Jonathan Ericsson's Value?

[Holmstrom96 347]

Ericsson just isn't good enough, not even for third pairing. If he was good in the boards or he was a physical presence, I could forgive the mistakes. But the only thing memorable about him are all his defensive zone giveaways.

[JPT 26]

Ericsson is only reliable in that when he went back to play the puck in his own end it usually resulted in the opposition getting numerous scoring chances. His play during these playoffs were awful - Salei was WAY better than him.

I get he was a late draft pick, a converted forward and that Babcock sees something in him to put him out there night after night. I never had sky high expectations for the kid. I'm all for a experiment with a high reward - but not at anything above 1.5mil a year.

[Guest Heaten]

Pretty much sums up how I feel.

Hmm - I don't ever recall saying that Ericsson is worth less than $1 million...What I have been saying is that if Ericsson is dumb enough to not take whatever generous amount Holland is throwing his way - then it's time to move on, and use that $$ wisely towards a much better Dman via UFA, and bring in Kindl as the #6 guy.

Kindl should be brought in or traded. He looked pretty decent with the limited time he played last year. I'd like to see Holland re-sign Ericsson, if not, then I hope he signs someone young(er) to replace him.

[pucktividi 472]

Ericsson just isn't good enough, not even for third pairing. If he was good in the boards or he was a physical presence, I could forgive the mistakes. But the only thing memorable about him are all his defensive zone giveaways.

not a fan of big E but...

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

When Ericsson is consistently physical, he's a decent shut-down guy. Bottom line is he is not physical on a regular basis and his defense is frightening at times. Someone will overpay him, this summer. Could be wrong, though.

Edited June 6, 2011 by Bring Back The Bruise Bros

[Motown4013 350]

I don't think Ericsson had a career year. He made virtually no improvements over his gameplay of the season before, even though this was a contract year and he himself said he knew he'd need to bring his best game.

That said, I agree that he's not a league-minimum defenseman.

I am confused as to why you continue to state that Ericsson has not improved since he has been here, especially the last year. Sorry, but that simply ISN'T true. More assists, more points, more physical, a better plus/minus (+8)and is playing 15 minutes+ a night. If you are getting more time and you are a bad player, your stats go down...not up. Much more than the plus/minus, look at his over all stats. Last year, he had 107 hits, 56 giveaways and 16 takeaways ( BYW, Rafalski had more giveaways and E had 4 more take aways than Rafi at 6 million) Two years ago, E played only 62 games but had FIFTY giveaways, less hits and fewer takeaways (although its hard to breakdown because he only plays 3/4 of the year)

He has gotten better and I am not relying soley on stats. As mentioned before, Babcock would not put the guy out in critical situations if he didn't feel that Ericsson's game hasnt grown.

I dont see him being a top 2 guy, but he is effective for where he plays. Hate the guy or not, saying that he hasn't improved his incorrect. I'd love to see him be alot more physical but he has improved when you look at everythings. Numbers arent the whole picture, but when the trend shows overall improvement, you have to acknowledge it.

[Konnan511 1,736]

Pretty much sums up how I feel.

Hmm - I don't ever recall saying that Ericsson is worth less than $1 million...What I have been saying is that if Ericsson is dumb enough to not take whatever generous amount Holland is throwing his way - then it's time to move on, and use that $$ wisely towards a much better Dman via UFA, and bring in Kindl as the #6 guy.

That wa sin regards to the posters who are making mock line ups with him with a cap hit of 900K or even 1mil or less.

[dteowner 20]

I dont see him being a top 2 guy, but he is effective for where he plays. Hate the guy or not, saying that he hasn't improved his incorrect. I'd love to see him be alot more physical but he has improved when you look at everythings. Numbers arent the whole picture, but when the trend shows overall improvement, you have to acknowledge it.

Did you see his passing toward the end of the season and particularly in the playoffs? Horrid. Absolutely terrible. Seemed to think he was Lidstrom, slinging the puck across the ice at our blueline--nice if he checked for guys with other sweaters coming up the middle like Lids does, not so nice when he consistently skipped that step.

I don't really care if the guy's a marshmallow. I don't really care that he's our new version of Sammy the Logo Hunter (there's some board whipping boy memories for ya), on the rare occasions he actually takes a slapper. We're a puck possession team and our D guys have to be VERY smart about that first pass to get the possession going. Ericsson doesn't get it done. Call him a #6 and he still can't pass for s***. If you can't trust him on the ice, he shouldn't be there. For a dump-n-chase team, I think Rig would be a solid 5-6 guy and worth $2mil to them. He's mobile, provides some threat on a pinch, and his positioning is improving. For a puck possession team like us, he's not worth the cardboard center of a roll of stick tape.

I'm more than willing to agree that Babs is smarter than me, but I simply don't understand the patience with a turnover machine on a team structured like the Wings.

[Broken 16 381]

E has had plenty of time to 'break out'. He's been given every opportunity under the sun to perform. He's just not a very good defenseman. Some defensemen can be big and soft while still being effective. He's not one of those guys. If he isn't using his size, he's basically useless from where I'm sitting. And he rarely uses his size. Ever.

