Wings Unlikely To Deal For Offense

[redwingfan19 293]

well arron ward is one, mike commodore , norstrom, rob blake, jason smith, orpik, these are the guys I would want if the wings add a defense man

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

well arron ward is one, mike commodore , norstrom, rob blake, jason smith, orpik, these are the guys I would want if the wings add a defense man

I'd love Smith, Ward, Commodore or Blake. Big mean and Canadian. (I'm sorry that I share Grapes opinion on most things hockey wise )

[Kp-Wings 3]

I'd love Smith, Ward, Commodore or Blake. Big mean and Canadian. (I'm sorry that I share Grapes opinion on most things hockey wise )

I love how you emphasize "Canadian".

I agree with you, though. The Wings do need more North American grit, and those guys would be great to have here. I think Rob Blake could be a real possibility to consider. The Kings will be the first team to be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, and as someone on XM Radio pointed out earlier: they'll most likely be shopping him to a Western Conference team to ensure that the Ducks, their obvious cross town rivals, don't win the Cup again.

I love the trade deadline. I really hope the Wings get somebody good this year, and in the process, get rid of the garbage still on this team *coughSamuelssoncough*

[Andy Pred 48 337]

The kid Ericsson will be up next year, and he'll give us that extra size we need back there. With Lids, Rafa, Lebs and Kronna all tied up to at least 2010 we have a core already back there. Depends how Holland is going to play it. Lilja and Cheli are both out of contract at the end of the season and Ericsson and Quincey will both be RFA's too. We'll probably sign someone nobody even thought about, a steady vet who wants

one last shot at the cup, but who? Keith Carney?

[Reds4Life 51]

Commodore from Canes and P.J. Axelsson from Bruins could be good for us.

Commodore is big defenseman who can hit really hard, Axelsson is solid, 2-way player. Question is, how much would we need to give them in return..

[BeeRYCE 2]

I'd say we get one of the underproducing Sharks. Seriously, they are not producing there, but they have the capability... Why not give them new scenery? It worked for other players.

[Nev 1,085]

I'd say we get one of the underproducing Sharks. Seriously, they are not producing there, but they have the capability... Why not give them new scenery? It worked for other players.

I seriously doubt the Sharks would give us anything more than a bag of pucks. The road to the Stanley Cup Finals goes through Detroit and everyone in the West knows it.

[Grittzkey 1]

Defence - Willie Mitchell - Brendan Witt - Paul Mara

Offence - Raitis Ivanans - Arron Asham - Eric Boulton

Those are my wants..On D, We either need a big physical pressence or offensive minded qb.. Witt and Mitchell cover the Physical part.. and Mara covers the o-mind.

On Offence, we dont need scoring. we need feisty 4th liners who can come in and add physicality and put other players in check. exactlty what we need when going against teams like Calgary,SJ,STL,Ana and so on.

I dont see a deal of any importance happening for us.. but kenny if you read this.. make it happen@@@@@ jk jk

[Copenhagen848 58]

Anyone else notice that the article calls out Samuelsson? I'm thinking he'll be gone by the deadline.

We can only hope so.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Man there is some serious overrating going on here. Rob Blake is not even close to what he used to be. Kings fans were hoping hed get pawned off at last years deadline. Hes a shadow of his former self and is far from reliable in his own zone. That being said, he is still pretty physical and assuming hes playing #4 minutes, I would welcome him easily. Hes a definite upgrade over Lilja and would help out on the PP, especially if Kronwall goes down.

lidstrom-Rafalski

Kronwall-blake

Thats are two damn good pp units.

As for whoever mentioned Commodore or Smith - dream on. Both those teams love those guys and both will likely make the playoffs.

As for Orpik, thats another story. Hes definitely a player I could see the Wings landing. Hes already on the block in pittsburg so you know he could be had, although hed be at best a #6 on this team. Its his physical game thatll be valuable to us.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

The kid Ericsson will be up next year, and he'll give us that extra size we need back there. With Lids, Rafa, Lebs and Kronna all tied up to at least 2010 we have a core already back there. Depends how Holland is going to play it. Lilja and Cheli are both out of contract at the end of the season and Ericsson and Quincey will both be RFA's too. We'll probably sign someone nobody even thought about, a steady vet who wants

one last shot at the cup, but who? Keith Carney?

