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As for all the smith hate (or disappointment), I'd like to use kindl as an example.. it took him a few years to adjust to the nhl and in some ways I'm sure he still is. Anyway, kindl won me over this year and I'm sure smith will too. It's not a make it or break it season for him just yet.

The Wings are loaded with solid defensive forwards. I can overlook Brunner's deficiency in that area because he provides the Red Wings with something they severely lack in goal-scoring ability. I still hope Brunner comes back, but the ship seems to have sailed in Detroit.

Agreed. He just needs a couple years like most D-men do. Ericsson took 4-5 years to become a decent player.

I don't know why some ppl are on Smith's ass so much. He's only played for 1/2 a season in the NHL and only 13 games in 2011-2012.

Good. His indifferent play last season ought to get us a good value.

Yes 31 players who filed today have big ego's. Arbitration is a tool used to get contract negotiations going. But carry on talking about something you have no clue about.

Filppula also filed for arbitation after 08. Funny how some people have selective memories.

I still think smith will be fine. I think dekeyser as his partner would be better than Quincey.

Holy Crap!!! Howard signing looking better everyday.

Dekeyser played unreasonably well for someone jumping into the NHL like that. Most defensemen when they enter the league play closer to how Smith did than Dekeyser. I'll fully admit I was hoping for more from Smith. I'm still confident he'll become a much stronger player over time though. As I've mentioned before, Jiri Fischer was despised on these boards for the longest time. You can't give up on players right away. (And by "you", I don't literally mean you, Kip, I mean the large group of people here that bash Smith.) There's frequently a huge lack of patience here.

I really don't think any goalie is worth more than 6 million on a short term contract. They're just not needed to be as good and they're too inconsistent as a whole. Or maybe the money doesn't matter as much as the term. No goalie should be signed for more than four (five max) years.

Wasn't it Z who said re: Smith..."he creates a lot of chances. For both teams."

That's definitely a legitimate concern, but I think with a full training camp, offseason conditioning, and all the other perks that come along with being a player on a professional club in the NHL, Brunner is only going to improve. How much? I have no idea. But I don't think it's a long shot to assume he'll improve on his transition year. The guy's a good player, and a lot of this contract stuff has soured people on him, but he's not as bad as he's been made out to be by his defectors, and not as good as his supporters. I think tops you're looking at a guy who can basically play Michael Ryder's game. But he's not there yet, and therefore doesn't deserve the money he's asking. For the life of me I don't know why he didn't sign a one year deal and then cash in after a strong performance this season.

Maybe he just wants to expedite the process of getting a contract completed. There's nothing to indicate he's asking for a ridiculous amount. I really don't see the "ego" angle to this.

Unfortunately I agree. We need someone who throws pucks at the net.

Could you explain why you believe that filing for arbitration means that he has a big ego? We don't know anything about the negotiations between Holland and Smith's agent to this point.

I never look at these cases negatively. He could have been asked to file by Holland for all we know.

This could backfire on smith - he played poorly last season so he will likely get less than he may be hoping for. Babs will be unimpressed too I bet - could result in him taking a bit more heat for his mistakes.

The "hit" stat, much like +/-, is a joke to begin with. It's completely subjective, is kept by the home team and is usually biased in their favor. But don't let that hinder your "research". esteef

Yeah I agree, he'll get better there's no question about it. And how could he not after last season's performance lol. He'll be fine.

It's just that, at times, he didn't play those games very well. I like his upside ... he should be very good, in time.

I think he means lately

Brunner needs a center who can feed him and the teams interested know that... Brunner would of excelled here with Weiss...

i remember it like it was last week....

Yep, did you know he scored 50 goals in junior? Anyway, what impresses me the most is that only 2 teams average more than 41 wins per season, Jersey @ 43.6 and us at a whopping 47.7. An average of 48 wins per season, over 22 seasons? That's just insane.