Motown Pride - Detroit Red Wings Dynasty

[Keytosa]

EDIT: In a stroke of brilliance, I accidentally deleted my save for Be a GM. Oh well. I was about done anyways. After watching the skating comparison between NHL 12 and NHL 13 I just can't play this game anymore. I'll definitely run a dynasty on here for NHL 13. Good luck with your guys' dynasties!











Back at it in Be a GM. Spent a lot of time this week editing the rosters to get them how I like. CPU always does the "best lines" feature so I made some ratings/positions edits. I also edited the top 15 rookies or so to get drafted in the first round. I edited free agents so they wouldn't get signed right away by computer teams. With that out of the way, I like to keep things pretty realistic trade-wise and play a very sim game. I'll be playing each game with pm83's sliders and no patch. Follow along

[Keytosa]

Hockey is back in Motown. Usually Detroit has a very quiet, almost peaceful off-season. This year was not the case. A very strange off-season began with the surprising retirement of defenseman Brain Rafalski in late May, weeks after the Red Wings suffered another 2nd round playoff exit at the hands of the San Jose Sharks. A week later, Detroit received another piece of shocking news. General Manager Ken Holland would be retiring as well. Considered by many to be one of the elite general managers in the league, this was shocking news indeed. Although surprised with Holland's retirement, team owner Mike Illitch only had to make one phone call to fill the GM position - to hockey hall of famer and Red Wing legend Steve Yzerman.

Yzerman, hired as Tampa Bay's GM after working many years in the Red Wing's front office, certainly knows how to handle the club. In his first year as GM of the Lightning, Yzerman helped construct the team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals, led by sharpshooter Steven Stamkos and the energetic Martin St. Louis. "I obviously love it here. Great fans, great management, great players. Everything you could ever want in a hockey program - at any level," says Yzerman.

Yzerman's first job was to fill the hole on the blue line with Rafalski's retirement. Rafalski was often partnered with superstar Nicklas Lidstrom on even strength, but Rafalski really excelled playing on the power play. He was the Wings best puck mover from the blue line and had an accurate shot. Yzerman signed free agents Ian White and Mike Commodore to help fill the hole. "Ian is a great two-way defender. Brain was an offensive force on the blue line and its impossible to replace his offense. However, Ian has an accurate shot and can move the puck. He's also a bigger body and can play more of a shut-down role if needed. Mike is a big, physical, shut-down defender who can definitely help us out defensively," told Yzerman. He also brought in depth players in forwards Chris Connor and Fabian Brunnstrom, and defenseman Garnet Exelby.

Yzerman and head coach Mike Babcock were also able to meet to discuss strategies. Yzerman wants to run more of a passive, neutral-ice trapping forecheck, similar to that of the stanley-cup-winning teams Yzerman was a part of in 1997, 1998, and 2002. Yzerman also wants to re-develop the idea of the grind line. He hopes to get fast, physical, gritty, aggressive play from his 3rd line, also like these teams of the past. He looks for the line combination of Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm, and Todd Bertuzzi.

In the preseason, Yzerman and Babcock were also able to evaluate some of the incoming talent. Rookie defenseman Brendan Smith had 3 assists in 3 pre-season games, but would likely start the season as a healthy scratch, and Yzerman would rather see him develop playing for AHL affiliate Grand Rapids. Rookie winger Gustav Nyquist is in a similar position. Yzerman also evaluated depth players Chris Connor, Fabian Brunnstrom, and Garnet Exelby. All three players will start the season in Grand Rapids.

Although it is Yzerman's job to put together a winning roster, he is leaving all line-up decisions to coach Mike Babcock. With many of the roster spots already secured, the only spots that really remained opened were of 4th line center and 3rd line defenseman. At center, it was a battle between rookies Cory Emmerton and Riley Sheahan. "Both players impressed me. Cory with his speed and Riley with his grit and scoring touch. At this time, we are looking for more of a defensive-minded guy to center the 4th line, so Riley will be starting the season in that position," said Babcock. Cory Emmerton will start the season in Grand Rapids. On defense, Jakub Kinld impressed Babcock by playing 28 minutes in a 3-2 win in the final pre-season game, adding an assist. However, Babcock likes the physical presence of Mike Commodore on the 3rd defensive pairing, which will help hold the blue line in Detroit's "new" trapping scheme. Here are the opening night lines for the 2011-2012 Detroit Red Wings:

Franzen - Datsyuk - Cleary
Filppula - Zetterberg - Hudler
Abdelkader - Helm - Bertuzzi
Holmstrom - Sheahan - Eaves

Lidstrom - Ericsson
Kronwall - White
Stuart - Commodore

Howard
Conklin

Scratches:
Drew Miller
Jakub Kindl

[Keytosa]

Howard Leads Wings to Opening-Night Win

Detroit, MI - Jimmy Howard stopped all 20 shots he faced, Valtteri Filppula provided a goal and an assist, and the Detroit Red Wings kicked off the 2011-2012 campaign with a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.

