25 replies to this topic

[Albeh]

OK with Abdelkader back in the fold I've been thinking about lines. Last year one of the problems faced by Zetterberg (while not playing with Dats) was that as the only guy on his line who carried the puck through center ice easily, it was possible to shut his line down by (essentially) sitting on him. When they moved Cleary or Filppula up with him things got a lot easier. So, with the idea of keeping 2 'puck carriers' available on each line, here's a thought for discussion:

Offense
Holmstrom Datsyuk Zetterberg
Hudler Filppula Franzen
Bertuzzi Modano Cleary
Abdelkader Helm Eaves
Subs: Miller, Ritola

Defense
Lidstrom Rafalski
Kronwall Stewart
Salei Ericsson
Subs: Kindl

Finishing the thought, unless Meech somehow turns into the second coming I don't see how he can stay (500K in return of cap) and though he's a fan favorite and it'd be a sentimental hit, Draper doesn't justify 1.5 million cap hit he will cost the wings this year given the rest of their talent).

Losing those two puts us well under the cap with room to maneuver later if Ken Holland wishes to, and leaves us with as much youth / development as we can keep for future teams.

[hoogs]

Wow I've got to say, seeing this on paper for the first time is impressive. This team looks stacked!

[Z and D for the C]

Babcock says he is going to start with Bertuzzi and Hudler switched but yeah, those are pretty much our lines for the season barring injury.

Stuart.

Edited by Z and D for the C, 24 August 2010 - 04:08 PM.

[Sprsquirt7]

I think you are getting at a good point in that you can't rely on a single player to move the puck through center ice. Although I still think the way they have lines "expected" this year is better.

Offense
Holmstrom Datsyuk Zetterberg
Bertuzzi Filppula Franzen
Hudler Modano Cleary
Abdelkader Helm Eaves
Subs: Miller, Ritola, Draper

The reason i feel like this is better is simply because Franzen does so much better when he has someone to take the "big man" role off of him. Bertuzzi knows his role and will essentially perform it better than hudler could. Also Franzen is quite good at moving through the neutral zone as well. As we all know the lines will change a fair amount and i wouldn't mind seeing hudler ont he second line, but I see bertuzzi as the better fit for Franzen and Filppula.

[Rivalred]

Lines really look good on paper. I am looking forward to seeing what kind of chemistry this team can put together. Hudler replacing Williams who replaced Hudler. Modano replacing Sammy.

I wonder if Willa Ford would be up for putting on some "shows" during intermission...

Wow I've got to say, seeing this on paper for the first time is impressive. This team looks stacked!

MMMMM, stacked...

Babcock says he is going to start with Bertuzzi and Hudler switched but yeah, those are pretty much our lines for the season barring injury.

Stuart.

Kronner's knee is still bothering him. Also, it will be interesting to see how Big E handles the season; same goes for Kindl.

Edited by Rivalred, 24 August 2010 - 04:48 PM.

[titanium2]

Did blueadams get a new account?

Anyhow, my preference for lines is not different from what many others want:

Even Strength
Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Franzen-Filppula-Bertuzzi
Hudler-Modano-Cleary
Abdelkader-Helm-Eaves

Lidstrom-Rafalski
Kronwall-Stuart
Ericsson-Salei

Howard-Osgood

PP 1
Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Lidstrom-Rafalski

PP 2
Hudler-Filppula-Franzen
Kronwall-Modano

PK 1 & 3
Helm-Eaves
Lidstrom-Salei

PK 2
Kronwall-Stuart
Zetterberg-Cleary

PK 4
Kronwall-Stuart
Datsyuk-Filppula

[titanium2]

I think you are getting at a good point in that you can't rely on a single player to move the puck through center ice. Although I still think the way they have lines "expected" this year is better.

Offense
Holmstrom Datsyuk Zetterberg
Bertuzzi Filppula Franzen
Hudler Modano Cleary
Abdelkader Helm Eaves
Subs: Miller, Ritola, Draper

The reason i feel like this is better is simply because Franzen does so much better when he has someone to take the "big man" role off of him. Bertuzzi knows his role and will essentially perform it better than hudler could. Also Franzen is quite good at moving through the neutral zone as well. As we all know the lines will change a fair amount and i wouldn't mind seeing hudler ont he second line, but I see bertuzzi as the better fit for Franzen and Filppula.

If you really want to use the depth then Hudler-Modano-Cleary looks a hell of a lot better than Bertuzzi-Modano-Cleary. When it comes to scoring lines Babs likes two skill guys to do most of the puckhandling and one guy to retrieve the puck, be big in front of the net and create space for the other two guys. In the former situation you have Modano and Hudler as the primary puckhandlers, which is a lot better than the latter situation. Bertuzzi really shouldn't be one of the two guys that gets to handle the puck because of certain tendencies of his like backhanded turnovers at the blue line.

[Rivalred]

If you really want to use the depth then Hudler-Modano-Cleary looks a hell of a lot better than Bertuzzi-Modano-Cleary. When it comes to scoring lines Babs likes two skill guys to do most of the puckhandling and one guy to retrieve the puck, be big in front of the net and create space for the other two guys. In the former situation you have Modano and Hudler as the primary puckhandlers, which is a lot better than the latter situation. Bertuzzi really shouldn't be one of the two guys that gets to handle the puck because of certain tendencies of his like backhanded turnovers at the blue line.

