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redwingmachine

Team Assessment - Player by Player

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I spend a lot of time on LGW, nearly every day, but rarely post anything. I thought it would be fun to make a player by player assessment and get the opinions from the LGW community. What are your hopes and expectations for each player on the team this year?

# NAME Height Weight Age

8 Justin Abdelkader 6' 1" 212 24

Abby brings some grit and an untapped offensive side. I would like to see Abby fill a D Mac type roll in the future. A gritty grinder that can score some clutch goals.

44 Todd Bertuzzi 6' 3" 225 36

I expect Bert will use his size more this year and continue to dazzle in the Shoot Out. I expect him to play primarily on the 3rd line and add some pressure to Flip to perform well on the 2nd line.

76 Fabian Brunnstrom 6' 1" 206 26

I'm quite impressed with Bruno's PS performance and like what I have read about his attitude and desire to be a Wing. He has some healthy competition on this squad and will need to continue to press.

11 Danny Cleary 6' 0" 205 32

I really like Clears with Dats, he has speed and can utilize the space created for him by Dats. I expect him to fill many rolls this year as he can do a lot of things well. He will need to say healthy and out of Huddlers way!

13 Pavel Datsyuk "A" 5' 11" 194 33

Dats is simply amazing to watch, he does so many things exceptionally well. I expect him to stay healthy, break 100 Pts and take home another Selke. Nearly any complement is an understatement for what he brings to the team.

17 Patrick Eaves 6' 0" 191 27

I liked the possibility of Patty playing with Dats but I just don't think he is ready for a top line roll yet. He and Helmer seem to wreak havoc on the opponent when they are together. I expect to see him on the wing for Helm most of the time and perhaps a promotion later in the season depending on injuries.

48 Cory Emmerton 6' 0" 190 23

Emmerton seems to have a touch for scoring in the AHL. I expect him to compete with Miller and Bruno for a position in the line up. As a natural Center he is going to have to learn to be more defensive.

51 Valtteri Filppula 6' 0" 193 27

More goals this year, he has the skating and hands. I really like Flip with Z and Mule. I see some good chemistry there. I expect him to be primarily on 2nd line.

93 Johan Franzen 6' 3" 222 31

Want to see Mule stay healthy this year. I like the chemistry with Flip and Z and think he is aware of expectations this year. MUST SCORE MORE!

43 Darren Helm 5' 11" 195 24

I really like Helmers work ethic. He looks strong on the puck and looks to have more confidence this year. Let's hope this is the year his hands can catch up with his feet.

96 Tomas Holmstrom 6' 0" 198 38

I expect he will have less 5 on 5 ice time and primarily be used on the PP and perhaps rotated in on a bottom 6 line.

26 Jiri Hudler 5' 10" 182 27

Despite his reputation on LGW, I for one think Huds will do great things this year. During the PS I noticed how much faster he looks and stronger on the puck. He has the playmaking skills and knows he was somewhat of a bust last year, I believe he addressed his weaknesses during the off season and will be anxious to prove himself. Looking forward to a big plate of crow to go around this year.

20 Drew Miller 6' 2" 178 27

I like the energy that Drew brings to the line up, he is solid on PK and should bring some healthy competition for Bruno and Cory.

39 Jan Mursak ** 5' 11" 167 23

Very disappointed in his injury and look forward to his return. He reminds me of a Helm v2.0 with his speed and work ethic. I like the idea of Wings lineup getting faster. Can't wait to see what he can do when he returns.

40 Henrik Zetterberg "A" 5' 11" 195 30

Z has publicly expressed his disappointment in losing to the sharks again last year in game 7. He knows what is expected and knows what it takes. He continues to put on a show with his unmatched puck protection skills. I like the idea of him mentoring Bruno. I like his line mates and expect some great things to come from this line. I also suspect Z's pts to spike as a result.

22 Mike Commodore 6' 4" 233 31

I wasn't initially excited about this signing but I think I have changed my mind. If Commie can improve his work ethic and dedication he will be a great addition. I like the idea of a big body, hard hitting and willing to though down blue liner. Take note Big E!

52 Jonathan Ericsson 6' 4" 220 27

Big E has some pressure to perform this year. I suspect he will get better as the year goes on. I hope he is able to pick up some pointers from Commie on how to use size as an advantage. AND FOR GOD SAKE, harness the power of that wicked slapper.

