When considering the final forward spots....

[Dominator2005 558]

I would say the chances of Leino kicking Hudler off his perch are somewhere between none and zero. The only somewhat remote possibility is Sammy becoming the cap casualty and Ville joins Fil and Cleary on the 3rd line. And the only way Sammy becomes a cap casualty is if Lilly and Ericsson are the clear cut winners of the defenseman battle. Moving Lebda, Meech, or Quincey don't clear enough cap space for a 3rd pairing that adds up to $2.15M/yr.

Please don't get me wrong - I'm happy that Babs finaly gave chance to Hudler, but I'm just not sure that Babs is Hudler fan...

I could see them trading, Sammy and Lebda...

[norrisnick 1]

Please don't get me wrong - I'm happy that Babs finaly gave chance to Hudler, but I'm just not sure that Babs is Hudler fan...

I could see them trading, Sammy and Lebda...

I just don't see Hudler losing his spot to a guy that, at best, is where Jiri was a couple years ago.

In my perfect world it would be Lebda and Chelios, but I can live with Lebda/Sammy.

[Guest Four]

I just don't see Hudler losing his spot to a guy that, at best, is where Jiri was a couple years ago.

In my perfect world it would be Lebda and Chelios, but I can live with Lebda/Sammy.

Sorry to go off topic, but your signature.. Would Hudler's head even be visible if he was in that photo?

Edited September 22, 2008 by Four

[Heaton 1]

I just don't see Hudler losing his spot to a guy that, at best, is where Jiri was a couple years ago.

In my perfect world it would be Lebda and Chelios, but I can live with Lebda/Sammy.

If Hudler were going to be traded, he'd be gone.

[norrisnick 1]

If Hudler were going to be traded, he'd be gone.

What? Are you saying that if Hudler gets traded he wouldn't be on the team anymore? LIAR!!1

[Heaton 1]

What? Are you saying that if Hudler gets traded he wouldn't be on the team anymore? LIAR!!1

Not only not on the team, he'd be on a different team.

[norrisnick 1]

[eva unit zero 271]

No, there aren't cheaper replacements for Sammy. Name one.

Jiri Hudler.

[Heaton 1]

Jiri Hudler.

So we replace Samuelsson on the 3rd line with Hudler. Who replaces Hudler on the 2nd line?

[Dabura 12,232]

Leino and Helm could do what sammy can do

No, they can't. Not right now, at least.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Sammy does shoot too much at the goalies chest, but please tell me about these bonehead plays defensively that he supposedly makes. Sammy is a phenomenal defensive player that makes less mistakes defensively than all but a couple forwards on the roster. He plays the point on the second PP unit for a reason. On top of that, he makes practically nothing and is good for chipping in roughly 40 points a season.

Where's the problem?

I'm not gonna get in an arguement, but having watched Sammy a ton over the past 3 years, he's not a phenomenal defensive player. He's alright, and whenever he plays with Maltby and Draper he steps up his level defensively, but by himself he's just alright. He turns over the puck, and does make bonehead plays here and there. He has faults, everyone does, but your overating his defense IMO. Sammy is on this team is because he listens to Babcock about everything, he does chip in points, and he is a good role player.

[Shaman 713]

I bad mouth sammy every chance i get, buttttt, for every once of suck he is in the offensive zone, he makes up for it for not doing anything stupid in our zone. I dont like seeing him on the 2nd line, and wouldnt lose sleep if he were traded, but i think he should get credit that hes still better than about 75% of other forwards out there in his own end.

[Dabura 12,232]

for every once of suck he is in the offensive zone

Except he doesn't suck in the o-zone. Again, check his numbers. Not bad for someone who's supposedly dead weight.

[eva unit zero 271]

So we replace Samuelsson on the 3rd line with Hudler. Who replaces Hudler on the 2nd line?

That's the point.

[eva unit zero 271]

I'm not gonna get in an arguement, but having watched Sammy a ton over the past 3 years, he's not a phenomenal defensive player. He's alright, and whenever he plays with Maltby and Draper he steps up his level defensively, but by himself he's just alright. He turns over the puck, and does make bonehead plays here and there. He has faults, everyone does, but your overating his defense IMO. Sammy is on this team is because he listens to Babcock about everything, he does chip in points, and he is a good role player.

