Your favorite new addition

[Guest VAL FILPPULA]

Out of Bert, Eaves, Willy, Miller, May Day, (can we count Leino, Helm, Abby, and Big E?) who do you guys like the best?

Personally I like Eaves, mainly because I love when the Wings sign "project players". Plus the Eaves, Drapes, Helmer line has been killer.

What about you guys?

[Carman 387]

Eaves for the Free Agents.

And Helmer for the rookies. Absolutely love those two.

[Echolalia 2,961]

Eaves and Helm hands down.

[skyphoenix 153]

Eaves and Leino. I like Leino's puck control a lot and he's playing the perfect role on Zetterberg's line. I definitely love Helm as well, you can't deny he has a lot of strength and speed.

Ericsson has been pretty disappointing to me, but he isn't learning much from his partner.

Also, I forgot to say that although the Miller acquisition didn't make sense to me at first, I think he is a really great addition to the team. He has been pretty good on the PK.

Edited November 21, 2009 by skyphoenix

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

May and Helm. I've liked Eaves too.

[Swayze 81]

May's awesome, but if there's one guy I want us to re-sign for next season out of this group, it's Eaves.

And for the rooks, they're all awesome for different reasons.

[EuroTwin 240]

May is the one I've been the most surprised by. I was meh when we signed him, but I absolutely adore him now.

[Theophany 110]

Eaves. Ericsson, speaking of him, is making me cringe every time he goes near a puck, mainly because he makes some really dumb decisions.

(Yes, I know he's a rookie and he's allowed to make dumb plays.)

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Eaves would be my fav out of the free agent additions.

Ericsson for the rookies.

It's interesting how much flack Ericsson is taking for not being the best defensive d-man on the team. Interesting because he's a rookie, he's a mainstay of the PK (an strong indication that the coach feels he's a good defensive player) and he's only a -2 right now. That -2 seems bad until you notice that his partner is a -3, Cleary's a -1, Rafalski's only a +1 even though he plays with Lidstrom who's a +9, and this team is 8th in the West right now.

So now that we've established that -2 isn't bad for a rookie in his shoes I'd like to point out that he lead the defense in scoring through the first 15 games. He did so with an average PP time per game of 0.0 mins. That's very impressive for a rookie d-man who's getting zero PP time.

Ericsson's on pace for a 13 g 27 a 40 pt rookie season without playing a minute of PP time.

A 40pt season as a third pairing rookie d-man is Calder material folks.

Let's look at last year's #1 rookie d-man:

Drew Doughty 81gp 6 g 21 a 27pts -17 23:49 TOI/G

How can you call Ericsson a disappointment so far this season? Because he's made a few rookie errors out there defensively? He's a frickin' rookie. Rafalski's got more turnovers than he does. But hey, he does have 15% more turnovers than Nick Lidstrom. That's a tiny number in this situation.

If you expect a rookie to walk in as a d-man and read the plays at the NHL level to the extent that he's among the bottom third of the defensive +/- on the Detroit Red Wings you're either insane or think he's Bobby Orr.

Calling him disappointing is patently absurd.

EDIT: Spelling.

Edited November 21, 2009 by Drake_Marcus

[Zetts 236]

It's interesting how much flack Ericsson is taking for not being the best defensive d-man on the team. Interesting because he's a rookie, he's a mainstay of the PK (an strong indication that the coach feels he's a good defensive player) and he's only a -2 right now. That -2 seems bad until you notice that his partner is a -3, Cleary's a -1, Rafalski's only a +1 even though he plays with Lidstrom who's a +9, and this team is 8th in the West right now.

That's reaching a bit. Playing on the PK is different from playing defensively even strength, although yes, usually you would assume if one is good at the one they'd be good at the other.

However, I specifically recall Babcock saying something about how he wants to get Ericsson using his big body to block shots. He could just be trying to get Ericsson to play a certain way and letting him learn the ropes for the PK. Keep in mind, Ericsson is "a mainstay" on the 26th ranked penalty kill.