4 Jakub Kindl 6' 3" 199 24

At this point in his career I expect Kindl to continue to grow. I think he will define his role as a solid puck moving D man. I would like to see more offence.

55 Niklas Kronwall 6' 0" 192 30

Kronner I think will continue his monster neutral zone hits and clutch goals when needed. I really like his hockey sense as he always seems to know when to pinch and skate in with stick in the air unnoticed.

5 Nicklas Lidstrom "C" 6' 1" 190 41

I am convinced Nick is a cyborg. I could go on and on about #5, but don't need to. Everyone here already knows how good he is. If this is his last year I really want to send him away with 5 and 8!

23 Brad Stuart 6' 2" 210 31

Stewie is solid and plays the system well. I would like to see a true net sweeper on this team and think he could be the one.

18 Ian White 5' 10" 200 27

I am excited about this signing, I like having a right handed shot to set up Nick on the PP. Despite his size he is gritty and has a nice offensive touch.

29 Ty Conklin 6' 1" 192 35

Conks knows his role and accepts it. I expect him to be reliable and give Jimmy some rest when needed and get us some W's

35 Jimmy Howard 6' 0" 210 27

I wasn't real impressed with the PS performance, but it's too early to tell. I want Jimmy to be better than the middle of the pack and believe he has what it takes. I expect him to continue to improve rebound control and steal some games for us.

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This might help in terms of numbers. I stole this from another forum or blog or whatever.

These are supposed to be "fair" estimates based on how the player has performed in his career or in the past few years or during his time with the Red Wings or whatever.

Do you realistically expect each player to be over or under these numbers?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zetterberg: 73-80 GP / 69-75 Pts

Datsyuk: 74-82 GP / 72-80 Pts

Franzen: 67-75 GP / 50-60 Pts

Cleary: 70-75 GP / 40-45 Pts

Holmstrom: 68-75 GP / 37-45 Pts

Bertuzzi: 68-75 GP / 45-50 Pts

Filppula: 72-80 GP / 34-40 Pts

Hudler: 72-80 GP / 41-50 Pts

Helm: 75-82 GP / 28-36 Pts

Eaves: 65-70 GP / 20-25 Pts

Abdelkader: 70-80 GP / 19-25 Pts

Miller: 65-75 GP / 18-24 Pts

Emmerton: 50-60 GP / 10-15 Pts

Mursak: 35-45 GP / 10-12 Pts

Lidstrom: 75-82 GP / 50-65 Pts

Kronwall: 65-75 GP / 37-45 Pts

Ericsson: 65-75 GP / 14-20 Pts

White: 75-80 GP / 30-35 Pts

Stuart: 70-75 GP / 20-25 Pts

Commodore: 67-75 GP / 15-18 Pts

Kindl: 48-60 GP / 10-15 Pts

Howard: 47-52 GP / 2.50-3.00 GAA

Conklin: 30-35 GP / 2.60-3.10 GAA

McDonald: 10-15 GP / 3.10-3.50 GAA

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Ill chime in on a couple but dont feel like doing the whole team.

Helm - With the way he looked in the preseason, I think he could break 40 points this year.

Abdelkader - KEEP HIM ON THE GOD DAMN WING BABCOCK. When hes on the wing he can be one of the hardest hittign forwards in the league and he puts up decent offensive numbers. At center he plays great defensively but thats about it. On the wing I expect him to put up Helm like numbers from last season. Gotta remember last year was his first full NHL season.

Bertuzzi - On the line with harry and loyd he should be playing like he did in the playoffs and last 12 games of the season. If he can do that than this will be an amazing third line for the wings.

Ian White - Im expecting a career year, 40 points or so.

Commodore - I think he will be a better #6 than Salei and give the wings a nice toughness addition. He will be in the lineup against tough teams and can fight heavyweights. He'll hopefully rub off on Ericcson, solid defensive play, PK time and 7+ fights is what Im thinking.

Kronwall - Should step up big in his increased ice time. We might finally see the number 1 defenseman we expected him to turn into

Franzen - I expect some more consistency now that his wife popped out that baby

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This might help in terms of numbers. I stole this from another forum or blog or whatever.

These are supposed to be "fair" estimates based on how the player has performed in his career or in the past few years or during his time with the Red Wings or whatever.

