Helene St. James Alfredsson looking to come back

[silkyjohnson50]

Maybe he wasn't playing higher on the depth chart, because he was visibly wearing down?

Even in the early season, a huge percentage of his points were coming when he was on the ice with 13 and/or 40.

There's no question in my mind that their absence impacted his play more so than wearing down did.

Honestly, I think you're just attempting to look at this from a Debbie Downer perspective.

 

[Frk It]

Even in the early season, a huge percentage of his points were coming when he was on the ice with 13 and/or 40.

There's no question in my mind that their absence impacted his play more so than wearing down did.

Honestly, I think you're just attempting to look at this from a Debbie Downer perspective.

So he succeeded in a role that even propped up Abdelkader and made some think he's a top 6 player, and that should be a ringing endorsement?

I'm not being a debbie downer. I just paid attention over the last 1/3 of the season, and am not caught up in just his point totals.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

So he succeeded in a role that even propped up Abdelkader and made some think he's a top 6 player, and that should be a ringing endorsement?

I'm not being a debbie downer. I just paid attention over the last 1/3 of the season, and am not caught up in just his point totals.

Yeah, some players are top 6 players who play better with better players. Alfie is one of those. He's not the player that he once was so he can't be the go-to-guy on a top line anymore, but he's still good enough to be big time contributor in a 2nd/3rd member role. He has the hockey sense and patience to play with high end players which allows both to benefit in a way Justin Abdelkader could never dream of. Alfie had nearly as many points as Abdelkader's best 2 seasons combined.

Alfie (even at his age) with Datsyuk and Zetterberg benefits all 3 players more than Abdelkader ever could or likely ever will. He actually sees the ice.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

I still remember the game they were put together. Abdelkader started the season with them and he was meh. Then he got demoted to "help the 2nd line" garbage. Then Bertuzzi got a shot..

Then we were in Colorado when they couldn't be beat and Babcock finally decided to throw Alfie up on the top line. They dominated.

 

[DatsDeking]

Z-Pav-Alfie
Mule-Weiss-Nyquist
Jurco-Sheahan-Tats
Gator-Helm-Miller/Glendening

I think that's the most likely outcome. I don't think they're sticking a 5M dollar guy on the 4th line. They're gonna give him another chance at the start after what we learned about the extent of his injury woes. And no way Mantha makes it out of camp.

And really, I'd be pleased as peach with that lineup. No Abby in top6. No Cleary/Bert/Sammy. Lots of fast, skilled, speedy youth. Strong top9. Pesty 4th line.

My ideal line as well. Nervous about the Weiss + Mule combo but we'll see.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

My ideal line as well. Nervous about the Weiss + Mule combo but we'll see.

Nyquist gives it hope. He's quick and a puck carrier and has had some success on a line with Mule.

Just consider that Franzen-Legwand-Nyquist was our top line at a point last season when we were winning our way into the playoffs. Now notice they'd be a 2nd line (3rd line some nights as the Kids will get their minutes when they're flying) and 13 and 40 would be ahead of them.

It's a lineup I really like and hope to see.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

Why? We don't have cap issues and he was our leading scorer last year in the regular season. He missed a lot of games, but we don't make the playoffs without him. If he plays 55 games but scores 20 goals, he adds value. 20 goals is 20 goals, no matter how many games you play.

we need him to play all the games because the nhl has this rule now whereby temas are awarded points for all the games they play and win

having a player, alffie, be great in 55 games is fantastic but its a heck of a lot less so if he misses 30 and its those 30 that we need him to be fantastic in

giving me food the first four days of the week sounds great, ezcept less so when you realize a week is 7 days and you need to eat every day

 

[SoupNazi]

we need him to play all the games because the nhl has this rule now whereby temas are awarded points for all the games they play and win

having a player, alffie, be great in 55 games is fantastic but its a heck of a lot less so if he misses 30 and its those 30 that we need him to be fantastic in

giving me food the first four days of the week sounds great, ezcept less so when you realize a week is 7 days and you need to eat every day

And supposing his replacement has a positive effect on the 27 games he doesn't play? Would that not be acceptable?

 

[Frk It]

Yeah, some players are top 6 players who play better with better players. Alfie is one of those. He's not the player that he once was so he can't be the go-to-guy on a top line anymore, but he's still good enough to be big time contributor in a 2nd/3rd member role. He has the hockey sense and patience to play with high end players which allows both to benefit in a way Justin Abdelkader could never dream of. Alfie had nearly as many points as Abdelkader's best 2 seasons combined.

Alfie (even at his age) with Datsyuk and Zetterberg benefits all 3 players more than Abdelkader ever could or likely ever will. He actually sees the ice.

That's a good point, the 3 of them looked good together.

