Cleary

Dan Cleary has almost single-handily planted a label within the Detroit Red Wings organization that is thrown around quite often. A label that has ground to stand on with former Wings like Kris Draper and Mikael Samuelsson. The "Always able to get the most out of a Project-Player" label.

Cleary was the 13th Overall pick in the 1997 Draft and was highly regarded upon entering the league. Unfortunetely, for teams like the Oilers and Blackhawks, they were never able to get the most out of the quickly slipping Newfoundlander. Then Ken Holland came calling. After a quiet first season Cleary broke out, potting 20 Goals and 40 Points and making his doubters pay close attention.

Dan Cleary's 2011-12 Stats:

GP • 42

 G • 10

 A • 9

 P • 19

My Pre-Season Predictions:

GP • 70

G • 25

A • 20
P • 45

I think it's fair to say I was a bit optimistic after Cleary had a career year last season. He started off the year extremely slow which may have been due to the always mysterious "Upper-Body Injury" (Correct me if I'm wrong, I believe it was Broken Ribs.) and even though he played through the pain, he looked like he was playing through the pain. Cleary started as a top 6 forward and quickly slipped down the ranks to his current but not cemented 3rd line role. 

I believe Cleary is more fitted for this role and, outside of injuries, I hope he sticks to the grinding and defensive game he is known for. He does have a knack for the net and scores the occasional timely goal, but outside of good puck protection on the boards, he doesn't have the puck-possession and offensive smarts that a true top 6 forward should have at this stage in his career.

I love his "Give it All, Leave Nothing on the Ice" game and Cleary elevates himself during the playoffs. He has become an "All-Situations" player and can fill roles in the PK and the PP if needed. Dan Cleary is our swiss army knife and we are glad to have him in the Red and White.

I missed this game due to my graduation date conveniently landing on the same night. Fortunately I was able to sneak away with my Dad and listen to it in his Michigan-made Van while everyone else was enjoying there graduation and families. Listening to Cleary score over the radio was something else, and as much as I would have enjoyed seeing this happen, visualizing this as it broke out as well as the evening in general left this as one of my top memories as a Red Wing fan.

Here is a list of past Predictions&Portraits:

White

Helm

Howard

Filppula
Zetterberg
Lidstrom
Kronwall
Ericsson
Datsyuk
Holmstrom
Hudler
Franzen
Bertuzzi
Player Predictions (No portraits, yet!)
Red Wings Season Prediction

Ian White

“Who is our second-best player? Ian White.” Why? “Because he’s Nick Lidstrom’s partner.” - Red Wings Players quoted by Elliotte Friedman

Ian White wasn't the most sought after defenseman last summer, with guys like Ehrhoff and Wisniewski on the market. I would argue he has been the most rewarding though. After being thrown around the league like Sean Avery's sloppy seconds Ian White signed a 2 year deal with our beloved Red Wings. It's a move that, to date, has proved to be rewarding.


Here is a look at Ian White's current stats:

GP • 37
G • 5
A • 15
P • 20

And for comparisons sake, here are my season predictions: 

GP • 82
G • 8
A • 30
P • 38

White has been nothing short of fantastic to start the year, already tying his totals from last year. Deemed a "Rafalski Replacemnt" by many (I was not one as I was convinced Kronwall would fill that void and other guys would step up below) a lot of people were doubting the signing by the Wings. He may not be the offensive dynamo Rafalski was, but White has given a smooth transition in light of Raffy's his retirement. Ian White makes up for Rafalski's high-end offensive game with extremely solid two-way play.


White is prone to making a few occasional defensive gaffs and the same can be said in the offensive zone when, at times, he wants to do a bit too much with the puck. Overall, the mistakes are few and far between and his positives outweigh his minor negatives sevenfold.


Ian White is near the top of league in terms of bang for your buck when comparing to the rest of the off-seasons Free Agent signings and could be argued as the best. It makes the Eric$$on signing a bit easier to swallow.


Oh, and he has the ability to stop goals with his face.

Here is a list of past Predictions&Portraits:

Helm

Howard

Filppula
Zetterberg
Lidstrom
Kronwall
Ericsson
Datsyuk
Holmstrom
Hudler
Franzen
Bertuzzi
Player Predictions (No portraits, yet!)
Red Wings Season Prediction

Mid-Season Grades

We are officially at the half point in the season, 41 games, and sitting tied atop the Central division in a tight race between St.Louis and Chicago. We still have a large amount of cap space to work with at the deadline, but with a team sitting near the top of the league the only question to ask is "Do we really need to add at the cost of our future?"

