Lilja gone?

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

I've been reading alot of predictions that peopel are makiing for next years lineup and almost everyone is eliminating Lilja. Babs praised his PK and Shot blocking skills for most of the regular season and all through playoffs. Do you think Babs and holland like him enough to keep him around or is he going to give up a few blocked shots and bring in a young guy and give him some expereince? We have such good young talent coming up with quincy and meech, and ericsson, but i just dont want us to deflate on defense just get these guys some experience. If Stuart isnt going to sign and we lost lilja well than we lose a good chunk of our size in our defense. Yeah we have Kronwall who has been playing huge...but im affraid if he keeps playing that may thats hes going to get hurt again (since we know how he is so prone to freak injuries). I like Lilja and what he brings to the game as of late. He used to be a liability, but this year he kind of stepped up his game and became a decently sound defenseman. yes he had a few screwups but everyone does unless your name is Nick Lidstrom. Plus he seems to bring a good energy to the club off the ice as well. Seems like hes always a happy and upbeat guy like everyone else on out team. I doubt losing him will hurt our team chemistry, but i think our goaltender would be facing a few more shots on net since he was one of leading shot blockers last year. Is he staying or going? And do you think that the decision on whether Stuart stays or goes will play a large role in whther we keep Lils or not?

[Sergeiwasmyfav 0]

I hope Lilja stays, but I think at this point it is too soon to tell what will be going on. We have a lot of great young defensemen who need to be worked into the NHL, but as the OP said, Lilja does bring some very important aspects of defense, and I would like to see him stick around if only for depth.

[egroen 384]

We were having similar thoughts at the same time (would love to see our two topics merged):

Anyways --

If Stuart is signed (seems to be a priority for Holland), Lilja is definitely expendable. We know Lilja was offered a contract earlier in the year and chose to hold out. He was making $1 million... does he want $1.5 million?

Chelios, Meech and Quincey can all be had individually for almost 1/3 of that.

[RedWingAbner 13]

Lilja is not what this team needs. I think quite a few people pick out the occasional nice things he does and pin their assessments on them.

Lilja is a step slower than most forwards. He doesn't like to get hit, and it was evident in the Pittsburgh series that Penguins forwards started to run at him so he would step to the side (roll the tape, he played scared). For a 10-minute #6 defenseman, there is no way Lilja should make $1 million.

I also think a number of you play to much into what Babcock says about the guy. Lilja was basically a fill-in for Chelios after riding the pine for quite a few games. Do you really think the coach is going to say, "Well, I really like our defense, but Andreas tries to be a goaltender too often, and he's a pansy." No. You don't do that when you are winning games-- why knock a player off his game, even if it is pretty much ineffective.

Andreas Lilja is a #7 defenseman; and in his mid-thirties, we don't need to see him play any more to determine that. Give 10 minutes a game to Ericsson; if he can't do it, there are quite a few defenseman that can give you 10 minutes a game of heart-attack hockey that you can pick up mid-season (as a FA) or at the trade deadline. We don't need to tie up a million bucks plus in a spare part.

He's a nice guy; but he's not what the Wings need to go forward.

[uk_redwing 495]

Rather have him than Chelios.

Rather have Ericsson than either of them. Hail Ericsson. He is the messiah, in defensive prospect form.

[Reilly 24]

I'd bring him back for the right price. He not an every-game defenseman, though. Too slow for this team. Not good with the puck.

[Chris L 0]

What RedWingAbner said.

And I'll add to that by saying, its time for Ericsson to step up. Babs loves him and wants him to play.

And Howard to, but that's for a goalie thread.

Edited June 9, 2008 by Chris L

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

Lilja is not what this team needs. I think quite a few people pick out the occasional nice things he does and pin their assessments on them.

Lilja is a step slower than most forwards. He doesn't like to get hit, and it was evident in the Pittsburgh series that Penguins forwards started to run at him so he would step to the side (roll the tape, he played scared). For a 10-minute #6 defenseman, there is no way Lilja should make $1 million.

I also think a number of you play to much into what Babcock says about the guy. Lilja was basically a fill-in for Chelios after riding the pine for quite a few games. Do you really think the coach is going to say, "Well, I really like our defense, but Andreas tries to be a goaltender too often, and he's a pansy." No. You don't do that when you are winning games-- why knock a player off his game, even if it is pretty much ineffective.

Andreas Lilja is a #7 defenseman; and in his mid-thirties, we don't need to see him play any more to determine that. Give 10 minutes a game to Ericsson; if he can't do it, there are quite a few defenseman that can give you 10 minutes a game of heart-attack hockey that you can pick up mid-season (as a FA) or at the trade deadline. We don't need to tie up a million bucks plus in a spare part.

He's a nice guy; but he's not what the Wings need to go forward.

