Heaton
Moderator
All I can think of is Hudler?
Jason Williams, he was traded shortly after.
All I can think of is Hudler?
Smith is either really cool for doing this, or a total d-bag.
They repressed him more than developed him! Coaches wanted him up two years ago. On most other teams, he would have been worked in after he left the NCAA, maybe splitting time between the A and NHL. Some teams develop their players in the NHL. The main reason the Wings didn't do so is due to their own philosophy of having old guys mixed in even at the lower level, and the glut ahead of Smitty due to the carryover from those 2008+ rosters, which put a squeeze on Quincey, Ericsson and Kindl as well.
I don't know how a whopping two years in Grand Rapids qualifies as repression but ok. Maybe I'm missing something but Brendan Smith was in no way an NHL player straight out of college. Definitely not with a contender. He's still a prospect even at this point. Throwing him into the fire might have been great for him-or maybe it would've ruined him. Who knows? All I'm saying is playing him two years ago doesn't necessarily equal big NHL contract today.
And what multimillions are you predicting him to get?
There were times last year he certainly looked like he needed that extra year in Grand Rapids. I'm not so sure he was a home run to be up a year earlier, but hey, it's really impossible to say for sure.
We do know it cost him around 1.8 million dollars.
I don't know one way or the other what would have happened if he was rushed or not. But have been saying for a little while these guys were going to try and get back their money. Ericsson was just the first sign of that. Abdelkader and Helm gave no breaks either in my opinion.
If I had to be on one guy in our system that is going to be a ton of fun when it gets down to talking Turkey it is going to be Tatar. Part of the reason he wanted to be overseas last year, get more $$$. That is these guys right, don't know that I would be any different, but we are going to probably see more of this in our future.
I understand that he had a rough playoffs, but I don't understand why Smith is so disliked by Wings fans. Obviously his most recent (poor) performances tend to stand out in everyone's mind, but when taken as a whole I think Smith's play up to this point has been just fine. He has 20 points in his first 62 NHL games (including playoffs) and his possession numbers have been solid despite playing more difficult minutes than 2012's breakout defenseman Jakub Kindl. Does he still have a long way to go as a player? Of course. However, the reality is that most defensemen pushed into prominent roles early in their career go through some struggles.
I'll admit that I was one of the many fans who was frustrated by Ericsson and Kindl early in their careers before watching both players break out this year. I've promised myself that I'm not going to make that mistake with Smith.
I understand that he had a rough playoffs, but I don't understand why Smith is so disliked by Wings fans. Obviously his most recent (poor) performances tend to stand out in everyone's mind, but when taken as a whole I think Smith's play up to this point has been just fine. He has 20 points in his first 62 NHL games (including playoffs) and his possession numbers have been solid despite playing more difficult minutes than 2012's breakout defenseman Jakub Kindl. Does he still have a long way to go as a player? Of course. However, the reality is that most defensemen pushed into prominent roles early in their career go through some struggles.
I'll admit that I was one of the many fans who was frustrated by Ericsson and Kindl early in their careers before watching both players break out this year. I've promised myself that I'm not going to make that mistake with Smith.
Smith's playoff wasn't that bad. It seemed that's way because the mistakes he made against Chicago were catastrophic. IMO he had the worst possible defense partner which didn't help
Not at all. Q was pretty good in the playoffs as far as I'm concerned. Just as people are way too hard on Smith, the same goes for Q. I'm still very high on Smith. He should have been playing in St. Nicks last season. That's on Kenny and Babcock.
detroit hasent drafted and devloped a good player who wouldnt have been good had they been drafted elsewhere
but if smith is good and is a legit NHL dman he would be so no matter where he was drafted to
if i were him i would want to know the average total NHL earnings of all 2007 1st rd drafted players, subtract what I have made total and demand the difference
so if the average 2007 1st rounder has made a combined 2.5 million and i have made just 500k then i want that 2 milion or whatever it happens to be
I think he means in terms of style/communication.
Quincey did have a very good playoffs, I agree, but it seemed to me like they did not have established roles together and had a lot of communication mis-haps.
Got it. I'd put most of those mistakes in communication on Smith. Smith was put in a tough spot and seemed overwhelmed. He'll learn and get better. I'd prefer Kindl and DD play in the top 4 together. And I think Babcock likes the Q and Smith pairing due to his reluctance to break 'em up. I'm hesitant to break up Kronner and Big E. But I hope Babcock experiments throughout the season with parings.
Kronwall-DD
Smith-Big E
Quincey-Kindl
Last year I think Kindl-Dekeyser would have been a better 2nd pairing than Quincey-Smith if they were given the same minutes and match-ups.
I might get flamed for it, but whatever. I definitely agree with you.
I know. But I'm just hoping the Wings overpay these guys in the short term so they can't bring back he who shant be mentioned.
Unless they get him to 4-5 yr contract at 2.5-3 mil, I agree. And I don't see them doing that.
Second contract is always small unless you're a star.
Subban got what, 2.8 mil?
Leddy 2.7 mil.
Kulikov 2.5 mil.
And if Smith could make a case for that type of money, he would also be much better player.
Sort of a part of Smith's argument will be that he was #3 in playoff ice time and tied for the team lead in defensive scoring.
Also he will come up with player comparisons and relative market value. He might even argue in front of the arbitrator with press clippings backing this up that he was stuck in the minors "while ready" losing money.
This will be an interesting case, can see him getting somewhere between 3.5 to 4.5 over 2 years. Also will a two year contract take him to another RFA deal just short of UFA?
Quite frankly I am pretty happy with this, it means we cannot fall victim to an offer-sheet on him.
They repressed him more than developed him! Coaches wanted him up two years ago. On most other teams, he would have been worked in after he left the NCAA, maybe splitting time between the A and NHL. Some teams develop their players in the NHL. The main reason the Wings didn't do so is due to their own philosophy of having old guys mixed in even at the lower level, and the glut ahead of Smitty due to the carryover from those 2008+ rosters, which put a squeeze on Quincey, Ericsson and Kindl as well.
Jonathan Ericsson?
That's a poor case. Smith was a very late first rounder, and most of the earnings go to the very top picks (see: Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, etc.) Furthermore, Smith looked raw and out of place much of the year this season, certainly not the performance you would expect from a "polished prospect". He was effectively the #5 defenseman in the regular season, and he's a first-rounder several years removed from his draft year who was given every opportunity to earn ice time. He doesn't deserve "AHL reparations" or anything more than a fair cap hit, which is something around $1m-$1.5m