Bert is a different type of player; he is more old school (in my eyes). One hand on the stick and uses the body to force his way off people to get a shot. He has a tendency to drop the puck off as if there is another playing trailing to come up and set up a play.

Edited by Rivalred, 24 August 2010 - 05:41 PM.

[McAwesome]

I like the possibilities that our forward depth affords us, primarily to have Datsyuk and Zetterberg back together as it should be, also with Filppula getting a real shot at regular top-6 minutes. While I think that a 2nd line of Franzen-Filppula-Hudler could be deadly, I agree with the posters who have said that Bertuzzi rounds out that line better being the guy down low, not that Franzen can't do it but he is better utilized as a shooter than a screener/corner player.

I can't wait for the season to start, it's time to get back to being able to score at will and hold leads late in the game, that is Red Wings hockey.

[germanwing]

1st line
Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Lidstrom-Kronwall

2nd line
Franzen-Filppula-Bertuzzi
Stuart-Rafalski

3rd line
Hudler-Modano-Cleary
Ericsson-Salei

4th line
Abdelkader-Helm-Eaves


PP 1
Franzen-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Lidstrom-Rafalski

PP 2
Hudler-Zetterberg-Bertuzzi
Kronwall-Modano

split Dats and Z!

[CMatt89]

Zetterberg and Abdelkader will be centers. Helm and Datsyuk will be wingers. Draper is not going anywhere, Meech and Miller will be gone.

[SouthernWingsFan]

Did blueadams get a new account?

His spirit lives on!!!

[titanium2]

His spirit lives on!!!

Not without a little somethin' somethin'...

[13dangledangle]

I like Bab's "forecasted" line as well as most other's here so far, point is they look darn good on paper, and given that most have a chemistry already there shouldn't be much of an issue. I would like to see him shake em up and put Big Bert on PP1 (also resting homer) and Flip Modano and Rafi on the PP as well. I just feel Rafalski should quarter back his own PP, Lids-Modano and Kronner-Rafalski?

Edited by 13dangledangle, 25 August 2010 - 12:09 AM.

[titanium2]

MMMMM, stacked...

Whenever I have the option of French toast or pancakes I always choose French toast but I have to admit, this picture makes my roommate and I crave some late night IHOP right now.

Defense
Lidstrom Rafalski
Kronwall Stewart
Salei Ericsson

My friends and I were out at a bar and the topic of the buzzed conversation of the night was our favorite Xmen and which characters are like the Wings dmen corps.

Respective to your lines right there, we came up with:

Iron Man-Iceman
Nightcrawler-Wolverine
Gambit-Sunfire

[mindfly]

Franzen and Bertuzzi together would be fun because of their size even though they dont really use it, just a big size presence helps...

[13dangledangle]

<br>Franzen and Bertuzzi together would be fun because of their size even though they dont really use it, just a big size presence helps...<br>

<br><br>&nbsp;

I hope being together will make them play physical, this line could be a force in every way

Edited by 13dangledangle, 25 August 2010 - 11:46 AM.

[Earthhuman]

How much production can we expect? I have been too generous in previous offseasons, so I will estimate conservatively and see where the Wings stand from that perspective:

Zetterberg(30g) - Datsyuk(25g) - Holmstrom(20g)
Franzen(30g) - Filppula(20g) - Bertuzzi(15g)
Hudler(20g) - Modano(15g) - Cleary(15g)
Abdelkader(5g) - Helm(10g) - Eaves(10g)

Lidstrom(10g) - Rafalski(5g)
Kronwall(10g) - Stuart(5g)
Ericsson(5g) - Salei(5g)

Howard(1g) - Osgood(0g)

That puts the total at 256 goals. It's reasonable to see the Red Wings scoring more, if they have Rangers-level luck in the injury department.
(Circumstances in parenthesis): Zetterberg (linemates), Datsyuk (linemates), Franzen (streaks), Hudler (seasoning), Helm (seasoning), and Rafalski (excellent power play) can reasonably be expected to score a little more... maybe 30 goals more between them if you bump each up 5 goals.
Holmstrom (age), Bertuzzi (age and wear), Modano (age), Eaves (bottom line), Lidstrom (dare I say), Kronwall (injuries), and Salei (team role, stay-at-home) can reasonably be expected to score less; at 5 goals less apiece, this more than balances out against the players who could do better- but I don't expect this set of players to do 5 goals worse in most cases. I just went with 5-goal increments and stuck with it.

This puts the Wings at about 25 goals better than last season (thank you Hudler). They can also reasonably expect to be scored on less with a healthier line-up and a slightly more seasoned Howard, but probably not by much, maybe 5 goals. I would estimate more, but with a more potent offense, it's also safe to predict that the team will let off the gas pedal with healthier leads and let in some goals that would've been turned aside last season.

The team's differential last season was +13. Add the +30 from my estimations (+43), and only four teams had stronger seasons last season. This, all with a healthy dose of conservative estimations. At the very least we can expect more than one blow-out this season.

Edited by Earthhuman, 25 August 2010 - 12:41 PM.

[T.Low]

I like Bab's "forecasted" line as well as most other's here so far, point is they look darn good on paper, and given that most have a chemistry already there shouldn't be much of an issue. I would like to see him shake em up and put Big Bert on PP1 (also resting homer) and Flip Modano and Rafi on the PP as well. I just feel Rafalski should quarter back his own PP, Lids-Modano and Kronner-Rafalski?

Agreed.

[titanium2]

Howard(1g) - Osgood(0g)

That'd be awesome!