Do you realistically expect each player to be over or under these numbers?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zetterberg: 73-80 GP / 69-75 Pts

Datsyuk: 74-82 GP / 72-80 Pts

Franzen: 67-75 GP / 50-60 Pts

Cleary: 70-75 GP / 40-45 Pts

Holmstrom: 68-75 GP / 37-45 Pts

Bertuzzi: 68-75 GP / 45-50 Pts

Filppula: 72-80 GP / 34-40 Pts

Hudler: 72-80 GP / 41-50 Pts

Helm: 75-82 GP / 28-36 Pts

Eaves: 65-70 GP / 20-25 Pts

Abdelkader: 70-80 GP / 19-25 Pts

Miller: 65-75 GP / 18-24 Pts

Emmerton: 50-60 GP / 10-15 Pts

Mursak: 35-45 GP / 10-12 Pts

Lidstrom: 75-82 GP / 50-65 Pts

Kronwall: 65-75 GP / 37-45 Pts

Ericsson: 65-75 GP / 14-20 Pts

White: 75-80 GP / 30-35 Pts

Stuart: 70-75 GP / 20-25 Pts

Commodore: 67-75 GP / 15-18 Pts

Kindl: 48-60 GP / 10-15 Pts

Howard: 47-52 GP / 2.50-3.00 GAA

Conklin: 30-35 GP / 2.60-3.10 GAA

McDonald: 10-15 GP / 3.10-3.50 GAA

Overall, yes I expect each and every Wing to improve this year. I wear Red Wing glasses and I’m a biased homer so take my opinion as just that.... my opinion. ;)

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Good job! Ill take a shot at this

Here are the forwards and my line combos

Hudler Datsyuk Cleary

Franzen Zetterberg Filpulla

Bertuzzi Helm Abdelkader

Eaves Emmerton Homer

Brunnstrom Miller

Lidstrom White

Kronwall Stuart

Ericsson Kindl/Commodore

F

Justin Abdelkader

I would like to see him up his physical game even more and put up a little better offensive numbers. Also hopes he stays in the plus side. Cut down on dumb penalties!! Hoping for 10 G 15 A 25 Pts 5+ fights

Todd Bertuzzi

While I am hopeful he continues his shootout prowess consider we falter alot there, I think he continues his performance from last year. Hopefully he can keep up his semi-physical play. 18+ goals would be nice in addition to 25+ assists, an ideal season would have him up around the 50 pt mark. However, I think he will hover more around the 40 pt mark as he continues to slow down.

Fabian Brunnstrom

Tough to judge considering im uncertain how and if hell be used.

Danny Cleary

One of my favorite wings, I am hopeful with constant linemates he improves on his career numbers form last year. Has a pretty damn good nose for the net and with skilled line mates im hoping he can flourish. Ideal Season would have him entrenched on the top two lines putting up 28+ plus goals and gathering 54+ points. In addition I know hell continue his grinding physical play and maybe gets into a scrap or two!

Pavel Datsyuk

I really want Pavs to increase his point total into the upper upper echelon of the league. Hopefully with continuous lines and chemistry he can approach 90+ points. I also would expect him to compete for the selke again. More importantly I want him to remain healthy for the year. 35+ goals and 55+ assists would be great

Patrick Eaves

My only hope for eaves is he just continues his solid play. 12+ goals 10+ assists great PK and solid physical maybe add a scrap or two as well I also expect him to shuffle between the third and fourth lines.

Cory Emmerton

TBH not expecting much, just hoping he goes out and competes every night. 10 points would be nice if he plays the entire year, however I don't see him playing that much with Mursak and Miller moving into on his territory.

Valteri Filpulla

For me its now or never if FIl can take the next step in the regular season. His sound defensive play is a given. I would like to see him improve on his +/- which has been a minus thepast two season. If he can crack the 20 goal and 50 pt mark I would be extremely happy.

Johan Franzes is realistic

Would love to see some consistency. ANything less than 35 goals would be a letdown in my mind.

Darren Helm

Very happy to see him entrenched as third line center. His speed and desire is and always will be there. Im hoping his responsibilities as center continue to grow. An improvement in points is expected and hopefully he moves into the 40 point range. And of course I hope he ups his physical play even further. He'll be in for a nice raise.

