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Jasper84

Brett Lebda signs with Toronto

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Last season was just brutal for him. Maybe he'll turn things around a bit on a team with not so high expectations and more playing time.

doubtful - he won't have as defensively responsible teammates to pick him up - watch for a career low +/- for him this upcoming year

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For me it's not so much about bashing Lebda, but the disbelief that Toronto would give him a 600k raise.

I was never a Lebda fan, but now our bottom pairing is an even bigger unknown.

It should be Meech or Kindl with Stuart. Doubt it will be though.

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For me it's not so much about bashing Lebda, but the disbelief that Toronto would give him a 600k raise.

I was never a Lebda fan, but now our bottom pairing is an even bigger unknown.

try an 800k a year raise... he more than doubled his salary for an ATROCIOUS d-man

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It should be Meech or Kindl with Stuart. Doubt it will be though.

And Kronwall Ericsson on the bottom pairing?

Honestly given the season that E had, and Kronwall not really looking great either, I dont' know if that would work out or be a disaster.

Meech has shown nothing to warrant top 4 ice time, but I guess could be given the opportunity because of the Wings current D situtation.

I wouldn't mind seeing what Kindl could do given an experienced partner like Stuart.

EDIT: or were you saying make Stuart the bottom pairing and Kronwall-E 3-4?

try an 800k a year raise... he more than doubled his salary for an ATROCIOUS d-man

I thought he made 850k last season?

Either way, it's a bad deal.

Edited by haroldsnepsts

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And Kronwall Ericsson on the bottom pairing?

Honestly given the season that E had, and Kronwall not really looking great either, I dont' know if that would work out or be a disaster.

Meech has shown nothing to warrant top 4 ice time, but I guess could be given the opportunity because of the Wings current D situtation.

I wouldn't mind seeing what Kindl could do given an experienced partner like Stuart.

EDIT: or were you saying make Stuart the bottom pairing and Kronwall-E 3-4?

I thought he made 850k last season?

Either way, it's a bad deal.

sorry, you're correct, I was looking at cap hit, not actual salary - but you are still dead on - bad signing any way you slice it.

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Looking on the CBC article comments I saw a Red Wings fan call him "a good stay at home d-man" but this is my favorite one.

Wizzard wrote: Spaceman...............I am a Wings fan and I can answer your question.......... Detroit will let him go because Lidstrom came back, because Hudler came back from the KHL and because Bertuzzi had a good year and a good playoff so they had to re-sign him too.............They don't have the cap space to keep Lebda..................And, as I've already posted............LEAF FANS WILL BE SURPRISED!!! THIS GUY IS VERY TALENTED!!! He's Fast, a good puck carrier and good playmaker.

With Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall and Brad Stuart as the top 4 and taking the Lions share of the minutes in Detroit he hasn't been able to produce the kind of numbers he is really capable of...................Seriously, I think this is a really good move by Burke, and he probably likes the idea that it's only considered a small move.

When Lebda puts up a 40 point season (He's easily capable) Burke will look like a genius..............Anybody that's familiar with Lebda would not be surprised at all...............Also, keep in mind, Lebda is an American, and with Brian Burke's involvement with team USA, he would have scouted Lebda heavily, he's probably more familiar with his abilities than most.

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I wouldn't be completely shocked if Lebda put up 40 pts. Slightly surprised, but not shocked. It all depends on how many minutes he plays and how his skill set is utilized by Toronto. Even the biggest slug in the world can be a decent player in the right system.

Edited by Broken 16

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Looking on the CBC article comments I saw a Red Wings fan call him "a good stay at home d-man" but this is my favorite one.

Lebda sure has a share of Wings fans that defend him and say he is a decent bottom pair puck mover.

But that person...? I mean, I kind of doubt that they're really a Wings fan. Either that or they haven't watched enough games.

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Please. Rafalski is not great. The people who rip on Rafalski, including myself, have every right too.

Rafalski ended with a higher +/- than Lidstrom.

Just sayin'. If you ask other teams if they'd take a defenseman that can put up 42 points and have a +23 for $6 mil, you're gonna get a lot of teams that are interested.

Compare him to Lidstrom's stats, who placed fourth for the Norris this year: 49 and +22. Granted Nick is better on the defensive side of the puck, but try imagining our first PP without Rafalski on the blue line next to Lidstrom.

Expecting him to be as good as Lidstrom is completely unrealistic.

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Whoever would've thought ex-Red Wing Mikeal Sammuelsson would hit the 30 goal mark?

