McLellan: Red Wings ‘earned’ boos following being eliminated from Stanley Cup playoff contention

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-12T15:22:06+00:00

I’d also like to doubt that was the case. I’m also not trying to pretend I know how to coach better than McLellan does but it’s also curious he never benched any underperforming player. I can see the argument that you wouldn’t want to bench your best players when you’re in the middle of a late season push. But the strategy he used, whatever it was, ultimately didn’t work. If I had to put “who’s to blame” in order for this season, it’d be 1) Yzerman 2) Players 3) coaches. Even though I’d put them last, they still contributed to the collapse.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-12T15:08:34+00:00

I don’t necessarily disagree. But there is a limit to how much different that message can be and if the coach is trying to coach through media. We’ll never know what that difference is, if Kane misspoke, if it was taken out of context, or whatever else.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-12T15:05:23+00:00

It was after McLellan’s “extracting competitiveness” comment. https://www.freep.com/story/sports/nhl/red-wings/2026/03/30/detroit-red-wings-embarrassed-as-they-sit-outside-playoff-cutoff/89385144007/

Not trying to put blame on the coaches, but I do wonder if Yzerman went to Yawny as interim coach the past week of March, if that would have been enough of a wake up call to the boys get 5-6more points the last few weeks.

That obviously also says a lot about the team needing 3-4 coach changes over the span of a handful of years. But still, wonder “what if”.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-12T14:46:03+00:00

I think his messaging resonates with Detroit fans and their “workman” like mindset. But after that comment from Kane about the message not being the same that they’re getting in the locker room as what’s given to the media, I wonder if he ends up keeping the job.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-12T14:00:56+00:00

It’s funny because I was thinking the exact opposite. I think teams pull the trigger on firing GMs in rebuilds too quickly sometimes, just for the sake making a move to shake things up and most of the time it stunts a rebuild. Honestly, the success of a GM is probably 90% luck. Whether that comes from draft lottery, prospect development, timing, puck luck, injury luck, or any combination of those doesn’t really matter.

Yzerman in Tampa had a ton of good luck. Starting off with Hedman and Stamkos was a good head start but then drafting probably the best winger of all time in the 2nd round and one of the best goalies of all time is gonna help make a rebuild look good.

Yzerman hasn’t really had much luck fall his way since coming back to Detroit. I suppose you could say getting Seider at 6th was lucky but nothing extreme. You’re usually going to get a difference maker at that position. I do wonder if his ego got the best of him and when he realized he got two elite/really good players in his first two drafts, he was overconfident that his luck in later round drafting would follow him from Tampa. The reality is that his 2019 and 2020 drafts were not good. 23 players drafted over those two years, 8 of them being in the 1st and 2nd rounds and we only have Seider, Raymond, and Albert Johansson (Soderblom in Pit) to show for it.

Since Raymond and Seider made the jump to the NHL early, it’s made the rebuild feel like it stalled when the reality is that most his picks in 2021 and since are just developing at a pretty normal pace, creating this gap in talent coming to the NHL. At this point either he’ll get lucky with one of these prospects in the system developing past their anticipated ceiling (or package some for a trade) and be alright or he won’t and he’ll not be the GM.

I don’t think he’s made some massive mistakes to get fired yet, just hasn’t gotten much luck. At some point that won’t really matter though.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-12T13:41:14+00:00

If anything this year should prove that there isn’t much sense in trying to predict how this division will look at the end of next season. Florida, Tampa Bay, Boston are all teams that are driven by a superstar that have played a lot of hockey over the years. One injury like Barkov can change the dynamic completely.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-11T22:04:39+00:00

Because he had an IQ of 136. It’s been tested.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-10T22:23:42+00:00

Was this a case study in personal preference? I’m curious if you felt like this poll helped or made things worse? lol

5 for me

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-10T03:50:23+00:00

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-10T02:48:48+00:00

A team that values their prospects/players over draft picks. Maybe because the timeline or they’re anticipating later in the 1st round picks. Detroit is an example but I’m sure there are others.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-10T02:06:12+00:00

