eva unit zero 271 Report post Posted March 22, 2010 Because he's better than Ericsson, which sucks to say. They have about the same amount of points but Lebda is a -2 while Jonathan Ericsson is a -17.... The Wings currently have 8 defensemen on the roster. You can argue all you want about who is better between Ericsson, Meech, and Lebda; but Meech and Ericsson have shown the ability to be a solid defenseman. Lebda has been a borderline 3rd pair defenseman his whole career, and he's 28 now. His best seasons were when he played with Chelios before Chelly broke down, and that has clearly shown to be a matter of his partner making him look good. Lebda will never be a top-four defenseman in the NHL, while Ericsson has the ability to be a top-pairing defenseman, and Meech a solid second-pairing defenseman and power-play specialist. Currently, whichever of the three plays with Lilja on the third pair does not affect the Wings' chances of winning terribly much. Waiving Lebda allows them to bring up a true forward such as Ritola, McGrath, or Oulahen (Abdelkader is slightly too expensive) so that they A) have a spare forward and B) can rest guys if necessary. Maybe I'm just thinking in terms of wanting the team to win now and in the future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltgator333 3 Report post Posted March 23, 2010 Ericsson DOES have more upside than Lebda, but he doesn't always play up to that. At this point I think I'd also rather see Ericsson in the lineup than not, but if the wings HAD TO win a game it'd be hard to say really. The biggest gripe I have with E is he's a big man, and the hardest hitting RW d-men are smaller to much smaller than he is- imagine Kronner +35lbs (sick). As for at the end of the year, I would hope Lebda's gone. He and Lilja are UFA with Meech RFA, and I think the other two guys have upsides/potential upsides better than him. It's been mentioned that Lebda's peaked, I think he has (if not, close enough) and I certainly doubt Meech has considering the chunk of his NHL games he's spent playing as a forward. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
3chrisosgood0 7 Report post Posted March 23, 2010 Sitting Lebda = good. Getting Lebda off the roster = better. couldnt have said it better myself can we lower his pay down to bout 8 bucks an hour and make him water boy? and maybe hed turn into bobby boucher Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest lebda=bender Report post Posted March 23, 2010 he's horrible. total bender. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FireCaptain 563 Report post Posted March 23, 2010 Well, he is THE MAN then, because Bender rules! he's horrible. total bender. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
titanium2 867 Report post Posted March 23, 2010 Question: Is there something effective about the way the minute distribution has been? Rolling three and a half lines? Or whatever. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevkrause 1,247 Report post Posted March 23, 2010 Question: Is there something effective about the way the minute distribution has been? Rolling three and a half lines? Or whatever. I think it's more a matter of those 3 lines just clicking better now... looked good last night and it shouldn't change much when healthy... also, to add to this thread, Ericsson looked solid last night, smart with the puck and good positionally... like I've said all along, Lilja is just the steadying force he needs... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
