If Chelios resigns, will Ericsson ever get the chance?

[Phazon 24]

isnt erickson already 24 years old? How long does this kid have wait for a spot on the blueline? Babcock says he is a stud, and he is a very good coach so i dont doubt his word.

Chelios might as well play 3 more seasons, he refuses to retire which gets a bit annoying. At 46 years old you should step away for the up and coming guys. Wings blueline proved that they could win a SC finals without him, and he lost a step. I mean, who wouldnt lose a step at 46 years old?! Nothing wrong with that.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

Chelios isn't keeping Ericsson (correct spelling BTW) from playing......the Wings cap crunch is. On top of that, Ericcson playing full-time minutes in GR is more beneficial than playing 7-8 minutes per night for Detroit this coming season. Expect to see Big Rig full-time during the 09/10 season.

Also, why on earth should Chelios step aside for the young guys? He doesn't owe them anything.

[Guest mindfly]

A coach doesn't exacly say in a presser that one of his own players have been bad etc... he never complained about mccarty after his comeback even if he made awful descisions and played pretty bad most games... He probably see potential in ericsson but hey dont overrate the dude.

[lfd250 1]

isnt erickson already 24 years old? How long does this kid have wait for a spot on the blueline? Babcock says he is a stud, and he is a very good coach so i dont doubt his word.

Chelios might as well play 3 more seasons, he refuses to retire which gets a bit annoying. At 46 years old you should step away for the up and coming guys. Wings blueline proved that they could win a SC finals without him, and he lost a step. I mean, who wouldnt lose a step at 46 years old?! Nothing wrong with that.

Mr Erickson,

Don't worry, your boy will play. If he was the stud he'd play over lilja, meech, and the other 5-6 guys.

[eva unit zero 271]

Ericsson will have his roster spot at the same time Howard, Liv, Meech, Kuznetsov, Butsayev, Roest, and every other young Wing will. When they take it away from a player by outplaying them and proving that they bring more to the team now and in the future.

[Phazon 24]

Also, why on earth should Chelios step aside for the young guys? He doesn't owe them anything.

Mr Erickson,

Don't worry, your boy will play. If he was the stud he'd play over lilja, meech, and the other 5-6 guys.

the point is that meech, lilja etc ARE better than chelios right now. I am not calling lilja and meech great players, but chelios was painfully slow at the Dallas series and did several costly mistakes. What makes you think he'll improve one year closer to 50? It's obvious he is a fan favorite, but now it is sentimental reasons.

also, why did you call him my boy? I dont give a damn, but I care for wings organization and want them to field the best team every season to win the cup, and I believe sooner or later age will get past you, and I think it's time to get some hungry faces into the team.

Edited August 28, 2008 by Phazon

[Opie 308]

Ericsson will have his roster spot at the same time Howard, Liv, Meech, Kuznetsov, Butsayev, Roest, and every other young Wing will. When they take it away from a player by outplaying them and proving that they bring more to the team now and in the future.

What an interesting approach, let a player earn the roster spot you say, hmmm novel approach!

Sarcasm aside, this and the fact that he has one more year of waiver eligibility are the reasons he will be in GR most of the year. The Wings are in a pinch with the Salary cap, they need to be careful these next couple of years with veteran players, having a guy like Ericsson around will help, if they need a D-man he is there at a relatively low cost to them.

[Phazon 24]

I have nothing against chelios, he is an alltime great. I am just saying that i think his time has come. I want lidstrom to do the same when he is on heavy decline.

[eva unit zero 271]

What an interesting approach, let a player earn the roster spot you say, hmmm novel approach!

Sarcasm aside, this and the fact that he has one more year of waiver eligibility are the reasons he will be in GR most of the year. The Wings are in a pinch with the Salary cap, they need to be careful these next couple of years with veteran players, having a guy like Ericsson around will help, if they need a D-man he is there at a relatively low cost to them.

Ericsson would be much more expensive on the NHL roster than Quincey, Meech, Chelios, or Lebda will be this season, just for reference. That, as well as the fact that he is waiver-exempt and they are not, determines the fact that he will be in Grand Rapids most of the year.

[Opie 308]

What are you basing the heavy decline on? Honest question.

If you are using stats, that would be coach's fault. Babs has not let Cheli play any PP time his main role is PK and stay at home D man.

If you are basing it off of the Dallas series, I would suggest holding that decision off until we all see what he looks like this year, it could be age or it could be that he had a lingering leg/knee problem.