Yes, he's a rookie, and he's allowed to make mistakes - I'm not ragging on him. But he has NOT been good defensively.

[titanium2 867]

Val Filppula 2K10 is probably my favorite addition. But he's injured now and so we'll never know how good he could've been.

Among that list though, it's been fun to watch the Helm-Eaves pairing. When I watch them skate out there I have Mickey Goldmill's voice in my head chanting from Rocky II, "Faster!... FASTER!!!... Speed... SPEED!!... SPEEEEEED!!!!"

[Theophany 110]

How can you call Ericsson a disappointment so far this season? Because he's made a few rookie errors out there defensively? He's a frickin' rookie. Rafalski's got more turnovers than he does.

Actually, it's more due to my high expectations that I'm disappointed in him, and his turnovers have led directly to goals.

Trust me, Rafalski is on my s*** list much more than Ericsson; but the defense as a whole seems to be noticeably worse than last season outside of Lidstrom, Lebda (anything more than a negative is a positive), and Kronwall. This isn't specifically tied to every game, but more over the whole season thus far.

I've just been looking at what he managed to do last season in the playoffs, and then compare it to his play thus far; he didn't make bone-head decisions that led to 2-on-0 goals. He didn't cough the puck up in the neutral zone.

Him playing on the PK doesn't really mean much, frankly. Babcock had Drew Miller playing on the PK the night he arrived to meet the team. He probably assigned him a locker and said, "oh, btw, you're playing on the PK, dude." Based on Ericsson's success last year, it wouldn't shock me at all that he was playing on the PK simply because he's the only defenseman that Babcock trusts to be out there next to Lidstrom (as Stuart/Kronwall play on the second PK pair).

When your options are Brett "I'm still bad" Lebda and Brian "I can score but can't PK" Rafalski... Yeah, you're gonna give a kid with promise some experience.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

That's reaching a bit. Playing on the PK is different from playing defensively even strength, although yes, usually you would assume if one is good at the one they'd be good at the other.

However, I specifically recall Babcock saying something about how he wants to get Ericsson using his big body to block shots. He could just be trying to get Ericsson to play a certain way and letting him learn the ropes for the PK. Keep in mind, Ericsson is "a mainstay" on the 26th ranked penalty kill.

Yes, he's a rookie, and he's allowed to make mistakes - I'm not ragging on him. But he has NOT been good defensively.

He hasn't been "good" defensively compared to how well he played defensively in the playoffs, but he's been good for a rookie. As far as saying we're 26th on the pk... well that reflects on Lidstrom, Stuart, Kronwall, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg just as much as it does on Ericsson.

Again, for a rookie, he's been good defensively. From what we saw in the playoffs, his call-ups last year and the AHL it's clear he's capable of playing better defensively. But compare him to Lilja's play when he was healthy. Or to Lebda who's a 3rd pairing guy with 4 years of NHL experience. He's as good right now as Lilja is when healthy, on average, and he's already superior.

Look where Ericsson makes mistakes-- it's almost always when he's making offensive choices. When it comes to playing his man he's solid. Occasional poor defensive outcomes when making offensive choices is the hallmark of a player making the NHL transition. It takes years to learn to read the NHL game right.

Look at Kronwall's NHL transition. He was brutal defensively. Absolutely brutal. Last season was pretty damn rough defensively for Kroner as well, but this season he's been very good defensively. He was rough early on but now he's the second best defensive d-man on the team.

When you compare their rookie seasons and their histories, it's clear that Ericsson has the potential to be an impact player as big as Kronwall with even stronger defensive abilities (mostly owing to his size advantage). Kronwall was known to be defensively suspect early in his career while Ericsson's expectation based on his play last year and especially his play in the AHL is that he's strong defensively. Give Ericsson time to learn the NHL game man, he's stud.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Actually, it's more due to my high expectations that I'm disappointed in him, and his turnovers have led directly to goals.

Trust me, Rafalski is on my s*** list much more than Ericsson; but the defense as a whole seems to be noticeably worse than last season outside of Lidstrom, Lebda (anything more than a negative is a positive), and Kronwall. This isn't specifically tied to every game, but more over the whole season thus far.

