Downey or Sopel?

[FnuLaird 0]

If you had the choice between either Aaron Downey or Brent Sopel, which would you choose? This is probably a little premature but just based off what you've seen or heard so far which do you think is better?

Personally Downey seems like the better option. I think our defense is fine, especially with all the young prospects we got in GR. Downey is gritty (shown by his goal against the Wild), will defend our star players, and will check and all that... I think we should let our young guys have a chance instead of signing Soap... he does give the puck up alot too, its almost like having Lang on defense!

Edited September 19, 2007 by FnuLaird

[Izzy24 44]

Downey.

[Skiing - Puck 0]

Between the two, I would pick Downey. We have a fairly solid defencive core. I like seeing down crash the net and I like his willingness to play a physical, grind it out, type game, something that the Wings have lacked in recent years.

[Guest DetroitIan]

I really like what Downey brings to the table and all. But after losing Markov, a guy like Sopel would be perfect to have in the fold. IMO solidifying our defense is a little more important than getting a 4th liner. I wouldnt mind having Downey at all. But IMO if I had to choose between the two, Im going with Brent Sopel.

[daniel1 32]

Both. Put Meech on waivers or trade him. If we lose him, big deal; he's had lots of time to impress and obviously hasn't done so yet if he's still an "on the bubble guy". With Kindl, Ericcson, and Quincey we don't seem to be lacking in D-men for the immediate future anyways. We WILL lose people on D this year however given the age of some our D-men and their history, so we need a competent vet that can play top 4 minutes for extended stretches of the season. Downey gives us a "motivator" someone we can plug into the lineup if a regular isn't competing hard. If we had subbed someone in for Lazy & Sucks a few times last year perhaps he would have moved his feet a little faster at times.

[RedWings Gone Wild 6]

I don't know, I think Sopel is one of those guys that put up good numbers despite being on average teams, and I think he could potentially catch fire with a good team around him. This guy certainly wasn't expecting to be unwanted this offseason, so I think we could get him cheap and motivated. He doesn't give us a lot of the grit we need, but he does give us depth and offence.

Contrary to what you saw the other night, if we signed Downey you probably wouldn't see much more in terms of goals from him. Maybe he'd give us a bit of grit, but he's not good for much else. So, Sopel.

[Heaton 1]

I guess Downey but not as an every day starter, Sopel was dreadful last night and Downey played hard but I wouldn't want him to touch the ice in the playoffs.

[Spongewingredpants 75]

neither, thank you very much

[Opie 308]

Contrary to what those of you in the other thread about Downey may think my answer is, I say Downey.

The D is set in my opinion unless another top 3 defenseman rears his head.

But if the options are Grigs, Kopecky, or Huds vs. Downey I say let the young guys play it out.

But with the current options I would give Downey the nod.

[Matt 1,048]

Sopel.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

If you had the choice between either Aaron Downey or Brent Sopel, which would you choose? This is probably a little premature but just based off what you've seen or heard so far which do you think is better?

Personally Downey seems like the better option. I think our defense is fine, especially with all the young prospects we got in GR. Downey is gritty (shown by his goal against the Wild), will defend our star players, and will check and all that... I think we should let our young guys have a chance instead of signing Soap... he does give the puck up alot too, its almost like having Lang on defense!

Cost = Downey

Skill = Sopel

Intangibles = Downey

For me it Downey because of who he'd be taking minutes away from. I'd rather have an extra forward to pump in and out of the lineup versus Sopel, who would be a regular basically eating up any minutes a young dman like Kindl or Quincy or Meech might otherwise get.

That and Downey gives us more of what we lack. Sopel would be a nice addition to an already steady corps. He's not a PP quarterback specialist or a shot-blocking, shut down specialist, etc...He's just a nice, balanced dman. That's not a bad thing but not as high on our needs list as a rough and tumble, crashing forward who fights.

[Cicada 4]

i gotta go with Neither myself..

