Guest blueadams Report post Posted August 19, 2009 Holmstrom-Zetterberg-Datsyuk Cleary-Filppula-Franzen Leino-Helm-Bertuzzi Eaves-Draper-Williams If we re-unite the homer-hank-pav line, then the other three lines are pretty simple to predict. The only real question is Cleary or Leino on the second line. I'm guessing we'll start Cleary off there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 It looks like they just went by salary. Although Leino will get more money than Helm this year, Helm has a better reputation and he's Canadian. They're TSN. How can they resist? Canadian and played the whole playoffs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Konnan511 1,736 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 Fair enough. Leino's on a 1-way contract (if I remember correctly), so he's playing regardless. Why? I'm fairly certain he can still be set down to the minors since he didn't lose his send up/call down options. One way contract means he's getting paid that amount regardless if he is in the AHL or NHL you dumb piece of stuff and stuff and more obscenities!!!! (Sorry couldn't resist, all the hate in the last couple posts got me a riled up!) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LeftWinger 5,152 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 With the way Draper was used in the playoffs, I can see him and Maltby being the swap outs at 13th forward. Regardless of line combos, for those of you who wanted a completely different make-up on our roster got thier wish: 2008: Holmstrom Zetterberg CLeary Hossa Datsyuk Franzen Sammy Filppula Hudler Maltby Draper Kopecky 2009: Holmstrom Zetterberg Datsyuk Cleary Filppula Franzen Bertuzzi Helm Leino Eaves Draper Williams (Maltby) Now, I know those wont be the line combos more than likely, but the makeup has definately switched to a more North American team, whether or not that will pay dividends remains to be seen, but you cannot say Holland didn't change the makeup of his team.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 Canadian and played the whole playoffs Because he has a completely different role to play. Helm is a grinder who's great on the PK. Leino is a talented top six scorer/playmaker. Once your top 6 is full the best guy to plug into the bottom six is a player who plays a grinding game. Leino's usefulness this year has nothing to do with the fact that he was a spare part in the playoffs because we lost 3 guys with top six scoring talent. Holland brought in two other guys to replace those minutes-- Bertuzzi and Williams, with Leino being the guy who will fill the third spot. Obviously that makes for more than 6 "top six" type players, but that's the way the team was before since it allows for more depth and injury replacements. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 Why? I'm fairly certain he can still be set down to the minors since he didn't lose his send up/call down options. One way contract means he's getting paid that amount regardless if he is in the AHL or NHL you dumb piece of stuff and stuff and more obscenities!!!! (Sorry couldn't resist, all the hate in the last couple posts got me a riled up!) Implicit in Leino's signing to a one way contract was that he was a full time NHLer. He stated in the summer that he'd already paid his dues in the AHL and wanted to play full time NHL hockey this year. By signing him to a one way contract Holland is agreeing with that assessment. For example, Eaves was signed to a 2-way contract, so he has to expect that there's a possibility he will have to spend some time in the AHL. Leino's a former Finnish MVP who's already 25 and came to the Wings to play in the NHL, not be a long term project player. He was very patient last year and played almost the entire season in the AHL. Before his contract was signed he flat out told the Wings management that he wanted to play NHL hockey this year, so when they signed him to a one-way NHL contract the implication is that he's not going down to the AHL. Considering he's making $75,000 less this year it seems clear that he sacrificed some of his pay to get the one-way contract status (what other concessions would they have made to justify a pay cut when he was a 0.75 ppg player during his call-up and excelled in the AHL?). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Superman54 91 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 Zetterberg - Dats - Cleary Franzen - Filppula - Leino Bertuzzi - Helm - Williams Eaves - Draper - Holmstrom Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mmamolo 287 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Holmstrom Cleary/Leino - Filppula - Franzen Bertuzzi - Williams - Leino/Cleary Eaves - Draper - Helm I think Cleary and Leino will be moved around a lot depending on how each of them is playing and how the gel with other linemates. No way Holmstrom or Williams ends up on the fourth line. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