Sammy is on this team because he is a good defensive player. He signed with the Wings as a defensive specialist. Any offense the Wings have gotten from Sammy has been a bonus; he came to the Wings as a defensive player. He has always been good defensively, and is better than most forwards in the NHL in that area.

[DatsyukownzU13 1]

The Samuelsson talk is nauseating. This guy consistently is pushed around the ice (despite his 6' 2" frame), as well as consitently loosing the puck on a majority of his possessions. He has a terribly inconsistent shot that is highly overused because he rarely ever looks to complete a play with a pass; opting to bury his head in the ice and wrist a shot from 60 feet to the goaltenders chest.

I could go on forever, but the fact of the matter is that 1.2 million is not a good deal for Samuelsson. I would much rather have a player who is aware of his teammates on the ice and doesn't mimic Maltby with all the talk on the ice and no action (and Matlby can at least hit...).

I don't know much about Leino, but from the sounds of it he has potential. We should give him a shot to break an NHL roster, rather than settling for a 37 year old walking relic of a ******.

[Superman54 91]

The Samuelsson talk is nauseating. This guy consistently is pushed around the ice (despite his 6' 2" frame), as well as consitently loosing the puck on a majority of his possessions. He has a terribly inconsistent shot that is highly overused because he rarely ever looks to complete a play with a pass; opting to bury his head in the ice and wrist a shot from 60 feet to the goaltenders chest.

I could go on forever, but the fact of the matter is that 1.2 million is not a good deal for Samuelsson. I would much rather have a player who is aware of his teammates on the ice and doesn't mimic Maltby with all the talk on the ice and no action (and Matlby can at least hit...).

I don't know much about Leino, but from the sounds of it he has potential. We should give him a shot to break an NHL roster, rather than settling for a 37 year old walking relic of a ******.

Sammy always sticks up for himself and fights his own battles. I hardly ever see him yapping at others the way Maltby does so I don't understand that comment. Babs tells Sammy to shoot every chance he gets, so to see him do what the coach asks of him even though he doesn't have a great shot, isn't shocking, and the 1.2 million dollar deal is a steal for a defensively gifted, 40 point producer. The fact that you wanna replace Sammy with a european rookie who has never played in the NHL is beyond me.

[Superman54 91]

And Sammy is 31 not 37.

[Dabura 12,232]

the fact of the matter is that 1.2 million is not a good deal for Samuelsson.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself: 40 points, a +21 rating, and overall strong defensive work is a good deal for what he's getting paid. And, again, now he's going to be playing a role he's actually comfortable with.

If someone's going to go based on perceived uselessness, start with a guy like Mac and work from there.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Sammy also seems to step it up during playoff time.

[Doggy 130]

Sammy also seems to step it up during playoff time.

Didn't he almost go three rounds without scoring?

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

I have just been thinkin about those final roster spots and I'm trying to decide who's job is safe. Will Holland and Babcock stick with loyalty or will they choose the best players to make the squad?

Maltby- Has really lost a step in the past few years, PK skills have decreased and there isn't as much of a need for him anymore. We could really drop him and replace him with a much cheaper and younger player. However, he does have vetran leadership and he has won 4 cups with this team, but is that enough to keep him around?

Kopecky- The guy is extremely injury prone and from what I've seen i haven't been that impressed. He shows signs of offensive brilliance, but not very often. I like his size, but that's about it.

McCarty-Hometown favorite, but IMO there's no way he makes this squad. Took too many dumb penalties because he's too slow, and is no longer an elite fighter. His comeback story was great, but our deep is too deep and talented to keep him around. Will his history with the organization get him a roster spot?

Sammy-Shoots way too much and often at the goalies boobies. However, he is cheap but still it's a roster spot. He makes boneheads plays defensively as well. Does he have a guranteed roster spot?

Leino- I must say he is the player I am most intrigued about. Aside from seeing blurry YouTube videos, I've never seen him play, and I can't see the Red Wings going out and signing him if they didn't want him on the team. IMO by the time the halfway point for the season rolls around, Leino will be on second line. Thats just a prediction, but from what I have read, he seems greaet.

Helm-Showed a lot of promise in the playoffs, and has some wheels. But would he be better off playing another year in GR? I don't think so, but what do Babs and Holland think?