Tomas Holmstrom

While I won't deny his accomplishments, I no longer like seeing him on the roster. My hope is he strictly plays fourth line minutes and pp time. 10+ goals with most if not all coming on the power play. I do see him as a liability out there and expect to see him in the pressbox at times throughout the season.

Jiri Hudler

Heres to hoping he remains in the top 6 and gains some chemistry with his line mates. If this happens I expect 50+ points and 20+ goals.

Drew Miller

Not much of a fan, expect more of the same solid PK and good fourth line play. Expect him to rotate in and out of lineup hopefully creating some competition.

Jan Mursak

Tough break for this kid. Hopefully he comes back flying and puts up some points and hustles all over the ice on the fourth line.

Henrik Zetterberg

Continued great puck pssesion skills and playoff prowess. 80+ points and 30+ goals

Edited by cnot19

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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zetterberg: 73-80 GP / 69-75 Pts Over

Datsyuk: 74-82 GP / 72-80 Pts Over

Franzen: 67-75 GP / 50-60 Pts 55-60 so ill say right about there heavy on the goals

Cleary: 70-75 GP / 40-45 Pts

Holmstrom: 68-75 GP / 37-45 Pts Under

Bertuzzi: 68-75 GP / 45-50 Pts Under

Filppula: 72-80 GP / 34-40 Pts Over

Hudler: 72-80 GP / 41-50 Pts In that range

Helm: 75-82 GP / 28-36 Pts hopfully in the 35-40 range

Eaves: 65-70 GP / 20-25 Pts right there

Abdelkader: 70-80 GP / 19-25 Pts 23- 28 range

Miller: 65-75 GP / 18-24 Pts

Emmerton: 50-60 GP / 10-15 Pts good

Mursak: 35-45 GP / 10-12 Pts good

Lidstrom: 75-82 GP / 50-65 Pts 55-60

Kronwall: 65-75 GP / 37-45 Pts hopefully 40+

Ericsson: 65-75 GP / 14-20 Pts be nice to see him break 20

White: 75-80 GP / 30-35 Pts good range I might see him a bit higher

Stuart: 70-75 GP / 20-25 Pts right there

Commodore: 67-75 GP / 15-18 Pts right there maybe under

Kindl: 48-60 GP / 10-15 Pts right there

Howard: 47-52 GP / 2.50-3.00 GAA

Conklin: 30-35 GP / 2.60-3.10 GAA

McDonald: 10-15 GP / 3.10-3.50 GAA

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Abdelkader

Leads the team in hits and has around 10 fighting majors.

Bertuzzi

Gets around 20-30 goals and 50-60 points. He's way too big and skilled to have such average numbers despite playing so many games for us in recent seasons. Has to cut down on his stupid offensive penalties.

Brunnstrom

Becomes a top 6 forward and the steal of the offseason. Reaches his potential which he never could before.

Cleary

Doesn't get hurt and finally learns how to stop falling down all the time. Honestly, I'd settle for 20 goals from him and hope he's still active on the forecheck and plays hard on every shift.

Datsyuk

Stays healthy and gets around 90 points.

Eaves

Starts scoring some more goals and gets PP time. 20 goals would be pretty good in my opinion.

Emmerton

Don't really know or expect much from him. Hopefully he can crack the lineup regularly by being a good contributor on the bottom lines. If he doesn't, it won't be the end of the world.

Filppula

Scores 20-30 goals and notches around 50-60 points. Stops missing the net all the time with his shots. I really hope he's worked on his shot in the offseason.

Franzen

Doesn't get a concussion or any other injury for that matter. Scores 40 goals. Doesn't have nights off or disappears for a long stretch of time when in the lineup. At this point, I don't expect him to use his body more as a hitter, which I would have listed several years ago.

Helm

Scores around 15-20 goals and continues playing his ass off on every shift.

Holmstrom

Scores 20-30 goals, stays healthy and plays well enough not to be a liability on the first line.

Hudler

Notches 25-30 goals, 50-60 points, and shows off his UFC training at least once.

Miller

Continues playing hard and doesn't lose his spot as a regular 4th liner. Don't really expect anything else from him.

Mursak

Comes back with no ill effects, and continues developing his game for the NHL, as I think he'll be more important in the near future than he is now.