Here's a look at our mid-season grades.

Pavel Datsyuk - A - Datsyuk started a bit slow but has been nothing short of spectacular since. We expect nothing less.


Henrik Zetterberg - B - Hasn't put up the kind of numbers and at times looks slower than molasses but he is starting to get up there in the point column which is good to see. He is still contributing and will have a few games where he looks like one of our top two forwards again.


Johan Franzen - B+ - The stats are there, he is on pace for a career high. Franzenstein still loafs on occasion and is more a by-product of Datsyuk than the driving force behind his career high pace.


Valtteri Filppula - A - He looks dynamic. At this point in the season I would say he has been our second best forward. Always back checking and making smart decisions and the points are finally coming around for Flip.


Todd Bertuzzi - C+ - Sometimes he drives the net and makes things happen, sometimes he kills the play in the corner. Sometimes he stands up for his teammates, sometimes he takes another holding penalty. He's a serviceable forward though.


Jiri Hudler - B+ - I've been pleasantly surprised with Hudler's play this season. He seems to be competing relatively hard and has enjoyed a nice streak of 18 points in his last 20 games. Hudler is still having a hard time getting out of Babcock's doghouse though.


Dan Cleary - C+ - He has made a few errors in D-zone coverage that have immediately caused goals against. It's a bit frustrating because he is suppose to be better in his own zone. He also started off slow but has picked it up as the season has gone on.


Darren Helm - B - Hes been okay. The points aren't there but he isn't looked upon for points. He is turning into an elite PKer though.


Justin Abdelkader - C - I haven't seen much from him to get excited. He is pretty much invisible night in and night out. Don't love him, don't hate him.


Drew Miller - B+ - I was hoping the Wings would let him walk at the end of last season. He has proven me wrong and has firmly planted himself as a mainstay in the lineup. High compete level and occasionally shows some offensive instincts.

Tomas Holmstrom - C - Looks good on the Power Play usually. This will probably be Homer's last year and he looks beat from time to time.


Cory Emmerton - D - I'm just not a huge fan. He fills a spot but shows less than Abby and with youngsters behind him chomping at the bit to get in as well as the eventual return of Eaves, I wouldn't be surprised to lose Cory to Waivers or be a minor piece in a trade.


Nicklas Lidstrom - B+ - He is declining, which I hate to admit. He actually has had himself a few bad games which is unheard of. But still, for the most part, he's been the consistent TPH we have grown to admire.


Ian White - A - What a fantastic (and cheap!) pickup this guy was. It helps to play alongside Nick, but he has looked very steady and has a terrific two-way game.


Nicklas Kronwall - B+ - I'll admit I expected a bit of an increase in offensive production but he has really rounded out his game. He's also started playing safe during the regular season, which is probably due to his past of injuries, that allows him to step up big time in the Playoffs.


Brad Stuart - B - He's Stuart. Gives you what you expect from him on a nightly basis. Rarely makes any errors but isn't as offensively gifted as most of our Dmen. Lots of grit.


Jonathon Eric$$on - C - He still makes obvious bad decisions. Not sure if it's less than we are use to or not...


Jakub Kindl - B - The kid has been good more often then not but now has to earn his ice time with the emergence of Commodore. The potential to be a top 4 Dman is there.


Mike Commodore - C - Very steady. Sticks up for teammates and doesn't take crap in front of the net. Everything we expected from him. Hopefully he starts seeing a bit more ice time as the season wears on just to get his hockey legs back.


Jimmy Howard - A+ - The past 2 games he has slipped but what can you expect with the amount of ice time Babcock was handing out. Has emerged as a top 5 goaltender this season. Hopefully he keeps it up.


Ty Conklin - D - Really struggled early. Hardly played which forced Babcock into playing Howard so much. He did look good against Chicago the other night though, hopefully thats a positive sign. Still doesn't see the puck well and looses rebounds way too often for an NHL goalie.


The Coaching Staff - A - This team is back to where the should be after a couple of seasons of lackluster defensive play and an offensive game that tried to balance that out. Our 5 on 5 play is amongst the best in the league and we rank in the top 5-10 in every major statistical category outside of the PK.

Awards!

First half MVP:

Biggest Surprise:

Biggest Dissapointment:

No Picture:

Ty Conklin

Let's hope for an even better second half and correct those pesky Road woes. We've planted ourselves once again amongst the Elite.

#VOTEJIMMAH

Jimmy Howard

Coming into the season I had this feeling Howard was really going to struggle. During preseason he was loosing the puck, not controlling his rebounds, and seemed to be unfocused. Then the season began...

