Who Sits for Stuart?

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

I know we had this discussion right around the trading deadline, but now it's for real, since the playoffs are starting and it looks like Stuart will be back for game 1, meaning that either Lilja or Lebda will have to sit in his place.

So the question is, which of those 2 players should sit?

In my opinion, of course Lebda should sit, because although he can skate, he doesn't add too much of anything else. Lilja at least adds some entertainment value out there on the ice, and has more size and toughness than Lebda does. Also, we have other defensemen who can skate, so it's not like Lebda is absolutely necessary back there.

[rick zombo 3,739]

When Stuart returns, I think you'll see these pairings:

Lidstrom - Rafalski

Kronwall - Stuart

Chelios - Lilja

[Statiklullaby87 0]

I'm not quite sure the defensive pairings or even who is in the lineup but i think they should both sit (oviously thats not gunna happen) and let Ericcson have a shot... IMO he's played just as good if not better than lebda and lilja anyhow. If he chokes then bring up one of the others. I dont like how both lilja and lebda give the puck up in our def. zone but if i had to choose one I'd sit lilja and play lebda...speed kills, lebda is more apt to join a rush or take it himself IMO...At least he has the offensive ability to make up for his defensive inability...but wut do I know

[WhiteLightning91 105]

If you sit Lilja in place of Ericsson, you can pretty much bet that he will bolt this offseason. Since Holland has already offered him a contract for next season, although he didn't accept it, you gotta figure he is in the managements future plans on this team. With Kopecky going down, we lost our leader in hits. Lilja is 2nd on the team in that category. To sit him would be a pretty obsurd move considering we are going to need as many physical players as we can have on this team. Even though I love Ericsson, he is still pretty raw and needs some overall polishing to his game. Lilja is solid on the PK and also a decent shot blocker. Using him as a #6 defenseman is an ideal situation. It's when he is used as a #4 that his weaknesses and defensive gaffes are exposed.

Zombo's got it right.

Lidstrom - Rafalski

Kronwall - Stuart

Chelios - Lilja

[YoungGuns1340 1]

I'm not quite sure the defensive pairings or even who is in the lineup but i think they should both sit (oviously thats not gunna happen) and let Ericcson have a shot... IMO he's played just as good if not better than lebda and lilja anyhow. If he chokes then bring up one of the others. I dont like how both lilja and lebda give the puck up in our def. zone but if i had to choose one I'd sit lilja and play lebda...speed kills, lebda is more apt to join a rush or take it himself IMO...At least he has the offensive ability to make up for his defensive inability...but wut do I know

No. Hes not where Lilja is on the PK, on blocked shots, and on hits. Everything else is a wash at this point. Ericsson just has the benefit of the "oh he's a rookie, he'll make a few mistakes" excuse while Lilja doesn't. And the playoffs is a whole different ball game.

Believe it or not, Lilja brings intangibles to the Red Wings roster that a lot of people don't realize. He plays a great game for the playoffs. Game 5 f$%^ up not withstanding, Lilja was probably our 2nd best Dman behind Nick last year. He played out of this world. As a 6th defenseman, he should be great depth.

Lids - Raffi

Kronnic - Stuart

Chelios - Lilja

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

I'm not quite sure the defensive pairings or even who is in the lineup but i think they should both sit (oviously thats not gunna happen) and let Ericcson have a shot... IMO he's played just as good if not better than lebda and lilja anyhow. If he chokes then bring up one of the others. I dont like how both lilja and lebda give the puck up in our def. zone but if i had to choose one I'd sit lilja and play lebda...speed kills, lebda is more apt to join a rush or take it himself IMO...At least he has the offensive ability to make up for his defensive inability...but wut do I know

Lebda's speed doesn't amount to much in the scoring department. He just flies into the offensive zone, and then when he finds nowhere to go, he just dumps it in. Speed means nothing if the guy doesn't translate it into goals or breaking down the other team's defense.

Honestly, I don't think him being scratched would hinder this team's play in any way.

[RedFX 48]

Lebda sits.

[Opie 308]

I see the lines as

Lids Ralf

Kron Stu

Cheli Lils

The rest have great attributes and doing things very well, but of the 4-5 options to be the 6h d-man I see Lilja with the most to offer the team. His blocked shots will help tremendously.

[Son of a Wing 1,644]

Lilja is about as good a 6th d-man as you get nowadays. Lebda just doesn't bring the same intangibles to the table. In fact I would go as far as dressing Meech over Lebda. When Our D suffered all the injuries it was Meech who really stepped up when it counted not Lebda.

Anyway you look at it I think we are very fortunate to have the depth we have D.