Zetterberg

Goes back to being a great goal scorer. I want to see 40-50 goals from him again, since he still takes a boat load of shots.

Commodore

Becomes a big hitter and a force on the blue line. Starts being a nasty guy to play against, like he used to be. Improves the Wings lack of shot blocking.

Ericcson

Starts hitting people more and using his size better to clear the crease. Gets into around 5-10 fights. Greatly diminishes his turnovers. Learns how to utilize his big shot and passing skills better, hence becoming a regular powerplay contributor.

Kindl

Becomes better on both sides of the ice and earns a regular spot in the lineup. Basically, I want to see him continue to grow his game at a fast pace.

Kronwall

Goes from being good to being great. Puts up Norris like numbers and becomes our best defenseman. Starts hitting with more frequency again and laying people out in open ice.

Lidstrom

Stays healthy and gets another nomination for the Norris. Has such a great time that he decides to return for another season.

Stuart

Continues being physical and consistent.

White

Puts up 40-50 points playing with Lidstrom and becomes a good powerplay replacement for Rafalski.

Conklin

Plays so well that he creates a goalie controversy if Howard is to struggle again.

Howard

Finishes top 10 in the NHL in GAA and save %.

Edited by GMRwings1983

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Stuart and White will be the only players to play every game this season.

Zata will be hurt a lot and Franzen will start hot and tail off.

Hudler will play with Datsyuk for one shift and score and Eva will proclaim that Hudler cans core 22 goals a game by playing on Datsyuk's wing.

Lidstrom wins another Norris, Helm will be in top five for Selke voting.

Filppula will convert to Canadism and everyone on here will exclaim he is a good Canadian boy and everyone should just leave him alone.

Mursak and Emmerton won't put up as many points as Miller combined.

Kronwall gets suspended once this season for being too good of a hitter.

Bertuzzi eats a small child on the ice in Colorado, and by eats a small child I mean gets one hattrick this season.

At some point in the season the phrase "hmmm i didn't know Kindl could play this well" will be uttered and all of the believers of Kindl from the beginning will slowly pass on to the afterlife after being overcome with joy.

Bonus prediction: After every one of Ritola's 5 or so goals, Aussie will complain on how we let 'the next one" get away.

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5 Nicklas Lidstrom "C" 6' 1" 190 41

I am convinced Nick is a cyborg. I could go on and on about #5, but don't need to. Everyone here already knows how good he is. If this is his last year I really want to send him away with 5 and 8!

Will this finally be the year that Nick Lidstrom reveals himself to be the leader of the real race of Artificial Intelligence? "I am Nick Lidstrom and I am here to take over your planet you filthy humans... Don't act as if you didn't see this coming. I know you all must have seen iRobot..." "Uh... No, Nick, we didn't... Well, I mean, it was on FX the other day but you know how TBS is with their weekly Office mini marathons."

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I am convinced Nick is a cyborg.

av-11672.jpg

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attacking forwards at full speed off the wing at the Joe. I watched pucks fly though the air in the United Center. All these Norrises will be remembered for all time... like those championships I also won... Time to win.

lidstromnator.jpg

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Zetterberg: 73-80 GP / 69-75 Pts -- I think Z will be over but not by much.

Datsyuk: 74-82 GP / 72-80 Pts -- Over but not by much.

Franzen: 67-75 GP / 50-60 Pts -- Just about.

Cleary: 70-75 GP / 40-45 Pts -- Bear will be a little over.

Holmstrom: 68-75 GP / 37-45 Pts -- Under.

Bertuzzi: 68-75 GP / 45-50 Pts -- Yup.

Filppula: 72-80 GP / 34-40 Pts -- Over but not by much.

Hudler: 72-80 GP / 41-50 Pts -- Yup.

Helm: 75-82 GP / 28-36 Pts -- Over but not by much.

Eaves: 65-70 GP / 20-25 Pts -- Yes sir.

Abdelkader: 70-80 GP / 19-25 Pts -- Over but not by much.

Miller: 65-75 GP / 18-24 Pts -- I agree.

Emmerton: 50-60 GP / 10-15 Pts -- Sounds reasonable.

Mursak: 35-45 GP / 10-12 Pts -- Reasonable.

Lidstrom: 75-82 GP / 50-65 Pts -- Somewhere in there.

Kronwall: 65-75 GP / 37-45 Pts -- Mid forties, definitely.

