Leaderboard

Then I'll take your bet Joffrey...

A Lannister always pays his debts.

Yes Kronner as much as we love him. He IS a #2 d-man playing on our team as a #1 d-man. Nothing wrong with that tbh. Would love him to step it up this year big time but us being in a new "conference" and all. I don't know. New changes against new opponents aren't always instant. It goes both ways yes. Our team along with Kronner will be challenged big time again this year no doubt.

He may not be a franchise defenseman but he's our #1

By the definition that some have here of what constitutes a #1 defenseman, there are substantially less #1 defensemen than there are teams in the NHL.

Holland didn't want to go that high. Lets say he did sign him right now for 3 million, the Wings would be over the cap by 1 million. Plus three must sign RFA's need to get raises. And we would have 17 forwards signed counting Gustav and Andersson. He should trade Sammy for a 7th round pick. It's Hollands fault Brunner isn't a Wing, the guy loved playing here.

Maybe the money had little to do with it and he just wanted a team that would give him top line minutes.

2 years @ 3M per? If this is true I'm going to speculate that Brunner is trying escape Detroit because he doesn't want to - play on the 3rd line - train as hard as the big boys - play 2 way hockey - be subjected to Babcock's demanding coaching style I dunno, just seems weird that he'd leave for Jersey of all places for comparable $

Helm is also an addition we didn't have last year. Assuming he doesn't have yet another setback and can play this season, he's a huge part of this team.

Some of you think Brunner is going to put up more points than Alfredsson? Lmmfao What a joke.

If I asked you last offseason if the Wings should add a 6-2, 213 lb. winger who scored 53, 50, then 31 points in 51 games the previous 3 seasons on a 2 year deal for $3 mil per, wouldn't you have said that was a decent deal? The only reason so many people complained is because he was a "retread."

You seem like a degenerate gambler. I would take you up on this bet, but you're probably also the type that doesn't pay your debts...

Eaves has a history of concussions? He had only one concussion that i remember. He got it when he broke his jaw and then had post concussion syndrome

I like Meech! Good luck in the KHL!

If Pavel and Henrik keep going at this pace their numbers will be retired. Feds 91 will never be retired.

I think Kronner is a #2, but I thought he played ok last year as a #1. Perhaps he will be better adjusted to the big guns of the opponents this year and will keep more pucks out of the net.

We should have expected this season to be kind of a clusterf***. Lidstrom retired, they lost Stuart, then a third of the guys they expected to play on the top 3 lines all went down early. That's a lot of shuffling and guys playing new roles, with no camp and only a short season to get used to the changes. Kronwall had to adjust to being Nik instead of just Nik Jr., Ericsson needed to adjust to being #2, and they were working Smith in. There wasn't a single defenseman who had a partner they'd spent any significant time with before this year. It usually takes time to build chemistry and get your communication down. If you add Zetterberg having to adjust to being the captain and working 3 rookie forwards in too, that's about 3 normal offseasons worth of changes they had to make with no camp. Throwing Kronwall under the bus for "playing worse" as a #1 than he did as the #2 guy is kind of harsh. I expect him, and everyone else, to be much better next season after a full training camp and half a season of the changes.

When I think of a true #1 defensemen I think of a franchise defensemen. I'm talking Pronger, Lidstrom, Chelios, Niedermayer caliber. Kronner is good but he is not on that level.

Kronwall + Girardi = Cup

To me, there's more elite centers or goalies in the league than there are defensemen. Technically, every team has a number one defenseman in terms of his standing on the team, but very few of them are elite. So Kronwall is our number one, but he's not an elite defenseman.

Tough to say. In the playoffs, his offensive game disappeared completely. In the regular season, he was very good offensively, but a train wreck in his own zone too many times. He will play as a number one because we won't get anyone better. But realistically, he's a guy that should be your second best defenseman.

Give Tatar top line minutes!! esteef

I believe we can win the Cup with this roster because it IS good. Our defense is going to be really good in a few years, but what impressed me most is their ability to lock it down in big games. They may not finish first in the league, but the balance of youth and experience, added to their big game performances, makes me think they've really got something. Plus, I expect big things from Tatar and Nyquist this year, making a potent third line. Weiss makes our second line a good one finally, and a top line of Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Alfredsson could be lethal. The only line that would lack an identity is our fourth, and it's still early. We've got to dump some roster space, and maybe Holland makes unloads some contracts for a gritty fourth line. Look at how well they did this year with a garbage roster. Now, the roster issues will be resolved, the lines are balanced and have identities, they're motivated, and they can only do better than last year. I know playoffs are a crap shoot, but does anyone really see any team other than Boston or maybe Pittsburgh posing a really serious threat to the Wings? Boston got a little worse, and Pittsburgh is always a 50/50 flip on whether they'll show up or not in the playoffs. I think we'll finish top three in the Conference, and make the Finals at least. We'll have balanced, deep scoring, enthusiastic youth, we'll be more aggressive (Tatar, Alfredsson, Weiss [to a point]) than we've been before. It's not an all-star roster, but you don't need one to win anymore. Every area has been improved, it's hard to see how this roster wouldn't compete for the Cup.

This is LGW, so anything short of going 82-0-0 and then a 16-0 run to the cup, coupled with a league record in fighting majors and trading Cleary for the 1st overall pick in 2014 will be an unmitigated disaster which can only be resolved by the instant dismissal of Holland and Babcock