kipwinger

O'Reilly is the second coming of Ryan Kesler. I'll let you decide what that's worth to you, but his value to any particular team isn't entirely based on his point production. He's a excellent matchup center and defensive stalwart.

It's awfully hard to score goals from the defensive zone.

I see what you did there.

I agree with that. That's my point. We need an upgrade (or preferably two) in the 2-6 spots in order to get the rest of our guys slotted correctly. Maybe one of these upgrades comes from GR. But you still need another. Doing so helps you sort out where everybody else goes.

Kronwall consistently performs at a level consistent with "#1" defensemen around the league. Across the board. Quality of competition, time on ice, points, corsi, etc. He's easily a top defenseman in the league. Easily. A couple times a year folks question whether he is or isn't, and a couple times a year I've got to tell people to unpack the numbers. The difference between Knonwall and Keith or Hedman is much smaller than the difference between the rest of our defensemen and their counterparts on other teams. The reason everybody keeps saying that we need a "horse" is because it's awesome to have one. And we used to have one. And who wouldn't want one? But in reality, we needs guys like Garrison, Hjalmarsson, Stralman, and Oduya. Keith and Hedman (and Kronwall) are awesome, but they're comparably good. Where our defense falls short, is everywhere else IMO.

Despite the narrative, I don't think Hedman is significantly better than Kronwall. He may be one ray, but not yet. Kronwall is hugely underrated by wings fans.

I honestly think that any two of these moves makes sense, but you'd have to identify which roles you want guys playing in, and be willing to cut bait on a few of our current guys. I absolutely DON'T think that we need a bona fide top pair guy to be effective. Look at what Yzerman was able to accomplish by bringing on Garrison, Carle, and Stralman. None of them are superstars, and he probably overpaid (a little) for two of them. But his defense improved dramatically with them on board. Ideally (I know, it's a low probability), we'd bring on two of these guys. One in the top four (Buff or Franson) and one in the bottom pair (Green or Wiz). Kronwall and Dekeyser are obviously set. Then let Quincey, Ericsson, Smith, Kindl, Ouellet, Marchenko battle it out of the three remaining spots. Trade the leftovers for picks (minus the ones you used in any initial trades).

I don't see Trouba going anywhere. They're far more likely to trade Byfuglien given his age and contract status. You'd have to really overpay to get Trouba given his potential upside and the fact that he'll be an RFA for quite a while yet. I don't think Seabrook is going anywhere either. I don't see us getting a top two defenseman, unless it's Byfuglien. The next best options would be to sign Franson/Green, or trade for the Wiz. Otherwise there just isn't much available without paying a significant price.

Stafford will score considerably more than 20 points this year. He had 43 last season. Much of it on Buffalo's team. But even if you didn't want him there are better options than trying to convert someone. I mean, there's a reason it rarely happens at the NHL level. I'd sign Scotty Upshall. He wouldn't cost much. He'd give you 20 points and be a hitting, agitating, pain in the ass too. And you wouldn't have to teach him how to be a forward. I guess my point is, why spend the time, effort, and money to fit a square peg into a round hole? Just go get a round peg. They're common enough. I don't feel some pressing need to keep the guy in the organization. It's not like he's some kind of workhorse Dan Cleary type that's good to have around as an example. If he doesn't fit, get rid of him. Edit: Or Shawn Matthias.

Why not save yourself the hassle, sign Drew Stafford, bump Helm into the bottom six, and trade Smith for something else you need/futures if you really don't want him on defense? It's just a very round about way to get a gritty forward. And gritty, depth, forwards aren't exactly hard to find.

Because I believe in specialization. If you've got more defense than forwards, trade the defense for the forwards you need. Don't try to convert one into the other. Also, because we've got TONS of depth fowards (which is what he'd be), so why bother?

Maybe. It would be good for us if he did. But I'm not sure he can. He never scored that way in college or the AHL either. He was just another forward out there. Which is good at lower levels, but I'd imagine if he had a point shot he'd have used it by now. I think he put up good numbers at lower levels because he was a really good skater, and because he had a green light to get into the play down low in the o-zone. I'm not sure he'll be able to replicate that in the NHL. Maybe, but I'm not holding my breath. Like I said, I think Kindl has more upside under Blash than Smith does. I do, however, think that Smith could have a future in the NHL as a Oduya type guy, or a Stralman type guy. I dont' think he'll score much. But he could help a team in transition, and play good defense, based on his skating and toughness. But he'd have to give up trying to be an offensive d-man and commit himself to defensive responsibility...something he's not done thus far.