I've just been looking at what he managed to do last season in the playoffs, and then compare it to his play thus far; he didn't make bone-head decisions that led to 2-on-0 goals. He didn't cough the puck up in the neutral zone.

Him playing on the PK doesn't really mean much, frankly. Babcock had Drew Miller playing on the PK the night he arrived to meet the team. He probably assigned him a locker and said, "oh, btw, you're playing on the PK, dude." Based on Ericsson's success last year, it wouldn't shock me at all that he was playing on the PK simply because he's the only defenseman that Babcock trusts to be out there next to Lidstrom (as Stuart/Kronwall play on the second PK pair).

When your options are Brett "I'm still bad" Lebda and Brian "I can score but can't PK" Rafalski... Yeah, you're gonna give a kid with promise some experience.

The PK position owes a lot to his size, and readiness to block shots but it's certainly a vote of confidence in his defensive abilities.

There's a reason why Miller walked in and played on the PK and it's the only reason why he's in the NHL-- he's a capable defensive forward. Miller was known as a defensive rookie coming into the league with very little expectation offensively. He's basically a Helm type of guy who didn't catch on like Helm did. Defense is definitely the only reason why the Wings picked Miller up.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

I just wanted to clarify that I know he's made some stupid mistakes-- I groaned too. That bad pass that Getzlaf knocked down and passed to Perry for the goal was as painful for me to watch as it was for you. I'm just trying to point out the good things he's done that seem to have been overshadowed by a few higher profile mistakes he's made over the last few games. Defense is a position where you can make a 100 great plays but you'll be the goat if you make that 1 bad play. Ericsson's rookie mistakes are also amplified by having Lebda as his partner. Normally you'd want to give your rookie d-man a capable defensive partner to guide the way and mask some of his errors.

It seems like people are letting a few errors outweigh all his promising play even when those errors are to be expected. Obviously my opinion would be different if he weren't a rookie, but you've got to cut the kid actual slack when he's learning... not just say "I know he's a rookie, but he sucks defensively". His defensive play certainly isn't bad compared to a rookie.

[skyphoenix 153]

Offensively, yes he is doing very well. Defensively, he has been disappointing me, but he can't really make up for playing with the worst defenseman in the NHL.

For an average NHL rookie, Ericsson is doing well. For being Jonathan Ericsson, it is slightly disappointing from what we got to see in the playoffs last season.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Offensively, yes he is doing very well. Defensively, he has been disappointing me, but he can't really make up for playing with the worst defenseman in the NHL.

For an average NHL rookie, Ericsson is doing well. For being Jonathan Ericsson, it is slightly disappointing from what we got to see in the playoffs last season.

Fair enough.

[wingnut40 176]

Eaves and Helm hands down.

The 3rd line is actually my favorite. I think Eaves, Helm, and Draper all play really well together.

Normally I'd say Ericsson for my rookie pick, but his play's been sub-par for the past few games. Not at all like he was in the playoffs. Right now, I'm loving the After Burner Line.

[Miss Wing Queen 154]

I can't decide really.

I love the speed of Helm-Eaves and how well they are fitting with one another, as well as Draper. But I am also really enjoying what May brings. As one that loved the energy Downey use to bring to the atmosphere when he was on the ice, it's nice to have another tough guy on our team, and even more so because our coaching staff finally realized we needed one.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Bertuzzi, just to piss people off in here.

[wings1110 184]

Eaves would be my fav out of the free agent additions.

Ericsson for the rookies.

It's interesting how much flack Ericsson is taking for not being the best defensive d-man on the team. Interesting because he's a rookie, he's a mainstay of the PK (an strong indication that the coach feels he's a good defensive player) and he's only a -2 right now. That -2 seems bad until you notice that his partner is a -3, Cleary's a -1, Rafalski's only a +1 even though he plays with Lidstrom who's a +9, and this team is 8th in the West right now.

