titanium2 867 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 Does Ericsson make Lilja expendable? And let's pretend that Lilja is 100% and won't be on LTIR. I say no. Some people will probably laugh at me for this but I just haven't seen anything that would make me feel confident enough to say that Ericsson is better than Lilja defensively. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Z and D for the C 712 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 Yes, but I'd much rather have Lilja/Ericsson than Ericsson/Meech or Ericsson/Lebda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 If Lilja's headaches keep up, it wont matter. No one's going to take him in a trade at this point, so hold onto him and hope he'll eventually get healthy. But as far as a healthy Lilja, no, Ericsson cant play defense or PK like Lilja, but he's young. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 Believe it or not, Ericsson is a two way guy with tons of offensive ability. He played Lilja's role in the playoffs, but he's definitely a mobile offensive blue-liner. Lilja's role is to be a big, shutdown player with grit and shotblocking ability. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eva unit zero 271 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 Ericsson makes Lebda expendable with a healthy Lilja; Lebda is the worst option of Lebda/Meech/Delmore for a 7th defenseman and Kindl and Kolosov will be hopefully be joining the team soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lovin Jiri Fischer 147 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 More like Ericsson makes Lebda expendable Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titanium2 867 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 More like Ericsson makes Lebda expendable True, but Lebda doesn't cost 1.25 mil or whatever the hell Lilja's contract is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
miller76 463 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 I like Ericcson a lot, and I think he will become a hell of a D-man. But I totally felt he was exposed in the playoffs on a couple different levels. I think he just needs a full season in the nhl to find his groove. I do hope that Lilja will return. I didn't realize how valuable of a guy Lilja was, until he wasn't playing. The other D-men were not doing the dirty work, that he would do so quietly, on a nightly basis without recognition. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peleshob 0 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 True, but Lebda doesn't cost 1.25 mil or whatever the hell Lilja's contract is. To be fair, Lebda doesn't play like a guy worth 1.250 million. Lilja showed last season that's he's a solid defensive presence if he's not making poor turnovers. He's the kind of guy who jars the puck loose so well, and not many people notice that style of play because it's not as flashy. I'd rather see the Twin Towers as the 3rd defensive pairing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Mule 0 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 Ericsson-Lilja would make a great third pairing, but it doesn't look like that's going to be the case. I've ragged on him endlessly in the past, but I'm going to miss seeing Lillypad out there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SouthernWingsFan 854 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 (edited) No. Lilja has more than proven his worth these past 2-3 seasons. Edited August 7, 2009 by SouthernWingsFan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buppy 1,720 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 On this team, Lilly is a 3rd pair guy, expendable by definition. Not a knock on him, it would be truly awesome to have a 3rd pair as good as Lilly/Eric. But we don't really need them. For that matter, any of our defensemen aside from Lidstrom are expendable (or would be if Lilly was healthy). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VM1138 1,921 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 I know it's just a game, but in NHL 09 I paired Ericsson and Lilja as my #3 guys and they absolutely dominated. We need both of them. Also, my line of Helm, Abdelkader and Eaves is better than my #1 line of Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom. Go figure, but it sure makes me excited to see them play next year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newfy 695 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 Lilja is our only true stay at home defenseman. He kind of provides alot of intangibles this team lacks without him. He blocks shots, is aggressive on the body and will fight ( maybe not well but he's at least willing) Would love a big rig + Lilja pairing but the chances seem slim at this point. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sureWhyNot 19 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 Of course he does. It is clear the Wings have a quota on guys who have any size on them or grit in their game. One is enough in Detroit, there simply isn't room for any more. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wingslionstigers 12 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 It definitely helps but by no means makes Lilja expandable. Lilja is a pretty important piece to this team. Think about it, hes got to be one of the best 3rd pair defensemen in the league. Hes not going to ask for anymore money in his next contract. He puts our D over the edge. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 Lilja is our only true stay at home defenseman. He kind of provides alot of intangibles this team lacks without him. He blocks shots, is aggressive on the body and will fight ( maybe not well but he's at least willing) Would love a big rig + Lilja pairing but the chances seem slim at this point. I don't think they're slim. Looks like Holland intends to keep Lilja on board until he's healthy. Assuming he gets his grove back once he's healthy we're good to go. Stuart had the persistent post-concussion headaches for a year long period once and he's fine now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
55fan 5,133 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 (edited) With Lilja's shot-blocking, he is irreplacable. To whom can we turn if Oz and Howard are both injured in the same game? Lilja, that's who. Ericsson has a great deal of promise. I'm very excited about having him here on a regular basis, but I'd like to see both him and Lils. If anything, E just knocks the rest down a notch on the depth chart. (Edit for bad grammar.) (Actually, now that I think about it, it was an edit against bad grammar. The bad grammar was already there.) Edited August 7, 2009 by 55fan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest blueadams Report post Posted August 7, 2009 its really pointless to discuss...lilja said that there are some days where he only goes 3 hours without having headaches. thats serious. seriously serious. he might never play again. right now, lebda is our 6th defender, meech is our 7th, and kindl is the best thing on the horizon. speaking of nhl09...lol...i'm rolling this right now: Franzen-Zetterberg-Cleary Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Williams Hudler (wearing #21; Leinos not in the game!?)-Filppula-Eaves Draper-Helm-Maltby McGrath Lidstrom-Rafalski Kronwall-Stuart Ericsson-Lebda Meech Osgood Howard I'm getting good production out of all 4 lines, but its frustrating not to be able to hit anyone with that third line, and when the game makes me fight with eaves...lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gcom007 1,465 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I said it today for the first time and I stand by it. We would've repeated as Champs this year with ease with all of our other injuries if just Lilja was back. He wasn't the only difference but he would've made that big of a difference too. He is way under-0appreciated at this point in his career; he was a huge part of our success in '07 and '08. He got a real bad deal off one play in '07 but he was great for us in the playoffs that year and continued it in '08 when we won. I really hope he gets healthy soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peleshob 0 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 its really pointless to discuss...lilja said that there are some days where he only goes 3 hours without having headaches. thats serious. seriously serious. he might never play again. right now, lebda is our 6th defender, meech is our 7th, and kindl is the best thing on the horizon. speaking of nhl09...lol...i'm rolling this right now: Franzen-Zetterberg-Cleary Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Williams Hudler (wearing #21; Leinos not in the game!?)-Filppula-Eaves Draper-Helm-Maltby McGrath Lidstrom-Rafalski Kronwall-Stuart Ericsson-Lebda Meech Osgood Howard I'm getting good production out of all 4 lines, but its frustrating not to be able to hit anyone with that third line, and when the game makes me fight with eaves...lol. Nooooo, Leino is definitely in the game. I have him on my 2nd line. Check the SM-Liiga on either Jokerit or HFK I believe, but he's on one of the two. My NHL 09 lines are: Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Cleary Leino-Filppula-Franzen Holmstrom-Helm-Williams Maltby-Draper-Eaves Oulahen Lidstrom-Rafalski Kronwall-Stuart Lilja-Ericsson Meech Osoogd Howard I ended up trading Lebda for Byron Bitz from Boston. He's only like 68 overall in the game, but he'll end up being a good checking line player in the game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DYags 0 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 If anything, Ericsson makes Brad Stuart expendable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titanium2 867 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 Wow. When I left this board to go to bed it seemed as if the collective would think that Ericsson does not make Lilja expendable. Now it's almost even. What has changed? Did this poll suddenly get an infusion of teenage girls who have a thing for Big E's "booming slap shot"? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jvxp 0 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 Does Ericsson make Lilja expendable? Yes, but I'd much rather have Lilja/Ericsson! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casey 145 Report post Posted August 7, 2009 E doesn't make Lilja expendable by a long shot. As others have said, the presence of a healthy Lilja and E makes Lebda expendable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
