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I promised a few people I'd do something like this while I had time over Christmas break. Other blogs have done it already, but hey.. why not? This would have been nice to do right at midseason, but BDS is fashionably late like that, we're doing it with 43 games played instead. Check out Nightmare on Helm Street for grades on Detroit's forwards, and Gorilla Crouch for a really creative spin on what Michigan landmark best fits with each Wing. Most of them are really quite accurate, it's a great read.
I'm just going to run down the roster and try to explain a grade within two to three sentences. I know... that's a big challenge to me. Highly encourage debate/disagreement over this, really let me have it. I'm feeling argumentative today.
#3 Andreas Lilja -- INC
Whoever would have thought that people would miss Lilja so much?
#5 Nicklas Lidstrom -- B
The Perfect Human has malfunctioned at times. Noticeable changes in his play include a slower first few strides as well as a reluctance to shoot the puck. Hasn't scored in something like 636 games. Yet, when a star player comes to town, their stats at the end of the night usually read something like: 0 points, 0 shots, -3, and that's usually because of Nick Lidstrom. Best defensive defenseman in the league.
#8 Justin Abdelkader -- C+
He wasn't even supposed to be on this team this season, but he hasn't played a game outside of the NHL. He's showing great promise and has many fans excited for the future. He's had a handful of really great games where he's showing his abilities as an agitator, and he's throwing his weight around every game. He should have more offensive ability though, so his grade reflects not being able to make anything of his opportunities on the second line and powerplay.
#11 Danny Cleary -- B-
Most significant change in his game is that he's now going by the more Newfoundlandish Danny, instead of Dan. He's been disappointing in that I thought being at the Canadian Olympic camp would really help him take his game to the next level and fill the scoring void. Instead, he started the season very quietly and started coming on before he got hurt. Either way, still a great two-way player who doesn't cheat you on effort.
#13 Pavel Datsyuk -- B
I thought about going lower -- he has not lived up to Hart Trophy expectations. Has not consistently been the team's best player, troublesome in the absence of Henrik Zetterberg. It's still really hard to knock a guy who's taking the puck away from everyone whenever he feels like it, on pace to defend his reign of Selkes. Also, he's been hurt by his linemates going in and out of the lineup. But this is Pavel Datsyuk and he's capable of creating offense on his own. Some nights, it's just not there.
#14 Derek Meech -- D+
At times, he still makes you wonder why he's in the NHL. Mistakes have been few and far between, so overall there's no burning desire to just trade him away for a bag of pucks. Guy's been on the powerplay for close to a month and he has two points on the season. Meech either doesn't have the confidence or the ability to contribute, and more often than not he makes you yearn for Niklas Kronwall or Jonathan Ericsson.
#17 Patrick Eaves -- B+
No one was sure exactly what Detroit was getting with Eaves. I knew him more of a scorer from his Ottawa days, and wasn't sure what he'd have to offer in an energy role. He worked his way out of the 13th forward role and is now a regular on Detroit's 3rd line. He's quickly become one of the top penalty killers on one of the hottest PKs in the league. He's useful in the offensive zone, but the laser of a shot he shows at times leaves a desire to see it more.
#18 Kirk Maltby -- D
There was a ton of talk when Maltby quickly scored two goals to start off the year that everyone was premature in thinking Maltby should have hung them up in the offseason. Thirty-some games and one goal later, those people are nowhere to be found. The highlight of Maltby's season was how easily he was able to get under the skin of Chicago's stars, but between whistles Maltby isn't achieving much. His role in the lineup as an agitator is being filled by Justin Abdelkader, and as a penalty killer by Patrick Eaves and Darren Helm. It's hard to make a case for why he should be a regular once everyone is healthy.
#20 Drew Miller -- B+
Greeted with a chorus of "mehs" and "really?s" when he was picked off of waivers from Tampa Bay, Miller's often been a bright spot in a season that's seen more than a few trash games. Miller offers a nice blend of size, skating, and effort -- with flashes of good hands, making him the ideal fourth liner. Making his case to not be AHL fodder as was originally assumed to be the plan for him, certainly seems to be a versatile fit among the team's top 12.
#21 Ville Leino -- F
Sorry Ville, you're re-taking the class. He was on the wing of the hottest line through the pre-season, coming off a late-season stint last year that had Wings fans buzzing. He was considered to be the consolation in Detroit losing Jiri Hudler as most fans assumed he could do something similar, but that has not been the case. Leino has had a handful games where he looks like he's starting to "get it," but overall, there's been a hesitance to take the puck to the net, a Lang-esque knack for not moving his feet, and absolutely no signs of being anything close to the player who did this in his first game.
