Did the Wings screw this up or is it too early to tell?

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

I hate to say it, but Kyle Quincey has scored 9 points this season in 15 games, and is logging over 20 minutes a night in LA. He's played outstanding, and is making the Wings look stupid for letting him leave for nothing.

Yeah, I know we have a logjam on defense and that he's getting more minutes to put up more points, but the fact that he's handling these minutes with such stellar play and confidence shows that he has what it takes to be a good defenseman. For a team who has several undersized defensemen, we should have let someone like Lebda or Meech go. This could prove to be a bad move as time goes on.

Edited November 21, 2008 by GMRwings1983

[Lidstromrules16 7]

I think its too early to tell. And while I am not comparing Quincey to Lebda, ever since Lebda has been back from being scratched, he has played alot better

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

He would have been gone either way at some point with the players waiting to come up to the wings.

[The Mule 0]

For starters, Quicney would be playing on the bottom pairing in Detroit if he was a part of the Red Wings' roster. With that said, do you really think he would produce as much with such limited ice time? The fact of the matter is that the Red Wings had 5 given defensemen (though Holland and Babcock obviously thought more) that were deemed more valuable than Quincey. When you have someone who is ready to play, you either let them play, and obviously with that not being an option in Detroit, we opted to ship him elsewhere. Kyle is probably thrilled that he's being given an opportunity to shine, albeit on a very weak team, and I'm sure Holland and Babcock are equally joyous to learn that he's excelling.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

Different situations completely. Quincey was never going to play 20 minutes per game with the Red Wings, so his stats would have never looked like they do with the Kings. It's the best opportunity for Quincey because the sixth defenseman with the Red Wings is just keeping Ericsson's seat warm anyways.

I don't really have any problem with losing Quincey. The fact is Quincey had a chance to make the team during training camp/pre-season and was outplayed by everyone else competing for a roster spot. Having depth on defense is never a bad thing. I don't see a likely scenario where Quincey had a future with the Red Wings either. Rafalski, Stuart, and Kronwall all have lengthy deals and Ericsson, Kindl, Smith, and Pyett are going to play eventually.

I am glad everything has worked out for Q in LA, but I am not losing sleep at night that he isn't with the Red Wings anymore.

Edited November 21, 2008 by GoWings1905

[stormboy 47]

i wouldn't really call it a mistake, but an unfortunate reality. and it is very unfortunate. i liked him when he was here and as soon as he started playing for LA he was doing well. i think he had an assist and twenty-plus minutes the first game he played with them. i guess you can look at it like this: we're obviously not trading/releasing cheli, as much as people might want us to. we won't trade lilja because we just re-signed him. that leaves lebda. personally, i think quincey > lebda, but i see one of two things being true: one, they tried to shop lebda quietly and no one was interested whatsoever. i don't think this is true (because i think we would have heard something) but i think even if he had been shopped we may have got nothing for him anyway. the other possibility i see that they deemed that the lilja-lebda combination would be better than the lilja-quincey combination. myself, i have a hard time seeing this actually be true (that l-l is better than l-q) but i don't know. that's the only thing i can think of.

maybe they still think lebda will become awesome.

but, yeah, i don't think mgmt had a ton of choice on the matter, but i do really wish that we could have kept him.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

The problem with the ice time argument is that many people here never expected Quincey to put up these kinds of numbers, even if the Wings gave him 20 minutes a night.

I never thought he was capable of putting up a high number of points, and always thought of him more as a solid defensive defenseman at full potential. I don't know, it's just something to think about I guess.

[puckbags 863]

I dont think Kenny loses much sleep over the decisions he makes, he rarely if ever makes a bad one and even if Quincey continues to excel a move had to be made and thats the one he decided on. BTW..I'm happy Quincey is playing well.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

At best, Quincey would have been the 8th defenseman on the roster with the Red Wings. Let's say Holland moves Meech instead of Quincey. That still leaves Lebda and Chelios ahead of Quincey for playing time. Best case scenario is Quincey gets in a couple games as the sixth defenseman similar to what Meech has done. That's a much different sample size than what Quincey is currently playing with the Kings.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

I doubt it.

This is the LA Kings after all.

Their best dman is an 18 year old. 'Nuff said.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

The problem with the ice time argument is that many people here never expected Quincey to put up these kinds of numbers, even if the Wings gave him 20 minutes a night.

