Will Ericsson Earn His Raise?

[Spongewingredpants 75]

i think it rocks that he makes more money than Kronwall :-0

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

The guy has to play well, for his own confidence, because can you imagine the pressure the media and fans will start placing on him if he struggles??

He's already screwed. By all accounts other than the members here at LGW, E had a decent season and bounced back after his awful performance last season. Yet by the talk here he was the worst D-man to ever lace up skates. With this contract, short of him playing like Lidstrom, there's no way he's not getting bashed.

His contract is definitely some overpayment, but Holland was in a weak negotiating position at the time and the cap went up. Plus for free agent defenseman, overpayment seems to be the rule rather than the exception. Hopefully he takes a big step forward and earns his pay. If he maintains his current level, which I think is likely, it's definitely overpayment.

[Red Wings Addict 787]

i think it rocks that he makes more money than Kronwall :-0

Actually Ericsson won't receive more actual dollars than Kronwall. It's only Ericsson's cap hit (3.25) that is slightly larger than Kronwall's (3).

For this year alone, Kronwall will receive a salary of 3.75 mil. Ericsson will receive 3.25 mil.

It doesn't seem all that fair that Ericsson's cap hit is more than Kronner's but we have to consider that Kronner's cap hit came from a standard from around 2006 in which most of us thought the 3 mil cap hit was wayyy too high. Now we think Ericsson's cap hit is way too high and he has to prove us wrong. It doesn't always work that way but he has a chance.

[Barrie 900]

Quite frankly I think Kindl, assuming he gets a fair deal, will look like the better defenceman at the end of the season.

Interesting... Actually I'm not expecting much from Kindl. Smith will take his job in my opinion.

[swedishconnection 36]

Interesting... Actually I'm not expecting much from Kindl. Smith will take his job in my opinion.

From what I have watched (every game since 2006), Kindl is far more sound than Erickson. I have seen the typical rookie mistakes, but it says a lot when I feel way more confident when Kindl is back there. He's not overly physical, but he gets back as a serviceable skater, protects the puck, and makes quick sharp passes out of the zone. When was the last time anyone saw Big Rig have a quick sharp pass on the tape? On the other note- I dont know how Smith will take the job of Kindl if they are going to be in 2 different leagues this year. Smith can still be sent down, and will be in order to get top-pairing in the AHL and 20+ minutes a night. Kindl will most likely rotate in and out with whoever is sucking more- Big Rig or Commodore.

To the larger topic at hand- I am still drinking the KennyKoolAid. If your largest mistakes as GM are named Cory Cross, Quincy, Hatcher, and the current Big Rig contract, then you are still by FAR the best GM in Hockey. I hope to see Erickson improve- I really do. However, I gave up on him last season. There were too many times that he just stagnated, and I just do not see the faith being fulfilled. If only someone would find out what he was eating during the Anaheim series, and feed him that from now on it may end up being alright. But as I said before- I do not believe at this point that I will be seeing that defenseman any time soon.

[Guest stinky fish taco]

no, he won't.

[LeftWinger 4,963]

http://dailytribune.com/articles/2011/09/13/sports/doc4e6e794cd5b38335642095.txt?viewmode=default

Ok, so I know Ericsson threads can get kinda out of hand, but I thought the article brought up a good question, will Ericsson end up being worth the money? I don't think that as of today Ericsson is a $3+ million player, but by the end of the contract I have a feeling everyone will think we got another steal. I remember people complaining about Datsyuk being overpaid and Kronwall being overpaid, and now both of those contracts look great. I don't believe Holland would give a player that large of a contract without a realistic expectation of the player developing into a $3 million player.

I kind of see it playing out like this:

Year 1: He sucks, trade/waive/exile him

Year 2: He's serviceable, but still overpaid

Year 3: Kenny, you've done it again!

Of course I hope I'm wrong and we get to that last part before year 3 lol. I'm basing all of this on the fact that Holland has earned my trust until he gives me a reason not to trust him.

I hope he does, but we do have a couple of players on this team who haven't earned their raise yet.... Big question as well, Will Jimmy Howard earn his raise?

[Guest Heaten]

Ericsson had a really good game yesterday. He and defense partner both finished the game with a +2. In comparison, Lidstrom and White were both +/-0. Kronwall and Stuart were both a -2 .

Oh and Smith was, of course, a -2 as well. Of topic, but Smith has a ways to go before he's ready to crack the Red Wings. The guy is a liability defensibly.

[hillbillywingsfan 792]

Ericsson had a really good game yesterday. He and defense partner both finished the game with a +2. In comparison, Lidstrom and White were both +/-0. Kronwall and Stuart were both a -2 .

Oh and Smith was, of course, a -2 as well. Of topic, but Smith has a ways to go before he's ready to crack the Red Wings. The guy is a liability defensibly.

Cool thanks for the update.

[Guest 13GoWings40]

no, he won't.

Explain, why not?

[Guest stinky fish taco]

Explain, why not?

i think it's probably a better idea to have someone explain why he will. what has he shown that would suggest he will be worth 3mil within the next few years?

he's not good defensively, he's not good offensively, and he's a 6'5" dman that plays like he's 5'6".

