The new roster

[vangvace 12]

Sorry if it's been done, but I didn't see it. Once everyone's healthy and McCarty is deemed worthy it'll look something like this:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom

Cleary-Filppula-Samuelsson (Because Sammy just can't leave the second line)

Hudler-Draper-Franzen

Maltby-Kopecky-Drake/Downey/McCarty

Lidstrom-Rafalski

Kronwall-Stuart

Chelios-Lilja

Lebda/Meech

Hasgood/Ossek

That puts them at 24 players.

Because Cleary will be back in the line-up near playoff time do we say goodbye to Downey? Is there a chance that Meech may be exposed? Are Kopecky, Lilja or Lebda eligible?

Well?

[theman19 47]

I see a D man getting waived,...with stuart up there having lilja and lebda is just retarted.

[eva unit zero 271]

If McCarty is called up, then Downey, Lilja, or Lebda will be waived.

[CenterIce 83]

If McCarty is called up, then Downey, Lilja, or Lebda will be waived.

No one has to get waived, because the roster expands after the trading deadline for the playoffs.

[silkyjohnson13 0]

I'm more interested in the line combinations.

I can't say that i'm terribly disappointed that we didn't get a forward, but i was really liking the prospects of putting something together like:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom

Filppula-Acquisition-Samuelsson

Draper-Franzen-Cleary

Maltby-Kopecky/Hudler/Drake/McCarty/Downey

But now, it's going to look a little different and i can't quite figure out what to expect.

I'm hoping that Pav and Z will see significant time together at even strength, but it might be a little harder to do now. I think we'll see them together at home for the most part at least.

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom

Cleary-Filppula-Samuelsson

Draper-Franzen-Maltby

Kopecky/Hudler/Drake/McCarty/Downey

In certain road games:

Filppula-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Cleary-Zetterberg-Samuelsson

Draper-Franzen-Maltby

etc...

Draper will likely be paired with either Franzen or Cleary on the 3rd/checking line, i really like how Clearly played with Drapes at times last postseason but i'd imagine Babs would put him on the 2nd line since he's more of a scoring threat than Franzen.

[WhiteLightning91 105]

In certain road games:

Filppula-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Cleary-Zetterberg-Samuelsson

Draper-Franzen-Maltby

etc...

Draper will likely be paired with either Franzen or Cleary on the 3rd/checking line, i really like how Clearly played with Drapes at times last postseason but i'd imagine Babs would put him on the 2nd line since he's more of a scoring threat than Franzen.

Draper is our best face-off man. No way Franzen boots him from the 3rd line center.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

As I said yesterday, Lilja should convert to forward and replace Hudler. With his grit and tougness he'd be a good 4th line winger that will allow Ericsson to be moved up as a regular to see if Ericsson can hack it for the next 2 months before the playoffs. Also this way no one would have to whine anymore about how Lilja has dumb giveaways and can't play defense with his s***ty positioning. Then the roster would consist of Lilja, Downey, McCarty, Stuart and Ericsson all as regulars when we play the Ducks to match their toughess.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

As I said yesterday, Lilja should convert to forward and replace Hudler. With his grit and tougness he'd be a good 4th line winger that will allow Ericsson to be moved up as a regular to see if Ericsson can hack it for the next 2 months before the playoffs. Also this way no one would have to whine anymore about how Lilja has dumb giveaways and can't play defense with his s***ty positioning. Then the roster would consist of Lilja, Downey, McCarty, Stuart and Ericsson all as regulars when we play the Ducks to match their toughess.

Yeah! Hey- what do the Wings have trouble with? Secondary scoring. Solution- remove the player with the 5th highest point total among our forwards.

Guess who's outside the top six forward scorer bubble? Filppula. But hey- he's tall.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

Yeah! Hey- what do the Wings have trouble with? Secondary scoring. Solution- remove the player with the 5th highest point total among our forwards.

Guess who's outside the top six forward scorer bubble? Filppula. But hey- he's tall.

Hudler hasn't exactly been lighting up the scoreboard, thus there's no reason to reward him with more ice time. If he steps it up consistently, then I'll change my mind.

[Seedless 0]

I really don't think Lilja or Lebda will be waived. Lilja needs to bring his size to the postseason. I can see Meech on the 2nd PP unit in the playoffs though. He's the man. He plays with ten times more confidence than Lilly and he's only got a handful of games under his belt.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

TEAMS ARE ALLOWED AN UNLIMITED ROSTER STARTING FEBRUARY 26TH

NO ONE HAS TO BE WAIVED

Sorry for the caps, but I saw that someone else already posted this and it went unnoticed.

[Izzy24 44]

I really don't think Lilja or Lebda will be waived. Lilja needs to bring his size to the postseason. I can see Meech on the 2nd PP unit in the playoffs though. He's the man. He plays with ten times more confidence than Lilly and he's only got a handful of games under his belt.

Woohoo, Meech!!!