I never thought he was capable of putting up a high number of points, and always thought of him more as a solid defensive defenseman at full potential. I don't know, it's just something to think about I guess.

Yeah, but there's alot of that going around right now. Defenses around the league seem to be struggling, scoring appears on the surface anyway, to be way up. Take a look around the league and you'll see lots of dmen putting up points that probably nobody expected.

Examples

Christian Erhoff has 16 points. He had 22 in 77 games last year.

Kuba has 15 points, only 31 last year

Girardi has 14 points, only 28 last year

Gilbert

Seidenberg

Vlasic

Lots of dmen just blowing away their pace from last season.

Teams are going to start to really gel over the next 20 games. Defenses are going to get better and the scoring will go down.

Right now Quincey has 2 goals, 7 assists, 9 points and is a -1.

I wouldn't be surprised at the end of the year if his numbers look like this

Goals 6, Assists 22, points 28, -17

Edited November 21, 2008 by GordieSid&Ted

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

This is one of those situations that you hope you aren't right about. Unfortunately I was. I yelled and screamed on this board about losing Quincey for nothing. All because this team needed to make sure there was room for a former great who is now only a number 8 defenseman who is trying to come back from a chipped bone in his leg. This pill is hard to swallow. He might not have gotten 20 mins a night here this year, but he would have in the future. Now we will never know what he might have brought to the table. I supported Ken Holland before it was cool to, but this was a bad decision.

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

Yeah, but there's alot of that going around right now. Defenses around the league seem to be struggling, scoring appears on the surface anyway, to be way up. Take a look around the league and you'll see lots of dmen putting up points that probably nobody expected.

Examples

Christian Erhoff has 16 points. He had 22 in 77 games last year.

Kuba has 15 points, only 31 last year

Girardi has 14 points, only 28 last year

Gilbert

Seidenberg

Vlasic

Lots of dmen just blowing away their pace from last season.

Teams are going to start to really gel over the next 20 games. Defenses are going to get better and the scoring will go down.

Right now Quincey has 2 goals, 7 assists, 9 points and is a -1.

I wouldn't be surprised at the end of the year if his numbers look like this

Goals 6, Assists 22, points 28, -17

I also wouldn't be surprised if his numbers were 11g 30a 41p and -3

[hillbillywingsfan 792]

I hate to say it, but Kyle Quincey has scored 9 points this season in 15 games, and is logging over 20 minutes a night in LA. He's played outstanding, and is making the Wings look stupid for letting him leave for nothing.

Yeah, I know we have a logjam on defense and that he's getting more minutes to put up more points, but the fact that he's handling these minutes with such stellar play and confidence shows that he has what it takes to be a good defenseman. For a team who has several undersized defensemen, we should have let someone like Lebda or Meech go. This could prove to be a bad move as time goes on.

well i think who ever we would ave let go this would have happened. thats how bad we hae it right now with the so called "log jam" . we just have to suck it up and move on. it happens.

[skacore 2]

yeah it was a bad decision, no he wouldn't put up 9-10 points like he has now but he is a solid defensive defenseman, who is young and has offensive upside

I had the luxury of watching Quincey a lot when he was in GR and he looked like a 10 year veteran when in reality he was only 20, he is soo strong and also very smart, he's the ideal 3rd pairing D-man

[The Mule 0]

The problem with the ice time argument is that many people here never expected Quincey to put up these kinds of numbers, even if the Wings gave him 20 minutes a night.

I never thought he was capable of putting up a high number of points, and always thought of him more as a solid defensive defenseman at full potential. I don't know, it's just something to think about I guess.

I can't speak for the rest of LGW, but how could anyone have possibly made that assumption? The only reason Quincey was ever listed as a defensive d-man when he was with the Red Wings was because we never saw him play any higher than the third pairing.

[joshy207 156]

Sometimes just a change of scenery does wonders for a player. Pulling on a different jersey, having new teammates and coaches to impress, can spark production. Had Quincey stayed here and wound up in a similar position (injuries force Babcock to play him 20 minutes a night) he may not have put up the same numbers.

