Jason Williams

[Chonmon 1]

Hello all! I am a big fan of this site as I've been coming here for years (mostly for links to stories), and now that i'm finally registered I figured I'd contribute. Funny thing is Jason Williams of all players is the topic that prompted me to throw my opinion out there. I would imagine most of you are living in michigan, and thats what separates me from most fans as I'm from Ohio (Columbus). I am a Hybrid fan, so to speak, as I am first and foremost a Wings fan and will continue to be so for the rest of my life. I love the Jackets too, but when Detroit rolls into town I call for nothing less than the Jackets head on a stick (1st round games were amazing down here last playoff). Well, enough background crap.

From seeing a hefty share of Jason Williams here in Columbus last year, I say that most of you have drastically underestimated this guy and what he'll provide for the team. Williams did seem to cruise some nights when he played for us before, but since he left Detroit I believe he's learned to play harder. He had to play without the comfort of knowing 3 other lines could pick up slack if needed, and that (I believe) changed his play. If I did not see him play so much last year I know I would definitely be on the "what was Holland thinking" train, and highly annoyed with the signing. Holland did his homework (again) and made a good decision in signing jason especially when considering our cap issues this year. I'll go out on a limb and say Williams will get 20+ goals (somewhere around 40 - 50 pts) and be responsible in our own end. Not bad when considering the money.

Bertuzzi, well I have different opinions on this signing. Maybe we can get someone from Calgary to give us their thoughts?

[Broken 16 381]

Hello all! I am a big fan of this site as I've been coming here for years (mostly for links to stories), and now that i'm finally registered I figured I'd contribute. Funny thing is Jason Williams of all players is the topic that prompted me to throw my opinion out there. I would imagine most of you are living in michigan, and thats what separates me from most fans as I'm from Ohio (Columbus). I am a Hybrid fan, so to speak, as I am first and foremost a Wings fan and will continue to be so for the rest of my life. I love the Jackets too, but when Detroit rolls into town I call for nothing less than the Jackets head on a stick (1st round games were amazing down here last playoff). Well, enough background crap.

From seeing a hefty share of Jason Williams here in Columbus last year, I say that most of you have drastically underestimated this guy and what he'll provide for the team. Williams did seem to cruise some nights when he played for us before, but since he left Detroit I believe he's learned to play harder. He had to play without the comfort of knowing 3 other lines could pick up slack if needed, and that (I believe) changed his play. If I did not see him play so much last year I know I would definitely be on the "what was Holland thinking" train, and highly annoyed with the signing. Holland did his homework (again) and made a good decision in signing jason especially when considering our cap issues this year. I'll go out on a limb and say Williams will get 20+ goals (somewhere around 40 - 50 pts) and be responsible in our own end. Not bad when considering the money.

Bertuzzi, well I have different opinions on this signing. Maybe we can get someone from Calgary to give us their thoughts?

Nice insight. Thanks.

I tend to agree. Even though I have much less evidence to go by than you. In fact, I kind of hoped for Williams as soon as I realized he was available. If motivated, I think he is an upgrade over Sammy. We've got a few new players this season who have something to prove. Dan Cleary showed how dangerous a player like that can be. Now it's up to the Wings to help bring that out of them. Can't wait to see this season unfold.

[Echolalia 2,961]

Welcome to the forum. There are alot of folks who post here who aren't from Michigan, including an Aussie, some nice people from the UK and Sweden, and of course a number of different states such as Ohio, Minnesota, California, etc.

I'm glad to hear that you have a positive view of Williams, but I think most of the hate towards him is simply because our old player to hate on (Sammy) left, and because Wings fans demand perfection, anyone incapable of playing like Datsyuk is subject to ridicule. That and he's lazy and he sucks

[jollymania 162]

Welcome, im not form MI though, used to be though.

[Rivalred 630]

Welcome to the forum. But remember we are also familiar with J-Willy's style of play as he played for the Wings in the past. Maybe he has changed. Who knows. But 2 preseason games is not enough for me to go by.

As you did mention Bert. I hope he regains some of his past spark, but if he doesn't I will be the 1st to throw him off the train.

Edited September 19, 2009 by Rivalred

[Chonmon 1]

Thanks for all the welcomes guys/gals. great 2 know of all the out of state people too. I totally agree that 2 preseason games is definitely not how you gague a player, That being said all the games he played here in columbus he did a great job. he was a second liner on the jackets team and got a lot more minutes so that will affect his numbers but i still think he'll do very well. To be honest I was surprised the jackets didn't resign him.

The Bertuzzi thing had me very annoyed the day he was signed, but i'm not holland. He's pretty smart if you hadn't noticed.

