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wingsfan40

Meech's deal is for three years

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Meh - just another #7 Dman whom will spend time either in Grand Rapids, or in the press box.

He's gonna have to really impress the heck outta the coaching staff this fall to land a spot on the Wings roster; alot of younger talent that'll pass right by him on the depth chart IMO.

He can't be sent down. He has to play himself off of the team if he is not to make the spot.

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Guest Shoreline

Well, I hope Meech certainly holds his own. It would be a good test to see how far he's come in GR. I'd say test him for the preseason, possibly some of the early regular season, and see how well he plays.

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Meech should be a better defenseman than Lebda has been. Derek is better positionally/defensively and a better puck mover. Lebda has the wheels, but not much else to his credit.

Hope he, as well as Kindl, Ericsson, and Quincey, get a legitimate shot at a roster spot. Not the token, yeah we gave the kids a shot, but this guy was here last year so he'll be here again.

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Guest Yzer19

So what happens next year?

Lilja's contract is up.

I assume they'll re-sign Lidstrom

and Chelios.......

Lidstrom Rafalski

Kronwall Lebda

Chelios Meech

but Kindl will be ready. And Quincey. And probably Ericsson.

So where does everyone go?

I think then the Wings should let go of Chelios. It will be time to let the young kids play instead of a 46 year old Chelios.

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I think then the Wings should let go of Chelios. It will be time to let the young kids play instead of a 46 year old Chelios.

I agree...This should be his last year on the team

Make it count Chris! :D

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The Wings have Rafalski, Kronwall, Lebda signed for 08-09. I can also see Lidstrom returning for another year or two past his current deal.

So we have Lilja, Chelios, Meech, Kindl, Quincey and have to choose three or four guys to take the last three or four spots.

The answer is simple...one or both of Kindl and Quincey will be in GR, depending on whether Lilja, Chelios, or both depart.

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He can - it's just that another team could pick him up when the Red Wings place him on waivers to do so...Wouldn't be a significant loss since all he has been so far is a career minor leaguer.

Yes that is what I meant by 'cant.' It simply doesn't make sense for other talent to 'blow past him' if he has the clause of being unable to send down. Sure Kindl is better than him.... but they're going to keep Kindl where is he, and Quincy is better, but they're going to keep him in GR because they can and because he will actually get playing time. Meech is on the team until he proves us otherwise.

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i'm of the opinion that your best players should make the lineup - regardless of contract situations

In three years, Meech is probably a better player than Lebda. Heck, he might be better next year. But because Kindl and Quincey are better than Meech, you would dump Meech so that Kindl or Quincey can get 30-40 games on the third pairing in the NHL with limited minutes, instead of 80 games on the first pairing in the AHL?

The Wings have to consider that up to three of their current top-six defensemen could be gone in two years. They can't just throw away a guy who has the potential to be a solid blueliner just because they have a prospect who is better. They are gonna need all of those guys, not just one or two.

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I think then the Wings should let go of Chelios. It will be time to let the young kids play instead of a 46 year old Chelios.

You do know that thats what people have been saying for the past 3 years, yet every year something happens so he'll have to step up...and he does and people will want him back.

Its been happening over and over again.

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You do know that thats what people have been saying for the past 3 years, yet every year something happens so he'll have to step up...and he does and people will want him back.

Its been happening over and over again.

I love chelly as much as the next guy but his age has to catch up to him eventually.

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Meh - just another #7 Dman whom will spend time either in Grand Rapids, or in the press box.

He's gonna have to really impress the heck outta the coaching staff this fall to land a spot on the Wings roster; alot of younger talent that'll pass right by him on the depth chart IMO.

bingo, ...i dont get excited about signing players for three years who probably wont get to be on the roster in the first place

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Guest Crymson

How so?

If Meech were better than Lebda wouldn't Meech be in Detroit, & Lebda in GR?

Gotta remember Lilja sat out some games this past year while Lebda played.

Meech played a few games this year, and he was certainly nothing special.

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How so?

If Meech were better than Lebda wouldn't Meech be in Detroit, & Lebda in GR?

Gotta remember Lilja sat out some games this past year while Lebda played.

I said should be. Meech just spent a full season in GR as their #1 defenseman. Lebda was never much higher than the Griffins' 5th. Whether Derek manages to apply that to the NHL we'll see (not saying he'll ever be a #1 but that he can translate his play in general). Lebda is an anomoly in the sense he's performing better in the NHL than he has in the AHL. I have a feeling being paired with Chelios might have something to do with it.

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NN i don't know what your beef is with lebda... the kid is sick and has got killer wheels. IMO He's better than kronwall.

I don't have a beef with Lebda. I just don't think he's anything special. He's the Wings' best skater. I"ll give him that. But apart from that, there is really nothing to his game. He's average at best at pretty much everything else. The reason he might appear better than Kronwall is because he's being sheltered. He doesn't play the minutes or the types of situations Kronwall has played in. Were Lebda to be playing 20+ minutes in all situations he wouldn't look nearly as sick. He just doesn't have the game for it.

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Lebda like Sammy in the other thread is the type of guy that teams need in the cap era.

He fills a roll in the 5-6 slot and fills it cheaply. Look at what LA just paid Preissing and Stuart, those guys are not going to be #1 or #2 on the wings, so 3-3.5 mil a year would be to heavy for the wings to deal with and keep their offense together.

So they need a guy like Lebda to be a 5-6th dman and be cheap, same with Meech, and the others, if they develop into a potential #2,3,or 4 then hopefully the wings have their salaries under control before Lowe comes after them.

But these guys are necessary, gone are the days of the 02 wings-like rosters, just not feasible any more.

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Bahaha this is good. Meech is terrible, Brad Norton was as good as Meech skill wise and he fought yet 90% of the ppl on this forum BASHED Norton relentlessly, yet praise Meech, compare him to Lebda, etc. I am not syaing we should have neccessarily kept Norton or even brought him up from GR after he was sent down, I am saying that this Meech signing shows how bad the anti fighting attitude is here in Detroit. Argue if you want that they are both worthless and I may agree with you, however to see the red carpet rolled out for this waste (Meech) while another player who was just as much of a waste according to many here (yet unarguably had a dimension to his game Meech did not) Brad Norton was despised.

Derek Meech: 2006-07 Totals 4 Games Played 0 Points +1 4 PIM

Brad Norton: 2006-2007 Totals 6 Games Played 1 Point +2 20 PIM

*AS you can clearly see they are nearly identical in stats, do not try to argue PIM either it is a non point. Not a single PIM of Brad Nortons resulted in the Red Wings being a man down, he took someone with him every time. ONE MORE time though, I want to reiterate that I am not saying Norton was better then Meech, I am saying that at least they were equal in what they could bring. I AM however pointing out the difference each one of them as a player was treated by so many of you.

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Biggest stat of all for me atleast:

DOB

Apr 21 '84 Meech

February 13, 1975 Norton

Meech has the ability to be a good defensive presence, he is young and can develop into something.

Norton is over 30 and is pretty much what he is always going to be.

Other than that I have no issue with either. If Norton was who they signed then fine, but they opted for a young guy with potential that they could develop.

Meech's signing has nothing to do with fighting, team toughness, Lang being lazy and sucking, Fedorov coming back, Forsberg in the wheel, anything other than he is a young prospect the team wanted to sign, Norton was an older vet they thought they don't need.

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Yes I totally understand and agree with you. I guess the main thing I am trying to get at is the difference in how Meech and Norton are looked at around here. Thats all, I mean Meech is going to be at best average, maybe end up better then Norton however last year Norton got killed by forum members when Meech went unscathed.

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