And isn't Lilja still leading the team in blocked shots? That's a very underrated stat IMO.

[Statiklullaby87 0]

No. Hes not where Lilja is on the PK, on blocked shots, and on hits. Everything else is a wash at this point. Ericsson just has the benefit of the "oh he's a rookie, he'll make a few mistakes" excuse while Lilja doesn't. And the playoffs is a whole different ball game.

Believe it or not, Lilja brings intangibles to the Red Wings roster that a lot of people don't realize. He plays a great game for the playoffs. Game 5 f$%^ up not withstanding, Lilja was probably our 2nd best Dman behind Nick last year. He played out of this world. As a 6th defenseman, he should be great depth.

Lids - Raffi

Kronnic - Stuart

Chelios - Lilja

I see your point and excuse my logic BUT...lilja continues to make those crucial mistakes, hits and blocked shots dont matter when u give the puck up with no one around you in front of your goalie in OT...granted, ericcson might do that too, but he has to be in that position before we know how he will preform...like i said, let him play and if he f**** it up then sit him. there is only one way to get experiance and in the first few games in the first round we can afford an untimley mistake or two...i think its safe to say lilja has reached his peak, ericcson still has upside...I say let the yougster have a chance...

Also not to call you out or anything but that Game 5 f$%^ up was huge, his great play leading up to that point is null and void as far as im concerned...

[Statiklullaby87 0]

Lebda's speed doesn't amount to much in the scoring department. He just flies into the offensive zone, and then when he finds nowhere to go, he just dumps it in. Speed means nothing if the guy doesn't translate it into goals or breaking down the other team's defense.

Honestly, I don't think him being scratched would hinder this team's play in any way.

True and I agree with you... but flying into the offensive zone and dumping it in is still a good offensive play no? It gets the puck out of our zone and puts pressure on they're defence...barring an odd man rush the other way I see no problem with that...

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

There should be absolutely no question as to who sits between Lebda and Lilja.

Lilja is a better all-around player, is a great shot-blocker and is exactly what a team needs from a bottom pair guy: Reliability. Lebda is anything but.

[Mors 201]

When Stuart returns, I think you'll see these pairings:

Lidstrom - Rafalski

Kronwall - Stuart

Chelios - Lilja

Obviously I can't speak for the team, but I'm pretty sure this is exactly the lineup we're going to see...Lilja stepped up immensely in the playoffs last year and I'm hoping to see the same this time around.

[Statiklullaby87 0]

I dont want it to seem like im voting for lebda to play and lilja to sit...i want to see ericcson in the playoffs and i would like him to see him replace lilja...unless of course ericcson cant hack it, then by all means sit his ass. I was saying if i had to choose between lilja and lebda i like lebda...

[stormboy 47]

I see your point and excuse my logic BUT...lilja continues to make those crucial mistakes, hits and blocked shots dont matter when u give the puck up with no one around you in front of your goalie in OT...granted, ericcson might do that too, but he has to be in that position before we know how he will preform...like i said, let him play and if he f**** it up then sit him. there is only one way to get experiance and in the first few games in the first round we can afford an untimely mistake or two...i think its safe to say lilja has reached his peak, ericcson still has upside...I say let the yougster have a chance...

Also not to call you out or anything but that Game 5 f$%^ up was huge, his great play leading up to that point is null and void as far as im concerned...

i think it's important to remember that lilja, of all people, scored our only goal in that game. and if the game hadn't gone to OT because of a freak play bouncing off the best d-man in the league's stick and fluttering right over our goalie's shoulder, that would have never had a chance to happen. and even let that freak play at the end of regulation happen...if datsyuk, zetterberg, or ANY of our top scorers would have scored ONE more goal, it would have been at least 2-1. so i don't think you can blame him entirely for us losing game five.

and i don't think that it makes all his other good play null and void. how many goals might he have prevented in the series? of course there's no way to quantify this, but clearly good defensive play translates into less goals. do you really think that either of our goalies would have the GAA's that they do if we didn't have lidstrom? doubtful.

so, take lilja out of last year's playoffs. we get shutout 1-0 in the notorious game five and let in probably at least two or three goals spread throughout the playoffs that may or may not have made a difference in some close games.

up until now, i've been a proponent of lebda, always believing that his speed would turn into better puck movement and some scoring. i've seen flashes of brilliance, but it's never turned into anything. i think i'm getting to the point now where, at least with lilja, you know what you're getting. and, yeah, he's not a top four d-man. don't use him as one. he shouldn't be in there against the other team's top line (or top two lines, frequently) even strength, as he was much of the time when our team was in that huge skid.

maybe it's too much to ask for a repeat of last year's playoffs from lilja. but, minus schnides, plus rafalski and stuart, i think lilja's exactly where we need him.

edit: grammar, clarity.

