“Ach, Ya” or “Nitcht-Nitcht” - Red Wings edition
I stole this bit from Jeff Moss, who hasn’t done the bit in about one year. He was doing the sarcaustic sports coverage before it became teh blogging hotness. A quick primer on the source material:
Not too far removed from Borat. With that out of the way, on to the “Ach, ya” or “nitcht-nitcht” segment.
Will Johan Franzen repeat his production from last season?
Nitcht-nitcht. Tyler over at MC79hockey banged out a spreadsheet that shows shooting percentages for every player in the NHL last season. You can view the spreadsheet here. Franzen shot 26.4% while on the power play, which means he scored on just over one in four of his shots when playing with the man advantage. That type of production just doesn’t seem likely to repeat itself. I think 15%-20% seems more reasonable. He was sixth in ice time during the regular season and with the addition of Hossa it’s unclear how that will impact his ice time as Hossa was getting more than 4 minutes per 60 minutes last season.
Will Marian Hossa be Detroit’s leading goal scorer?
I doubt the legitimacy of this picture but it fits in just fine right here
Ach, ya. Assuming Mike Babcock keeps Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg on separate lines then Hossa is likely to remain on Datsyuk’s wing. Recently recognized as the second best passer in the Western Conference behind Joe Thornton, Datsyuk will put the puck on Hossa’s tape when he’s in prime scoring position in front of the net. The one factor that has yet to be determined is how the power play lines will work out. If Hossa stays on Datsyuk’s wing and Babcock keeps the Eurotwins apart then Hossa will likely be Detroit’s leading scorer. If Babcock puts Pavs and Hank back together then Hank will once again be Detroit’s leading goal scorer.
Can Niklas Kronwall continue to perform at the high level of play he demonstrated during the playoffs?
Ach, ya. This would be much more debatable if not for Detroit’s ability to re-sign Brad Stuart. Stuart was a fixture in the lineup on that second pairing once the playoffs rolled around. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Kronwall started feeling a little more comfortable about roaming the ice to deliver bone-breaking hits and dish out assists. The second biggest beneficiary of Brad Stuart’s new deal [behind Stewie’s seeds] will likely be Kronner.
Can Conklin bring the ConkBlock [TM Pensblog] to the Motor City?
Nitcht-Nitcht. The main reason I say this is he’s unlikely to play the role in Detroit he played in Pittsburgh as far as giving the team the shot in the arm they needed when the Pens lost Fleury. I’ll let Empty Netters explain:
There was the 29 saves he made against the Sabres in a 2-0 shutout win Dec. 29. There was the 35-save effort he had against the Panthers in a 3-0 Jan. 5. There was the 50 saves he made in a 4-2 win against the Islanders on Long Island Feb. 26 that appeared almost effortless.
…
Performances like that led to many wondering if Conklin was really the Penguins’ true MVP. Some even wondered if Conklin should’ve been considered as the league’s MVP. Others even questioned if Conklin should be the Penguins’ starting goaltender regardless of Fleury’s health.
His stats this season may look similar given the depth at center and on defense the Red Wings will throw out onto the ice in front of him. But even if that’s the case he’s unlikely to merit that kind of lavish praise. Hell, Chris Osgood did the exact same thing when it became obvious Dominik Hasek was complete and utter FAIL in the playoffs. Once that happened it was oh yeah well who couldn’t backstop that Detroit team to a Cup.
Johan Franzen Marian Hossa Niklas Kronwall Red Wings ty conklinNo Comments
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