I like the idea of Cheli as the 7th man, letting guys get a breather, he is experienced and will not be taken back by any situation in hockey, he has seen it all. Plus if it is 7th man in the NHL or 1st man in GR I would much rather have Big Rig in GR honing his game!

[Phazon 24]

What are you basing the heavy decline on? Honest question.

how many great 46-47 year olds have you seen play on highest lvl in nhl?

[Guest Dump-N-Thump]

If big rig out plays chelios, big rig plays.. simple as that

edit- spelling

Edited August 28, 2008 by Dump-N-Thump

[lfd250 1]

Here's the deal, you like Erickson and want him to play. No big deal, we all have our favorites. He'll get his chance don't worry. He will probably be up more then he is down, seems like we always have injuries. Some papers are already saying that Meech or Q will be traded before the season starts. Point is if he's as good as some claim, he understands he can go back and forth, he works hard and gets great min in GR, and then he'll be rewarded. Things will work out, just not on your timeline.

[jvxp 0]

the point is that meech, lilja etc ARE better than chelios right now. I am not calling lilja and meech great players, but chelios was painfully slow at the Dallas series and did several costly mistakes. What makes you think he'll improve one year closer to 50? It's obvious he is a fan favorite, but now it is sentimental reasons.

also, why did you call him my boy? I dont give a damn, but I care for wings organization and want them to field the best team every season to win the cup, and I believe sooner or later age will get past you, and I think it's time to get some hungry faces into the team.

\

True and True!

Cheli will be slower this year and make more mistakes.

[weGotTheCup89 41]

how many great 46-47 year olds have you seen play on highest lvl in nhl?

well let's see... that's not at all a fair question as the only other person who has ever played in the NHL at that age was Gordie Howe. Chelios isn't hurting us by being on the roster, one of the strong points of the wings is that their younger guys don't have to play. Datsyuk wasn't even in the NHL until 24 years old, and Zetterberg was 23. And really, Chelios is holding his own, he's taking league minimum, and he's able to provide leadership for the young guys. He's one of the top conditioned guys in the sport, and as long as he can play, he will be welcomed back.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

isnt erickson already 24 years old? How long does this kid have wait for a spot on the blueline? Babcock says he is a stud, and he is a very good coach so i dont doubt his word.

Chelios might as well play 3 more seasons, he refuses to retire which gets a bit annoying. At 46 years old you should step away for the up and coming guys. Wings blueline proved that they could win a SC finals without him, and he lost a step. I mean, who wouldnt lose a step at 46 years old?! Nothing wrong with that.

Waivers. Ericsson can play in Grand Rapids and come up/down without worrying about another team claiming him if/whenever he gets sent back down to Grand Rapids if I am not mistaken. As much as I'd like to see him play on the Wings more, it would do him better playing every night in the AHL vs. every few games on the Red Wings for just 5-10 minutes a game if everybody on the Wings defensive core is healthy.

And who are we and to tell people when they should step down? If an athlete still thinks he has enough gas left in the tank physically to where he's not an impedement to a team and he think he can still contribute significantly, play for as long as you can so there is no regret and you ask yourself, "Could I have done it a little more?" Chelios will be playing for peanuts if he re-signs, he's not going to be playing every night, he's not "holding anybody back" on the defensive core. This was made crystal clear to him immediately after the Wings won the Cup this year. There's not a whole lot of harm if he comes back given the scenarios.

[Kp-Wings 3]

Even if Chelios isn't re-signed, Ericsson still wouldn't be on the team this season, unless he seriously outperforms all of Lilja, Lebda, Quincey, and Meech.

[RedWingedKitten 9]

Who doesn't want an experienced vet showing the new guys how it's done? Besides, even if we didn't sign Chelios, Ericsson would probably spend most of his time in GR anyways.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

If Chelios re-signs, Ericsson retires. It shall seal his fate and he will never play another NHL game again!!

On a more serious note, Ericsson may be 24, but hes only been playing defense for what? A few years? Hes fine where he is. Hes a great young Dman, but its not like we have Dion Phaneuf playing for the farm and are just too set on team loyalty to let him get his chance. You worry about you, and the brass will worry about their business.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

the point is that meech, lilja etc ARE better than chelios right now. I am not calling lilja and meech great players, but chelios was painfully slow at the Dallas series and did several costly mistakes. What makes you think he'll improve one year closer to 50? It's obvious he is a fan favorite, but now it is sentimental reasons.

also, why did you call him my boy? I dont give a damn, but I care for wings organization and want them to field the best team every season to win the cup, and I believe sooner or later age will get past you, and I think it's time to get some hungry faces into the team.