[Guest octopusdank]

As I said yesterday, Lilja should convert to forward and replace Hudler. With his grit and tougness he'd be a good 4th line winger that will allow Ericsson to be moved up as a regular to see if Ericsson can hack it for the next 2 months before the playoffs. Also this way no one would have to whine anymore about how Lilja has dumb giveaways and can't play defense with his s***ty positioning. Then the roster would consist of Lilja, Downey, McCarty, Stuart and Ericsson all as regulars when we play the Ducks to match their toughess.

i kind of like that idea

[Guest Crymson]

Sorry if it's been done, but I didn't see it. Once everyone's healthy and McCarty is deemed worthy it'll look something like this:

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom

Cleary-Filppula-Samuelsson (Because Sammy just can't leave the second line)

Hudler-Draper-Franzen

Maltby-Kopecky-Drake/Downey/McCarty

Lidstrom-Rafalski

Kronwall-Stuart

Chelios-Lilja

Lebda/Meech

Hasgood/Ossek

That puts them at 24 players.

Because Cleary will be back in the line-up near playoff time do we say goodbye to Downey? Is there a chance that Meech may be exposed? Are Kopecky, Lilja or Lebda eligible?

Well?

Given that Meech is an up-and-coming prospect with promise, and given that Lilja's contract is up at the end of the season, I'd not be surprised were Lilja put on waivers. And, so sorry, Stuart will replace Lilja--not Lebda. You can be sure of this given what happened last season--Markov, a (sometimes) physical defensive d-man, was signed to bump Lilja, not Lebda, out of the lineup.

However, this waiver talk assumes that we'll be 100% healthy.

That said, I don't know where all the hating on Lebda is coming from. Sure, the guy makes mistakes---but at this stage of his career, he's just not ready to be playing 30 minutes a night. Mistakes will thus be made. When he's at his usual amount of ice time, he's solid and he's one of the fastest d-men in the league.

Edit: Good call, YG; I'd forgotten that the trade deadline was the end of roster limits for the season.

Edited February 27, 2008 by Crymson

[WhiteLightning91 105]

Franzen-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

Filppula-Zetterberg-Samuelsson

Hudler-Draper-Cleary

Maltby-Kopecky-Drake

Lidstrom-Rafalski

Kronwall-Stuart

Chelios-Lilja

Hasek

Osgood

[kemosabi 0]

homer - z - huds

franzen - filpula - dats

cleary - kopecky - sammy

maltby - draper - mccarty

lidstrom - rafalski

kronwall - stuart

chelios - lebda

cleary and franzen could swap places depending on who's playing better. line 1 and line 2 could swap places depending on which line's performing better. filpula and dats could switch places, depending on which makes the line have more chemistry. line 3 and 4 could switch places depending whether we need more grit or more offense. and lilja's out because lebda works better with chelios.

until injuries screws everything up.

it would be nice to have feds in and sammy gone...

[up2here 41]

homer - z - huds

franzen - filpula - dats

cleary - kopecky - sammy

maltby - draper - mccarty

lidstrom - rafalski

kronwall - stuart

chelios - lebda

cleary and franzen could swap places depending on who's playing better. line 1 and line 2 could swap places depending on which line's performing better. filpula and dats could switch places, depending on which makes the line have more chemistry. line 3 and 4 could switch places depending whether we need more grit or more offense. and lilja's out because lebda works better with chelios.

until injuries screws everything up.

it would be nice to have feds in and sammy gone...

I dont think theres anyway Lebda plays over Lilja. You can say what you want about Lilja but hes played better than Lebda this year. Im sure if you look at the stats Lebda leads in giveaways plus hes not nearly as physical and doesnt block shots like Lilja does.

Edited February 27, 2008 by UP2HERE

[ashenhigh 9]

Our D needs to be re-evaluated.

Lets look at the facts.

It is a FACT that Lilja and Lebda give the puck away. They have done it numerous times. Now obvious it is going to happen, but for them its all too common. I love the grit Lilja has, and I love the speed and offensive jump ledba brings, however I think both of them need to be scratched. They just dont make the grade. Personally, this stretch that has allowed Meech to fill in has been great for him. Its also been a great chance to see Ericksson. Meech however, has been awesome, no doubt.

Meech was def our best defensemen these past two weeks. I believe Meech has showed the defensive play we need from a 3rd liner.

Lids / Ralf

Kronner / Stuart

Meech / Cheli

Thats how it needs to be. Someone made a post earlier about bringing Lilja to the offense, I think that would be a wondeful idea. At least versus a rough opponent like the Ducks or the Flames.

We need the grit.

dats - z - homer

franzen - flip - cleary

maltby - draps - mac

downey - drake - lilja/hudler

bring the paintrain to Pronger's gap toothed face.

Edited February 27, 2008 by ashenhigh

[silkyjohnson13 0]

Draper is our best face-off man. No way Franzen boots him from the 3rd line center.

The guy who will be playing center doesn't necessarily have to take faceoffs. Just last season Zetterberg and Datsyuk were making such a switch (i believe Z had a banged up wrist and couldn't take draws but was continuing to play center).

Babcock really likes playing Franzen at center if he can. When Cleary gets back he wil likely replace Franzen on one of the top-2 lines, and Franzen will likely join Drapes on the checking line. Drapes would obviously take the draws but don't be surprised if you actually see Franzen playing center.

