Abel to Yzerman

Watching The Wings Tonight

by Paul on 05/08/21 at 12:03 PM ET
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If I hear back from them, I will let you know.

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Videos- Wrapping Up A Win In Columbus

by Paul on 05/08/21 at 05:25 AM ET
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from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Anyone who was wondering how seriously the Wings were taking these final two games, got their answer the second half of the game.

Instead of calling it a night, the Wings scored five unanswered goals.

"This group has been a group that's fought and competed and worked on a daily basis," coach Jeff Blashill said. "That showed tonight. Listen, we know we're playing two games and at the end of the day there's not a lot on the line.

"But I've talked about the importance of every NHL game and our guys understand that. They way they played, they didn't fold or quit, but kept grinding and we grounded our way back into the lead and did a good job in the third (period) of finding a way to win the hockey game.

"I like our group. I've said it a lot this year, there's a lot of character in the room."

more

from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

Joe Veleno showed what he can do with the puck, and Jakub Vrana continued to make Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman look smart.

Vrana set up Veleno for his first NHL goal Friday at Nationwide Arena and then scored one of his own as the Wings played the first of back-to-back games against the Columbus Blue Jackets to wrap up their season.

The Wings rallied from a two-goal deficit to win, 5-2.

"It was a great second period," Veleno said. "We didn’t have the greatest of starts but we found a way to bear down and put it in the back of the net. It was a good effort from all the guys on the team."

continued

Below watch Joe Veleno's post game, on ice interview, Mickey Redmond and the extended game highlights

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Videos- Post Game Talk After A 5-2 Detroit Win In Columbus

by Paul on 05/07/21 at 10:18 PM ET
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First up we have Joe Veleno and Jeff Blashill, below are the game highlights.

 

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Quick Recap- Detroit/Columbus

by Paul on 05/07/21 at 09:22 PM ET
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Columbus lead the game 2-0 and it looked like one of those games where Detroit competes but can't score.

3:02 changed all that when the Wings went on a scoring rampage with 3 goals.

After 40 minutes the Wings were up 3-2.

Detroit added two empty net goals in the 3rd and the Wings win 5-2

Goals are below.

Team Stats

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A Lose, Lose

by Kate from PA now in SC-made in Detroit on 05/07/21 at 06:30 PM ET
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Do the Wings end the season with a couple of wins? Will they lose the last two games for possible better draft position? We all know the draft is always a gamble.

There are 19 Wingaholics anxiously awaiting the outcome of these last two games, which we all know could end up being a lose, lose for the Wings.

 We’ll soon find out...

It’s a Live Blog!

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Adam Erne And Michael Rasmussen Have Shown Much Improvement

by Paul on 05/07/21 at 12:55 PM ET
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from Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News,

Anyone who would have wagered that Erne would be leading the Red Wings in goals when this season ended is likely a very, very rich person today.

But given a larger opportunity — not necessarily just personal improvement — as the season progressed, Erne flourished with it.

“If you asked him, it’s more about getting more opportunity and he’s done a good job with it,” Blashill said. “With him, it’s getting more opportunity and he’s capitalized with the opportunity.”

Erne, 26, was a 2013 second-round draft pick of Tampa Bay, so there was always potential of being a good offensive player.

But his best season in three years in Tampa was a seven-goal season, before being traded to the Wings in one of general manager Steve Yzerman’s first moves in the summer of 2019.

Erne only had two goals and three assists last season with the Wings, but he heads into this final weekend with a career high in goals (11) and having tied a career high with 20 points.

As for Rasmussen, it is a case of a young player putting in the work during the long offseason and improving on the ice.

“From a year ago, and you include the summer as part of it, he’s clearly a better skater, clearly playing with more confidence and clearly a better defensive player,” Blashill said. “He’s come one of the furthest in terms of development.”

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Reasons To Play

by Paul on 05/07/21 at 08:34 AM ET
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from Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press,

...here are the Wings, two games from season’s end – they finish with consecutive games in Columbus this weekend – pushing themselves all over the ice as if there were something for which to play.

Actually, there is. 

Don’t forget this. 

Whether contracts or momentum or pride or love of the game, this group is fighting. Again, Blashill deserves some credit for this. 

It wouldn’t be a stretch for Yzerman to extend Blashill’s contract another season or two. It’s not like the Wings are going to compete for the Cup anytime soon anyway. And as long as the team keeps improving, and as long as the young players keep developing, why not?

Familiarity can be helpful during a rebuild. So can a fresh voice in the locker room. Which is why it wouldn’t be stunning if Blashill is gone, either. 

No matter Yzerman’s choice, he obviously thinks a lot of his coach. He wouldn’t have kept him around the past two seasons if he didn’t.

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Video- Jeff Blashill Today

by Paul on 05/06/21 at 12:23 PM ET
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20 1/2 minutes of Jeff Blashill after practice, turn your volume up.

There were no reports by the media from pracice.

 

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Pros And Cons For Keeping Jeff Blashill

by Paul on 05/06/21 at 09:05 AM ET
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from Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press,

While there have been routs here and there, the Wings, on the whole, have worked hard under Blashill. There has never been chaos in the locker room. His players respect him. From all appearances, he has a good relationship with Yzerman.

There’s also the fact that Blashill doesn’t command the higher-end salary of more experienced coaches, and that’s not an insignificant factor at a time the coronavirus pandemic has left teams scrounging for revenue.

Lastly, there’s this: If Yzerman didn’t think Blashill was doing a good job developing the players who are key to the rebuild — Larkin, Bertuzzi, Michael Rasmussen, Filip Zadina, to name a few — there’s no way Yzerman would have kept Blashill behind the bench.

Missing the playoffs five straight seasons would cost many a coach his job, but nothing in Yzerman’s history indicates he’ll make a change just to make a change. It comes down to whether Yzerman thinks Blashill is the right guy to continue coaching the rebuild. The Wings don’t project to be a playoff team next season — not even with Moritz Seider on defense and Joe Veleno joining the youth movement up front. They should be better than this season’s team, though, the way this season’s team was better than last season’s.

Yzerman isn’t yet at a point where he’s looking to hire the guy he thinks can coach the Wings towards Stanley Cup-contender status. His old linemate and longtime buddy, Gerard Gallant, has been available for more than a year, and Yzerman hasn’t bit. Is there an in-between coach Yzerman has in mind? We should know shortly.

more ($$$)

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Jeff Blashill Deserves To Return

by Paul on 05/05/21 at 09:02 PM ET
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from Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News,

When the Red Wings were threatening new lows a few weeks ago, dropping the occasional 7-1 stinker, the coaching verdict seemed clear. Progress was minimal, and with Jeff Blashill’s contract expiring after his sixth season, change was needed.

And then some things did change. The Wings’ defense tightened and their young players competed harder and they even beat Tampa Bay three times. The Wings don’t have the worst record in the NHL — sixth-worst at 18-27-9, for the record — and with two games remaining, it’s time to ask: Have they improved enough to buy Blashill another year?

By a slim margin, I’d say yes. Not a full-throated endorsement but an acknowledgement he’s faced challenges beyond the massive rebuild, and on most nights, the Wings are competitive. Steve Yzerman hasn’t indicated anything, other than to say he’ll sit down with Blashill “very quickly” after the season, which means a resolution could come soon after the Saturday finale in Columbus.

Yzerman doesn’t make decisions based on loyalty or sentiment, and doesn’t make mandates or threats. He also doesn’t veer suddenly from a charted plan, and in two years as GM here, he has pleaded for patience.

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