I was just saying, at his age I have my concerns. Hopefully he holds up though.

I would take him over Abdelkader in the top 6 any day, even at 40 something.

 

[Bench]

I like Alfredsson, but I worry it signals they won't make any changes to the forward group.

And the defender UFAs aren't going to be game changers.

Pressure is mounting on Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan, Smith and company to be the answer. Alfredsson is ideally your2nd liner and powerplay option, not a guy who can tilt a game.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

That's a good point, the 3 of them looked good together.

I was just saying, at his age I have my concerns. Hopefully he holds up though.

I would take him over Abdelkader in the top 6 any day, even at 40 something.

There's always going to be concerns about a 40+ year old, but at the end of the day I'm not worried about Alfie as long as he's put in the right situation. And assuming that we don't match our record setting injuries of last year, we should be able to put him in favorable situations. I like the idea of resting him some when we can to keep him fresh and the lack of Olympics also helps big time. Assuming this deal gets done for another year it's a positive. And it's just another motivated player trying to win it all in the end.

 

[Frk It]

I like Alfredsson, but I worry it signals they won't make any changes to the forward group.

I think that is exactly what that means.

And the defender UFAs aren't going to be game changers.

Game changers? No. But I think Boyle or Niskanen would greatly improve our transition game and power play.

Pressure is mounting on Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan, Smith and company to be the answer. Alfredsson is ideally your2nd liner and powerplay option, not a guy who can tilt a game.

I think so too, but I have a lot of faith in that group personally. Maybe I'm a fool.

If Smith gets put in a position to succeed, I think he takes off. Tatar is a spark plug, and I think a season together with Sheahan and Jurco could be great. Nyquist and Franzen should continue to have chemistry, and be productive.

 

[silkyjohnson50]

I like Alfredsson, but I worry it signals they won't make any changes to the forward group.

And the defender UFAs aren't going to be game changers.

Pressure is mounting on Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan, Smith and company to be the answer. Alfredsson is ideally your2nd liner and powerplay option, not a guy who can tilt a game.

Honestly I'm very comfortable with the forward group. The only concern for me is will they stay healthy. But I simply cannot imagine it being as bad or even worse than last season. And this season we won't be behind the 8ball in terms of icing Cleary, Bertuzzi, Sammy, Emmerton, etc to start the season.

If the right player was available for the right price, sure you'd like to upgrade. But if it's not, no biggie from me.

While the defenders in FA aren't game changers so to speak, they almost are when you consider where we were in the series vs Boston. Just the fact that all of Quincey, Kindl, and Lashoff won't be in the lineup is an upgrade.

You go from:
Kronwall-Smith
Quincey-Dekeyser
Lashoff-Kindl

to potentially

Kronwall-Smith
Dekeyser-Stralman/Niaskanen
Ericsson-Marchenko/Backman/XO

And that's a pretty good upgrade IMO.

 

[Frk It]

There's always going to be concerns about a 40+ year old, but at the end of the day I'm not worried about Alfie as long as he's put in the right situation. And assuming that we don't match our record setting injuries of last year, we should be able to put him in favorable situations. I like the idea of resting him some when we can to keep him fresh and the lack of Olympics also helps big time. Assuming this deal gets done for another year it's a positive. And it's just another motivated player trying to win it all in the end.

I also would like the idea of resting him. Maybe something like call up Pulkkinen or Mantha for 20 games, and then get him back for the home stretch.

 

[Bench]

I think so too, but I have a lot of faith in that group personally. Maybe I'm a fool.

Honestly I'm very comfortable with the forward group. The only concern for me is will they stay healthy. But I simply cannot imagine it being as bad or even worse than last season. And this season we won't be behind the 8ball in terms of icing Cleary, Bertuzzi, Sammy, Emmerton, etc to start the season.

I like when other people assure me!

You guys could very well be right. I'm most interested to see if Nyquist can keep his status as a legit top 6er. And if Sheahan can round out his game. I'm still pretty excited about Sheahan, I'll admit.

 

[RedWingzz]

I'm all for it IF:

1) It's for a MAX of 5 million.
2) It does not push Tomas Jurco out of the top 9 (which essentially pushes him to the Griffins.)

Although inconsistent, Alfie did have a solid year with the Wings, and I would welcome him back. I just really think Jueco can help this team NOW and don't want to give him the Nyquist/Tatar treatment.

 

[RedWingzz]

I like Alfredsson, but I worry it signals they won't make any changes to the forward group.

And the defender UFAs aren't going to be game changers.

Pressure is mounting on Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan, Smith and company to be the answer. Alfredsson is ideally your2nd liner and powerplay option, not a guy who can tilt a game.

Ya, but with a healthy forward group, with the players we had last year, I see no reason why we would not have at minimum an 8 point increase. That should ultimately put us in the 2/3 spot in the division.

