Lebda

[lidstromfan5 3]

Ok. Just consider this a rant of some sorts but I just have to get this out there. I hardly ever see Lebda get any props from anyone but me. To me he really has a chance and capable of being a really good defenseman. I even see him if he got the ice time and a little Power Play time that he could put up 35 to 40 points a year. When Lidstrom was injured last year for those few games at the end, who stepped in on the power play? My Buddy Lebda. This guy really is a great offensive defenseman, he could be better defensively but nonetheless he is solid. So all this talk "oh put Kronwall with Lidstrom" or "Put Kronwall with Rafalski". Hey, Until he shows he can stay healthy, I say put Lebda with Rafalski or Lidstrom. So anyway, I just wish Lebda got a little more love around here. Keep in mind Lebda was a +16 as a third pairing defenseman, that is pretty good.

[theman19 47]

I agree, but i think you'll be hard pressed to find many supporters for lebda on here. For one, he isn't a big physical D man, which mysteriously makes him a medicore D man to alot of fans,...curious. Anyway, he probably will never be a top six guy, but he's come a very long way. When he was signed and brought to GR everyone on this board hated him. When he was brought to the big team, most everyone jumped all over holland. There was a brief time when he started to get some notice, but after damond lankow cheap shoted the ever living hell out of him (which begs the question,..why are guys always cheap shoting lebda? ville ninman, dallas drake, daymond lankow,..is he really that pesky?) he wasn't a factor in the playoffs and some people have a short memory.

[StaticWithABeat 0]

Lebda is a decent player, he's got speed, a good attitude, and solid work ethic. But small, moderately-skilled, offensively-oriented defensemen are a dime a dozen in this league. Lebda - while capable at both ends of the ice - doesn't have top-end offensive skills and is limited in terms of physical ability, which makes him a decidedly average defenseman. Unfortunately, he falls into the category of players who don't get noticed much when they're playing well, but get lots of attention if they screw up.

[ben_usmc 253]

I like Lebda a lot but yeah after that orignial cheap shot he hasn't been the same, I hope you snaps out of whatever funk that sent him in.

[norrisnick 1]

He's an elite skater. That's about it. And rather than concerning himself with Kronwall, he'd be best served keeping an eye on the guys coming up behind him (Kindl, Ericsson, Quincey, and Meech). Any one or all of them could pass him in a hurry.

[theman19 47]

He's an elite skater. That's about it. And rather than concerning himself with Kronwall, he'd be best served keeping an eye on the guys coming up behind him (Kindl, Ericsson, Quincey, and Meech). Any one or all of them could pass him in a hurry.

with that said,...i'll point out if Kronner doesn't impress this year he better be looking out for those same group of kids. Especially Kindl. Another injury plauged year and he could be come trade bait.

Edited September 16, 2007 by theman19

[Spongewingredpants 75]

as for Kronwall: 115 games for the Wings since the 2003 /2004 season.

thats a whopping average of less than 30 games a season

[norrisnick 1]

with that said,...i'll point out if Kronner doesn't impress this year he better be looking out for those same group of kids. Especially Kindl. Another injury plauged year and he could be come trade bait.

I'd say Kindl has a very good shot at becoming a better NHLer than Kronwall. He has all the necessary tools. Now he just needs to put it all together.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

as for Kronwall: 115 games for the Wings since the 2003 /2004 season.

thats a whopping average of less than 30 games a season

Perhaps there’s more potential in Kronwall, but if I had to choose between he and Lebda right now I’d have to go with Lebda.

For someone who’s shown little to no offensive ability, is average defensively and injury prone, Kronwall’s sure does have a lot of hype.

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

Lebda is one guy that really suprised me last year. I guess he doesnt really get alot of attention because he plays on a team with a bunch of allstars. You have zetterberg, dats, and lidstrom. Because we have these star players, alot of the character guys go unnoticed. It doesnt mean that these guys arent appreciated, its just how it is. Ledba is probably one of our best skaters, rearely gets beat to any puck, and has a scoring touch that kronner lacks. I remeber on atleast two occasions last year when lebda took the puck from behind our own net and went end to end with the puck all by himself and finished it with the puck in the back of the net. He doesnt pack a powerful shot, but has decent scoring ability. Most of all, he stays relatively healthy, something that kornner seems to lack again. He is quickly turning into one of my favorite wings. However, like i said, sometimes his talent goes unnoticed, much like the rest of our character players. I think with the right amount of ice time he could definetly contribute alot of points to the team, but needs to become a little more solid on defense before that will happen. He hits a little bit, but not alot, and if he could step up the hitting a little bit ( im not saying he should drop the gloves every five seconds, but just throw some more hip checks and stuff) it would add more to his game with his speed and scoring ability.