#22 Brett Lebda -- D+
Lebda gets a D+ because Derek Meech got a D+, and to me they're the exact same player -- one shape-shifting entity called Mebdeech. Lebda is a few years more experienced, but it doesn't show. Despite the rash of injuries, he still hasn't earned enough faith from Babcock to be anything but an even strength player. Like Meech, not too many terrible giveaways, but continues to struggle against bigger forwards in his own end. And when you're 5'9, just about everyone's bigger than you.
#23 Brad Stuart -- A
Stuart has been the defensive MVP of the club for being the only player to truly step up on a team that so sorely needs it. Always prone to the occasional mistake or missed coverage, Stuart has really tightened up in his own end. Only thing holding him from a 'plus' is that he's also been ineffective on the powerplay, though he hasn't looked entirely out of place.
#24 Brad May -- D-
An impressive pre-season showed a player who wanted to make the most out of every shift, protect his teammates, and throw his weight around. Then the regular season started and Brad May laughed during the middle of a fight.
#26 Jiri Hudler --
#28 Brian Rafalski -- B-
Sometime last season, likely around the time he was completely exposed by Rick Nash in an 8-2 loss, the Hockeytown faithful started to turn again Rafalski as a weak link in his own end. I believe he's really minimized his mistakes and he's again able to contain bigger forwards one-on-one. His struggles echo Lidstrom's -- he can't find the back of the net. I believe that can be fixed with just getting the puck on net instead of always looking for the "intentional miss" pass the Joe is famous for.
#30 Chris Osgoo--- WAIT!
#29 Jason Williams -- C?
It says here we brought back Jason Williams? Hm. Seriously though, Williams was alright before he shattered his leg. He didn't put up breath-taking offensive numbers, but nobody really did early on in the year. The big question was how he'd fare on the point of the powerplay, and I thought he looked pretty comfortable. Hopefully though, the emergence of Brad Stuart in this area will move Williams to the wing where he belongs.
#30 Chris Osgood -- C+
I don't believe Osgood's been as bad this season as he was at this time last year, but we're still not seeing his A-game. In the meanwhile, Osgood's lost his job as the starter and he's not getting a chance to win it back yet. Babcock's insistence on riding Jimmy Howard should say two things -- Osgood is not the definite playoff starter, and he better make the most of the opportunity to win his job back whenever he gets it. Should he turn his game around, there's no doubt he has what it takes to take Detroit deep. But unlike last year, Detroit has another option.
#32 Kris Newbury -- C-
Newbury's first game won't soon be forgotten. A penalty on the first shift, a goal coming out of the box, and a penalty on the third shift. Unfortunately, he did nothing else in his time up in Detroit. Most likely, he'll be a Griffin for the rest of the season.
#33 Kris Draper -- A-
Draper has been absolutely rejuvenated playing alongside Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves. He's found a way to become offensively relevant again, though he's cooled down recently. It looked last year like he was on his way downhill, but he's adjusted his game to the wing and provided the savvy veteran presence on Detroit's speedy checking line.
#35 Jimmy Howard -- A-
After four years of coddling in Grand Rapids, Howard was finally ready (due to being out of options) for the NHL. After a rocky first couple games where about 75% of Wings fans were ready to ship him down the river, Howard slowly began to turn around his game before catching fire in the past month. There's no doubt he's Detroit's starting goalie right now, as he states his case to be a large part of Detroit's future. The occasional weak goal, a little slow going post-to-post, and spotty rebound control, but Howard's mental game is really underrated and he finds ways to look unbeatable.
#37 Doug Janik -- C-
He's only been in 11 games, but it feels like so much more. Janik's been fine, just very unspectacular. He hasn't earned a lot of trust from Babcock, but he does kill penalties (something that's been pretty good over the span that he's been up). He just looked a little shaky sometimes when under pressure, very AHL-esque. Not the worst player that Detroit's ever had to call up from Grand Rapids though... Garrett Stafford.
#40 Henrik Zetterberg -- B+
Zetterberg is Zetterberg, and he's been very good. He's slumped, but he still finds a way to hover around that point-per-game pace. He had a streak mid-November where it looked like he was putting the team on his back, but he sort of came back down to reality after that, then got injured. Detroit's going to need to make a serious push to secure their playoff spot, and that push can be a lot easier if Z can quickly find his game.
