Defense Exposed

[Lidstromrules16 7]

I think we need Lebda. He is really the only D man we have who can dump and chase by himself. He caused a good scoring chance for us tonight in doing so. Plus, he made a great save on a two on one. IMO, I think his speed is too valuable to let go.

I think we can pick up another D got, while moving Meech, but I think Lebs and Kronnic are more beneficial than hurtful. Plus, lebda can kinda hold his own, I remember last year he rocked TooToo.......although Tootoo is kinda small height wise

[Lou_Siffer 1]

I was in the chat room of this site during the game, and said that Lebda was bad, and immediately got jumped. Someone actually said Lebda was great and was almost as good as Lidstrom. When responding that only Pronger was close to Lidstrom I was told that Pronger sucked and Lebda was better. Guess that's what I get for going into a chat room eh ? There is a reason Lebda keeps getting shuffled around with different partners, and its not good. He was left standing on the Predators first goal near the net. Hes not the only one to blame tonight, the entire first period everyone stunk it up but they are going to have to evaluate their defensive corps and figure something out. It wasn't a typical Lids / Raffy night either. Howard did fine I think, the goal he allowed could have been stopped maybe, but he seemed to do ok

People tend to get enamored by flashy plays. Lebda makes one rush, and all of sudden he's the next Bobby Orr or something. Datsyuk could lose the puck 5 times, but make one good spin move and its OH MY GOD DATS IS AMAZING!!! Lebda's overall an average defenseman, who happens to be a good skater. Last i checked though, this isnt speedskating.

(by the way im not criticizing Datsyuk, just using him as an example to make a point)

[2probert4 8]

I think we need Lebda. He is really the only D man we have who can dump and chase by himself. He caused a good scoring chance for us tonight in doing so. Plus, he made a great save on a two on one. IMO, I think his speed is too valuable to let go.

I think we can pick up another D got, while moving Meech, but I think Lebs and Kronnic are more beneficial than hurtful. Plus, lebda can kinda hold his own, I remember last year he rocked TooToo.......although Tootoo is kinda small height wise

A friend of mine said during the game and I wish I had thought of it.....Lebda is another Dandanault....knocking over Tootoo is fine, and I hope everyone does it again. His speed is fine, puckhandling skills leave something to be desired... His best pairing is with Chelios IMO. I don't think he's developing as much as the Wings would have hoped. With Quincey and Ericsson being ready for a looksie, he better look over his shoulder. Kindl will eventually be a Wing also.

[wingnut22 81]

I was in the chat room of this site during the game, and said that Lebda was bad, and immediately got jumped. Someone actually said Lebda was great and was almost as good as Lidstrom. When responding that only Pronger was close to Lidstrom I was told that Pronger sucked and Lebda was better. Guess that's what I get for going into a chat room eh ?

actually, Shup said that Lebda was not Lids. and you jumped on him for using their names in the same sentance. And I dont remember anyone saying Lebda was better than Pronger. I remember saying that we didnt like Pronger. Then you informed us we would love him. Thank you for putting words into our mouths again though. I appreciate it.

[Lidstromrules16 7]

A friend of mine said during the game and I wish I had thought of it.....Lebda is another Dandanault....knocking over Tootoo is fine, and I hope everyone does it again. His speed is fine, puckhandling skills leave something to be desired... His best pairing is with Chelios IMO. I don't think he's developing as much as the Wings would have hoped. With Quincey and Ericsson being ready for a looksie, he better look over his shoulder. Kindl will eventually be a Wing also.

Yea, if anything, atleast he fills a spot until Ericsson and Kindl are ready. My question, why is Meech up when Quincey could be?

[Rice 42]

This reminds me of the time the Wings lost in an ugly game against Philadelphia. A lot of writers and fans were saying the Wings were "exposed" by the Flyers' toughness and would never survive in the playoffs.

Then the Wings beat Calgary, San Jose, and came damn close to beating Anaheim.

[OsGOD 3]

FEDOROV

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Yea, if anything, atleast he fills a spot until Ericsson and Kindl are ready. My question, why is Meech up when Quincey could be?

Waiver rules if I'm not mistaken although I might be mixing the players up.

Meech could be claimed off waivers and can't really go down to the minors anymore I think ("conditioning stint" was an exception somehow, somebody else can better clarify that than me).

Quincey can still go down to Grand Rapids (assuming he was up with the Wings) without clearing waivers, but he'd be doing no good being a #7 d-man with little/no time. Hence him playing in Grand Rapids all season.

Meech hasn't been overly spectacular, but hasn't done all that much to kill the Wings or play himself out of the depth lineup. I don't mind keeping him up. He's not getting any higher than #7 d-man anyways this season once everyone is healthy.