You obviously aren't seeing the benefits in having depth at defense during a long season. Don't get me wrong, Cheli has lost a step but he was crucial during the February stretch where the Wings were one more injury away from icing the complete Griffins roster.

Again, Cheli is not taking Ericcson's spot, the cap crunch is along with the Wings' philosophy.....which BTW, has worked better than any other teams' for the past 15+ years.

Who doesn't want an experienced vet showing the new guys how it's done? Besides, even if we didn't sign Chelios, Ericsson would probably spend most of his time in GR anyways.

[eva unit zero 271]

Here's the deal, you like Erickson and want him to play. No big deal, we all have our favorites. He'll get his chance don't worry. He will probably be up more then he is down, seems like we always have injuries. Some papers are already saying that Meech or Q will be traded before the season starts. Point is if he's as good as some claim, he understands he can go back and forth, he works hard and gets great min in GR, and then he'll be rewarded. Things will work out, just not on your timeline.

Any paper claiming Meech or Quincey will be traded hasn't done its homework; the Wings don't just need to clear roster space; they also need to clear CAP space...trading either of those two doesn't do that. It will be Lilja (or possibly Lebda and a forward like Maltby or Samuelsson). But this is already being discussed in another thread.

[Shutemdown 23]

well let's see... that's not at all a fair question as the only other person who has ever played in the NHL at that age was Gordie Howe. Chelios isn't hurting us by being on the roster, one of the strong points of the wings is that their younger guys don't have to play. Datsyuk wasn't even in the NHL until 24 years old, and Zetterberg was 23. And really, Chelios is holding his own, he's taking league minimum, and he's able to provide leadership for the young guys. He's one of the top conditioned guys in the sport, and as long as he can play, he will be welcomed back.

In a way, I kind of agree that Chelios is causing problems on the roster.

We all agree that he's invaluable in regards to the knowledge he can pass to our younger kids, from just years of experience, but on a ROSTER, like SIGNING UP TO PLAY, he's taking a spot that could otherwise be used by a young up-and-comer.

If you want him to mentor the kids, put him in a suit and call him the defensive coach, who cares?

Bottom line, at this point with the huge log-jam on defense and the salary cap, it's ridiculous to sign some guy just because he's too stubborn to hang 'em up.

When he's 60 and still wants to play, will we continue feeding him contracts?

[eva unit zero 271]

In a way, I kind of agree that Chelios is causing problems on the roster.

We all agree that he's invaluable in regards to the knowledge he can pass to our younger kids, from just years of experience, but on a ROSTER, like SIGNING UP TO PLAY, he's taking a spot that could otherwise be used by a young up-and-comer.

If you want him to mentor the kids, put him in a suit and call him the defensive coach, who cares?

Bottom line, at this point with the huge log-jam on defense and the salary cap, it's ridiculous to sign some guy just because he's too stubborn to hang 'em up.

When he's 60 and still wants to play, will we continue feeding him contracts?

Chelios has said he will accept any role, even being the #7/8 defenseman. He's not taking playing time away from a better player. The Wings' issue right now is cap space, not roster space. Chelios isn't a problem for cap space.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

The thing is, given the cap situation, when you're talking about a 7 or 8th d-man who will play limited games in a season, wouldn't it make the most sense to offer a two-way contract like with Downey or Mac?

Obviously they would never do that with someone like Cheli at this stage in his career, which is why I wish he'd retire. Yes Chelios comes cheap, but you're paying for half a season. This is partly about who he is and not just how he plays.

[eva unit zero 271]

The thing is, given the cap situation, when you're talking about a 7 or 8th d-man who will play limited games in a season, wouldn't it make the most sense to offer a two-way contract like with Downey or Mac?

Obviously they would never do that with someone like Cheli at this stage in his career, which is why I wish he'd retire. Yes Chelios comes cheap, but you're paying for half a season. This is partly about who he is and not just how he plays.

The Wings aren't keeping Downey or Mac on to provide mentoring and leadership for the young kids on the roster. They are being kept on to provide grit. Chelios won't be going to the minors unless something absolutely unforeseeable happens; so a two-way contract is unneccessary as it would be language in the deal that would not serve any purpose.

You know, harold, that a two-way contract has NOTHING to do with waivers, right?