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number9

Ouellet Debut Tonight

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No team's defense would look bad (on paper) if their top pair was injured.

Obviously losing the top two is a blow for any team. But some teams are deep enough that they can take it and really run with it, stay competitive despite it. When you look at the blue line we'll be icing tonight...I wouldn''t want to even risk having to go into postseason battle with it. I'd want another high-end veteran defenseman in the mix. If he gets injured along with Kronwall and Ericsson, well, then we're just cursed.

Not to be overly pessimistic here, but I don't think tonight will reveal a lot either way, i.e. if we do well, that's nice, if we don't do well, that's nice. It's the playoffs I worry about (though, admittedly, not nearly as much as when we were in the truly *Big, Bad* West).

It's not that I necessarily don't think or young guns will pan out. I think XO, Sproul, Almqvist, even Smith - these guys have fantastic potential, both individually and perhaps even more so as a future Red Wings unit. Actually, I think the future of our blue line is about as bright as it gets today, in the Salary Cap Era.

It's just, well, Z and D. The clock is ticking. They're not getting any younger.

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Obviously losing the top two is a blow for any team. But some teams are deep enough that they can take it and really run with it, stay competitive despite it. When you look at the blue line we'll be icing tonight...I wouldn''t want to even risk having to go into postseason battle with it. I'd want another high-end veteran defenseman in the mix. If he gets injured along with Kronwall and Ericsson, well, then we're just cursed.

Not to be overly pessimistic here, but I don't think tonight will reveal a lot either way, i.e. if we do well, that's nice, if we don't do well, that's nice. It's the playoffs I worry about (though, admittedly, not nearly as much as when we were in the truly *Big, Bad* West).

It's not that I necessarily don't think or young guns will pan out. I think XO, Sproul, Almqvist, even Smith - these guys have fantastic potential, both individually and perhaps even more so as a future Red Wings unit. Actually, I think the future of our blue line is about as bright as it gets today, in the Salary Cap Era.

It's just, well, Z and D. The clock is ticking. They're not getting any younger.

We 'need' another veteran depth-d. Someone to throw in the #6 spot if none of Smith/Lashoff/Almqvist/Oullet prove themselves ready for it. That's really it though. . You can't build a team to be a contender without the top 2 defensemen, not in the salary cap era. You think Boston makes it far without Chara and Seidenberg? When healthy we have a good defensive group.

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Pretty sure the lines are:

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Abdlekader

Bertuzzi - Franzen - Alfredsson

Tatar - Weiss - Cleary

Miller - Andersson - Tootoo (with the possibility of Samuelsson playing)

I just saw this, my bad. Great news, when was the last time Franzen started a game at center? Must really be hoping to get Weiss going against softer match-ups.

EDIT: And I've been waiting for Tatar to get back in the lineup.

Edited by b.shanafan14

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No kidding. He's already credited with the assist.

(joking as well. all the best to the E family)

:lol:

I snorted coffee at my desk. One of the first tweets that went out about this was very strangely worded, something like "E's gf had a baby this weekend." I was like...is it his? Because I don't know, that's kind of a big deal lol.

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Guest Crymson

Good news is that Brent Burns is out as well.


Sure hope Kenny can pull off a trade at some point, to bring in a top-4 d-man. Pretty sad state of affairs when Quincey is your temporary #1.

There's a reason why it's so difficult to obtain top-four defensemen: they're very valuable, so they rarely go on the market. See here for more details.

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Have I mentioned how badly we need to pick up a top defenseman?

Looks like we'll be dropping to an ugly 6-4-0.

No point in watching then, eh?

Good news is that Brent Burns is out as well.

Is he even on D anymore? He was playing forward last year.

Edited by rrasco

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So what happens if Ouellet looks better than Smith tonight?

He will be sent back to GR and there will subsequently be a fresh batch of "Fire Holland/Babcock" , "trade Smith" and other "I'm pissed off" threads.

I'm hoping he pulls a DeKeyser and does so well that he becomes a mainstay...but this is unlikely, unfortunately.

