Jonathan Ericsson Watch Thread

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Ericsson needs to get better. If I find myself wanting Meech or Lebda out there over him, then theres a problem.

[titanium2 867]

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100303/SP...Red-Wings-bench

Jonathan Ericsson might head to Red Wings bench

CHRIS MCCOSKY

The Detroit News

Detroit --What are the Red Wings going to do about Jonathan Ericsson?

This has become an extremely delicate issue for coach Mike Babcock and general manager Ken Holland.

Ericsson, who turned 26 on Tuesday, is a big (6-foot-4), highly skilled defenseman who burst upon the scene during the playoffs last season and played nearly flawless hockey.

But a funny thing happened on his way to the Hall of Fame. He has stumbled mightily in his first full NHL season. The rigors of playing such a heavy, condensed schedule have worn him down physically and the mounting mistakes seem to be at the point of ruining him mentally.

How much longer can the Wings afford to keep running him out there? At what point does his confidence get shattered beyond repair?

Ericsson is a team-worst minus-18. He's minus-12 over his last 14 games. He was on the ice for both Colorado goals Monday. His errant pass up the boards led directly to the second goal. There was a stretch in the second period where his mistakes and turnovers helped trigger three odd-man rushes.

Are all these goals his fault? No, of course not. The Avs' second goal Monday was one of the softest Jimmy Howard has allowed in a while. But bad things are happening way too often when Ericsson is on the ice.

It got to the point Monday where Babcock essentially rotated two pairs of defensemen in the third period.

So what do the Wings do?

They have been trying most of the season to let him work through it, but it keeps getting worse and worse and the Wings are at a point in the season where they can't afford to give away any games, lest they risk missing the playoffs.

In a perfect world, the Wings would send him to Grand Rapids to regain some of his swagger. But with his size and potential, he would never clear waivers. The Wings are trying to rescue him, not lose him.

So, the next option is to bench him. Make him a healthy scratch for a while. That's probably going to happen sooner rather than later, but they are trying to buy some time for Andreas Lilja to work off the rust and get himself back up to NHL speed.

The next question, should they decide to shut Ericsson down, is for how long? Do they shut him down for the rest of the season? Rotate Lilja, Brett Lebda and Derek Meech on that third defense pairing?

Is that even the best option for a young player with plummeting confidence?

If I had the answers to these questions, I would be asking Mike Ilitch for a job. I am not sure there's any hockey or psych manual anywhere that can offer concrete answers to this dilemma. All I know is what I see on the ice, and what I see is a young, talented player drowning in his own self-doubt.

Most young defensemen go through these slumps and many lose their confidence at some point. The good ones, the ones who survive to become veteran defenseman, figure out a way to get it back.

In the end, it will be up to Ericsson to provide the answers. It's on him to shake this off, make something good happen for himself and get back to being the trustworthy blue-liner the Red Wings think he is.

[titanium2 867]

Ericsson with 17:02 of TOI and a +1.

On the other hand, Lidstrom with 23:57 TOI, 1 giveaway and a -3. Yikes. Something is certainly flipped here.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Ericsson with 17:02 of TOI and a +1.

On the other hand, Lidstrom with 23:57 TOI, 1 giveaway and a -3. Yikes. Something is certainly flipped here.

Scary, eh?

It's good to see Ericsson earn himself 17 mins a night again. He was fine tonight.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Didnt suck, and was a +1. I'll take it, I wish he would've broken Kesler or Burrows, but no big deal.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Big E is now ONLY a minus 17.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Lebda actually looked not terrible replacing him tonight.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Lebda actually looked not terrible replacing him tonight.

Considering that Ericsson was one of the only non-terrible players against Vancouver, I don't know how I feel about that

[titanium2 867]

He's been good these past few games. I thought he played pretty well for his standards against PIT. He was skating well and he wasn't afraid to shoot.

He also had decent pinches. Whenever he pinched the first thing that came to my mind was where was Lils? In a perfect spot is where he was. Seems like Ericsson knows that Lils has his back.

Overall he was just aggressive and showed some glimpses of true confidence.

Obviously he still has A TON to learn and that is precisely why I hope Lilja stays. Not only does Lils provide solid support positionally, he also communicates well out there and he's always talking. Better communication is probably also a reason why Ericsson has looked good these past few games.

[wingfan40 1]

He's been good these past few games. I thought he played pretty well for his standards against PIT. He was skating well and he wasn't afraid to shoot.

He also had decent pinches. Whenever he pinched the first thing that came to my mind was where was Lils? In a perfect spot is where he was. Seems like Ericsson knows that Lils has his back.

Overall he was just aggressive and showed some glimpses of true confidence.

Obviously he still has A TON to learn and that is precisely why I hope Lilja stays. Not only does Lils provide solid support positionally, he also communicates well out there and he's always talking. Better communication is probably also a reason why Ericsson has looked good these past few games.

I agree.

You can tell he is feeling a little more confident with the puck. I love that he is starting to shoot a little more since he has a cannon. Also the main thing i noticed was he hasn't been making horrible passing decisions the past few games. Hopefully he play continues to get more confident.