[savaking72 0]

I have always liked Lebda...though, I have never said anything. His coast to coast style is awesome! I am partial to him though...I am a Notre Dame fan! I can't remember his plus minus record, but I have never said, "oh crap, Lebda is on the ice!" I have always thought of him as a solid D man.

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

I agree alot with your post with the exception of their respective scoring prowess; IMHO Lebda doesn't possess the shooting power/accuracy that Kronwall has...This is 1 area Lebda really needs to work on to secure his spot on the roster for the future...As for Kronwall he needs to stay healthy.

Look at the number of goals that Kronwall has scored in this league, and then explain how you think he has any shooting power or accuracy. Neither of the two is a scoring threat. At this point, I'd take Lebda, but only because of Kronwall's constant injury troubles.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

nm

Edited September 16, 2007 by Detroit # 1 Fan

[lfd250 1]

You never hear anything about Lidstrom either. Lebda comes to the game, works hard UP AND DOWN the ice, gets a point once in a while, and goes home. People don't talk about him because there's not a lot to ***** about him.

Kronwall - Inj

Lilja - we he's just Lilja

Former Lang - Lazy and he sucks

Matlby - Doesn't score

So basically if he's not in the big 3 or 4 and he doesn't make a lot of mistakes, no one talks about him.

Draper

Cleary

Lebda

[Drake_Marcus 890]

You never hear anything about Lidstrom either. Lebda comes to the game, works hard UP AND DOWN the ice, gets a point once in a while, and goes home. People don't talk about him because there's not a lot to ***** about him.

Kronwall - Inj

Lilja - we he's just Lilja

Former Lang - Lazy and he sucks

Matlby - Doesn't score

So basically if he's not in the big 3 or 4 and he doesn't make a lot of mistakes, no one talks about him.

Draper

Cleary

Lebda

People don't talk about Lebda very much because there's not a lot to ***** about him but there's also not a whole lot to praise either. Cleary and Draper get lots of praise, however.

I've got no problems with Lebda- he's a perfectly serviceable 3rd pairing D-man. It's when people say he's got more potential than Kronwall that I have to laugh. Kronwall has a whole ton of potential if he can do three key things:

-Stay healthy

-Continue to advance his game

-Work hard every night

Much of the annoyance (aside from his injuries) comes from the perception that Kroner doesn't use his full skill set every night and has a tendency to be pretty inconsistent (something that's no tolerable at the NHL level). Those two traits aren't totally unexpected in a player who's only played 115 NHL games so I can see why the management still has confidence in his ability to further mature.

And for the record, unlike Lebda, the rest of the NHL has their eyes on Kronwall, as he's sometimes mentioned in different issues of the Hockey News as someone who's ready to break out.

From the September 18th, 2007 issue of the Hockey News:

"It's Time

Wings D-man Niklas Kronwall is ready for training camp after missing the last four games of the regular season and all of the playoffs with a fractured sacrum. Injuries have limited Kronwall to 115 games over three seasons."

--"Quick Hits", pg. 43

Seems innocuous, but it's pretty much the only stand-out chunk of Wings info in that issue (aside from the standard "camp reports" for all 30 teams type of thing).

In that same issue they have a team report for the Wings in which they say:

"3. Are they too old? They actually have a good nucleus of under-30 talent (Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Niklas Kronwall). This is a well-conditioned skating team that gets stronger in the third period and doesn't wear down."

--pg. 45

The point is that Kronwall is seen as an important young talent for the Wings inside and outside of Hockeytown.

[Kp-Wings 3]

Lebda can skate, and that's about it.

He doesn't get complimented, because he doesn't do anything. All he can do is skate. He has below-average offensive ability, isn't physical, or very good defensivily either. He's an average defenseman, at best. I've advocated many times trading him... but his trade value isn't worth much.

On that note: the Lebda-Kronwall comparison shouldn't even be made. Neither of them have really proven anything. I like the style that Kronwall plays over Lebda, but for someone who has never shown the least bit of offensive capabilities at the NHL level, and is injury prone to the extreme, he sure does get the approval ratings around here.

