Wings agree to 1-year deal with Chelios

[jvxp 0]

So we need to get a life because we feel its only time to move on from Chelios....WTF?!?! And if he could outplay Lilja and Lebda at this stage, then why the flying f**k was he not dressed in the finals, and why the f**k would Kenny re-sign Lilja if he plain sucked....You must be 10...maybe 11

[Doggy 130]

Then why isn't Lebda an elite shot-blocker? He's been playing with Cheli or Lilly for 3 years now. You'd think he'd have picked up such an easy ability in 3 years...

Right. My bad. I forgot that if something is seemingly unachievable for one person than it is unachievable for everyone.

Seriously nn? This is your argument??

Let it go.

[norrisnick 1]

Right. My bad. I forgot that if something is seemingly unachievable for one person than it is unachievable for everyone.

Seriously nn? This is your argument??

Let it go.

My argument is that Lilly is our 2nd best PK defenseman and best shot blocker by a considerable margin. For anyone to argue that our depth guys that aren't even remotely close to being as good or tested at the NHL level to eclipse Lilly's abilities within half a season is insanity.

Embrace it.

[Rivalred 630]

My argument is that Lilly is our 2nd best PK defenseman and best shot blocker by a considerable margin. For anyone to argue that our depth guys that aren't even remotely close to being as good or tested at the NHL level to eclipse Lilly's abilities within half a season is insanity.

Embrace it.

^^^^This^^^^

QFMFT

[Doggy 130]

My argument is that Lilly is our 2nd best PK defenseman and best shot blocker by a considerable margin. For anyone to argue that our depth guys that aren't even remotely close to being as good or tested at the NHL level to eclipse Lilly's abilities within half a season is insanity.

Embrace it.

You're changing the subject. That's not what I was talking about. I've said many times that Lilja is by far our best shot blocker.

Whatever. You know it was silly to compare shot-blocking to stick-handling.

[norrisnick 1]

You're changing the subject. That's not what I was talking about. I've said many times that Lilja is by far our best shot blocker.

Whatever. You know it was silly to compare shot-blocking to stick-handling.

Stick-handling is a learned talent every bit as much as shot-blocking. Some can do it. Some can't.

Players don't just pick up a stick and have Datsyuk/Kovalev hands. They work on that s*** morning, noon, and night. The same goes for any other skill. Homer doesn't have magic tipping/screening skills. He practices non-stop. Some players are incapable or unwilling to pick up said skill.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

all the chelios bashers need to get a life. the guy is old but he's a great mentor for the young d-men. the guy is 46 and trains better then lebda and lilja. plus lilja and lebda plain and simply suck. chelios can still outplay the both of them. the ones who complain about chelios i think are pittsburgh fans acting like wings fans. they are still mad we won the cup.

While I am all for bringing Chelios back, can you explain why you think Lilja and Lebda just plain suck? Anybody can make a statement like that without backing it up with reasons.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Stick-handling is a learned talent every bit as much as shot-blocking. Some can do it. Some can't.

Players don't just pick up a stick and have Datsyuk/Kovalev hands. They work on that s*** morning, noon, and night. The same goes for any other skill. Homer doesn't have magic tipping/screening skills. He practices non-stop. Some players are incapable or unwilling to pick up said skill.

Your kind of making my point NN, Quincey could go out non stop everyday with a bucket of foam pucks and get the coaches to take slapshots and he work on positioning and timing until he gets good at them. I'm not saying he'll be as good as Lilja at shot blocking, I'm just saying he'll be able to learn the skill and do it during games.

[norrisnick 1]

Your kind of making my point NN, Quincey could go out non stop everyday with a bucket of foam pucks and get the coaches to take slapshots and he work on positioning and timing until he gets good at them. I'm not saying he'll be as good as Lilja at shot blocking, I'm just saying he'll be able to learn the skill and do it during games.

He should have been doing that s*** when he was 13, 14, 15, etc... It's a bit late to try and add a basic skill set like that in your early to mid 20s. Otherwise guys like Downey can hop on youtube and look up Datsyuk highlights and work on stickhandling til they're blue in the face. You either have an aptitude for it or you don't. Q might have it, but you find that s*** out BEFORE you trade away a guy like Lilly.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

He should have been doing that s*** when he was 13, 14, 15, etc... It's a bit late to try and add a basic skill set like that in your early to mid 20s. Otherwise guys like Downey can hop on youtube and look up Datsyuk highlights and work on stickhandling til they're blue in the face. You either have an aptitude for it or you don't. Q might have it, but you find that s*** out BEFORE you trade away a guy like Lilly.

I think we understand each other now, I dont want to move Lilja until after training camp, see what the other guys have, and if it isnt better then what Lilja brings, dont move him. I agree that shot blocking and PKing is important, playing hockey I know that those guys are important and big parts of the team. The thing is, I'd like to see if Q has the same kind of abilitys Lilja does, because it'd solve alot of problems if he did.

[mmorland 16]

So it seems Lilja is going to be traded..too bad

Good to see Cheli back for another year though.

It's gonna be lebda. I'm almost certain.