Ericsson: 65-75 GP / 14-20 Pts -- Teens for sure.

White: 75-80 GP / 30-35 Pts -- Safe bet but I think he'll go higher.

Stuart: 70-75 GP / 20-25 Pts -- Yup.

Commodore: 67-75 GP / 15-18 Pts -- Yup.

Kindl: 48-60 GP / 10-15 Pts -- Over.

Howard: 47-52 GP / 2.50-3.00 GAA -- Enh... Yeah. Unfortunately.

Conklin: 30-35 GP / 2.60-3.10 GAA -- Yup.

McDonald: 10-15 GP / 3.10-3.50 GAA -- Probably.

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I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attacking forwards at full speed off the wing at the Joe. I watched pucks fly though the air in the United Center. All these Norrises will be remembered for all time... like those championships I also won... Time to win.

lidstromnator.jpg

Wow.

You were just ready to bust that out weren't you?

:D

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I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attacking forwards at full speed off the wing at the Joe. I watched pucks fly though the air in the United Center. All these Norrises will be remembered for all time... like those championships I also won... Time to win.

lidstromnator.jpg

Wow.. Bravo Sir, bra-vo! :clap:

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Zetterberg: 73-80 GP / 69-75 Pts - Over. Healthy season playing center between Flip and Franzen he should be good for 85-90.

Datsyuk: 74-82 GP / 72-80 Pts - Over. With Hudler and Cleary, all healthy, Dats should be 90+ this year.

Franzen: 67-75 GP / 50-60 Pts - About right.

Cleary: 70-75 GP / 40-45 Pts - More. Playing mainly with Hudler and Datsyuk, there's no way he doesn't score 30-35 goals unless he gets injured and misses a huge chunk. And he's not going to get 10 assists on the year.

Holmstrom: 68-75 GP / 37-45 Pts - Less. He scored around half his points at even strength when he played with Dats. Now he's with Emmerton, and playing five minutes less at ES. Plus, 37 was his output last year; he can expect closer to 25-30 this year, mostly from the PP.

Bertuzzi: 68-75 GP / 45-50 Pts - Less. He's going to be spending time with Helm and Abby, not Dats, Z, Flip, and Franzen. Look for around 35 points.

Filppula: 72-80 GP / 34-40 Pts - More. Second line winger, a little more offensive freedom and a lot more offensive skill on the line with Z and Franzen. Flip now has two bonafide snipers to pass to, and has improved his own shot as well. 50-60 points.

Hudler: 72-80 GP / 41-50 Pts - More. The first half last year was an aberration. Hudler returned to form in the second half, looking great in January and February before being banished to the fourth line in March when Babcock wanted to kick-start Franzen. 65-70 points

Helm: 75-82 GP / 28-36 Pts - More. He'll be playing with Bertuzzi, so he now has an offensive linemate (pronounce as you will) capable of scoring and passing. 40-45.

Eaves: 65-70 GP / 20-25 Pts - More. He'll likely see spot duty on the higher lines when injuries occur. I also wouldn't be shocked to see him swap with Abdelkader at some point. 30-35, mostly goals.

Abdelkader: 70-80 GP / 19-25 Pts - About right.

Miller: 65-75 GP / 18-24 Pts - Seems right for the GP, but I don't think Miller plays that much. My bet is that Miller is waived when Mursak comes back; he has 40 games to prove that he is worth significantly more to the team than Brunnstrom or Emmerton. With Mursak, Eaves, Helm, and Abby able to do Miller's job as well or better than him while being younger, the Wings are more likely to keep the cheap, skilled two-way center in Emmerton and the potential top-six winger in Brunnstrom. Again, both younger than Miller. Miller will probably play around 25 games, and when Mursak comes back he'll be gone.

Emmerton: 50-60 GP / 10-15 Pts - More. 15-20.

Mursak: 35-45 GP / 10-12 Pts - He won't play that many games, but that rate of production seems about right. Expect maybe 5-10 points because he'll play around 20-25 games.

Lidstrom: 75-82 GP / 50-65 Pts - About right, although let's narrow it down to 55-60.

Kronwall: 65-75 GP / 37-45 Pts - More. He's scored well above that before, and now he'll be given a much better chance to score. 55-60.

