Fans Are Checked Out on the Red Wings

WXYT-FM / 97.1 The Ticket

Doug says he is starting to check out on this Red Wings season as their playoff chances slip away.

Transcript

00:00This Red Wing team. Gator, you know what, it's it's I think there are you know we

00:07we know about mathematical possibilities. You know about what when you cross a

00:15line and you're actually eliminated from postseason. There's also honestly the

00:22organic you find yourself slowly checking out. Yeah absolutely. And I have

00:29reached I have reached that point where I am find myself slowly checking out of

00:39the Red Wing season. And I it's like it's not it's not like I'm not gonna

00:44watch the games. It's just I'm sick of looking at the schedule and doing the

00:50math and scoreboard watch. I'm not sick of I'm just finding that the

00:54improbability of them making the playoffs is overwhelming my thoughts.

00:58Like I'm like it's not happening. And I know that's happened for fans and

01:05it's happened for some of you a long time ago. But it's one of those things

01:08that just organically happens I think where you're when you watch the games

01:13you realize that the intensity isn't there because you've already started to

01:20organically give up. Yeah I think there's a difference between you have

01:23believing that this team is gonna make the playoffs and then just hoping the

01:28team is gonna make the playoffs. And then there's the I don't believe they're

01:32gonna make the playoffs. And that's kind of where I think people are right now. It

01:36sounds like that's where you're at. I mean there's only 14 games left. There

01:39are six teams competing for one playoff spot that they're all jumbled within

01:44like three or five points of each other. It's it doesn't look good. And I come to

01:51the realization I think with this team that if too many mid players too many of

01:57them and that the goal technique they have right now currently on this NHL

02:02roster is not good enough. The goalies they're not what they once were. And

02:10it's not all on them. I mean that's why I say the whole thing with mid. I mean the

02:14defense is mid. The outside the top two the bottom two lines are very mid to

02:20less than. And it's just kind of depressing. And then you couple all that

02:25with they played well and they haven't won. You know they're not winning.

02:31They're playing well in games but they're not winning. You know Washington

02:34is a third period thing. The two games against Washington they played really

02:37well against Washington the first time a couple weeks ago right. And then they

02:40got smoked giving up the four goals in the third period. They played well

02:43against them last night. Really should have taken advantage of stuff and they

02:47just couldn't get the puck in the net. I mean the brink it was all over the

02:50place last night. But they didn't score other than the one goal and the next

02:55thing you know they give up three goals in the third period and here we are

02:58again. The teams that they have left in the 14 game schedule they're good hockey

03:03teams. It's not likely this Red Wing team makes the playoffs and that's

03:08disappointing. I'm still going to watch. But right now I've switched from you

03:13know belief to just hope. That's all it is. Yeah and you know they're not it's

03:21not a hopeless organization from a there's there's talent in the pipeline.

03:25There's some good players on the on their way here it appears. There are some

03:32some good players good young players here. But ultimately I mean this group

03:38just isn't good. I'm watching a game last night and I'm going you know what

03:42they need is Patrick Kane of you know 12 years ago. Yeah that's that's what

03:48they need. They're just not. Well and he's played fine. He's one of the better

03:52players. I know but my point is they need him to be an elite player. An elite

03:57goal scorer. They need somebody to be. And but I'm as I'm watching the game

04:00last night I'm again slowly on the organic checkout. It's like you know

04:06it's it's it's so improbable now. Yeah to me you know I go back to what you

04:12say when people used to blame Stafford you're like I'm not in the business of

04:15blaming the best player I'm gonna you know the other players in the roster

04:18need to play better. That's kind of how I'm looking at this. I don't I understand

04:21your point about Patrick Kane. And I know you're not. And I know you're not. It's to me it's

04:26everybody else has to elevate their game. The guys in a third and fourth line you

04:30got to elevate your game. Hey Bear Green you want to be in the lineup we'll do

04:34something. You know Rasmussen let's go. Kicking in gear here. But the reality is

04:39these guys are just mid. Yeah. And the defense pairings you know you feel like

