Quincey > Meech/Lebda

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

IMO, Quincey isn't that good and never will be that good.

He reminds me of a poor man's Sean O'Donnell. A 3rd pairing, stay-at-home guy who has some character, size and won't try to do too much. Only, he's the poor man's version b/c he'll never be as tough as O'Donnell was/is during his career.

As for Lebs, he does show offensive flashes but he doesn't get the time on ice to really show it. And really, we don't really need him too with Lids, Rafs and Kronner.

But Lebda is experienced and those wheels of his, as I stated in another thread, much like Dandy, we've never appreciated Lebs ability to rush the puck up and out of our zone. He's the only guy on our blueline with top end speed and people don't give him enough credit for his ability to log the puck out of the zone through sheer speed. It has its uses, especially for driving the opposing defense back on their heels and allowing us access to their zone.

I think as with most things hockey related, too many people are knee-jerk reacting to Quincey and Lebs stats.

Let's see at the end of the season how they compare.

And next year, Ericsson will take Lebs spot and we won't have to worry about it anymore. Frankly, by the time that happens, I doubt anybody will remember Kyle Quincey.

[drwscc 212]

I also dont agree with the reluctance to work in some of the younger players

like Ericsson or Leino, because of this allegiance to washed up McCarty or telling Chelios its time to go. Leino would be playing on most NHL teams, along with Ericsson....

So, you think Leino would be better served playing McCarty's 3 mins a night, rather than a full compliment of shifts in GR? That doesn't make any sense. Leino is supposed to be a top tier player. Which player on the top two lines do you want to sit to give Leino meaningful minutes?

Unfortunately, the Wings are stacked, and there is no room for the young talent, unless they can beat out established players.

Moving to the Kings was the best thing that could have happened to Quincey. He went from playing for the Grifs, fighting for a spot on the Wings roster, to playing 20 + mins a night. Seems like a win to me.

[egroen 384]

Quincey, Meech and Lebda are merely stop-gaps until we start seeing Ericsson, Kindl, Smith and Pyett -- all the latter have twice the potential of the former.

I do think Quincey would be a better stop-gap than one of Meech & Lebda because those two are so similar, and Quincey could have developed into a cheaper Lilja, with a little more offensive upside.

I am most disappointed we did not get a draft pick for Quincey. Hopefully Holland is able to get something in the future when Meech and Lebda are replaced (and they will be).

[Andy Pred 48 337]

I'm sure at the time Kyle was gutted at being claimed, but it was for the best in terms of his developement as an NHL defenceman.I'm positive that his experience he has gotten in Detroit the past 3 years has helped him settle in and dare I say taken on a leadership role within his new club. Two weeks into his new surroundings and the

kid is doing ok for himself. He's getting icetime he could only dream of in the Wings lineup,

leading the Kings overall with 22.52 toi/g more than a minute more than the 2nd placed guy. He has 1+4 in his 7 games to date with the LA side and has a +3 rating. Overall not a bad start for a guy slated as a 6th 7th D by the Wings. Its early yet I know but I'm happy he's made such a good start, deep down he knew he'd never crack the top 4 in Detroit so I think its been a decent move all round. Just a pity Kenny didn't get anything for him.

Edited November 2, 2008 by Andy Pred 48

[Aussie_Wing 354]

Without wanting to go over the top, he's been pretty incredible so far for LA. Claimed off waivers, he's regulary leading the team in ice-time, he plays in all situations, he's got 5 points in 7 games for a guy who is not meant to be able to put up points. And he's +3 on a very ordinary team.

Edited November 2, 2008 by Aussie_Wing

[Guest Crymson]

Putting up points and being a + player is not incredibly difficult when you are playing alongside Kopitar, Frolov and Brown. Were Quincey put with Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Holmstrom, he'd be racking up the points and +/- there also.

[T.Low 1,011]

So, you think Leino would be better served playing McCarty's 3 mins a night, rather than a full compliment of shifts in GR? That doesn't make any sense. Leino is supposed to be a top tier player. Which player on the top two lines do you want to sit to give Leino meaningful minutes?

Unfortunately, the Wings are stacked, and there is no room for the young talent, unless they can beat out established players.

