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The changing face of the Red Wings
The premise Brendan Shanahan's free agent departure from the Red Wings to the New York Rangers is somehow addition by subtraction is ridiculous. At 37, he remains a world-class player. Although he wasn't chosen for the Canadian Olympic team last winter, he should have been. He led the Red Wings in goals with 40 and is headed to the Hall of Fame. While Shanahan has not produced to the expected level in the playoffs, he has, especially this season, been the victim of a Red Wings? roster that has been shockingly unbalanced. Too many centers, not enough wingers. That was especially true following Darren McCarty's departure. Shanahan was about the only player on the roster who could fight, let alone create traffic with his size and strength. His leaving means there is a huge void upfront. The goaltending situation is amazingly unsettled. The Red Wings didn't land any of their real targets after telling Manny Legace he would not be retained. Ed Belfour at this stage is not the answer. It�s difficult now to make the playoffs in the NHL. Teams must be considerably above .500. The race for the final playoff spots are dogfights. Each of the Western Conference's lower seeds upset the higher seeds in the opening round of the playoffs. As they stand, the Red Wings will have trouble making the playoffs next season. Yeah. I think the loss of Shanahan hurt them that badly. It is not so much his effectiveness as a player they'll miss, but his style. He was essentially it when it came to a true power forward. There are no such players available in free agency. The only way the Red Wings can replace Shanahan is for Ken Holland to make a trade. And it would cost the Red Wings a really good player or two to make that deal. Holland just doesn't make those kind of trades. If he continues on that path, though, it will not only be his downfall, but that of the franchise as we've known it.
Random Thoughts
- The home run contest at baseball's All Star Game has lost its luster in much the same manner the NBA's slam dunk contest faded in popularity. It was a refreshing gimmick for awhile, but it has become stale. Having so many big-name sluggers pass on the event has badly hurt it.
- A prediction: By the end of the season, Jeremy Bonderman will be the Tigers team leader in both wins and ERA and will merit Cy Young Award consideration.
- I did enjoy the World Cup soccer far more than in the past. But I strongly believe ending the championship game in a shootout is idiotic. Why not let them play forever in overtime with so much at stake? Sudden death would have only added to the drama and resulted in a more genuine champion.
- Are soccer players the most unsportsman-like of all athletes?. It was incredible how many dirty plays and cheap shots were taken during the World Cup. And not by goons, either, but by some of the truly elite players.
posted by Pat Caputo at
3:14 AM
8 Comments:
Hey Pat,
I'm not a big hockey guy, so I don't have a lot to say on your main article, but i do want to comment on your other points.
I agree with you on bonderman. He has always been good, picking up the wins and strikeouts, but it just never seemed his era was down where it should be over the last couple years. This year, it looks like he's finally getting that era where it should be, and he looks fantastic. Looking at his stats, couple things jump out. He is walking a lot fewer, his ground ball/fly ball ratio is over 2 as opposed to his career avg of 1.5. On the same line as G/F, he is giving up significantly fewer homers. looking forward to a great second half by bondo.
soccer. I'm not a big soccer guy, but a combination of a couple of friends who are, as well as listening to valenti a lot has me watching it. Honestly, I really liked it, I doubt I'll follow soccer until the next world cup, but I found this years very entertaining. that being said, ending that match in a shootout was absolute BS. It's like a freakin coin flip to determine the biggest sports prize in the world. I love hockey shootouts, because it really is 1 on 1 contest, but this soccer Penalty kick garbage is total luck, the goal keeper has almost no chance. That BS ending aside, great match, great world cup. Watching the game, despite the low score, you could really see the ebb and flow of the game and the momentum changes. If you give it a chance, soccer is pretty good to watch.
One final point on USA soccer. We can not expect to win when our best are in MLS or whatever. To be the best we need to compete in the european leagues against the greatest between world cups, i think this is pretty evident.