[Elshupacabra 0]

I was in the chat room of this site during the game, and said that Lebda was bad, and immediately got jumped. Someone actually said Lebda was great and was almost as good as Lidstrom. When responding that only Pronger was close to Lidstrom I was told that Pronger sucked and Lebda was better. Guess that's what I get for going into a chat room eh ? There is a reason Lebda keeps getting shuffled around with different partners, and its not good. He was left standing on the Predators first goal near the net. Hes not the only one to blame tonight, the entire first period everyone stunk it up but they are going to have to evaluate their defensive corps and figure something out. It wasn't a typical Lids / Raffy night either. Howard did fine I think, the goal he allowed could have been stopped maybe, but he seemed to do ok

the quote was "Lebda is a good defenseman for the money, he isn't Nick Lidstrom, but he doesn't get Lidstrom money either so..." so I was saying that for what we spend he is a decent defenseman and if you would have taken the time to actually read what I typed and not immediately assume that i was attacking you you might have picked up on that. but then again, maybe not.

Edited February 13, 2008 by Elshupacabra

[Lidstromrules16 7]

Waiver rules if I'm not mistaken although I might be mixing the players up.

Meech could be claimed off waivers and can't really go down to the minors anymore I think ("conditioning stint" was an exception somehow, somebody else can better clarify that than me).

Quincey can still go down to Grand Rapids (assuming he was up with the Wings) without clearing waivers, but he'd be doing no good being a #7 d-man with little/no time. Hence him playing in Grand Rapids all season.

Meech hasn't been overly spectacular, but hasn't done all that much to kill the Wings or play himself out of the depth lineup. I don't mind keeping him up. He's not getting any higher than #7 d-man anyways this season once everyone is healthy.

I would still like to see Quincey over Meech. I liked Quincey's play in the playoffs

[Izzy24 44]

Shup, your signature just keeps getting better!

[Kp-Wings 3]

<-----------------------

The guy in my avatar (Brad Stuart) is who I want. I honestly don't see the Wings getting him, though, because Holland "doesn't want to trade roster players, nor prospects", which basically translates into no trade at all.

[CloudConnected 0]

A healthy Kronwall will go a long way to rectifying some of our problems.

I'm sorry, but Lebda is just a smaller, less physical Mathieu Dandenault. He has great wheels, but he's a 6 defenseman at best. Putting him in a larger role is not fair to him or the team. He doesn't have a great shot, he has a adequate first pass, and is decent on positioning. His only plus attribute is his speed, and it's not great enough to make him a top 4 guy.

Meech is not good enough for this team as well. He doesn't make bad plays, but he doesn't add anything. Get him out of here so we can get Quincey or Ericsson up here and have them actually contribute.

And can somebody please take Sammy off the point of that powerplay!?!?!?!

Edited February 13, 2008 by CloudConnected

[HenrikRules40 14]

I was in the chat room of this site during the game, and said that Lebda was bad, and immediately got jumped. Someone actually said Lebda was great and was almost as good as Lidstrom. When responding that only Pronger was close to Lidstrom I was told that Pronger sucked and Lebda was better. Guess that's what I get for going into a chat room eh ? There is a reason Lebda keeps getting shuffled around with different partners, and its not good. He was left standing on the Predators first goal near the net. Hes not the only one to blame tonight, the entire first period everyone stunk it up but they are going to have to evaluate their defensive corps and figure something out. It wasn't a typical Lids / Raffy night either. Howard did fine I think, the goal he allowed could have been stopped maybe, but he seemed to do ok

Wow. Lie much?

[Kp-Wings 3]

A healthy Kronwall will go a long way to rectifying some of our problems.

I'm sorry, but Lebda is just a smaller, less physical Mathieu Dandenault. He has great wheels, but he's a 6 defenseman at best. Putting him in a larger role is not fair to him or the team. He doesn't have a great shot, he has a adequate first pass, and is decent on positioning. His only plus attribute is his speed, and it's not great enough to make him a top 4 guy.

And can somebody please take Sammy off the point of that powerplay!?!?!?!

I made this very same connection about a month ago, and was blasted right out of the website from everyone for saying that. Nice to see someone else noticing the same comparison.

Lebda, though, is not the worst defenseman, as that role goes to Meech. He's small, slow, and weak, and he's been physically outshown by even the s***tiest of players this season. I swear, those people who still insist that this guy has potential need to take off their rosy homer glasses, and go get a job at Leafs TV or something. After seeing him play the last couple of games, it really shows how terrible he is.

Holland absolutely needs to get a defenseman at the deadline. I'm not much of a Lilja or Lebda fan, but even they are better than Meech. If Kronwall is going to continue to toil on the IR for the rest of his career, then the Wings need another option back on the blueline, because Meech should not, under any circumstance, see ice time in the playoffs.

