rookie year has been derailed by injuries, but has a high ceiling.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE FUTURE?

Ouellet, Sproul, Marchenko, and Jensen will probably start next season in GR.  Jensen definitely needs another year in the minors, and I'm thinking it's better the other three play more minutes in the AHL than be possible healthy scratches half the time with the Wings.  Assuming no other trades/signings, this would be the Wings top 7 to start next season:

1. Kronwall (signed for 5 more years)
2. Ericsson (signed for 6 more years)
3. DeKeyser (RFA, will be here for a while)
4. Smith (RFA after next season)
5. Kindl
6. Lashoff
7. Almquist

That doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in me.  The top 3 are fine, but after that, it's very weak.  Too early to give up on Smith, but don't want to count on him to be a top four guy since he hasn't proven it yet on a consistent enough basis

But here's where the "trade" issue comes in.  Those top three aren't going anywhere for two-three years and Smith has played his way into the top 6.  Seeing that there are only three spots left, basic math tells us the four top prospects in GR (Ouellet, Sproul, Marchenko, Jensen) is greater than the three openings. Yikes. There are also new draft picks every year signing contracts that are willing to push these players on the depth chart, most notably, Mattias Backman, currently playing in Sweden.  And if the Wings sign a top-four guy this summer (as they need to do)....yeah.  Overripe joke.

CONCLUSION

It's pretty obvious the Wings need an improvement on their current defense if they want to be serious cup contenders in the next two years.  They have the prospect depth to improve their team (salary cap issues be damned...) and they should take advantage of this.  If one or two of these players gets traded, don't get upset as long as it makes the current team better.

If the Wings are secretly going through a rebuild, then I wouldn't trade any of these players.  I would see which develop the best and go from there.  I doubt this is in the plans.  I would expect the Wings to be more active at this years trade deadline and/or free agency to try and get another top level NHL defenseman in the line up.  I don't know if it will be a younger prospect or maybe Smith, but something has to happen for the Wings to get back to being a Stanley Cup Contender in the near future.

Twitter - @BlueLinePatrol
Red Wings Capgeek Page

Dan Cleary's Numbers - I Don't Even Know Anymore

Below are the Red Wings stats so far this season (courtesy of HockeyDB).  I know these don't look at CORSI, PP/PK time, yadda yadda yadda, but just look at Dan Cleary and some of the names ahead of him: Miller, DDK, Big E, Nyquist (by 9), Tatar (by 14), and Sheahan is tied after THIRTY NINE LESS GAMES.

Cleary gets 1:31 PP time and 1:34 PK time a game on average as of this writing (proof).  He's adequate in the defensive zone and on the PK, I will agree.  But holy crap Dan/Danny/Daniel, score a fucking goal before you're inevitably a healthy scratch.

#	Name	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	+/-	Birthdate	Age	Birthplace	Hght	Wght
40	Henrik Zetterberg	L	40	16	28	44	16	19	1980-10-09	32	Njurunda, Sweden	5.11	195
13	Pavel Datsyuk	C	35	15	17	32	6	-2	1978-07-20	35	Sverdlovsk, Russia	5.11	194
11	Daniel Alfredsson	R	40	12	20	32	6	5	1972-12-11	40	Gothenburg, Sweden	5.11	200
55	Niklas Kronwall	D	50	6	25	31	36	7	1981-01-12	32	Stockholm, Sweden	6.00	192
93	Johan Franzen	R	31	9	14	23	22	6	1979-12-23	33	Vetlanda, Sweden	6.03	222
21	Tomas Tatar	L	43	12	10	22	8	5	1990-12-01	22	Ilava, Slovakia	5.11	176
8	Justin Abdelkader	L	47	5	14	19	25	8	1987-02-25	26	Muskegon, MI	6.01	212
14	Gustav Nyquist	L	27	9	8	17	6	4	1989-09-01	24	Halmstad, Sweden	5.10	169
2	Brendan Smith	D	42	1	12	13	44	-5	1989-02-08	24	Toronto, ONT	6.02	198
18	Joakim Andersson	C	46	7	6	13	10	-8	1989-02-05	24	Munkedal, Sweden	6.02	198
43	Darren Helm	L	20	7	4	11	4	2	1987-01-21	26	Winnipeg, MAN	5.11	195
44	Todd Bertuzzi	L	44	6	5	11	34	-16	1975-02-02	38	Sudbury, ONT	6.03	225
4	Jakub Kindl	D	47	1	10	11	20	-11	1987-02-10	26	Sumperk, Czech Rep.	6.03	216
65	Danny Dekeyser	D	36	2	8	10	20	1	1990-03-07	23	Clay Township, MI	6.03	190
20	Drew Miller	F	52	5	5	10	21	-6	1984-02-17	29	Dover, NJ	6.02	178
52	Jonathan Ericsson	D	32	1	8	9	28	12	1984-03-02	29	Karlskrona, Sweden	6.04	220
27	Kyle Quincey	D	52	3	6	9	64	-9	1985-08-12	28	Kitchener, ONT	6.02	206
15	Riley Sheahan	C	12	3	5	8	0	3	1991-12-07	21	St. Catharines, ONT	6.02	212
71	Daniel Cleary	L	51	4	4	8	31	-9	1978-12-18	34	Carbonear, NFLD	6.00	203
26	Tomas Jurco	R	13	2	3	5	4	1	1992-12-28	20	Kosice, Slovakia	6.02	193
17	Patrick Eaves	R	21	2	2	4	2	-4	1984-05-01	29	Calgary, ALTA	6.00	191
90	Stephen Weiss	C	26	2	2	4	12	-4	1983-04-03	30	Toronto, ONT	5.11	193
37	Mikael Samuelsson	R	26	1	2	3	6	-4	1976-12-23	36	Mariefred, Sweden	6.02	218
41	Luke Glendening	F	27	0	3	3	6	-6	1989-04-28	24	Grand Rapids, MI	5.11	200
23	Brian Lashoff	D	48	0	3	3	18	-1	1990-07-16	23	Albany, NY	6.03	207
25	Cory Emmerton	L	11	0	2	2	4	-1	1988-06-01	25	St. Thomas, ONT	5.11	183
53	Adam Almquist	D	2	1	0	1	0	-1	1991-02-27	22	Jonkoping, Sweden	5.11	174
22	Jordin Tootoo	R	10	0	1	1	5	-3	1983-02-02	30	Churchill, MAN	5.09	194
47	Alexey Marchenko	D	1	0	0	0	2	2	1992-01-02	21
61	Xavier Ouellet	D	3	0	0	0	0	0	1993-07-29	20	Terrebonne, PQ	6.00	18