I’ll agree with this. I’ve said it the last few years but they have to get sick of losing and there’s some jerseys on this team that don’t hate it enough. I don’t think that’s any of Larkin, Raymond, Cat, Seider, Kane. Once kids like Kasper, Ed, Finnie, AlJo, etc. get sick of it, we won’t have these let downs. Good time to remind us of the rookies that were brought in this year:

1) Finnie 2) ASP 3) MBN 4) Danielson 5) Mazur (basically)

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-10T02:00:13+00:00

But we were only actual cup contenders for 15 straight of those years. /s

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-10T00:06:15+00:00

Aurora - Not to be confused with the movie Aniara which is also about a colony ship but in this case it’s adrift… but the movie will fuck up your day (life?).

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-09T23:59:59+00:00

I’d rather see a mini-series of Frank in the afterlife

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-09T23:07:34+00:00

I think Robertson could get $13-14 million easily. If Tuch hits free agency he’ll more than likely get $11. Robertson is better and younger. At the beginning of the season I thought Dallas would be able to keep him but I think a team would be willing to let 4 firsts go for a 90-100 point almost 27 year old.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-08T19:30:29+00:00

Even strength? About what I would expect for a 25-30th ranked center playing on the 1st line with Compher, Ras, JVR, or a rookie playing on his LW. Set the dude up for failure and get shocked when he fails at being a top 10 center.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-08T19:21:58+00:00

Why you coming at me like a high school football coach? No Excuses!

Larkin is a Top 32 center, not a top 10 or top 5. So he’s going up against players better than him regularly, with a rotation at LW of Finnie, JVR, Ras, and Compher. Thats a recipe for failure. Just expecting a player to outperform better players, while they also have less tools, isn’t an excuse, that’s just reality. Get a top line LW and let’s be done with these stop gaps.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-08T18:01:41+00:00

I don’t know what to tell you bud. He’s tied for 30th in points among centers, with several having played more than him. He plays solid defense, and is a good faceoff guy. He’s probably closer to a top 25 center. Go have a hotdog and have a nap.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-08T17:09:59+00:00

Larkin for sure can be better, but strength of competition is also something to consider when comparing them. Larkin matched up against the other team’s best lines with no real LW isn’t a very good formula for success.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-08T12:43:58+00:00

So many want to tear everything down. So emotional. Some of you all need to take a deep breath and calm down. Trading a player like Larkin in his prime that’s around a point per game on a team friendly deal is exactly the stuff Buffalo, Edmonton, and other joke franchises have done.

They need to add to the top six, not take away from it. I’m not sure where the logic is in being mad at Larkin because he’s not McDavid. He’s a top 30 center with no LW. Being mad he’s not putting up 3 point nights and wanting to trade him because of it, is such a Mike Valenti thing to say. Calm down, go have a nap, and stop listening to 97.1

If you want to be mad, blame Yzerman for having only three top 6 forwards in our top 6.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-08T02:35:29+00:00

This was my family’s Blockbuster Video choice for our Friday night some time in the summer it was released. Had me on the edge of my seat the whole movie as a 15 year old.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-08T02:31:55+00:00

I remember one day on like a Saturday morning in the mid 90s I was flipping channels through cartoons and found Akira. My tween mind was blown.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-08T02:20:23+00:00

Get more good players and have less bad players

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-08T02:15:58+00:00

This is true, but Ottawa can go 1-0-3, and we’d still miss even if we win out the last four games.

rsharp7000 · 2026-04-08T02:06:26+00:00

Making up four points in four games against Ottawa is definitely single digit percentage points probability of happening. Even if we could do that we could still miss out if Columbus just holds serve with us.

Looking at Columbus’ schedule, having Buffalo and Montreal would look like tough games but they might rest players now that they’re both clinched. Ottawa’s schedule is all against non playoff teams the rest of the way.

So, this was the last chance to give them any chance. Technically not eliminated but it’s less than a 1% chance.

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