I don't know about all that. He's physically tough, and a good skater. But his shot isn't great. He misses the net, a lot. To be a good offensive defenseman you need a shot. It's why Kindl will ALWAYS score more than Smith does at the NHL level.

My favorite thing about the glowing puck is that when it went through the goalie and scored, it looked like the netminder was being shot by one of those blaster rifles from Star Wars.

Well I've always agreed that with krsmith that Brendan's offensive skills weren't being maximized. But that still doesn't excuse his piss poor defense. Although, that might be easier to swallow if he scored more than say...Quincey.

Well, I've always felt that Babcock's system took both Kindl and Smith's best assets away from them. They're guys who excel at carrying the puck up the ice in transition. Yet Babs wanted quick passes from the defense to the forwards, which puts decision making at a premium and opens them up to the forecheck. And god knows they're both vulnerable in those areas. Both are better when they're allowed to skate with the puck.

I don't really understand all the Phaneuf love. He's slooooooooooooooooow. Look at how fast the two teams playing in the finals are. Look at how fast the four teams in the conference finals were. The name of the game is speed, especially for a team built like we are. Adding Phaneuf isn't going to make us into the LA Kings, or the Bruins. It's just going to slow down a team that otherwise is built to be quick. No knock on Dion. In the right system he'd probably be fine. But for us, no thanks.

Phaneuf and Schenn...lol? Because acquiring guys that are too crappy to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs is now and upgrade? Hell, why not Sheldon Souray while we're at it? He fits all the criteria. Big, slow, North American, fights occasionally, and isn't very good at hockey. Sounds like a winner.

I agree. The Red Wings aren't in dire straits, so there's not incentive for Ken Holland to offer big money for questionable talent. He's shown, in the past, that's he's perfectly willing to offer big money (and big trade packages) for proven, high end, talent. But recently the money hasn't been enough, and he's been turned down. No fault on him for that. Stralman is a good player. And he's doing work for Tampa, no doubt. But people forget that when he was signed, a lot of folks criticized Yzerman for overpaying. Just like they criticized him for the Carle signing too. It was by no means a slam dunk FA signing, and wasn't noticeably different than our own signing of Quincey. For Kenny to have beaten Tampa's offer he'd have had to go higher, and that carried considerable risk given that Stralman did not have a proven track record of success prior to arriving in Tampa.

I agree. I think he'd like to add someone as well. I think he'll probably poke around and see if he can get any bites in free agency, but the guys he'd want will probably be too expensive. So I think he'll see what Jeff Blashill thinks about the existing defense, and float a trade package based on the odd men out (Smith or Kindl most likely). And if that doesn't work, he'll stand pat, go with the kids, and revisit the defense question at the trade deadline. Holland is risk averse. It's what makes him a steady GM. He's always going to play it safe. So those expecting big splashes for moderate talent (Green or Franson), or blockbuster trades, will always be disappointed. It's just not his style. He's got enough confidence in his farm club to play it safe and wait for the right deal...no matter how long that takes. And that's exactly what he'll do.

I put him in the same category as Carl Soderberg. I'd take either of them if we didn't already have a 3rd line center. But since we've got 3 guys that can play in that role, I don't see the use. Neither Soderberg nor Hodgson are good enough to be second line centers (neither is Sheahan...yet), so what's the point?

Not really. Ehrhoff is on the decline, and was never really a top pair guy at the peak of his career. Martin would maybe be a step up in the top four, considering he's really versatile. But look at your top four, they're not particularly big, tough, or fast moving. They're just kinda average(ish). I think I'd rather have Q and E up there to be honest. At least they're strong on the boards. I'm really not trying to rain on your parade, because I've liked both Martin and Ehrhoff for years. But that this point in their respective careers, I see them providing the most value in a role not unlike what Zidlicky did last year. Third pair guy and PP specialist. Any more responsibility and they'd get exposed. There's a reason Pittsburgh is letting them walk.

Just thought this would be a good idea with all the prospect talk, call ups, and (potentially) playoff races for both teams. Oh, and because Mantha scored tonight and I didn't have anyplace else to put it.

This is all being blown out of proportion. Cleary will not sign another contract with the Wings. I'm willing to bet on it. They'll either do like they did with Maltby, or if he's really hell bent on playing, they'll do like they did with Chelios. With the tacit understanding that he'll have a job in the front office when he'd ready to hang up the skates. Edit: Here's another reason why it won't happen. Jeff Blashill LOVES Landon Ferraro and Mitch Callahan. You think he'll be ok exposing them to waivers for Dan Cleary? No way.

In the closet no doubt lol.