[LidsFan 68]

I wish that we had a defenseman with a little bit of a mean streak. Not a Goon, but someone who would get under the other teams skin, and drive them crazy.

[Heaton 1]

Heh, please.

Brian Englom will be the first one to get back on his knees during the next Versus broadcast where the Wings dominant their opponent. The Wings could use another phsyical top 4 defensemen but the defense was no more exposed than Anaheim's defense during their recent 6 game losing streak.

[PenaltyShot 96 521]

I was in the chat room of this site during the game, and said that Lebda was bad, and immediately got jumped. Someone actually said Lebda was great and was almost as good as Lidstrom. When responding that only Pronger was close to Lidstrom I was told that Pronger sucked and Lebda was better. Guess that's what I get for going into a chat room eh ?

Refer to the text under HR40's avatar.

What about the price issue though - with Lidstrom, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg pulling in the heavy salaries, we can't exactly afford to buy an allstar blueline squad. The young Dmen are not polished veterans yet, but Lebda's speed and Kronwall's physical presence are good aspects and they are developing into more well-rounded players. This has just been a bad stretch, the D will right itself in the next game or two.

[2probert4 8]

Refer to the text under HR40's avatar.

What about the price issue though - with Lidstrom, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg pulling in the heavy salaries, we can't exactly afford to buy an allstar blueline squad. The young Dmen are not polished veterans yet, but Lebda's speed and Kronwall's physical presence are good aspects and they are developing into more well-rounded players. This has just been a bad stretch, the D will right itself in the next game or two.

When I said what you quoted, I did not name anyone.....Now im getting it from a certain couple of people in there, saying I put words in their mouth. If I didn't name them, how can I do that. Another one in there is on one hand making a reference that I wasnt in there...but im getting accused of calling someone a puckbunny. Sounds to me like they just told on themselves. I think her definition of Puckbunny and mine differ... My definition of puckbunny is someone who meets the hockey players out back and do em just because they are hockey players. Never called her or anyone else that. Im having fun reading their posts though... Oh well perhaps tomorrow they can laugh about this because I am right now.

[RainingBlood 8]

all I know is Rafalski has been beaten badly in 2 games for 2 goals. God the same topic came up last year and looked what happened. 2 wins away from the stanley cup finals. I wont sit here and push the red button till the redwings are facing elimanation in the playoffs(if that happens.) Teams go through slumps if you expect the wings just to roll every game your crazy.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

I used to hold so much hope for Lebda, but I've really lost it this season. I feel he's one of the most expendable players on the team and we'd be able to fetch something decent in return with some players/picks thrown into the mix.

Move Lebda and a player/pick for a solid top 4 defenseman.

Move Hudler, prospect and a pick for Hossa.

Move another pick/prospect for defensive depth.

[toby91_ca 620]

Sure, the Wings "want" to improve at the trade deadline, but to think there are any serious problems with the team is laughable. They are in a mini-slump right now (could extend to a big slump, but doubtful). Lidstrom was -3 last night, that tells you how bad of a game he had. Lidstrom had a bad game, does that mean he sucks now? Of course not, he had a bad game, like every other human, most guys have more bad games than he does. He and the team will move on and be better....no biggie.

Will they win the cup? Who knows, but if anyone ever thought a march to the cup was going to be anywhere close to easy because of the season they have been having, they haven't been watching hockey long enough.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Sure, the Wings "want" to improve at the trade deadline, but to think there are any serious problems with the team is laughable. They are in a mini-slump right now (could extend to a big slump, but doubtful). Lidstrom was -3 last night, that tells you how bad of a game he had. Lidstrom had a bad game, does that mean he sucks now? Of course not, he had a bad game, like every other human, most guys have more bad games than he does. He and the team will move on and be better....no biggie.

Will they win the cup? Who knows, but if anyone ever thought a march to the cup was going to be anywhere close to easy because of the season they have been having, they haven't been watching hockey long enough.

Absolutely QFT.

[nkuehnl 0]

PLEASE NOTE: The Cup will be awarded in June... we need not 1 but 2 quality defencemen.... not all stars but guys that can play solid hard hitting "D" eg. Steve Staios

I find it laughable that Steve Staios is the name you picked from a hat. How on earth is Staios better than what we have currently?

Hey guys, let's stock our defense with Lilja clones and then complain when those guys don't turn out to be the checking machines we fooled ourselves into thinking they were!

[therock48880 14]

I wish that we had a defenseman with a little bit of a mean streak. Not a Goon, but someone who would get under the other teams skin, and drive them crazy.

And as soon as the Wings get one like that, people will complain that he doesn't play like Lidstrom.

I agree with you, though, that they need a big, mean, d-man. Someone that's unpredictable and irritable.

In terms of forwards, I'd like to see LaPointe come back. Big, strong, can go to the net, and he's a bit unpredictable.