So now that we've established that -2 isn't bad for a rookie in his shoes I'd like to point out that he lead the defense in scoring through the first 15 games. He did so with an average PP time per game of 0.0 mins. That's very impressive for a rookie d-man who's getting zero PP time.

Ericsson's on pace for a 13 g 27 a 40 pt rookie season without playing a minute of PP time.

A 40pt season as a third pairing rookie d-man is Calder material folks.

Let's look at last year's #1 rookie d-man:

Drew Doughty 81gp 6 g 21 a 27pts -17 23:49 TOI/G

How can you call Ericsson a disappointment so far this season? Because he's made a few rookie errors out there defensively? He's a frickin' rookie. Rafalski's got more turnovers than he does. But hey, he does have 15% more turnovers than Nick Lidstrom. That's a tiny number in this situation.

If you expect a rookie to walk in as a d-man and read the plays at the NHL level to the extent that he's among the bottom third of the defensive +/- on the Detroit Red Wings you're either insane or think he's Bobby Orr.

Calling him disappointing is patently absurd.

EDIT: Spelling.

Ericsson is not being considered a rookie (as far as the calder trophy goes) due to his age. There was a thread about it at some point this summer, and if you look on the NHL site under rookies hes no where to be found.........

but anyway im satisfied with his play considered he IS a rookie, some mistakes are to be expected, hes still better then the old lebda and cheli combo, by himself

Edited November 21, 2009 by wings1110

[cjm502 165]

Out of all of the rookies Leino will prob end up being the better player. Helm was on fire last night, havent seen him rock like that since the playoffs. I am satisfied with Ericsson, by the end of the season im sure you all will be too. Out of all the free agents Eaves has impressed me the most. He was invisible in the pre-season, and the first few games. Now he is becoming the player we know he can be. Thats what I think in one paragraph.

[wings1110 184]

Bert needs to get his mean streak goin and stop holding back on hits...

[Guest Shoreline]

I cannot count those in parenthesis because they've been here, but from what I've seen so far from those listed, it's between Bert and May, and I'll have to go with Bert. If May were to get a few goals, it would change my mind in a heartbeat.

[beepbeep 3]

Eaves would be my fav out of the free agent additions.

Ericsson for the rookies.

It's interesting how much flack Ericsson is taking for not being the best defensive d-man on the team. Interesting because he's a rookie, he's a mainstay of the PK (an strong indication that the coach feels he's a good defensive player) and he's only a -2 right now. That -2 seems bad until you notice that his partner is a -3, Cleary's a -1, Rafalski's only a +1 even though he plays with Lidstrom who's a +9, and this team is 8th in the West right now.

So now that we've established that -2 isn't bad for a rookie in his shoes I'd like to point out that he lead the defense in scoring through the first 15 games. He did so with an average PP time per game of 0.0 mins. That's very impressive for a rookie d-man who's getting zero PP time.

Ericsson's on pace for a 13 g 27 a 40 pt rookie season without playing a minute of PP time.

A 40pt season as a third pairing rookie d-man is Calder material folks.

Let's look at last year's #1 rookie d-man:

Drew Doughty 81gp 6 g 21 a 27pts -17 23:49 TOI/G

How can you call Ericsson a disappointment so far this season? Because he's made a few rookie errors out there defensively? He's a frickin' rookie. Rafalski's got more turnovers than he does. But hey, he does have 15% more turnovers than Nick Lidstrom. That's a tiny number in this situation.

If you expect a rookie to walk in as a d-man and read the plays at the NHL level to the extent that he's among the bottom third of the defensive +/- on the Detroit Red Wings you're either insane or think he's Bobby Orr.

Calling him disappointing is patently absurd.

EDIT: Spelling.

Not to mention, he never played defense until he was 17 yrs old and was drafted 291st, the very last pick in the '02 draft. It's amazing that he is even playing in the NHL. Also his defensive partner is dumber than a log. He should be paired with Stuart or Lidstrom, someone he can learn from, not a #7 defensman which Lebda is on his good days..