Oh... he has a big reach.

Big deal, reach is useless when you are confused with your back to the play. I hope they send him along.

Edited June 7, 2011 by Broken 16

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Did you see his passing toward the end of the season and particularly in the playoffs? Horrid. Absolutely terrible. Seemed to think he was Lidstrom, slinging the puck across the ice at our blueline--nice if he checked for guys with other sweaters coming up the middle like Lids does, not so nice when he consistently skipped that step.

I don't really care if the guy's a marshmallow. I don't really care that he's our new version of Sammy the Logo Hunter (there's some board whipping boy memories for ya), on the rare occasions he actually takes a slapper. We're a puck possession team and our D guys have to be VERY smart about that first pass to get the possession going. Ericsson doesn't get it done. Call him a #6 and he still can't pass for s***. If you can't trust him on the ice, he shouldn't be there. For a dump-n-chase team, I think Rig would be a solid 5-6 guy and worth $2mil to them. He's mobile, provides some threat on a pinch, and his positioning is improving. For a puck possession team like us, he's not worth the cardboard center of a roll of stick tape.

I'm more than willing to agree that Babs is smarter than me, but I simply don't understand the patience with a turnover machine on a team structured like the Wings.

The thing is, what's probably keeping him in the lineup is his passing. He has a better first pass than Salei and Stuart. I know people like to pretend he turns it over every single time he touches the puck, but Ericsson's passing ability is actually an asset on a puck possession team like the Wings. It's like what's made him tolerable to management in spite of his slowed progress in nearly every other regard.

I'm not saying he should stay no matter what. If the price is right I'm okay with him as a decent bottom pairing D-man. If he wants too much and there's better guys available, let him walk.

[Broken 16 381]

The thing is, what's probably keeping him in the lineup is his passing. He has a better first pass than Salei and Stuart. I know people like to pretend he turns it over every single time he touches the puck, but Ericsson's passing ability is actually an asset on a puck possession team like the Wings. It's like what's made him tolerable to management in spite of his slowed progress in nearly every other regard.

I'm not saying he should stay no matter what. If the price is right I'm okay with him as a decent bottom pairing D-man. If he wants too much and there's better guys available, let him walk.

I agree. I really don't have an issue with E's breakout. It's not stellar and he oftentimes just gets rid of it towards his partner and he is prone to the occasional cough-up. But he's not as bad in that regard as some make out. It's easy to see flaws when you are comparing a guy to Lids and Raffi. E is a decent defender as long as things are calm and calculated. But he is easily confused and I attribute that to his overall lack of experience on defense. It's gonna be quite a few years before there is a defenseman in the league that has less overall experience in his position than E. Aside from another experimental-type player.

Edited June 7, 2011 by Broken 16

[dteowner 20]

The thing is, what's probably keeping him in the lineup is his passing. He has a better first pass than Salei and Stuart. I know people like to pretend he turns it over every single time he touches the puck, but Ericsson's passing ability is actually an asset on a puck possession team like the Wings. It's like what's made him tolerable to management in spite of his slowed progress in nearly every other regard.

I'm not saying he should stay no matter what. If the price is right I'm okay with him as a decent bottom pairing D-man. If he wants too much and there's better guys available, let him walk.

I generally agree with most of your posts, but I just can't go with this one. I don't spend 5 hours with a TiVo after each game taking stats, but I try to pay attention when I'm watching and Rig's passing just isn't that good. Let's clarify that a little--the mechanics of his passing is good (the puck goes where he aims, he doesn't need a lot of room to make a pass, and the passes usually are easy to receive), but his decision making (will this pass be intercepted, is it safe to make an "area pass") just sucks rocks. Thing is, I don't remember it being as bad last year, or even early this year. Maybe he's trying to do too much in a contract year, or maybe practicing with guys that make it look easy (Lids, Rafi) has made him inattentive. Either way, he's regressing on the most important skill for a Wings blueliner and doesn't bring anything else to the table (such as Stuart, who at least plays physical and reliable D to make up for admittedly average-at-best-for-a-Wing passing) to make up for the lack.

[Datsyerberger 279]

The thing is, what's probably keeping him in the lineup is his passing. He has a better first pass than Salei and Stuart. I know people like to pretend he turns it over every single time he touches the puck, but Ericsson's passing ability is actually an asset on a puck possession team like the Wings. It's like what's made him tolerable to management in spite of his slowed progress in nearly every other regard.

I'm not saying he should stay no matter what. If the price is right I'm okay with him as a decent bottom pairing D-man. If he wants too much and there's better guys available, let him walk.

Indeed. Ericsson...

The good:

Passing (for his role), skating (for his size), positioning, shot, his physical play on the rare occasions he uses it

The bad:

Inconsistency, failure to put of all his tools together, not using his shot

The ugly:

Rarely using the physical element in his game, too many untimely penalties, coughing up the puck easily under pressure