I would really love the idea of playing a Draper-Franzen-Cleary line in the playoffs, but i think Cleary (or possibly Franzen) will be needed on one of the top-2 scoring lines. Babcock doesn't trust Hudler on one of the top-2 lines and and you defently ain't going to see anybody like Kopecky, Maltby, or Drake/McCarty there.

So from that stand point, i'm almost positive that the top-2 lines will consist of Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Filppula, Samuelsson, and Cleary (possibly Franzen). How they'll be assembled simply depends on whether Pav and Z will be together - which could likely depend whether we're at home or away.

The 3rd line will thus contain Draper, Franzen (unless him and Cleary switch), and one of Maltby, Kopecky, Hudler, Drake, McCarty. If i had to guess it'd be Maltby.

Thus, the 4th line would contain three of Kopecky, Hudler, Drake, or McCarty. (Downey isn't going to see much if any action come playoff time - pure fighters carry little value during the playoffs). The more i hear the more i think McCarty really might be able to get playing time. It would make sense that he could basically replace Drake/Downey, bringing energy, physical play, and the willingness to drop the gloves. I do wonder whether Babcock will keep both Drake and McCarty in the lineup (assuming McCarty can pull the comeback off), thus leaving off Hudler. Although it might make sense from a physical standpoint two bench Hudler, i'd personally rather leave Hudler in to see 4th line duty and give some type of scoring ability to that line. That's another reason why i will not be surprised if McCarty were to replace Drake and Downey. Neither of those guys has the ability to put the puck in the net. Downey rarely ever touches the puck and watching Drake attempt to handle the puck is tough on the eyes.

So if i were to make a final guess (when Pav and Z are together):

Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom

Cleary-Filppula-Samuelsson

Draper-Franzen-Maltby

Hudler-Kopecky-McCarty/Drake

Lidstrom-Rafalski

Kronwall-Stuart

Chelios-Lilja

Lebda

Hasek

Osgood

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Downey must be on the team. He doesnt have to play, but he needs to stay up here. Lebda or Lilja is a toss up, they both suck ass.

[Grittzkey 1]

Our D needs to be re-evaluated.

Not really. Just switch Meech with Lebda, and all is fixed.

[Kp-Wings 3]

Yeah! Hey- what do the Wings have trouble with? Secondary scoring. Solution- remove the player with the 5th highest point total among our forwards.

Guess who's outside the top six forward scorer bubble? Filppula. But hey- he's tall.

Oh, right. Because Hudler's 0 goals in 18 games certainly warrants him as the solution.

Hudler is part of the problem, just as much as Samuelsson and Filppula. When are people going to understand that? The Wings secondary scoring blows, and people need to stop cutting these guys so much slack, and saying their criticisms are unjustified, because they are justified plenty.

I honestly can't believe people like Hudler so much. The guy is terrible. He's small, has no defensive ability, plays with no passion, etc. etc. Yet, for some odd reason, people get all charged up when they seem go in and push someone like Phaneuf with his glove, then skate away with his tail between his legs because he was crushed in a scrum.

I will never know why people like Hudler, and want to keep him around here. He's terrible, and the exact type of player the Wings need less of. But, none of that matters now, since Holland didn't seize the opportunity to get rid of him when he could.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Samuelson, Kopecky and Hudler are deadweight. The Wings ship will be going up in the playoffs, and those 3 players will be going down. I'm speaking in hypotheticals just so were sure

Edited February 28, 2008 by Detroit # 1 Fan

[Kp-Wings 3]

Samuelson, Kopecky and Hudler are deadweight. The Wings ship will be going up in the playoffs, and those 3 players will be going down.

What makes you so absolutley sure? Not to be mean or anything, but you're predicting the future far before it happens. Babcock gives Samuelsson so much ice time on this team that you'd think he was the 2nd coming of Gretzky or something.

I hope you're right, but I highly doubt it. The Wings won't get rid of any of those guys. Babcock likes Samuelsson and Kopecky, and Holland likes Hudler. It's a lose-lose situation.

Besides that, who's going to replace them? If the Wings had made a move at the deadline for a forward, that wouldn't be an issue, but... well, you know...

Edited February 28, 2008 by Kp-Wings

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

What makes you so absolutley sure? Not to be mean or anything, but you're predicting the future far before it happens. Babcock gives Samuelsson so much ice time on this team that you'd think he was the 2nd coming of Gretzky or something.

I hope you're right, but I highly doubt it. The Wings won't get rid of any of those guys. Babcock likes Samuelsson and Kopecky, and Holland likes Hudler. It's a lose-lose situation.

Besides that, who's going to replace them? If the Wings had made a move at the deadline for a forward, that wouldn't be an issue, but... well, you know...

I didnt come across like I meant to. I mean these guys wont be getting points/having an impact in the playoffs not that there going to be sent down (THOUGH I WISH THEY WOULD ). As much as I like Babcock, I dont like the kinda guys he likes. Coaches usually have some kinda say as to what depth players they want, and he wants these guys?....

Edited February 28, 2008 by Detroit # 1 Fan