Esquire

A perfectly rational reaction to a format that has yet to even be announced or have a single game played under it.

via Twitter:

A giant rock by the sounds of it. lol Fair enough. Maybe "model his game after" wasn't the proper term. I'm just waiting for him to consistantly and effectively use his size to the point where other teams actually respect it. Nobody I've seen play against him so far has shown that they really acknowledge he's there for the most part! I think we're on the same page overall here.

PARTIAL replacement. Which means to imply that he's a big factor in helping to plug the hole, not replace it completely. Here's one link I have: http://www.redwingscentral.com/2008/11/12/64/preliminary-ericsson-no-1/ Noted. I'll respectfully disagree here. Any time you can join a team with Lidstrom on your line, that's a big opportunity for your career advancement. Despite White being an already good defenseman, he's actually getting better. Most of the Wings defense have made significant strides in their development over a 3 year period in Detroit, whether under Lidstrom's guidance or Babcock's, but we're still waiting on Ericsson. If Lidstrom retires next season, who is Ericsson going to look to to model his game after or look to for advice on defending? NOW is the time for Ericsson to start making strides, not later. I can't wait for next season when our 3 million dollar 3rd line defenseman is battling with our rookie stud for ice time. Sheesh.

Some scouting reports on Ericsson had him as a top 4 defenseman who at one time, was thought to even be a partial replacement for Lidstrom. Unless I'm missing something, I haven't seen an improvement that earns him a pass on these criticisms. Again, the White comparison is to outline that one player (White) has seized a golden opportunity while another (Ericsson) has not. Yes White has put up 20+ points several times, but not at the pace he is on now and is on pace for a career high of about 30+. Both are the same age, yet White has bounced from team to team and still been able to maintain a good level of play consistently. So yes, he has jumped ahead from a developmental point since consistency is a hallmark of all high level players. And the point about White playing with Lidstrom only serves to further highlight Ericsson's lack of progress. Ericsson has had 3+ years under Lidstrom and White has had 23 games. Who's made more of that at this point? Moral of the story: Ericsson needs to get his s*** together and take on the bigger role that he is now paid to perform and not just be a big body with a good first pass for 3 million dollars.

I see what you're saying, but I don't recall these being attributes the Wings expected of him when they brought him though, especially since the guy has a great shot and was originally a forward. I feel like they've had to adjust his role based upon his complete lack of development and the comparison of White and Ericsson was more to outline the fact that White has blossomed with the opportunity on the Wings whereas Ericsson has been stale and not shown many signs of earning that pay bump he signed for. And yes, I know there are a lot of circumstances that prompted that raise.

All depends on the market. If guys like Ericsson are getting 3mil+ contracts, then I wouldn't be so sure about the Wings' spending power. AlL I'm saying is that I'd rather see the blueline get addressed before bringing in another forward. I know Smith is coming through, but we have a lot more prospects at forward than on defense or even in goal.

Points aren't the only compatible stat I was referring to, but considering that White even missed 4 games and still almost triples Ericsson's output is impressive imho. White is already on pace to crush personal career highs as well as currently leading the entire team in plus/minus. All this while logging 3rd most ice time and only 8 minutes in penalties. These are all traits we are expecting Ericsson to adopt, yet sadly he simply continues to coast and rack up bad penalties.

I wonder how Ericsson feels when he looks at the stat sheet and sees the numbers that White has put up with his first season as a Wing.

Neither, based on bigger future defensive needs alone. But if defense is shored up then yes, Ryan all day.

Detroit vs. Minnesota. Pow! Start saving now people. It would be outstanding to have a big group from the boards show up to the game.

Via Bob McKenzie Twitter: Time to pick up those Caps players in your pools again!

Spin the "Wheel of Suspension" and see where she lands I suppose.

Spin the "Wheel of Suspension" and see where she lands I suppose.

At least Leonsis waited until AFTER Thanksgiving to axe him. A funny excerpt from Ted Leonsis' blog just 5 days ago: http://www.tedstake.com/2011/11/23/it-can-be-harsh/

Hide ya kids, hide ya wife... Bob McKenzie:

For the first time this season, the forwards actually bailed Jimmeh out. Good on ya boys. GO WINGS GO!!!

Maybe this helps clear up a spot: Via Red Wings Twitter.

Looks like Smith is staying: Red Wings keeping Brendan Smith -- for now, anyway

I'm not confidant with this one, especially after seeing the "powerplay" last game. That being said, I'm hoping for the best. A 2-1 hard fought victory would be great, especially if it's Pav and Hank who net them. GO WINGS GO!!!

As well as provide a first hand account of a meeting with players, GM's, and coaches which showed concern for the topic we're all discussing. Pretty good stuff if you ask me.

Kerry Fraser's opinion: FRASER: SHANAHAN MISSED THE CALL AND HAS SENT WRONG MESSAGE

His daughter is a smoke show... http://twitter.com/#!/AlyonkaLarionov And she's featured in the latest Sauce catalog with a great interview too. It's near the bottom of this page: http://alyonka.tumblr.com/ Shwing!

This team doesn't deserve a miracle, they deserve a bag skate.

Babs' intermission talk should be fun