Edited September 19, 2009 by Chonmon

[Lamothe 5]

From seeing a hefty share of Jason Williams here in Columbus last year, I say that most of you have drastically underestimated this guy and what he'll provide for the team. Williams did seem to cruise some nights when he played for us before, but since he left Detroit I believe he's learned to play harder. He had to play without the comfort of knowing 3 other lines could pick up slack if needed, and that (I believe) changed his play. If I did not see him play so much last year I know I would definitely be on the "what was Holland thinking" train, and highly annoyed with the signing. Holland did his homework (again) and made a good decision in signing jason especially when considering our cap issues this year. I'll go out on a limb and say Williams will get 20+ goals (somewhere around 40 - 50 pts) and be responsible in our own end. Not bad when considering the money.

Bertuzzi, well I have different opinions on this signing. Maybe we can get someone from Calgary to give us their thoughts?

That's awesome that you can share your input with us since you saw him quite a bit on Columbus! I've got faith in Williams as well, maybe not 20+ goal faith but definitly 30-45 pts. I think he's developed into a decent third line player, and getting him on the point in the power play will help his game as well.

Bertuzzi I love, regardless of his incident. If the guy can stay healthy, I'm all for having him as well. Huge guy + decent skill + drive to win + 1.5 mil for 1 year = GOOD SIGNING. He's got all year to find his niche, and when the playoffs start I think we'll see a different guy than we saw in his last tenure with us.

[titanium2 867]

Sorry to be a party pooper but I'm not expecting much from two guys whom no one else wanted which is why they had to take one year deals worth 1.5 mil.

[Chonmon 1]

Welcome to the forum. There are alot of folks who post here who aren't from Michigan, including an Aussie, some nice people from the UK and Sweden, and of course a number of different states such as Ohio, Minnesota, California, etc.

I'm glad to hear that you have a positive view of Williams, but I think most of the hate towards him is simply because our old player to hate on (Sammy) left, and because Wings fans demand perfection, anyone incapable of playing like Datsyuk is subject to ridicule. That and he's lazy and he sucks

LOL. You are soooo correct sir. Being a staunch fan of another team that is much less "red wing" caliber, It has been made clear to me that we all, EVERY red wings fan, is incredibly spoiled. We have the highest expectations, only because our team over the last 15 years has been impeccable! No other team comes close to the success we have all enjoyed. I will shed a tear when we lose Lidstrom, literally, as I think the boat will begin to rock when that sad day comes.

[Chonmon 1]

Sorry to be a party pooper but I'm not expecting much from two guys whom no one else wanted which is why they had to take one year deals worth 1.5 mil.

True, you shouldn't expect too much from them, but williams is a good signing regardless. That's good, not great, not "the future" or anything like that.... just a solid signing. Williams is absolutely an upgrade over Sammy, look at it that way. Sammy was good too, not great, maybe just decent.

Bert signing: I whole heartedly believe he will be injured this year at some point and put up low numbers. I don't gague bert by "the incident" it's just his skill has plummeted drastically. I think his body has given up.

[Esquire 324]

Sorry to be a party pooper but I'm not expecting much from two guys whom no one else wanted which is why they had to take one year deals worth 1.5 mil.

They took 1 year deals at 1.5 million because it was Ken Holland and the Detroit Red Wings offering it.

[The Mule 0]

Amen. When all is said and done, Williams will have been a great signing for this team.

[Guest lnvincible]

Amen. When all is said and done, Williams will have been a great signing for this team.

Williams has always been one of my favorite players, mostly because i grew up playing road hockey with him and wanting to be as good as him one day Obv it didn't happen, but i get tried of these "Wings Fan's" putting every player under the bus for what happened the first time around Detroit. Im very confident that Willy will have a great season.

[The Mule 0]

Williams has always been one of my favorite players, mostly because i grew up playing road hockey with him and wanting to be as good as him one day Obv it didn't happen, but i get tried of these "Wings Fan's" putting every player under the bus for what happened the first time around Detroit. Im very confident that Willy will have a great season.

Nice story, and great attitude. I've always liked Willy.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

Sorry to be a party pooper but I'm not expecting much from two guys whom no one else wanted which is why they had to take one year deals worth 1.5 mil.

Teams weren't exactly kicking down the door to sign Dan Cleary or Mikael Samuelsson either.

I'm not a huge fan of Willy or Bert, but for the amount they're getting paid they have good value, with enough upside that we can wait and see if they turn out to be another genius move by Holland.

[puckbags 863]

They are both low risk high reward signings and with 1 year deals if they have terrible years they are gone anyways !

[Buppy 1,720]

The only thing that bothers me about Williams is that his being here will keep Stuart and Ericsson from getting a real shot at the PP spot. I haven't liked a forward on the point since Sergei.