13dangledangle 968 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 Dats-Hank-Bert Mule-Fil-clears Leino-Helm-Eaves Williams-Drapes-Homer Malts Lids-J.E Stuart-Ralph Kronner-we'll see Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
eva unit zero 271 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Holmstrom Franzen/Filppula/Cleary Leino/Williams/Bertuzzi Helm/Draper/Eaves Maltby Those are the most likely lines. Possible swaps include Leino/Cleary, Williams/Cleary (Leino moves to C), Bertuzzi/Cleary, Bertuzzi/Eaves, and Bertuzzi/Helm (Helm moves to C). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nev 1,085 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 Datsyuk - Zetterberg - Cleary Leino - Fillpulla - Franzen Williams - Helm - Bertuzzi Eaves/Maltby - Draper - Holmstrom Homer bumped down to the 4th line to save his body for the PP and the playoffs. I've tried to maintain the skater/shooter-net-front combo that Babs likes so much on each line. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 Just to back up what I said about Leino not going to GR: "We've got Andreas Lilja who's not 100 percent," Holland said. "He was hurt in February, six months ago. We don't know whether he'll be ready for the start of the season. Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader, in the short term they can be sent to the American (Hockey) League to get out of a situation." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Icesurfer 75 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 My prediction is that Babcock is going to be doing the most line juggling ever. You basically have four different forwards from last year even though Williams and Bertuzzi have experience with the team and Leino got some but not a lot of playing time last year. Which players gel together will basically be a work in progress for the first 2 to 3 months and, of course, injuries always throw a wrench into that picture. There are more questions than answers. Is Homer on the downhill road? Will Filppula start shooting more at the net and put in some more goals? Will Cleary rebound and have a better year? The power play will have somewhat of a different look.... will it be as good as last year? Are the older guys losing speed... Draper, Homer, Maltby? We expect the defense to be better but we have forwards with defensive weaknesses..... Williams, Bertuzzi, Homer. Will Lidstrom's elbow give him more problems? Will Osgood have another regular season worst GAA & Save%? Will Howard finally become a real NHL goaltender? Can Eaves and Helm help improve a PK that was terrible last year? Overall though I would have to say our defense should be better with Ericsson back there. So at this point for me looking at line combinations, which I use to get excited about, is really a waist of time.... too many questions and too many "new" additions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aussie_Wing 354 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 Just to back up what I said about Leino not going to GR: Honestly, it would be borderline disgraceful if Helm was sent back to Grand Rapids. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest CaliWingsNut Report post Posted August 19, 2009 (edited) Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Holmstrom Franzen/Filppula/Cleary Leino/Williams/Bertuzzi Helm/Draper/Eaves Maltby Those are the most likely lines. Possible swaps include Leino/Cleary, Williams/Cleary (Leino moves to C), Bertuzzi/Cleary, Bertuzzi/Eaves, and Bertuzzi/Helm (Helm moves to C). These could be the lines... Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Holmstrom Franzen/Filppula/Cleary Leino/Williams/Bertuzzi Helm/Draper/Eaves Maltby But these guys might switch positions... Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Franzen, Filppula, Cleary, Leino, Williams, Bertuzzi, Helm, Draper, Eaves, Maltby Edited August 19, 2009 by CaliWingsNut Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pockets 9 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 having a 13th forward will help i think due to health problems we will see Homer, Bert, Eaves, Malts and Draper getting rested at times during the season to try and keep everyone fresh for the playoffs ideally homer should play about 60-65 games and just keep him rested if possible id like to see Z/D/Cleary William/Flip/Mule (that way Flip and Mule will make up for J Wills laziness) Bert/Helm/Leino (again Bert can be lazy on D so Helm and Leino to some extent will make up for it) Eave/Draper/Malts You could switch Wills and Bert if needed and then just rotate Homer in there So lets say Babs gives Bert the day off and then Homer comes in Z/D/H Cleary/Flip/Mule Wills/Helm/Leino Eaves/Drapes/Malts