Richdg 267 Report post Posted March 8, 2014 Different doesn't necessarily mean better. True. Many have different talents. Some better at scoring others better at prevention. The point was, NONE ARE AVAILABLE. The rest is personnel opinions. After another year, there is a good chance that Kronwall isn't even the best Dman on our team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haroldsnepsts 4,826 Report post Posted March 8, 2014 Different doesn't necessarily mean better. Doughty is as good or better than Kronwall defensively. As for Dmen to bring in, I'd be interested in Matt Greene. Big physical defensive defenseman who's not afraid to drop the gloves when necessary, right handed, Michigan guy. His contract is up this season. He's been a healthy scratch a few times under Sutter so he may have soured on that relationship a bit. He had concussion problems in January though and I think an upper body injury, so I'm not totally sure where his health is at right now. He's also pretty slow, which will only get worse with age. But if he can be had for a decent price it could help bring some experience to the blueline. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buppy 1,720 Report post Posted March 8, 2014 Not for five years. I don't want any defenseman for more than two years unless they're exceptionally good. We already have Kronwall and Ericsson, Dekeyser probably, Smith possibly. Even Kindl signed for three more years. Then we have five (six if you want to count Nedomlel) kids who come due after two more years, plus Almquist this summer. Go after a vet stopgap or two, for one or two years, leave at least a couple spots for the kids. There will always be other UFAs if we have a hole to fill. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nevermind 363 Report post Posted March 8, 2014 Doughty is as good or better than Kronwall defensively. As for Dmen to bring in, I'd be interested in Matt Greene. Big physical defensive defenseman who's not afraid to drop the gloves when necessary, right handed, Michigan guy. His contract is up this season. He's been a healthy scratch a few times under Sutter so he may have soured on that relationship a bit. He had concussion problems in January though and I think an upper body injury, so I'm not totally sure where his health is at right now. He's also pretty slow, which will only get worse with age. But if he can be had for a decent price it could help bring some experience to the blueline. Yeah, but I think Doughty plays better when paired with a solid defensive type, like Vlasic in the Olympics. Even Kronwall makes mistakes, but I still think he's a bit more consistent than Doughty. I wouldn't want Matt Greene though. He's a 3rd pairing guy and would get caught up in a glut of defenseman here (Smith, Kindl, Lashoff, Almquist, etc.) He's more solid defensively than any of our kids, but doesn't have enough upside to stay in the lineup IMO. We need a true top 4 type to join Kronwall, Ericsson, and DeKeyser. Basically we need D-man much better than Quincey to take his spot. That should be the main priority as I think all the kids will essentially fight for the bottom 2 spots. 1 haroldsnepsts reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
haroldsnepsts 4,826 Report post Posted March 8, 2014 Yeah, but I think Doughty plays better when paired with a solid defensive type, like Vlasic in the Olympics. Even Kronwall makes mistakes, but I still think he's a bit more consistent than Doughty. I wouldn't want Matt Greene though. He's a 3rd pairing guy and would get caught up in a glut of defenseman here (Smith, Kindl, Lashoff, Almquist, etc.) He's more solid defensively than any of our kids, but doesn't have enough upside to stay in the lineup IMO. We need a true top 4 type to join Kronwall, Ericsson, and DeKeyser. Basically we need D-man much better than Quincey to take his spot. That should be the main priority as I think all the kids will essentially fight for the bottom 2 spots. I agree about Doughty. When paired with a more defensive guy he's able to jump into plays and is a more dynamic player. Often when his production dips it's because he's without someone like Willie Mitchell to be paired with, so he has to play more conservatively. All good points regarding Greene. I'm probably biased because I've always liked the way he plays. He's an old school "ram you facefirst into the glass over and over as you hold the puck along the boards" kind of player. The Wings could use more of that. Though Lashoff could potentially be a Matt Greene type player anyway. I keep forgetting he's only 23. A more consistent Quincey-like player would make a big difference. Kindl is a plug at this point who only warrants icetime if there's injuries. Unfortunately he's a plug they signed until 2017, but I wish they'd cut bait with the guy and give his icetime to players that still have some hope of developing (Smith, Lashoff, Almquist). 1 Nevermind reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nevermind 363 Report post Posted March 9, 2014 A more consistent Quincey-like player would make a big difference. Kindl is a plug at this point who only warrants icetime if there's injuries. Unfortunately he's a plug they signed until 2017, but I wish they'd cut bait with the guy and give his icetime to players that still have some hope of developing (Smith, Lashoff, Almquist). I want no part of a Quincey-like player. But yeah, it'd be great if a better player took his role on the team. Kindl looked so emotionless out there in his first game back. It almost seems like he doesn't even care about being in the lineup when he's making nearly $10 million over the next 4 years. If he doesn't get his act together, I do hope we trade him. Next year, I hope we have: Kronwall--Ericsson DeKeyser--UFA/Trade Smith--Lashoff Almquist (and maybe a cheap, solid veteran for injuries/depth) Who we pair with DeKeyser clearly makes or breaks the whole defensive corps. Hopefully it's someone who can comfortably play on the top pair with Kronwall as well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richdg 267 Report post Posted March 9, 2014 HS, yes greene would also be a good pick up. In fact lets dream a little and sign Fayne and Greene. That would give us the following BL corp: E-Kronwall Dekeyser-Fayne Lashoff-Greene Almqvist Not bad. But maybe more important, this would free up Smith and Kindl for trades to improve the F group. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