Sopel isn;t what we need in defense, and Downey isn;t what we need either..

we just don't need another Brad Norton

[Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

Sopel.

D-men are like hot blonde willing sex buddies. You can never have to many of them

[Saran 1]

Neither ... but if I had to choose Downey cause if Downey makes a turnover it will most likely be in the offensive zone and whereas when Sopel makes a turnover and believe me he will, it'll be in our defensive zone leading to a goal. We have enough bottom six forwards and we don't need a puck coughing D-man.

[wingslogo19 281]

I saw Sops play lots when he was with the Nucks the first time and he's lost out there, and if he doesn't trip over the blue line to give up a breakaway.. I would take Downey for some more grit.. I like your D core this year plus all the young D down in GR

[Guest REDWINGS4LYFE]

sopel we need space for foresberg

[N4C3R 0]

Downey. We're very deep on defense, and with Sopel a booming shot doesn't make up for coughing up the puck on a fairly regular basis. I'd much rather see Ericsson and Kindl get a chance to play.

Downey is not a liability defensively, has enough speed to play in the NHL, stands up for his teammates, and creates room out there for our guys. He can even find the back of the net, he scored last night off a pretty Grigorenko assist from behind the net. He also got under Boogaard's skin and got the big fella to take a massive run at him, causing Boogie's ejection from the game.

Downey may not be able to take Boogaard in a fight, but he did his job by taking Boogaard off the ice for the rest of the game. I'd say he was pretty effective last night, and I hope he gets a shot to stick with the team.

[Yzerfan1999 81]

Sopel.

Why have a guy that sits on the bench 90% of the game, and is a liability for the other 10%? Sure, he may lose a fight now and then, but if we are going to get an enforcer - lets not be half assed about it.

[Mule39 0]

Sopel

[sticknmove 0]

Downey, he is perfect. Gritty guy who works hard night in and night out and would do anything for his teamates. Granted i wouldnt expect him in the lineup ALL of the time, he still would remain a huge asset when need be. Also Downey is not another Norton, he has a career fight card of 34-30 and 20 some draws and has gone with every tough guy in the NHL over the past years. He is the right guy, we are never going to get Laraque or Boogard so I do not see who else out there would be "the guy". However I havent gotten my hopes up just yet because I can still see him getting cut, so i guess ill just keep my fingers crossed hoping.

***EDIT***

if anyone cares here are his exact numbers, someone had allready posted them a couple days ago, and I remembered him saying he ot it from dropyourgloves.com so I went there.

Total 161 Fights (.268 per Game)

Career 34-30-24

Not quite Probert numbers but not to bad, definitly would fill the "enforcer" role we have been missing

Edited September 19, 2007 by sticknmove

[N4C3R 0]

Both Sopel and Downey made it past today's cuts.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Sopel. Simply for the Powerplay. Hes not going to have a lot of pressure on him if hes playing alongside Lidstrom and having his shot on the PP could be invaluable should Lids, Rafalski, or Kronner go down. The way I see it, the PP was the Wings achilles heel all year long. Their inability to convert on those 5 on 3s was what lost them the championship. Obviously, a sniper would be the best answer to the powerplay problems, but we all know how many there are of those available. The next best way to improve it is to have 4 strong shots on the PP that the oppositions PK will have to respect (Kronner, Lids, Rafalski, Sopel). Thats a lot better than Sammy, Lebda, or Cheli getting any time on the point, especially considering Sammy's value is in his wrister, which should be utilized down low.

[Chase 0]

If I HAD to pick one of them, Downey.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

To be honest though, I have to respect the position the Wings management have put themselves in. Having to choose between these two guys is a good position to be in. Free agen try-outs are never going to be the key to a championship, but this is usually where you find those guys who are willing to go the extra mile to prove they belong in the NHL and to ensure they arent in this position again next year. Knowing that both guys would ideally only be signed to niche roles, I honestly cant complain.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Both. I cant pick just one.