If we miss out on some of the other Dmen, Carney would be worth a look for sure. It wont be hard to find an upgrade over Lilja.

[Pskov Wings Fan 71]

Part of me hopes the wings deal a late pick for Feds just so people will stop posting about it all the time.

well, never mind, b/c everyone will just complain about how he's playing then. I wish Feds would retire so we can all move on.

I am pretty sure I have seen recent interview with Sergei in which he stated that he would like to play couple more seasons. So we got plenty of time before moving on.

[Dabura 12,207]

Those are my wants..On D, We either need a big physical pressence or offensive minded qb..

If it's between those two, the former. Right now, the D is much too o-minded. What we really need is a big, smart, nasty stay-at-home presence who can play top-4 minutes without being a liability.

On Offence, we dont need scoring. we need feisty 4th liners who can come in and add physicality and put other players in check.

I agree and disagree; we need scoring, but we could also use some muscle.

Scoring is the big concern right now, IMO. Hudler and Flip are performing well right now, but it's going to be much, much tougher for them come the postseason, especially against a stifling Ducks D. There's a definite need for a proven legitimate goal-scoring threat on the second line. Guys like Cleary, Franzen and Downey can take care of the grinding.

[Grittzkey 1]

Guys like Cleary, Franzen and Downey can take care of the grinding.

Cleary has the heart of a wolve no doubt.. Franzen is such a ***** i cant believe you put the word Grinding and Franzen in the same sentance.. He cheapshots Jackman weather people believe it or not. it wasnt a clean hit.. but since its jackman no one cares.. Franzen gets challenged and before he even got hit he played turtle.. Downey started out great, but lately it seems like he forgot what he was here to do..

With our 2 Top Scoring Lines.. then The Grind line.. We need our 4th line to mean something. Right now its just out there to give our big threats a rest.. Sure thats what its for mostly. but id like for it to be areal threat. Drake,Downey,Kopecky,Ivannas all sharing 4th line duties.. That would be a dangerous group in there own right.. Drake you always gotta look out for the open ice hit and cheap shot along the boards.. Downey you gotta look out for the big hits and fists.. Kopecky he can lay the body on and control the puck fairly well then Ivannas would be our secondary enforcer. and id be something for other teams to have to worry about and game plan for.

[HenryMalredo 2]

With our 2 Top Scoring Lines.. then The Grind line.. We need our 4th line to mean something. Right now its just out there to give our big threats a rest.. Sure thats what its for mostly. but id like for it to be areal threat. Drake,Downey,Kopecky,Ivannas all sharing 4th line duties.. That would be a dangerous group in there own right.. Drake you always gotta look out for the open ice hit and cheap shot along the boards.. Downey you gotta look out for the big hits and fists.. Kopecky he can lay the body on and control the puck fairly well then Ivannas would be our secondary enforcer. and id be something for other teams to have to worry about and game plan for.

Ivanans would be useless for the playoffs. he's not good enough to crack the Wings lineup.

[Grittzkey 1]

Skill whise? your right..

But thats not what we need him to bring to the table.. we need him to bring the exact same thing Downey brings.

[imisssergei 0]

No doubt - more Canadian lads needed for some serious on the ice

As for a forward - I'd love to see what Ryder could do.

The Wings don't need more grit up front, the d corp could use some. But the Wings don't play the 'grind it out, rough and tumble, Canadian' style hockey. They play the puck possession Euro style. They need more Euros who can handle the puck.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Cleary has the heart of a wolve no doubt.. Franzen is such a ***** i cant believe you put the word Grinding and Franzen in the same sentance.. He cheapshots Jackman weather people believe it or not. it wasnt a clean hit.. but since its jackman no one cares.. Franzen gets challenged and before he even got hit he played turtle.. Downey started out great, but lately it seems like he forgot what he was here to do..

With our 2 Top Scoring Lines.. then The Grind line.. We need our 4th line to mean something. Right now its just out there to give our big threats a rest.. Sure thats what its for mostly. but id like for it to be areal threat. Drake,Downey,Kopecky,Ivannas all sharing 4th line duties.. That would be a dangerous group in there own right.. Drake you always gotta look out for the open ice hit and cheap shot along the boards.. Downey you gotta look out for the big hits and fists.. Kopecky he can lay the body on and control the puck fairly well then Ivannas would be our secondary enforcer. and id be something for other teams to have to worry about and game plan for.