Edited April 7, 2008 by stormboy

[Statiklullaby87 0]

i think it's important to remember that lilja, of all people, scored our only goal in that game. and if the game hadn't gone to OT because of a freak play bouncing off the best d-man in the league's stick and fluttering right over our goalie's shoulder, that would have never had a chance to happen. and even let that freak play at the end of regulation happen...if datsyuk, zetterberg, or ANY of our top scorers would have scored ONE more goal, it would have been at least 2-1. so i don't think you can blame him entirely for us losing game five.

and i don't think that it makes all his other good play null and void. how many goals might he have prevented in the series? of course there's no way to quantify this, but clearly good defensive play translates into less goals. do you really think that either of our goalies would have the GAA's that they do if we didn't have lidstrom? doubtful.

so, take lilja out of last year's playoffs. we get shutout 1-0 in the notorious game five and let in probably at least two or three goals spread throughout the playoffs that may or may not have made a difference in some close games.

up until now, i've been a proponent of lebda, always believing that his speed would turn into better puck movement and some scoring. i've seen flashes of brilliance, but it's never turned into anything. i think i'm getting to the point now where, at least with lilja, you know what you're getting. and, yeah, he's not a top four d-man. don't use him as one. he shouldn't be in there against the other team's top line (or top two lines, frequently) even strength, as he was much of the time when our team was in that huge skid.

maybe it's too much to ask for a repeat of last year's playoffs from lilja. but, minus schnides, plus rafalski and stuart, i think lilja's exactly where we need him.

edit: grammar, clarity.

Ok i can live with that, but what about ericcson?

[Guest nutz2u]

Lebda. I had hopes that with his speed he could develop a decent game but, he has had plenty of opportunity with icetime he has recieved and all I see is, carry the puck, carry the puck. You would think that once in a while he would figure out :idea: what to do with it once he hit the offencive zone but,

[stormboy 47]

Ok i can live with that, but what about ericcson?

*shrug* i don't know. i guess he sits. once everyone's healthy, we're real deep on defense. if stuart doesn't resign next year, he's in. same goes for lilja and chelios. i like what i've seen of him too but at this point i'm not too sure about sitting an nhl-playoff tested roster player (lilja) who has some measure of chemistry with the team and putting up an un-tested ahl player who hasn't played a ton with the team and who doesn't have much nhl experience. i agree with what you said: the only way to get tested is to play. i'd rather see him go for his first run after a whole regular season. granted, quincy did a fine job last year, but i think if you're mike babcock you're not going to put yourself in that position unless you have to.

if i'm armchair coach, i see if we get up 2-0 or 3-1 over nashville, then maybe sit lilja for a game or two and see how ericcson does. or, if lilja blows it big time, i put him in. but i think at this point it's lilja's to lose, not ericcson's to lose. in my opinion.

edit: clarity. i never get anything right the first time.

Edited April 7, 2008 by stormboy

[Sergeiwasmyfav 0]

I think you have to go with Lilja in the playoffs. Lilja's game is more suited for playoff hockey than is Lebda's. Lebda has better speed, but other than that, I don't know, he just doesn't do that much. The playoffs are more physical, and Lilja will handle that better than Lebda IMO. I also think Lilja is far more likely to dish some of that physical play out to the other team than is Lebda. Also, Lilja's blocked shot, as others have mentioned, will become even more important in the playoffs. I think you have to go with Lilja.

[Dominator2005 558]

Lebda = out

[OsGOD 3]

As long as lil' Ja doesn't pull the epic brainfreeze failure he did last season.... i am oKay with him in the lineup... Sadly my pain train sig has been retired when offsides retired her duties...

[irishtemper14+25 11]

yea i think lebda will be out unfortunately

[JPT 26]

This is a fairly obvious decision to make. Lebda sits.

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

This is a fairly obvious decision to make. Lebda sits.

It sounds like it's true here on LGW, but I think Babcock is fond of Lebda, much like he is of Sammy. As far as I know, Lebda hasn't been in Babcock's doghouse as often as Lilja has. Also, whoever plays will be paired with Chelli, and him and Lebda have played together for a while now. Besides, he can make up for how slow Chelli is.

With that said, I'm still sticking to my original decision to play Lilja.

[akustyk 84]

I would like Babcock to give Lebda a try in one of Wings home games.

just to give him a go. Lebda was brutal last playoffs but he has some

potential and it might be worth to give him a chance.

other than that is Lilja, hands down.