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Thinking about it, this is our worst D that we've iced since February 2008 when we were absolutely riddled with injuries. From memory the pairings were

Lilja-Lebda

Quincey-Meech

Stafford-Ericsson

And that was Lilja before he became a cult hero, Lebda was Lebda, Quincey was so bad he got waived, Meech was Meech, Ericsson looked every bit the 7th round forward turned defenceman project that he was, and I can't even remember a thing about Stafford.

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There's a reason why it's so difficult to obtain top-four defensemen: they're very valuable, so they rarely go on the market. See here for more details.

Well yeah, it's not like we'll be able to package Eaves and Sammy to get one. But IMO we need to do whatever it takes. Even if that means giving up more than what we would like to. There's basically only a few untouchable forwards in my book (Pav, Hank, Alfie, Weiss). Everyone else should be considered (even Mule) if it means we can bring in a solid top-4 guy. There's gotta be a team out there willing to give up a top 4 guy as long as they're getting overly compensated in return.

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Thinking about it, this is our worst D that we've iced since February 2008 when we were absolutely riddled with injuries. From memory the pairings were

Lilja-Lebda

Quincey-Meech

Stafford-Ericsson

And that was Lilja before he became a cult hero, Lebda was Lebda, Quincey was so bad he got waived, Meech was Meech, Ericsson looked every bit the 7th round forward turned defenceman project that he was, and I can't even remember a thing about Stafford.

Wasn't chelios playing during that injured stretch? Could have sworn he was on the top pairing when everyone else went down with injuries

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Wasn't chelios playing during that injured stretch? Could have sworn he was on the top pairing when everyone else went down with injuries

He was on the top pairing and broke his leg shortly after the initial puck drop. Stafford was called up to fill in the next game, which was the one quoted above. Brutal times, but we played through adversity.

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He was on the top pairing and broke his leg shortly after the initial puck drop. Stafford was called up to fill in the next game, which was the one quoted above. Brutal times, but we played through adversity.

People may not realize it, but this is good for the team in the long run.

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People may not realize it, but this is good for the team in the long run.

Having Lids, Raffi, Kronner, and Cheli out was what made the brass go, "Hmm. Maybe we should look into getting another d-man. How's about that Brad Stewart guy?"

And it worked. In this case, however, I'd put money on it that KH has been trying to trade a couple of forwards for a d-man.

Too bad it's not like in the old days where they could include money. Sammy plus $1m for a bag of pucks and a half a bag of Meow Mix.

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He was on the top pairing and broke his leg shortly after the initial puck drop. Stafford was called up to fill in the next game, which was the one quoted above. Brutal times, but we played through adversity.

Yep, the entire top 4 D was out injured, which was why Lilja-Lebda was the top pairing.

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I think one thing to consider with Smith is that he just doesn't sync well with Quincey. Having a different partner may provide a spark he needs to get out of his funk. I'm looking forward to seeing how Ouellet plays, and Danny DeKeyser in the number one spot could be foreshadowing greatness.

Up front, Tatar and Weiss could be huge. The pairing has some interesting potential.

Looking forward to the game. Let's Go Wings!

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Hopefully Sproul gets a shot soon too - we have been lacking a big RH shot from the backend that can be an asset on the pp (without the defensive liability) for quite a while.

I don't really understand why Ouellet has seen action in the preseason as well as tonight while Sproul and Almquist haven't.

Almquist has put his time in to at least warrant a look while Sproul is probably more of what we need in a defenceman.

Maybe they're showcasing him for a trade...I know, I know, probably not a popular idea.

For the record I like Ouellet but you've got to give up something to get something.

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Thinking about it, this is our worst D that we've iced since February 2008 when we were absolutely riddled with injuries. From memory the pairings were

Lilja-Lebda

Quincey-Meech

Stafford-Ericsson

And that was Lilja before he became a cult hero, Lebda was Lebda, Quincey was so bad he got waived, Meech was Meech, Ericsson looked every bit the 7th round forward turned defenceman project that he was, and I can't even remember a thing about Stafford.

9th round 291st overall...

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