#42 Mattias Ritola -- B-
Despite struggling in Grand Rapids, Ritola's NHL call up was relatively successful. He didn't put up any points, but he showed flashes of his high-skill level and an overall style of play that fits in with Detroit's puck possession style. It's back to Grand Rapids because of roster space, but if you asked me who I'd want in the playoffs between him and Leino, the choice is obvious.
#43 Darren Helm -- A-
The realization everyone had in the offseason was that there would be no way Darren Helm could be in playoff form for the regular season. However, through 36 games for him, he's been pretty darn close. He still hits everything he can catch (which is to say: everything), provides Detroit with timely goals, and has occasional freakishly dominant shifts. Helm is shaping up to be an impact player and a Wing for life. The only thing that needs work is that finish of his.
#44 Todd Bertuzzi -- A-
Ah yes, the ever popular Bertuzzi. He struggled mightily (understatement) at finishing early on in the season, seemingly stuck at that three goal mark forever. Overnight, he rocketed up to 12 goals with a dominant December performance -- showing shades of a Bertuzzi in his mid-20s. He hasn't quite found a way to bring it every night, but he's won a handful of games by himself. He's not eating up a lot of cap room and he's producing offense. He's still racking up about a half-dozen scoring chances each game, some from Datsyuk, some on his own doing. The finish is still a work in progress, but if December Bertuzzi is truly a sign of things to come, Detroit's got themselves a steal of a top six winger. I'm still convinced anyone who's not happy with his play is someone who had a personal problem with him going into it, which is understandable... but if I had the choice, I'd take those half-dozen scoring chances over none at all. Didn't think we could be picky when we're tied for last in the conference in goals for.
#46 Jakub Kindl -- C+
Kindl finally got his taste of the NHL level this season, and he looked pretty good doing it. He was a -2 through no fault of his own really, and even got some time across from Nicklas Lidstrom on the top powerplay unit. He looked a bit nervous in his stint, but he does move the puck extremely well. He'll be on the team next year full-time, and, if he had an opportunity to do it, I'm confident he could force his way into the lineup as Detroit's #6 for the playoffs.
#51 Valtteri Filppula -- B+
Another player who's missed a large chunk of time. I felt that he was Detroit's most consistent forward through the early going. He always seemed to be around the net getting all kinds of chances, just not scoring, although he was playing with Ville Leino. To me, Filppula still has the tools, and the smarts, to take his game to the next level, and it's just a matter of waiting for him to get there.
#52 Jonathan Ericsson -- C
The only player who disappointed more than Leino in the early going was Ericsson, who just couldn't seem to do anything right in the first 15 games or so. The wise-beyond-his years rookie that we saw in the playoffs was somehow gone, and what was left was a turnover machine who was easily beatable to the outside. I thought he really started to bring it together after that, but then Shane Doan happened. I still think he should be seeing less PK minutes and more PP minutes (he can shoot, if you haven't noticed) would fit him a little bit better. Certainly, I think many fans are looking forward to his return.
#55 Niklas Kronwall -- A-
It's a pretty sorry thing that Kronwall hasn't played for a month but still leads Detroit's defensemen in goals. He really looked like he was taking his game to the next level, and was even playing really well in his own end. Many still think of Lidstrom and Rafalski as the top defensemen on this team, but Kronwall and Stuart are just entering the primes of their careers. Once Kronwall gets healthy, big minutes will be in store.
#93 Johan Franzen -- A+++++++++++
I miss him so much.
#96 Tomas Holmstrom -- A
Inexplicably, Holmstrom was nearly useless in the playoffs. This was another big offseason question -- was that just the product of being way too banged up, or was he really losing his gift. Many were wondering just how long he could play, as his game is much more physically demanding than anyone else's on the team. He put that talk to rest quickly, scoring pretty consistently over the course of the season. A big loss for Detroit over the next month.
Coaching -- A
How this team isn't miles out of a playoff spot right now is beyond me -- the Jack Adams is Mike Babcock's to lose if he can get Detroit in the 3-5 range through the second half. Even Brad McCrimmon, who was under fire last year as the guy who took over the PK and defense (Paul MacLean moved up to coach the forwards when Todd McLellan left -- I still see people thinking that McLellan coached the defense) now has one of the hottest PKs in the league. The powerplay has sputtered some, but given the firepower missing through free agency and injuries, Detroit's 111 goals are somewhat acceptable, so long as the defense is holding ground.
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