A Brief Redwing77 Season Review for the Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings won 62 games in a single season (1995-96) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Well, our season is over.  We lost in 7 games to Chicago in the second round of the playoffs.

To be brutally honest (and probably not the most ardent of Red Wings fan), I'm elated they went that far.  Let's face it:  Did ANYONE think the Wings would take the Hawks (who won the Presidents' Trophy this year) to the brink of elimination?

This gets me in trouble all the time with how I see things with UND as well but... yeah, the Wings aren't going to hoist the Cup... but I think this season was an overwhelming success looking back on the issues the Wings had to overcome this year.  Babcock is truly a great coach. 

I thought that, defensively, the Red Wings weren't exactly a force to be reckoned with.  I really questioned depth all around at times this shortened season.  I also wonder if the season had been a full one, if the Red Wings would have even made the playoffs.

I still think that Datsyuk is one of the best players in the NHL.  I'm probably alone in this comparison but... I see a lot of Vladimir Konstantinov (who is probably my favorite Red Wing believe it or not) in Niklas Kronwall.  And it sucks to have the dagger that ended the season go off his skate and into the net.

I think Jimmy Howard has REALLY stepped up.  Goaltending was a huge concern of mine thanks to a lot of awfulness in the final years of Chris Osgood's career.

The Wings are YOUNG and they aren't as flashy as the young players on the Hawks (as an example).  However I think that, if they continue to progress and Babcock remains as effective as he has been, the Wings will be a force to be reckoned with.

And the best news is that the media won't know where they came from.  They'll be too busy fawning over the Penguins.

I know this is brief and kindof general but life's been hellish for me and I wasn't able to watch as many games as I would have wanted this year.

Go Wings and let's see a great draft and offseason!

I hope whoever wins, be it the Kings or the Hawks, hoist the Cup.

Detroit's Joakim Andersson scores a knucklepuck goal

I was beginning to think we were watching Mighty Ducks. What next? The flying v... Detroit Red Wing forward Joakim Andersson scores a knucklepuck goal and Chicago Blackhawks goalie Cory Crawford didn't have a chance on the goal.

(Video) Corey Perry Goalie interference on Jimmy Howard

This could have been a very dangerous play, which could have had a bad end result as Anaheim Ducks forward Corey Perry's skate was very close to the head area of Detroit Redwings goalie Jimmy Howard. Obviously, it wasn't what I would call a deliberate or a dirty play, it was just a dangerous play. Perry was doing what all good forwards do, he was going hard to the net. Goalies are in a dangerous field. Thank God we didn't have another Clint Malarchuk injury on our hands.

Detroit Red Wings sign G Ty Conklin

Image via WikipediaYesterday Redwing77 said this.

It's no surprise that Detroit wants to sign another goaltender to backup Howard and MacDonald. I'd love to see someone signed who can compete with MacDonald for the #2 spot. MacCollom isn't ready yet.

Here are a few goaltenders I'd love to see Detroit look at (all UFAs):
Ty Conklin
Brent Krahn
Pascal Leclaire
Justin Pogge
Hannu Toivonen

Looks like Redwing77 got his wish as his favorite team the Detroit Redwings signed former UNH star Ty Conklin to a one year deal. Personally, I think that Conklin is a serviceable backup that can step in and play valuable minutes when the starter needs a break or suffers an injury.

DETROIT - The Detroit Red Wings have signed goaltender Ty Conklin to a one-year contract.

The move Wednesday comes a day after veteran Chris Osgood announced his retirement, leaving the Red Wings needing a backup for starting goalie Jimmy Howard.

Conklin started 20 games for the St. Louis Blues last season, going 8-8-4 with a 3.22 goals-against average.

The 35-year-old Conklin has played eight seasons in the NHL with Edmonton, Columbus, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Detroit and St. Louis. He was with the Red Wings in 2008-09, going 25-11-2 with a 2.51 GAA.

Related articles

• Detroit Red Wings Offseason Notes (Redwing77) (mvn.com)
• NHL Free Agent Rumors: When Will Ty Conklin Be a Detroit Red Wing Again? (bleacherreport.com)
• Report: Red Wings stick with nostalgic backup plan, look primed to sign Ty Conklin (prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com)

2010-2011 Detroit Redwings Season Reflection (REDWING77)

Check out 1:08 and the last 40 seconds of this film. Incredible. Datsyuk is good.


What a Year

We had our ups and downs or lefts and rights, so to speak, but our year has come to an end thanks to an incredible Game 7 performance by the San Jose Sharks. Interesting, to me, that the goaltender that did us in was the same goaltender that last year was cast aside as being a nice story but will be the soft spot that will eventually sink the Hawks. I wonder how Philly is feeling knowing that they could've gotten Niemi if they wanted him. To be honest, I'm not even sure they tried.

What a Career

It's largely anticipated, if it hasn't already been announced, that Mike Modano will retire from hockey. This is a guy who has been incredible for pretty much his entire career. He put the US on the map when it comes to all time hockey greats. Sure, he's no Gretzky or Howe. However, until Modano came along, we were always the "Feel good" story to hockey. The "little brother God bless him" of hockey. It's true that Canada still dominates the hockey world and the hockey legend arena, and will probably do so for eternity to come, but it's nice to be in the mix.

I wish him the best and I thank him for being a team player his final year after being such a pivotal part of the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars organization.

Oh, and by the way, this was the guy who wanted to end his career in Minnesota. He wanted to sign with Minnesota after the lockout and Risebrough balked saying that Modano's game "wasn't compatible with the Wild system of hockey." It's not often that someone who is a surefire, first ballot Hall of Famer isn't described as a sure fire fit, even if the Hall of Famer to be is in the twilight of his career. That's ok. The Wild are great offensiv... ahm... Moving on...

I'd also say that Chris Osgood's career, at least as a Red Wing, is over. Or it should be. Can't imagine wanting to pay Osgood to be a backup when you had pretty good backup goaltending in Joey MacDonald and a potential NHL prospect in McCollum in the wings.

My Awards:

Unsung Hero: Nicklas Kronwall -> It's hard to call any Red Wing unsung. I wanted to put Franzen here, but how is he unsung? Kronwall is one of the best open ice hitters in the game and he can contribute in both the offensive and defensive zones. Maybe Jimmy Howard belongs here.

Most Improved Player: Abdelkader - The guy didn't impress me at all his rookie season. He did ok this year. Not top line good, but certainly much better at what he was asked to do.

Best Overall Player: Nicklas Lidstrom -> He's 41. He's better than most D half his age. And Chelious may have played longer but only Lidstrom has been effective almost his entire career.

Best 2 way forward: Pavel Datsyuk -> Need I explain this? Oh, and by the way, I wonder what GMs who drafted players before Datsyuk (he went in the 6th round) thought of him before he was drafted. It's not hard to imagine what they think of him now.

MVP: Datsyuk again. The guy is arguably top 5 among active players in terms of overall value to his team. I wonder what kind of frenzy would occur if he hit the free agent market?