Moving to the Kings was the best thing that could have happened to Quincey. He went from playing for the Grifs, fighting for a spot on the Wings roster, to playing 20 + mins a night. Seems like a win to me.

AND, Quince is among peers as a player on the Kings, not a young green horn paranoid to make a mistake that might cost the Mighty Red Wings a game or something. There is no pressure on him in LA what so ever. Theres a ton of guys 23 and under and absolutely nothing is expected of the team. He's one of the few with playoff experience. He's the frikin man down there.

Here's to wishing him well and looking forward to Ericcson moving up next season, along with Leino and Helm.

[2probert4 8]

? Pyett is too far down the road to enter in the equation- Quincey only had a chance to be a stop-gap here. There are far too many D-men ahead of him in the depth charts, and the big one, the one who won't be relegated to sub top 3 pairing minutes- Ericsson, is out of minor league options at the end of this season.

Like it or not- Quincey is not a high end stay at home d-man. He's a low end one. Lilja is better than him. Hell, Lilja had an NHL hat-trick! He's an offensive juggernaught (or at least he was for 2 hours of his NHL career). Plus Lilja is a top tier enforcer. No player under 5'7 would EVER step up on Lillypads!

Meech and Lebda are more valuable individual assets than Quincey. Guys like Quincey can be had for pretty cheap in the NHL. It sucks because he's a great young kid who could become a good defenseman, but where were the minutes going to come from in Detroit? In the end, they had to protect their assets while staying under the cap and sticking to the roster limits. Sadly, Quincey had to go.

A good game tonight, or a good game last week won't change the fact that Q's move was best for the team as a whole.

I honestly wish him the best of luck and I'm really happy he's getting so much playing time in LA. He deserves the shot at the big show.

Ive been saying for a few years that Lebda is garbage and now a select few on LGW are starting to see it for themselves so the rest of the crew are all of a sudden seeing it also. Ever think that Holland just made a mistake in putting Quincey on waivers ?? Quincey is not the next coming of Norris Nick, but he's putting up his numbers now with a far less talented team than he was with in Detroit. The best move for the team as a whole Mr Marcus would have been for Lebda and Lilja to be given the heave-ho and Ericsson and Quincey to be with the Wings learning from Lidstrom / Chelios / Rafalski and the Wings staff every day, sorta like they did with Jiri Fischer. I realize that you can't keep all the talent, especially at defenseman where the Wings are loaded, but in this case Holland released the wrong guy.

[2probert4 8]

So, you think Leino would be better served playing McCarty's 3 mins a night, rather than a full compliment of shifts in GR? That doesn't make any sense. Leino is supposed to be a top tier player. Which player on the top two lines do you want to sit to give Leino meaningful minutes?

Unfortunately, the Wings are stacked, and there is no room for the young talent, unless they can beat out established players.

Moving to the Kings was the best thing that could have happened to Quincey. He went from playing for the Grifs, fighting for a spot on the Wings roster, to playing 20 + mins a night. Seems like a win to me.

Leino would be playing more than 3 minutes a night, do you really think he would get less time than Samuelsson??? LOL at Sammy being an established player who can't be beaten out by a younger player. The ice time yes is more for Quincey at LA, but he is making all of you who said he was garbage and worse than Lebda, eat lots of crow...

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Without wanting to go over the top, he's been pretty incredible so far for LA. Claimed off waivers, he's regulary leading the team in ice-time, he plays in all situations, he's got 5 points in 7 games for a guy who is not meant to be able to put up points. And he's +3 on a very ordinary team.

As reluctant as I am to revive this thread, I've watched Quincey in a few games with L.A. now. He's not necessarily a top pairing defenseman but he keeps it pretty simple, uses the body, and almost always makes the good safe play. I just don't get how he couldn't get a spot on this team over Lebda. Honestly, even over Lilja though Lilja's had a pretty good season so far. I have to wonder if Lillypads would look as solid logging the kind of icetime Quincey is on a team as bad as LA.

Honestly I didn't see him play enough with the Wings to have a strong opinion of him, but having seen him play with the Kings, I just don't get it.

Putting up points and being a + player is not incredibly difficult when you are playing alongside Kopitar, Frolov and Brown. Were Quincey put with Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Holmstrom, he'd be racking up the points and +/- there also.

being a plus player is difficult when you log more icetime than any player on your team and your team is the LA Kings.