[eva unit zero 271]

My argument is that Lilly is our 2nd best PK defenseman and best shot blocker by a considerable margin. For anyone to argue that our depth guys that aren't even remotely close to being as good or tested at the NHL level to eclipse Lilly's abilities within half a season is insanity.

Embrace it.

You'd better stop repeating the same argument to Doggy just because he didn't understand it the first time, NN. He'll start calling you a bandwidth-waster in every thread you post in.

[Doggy 130]

You'd better stop repeating the same argument to Doggy just because he didn't understand it the first time, NN. He'll start calling you a bandwidth-waster in every thread you post in.

Another useful post, eva. Thanks for proving my point.

NN, my point was it is much easier to learn to time shot-blocks than it is to get Datsyuk hands. I thought example of Pavel improving his shot block as well as he has would be a good enough example. Apparently not. You still don't you see what I'm getting at?

[norrisnick 1]

Another useful post, eva. Thanks for proving my point.

NN, my point was it is much easier to learn to time shot-blocks than it is to get Datsyuk hands. I thought example of Pavel improving his shot block as well as he has would be a good enough example. Apparently not. You still don't you see what I'm getting at?

And you don't think that has anything to do with Pavel being a world class hockey player with elite hockey sense? He can pick up on things relatively quickly when others might not? There are FAR too many blueliners that don't know a damn thing about shot-blocking out there for it to be easy to pick up. It's like open ice hitting. You've got to have a knack for it. Timing, willingness to sacrifice the body, and the ability to see likely shooting lanes and how to get there before the shot gets taken. And again Lilly was a soccer goalie. The need/drive to get any available body part in front of something flying at him is something he's done for most of his life. It's second nature. I'm sure Pavel has worked on his stick handling since he was on double runners.

Expecting a guy like Lebda who has shown zero shot-blocking aptitude or Quincey who is almost completely untested at the NHL level to surpass Lilly in shotblocking in half a season is foolhardy to say the very least, hence the Downey/Datsyuk-hands comment. But if it will ease your mind feel free to chalk it up to hyperbole to make a point and move on.

[Doggy 130]

And you don't think that has anything to do with Pavel being a world class hockey player with elite hockey sense? He can pick up on things relatively quickly when others might not? There are FAR too many blueliners that don't know a damn thing about shot-blocking out there for it to be easy to pick up. It's like open ice hitting. You've got to have a knack for it. Timing, willingness to sacrifice the body, and the ability to see likely shooting lanes and how to get there before the shot gets taken. And again Lilly was a soccer goalie. The need/drive to get any available body part in front of something flying at him is something he's done for most of his life. It's second nature. I'm sure Pavel has worked on his stick handling since he was on double runners.

Expecting a guy like Lebda who has shown zero shot-blocking aptitude or Quincey who is almost completely untested at the NHL level to surpass Lilly in shotblocking in half a season is foolhardy to say the very least, hence the Downey/Datsyuk-hands comment. But if it will ease your mind feel free to chalk it up to hyperbole to make a point and move on.

Grrrrr...

Nah, I'm over it. Dunno why I kept going with it. I just think that teaching Downey to have hands like Dastyuk is like teaching Hudler to be tall. I don't feel the same about Lilja's shot-blocking as good as it is.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Great news. I'm for Cheli playing as long as he still has it in him and he most certainly does.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

It's gonna be lebda. I'm almost certain.

No it won't. Lebda being moved on clears $650,000 off the Wings cap hit....Lilja clears almost double that ($1.25 million). Not that I'm happy that Lilja is going to be moved, because I'm not.

Besides, Lebda is locked in for the 09/10 season at that same cap hit.

[Guest Dump-N-Thump]

No it won't. Lebda being moved on clears $650,000 off the Wings cap hit....Lilja clears almost double that ($1.25 million). Not that I'm happy that Lilja is going to be moved, because I'm not.

Besides, Lebda is locked in for the 09/10 season at that same cap hit.

Just a question for you, Could we be able to sqweeze in all our players if we did trade lebda?

[egroen 384]

Just a question for you, Could we be able to sqweeze in all our players if we did trade lebda?

It will literally come down to what Chelios and Quincey signed for. If Quincey is at or close to league minimum and Chelios is at the low end as well, it could be just Lebda.

Part of me wishes we just went to arbitration with Filppula and we would not be anywhere close to having this problem.

[Heaton 1]

If Holland really needs to move ~1m in cap space why does he insist on saying he only needs to move between 100-300k?

[egroen 384]

If Holland really needs to move ~1m in cap space why does he insist on saying he only needs to move between 100-300k?

I think he is trying to give the impression they are going to "play it out" at camp -- but it is pretty clear, due to cap numbers, that it is going to be either Lilja or Lebda. And if Chelios is closer to his $850k -- it absolutely has to be Lilja. Unless he is going to ship Samuelsson off as well, which I really do not see happening, considering Babcock's man-love for Samy.

[Heaton 1]

I think he is trying to give the impression they are going to "play it out" at camp -- but it is pretty clear, due to cap numbers, that it is going to be either Lilja or Lebda. And if Chelios is closer to his $850k -- it absolutely has to be Lilja. Unless he is going to ship Samuelsson off as well, which I really do not see happening, considering Babcock's man-love for Samy.