Downey- Great team player, great enforcer, terrible skater, below average hockey player. Does he make this squad based on his fighting skilsl alone?

My prediction

4th line.

Leino Draper Helm

Maltby

The coaching staff likes having both a right-handed and left-handed player on the PP. That's why Jason Williams played so much PP time on the point before he was traded to Chicago. Samuelsson then replace him in that position. Whether that holds true this upcoming season, who knows. Nobody here is saying Samuelsson is like a demi-god, but if he keeps playing on the point, he must either be doing something right or Babcock just doesn't have enough trust for another right handed guy to play the point, because he had/has another option in Chelios as he is right-handed even though he is "old" now. Has Samuelsson made any defensive brainfarts that you can think of that have just been downright awful leading to breakaways or goals for the other team? I certainly can't, not even 5 terrible brainfarts. He's far from my favorite but if he was so bad with defensive responsibilities, he would have been off of a power play point a long, long time ago. For $1.2 million, he's shown that he is more than competent in putting up b/w 40-50 points a year, and hopefully around 15-20 goals on a consistent basis. Not a bad deal if you ask me. The vitol spewed towards his direction, mostly without much logic whatsoever is predictable now as evidenced in other posts in this thread, but still amazing.

I'd like to see Helm full-time as much as anybody, maybe even over Kopecky as well, but waivers and the importance of having an enforcer/accountibility to some degree makes it flexible to keep him in the minors for another year. There isn't a worry of having Helm snagged off waivers by antoher team going too/from Detroit to the minors. And even though Downey and/or McCarty are going to probably provide very little in terms of recognizable stats or offensive punch, that is not what they are here for. They are here to play physical and aggressive, and answer cheap shots when needed. Helm's job is not to do that. Downey and McCarty will do that and that will be their primary job, and that is a necessary component for somebody to fill on this team. Kopecky is out of waiver options and personally I'd like to see him try to work out and spend a few more years with the Wings, I think he has some good upside as a checking-type player if he stays healthy. Helm needs as much development/experience time on the ice as possible, and he'd only be playing 5-7 minutes a night in Detroit vs. probably 15-20 minutes in the minors still.

Everybody but Helm, Downey, McCarty, or Leino has a full-time spot, and due to waivers and the enforcer issue, I think Downey or McCarty will have the final spot.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

The Samuelsson talk is nauseating. This guy consistently is pushed around the ice (despite his 6' 2" frame), as well as consitently loosing the puck on a majority of his possessions. He has a terribly inconsistent shot that is highly overused because he rarely ever looks to complete a play with a pass; opting to bury his head in the ice and wrist a shot from 60 feet to the goaltenders chest.

I could go on forever, but the fact of the matter is that 1.2 million is not a good deal for Samuelsson. I would much rather have a player who is aware of his teammates on the ice and doesn't mimic Maltby with all the talk on the ice and no action (and Matlby can at least hit...).

I don't know much about Leino, but from the sounds of it he has potential. We should give him a shot to break an NHL roster, rather than settling for a 37 year old walking relic of a ******.

Did you not see game 1 of the SCF. Samuelsson's forechecking and hit on Hal Gill, much bigger than him, helped trigger the Wings 2nd goal of the game, scored by Samuelsson. If $1.2 million isn't a good deal, who would fill the void? What specific player has similar type stats and salary, and what type of game does he play?

[toby91_ca 620]

Didn't he almost go three rounds without scoring?

Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Franzen....those are the guys that had more goals in the playoffs than Sammy last year.

I think we can all find faults with his game, but when people start talking about being able to replace him with cheaper players, I think that's where some people just aren't getting it. The guy makes $1.2 million, that is a bargain for what he gives you.

[Doggy 130]

Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Franzen....those are the guys that had more goals in the playoffs than Sammy last year.

I think we can all find faults with his game, but when people start talking about being able to replace him with cheaper players, I think that's where some people just aren't getting it. The guy makes $1.2 million, that is a bargain for what he gives you.

I'm just pointing out the short memory some people possess, mate. He was getting hanged for over a month because he couldn't buy a goal then he opens up in Game 1 and everyone completely forgets.

I never made any comments about his performance or whether or not he should be traded. I was just sayin'.