I am not nearly as surprised about Samuelsson's 30 goals as I would be about Lebda's 40 points. Sammy showed flashes of brilliance and talent when he was here, but he didn't play with our best players enough to get him in a rhythm and keep his confidence high. Besides, Sammy is a good fit with the Sedins; he has a hell of a shot when he uses it correctly, and the twins create so much space on the ice that Sammy has tons of time to set up shop and rip one-timers. Hell, he even has enough time to aim them properly.

Edited by ComradeWasabi

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Just like "lol @ Leino doing anything for the Flyers in the playoffs" probably.

Lol at that comparison.

I know you didn't write the original quote about the 40 points but WOW that person does not know a single thing about hockey. Lebda has never even gotten 40 points over any TWO seasons in the NHL. Keep dreaming.

If he hits 40 points next season I will build you a cathedral.

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Lol at that comparison.

I know you didn't write the original quote about the 40 points but WOW that person does not know a single thing about hockey. Lebda has never even gotten 40 points over any TWO seasons in the NHL. Keep dreaming.

If he hits 40 points next season I will build you a cathedral.

I said I wouldn't be shocked. If Lebda can make an impact as an offensive defenseman, get decent powerplay time, there's no reason to believe that he couldn't pile up assists and a few goals. I never said anything about his +/- or defensive game... that'll probably be atrocious. But offensively... in the Eastern Conference... no point total would shock me.

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I said I wouldn't be shocked. If Lebda can make an impact as an offensive defenseman, get decent powerplay time, there's no reason to believe that he couldn't pile up assists and a few goals. I never said anything about his +/- or defensive game... that'll probably be atrocious. But offensively... in the Eastern Conference... no point total would shock me.

Maybe I'm just more easily shocked than you :hehe: ... but if Lebda even came near 40 points (playing for the MAPLE LEAFS), I would be beyond shocked. LGW doesn't even offer an emoticon that properly shows how shocked I would be.

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Maybe I'm just more easily shocked than you :hehe: ... but if Lebda even came near 40 points (playing for the MAPLE LEAFS), I would be beyond shocked. LGW doesn't even offer an emoticon that properly shows how shocked I would be.

Maybe... but I'm also looking at former whipping boys that have been traded to other teams and they all seem to do pretty well, with a few exceptions of course. Even the worst players can't help but have a little Red Wing greatness rub off on them. :)

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Just like "lol @ Leino doing anything for the Flyers in the playoffs" probably.

Think about it, this was Leino's first year in the NHL. He definitely showed flashes of brilliance before, and Babs even said he was the best player he ever sent down. Leino, in Detroit, felt that a roster spot would be a given so he was "lazy and sucked", but in Philly, he needed to work super hard due to the number of forwards on the team, and he certainly did, and the system there worked for him. Leino was willing to try a new system, and it worked because he wasn't too used to our system as of yet.

Lebda has consistently played in the NHL as a bottom-6 defenceman for 4 years now and obviously doesn't have a whole lot more potential, like Leino did have, playing the same hockey for 4 years in the same position at the same level of the depth chart and being unable to impress the coaches enough to put him on a higher line. As an experienced NHL-er, he will probably make the same mistakes as before. And with the defensive depth they have in Toronto, he probably will, again, be the number 5-6 defenceman in Toronto.

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Think about it, this was Leino's first year in the NHL. He definitely showed flashes of brilliance before, and Babs even said he was the best player he ever sent down. Leino, in Detroit, felt that a roster spot would be a given so he was "lazy and sucked", but in Philly, he needed to work super hard due to the number of forwards on the team, and he certainly did, and the system there worked for him. Leino was willing to try a new system, and it worked because he wasn't too used to our system as of yet.

Lebda has consistently played in the NHL as a bottom-6 defenceman for 4 years now and obviously doesn't have a whole lot more potential, like Leino did have, playing the same hockey for 4 years in the same position at the same level of the depth chart and being unable to impress the coaches enough to put him on a higher line. As an experienced NHL-er, he will probably make the same mistakes as before. And with the defensive depth they have in Toronto, he probably will, again, be the number 5-6 defenceman in Toronto.

I'm just saying that 40 points isn't entirely inconceivable in the Eastern Conference. No matter who the player. It's that bad.

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Lebda on the PP? Why? He doesn't have a hard or accurate shot. He's not even a poor man's Rafalski when it comes to keeping the puck in the zone.

If he's on the PP I might just dare him to shoot it every time.

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