So......Lebda Or Lilja?

[Superman54 91]

I just wanted to know with the aqusition of Stuart, who do you think will be our 6th D-men and who gets THE CUT

or 7th D? Lilja or Lebda!!!

[kylee 727]

i like Lebda cause he has speed a bit of a scoring touch.

i like Lilja because he does have a mean streak and led the team in hits and blocked shots last year.

if i had to make a split decision right now id go with the Pain Train, but wouldn't be happy about benching Lebda/cutting him.

[dicksmack 33]

What a f***in' sad choice to have to make.

[union drone 0]

I say we combine them into Lebdilja, a very large, fast skating D-man with offensive upside. With our luck though, we'd end up with Lilda, who would be smallish, slow, and make give-aways in the defensive zone.

[Airborn 0]

Lebda sits in my opinion.

[arnoldbuck 0]

I say Lilja plays. But he must play like he did last playoffs. (up to the giveaway)

[irishtemper14+25 11]

alternate games

[Dominator2005 558]

Both sucks but Lebda sucks more...

[Guest Canadian Wings]

different player for diff teams

in the playoffs ill take lilja

[Z and D for the C 712]

Wow. Anyone who says Lilja isn't a good defenseman is an idiot. He plays really solid, and his only weakness (don't get me wrong, it's a big one) is turnovers and mistakes he tends to make. But it's not like Lebda has never turned over a puck

Lilja over Lebda anyday.

Edited February 26, 2008 by Z and D for the C

[Guest CaliWingsNut]

I say alternate, but if I have to choose... lilja sits. stuart will give us the grit he provides plus some.

[Superman54 91]

Im gonna say Lilja over Lebs

I have never really enjoyed him much, nor Lilja, but Lilja brings more to the table IMO

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

I love Lebs, but I am going to have to pick Andreas. Lils has stepped it up since last season. He's great at killing penalties, he blocks shots, and has been physical as well. IMO he has more to offer for the Wings then Lebda.

[55fan 5,133]

Since it's going to be a bit before we have to decide, I think they are both very well aware that they are under the microscope. Let's see who plays better in the days ahead.

The other side of this is that if Lebda/Lilja sits, do we have room to keep Meech (once our injured start coming back, of course) or do we have to send him back down?

Personally, I'm torn between Lebda and Lilja. Lil is good defensively (blocked shots) and Lebda has the speed. It's hard to choose between the different styles. Right now, with all the injuries, I think Lilja is more needed because of his defensive skills so that the forwards can concentrate on scoring, but that will change.

Wow, a post that basically says, "I don't know".

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Lilja against Anaheim or Calgary.

Lebda against Dallas or San Jose.

[betterREDthandead 58]

I'm tilting a little bit because I'm still remembering all those awful giveaways in the Vancouver game. Lebda stunk the joint up something fierce. But I've always believed Lilja's a better 6th defenseman than almost any other 6th defenseman in the league. Sit Lebda, play Lilja. There're three perfectly good options for blueline offense in Lidstrom, Rafalski, and Kronwall, and when all else fails, you can't go wrong with size on the blueline.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Per M-Live:

Stuart could end playing with Niklas Kronwall on the second pairing, bumping down Andreas Lilja to the third pair with Chris Chelios, leaving Brett Lebda as the seventh defenseman and Derek Meech as No. 8.

Looks like we have our answer.

[Henkka 0]

Definitely Lilja. We need his size and physicality. Here is some stats, nice adds from Stuart.

Shot blocking:

Andreas Lilja 91

Brad Stuart 88

Brian Rafalski 64

Nicklas Lidström 62

Niklas Kronwall 55

Chris Chelios 41

Brett Lebda 26

Derek Meech 14

Hits:

Andreas Lilja 109

Brad Stuart 82

Niklas Kronwall 67

Chris Chelios 45

Brett Lebda 38

Brian Rafalski 26

Nicklas Lidström 22

Derek Meech 14

Edited February 26, 2008 by Henkka

[DeuxEx 0]

I'd take Lilja over Lebda. They both turn over the puck but Lilja can block shots and be pretty physical.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Lilja is a better all-around Dman and a solid shot blocker. He should absolutely play in front of Lebda.

[Rice 42]

Lilja. The guy takes too much s***. He was really bad his first year here, but he's developed into a pretty solid guy. He's going to be even better when he's playing less minutes. He played great in the playoffs last year aside from the Selanne give away -- a situation that he shouldn't have been playing in anyway. Lilja's game is better suited for the playoffs.

[Wings_Dynasty 267]

Sit Lebda's non-shooting, bad passing, non-hitting ass down.

Lids-Raffy

Kronner-Stuart

Lilja-Cheli

[Elshupacabra 0]

I have to sit Lebda, hands down, Lija is bigger, He'll hit (once in a while), he blocks shots and is a more defensive minded defenseman.

Lebda can skate like the wind, but he isn't that solid in the back end and he doesn't score goals.

Sitting Lebda is the logical move IMO.

[Barrie 900]

Lids-Raffy

Kronner-Stuart

Lilja-Cheli

Man, that's a solid group!

[Matt 1,048]

I would be shocked if Lebda isn't the one that ultimately sits.