Ericsson: 65-75 GP / 14-20 Pts - About right.

White: 75-80 GP / 30-35 Pts - More. He's running shotgun with Nick and will benefit on the stat sheet because he has a similar skill set to Raffi, although not the same level of playmaking. 40-45.

Stuart: 70-75 GP / 20-25 Pts - About right.

Commodore: 67-75 GP / 15-18 Pts - About right.

Kindl: 48-60 GP / 10-15 Pts - More. 20-25.

Not gonna even get into the goalies.

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Abdelkader - Fewer dumb penalties. It'd be nice if he upped his offensive production, but I don't expect huge things from him.

Bertuzzi - Moar goals!!! You can dooo eet! I can't believe I'm asking Bertuzzi to improve when he's already improved so much, but it's only because I believe in him!

Brunnstrom - Be fricking awesome. Earn a permanent spot on the Wings, please.

Cleary - Just...don't hurt yourself. Or let Hudler hurt you.

Datsyuk - I don't want to jinx him, so I won't mention any trophies by name, but you know I expect pure greatness. Also, no injuries; that sucked.

Eaves - More goals, more mojo with Helm. So pretty much what he's doing now, only a little more.

Emmerton - Eh. Whatever. I'd much rather have Mursak being the possible lineup cracker, but whaddya gonna do?

Filppula - Shoooooot.

Franzen - No injuries. Exist on one plane at a time (no floating).

Helm - You know that picture of Darth Vader playing the guitar that has the caption, "No matter what you do, you'll never be as awesome as this picture"? I want Helm to be that awesome. No pressure, buddy.

Holmstrom - Do whatcha do.

Hudler - Shooooooot. Oh, and bite some ankles. But stay away from Cleary.

Miller - Keep on keepin' on. I don't expect him to turn into Datsyuk any time soon, and that's okay.

Mursak - Heal.

Zetterberg - More goals. I don't know what the actual situation is, but if I had to guess, I'd say something was bothering him last season...I hope he's got whatever it is healed up now and can go back to whoopin' butt.

Commodore - Don't screw up too much. Use that physicality.

Ericsson - Ditto, pretty much.

Kindl - I don't know...just, get better. Sorry, I'm running out of effort here.

Kronwall - Like everybody else said, just take it up another level. He's already good, now let's see if he can be great. No injuries would be helpful.

Lidstrom - Psh, like I'm going to tell Nick what to do. Okay, actually I will: come back next season!

Stuart - Fewer...oddball screwups. Most of the time he's pretty solid, but every once in a while, he makes me frown at my TV screen in confusion. Less of that, please.

White - Despite everyone saying he's not a Rafalski replacement, it wouldn't be bad if he was!

Conklin - I must be the "sky is falling" type, because I feel less than enthusiastic about our goalies after watching them in the pre-season. I know anything can happen once we get going, but since you're asking right now, I can't really say I'm feeling optimistic at this time. So, I guess I hope he's at least as good as Howard, so we don't have that "which one's going to muck it up worse?" situation to think about.

Howard - Keep some of that playoffs pep going into this season. I know it's hard because the playoffs have a whole other energy level, and you've had all year to get into the groove, as opposed to the beginning of the season when it's been a while since you've played a game, but I at least want improvement over his performance at the beginning of last season.

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Zetterberg - More goals. I don't know what the actual situation is, but if I had to guess, I'd say something was bothering him last season...I hope he's got whatever it is healed up now and can go back to whoopin' butt.

He doesn't. Whatever's bothering him is still there and he just has to fight it. At least, that's the impression I got from that one interview he did with the Swedish media about a month ago. They asked him about his back or whatever and he said, "I'm not 25 years old anymore" or something like that and then claimed that it doesn't bother him significantly. As a fan, I personally don't believe that for a second. However, Z can't think that way otherwise the injury will really kick his ass.

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He doesn't. Whatever's bothering him is still there and he just has to fight it. At least, that's the impression I got from that one interview he did with the Swedish media about a month ago. They asked him about his back or whatever and he said, "I'm not 25 years old anymore" or something like that and then claimed that it doesn't bother him significantly. As a fan, I personally don't believe that for a second. However, Z can't think that way otherwise the injury will really kick his ass.

Well, shoot. I hope he does the best he can, then, and stays as healthy as possible. Sorry to hear that, though.

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