Franzen hits knowing hes going to pay the price at some point and he crashes the net in addition to being tough on the boards. Who gives a s*** if the guy fights or not? His primary role is a grinding third line style that provides solid defense and secondary scoring, which he takes care off. He is far from a *****. Besides, he was going up against Matt Walker. Not exactly an easy guy to go up against in your first fight.

As for Ivanans, as somebody else said, he would be useless in the playoffs. The Wings already have their token player who is good for fighting and energy - they wont waste another spot on a "secondary enforcer". As for your suggestion of getting Boulton, thats pretty much the worst idea ever.

Downey is as close to a pure enforcer as the Wings will ever get, and the reason why they have him undoubtedly has something to do with the fact that hes a fairly classy player for the role he fills. Hes not going to cheapshot around. Tough guys like that arent always easy to find.

As for the grit/toughness dilemma, it needs to be addressed primarily in the defensive aspect. Witt is a great suggestion, although he still has another year left on his contract. Orpik is a good choice, Foote as well. These are the type of "tough guys" that we need - players that can contribute in a number of ways outside of being at the bottom of the food chain, which a secondary scorer most certainly is.

As for the whole grit issue in it of itself, as another informed user just posted, the Wings puck possession style itself means the Wings are less reliant on the body than they are on the skill. This team doesnt bust through the O zone by using brute strength, they do it through intelligent passing. There are maybe 5 guys in the entire league nowadays that are big, hitting, physical forwards while still having the skill level to fit into a puck possession style - and the price to get one would be through the roof. In my opinion, the Wings arent going to fnd a second line scorer who also fulfills a role as a physical forward. Those two aspects are going to have to be fulfilled by two diferent players, if both. Thats why its smartest to look at what our primary needs are at both ends. Mostly offense and little physicality on the back end means we are in need of a stay at home physical #4 presence on the back end. Decent size and strength up front but a lot of inexperienced offense on the front lines means scoring should be our primary concern. If we're lucky, maybe we could add all three - something like Comrie, Chris Gratton, and Adam Foote would be nice - but the likelihood of that happening is slim to none.

Overall, I think people are looking too deep into the issue. The Wings are the team with the fewest flaws at this point. They arent in desperate need of any changes. If they so much as add a 2nd liner or a physical Dman, they are only separating themselves further from the pack. Im not saying we should make changes - Im hoping for some solid additions as much as the next guy - but what Im saying is that every team in this league has big issues they need to address as well, and for the most part, every team in the league has bigger issues than we do in at least one aspect.

[Guest wingswillwincup]

Man there is some serious overrating going on here. Rob Blake is not even close to what he used to be. Kings fans were hoping hed get pawned off at last years deadline. Hes a shadow of his former self and is far from reliable in his own zone. That being said, he is still pretty physical and assuming hes playing #4 minutes, I would welcome him easily. Hes a definite upgrade over Lilja and would help out on the PP, especially if Kronwall goes down.

lidstrom-Rafalski

Kronwall-blake

Thats are two damn good pp units.

As for whoever mentioned Commodore or Smith - dream on. Both those teams love those guys and both will likely make the playoffs.

As for Orpik, thats another story. Hes definitely a player I could see the Wings landing. Hes already on the block in pittsburg so you know he could be had, although hed be at best a #6 on this team. Its his physical game thatll be valuable to us.

though he might not be the same blake is still a good defensemen and i dont think it should be overlooked that hes been playing on a young awful kings team for a while, due to his high salary he wouldnt cost us too much and would be a huge upgrade and addition to the wings , for so long he was one of the top 5-10 defencemen in the nhl , i think he would do wonders here and can still log in lots of minutes

lidstrom rafalski

blake kronwall

lebda chelios

i love it

[SweWings 45]

P.J. Axelsson from Bruins could be good for us. Axelsson is solid, 2-way player. Question is, how much would we need to give them in return..

I've always liked Axelsson but I sort of doubt the Bruins will let him go even they tumble down the standings. Nice guy too, met him during the lock-out for a few minutes, got his autograph lying around here somewhere...

[Dabura 12,207]

Franzen is such a ***** i cant believe you put the word Grinding and Franzen in the same sentance.. He cheapshots Jackman weather people believe it or not. it wasnt a clean hit.. but since its jackman no one cares.. Franzen gets challenged and before he even got hit he played turtle.. Downey started out great, but lately it seems like he forgot what he was here to do..