[Pucks 66]

He's been much improved the past few. Lilja really plays a consistent style with his positioning, that's helps out a rookie like Ericsson so much. He can play with confidence knowing his partner isn't a wandering nomad.

He's always going to make I'll advised passes though IMO. Like Mickey would say, "He's a bit of a river boat gambler"

[Drake_Marcus 890]

He's been much improved the past few. Lilja really plays a consistent style with his positioning, that's helps out a rookie like Ericsson so much. He can play with confidence knowing his partner isn't a wandering nomad.

He's always going to make I'll advised passes though IMO. Like Mickey would say, "He's a bit of a river boat gambler"

Agreed.

[titanium2 867]

Agreed.

Haha, that's it? Ericsson's has played well the past few games and I thought you're reaction would be more than "Agreed." Ah well, I understand if you don't want to jinx anything.

[uk_redwing 495]

Still not playing as physical as he should be though. In front of the net hes good at clearing the crease, but otherwise theres nothing. Can somebody let him know that hes huge?

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Haha, that's it? Ericsson's has played well the past few games and I thought you're reaction would be more than "Agreed." Ah well, I understand if you don't want to jinx anything.

I definitely don't want to jinx it. Look what happened when I talked him up all summer.

Still not playing as physical as he should be though. In front of the net hes good at clearing the crease, but otherwise theres nothing. Can somebody let him know that hes huge?

He's been great along the boards too. He's good for jumping in a stalemate along the boards and dislodging the puck with sheer force.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

We all know how good Ericsson can be. What will it take for him to get back to his '09 Playoff form?

[stevkrause 1,247]

He's been great along the boards too. He's good for jumping in a stalemate along the boards and dislodging the puck with sheer force.

this. he's not going to ever be the type to make huge open ice hits, but he has been really good along the boards and most importantly, in front of the net...

He has looked really comfortable with Lils and I really hope Lils is back for another couple years and that stays our 3rd pairing...

[Konnan511 1,736]

this. he's not going to ever be the type to make huge open ice hits, but he has been really good along the boards and most importantly, in front of the net...

He has looked really comfortable with Lils and I really hope Lils is back for another couple years and that stays our 3rd pairing...

I couldn't ask for more. He'd easily stay for around 1mil. Keep him and get rid of Lebeech and we'll be set on D next year with Kindl being the 6/7th D-Man

[titanium2 867]

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100324/SPORTS0103/3240404/1128/Wings--Danny-Cleary-will-play--Jonathan-Ericsson-s-game-improving

"We've been working on a lot of stuff with Beast (assistant coach Brad McCrimmon) and Meechy, and it's helped me a lot," Ericsson said. "It's just about getting me to the point where I am more relaxed out there. I am starting to get the feel of things again."

After posting a minus-10 rating over a 12-game stretch, Ericssonis a plus-1 in the last five games he's played. "We sure hope he gets his confidence back," Babcock said. "We think he can be a real important player for his. The challenge for him every night is to be assertive. All the confidence players in the game, they want the puck, they want to go get the puck and dictate play. He has the capability to do that; it's up to him to do it.

I look forward to watching him tonight.

[stevkrause 1,247]

another solid night, +1, looked confident, made the simple/smart plays and kept the front of the net clear...

[Guest mindfly]

another solid night, +1, looked confident, made the simple/smart plays and kept the front of the net clear...

I didnt like his soft play and had some weird decisions in the defensive zone tbh...

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Really strong game for Ericsson tonight. He did everything Babs wants him to do and even helped set a goal up. Any night when he's a plus, was on the ice for zero goals against AND had zero give-aways is a great night for a rookie d-man.

[clutchngrab 12]

I look forward to watching him tonight.

I have to think that after watching E struggle for the better part of the year, the whole concept of Babcock as a young players coach, like in his Anaheim years, is a complete fallacy now days. Confidence and basic execution is what it has been about all year for this guy. So why not coach him through this before now? We had another guy named Leino, who may or may not succeed in the end, but one has to ask why? Maybe now that he's got olympic gold he can start being a legit red wing coach again.

Edited March 25, 2010 by clutchngrab

[RedFlag85 33]

Really strong game for Ericsson tonight. He did everything Babs wants him to do and even helped set a goal up. Any night when he's a plus, was on the ice for zero goals against AND had zero give-aways is a great night for a rookie d-man.

I agree. I think the biggest thing he did right, was not trying to do too much. He played fairly conservatively, and ended up being an asset, rather than a liability.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Jonathan Ericsson:

1 SH goal (game winner) 1 assist +4

Multiple excellent defensive plays too.

Hey doubters-- eat s***.

What have I said all along? When he's confident in himself he's a very good young defenseman. When he's down on himself he sucks. Fine-- I can describe Filppula or most other Wings as s*** when they're not confident.

But what happens when Big Rig is confident? He rocks the s*** out of the frigging rink.

Edit: spelling

Edited March 27, 2010 by Drake_Marcus