Ok, the Wings have approx. $151,667 in cap space as it stands right now, they still need to re-sign Quincey and McCarty. Let's say for arguments sake both Quincey and McCarty both sign two-way deals for ~550k each. The forwards who are a lock to be in the lineup for opening day goes as follows: Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Hossa, Franzen, Filppula, Cleary, Hudler, Samuelsson, Holmstrom, Draper, Kopecky, Maltby,* Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Stuart, Lebda and Lilja* with Chelios and Meech on reserve. Osgood and Conklin as well.

That leaves Leino, Helm, Downey, McCarty, Quincey and Howard possible players to be waived and assigned to GR - they obviously will want to have enough room to bring up Quincey, Downey and McCarty multiple times a year (so when they are assigned to GR and people freak out it'll be overreaction.) Since that's the case, Helm's #'s will go off along with Quincey's and Downey/McCarty's will go off as well. The Wings won't have a ton of wiggle room but if we're needing to add an impact player at the deadline that means one of Datsyuk/Hossa/Zetterberg are injured and they're irreplaceable anyway. While moving a Samuelsson or Lilja frees up more room, I don't think it's necessary considering they're better players than anyone else that would be moved and the Wings are going to push hard to win the cup again so you don't move your better depth if you don't have to and I don't think it's absolutely necessary.

*may not be a lock but he's close to it.

[2probert4 8]

Ok, the Wings have approx. $151,667 in cap space as it stands right now, they still need to re-sign Quincey and McCarty. Let's say for arguments sake both Quincey and McCarty both sign two-way deals for ~550k each. The forwards who are a lock to be in the lineup for opening day goes as follows: Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Hossa, Franzen, Filppula, Cleary, Hudler, Samuelsson, Holmstrom, Draper, Kopecky, Maltby,* Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Stuart, Lebda and Lilja* with Chelios and Meech on reserve. Osgood and Conklin as well.

That leaves Leino, Helm, Downey, McCarty, Quincey and Howard possible players to be waived and assigned to GR - they obviously will want to have enough room to bring up Quincey, Downey and McCarty multiple times a year (so when they are assigned to GR and people freak out it'll be overreaction.) Since that's the case, Helm's #'s will go off along with Quincey's and Downey/McCarty's will go off as well. The Wings won't have a ton of wiggle room but if we're needing to add an impact player at the deadline that means one of Datsyuk/Hossa/Zetterberg are injured and they're irreplaceable anyway. While moving a Samuelsson or Lilja frees up more room, I don't think it's necessary considering they're better players than anyone else that would be moved and the Wings are going to push hard to win the cup again so you don't move your better depth if you don't have to and I don't think it's absolutely necessary.

*may not be a lock but he's close to it.

Lebda is as good as he will ever be, his stock will never be higher. Quincey is out of options, he can not go to GR without being exposed to waivers, which we would lose him immediately if he were exposed. Lilja is not our best PK, I would say that Lidstrom has that honor, Rafalski is much better also. Losing Lebda and or Lilja is not that big of a deal.

[Heaton 1]

Lebda is as good as he will ever be, his stock will never be higher. Quincey is out of options, he can not go to GR without being exposed to waivers, which we would lose him immediately if he were exposed. Lilja is not our best PK, I would say that Lidstrom has that honor, Rafalski is much better also. Losing Lebda and or Lilja is not that big of a deal.

Lilja is our 2nd best PK dman, Rafalski is our 5th behind Lidstrom, Lilja, Kronwall, Chelios and Stuart. I also completely disagree that Quincey would be lost immediately if exposed, I think there's a good chance he'd clear.

[Doggy 130]

Ok, the Wings have approx. $151,667 in cap space as it stands right now, they still need to re-sign Quincey and McCarty. Let's say for arguments sake both Quincey and McCarty both sign two-way deals for ~550k each. The forwards who are a lock to be in the lineup for opening day goes as follows: Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Hossa, Franzen, Filppula, Cleary, Hudler, Samuelsson, Holmstrom, Draper, Kopecky, Maltby,* Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Stuart, Lebda and Lilja* with Chelios and Meech on reserve. Osgood and Conklin as well.

That leaves Leino, Helm, Downey, McCarty, Quincey and Howard possible players to be waived and assigned to GR - they obviously will want to have enough room to bring up Quincey, Downey and McCarty multiple times a year (so when they are assigned to GR and people freak out it'll be overreaction.) Since that's the case, Helm's #'s will go off along with Quincey's and Downey/McCarty's will go off as well. The Wings won't have a ton of wiggle room but if we're needing to add an impact player at the deadline that means one of Datsyuk/Hossa/Zetterberg are injured and they're irreplaceable anyway. While moving a Samuelsson or Lilja frees up more room, I don't think it's necessary considering they're better players than anyone else that would be moved and the Wings are going to push hard to win the cup again so you don't move your better depth if you don't have to and I don't think it's absolutely necessary.

*may not be a lock but he's close to it.

Agreed. I hope Lilja isn't traded. We'll see what happens.