I'm not sure what your beef is with Franzen and I don't really care. He's shown he can do what he was brought in to do -- bring energy, good wheels, decent point production, defensive awareness -- and I'd be perfectly content to see him keep doing what he's doing. Because it works. As for Downey -- come again? He hasn't fought in a bit. That's it. I certainly wouldn't say he's underperforming.

You talk about our fourth line being a weakness -- if anything, I think it's one of this team's great strengths. Ponder this: if the Wings were to bring in a goal-scorer for the second line, Flip or Hudler might very well find himself on the fourth line. Considering how well they've been playing, that's got to be an unsettling thought for the opposition.

Now, what the opposition likes about this team (though, admittedly, there aren't many things to like) is its lack of pure goal-scorers and size. Shut down Hank and Datsyuk in the postseason and you take away the Wings' only legitimate goal-scoring threats, forcing them to grind out their goals. Flip, Hudler and Sammy are not good enough to score in bunches under such circumstances.

There are several potential solutions. One: Add another goal-scorer to spread the opposition's shutdown effort thin. Two: Add muscle to make the shutdown effort tougher. Three: Tighten the D to ensure that the team can hold its own in a low-scoring, trap-happy best-of-seven series.

In a perfect world, all three would be addressed by the beginning of the postseason. But that's not happening, so management has to prioritize. Personally, I hope the solution is a guy like Sundin or Foote. But we'll just have to wait and see.

[Bluedevils_13 0]

If the Wings went out and got some one like, I don't know, Trent Hunter from the Isles that would suit us pretty well, and from what I have seen from watching he can be kind of clutch too. This team REALLY doesn't need a whole lot more scoring just maybe some size with SOME scoring, and yeah another D-man would be great. If we are going to be talking to the Isles let's say hello to Witt or maybe even Bergeron just to dream a little. I don't know why I just really like Hunter, and think he would do well here, even on 3rd line playing time. I'd even be cool with Comrie, but I don't see that happening.

Honestly, a trade really isn't what we need it is just health.

[PolskAltima 0]

id like to see a Lilja for Blake trade... and a Sammy/Franzen for Fedorov trade...

but thats just me...

Fillpula and Hudler should be untouchable...

Edited December 28, 2007 by PolskAltima

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

I think that a bit of North American grit is a must. When we were winning cups, we had a mix of NA and Euros, and it worked. Untill we get the mix, we wont win.

If I had a choice, 1st/2nd liner would be Ryder/Malone, 3rd/4th line big guy, Scott Thornton/Chris Gratton, and big defenceman R. Blake/Foote/Ward.

With the amount of space we have, you know Kennys gonna make some moves, anyone of the guys I mentioned (with the exception of maybe Thornton ) could help this team out quite a bit. Scoring or toughness, or both in some cases.

I dont really wanna lose Hudler or Filpula, but guys like Samuelson, Kopecky, Ellis, etc. could go and I wouldnt mind it.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

I think that a bit of North American grit is a must. When we were winning cups, we had a mix of NA and Euros, and it worked. Untill we get the mix, we wont win.

If I had a choice, 1st/2nd liner would be Ryder/Malone, 3rd/4th line big guy, Scott Thornton/Chris Gratton, and big defenceman R. Blake/Foote/Ward.

With the amount of space we have, you know Kennys gonna make some moves, anyone of the guys I mentioned (with the exception of maybe Thornton ) could help this team out quite a bit. Scoring or toughness, or both in some cases.

I dont really wanna lose Hudler or Filpula, but guys like Samuelson, Kopecky, Ellis, etc. could go and I wouldnt mind it.

I actually think both Tampa Bay and Montreal would have some interest in Sammy. Cheap, fairly skilled, secondary scoring with defensive ability is something both these teams could use and likely want. I bet we could get Ryder for Sammy and a high pick (1st or 2nd) or we could probably get Gratton and a mid-range pick (3-5) for Sammy. Come to think of it, Pittsburg and Columbus could probably use Sammy too. With the way his offense has picked up as hes headed for a 45ish point season at only 1.2 for another year, hed actually be pretty decent trade bait assuming what Detroit is asking for is a player like the ones youve mentioned..