As for who I'd take instead: it's hard to say at this point, but probably neither.

Edited September 16, 2007 by Kp-Wings

[redwingsfan19 0]

I think Lebda really improved throught out the year, and i think he is gonna get quite a bit better. He is only 25 yrs old and he has a long way to go. Kronwall has been good, when he's not injured that is. Lebda might not be big, but he has made some smart plays. i dont think he will make the number 4 spot, but he deserves it.

[Mickeyisms Rule! 0]

as for Kronwall: 115 games for the Wings since the 2003 /2004 season.

thats a whopping average of less than 30 games a season

Whoops bad math there. You counted the lockout season.

The number of games per year still sucks, but it is more like 38.

[stormboy 47]

Unfortunately, he falls into the category of players who don't get noticed much when they're playing well, but get lots of attention if they screw up.

i agree with that a lot. and honestly, i don't see him screw up really bad very often. i've seen flashes of brilliance from him, and some periods where he was doing really well. i don't expect him to ever carry out defence, but if he were surrounded with a little more bulk, i dunno...i think a corps does well to have a guy like lebda on it, since you obviously can't have all top 1 or 2 defencemen on your team.

[Hank 0]

Ok. Just consider this a rant of some sorts but I just have to get this out there. I hardly ever see Lebda get any props from anyone but me. To me he really has a chance and capable of being a really good defenseman. I even see him if he got the ice time and a little Power Play time that he could put up 35 to 40 points a year. When Lidstrom was injured last year for those few games at the end, who stepped in on the power play? My Buddy Lebda. This guy really is a great offensive defenseman, he could be better defensively but nonetheless he is solid. So all this talk "oh put Kronwall with Lidstrom" or "Put Kronwall with Rafalski". Hey, Until he shows he can stay healthy, I say put Lebda with Rafalski or Lidstrom. So anyway, I just wish Lebda got a little more love around here. Keep in mind Lebda was a +16 as a third pairing defenseman, that is pretty good.

I agree. I like Lebda and he reminds me a lot of my favourite Tiger Brandon Inge. Both guys do a lot of things well and don't get the credit they deserve.

Name another 9th hitting 3 bagger who has 25 homer potential and gold glove defense?

Lebda is a phenomanl skater who is very solid in all 3 zones and makes close to nothing. Talk about getting the most for your cash.

[DaKineMaui 8]

. So anyway, I just wish Lebda got a little more love around here.

Hey! I believe that back in the day, I was the one pointing out that Lebda carded 2 pts in the Wings first 4 games of the season and THEN Kenny sent him down when someone got healthy? (I'll search for that thread later.)

"Who does a guy hafta blow to keep an NHL job around here?" <---I think that's how I stated it?

He's always had plenty of love from me.

He plays hockey just like I do. Well, except he skates well. And can shoot......and he sees the ice real good.....and he's in good shape......and smart......and can pass it right on the tape all the time......other then that we're twins.

aloha

[BringHomeTheCup! 0]

Here are some interesting stats.

Lebda - 8G 22A 30P in 120GP +/- 25 over 2 seasons with the Wings.

Kronwall - 3G 33A 36P in 115GP +/-17 over 3 seasons with the Wings.

What I find really interesting is this, Lebda has averaged about 14 minutes of ice time per game over his career. Kronwall has averaged about 20. Lebda is putting up very similar numbers, with much less ice time, and almost 0 PP minutes.

So who is really more bang for the buck?

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Here are some interesting stats.

Lebda - 8G 22A 30P in 120GP +/- 25 over 2 seasons with the Wings.

Kronwall - 3G 33A 36P in 115GP +/-17 over 3 seasons with the Wings.

So who is really more bang for the buck?

Nik is. Those stats don't really say much, IMO.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

I'd rather have Lebda. Until Kronwall does something, he's no better then Lebda at this point.

[Hank 0]

Here are some interesting stats.

Lebda - 8G 22A 30P in 120GP +/- 25 over 2 seasons with the Wings.

Kronwall - 3G 33A 36P in 115GP +/-17 over 3 seasons with the Wings.

What I find really interesting is this, Lebda has averaged about 14 minutes of ice time per game over his career. Kronwall has averaged about 20. Lebda is putting up very similar numbers, with much less ice time, and almost 0 PP minutes.

So who is really more bang for the buck?

Very interesting!

Kronwall still has more potential, I believe, but it does show that Lebda is no one's slouch.