Howard has easily changed my thoughts on him this season. I've always been a big doubter but I can assure you I fully believe Jimmy Howard is not only a capable NHL starting goaltender, but among the top 15. 

Goalies seem to be rather inconsistent, sometimes having remarkable seasons and coming back down to earth or even getting lost in obscurity. This is something I can't see happening to Jimmy. He has refined his approach to the position, making himself look huge, playing the puck carrier aggressively and always being squared up. His athleticism seems to have improved as he is making some extremely tough saves which rely on elite reflexes and all this combined has put him into the discussion of top 5 goalies for this young season.

Here is what I predicted for Jimmah:

65 GP
35 W
3 SO  
2.69 GAA
.908 SV% 

Here are his stats to date:

24 GP
17 W
3 SO  
1.85 GAA
.931 SV% 

It's very noticeable my expectations were low. Apparently so were the NHL's. 

Let me get this out of the way first, I really do not enjoy anything about the all-star game. It's a boring "game" nobody wants to play hard in at the risk of injury. There is nothing that even remotely resembles defense and Bettman likes to throw the suspension card around if you plan on not attending. It's ugly, it's not enjoyable, and the fan voting is outrageous. 

That said, the NHL gets to pick which players go on the ballot and if that player isn't on it you have to write them in thus making there chances of making it remote.

Howard was left off the ballot, which at the beginning of the season might have been understandable. But as the season has gone on, Howard has proven himself, only to be left off for 18 other starting goalies. 18! There are only 30 starting goalies in the league... Goalies like Halak and Reimer were put on and a goaltender amongst the best statistically was left off. 

For these reasons, if you are frequent reader of Red Wings material, I'm sure you have seen the motion going around of #VOTEJIMMAH. Go to the NHL All-Star voting page and write-in the home-grown talent.

Spread the word and do your part!

Here is a list of the past Predictions&Portraits:

Filppula
Zetterberg
Lidstrom
Kronwall
Ericsson
Datsyuk
Holmstrom
Hudler
Franzen
Bertuzzi
Player Predictions (No portraits, yet!)
Red Wings Season Prediction 

 

Protection of Goaltenders

The big debate around the league right now is the "Protection of Goaltenders". This all started earlier this week when Milan Lucic of the Boston Bruins barrelled in on Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabres. In case you missed it, here is the video.

Now, Lucic managed to get himself a 2 minute penalty out of this ordeal, but it also spurred a meeting with the one and only Brendan Shanahan. Lucic managed to get off relatively scotch free, avoiding any suspension while using the "incidental contact" argument to his advantage.

Want to know my opinion? Shove it up your ass, Lucic. You could have avoided contact, and if you had to bump into Miller, which I fully believe you didn't, you could have done so without extending your arms through the "Incidental Contact". Because who does that?

I'm seeing these experts calling for goaltenders to be fair game. Seriously?

Now I understand there is a level of risk involved with coming out and playing the puck. That risk shouldn't be, by any stretch of the imagination, bracing yourself for a big hit. This risk should be mis-playing the puck or getting pressured into a bad decision by a forechecker. Possibly slipping because what you are wearing on your legs aren't some form fitting shin pads, they are gigantic cushions.

Let's break this down, from an equipment perspective:

Goalie Skates - Goalie skates have extremely long blades, the longer the blade, the tougher it is to make sharp turns like you would wearing a nice pair of player skates. They are also covered with a big chunk of plastic for protection. Not ideal for quickly avoiding "Incidental Contact".


Goalie Pads - I'm not sure I really need to go over the obvious, but if you think these will help a goalie maneuver through traffic while avoiding getting leveled... well you might want to stop reading now as this is a waste of your time. The are also much heavier than you may think.

Gloves - A goalie doesn't have the ability to fully grab his stick while making a play. This makes playing the puck risky, as accidents will, and do, happen. They also make bracing your body for impact tough as you don't have your fingers free to grab and hold.

Stick - It's fat, clunky, and made to help stop the puck, not a 220 pound power-forward.

Helmet - The helmet is by far my biggest issue with the equipment side of things. Goalie helmets aren't strapped in like a player helmet is. You don't click the chinstrap into place, making it hard to pop off when you're hit. I've had it happen to me several times, and it happens in the NHL without goalies being fair game already, but goalie helmets do pop off. They aren't secured like a player helmet is. If a goalie were to be fair game, anytime they would get hit, the chance of there helmet popping off is at least 50%. And if it was me, I would help my helmet come off because the play has to be blown dead when a goalies helmet is not resting on there head.