what will be interesting to see if a guy like Bert or Wills gets lined up with Helm i wonder if Helms play would push them to play harder one thing i will say i dont think you could put Bert and Will on the same line because both are defensively inadequate even Dats couldnt make up for both of their laziness Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Finnish Wing 110 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 (edited) Franzen-Zetterberg-Cleary Filppula-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi Leino-Helm-Williams Holmström-Draper-Eaves Maltby Lidström-Rafalski Kronwall-Stuart Lebda-Ericsson Meech Osgood Howard Edited August 19, 2009 by Finnish Wing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NeverForgetMac25 483 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 Fixed it. The loyalty Holland has towards his committed veteran players might on occasion seem like a bad thing on the surface, but it's always a smart move for this organization. How did the Wings get Franzen for less than 4 million a year? By showing him that they are 100% committed to the guys who are 100% committed to them. Same goes for Zetterberg's cheap contract. Look at how the Wings play this game: --> They allow their vetrans to retire on their own terms, holding onto them as long as they can (no strong-arm tactics) --> Fischer suffers a heart attack and can't play. The Wings give him a full time position in the organization and make sure his family doesn't have to worry about their big bread earner suddenly losing his means of livelihood because of a tragic medical flaw. He was injured in the line of duty and Ilitch made sure he was taken care of. --> Ilitch makes sure players get the best treatment- a private jet for road trips (many teams charter or fly on commercial jets, which sucks if you're injured and need to maximize comfort and room) --> Ilitch makes sure the families of his employees get the best possible treatment including setting up spots in private schools for the children of employees. --> The team is 100% committed to competing for the cup every year no matter what it costs. --> The team painstakingly ensures a family atmosphere exists at every level of the organization --> Rookies and free-agents are eased into their roles and given all the time they need to adapt Doing this isn't cheap and, in some situation, it isn't necessarily the best short-term choice when you look at it at face-value. But it allows the Wings to retain their players cheaper and contributes to the winning atmosphere and players' commitment to the organization. Drake, while I appreciate the well thought-out response, you aren't telling me anything I don't know. I do stand by what I said. I completely agree that *almost* every single player-loyalty move Holland has made has had a significant positive impact on the organization while the negative one's are nothing more than a blip on the radar. However, to say that every contract he's extended to every single Red Wings-loyal player in the past hasn't had even the most remote negative impact is false. That point of my post was that the fraction of a negative that comes with a player-loyalty first contract is so minute, its not worth mentioning, but to claim there's never been even the slightest negative to a player-loyalty first contract given by Kenny is not accurate....its just beyond few and far between. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AD2044 0 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 (edited) making lines for this team is a lot harder then in previous years for me at least. Z-D-Bert (would just love to see what these guys could do with Bert opening up space for them) Leino-Fils-Mule (I want to see if leino and fils can be special together) Ceary-Helm-Eaves (my top defensive line who can do it all. for me this line is unreal) Homer-Draps-Williams (not much to say here other then good luck to all the other 29 teams trying to match up with this line) ex Maltby Lids-Rafy Stu-Kron Lebs-Rig ex PP #1 Z-D-Bert with Lids and Rafy PP #2 Mule-Fils-Homer with Kron and Williams PK unit #1- Z and Cleary PK unit #2- Dats and Mule PK unit #3- Draps and Helm PK unit #4- Fils and Eaves Edited August 19, 2009 by AD2044 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Drake_Marcus 890 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 Drake, while I appreciate the well thought-out response, you aren't telling me anything I don't know. I do stand by what I said. I completely agree that *almost* every single player-loyalty move Holland has made has had a significant positive impact on the organization while the negative one's are nothing more than a blip on the radar. However, to say that every contract he's extended to every single Red Wings-loyal player in the past hasn't had even the most remote negative impact is false. That point of my post was that the fraction of a negative that comes with a player-loyalty first contract is so minute, its not worth mentioning, but to claim there's never been even the slightest negative to a player-loyalty first contract given by Kenny is not accurate....its just beyond few and far between. Fair enough. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echolalia 2,961 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 The start of the season Babcock will roll: Datsyuk Homer Filppulla Zetterberg Franzen Williams Cleary Leino Bertuzzi Helm Draper Eaves but after a 3 game losing streak where 4 goals are scored over that span he'll shuffle them up to: Datsyuk Zetterberg Homer Franzen Filppulla Williams Cleary Leino Bertuzzi Helm Draper Eaves but then Bertuzzi will get injured (don't worry, nothing major) Datsyuk Zetterberg Homer Franzen Filppulla Williams Cleary Leino Eaves Helm Draper Maltby but mid-game Babs decided that Eaves isn't doing so hot, and replaces him and Helm for the remainder of the game. It turns out it won't make a difference. Shortly after Homer will have to sit a couple games and Babs will roll with this: Datsyuk Filppulla Cleary Zetterberg Franzen Williams Leino Helm Eaves Maltby Draper Abdelkader But will promptly shuffle lines like crazy throughout the next two games. No one has any clue what is going on, especially after Osgood is penciled in the third line, and Cleary takes net. (Bert and Homer later return on the same day). After experiencing the high of shuffling lines (and we have a dominant lead over the rest of the West at this point), Babs gets "creative" Datsyuk Fillppulla Helm Zetterberg Franzen Leino Williams Bertuzzi Cleary Eaves Draper Homer But immediately returns to his original lines. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wings_Dynasty 267 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 FWIW, my new NHL09 lines. Cleary-Pavel-Hank Franzen-Flip-Bertuzzi Homer-Draper-Maltby Eaves-Helm-Williams The 3rd and 4th lines are a little odd, but I think Babs will do something like this. Homer-Z-Pavel Franzen-Flip-Bertuzzi Cleary-Draper-Helm Maltby-Leino/Williams-Eaves Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mmamolo 287 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 The start of the season Babcock will roll: Datsyuk Homer Filppulla Zetterberg Franzen Williams Cleary Leino Bertuzzi Helm Draper Eaves but after a 3 game losing streak where 4 goals are scored over that span he'll shuffle them up to: Datsyuk Zetterberg Homer Franzen Filppulla Williams Cleary Leino Bertuzzi Helm Draper Eaves but then Bertuzzi will get injured (don't worry, nothing major) Datsyuk Zetterberg Homer Franzen Filppulla Williams Cleary Leino Eaves Helm Draper Maltby but mid-game Babs decided that Eaves isn't doing so hot, and replaces him and Helm for the remainder of the game. It turns out it won't make a difference. Shortly after Homer will have to sit a couple games and Babs will roll with this: Datsyuk Filppulla Cleary Zetterberg Franzen Williams Leino Helm Eaves Maltby Draper Abdelkader But will promptly shuffle lines like crazy throughout the next two games. No one has any clue what is going on, especially after Osgood is penciled in the third line, and Cleary takes net. (Bert and Homer later return on the same day). After experiencing the high of shuffling lines (and we have a dominant lead over the rest of the West at this point), Babs gets "creative" Datsyuk Fillppulla Helm Zetterberg Franzen Leino Williams Bertuzzi Cleary Eaves Draper Homer But immediately returns to his original lines. Even though that was kind of a joking post I have to say that a couple of lines kind of stood out to me that I think would be interesting to see at some point of the season. Franzen - Zetterberg - Leino or Cleary - Leino - Bertuzzi Another line I wouldnt mind seeing at some point would be: Frazen - Datsyuk - Bertuzzi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rick zombo 3,739 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 I think that all this thread has accomplished is to demonstrate how much competition there will be for ice-time and top six minutes this year. Which, of course, bodes well for production. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
South Dakota wings fan 7 Report post Posted August 19, 2009 One of the TSN guys posted these lines, thought you all would get a kick out of this: Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom Cleary-Filppula-Franzen Bertuzzi-Williams-Eaves Maltby-Draper-Helm Leino What about these: Z-D-Cleary Mule-Flip-Leino Bert-Helm-Willy Homer-Draper-Eaves Maltby This could allow Homer to play less minutes even strength, but still play on the top PP unit with Z & D and maybe try to keep him healthy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
