Line Musings

[Albeh 1]

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 8]

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 712]

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 August 24, 2010 by Z and D for the C

[Sprsquirt7 45]

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 630]

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 August 24, 2010 by Rivalred

[titanium2 867]

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 867]

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 630]

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 August 24, 2010 by Rivalred

[McAwesome 754]

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 154]

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 63]

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

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

Did blueadams get a new account?

His spirit lives on!!!

[titanium2 867]

His spirit lives on!!!

Not without a little somethin' somethin'...

[13dangledangle 968]

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 August 25, 2010 by 13dangledangle

[titanium2 867]

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

[Guest 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 968]

<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> 

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

Edited August 25, 2010 by 13dangledangle

[Earthhuman 8]

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 August 25, 2010 by Earthhuman

[T.Low 1,011]

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 867]

Howard(1g) - Osgood(0g)

That'd be awesome!

[titanium2 867]

More of this from Cleary please...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bjIsZwAHVQ

[RusDRW 155]

and this

[HankthaTank 1,100]

And why not this because it's fun as hell to watch...

Clears shall be back

[cupforwings 138]

and why not this

[Superman54 91]

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

Franzen doesn't really use his size??? Ok then.

Hitting isn't just one of the benefits of having size, if that's what your getting at.