[Learn2LuvIt 245]

Ericsson had a really good game yesterday. He and defense partner both finished the game with a +2. In comparison, Lidstrom and White were both +/-0. Kronwall and Stuart were both a -2 .

Oh and Smith was, of course, a -2 as well. Of topic, but Smith has a ways to go before he's ready to crack the Red Wings. The guy is a liability defensibly.

In that case, maybe we should have gave him 4 Mil a year??

Kidding...that's great to hear.

[Krayzie_Bone 58]

I hope im wrong but I think he peaked in 08 or 09 whatever year it was when he was pretty good. Sounds dumb to say considering how young he is but maybe he was just playing over his head.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

From what I have watched (every game since 2006), Kindl is far more sound than Erickson. I have seen the typical rookie mistakes, but it says a lot when I feel way more confident when Kindl is back there. He's not overly physical, but he gets back as a serviceable skater, protects the puck, and makes quick sharp passes out of the zone. When was the last time anyone saw Big Rig have a quick sharp pass on the tape? On the other note- I dont know how Smith will take the job of Kindl if they are going to be in 2 different leagues this year. Smith can still be sent down, and will be in order to get top-pairing in the AHL and 20+ minutes a night. Kindl will most likely rotate in and out with whoever is sucking more- Big Rig or Commodore.

To the larger topic at hand- I am still drinking the KennyKoolAid. If your largest mistakes as GM are named Cory Cross, Quincy, Hatcher, and the current Big Rig contract, then you are still by FAR the best GM in Hockey. I hope to see Erickson improve- I really do. However, I gave up on him last season. There were too many times that he just stagnated, and I just do not see the faith being fulfilled. If only someone would find out what he was eating during the Anaheim series, and feed him that from now on it may end up being alright. But as I said before- I do not believe at this point that I will be seeing that defenseman any time soon.

This line of reasoning always confuses me.

Kindl is "far more sound" than Ericsson, yet Babcock inexplicably only plays him 13 minutes a game in 48 games. Whereas Ericsson plays the full season at almost 19 minutes per game. And Kindl didn't see a second of playoff time. If he's far more sound, why would the Red Wings utilize him that way? They had Salei battling with Kindl for the final spot, so it's not like they're going to give it to Ericsson just on experience or reputation. And as you mentioned, Holland gives Ericsson a big raise, in spite of having a more sound player in the minors ready to fill his role?

Those are some pretty terrible decisions by Babcock and Holland if what you're saying was true.

The reality is Kindl is not more sound than Ericsson. That's not to say he won't develop and become that. But so far, he just isn't. More than anything, Kindl needs to prove himself and secure a permanent spot in the lineup. Then we'll see how he develops.

Edited September 22, 2011 by haroldsnepsts

[eva unit zero 271]

This line of reasoning always confuses me.

Kindl is "far more sound" than Ericsson, yet Babcock inexplicably only plays him 13 minutes a game in 48 games. Whereas Ericsson plays the full season at almost 19 minutes per game. And Kindl didn't see a second of playoff time. If he's far more sound, why would the Red Wings utilize him that way? They had Salei battling with Kindl for the final spot, so it's not like they're going to give it to Ericsson just on experience or reputation. And as you mentioned, Holland gives Ericsson a big raise, in spite of having a more sound player in the minors ready to fill his role?

Those are some pretty terrible decisions by Babcock and Holland if what you're saying was true.

The reality is Kindl is not more sound than Ericsson. That's not to say he won't develop and become that. But so far, he just isn't. More than anything, Kindl needs to prove himself and secure a permanent spot in the lineup. Then we'll see how he develops.

I would completely love to agree with you. But history disagrees on this one.

Brett Lebda. He in no way ever showed he was a better player than Derek Meech or Kyle Quincey, yet he remained on the roster while Quincey was waived, and Meech was demoted. Even when Meech was recalled, he outplayed Lebda in every respect. When Meech was the 7th defenseman, he outplayed Lebda, who was a regular. Yet Lebda maintained a spot on the roster somehow. Jonathan Ericsson isn't as bad as people here often suggest he is. But saying Kindl is better than Ericsson is not an unrealistic observation; Salei had a stretch of good games at the end of the year which kept him in the lineup for the playoffs. Otherwise, Kindl would have had his spot. Is Ericsson better than Salei was? Maybe. But Kindl improved a great deal last year over the course of the season, and Ericsson has basically stagnated over the past couple of years. Kindl might be better right now, Ericsson might be better. Who will be the better player three months from now? Or six months from now? Who will have the better season overall? I'm putting my bet on Kindl.

It's like when the Sharks had Nabby, Kipper, and Toskala. Someone had to go. Toskala looked like he might be the best of the bunch, so they traded Kipper and kept Toskala, who was a good backup for them and did well for a while as Toronto's starter. But he was never Kipper, who carried the Flames to the Cup finals in year 1 and has been a top goalie for most of his time there, with 262 wins as a Flame and 276 overall.