Equipment aside, do you really want to see goalies getting injured when there is only maybe 20-25 legitimate starters in the league as is?

I'm really frustrated with the amount of people that truly believe a goalie should be fair game. Goalies aren't built or trained to brace for hits. The job is already punishing enough with 100mph slapshots flying there way, and players cutting through the crease making life difficult. Players stopping, spraying snow in there face, and the numerous minor hacks and slashes they get while covering the puck. Bodies flying on top of them during scrums.

The people that do want to see goalies become fair game are just frustrated when a goalie makes a play preventing there team of an offensive chance. Is it really worth upping the risk for maybe 10-15 more goals, league-wide, on the season? Because let me tell you, the amount of injuries, even if it's just one elite netminder, will out weigh the goals for.

End the debate. Goalies should be protected by the league.

Vezina Prediction

Growing up as a goaltender, the Vezina Trophy has always been something I have idolized. Seeing Brodeur and Hasek essentially dominate the voting, winning the majority of the trophies while I was growing up. There wasn't much competition with the legends that were playing the game at the time.

I have also always had my own opinions on certain goalies.

I hated, absolutely hated Dominik Hasek. That "style" where he would throw his body around, rolling across the ice, dropping his stick to retrieve the puck, it all rubbed me the wrong way. I grew up loving the CuJo's, Vanbiesbrouck's, Roy's, Belfour's, and yes, the Brodeur's. One thing I can't knock though is the stats Hasek was able to put up. He clearly deserved the numerous Vezina's he won and found a style that worked for him.

That's one thing you notice while looking at the list of consistent Vezina winners. Style. From Tim Thomas's extremely aggressive, athletic approach, to Patrick Roy's re-invention of the position into what is now known as the Butterfly. You really don't see many goalies winning the trophy if they don't have something that lets them stand out from the pack. Although it does occasionally happen with guys like Ryan Miller and Miikka Kiprusoff, whom are goalies of a modern build, relying on the butterfly and fast reflex's. I'm a fan of both goalies, I just don't see them winning several Vezinas like The Dominator or Martin Brodeur would

An important item to take into account while looking at goalies whom have the potential to win the Vezina is team defense. Usually the goalie that wins the trophy has a really solid system in front of them. The Devils relied on there "Trap" for many years. Teams like Boston, Nashville, Montreal, and Phoenix have all been known to rely on stifling defensive zone coverage. I see a lot of teams collapsing in the slot preventing high-scoring chances and this all helps the goalie in obtaining high-end stats.

That said, my prediction for the Vezina for the 2011-12 season is:

Pekka Rinne

Rinne has the pleasure of being behind possibly the best defensive scheme in the Western Conference. Enjoying a Norris caliber player in Shea Weber and a steady-as-a-rock Ryan Suter. Both guys 29 other teams would salivate at the opportunity to acquire. The Preds also have a plethora of defensive minded forwards and a seemingly endless prospect pool of high-end defenseman.

As for Pekka Rinne? Being in the same division as Rinne we go up against his game quite often. He plays to the size of his 6'5'' frame. Coming from that new school, drop down and protect the bottom of the net while relying on speed and reflex realm of goaltending. He is a game changer and he is consistent. It will be interesting to see how Nashville handles the Free Agency of Weber and Suter after agreeing to a 7 year, 7 million per, contract signing by the young franchise goaltender.

Prediction:

GP - 60
W - 32

GAA - 2.08

SV% - .931

SO - 8

Outside of someone pulling off a Tim Thomas like record breaking season I think Rinne should land the trophy with similar numbers to last season. He was recognized by the voters as one of the final three finalists for the Vezina during 2010 which is half the battle.

Honorable Mentions:

Tim Thomas - Someone who I'm still on the fence with. I love his style of play, his passion for the game, and the fact that he is a Michigan native. I don't like his age and that potential starter waiting in the wings with Rask. That said, if he stays healthy, I wouldn't be surprised if he puts together another top notch season.

Roberto Luongo - Everyone loves to hate Luongo. I can't blame them, either. He has a knack for falling apart in pressure situations but I really do believe he is a top 10 goalie. He also gets to enjoy a great team in front of him helping to lift some of that pressure.

Ryan Miller - With the overhaul Pegula has put in place for the Buffalo Sabres, I believe Ryan Miller will once again be near the top of the conversation for the Vezina. Keep an eye on him, if he can once again produce great numbers Miller will definitely get into the minds of voters. It's hard to forget that performance for team USA once upon a time.