04:44there's there's something there with with with Cider Sherratt Edmondson are

04:49all pretty good. And you know at times Joe Hanson looks good. At times Gustafson

04:56looks good. But it's not it's not consistent enough. So you know again it's

05:02it's half your defense mid to less than. It's just it's just not good enough. And

05:08yeah they've got players in the pot in the pipeline. They've got a couple of

05:11outstanding goalies in the pipeline. But there doesn't look like they're going to

05:16make the contribution next season. And yeah Nate Danielson OK they drafted him a

05:20couple of years ago. He should be good and they drafted these other players and it

05:23sounds like they're going to be good players. But by the time they're good

05:27players in the NHL was it three years down the line. And at that point we're how

05:33many more playoffs can you miss. Rebuilds can take 10 years Gator. You

05:39know first of all there is that. Second of all it's an amazing pattern we have

05:46of the GM before the team got good. The Tigers GM before the team got good was

05:53actually good. It seems like he was pretty good at drafting. Well he had

05:57misses too. Duh. Well yeah. But he's a big misses. But he has had they've had

06:03there been some results from a veal a draft picks. Ultimately what sunk him was

06:09not the drafts. It was the veteran acquisitions. Troy Weaver actually could

06:17give him some props for his drafts. But what ultimately sunk him was his veteran

06:22acquisitions. And now Steve Eisenman. The drafts get praise. The organization

06:30you know is clear. There's always ranking near the top in the organizational

06:34rankings in terms of your prospects. But the veteran acquisitions. The

06:41Tereschenko's like the Murasic. Murasic was a that was a that was a example of a

06:46sports Hail Mary to me. I mean that's a non-football Hail Mary. That's a move

06:52that's a Hail Mary. Let's hope that we get this goalie out of a terrible

06:56situation in Chicago and put a better team in front of him. But I'm not even

07:00sure if he was the top piece in that in that trade. Yeah but he's the piece that

07:05they bring in to to maybe be the goalie to catch fire. That's a Hail Mary. I

07:10guess I guess I looked at it as they brought in Craig Smith and what a

07:15revelation that's been. You know the Murasic goal. The first goal by the way

07:20they gave up last night. I don't know if I've ever seen a goalie more screened

07:23than that. Oh I mean yeah. There were seven guys. Actually he's actually played

07:28well. Well the go-ahead goal last night. The Dubois goal was bad. I mean that's

07:33one he's got to stop. But you know I mean there's a it's it's it's a it's a

07:40frustrating thing and I found that last night the organic checkout started. Kenny

07:44you know what I'm talking about where maybe you're not there yet. Hockey guy

07:50Kenny. The organic checkout where you just stop paying it you're like not

07:54paying attention but you start giving up. I started to give up halfway through the

07:58game last night. I'm not full I'm not full give up yet because I woke up this

08:03morning the rational human being that I pretend to be and I looked at the

08:07standings and I saw all right we're three points out of a playoff spot with

08:10plenty of games left. Rationally you believe there is still a chance because

08:15of the numbers and then you look at the schedule like you mentioned Gator and

08:19you say there's now you're just more hoping. I feel like I'm starting to get

08:24to the I'm more hoping phase of this. Well yeah because now there's only 14

08:29games left. You have one against Utah you have one against Vegas you have a whole

08:32bunch of real real tough games coming up and you look at it you can't possibly

08:39plant your flag and say this team will make the playoffs. The confidence is

08:43completely shot. There's no confidence anymore. No which is crazy to think that

08:47this team had two seven game win streaks and it wasn't like forever ago. You know

08:53they changed a coach in December and then they promptly went on a seven game

08:57win streak and then had another seven game win streak. Like it is how far away

09:02is this team from that team? And I hate to re-adjudicate it and I'm gonna do it

09:06once and I'm gonna leave it there but if Lalone would have been fired during

09:09the offseason like a lot of people like myself were calling for I feel like this

09:14team is in the middle of the Atlantic race. It seems like they'd be were at

09:17least where Ottawa is right now. At least minimum where Ottawa is.

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