Nick P,
Join the club, Nick, I don't think there are quite as many hockey fans as there used to be these days after the labor stoppage and the Wings early ouster from the playoffs. It's too bad because hockey is probably my favorite sport...On Bonderman, he has the best slider in the American League and probably baseball. He commands it, it has big break and he throws that thing in the high 80s. It looks like a fastball to hitters and freaks them out. He has a good fastball, too. In the mid 90s with explosion at the end. His changeup is spotty. Sometimes he's thrown a forkball instead. His problem with getting his ERA lower has been two things: 1) avoiding a big first inning. I haven't looked up the numbers, but if he struggles, it tends to be in the opening inning. 2) He's been much better at this in 2006, but he hasn't avoided big innings in the past. Once he gets in a jam, he struggles to get out of it. He's had a lot of games in his career where he's pitched six or seven innings and all excellent except for one inning where he gave up four-five-or-six runs. On soccer...I'm starting to get it. I enjoyed the World Cup. Not the USA team because they lacked spark, but the other teams - Italy, Brazil and France in particular - because they had charismatic figures that actually made soccer exciting and interesting to watch.
caputo
Come on pat...Soccer players dirty? They swap jerseys after the game is done out of respect! They also swap banners from the country as a sign of good faith and honor to eachother...Rooney made a big mistake and that was only trumped by Zidane's moronic headbutt. However, saying that the players are dirty when you see what goes on during football games, basketball games and hockey games is a little slighted if you ask me. I think that ATHLETES get in the heat of the moment and things happen. You could be a volleyball player to a sprinter and sometimes idiots do idiotic things.
You know I love Soccer and I will miss the World Cup very much. However the build for the 2010 cup already has me a little excited.
Till then...GO BLUE or GO HOME!
Jason,
Did you see the head butt that Zadane (sp?) did on that player from Italy. He got kicked out of the game in OT of the title game. And he's their best scorer and one of the best players in the world. It was his much-celebrated last game. Remember what that player from Italy did to McBride (sp?), the American? He bloodied his face with a vicious elbow. How about that guy from England who was kicked out of the tournament for stomping on somebody's groin. It was a move that would have made Marcus Vick proud. These guys make hockey players seems like choir boys when it comes to chippy play.
caputo
Yeah...Zinane's head butt was brutal, along with the "people's elbow" that got dropped on Hamilton's face. However, what makes that different than a fist fight in an hockey game? Or Reggie Evans (your boy lol) grabbing Kamen's "you know what" in the playoffs...I guess my post might have came off like soccer is not as viscious as the other sports...but in reality I guess they are all about equal...Would you really put Soccer above football or Hockey? You know what kind of shananagains goes on at the bottom of those piles...especially at the college level.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Getting back to the hockey.... While I was disappointed Shanahan left, I don't think the Wings will have trouble making the playoffs just because of it. They still have Datsyuk, Hank, Samuelsson, Holmstrom, etc, and some good players that can come up from GR and hopefully produce some goals(Hudler and etc). And with any luck Ken Holland will wake up soon and sign the only two good available wingers - Anson Carter and Sergei Samsanov. Both unsigned and both unrestriced free agents who the Wings can easily afford. Why they haven't been signed I do not know. They may not be perfect replacements for Shanny, and no one can replace Stevie. But, Samsonov had 23 goals and 30 assists in 05-06 (plus 15 points in the playoffs), while Carter had 33 goals and 22 assists. That's 108 regular season points between the two. Not quite as many as Shanny and Yzerman, and even less when you consider Yzerman missed some games, but it would have been enough to get the Wings into the playoffs. Probably not enough to win the presidents trophy, but we all know that isn't the real prize, or an indication of which team has the best chance to win it all. I'm not sure if Carter of Samsonov have the "grit" Detroit needs, but they are big enough to throw some hits, and I do believe Carter can fight.
good points...I do like those two players. Both are skilled. Carter does have some grit, but is not a fighter per say. Most people agree with you - that I have overstated my case about the Red Wings possibly not making the playoffs. I just think this team needs a change, that it has to make some moves. There are still some excellent parts in Lidstrom, Zetterberg, Schneider, etc. But that Holland stands too pat and is too unwilling to make trades.
caputo
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