I dont know if i buy into your whole " Babock would say anything to keep the guy on his game while we are winning" mentality. Its been proven time and time again that Babcock is a very superstitious person and he doesnt like to change the line up if there is a winning streak. So yeah that may be why he kept Lilja in there over Cheli for a while, but we lost to dallas twice and we lost to Pitts twice, thats four chances for Babs to make a change if he wanted to. there would have been no reason to keep Lilja in if babcock didnt truly like the way that Lilja played. You may be right when you say that he is kind of a pansy for a big guy, but i think Babcock really values the fact that Lilja plays shot blocker throught the game. I dont think Babs was just blowing smoke up his ass to keep his mind in the game, because again that is not babcocks style. Hes never been a coach to say something to your face but mean something else, which is why many of us like him. He tells it like it is. And with Quincey Meech Ericsson and a healthy Chelios sitting in the dressing room and Lilja playing over all of them, i think Babs and the team value Lilja alot more than you may think.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

^^^ What he said.

And I'll add to that by saying, its time for Ericsson to step up. Babs loves him and wants him to play.

And Howard to, but that's for a goalie thread.

Babs may love him, but if he was better than Lilja *at this point* he would've been playing in the playoffs. Don't get me wrong, Ericsson is a beast and should be ready to go with number 6 minutes next year, but having enough depth is always a better than not having enough. TBH, I'd like to see both Lilja and Ericcson get some playing time next year, but I don't think Lilja will be happy with that given that he feels he's an every day guy. He was pretty upset earlier in the year when he was getting benched for multiple games in a row, and something tells me with the amount of young depth waiting in the Wings (no pun intended), he'll move on.

Personally, for the right price, I'd like to see him stay. The guy is a great shot-blocker, and is defensively responsible. Yes, he does shy away from physical contact too much, but after all he is a number 6 Dman who shouldn't be on the ice when it mattters the most anyway.

[Glubki 17]

We were having similar thoughts at the same time (would love to see our two topics merged):

Anyways --

If Stuart is signed (seems to be a priority for Holland), Lilja is definitely expendable. We know Lilja was offered a contract earlier in the year and chose to hold out. He was making $1 million... does he want $1.5 million?

Chelios, Meech and Quincey can all be had individually for almost 1/3 of that.

It all depends on Stuart - if he walks than Lilja may be offered a contract while the Wings shop for a #4 D-man and then try to assimilate him to their system. If Stuart signs I think Lilja is done.

[PROBIE4PREZ 58]

meech and quincy would be playing for that 6th spot and neither will get to crack the top 4 so why the hell not sign lilja ... meech cant play on the PK ... same can be said about quincey so i see no gain in losing Lilja ... quincy and meech will not blow us away if they get the mins for experience anyways .. they will always be 6th or 7th d man on this squad and nothing else ... im not trying to be negative about them but i dont buy into hes a foot slower than the forwards cuz hes older now so play the kids s***

[Guest mindfly]

LILJA IS DONE!!! *i hope*

Ken holland is too smart to keep that mediocre defenseman.. he would be a good fit in malmö in the 2nd highest division in sweden.. we have too many promising prospects

[10 Minute Misconduct 104]

LILJA IS DONE!!! *i hope*

Ken holland is too smart to keep that mediocre defenseman.. he would be a good fit in malmö in the 2nd highest division in sweden.. we have too many promising prospects

Holland offered him a 2 year contract during the season and he rejected it.

[WingsZR2 1]

If Stewie signs with us he becomes expendable, we also have enough seasoned young guys that can step in at #6.

It all depends on Stuart, offer him term Kenny, the poor guy is tired of playing for two teams a year.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Lilja drives me nuts sometimes, but I do think people are underestimating how much Babcock values him.

For starters, he was playing 12+ minutes in the Stanley Cup Finals. That says something. In the regular season, of the regular defenseman, Lilja was third for PK minutes per game, behind Lids and Chelios. He led the team in hits and blocked shots among defenseman in the regular season.

That and he will occasionally drop the gloves, which none of the other dmen will do. Like I said, he drives me crazy with his bonehead plays, but I'm not sure Chelios or some of the other guys are a no-brainer over Lilypads.

[Systemfel 33]

Wings looking to re-sign Lilja Edited June 9, 2008 by Systemfel

[stud_defenseman 1]

I agree with pretty much everyone else here. If Stuart goes Lilja stays. It is all going to come down to money though. If Stuart wants something like $4 million I don't think we will sign him, and they will take Lilja for something like $1.5 million (even though he isn't worth it). If Stuart is ready to sign for 3-3.5 they will take him over lilja for sure.

Even without Stuart, our defense won't be hurt that bad, we would pretty much be in the same situation that we were at the begining of this season, except Chelios would probably be replaced by Ericsson, which even at the start could be an improvement.

[PaVel DaTsYuK fan13 0]

I think Liljia will be gone because

A. We have so many solid young defenseman chomping at the bit to get a roster spot

and

B. It seems like every year after a team wins a stanley cup, some GM will greatly overpay one of their role players.

[TheOctopusKid 19]

Greetings everyone!

I guess I will play the role of the bad guy here - not because I have anything personal against Lilja - but because I want to see Detroit continue to add to their dynasty.