Blue Line Patrol Podcast:Episode 14

After a month-long absence due to shoulder injuries concussion-like symptoms sore groins life getting in the way, we're back with a Goosetastic new episode and we try to balance out the good and the bad, the positive and the negative, then excitement and the tears. You know how it goes. Kevin and I talk about the walking wounded Wings, how the call-ups are doing, who's impressing us, and if we think we can actually score some goals. We've also got plenty of Griffins talk when we look at who's hot and who's not this season, what to do with guys like Mitch Callahan (Callyhands) and Landon Ferraro who lose waiver exemption and are UFA's after this season, and what the Frk is going on with Martin Frk.

You may listen to and download the podcast right over here ---> Episode 14

-AND-

We're also on iTunes now, so you can listen, subscribe, and leave us feedback there as well. 

Blue Line Patrol on iTunes

If you'd like to hit us up on Twitter, we can be found here:

Kevin @KevinN37
Michelle @Slapshotg0al  
Blue Line Patrol @BlueLinePatrol 

and you can always e-mail us at Bluelinepatrol@gmail.com

Let's Go Red Wings!!! Let's Go Griffins!!! 

Goal Analysis: Riley Sheahan's First NHL Goal

Riley Sheahan scored his first NHL goal against the Kings last weekend. It's time we break it down (sorry for the delay, I was on vacation then got started watching a TV show on Netflix (not saying which one to avoid spoilers).

Let's check out the goal:



First NHL goals are the best.  Let the breakdown begin!

This play looks pretty simple to start.  The Wings have three players on the rush while the Kings have 2 d-men back and a forward (Richards) coming off the bench.  However, the Wings have Tatar, so yeah, I like where this is going.

Tatar chips the puck into the Kings zone.  They call this a "soft ship" because he wanted the puck to stay in the corner; keeps the goalie from playing it.  Souse executes this to perfection.  The Kings d-man (44) can't hold Tatar too long or get in his way, so our boy speeds past him to the corner and gets the puck.  Here's where the fun starts!

There's a lot going on in this frame.  Let's review the think black lines first.  These relate to which player each Kings player is going to cover.  The d-man our front has Sheahan, Richards has transitioned to get Tatar, and the middle Kings player has shifted to cover Bert.

Now the circle.  Bertuzzi maybe kind of sort of interferes with Richards just a touch.  This could be incidental, but it's Bert.  He knows what he's doing and it creates an opening.  See the next frames:

Even though it was very subtle, Bertuzzi getting in Richards way creates separation for Tatar.  He typically doesn't need much help in doing so, but I'll take it!  Tatar has plenty of room in front of him here and uses it to drive to the net with Sheahan providing a screen.

Lots happening here.  Tatar goes to the net with Richards all over his back (a penalty woul dhave been called here except for...well, yeah). Sheahan and Bertuzzi are creating havoc in front of the net.  But I think my favorite thing here is Dustin Brown.  He can see that Tatar is going to beak Richards to the front of the net.  He stands there.  He could have tried to pressure and help, but nope.  At least he didn't dive.  So, what happens next?

Tatar gets the shot off and now the Wings and Kings each have three players right in front of the net.  The puck is currently right in front of Quick. I'm not sure what it hits but it will slowly move to his glove side.  Thankfully, Sheahan is left-handed (because Red Wings) and it ends up on his backhand for the tap in.

Awesome.  Let's summarize:

• The Wings had a 3 on 3 but Tatar used his speed to force the Kings to change coverage
• Bertuzzi may or may not have got in Richards way on purpose (ahem)
• All the Wings went to the net
• Sheahan did a good job screening and was rewarded with his first goal

That's all for now.  Per usual, feel free to yell at us on the twitter for podcast topics, blog post ideas, or other goals you want me to break down.

Kevin
Michelle
Blue Line Patrol