Yes they have Kopitar and Brown out there. Know who else is on that first line for the Kings? Kyle Calder. The LA Kings have Kyle Calder on the first line. They're hardly a team so deep in talent that it's easy to be a plus player.

[Guest Crymson]

As reluctant as I am to revive this thread, I've watched Quincey in a few games with L.A. now. He's not necessarily a top pairing defenseman but he keeps it pretty simple, uses the body, and almost always makes the good safe play. I just don't get how he couldn't get a spot on this team over Lebda. Honestly, even over Lilja though Lilja's had a pretty good season so far. I have to wonder if Lillypads would look as solid logging the kind of icetime Quincey is on a team as bad as LA.

Honestly I didn't see him play enough with the Wings to have a strong opinion of him, but having seen him play with the Kings, I just don't get it.

being a plus player is difficult when you log more icetime than any player on your team and your team is the LA Kings.

Yes they have Kopitar and Brown out there. Know who else is on that first line for the Kings? Kyle Calder. The LA Kings have Kyle Calder on the first line. They're hardly a team so deep in talent that it's easy to be a plus player.

Calder is there because of a choice by the coach. He had been benched previously, and before that he was not on the 1st line. He has been kept there because it is working.

Frolov or O'Sullivan could just as easily be there.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Calder is there because of a choice by the coach. He had been benched previously, and before that he was not on the 1st line. He has been kept there because it is working.

Frolov or O'Sullivan could just as easily be there.

I know. But the point is this is not a team deep in talent. Murray is moving lines around to try and get Kopitar going, because he's been struggling. And he's been struggling because opponents can key on him because the Kings offensive threats are so few.

My main point is, Quincey looks pretty solid on a relatively inexperienced, weak team. I'm just a little surprised he couldn't win a roster spot with the Wings.

[BlueMonk 102]

Quite a few of us were confident that Quincey was a better option than Lebda. Now, Lebda's not dressing and Quincey is playing well for the Kings, but realistically it's too early to pass a verdict based on a few weeks of play. But the Quincey waiver struck me as a bad idea at the time and nothing has changed my mind yet.

The thing is, the Wings don't need great speed or even much offensive play from their 6th, 7th and 8th defensemen. They need reliability and physical play. A stay at home guy who makes the safe play and takes the body. Lebda didn't bring any of those things, really.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Quite a few of us were confident that Quincey was a better option than Lebda. Now, Lebda's not dressing and Quincey is playing well for the Kings, but realistically it's too early to pass a verdict based on a few weeks of play. But the Quincey waiver struck me as a bad idea at the time and nothing has changed my mind yet.

The thing is, the Wings don't need great speed or even much offensive play from their 6th, 7th and 8th defensemen. They need reliability and physical play. A stay at home guy who makes the safe play and takes the body. Lebda didn't bring any of those things, really.

The thing is, neither did Quincey in Detroit. This is just the typical "they put me on waivers so now I'm going to play lights out to prove them all wrong." Quincey is overperforming right now. Lebda is underperforming right now. He was a member of a cup winner and now thinks he has a free pass. When Lebda was a call-up, he too was playing lights out. People were wondering how the hell Lebda hadn't earned a spot earlier. But that has faded every year since Lebda's spot has become secure.

Also, Quincey knew his future with Detroit was - at best - a #6 on this squad. How are we to know thats not the reason he performed as he did? Has anyone stopped to consider that maybe Quincey solidified his fate on purpose? Has anyone stopped to consider that Quincey wasn't EVER going to perform as well with the Wings as he is with another, weaker squad because, after all, whats the point of being the best damn #6 Dman there is if theres no opportunity for upward mobility? Its no lie that at least for the next 4 years Kronwall, Rafalski, Stuart, and Lidstrom - later to be replaced by Ericsson - will be our top 4. If thats the kind of time/slot Quincey wanted, even he had to know it wasn't going to be with Detroit.

As for "the waiver thing" being a bad idea, the Wings had no choice. They obviously tried to shop him, and because every team knew Detroit was in a crunch, they weren't going to give up picks for him - again, the only thing they knew the Wings would accept in return would be picks by nature of their financial situation. And GMs think the world of picks these days, as we know.

Edited November 10, 2008 by YoungGuns1340