Just a simple question - How many of you love Andreas Lilja? As a point of clarification, I don't mean any of the following platitudes -

"He playing grittier and does a lot of good things on the penalty kill"

"He's an aggressive shot blocker"

"He's getting more confident and making less mistakes than before"

"He's Swedish - the more the merrier"

I find whenever his name comes up, it normally is prefaced or followed with some kind of qualifier. "He's getting better" is the one I hear the most.

How many of you grew a little worried when the Pens stepped up the forecheck and he was deep in our zone with the puck? Or whenever a Wings defensemen turned it over, immediately thought it was Lilja? How many of you groaned but weren't surprised when he lost an edge against Dallas and it lead to a one on one?

Look, Lilja will be a career 5th or 6th defensemen. But when your team is expected to compete for the Stanley Cup every year, you can't afford to have a moderate player whose total upside is - a moderate physical style, average shooting skills, and a decent understanding of puck possession. The Wings could commit cash to him and eventually develop him into a stopgap 4th defensemen.

In my opinion - that appears to be a fool's errand. I want to see the 5th and 6th slot open for a 5-8min to outstanding young prospects. Jakub Kindl has the makings of a supurb all-round defensemen and Jonathan Ericsson has an outstanding skill set that is reminiscent of Al MacInnis with a mean streak. The ice-time would be better spent developing these two promising prospects that to rely upon Lilja suddenly and outperfoming expectations.

The Wings never overpay for young defensemen that they believe they can replace easily and with less cost. Jesse Wallin, Aaron Ward, Maxim Kuznetsov, Andres Eriksson. All of these players were traded or were not resigned by the Wings because they were replaced by another young prospect at a less costly rate.

I have no concerns that if Lilja demands more - he will not be resigned. That leaves more time for Ericcson and Kindl to see more action and the opportunity that Kronwell and Fischer both used to propel themselves intoa top 4 defensemen.

If Stuart chooses to leave, I will certainly be sad to see him go but no one is irreplacable. And I'm sure there are plently of other options for the Wings to replace him other than utilizing the mistake proned Lilja. The UFA's class is rather robust and a replacement could be find between 3-4M a year (Redden, Blake, Norstrom, Numminem, etc.).

[BlakChamber 8]

Lilja is not what this team needs. I think quite a few people pick out the occasional nice things he does and pin their assessments on them.

I agree. If there's one thing people do at LGW, it's give Lilja too much credit.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Lilja is not what this team needs. I think quite a few people pick out the occasional nice things he does and pin their assessments on them.

Lilja is a step slower than most forwards. He doesn't like to get hit, and it was evident in the Pittsburgh series that Penguins forwards started to run at him so he would step to the side (roll the tape, he played scared). For a 10-minute #6 defenseman, there is no way Lilja should make $1 million.

I also think a number of you play to much into what Babcock says about the guy. Lilja was basically a fill-in for Chelios after riding the pine for quite a few games. Do you really think the coach is going to say, "Well, I really like our defense, but Andreas tries to be a goaltender too often, and he's a pansy." No. You don't do that when you are winning games-- why knock a player off his game, even if it is pretty much ineffective.

Andreas Lilja is a #7 defenseman; and in his mid-thirties, we don't need to see him play any more to determine that. Give 10 minutes a game to Ericsson; if he can't do it, there are quite a few defenseman that can give you 10 minutes a game of heart-attack hockey that you can pick up mid-season (as a FA) or at the trade deadline. We don't need to tie up a million bucks plus in a spare part.

He's a nice guy; but he's not what the Wings need to go forward.

:rotflmao:

Instant Classic! Seriously, this has to be a joke?

[Echolalia 2,961]

Good post ^#19

If the only attributes Lilja brings to the team are blocking shots, then send him on his way. Just tell Meech or Quincey they aren't getting ice time unless they can dive in front of a puck. Besides, as 1st year full time players, we can pay Meech and Quincey less than we pay for Lilja, and get more, aseach of these kids are at least top 4 defensman to be.

Problem solved.

Edited June 9, 2008 by Echolalia

[wings4thecup06 504]

Hmm yea as a few people have said, it's gonna depend on whether Stuart signs. Cheil will almost certainly be back for sure, you can bank on it. But i personally believe they should give a few looks to Quincey, Meech and Ericsson too. We all saw that Quincey could play at a highly competitve level when he stepped in Schneider/Kronner when they both went down in the 07 playoffs. Meech did a great job filling in this season as well. Ericsson, well, the kid's 6'5, he's got a 100mph slapshot and tons of potential. Plus he's another great find of Hakan Andersson. I'm all for giving him a shot. I'm not just gonna say we should throw Lilja outta the door though. He does bring some damn good shot blocking/penalty killing abilities, but i don't know. I haven't exactly been sold on him, and i'd like us to see some of the youngens get a shot. I won't be sad if he leaves, but then again, I won't be upset if he sticks around.

[joshy207 156]

I'd also like to see Meech, Quincey and maybe Ericsson get a shot at regular playing time. If Lilja (and Chelios for that matter) are brought back, so be it, but the other three are no worse--only less-experienced. And there's only one way to get experience...

[uk_redwing 495]

Lilja is also the most feared fighter in the league...hes a Swedish Probert and Kocur combined with extra greatness.