I, too, was disappointed to see Chelios and Lilja, both on the downside of their careers, retained at the cost of losing Quincey, who is still developing. But it happened, nothing we can do about it now. Hindsight is 20-20 and in cases like this, it can be somewhat distorted, too.

[Chunkylover 26]

Why keep Quincey when we have Ericsson? That's the real comparison. Many have commented on how Meech played better than both Quincey and Lebda in the preseason. Lebda is established and had a good enough record to merit his spot on the roster and Meech and Ericsson and whoever else we have on D in the minors all were better than Quincey. As far as the depth chart goes.

Yes we made a mistake not getting anything for him. Not as colossal as Bryzgalov or Schneider. On the plus side, we aren't paying him and that means that some of our better prospects are closer to making the big club sandwich.

[esteef 2,679]

Quincey had a sick pass to set up a goal yesterday against the Caps! Atta boy Kyle! just sayin'...

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

I think I've posted this before, but I had little opinion on Quincey when he was here as a Wing. Having seen him a lot playing for LA, however, I am surprised at how well he's done.

And honestly it's about more than the points he's put up. Half his points have come on the power play, where he's pretty effective. He's not gonna make any great moves at the blueline like Kronwall, but he's solid back there. Honestly he looks solid all around. He keeps it relatively simple and isn't afraid to play physical.

Last night against the Capitals he had a great rush into the offensive zone, made a nice pass to Brown which resulted in the game winning goal. I'm sure it's probably on the highlights from last nights game. It was one of those rushes like Lebda makes, using his speed to get into the zone, minus the nice pass that leads to a goal part, which Lebda can never seem to pull off.

He may not have a great +/- by the end of the season, but that'll have more to do with the King's inability to score than their defensive weakness. They're allowing fewer shots on goal than anyone in the league right now.

As I've said over and over, I really don't get how he couldn't crack this lineup. I'm not saying Holland made some huge error, but I look at Quincey and I'd take him over Lebda for sure. Maybe even Lilja for cost savings. Quincey is logging 21 minutes a game. Imagine what Lilja would look like out there if he played 4 more minutes a game than he does now.

It's very early yet, but it doesn't look like an aberration. I don't think he'll be some huge offensive Dman, but it looks like he's going to be a good one.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

I doubt it.

This is the LA Kings after all.

Their best dman is an 18 year old. 'Nuff said.

Their best dman is definitely the 18 year old Doughty. Right now he's also looking like he's a great choice for the Calder too. The kid's good.

[thedisappearer 291]

Waayyyyy to early to tell.

Remember when Mattias had two goals in 4 games with Florida and there were people questioning Holland, saying he blew it and Mattias was the next great power forward?

He's in the minors now.

Back to Quincey. Good for him. It was a roll of the dice on who we let go, but it's just proof of an embarrassment of riches we have. If the kid turns into a perenial All-Star, or wins a single Norris, we were dumb. If he turns in to a career second line d-man, we broke even (most likely).

[ruarc' 2]

Speaking of Matthias, his stats with Rochester of the AHL.

17 GP 3G 1A -17

Just sayin'.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Waayyyyy to early to tell.

Remember when Mattias had two goals in 4 games with Florida and there were people questioning Holland, saying he blew it and Mattias was the next great power forward?

He's in the minors now.

Back to Quincey. Good for him. It was a roll of the dice on who we let go, but it's just proof of an embarrassment of riches we have. If the kid turns into a perenial All-Star, or wins a single Norris, we were dumb. If he turns in to a career second line d-man, we broke even (most likely).

If he turns into a second line D-man, I think we probably lost too, because the guys ahead of him aren't going to be second line d-men. Lebda, Chelios. Lilja might be on another team, but Quincey still would've been cheaper.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

I've said it before, I'll say it again. Opportunity does a ton for how you play. Quincey's role in Detroit at ANY point was no better than a #5 Dman. Do you honestly think he's going to play his little heart out when he know's there is ZERO opportunity for advancement into the top 4 with names like Kronwall, Stuart, Lidstrom, and Rafalski to compete with? No. It affects your work ethic, and it affects your confidence.

Apples to oranges. Completely different situations. Matthias was also the second coming last season, and is now no better than a third liner at the AHL level right now. Granted Matthias is young and will continue to improve, but theres something to be said for the motivation that comes from being traded, a new situation, and bigger opportunities.