Willy was my second choice among FA Columbus centers, but not a bad pickup. Leino-Flip-Willy can certainly be as, or even more, productive than our third line last year, and if Leino works hard probably better defensively.

[swedishconnection 36]

I am just worried that once J-Willy bobbles a puck at the blueline on the PP, or gets beaten on the backcheck during an error on the PP that these boards will implode again and most people wont be able to see past said error and will harp on him endlessly just like Sammy.

They cant all be Conn Smythe's, Norris's, Selke's, Rocket's.... etc.

What we need him to be is a solid player that contributes as much as possible, with as much limitations on errors as possible.

What we need from ourselves is to accept that he aint perfect, and to expect those errors; but remembering that we will still be at the top of the totem pole in standings in the West. He cant single handedly take us out that far.

[dragonballgtz 273]

True, you shouldn't expect too much from them, but williams is a good signing regardless. That's good, not great, not "the future" or anything like that.... just a solid signing. Williams is absolutely an upgrade over Sammy, look at it that way. Sammy was good too, not great, maybe just decent.

Bert signing: I whole heartedly believe he will be injured this year at some point and put up low numbers. I don't gague bert by "the incident" it's just his skill has plummeted drastically. I think his body has given up.

Not to crap the thread, but this is a forum for debate and opinions, and my opinion is Williams is a downgrade. He has not chipped in come playoff time Sammy did. That's a huge difference for a team that looks to win it every year.

[Zion 93]

Agreed. At least the LogoHunter could hang on to the puck and play defensively. That and he took a lot of shots to the face that might otherwise be aimed at Zetterberg's back or Datsyuk's legs.

[Chunkylover 26]

I think it's fair to weigh expectations of future performance based on a knowledge of previous performance, so I wouldn't disqualify some of the apprehension people feel toward Williams. Real fairness isn't refusing to judge someone, it's judging them by their current performance instead of holding their past over them. IF Williams can change peoples' opinions then good for him. I'm sure he cares more about personal success within the context of overall team success, though, and if that is his focus then we should see good things from him.

[Chonmon 1]

Not to crap the thread, but this is a forum for debate and opinions, and my opinion is Williams is a downgrade. He has not chipped in come playoff time Sammy did. That's a huge difference for a team that looks to win it every year.

Well, I just think he was a different when he was a wing in the past, he's better now from what I've seen. Still has to prove he is a playoff player though, i agree w u there.

[Snazzy 0]

Sorry to be a party pooper but I'm not expecting much from two guys whom no one else wanted which is why they had to take one year deals worth 1.5 mil.

If I remember correctly, no one else wanted Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Cleary, Lidstrom and so on and on... Look how that turned out for us. I like to think RW org know more and have more knowledge than "others", including 29 other NHL organizations.

Jm2c

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Hello all! I am a big fan of this site as I've been coming here for years (mostly for links to stories), and now that i'm finally registered I figured I'd contribute. Funny thing is Jason Williams of all players is the topic that prompted me to throw my opinion out there. I would imagine most of you are living in michigan, and thats what separates me from most fans as I'm from Ohio (Columbus). I am a Hybrid fan, so to speak, as I am first and foremost a Wings fan and will continue to be so for the rest of my life. I love the Jackets too, but when Detroit rolls into town I call for nothing less than the Jackets head on a stick (1st round games were amazing down here last playoff). Well, enough background crap.

From seeing a hefty share of Jason Williams here in Columbus last year, I say that most of you have drastically underestimated this guy and what he'll provide for the team. Williams did seem to cruise some nights when he played for us before, but since he left Detroit I believe he's learned to play harder. He had to play without the comfort of knowing 3 other lines could pick up slack if needed, and that (I believe) changed his play. If I did not see him play so much last year I know I would definitely be on the "what was Holland thinking" train, and highly annoyed with the signing. Holland did his homework (again) and made a good decision in signing jason especially when considering our cap issues this year. I'll go out on a limb and say Williams will get 20+ goals (somewhere around 40 - 50 pts) and be responsible in our own end. Not bad when considering the money.

Bertuzzi, well I have different opinions on this signing. Maybe we can get someone from Calgary to give us their thoughts?

At leat on here, there is going to be a whipping boy who people are going to overreact to. Even if he overproduces, the majority in here will probably act stupid towards him. Jason Williams is that guy this year unfortunately. I hope he does well for his own personal sake obviously and to help the Wings, but also to show how ridiculous people can be in here sometimes in regards to certain players.

[anthonyn66 89]

If I remember correctly, no one else wanted Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Cleary, Lidstrom and so on and on... Look how that turned out for us. I like to think RW org know more and have more knowledge than "others", including 29 other NHL organizations.

Jm2c