In the first period, Filppula fired a puck on net from just outside the right circle. Senator's goalie Craig Anderson left a juicy rebound for Jiri Hudler, who buried it home to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead. Minutes later, a Nicklas Kronwall slapshot found the back of the net after it hit a defender and bounced off the ice. In the second period, Filppula would add a goal of his own by finishing off a nice cross-ice feed from the stick of Henrik Zetterberg.

Game Notes: Rookie Riley Sheahan hit the post on a good scoring opportunity in the 3rd period...Detroit had 4 powerplays to Ottawa's 0...Todd Bertuzzi led the team in hits with 3.

Three Stars:
1. Jimmy Howard (SO)
2. Valtteri Filppula (1G 1A 4SOG +2)
3. Jiri Hudler (1G 3SOG +2)

[Keytosa]

Filppula's Two Goals Propel Wings to Victory

Denver, CO - The Detroit Red Wings improved to 2-0-0 on the season by defeating the Colorado Avalanche 5-2. Left all alone in the slot, Matt Duchene opened the scoring in the first period by firing a one-timer past Jimmy Howard on a powerplay. Valtteri Filppula responded with a powerplay goal of his own by crashing the net hard from the right corner and squeezing the puck through the legs of Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov. Filppula added another goal in the 2nd period, also by driving hard to the net, this time from behind the goal, to put Detroit on top 2-1. Pavel Datsyuk gave the Wings a two-goal lead by lifting the stick of a Colorado defender as he tried to break out of the zone, and the puck slid under Varlamov's pads for an unassisted powerplay goal for Datsyuk. Colorado cut the deficit to 1 on a sharp-angle goal from Peter Mueller. In the final minutes of the game, Darren Helm fired a sharp-angle shot of his own from below the right circle that somehow snuck between Varlamov's left pad and the right goalpost, restoring the two-goal lead for Detroit. Pavel Datsyuk made a nice play in the defensive zone and flipped a cross ice pass to Zetterberg, setting him up for an empty-net goal. Detroit held on for a 5-2 victory.

Three Stars:
1. Jimmy Howard (36 SV 38 SA 2 GA)
2. Valtteri Filppula (2G 3SOG +1)
3. Pavel Datsyuk (1G 1A 2SOG +1)

Game Notes:
Detroit went 2/4 on the powerplay while Colorado went 1/2...Matt Duchene recorded 7 shots for Colorado...A couple of scrums ensued after the whistle in the remaining minutes of the game but no penalties were assessed.

[Keytosa]

Zetterberg Wills Wings to Victory

Detroit, MI - Running a trap-style system, the Wings are likely to see some low scoring games this season. The game was scoreless entering the 3rd period until Henrik Zetterberg found the back of the net - three times - to lead the Wings to a 3-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. In the 1st and 2nd periods, Vancouver had some great scoring opportunities but Jimmy Howard was huge, stopping all 25 shots he faced. In the 3rd period, Zetterberg took a pass from Jonathan Ericsson on the powerplay, faked out a defender, and fired a wristshot under the glove of Roberto Luongo and watched the puck trickle into the back of the net. With less than 2 minutes remaining, Zetterberg found the back of the net again as a Mike Commodore slapshot made it on net, and Luongo left a juicy rebound for Zetterberg, who buried it home. Zetterberg scored his 3rd goal of the game with 35 seconds left on an empty-netter.

Three Stars:
1. Henrik Zetterberg (3G 4SOG +2)
2. Jimmy Howard (SO)
3. Jiri Hudler (1A 2HITS 2SOG +2)

Game Notes:
Detroit was 1/4 on the powerplay while Vancouver went 0/3...Vancouver pest Maxime Lapierre ran into Howard while he was on the ground in the 3rd period, drawing a penalty for roughing...Red Wing rookie Riley Sheahan stood up for his goalie by fighting Lapierre...This seemed to propel the Wings to victory as Zetterberg scored the game-winning goal on the ensuing powerplay...Jimmy Howard posted his 2nd shutout of the season, stopping all 30 shots he faced...Detroit's 2nd line of Filppula - Zetterberg - Hudler won the match-up with Vancouver's 2nd line of Higgins - Kesler - Samuelsson by scoring 2 goals at even strength.

[Keytosa]

Sorry guys. I just can't post updates for every game. Its way too much work!

[NYwRiter94]

Quote: Originally Posted by Keytosa

Sorry guys. I just can't post updates for every game. Its way too much work!

It can be tough. Maybe you could try weekly updates, where you provide basic stats about each game and then a text recap of the week.

[Keytosa]

Quote: Originally Posted by NYwRiter94

It can be tough. Maybe you could try weekly updates, where you provide basic stats about each game and then a text recap of the week.

I'll give that a shot. Although I think I'm a little burned out on NHL. Feels like I've been playing the same game for about 3 years. Hopefully the new skating engine will fix that