 

[Kronwalled55]

If the Rangers can 3 playoff series with that group of forwards, I think ours should be ok.

It's all about shaping up that defense and hoping Howard can put last year behind him. I'm not going to pretend that Howard is close to Henrik Lundqvist or that Kronwall is at McDonagh's level, but we have a lot of great pieces. It just needs a bit of tweaking defensively to take that next step. Health has been this forward group's kryptonite the last handful of seasons.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

I don't see a big let down. I actually think Nyquist could regress the most in terms of pure production, as he played at a 70pt pace last season. I could easily see him having a 50-60 pt season, which would by no means really be a problem for me.

I don't see Tatar having a regression. He creates too many chances and will continue to be a high Corsi player to have a big dip.

Sheahan could likely have a bit of a dip, but even then, I don't see him going under a 40 pt pace considering he'll likely be playing with Tatar and Jurco or Nyquist.

And Jurco I expect to have better pure production numbers if he's with the big club.

Part of it is definitely because they're an older "young" group, but I can't see them disappointing. They're likely going to continue to get 2nd PP minutes as well. They'll be fine.

Nyquist scores at an incredible pace everywhere. He has the most hockey IQ of our prospects/young players and that isn't particularly close. Tatar was actually a consistent high 50's point player in GR. He isn't likely to outscore Nyquist, though one player is likely to be keyed on a lot more heavily by opposition.

Tatar will run hot and cold. Now in his cold stretches he goes into the corners and he looks frustrated. But really Tomas Tatar will likely play a lot like Franzen in that he is the binge scorer of our prospect group. When he is on and it is going in he is a sight to behold, but he does run hot and cold. People just won't hate him as a player when it is happening.

The 70 point pace is a tough ask, I have trouble seeing him score goals at that pace, but I think his assists are going to go up a lot this year. Tatar is the better shooter and Nyquist is a far superior playmaker it was odd seeing that reverse at times last year. I expect them to get back to their strengths in that regard, though if Nyquist converts his breakaways 30 goals is not out of the question.

 

[Fowler524]

http://msn.foxsports.com/detroit/st...return-to-red-wings-for-2014-15-season-062314

Regner doesn't think it's a guarantee that we'll sign him. It will depend on what other moves the Wings make and if they can fit him in.

 

[Brandel*]

Only reason I can see us not re-signing him is if we're trading for Thornton or Marleau at the draft. That and a UFA D would likely mean no space.

"He (Alfredsson) understands we're going to Philly for the draft, there's lots of trade rumors," Holland said. "There are a lot of unknowns. I'll be meeting with the agents of our restricted free agents. All these things factor into what I'm thinking."

 

[Tomas W]

Likely. Based on his production he will have a solid argument. However, given the fact he isn't getting any younger, Id like to see him sign between 3.75-4.5 (including bonuses).

He was pretty good at first but then I thought he went slower and slower. I doubt his back will hold through 80 games.

If DRW fail to get a bigger fish I could see him in Detroit. Otherwise I guess he'll go back to Ottawa.

 

[Henkka]

Olympics wore Alfredsson down. He should never go there. Next season is different. Normal schedule with all-star breaks that makes is easier.

He could also rest either of all back-to-backs like Selänne did at last season and rotate with kids. That would help him a lot.

 

[HIFE]

Well the Red Wings stated if Alfredsson wants to return he'd be welcome so it sounds like it'll happen.

Is there anything to be said for NHL players changing teams and improving as they develop chemistry? Could Alfie have a better season now after a full year adjusting and working with new teammates?

 

[Mount Suribachi]

I'm all for it IF:

1) It's for a MAX of 5 million.
2) It does not push Tomas Jurco out of the top 9 (which essentially pushes him to the Griffins.)

Although inconsistent, Alfie did have a solid year with the Wings, and I would welcome him back. I just really think Jueco can help this team NOW and don't want to give him the Nyquist/Tatar treatment.

Honestly, I think Jurco and Mantha are going to be fighting for the same top-9 spot in training camp. I could even see them rotating during the season, a bit like Tatar and Nyquist did in the lockout season.

I've actually been pleasantly surprised by this thread, came in expecting 3 pages of "PLay teh kidz!!!! Holland you suck!!"
Only 1 or 2 negative nancys, everyone else acknowledging what a solid player Alfie was for us. As for him slowing down the 2nd half of the season - well he was playing with a bad back, stuck on the 3rd line with poor line-mates.

As others have said, when he was with Dats he was magic, because he has the skill, and the hockey IQ to play with Pav. Something which over the years has proven to be a truism - Datsyuk works best with skilled, high IQ players who can take advantage of his creativity, whereas Zetterberg can make anyone look good.