Confirmed with Link: Dan DeKeyser Signs with Detroit 2 years 1.35m cap hit

[Winger98]

i haven't seen a lot of posts calling for a selling of the future. I think a lot of posters hoped to see some fat trimmed and roster space made for guys like Nyquist and Tatar. The opposite of trading for the next 12 games.

And Holland's general lack of trade action over the past few years, and unwillingness to make space for a prospect or two, has a lot of people less than confident that he'll make moves later.

 

[Rzombo4 prez]

Thats just not true. Unless you have a source saying this?

Do you have a source saying there will be changes? Everyone here knows Kenny's mo.

 

[Hendricks433]

Well that's just wrong. Holland himself even stated that the real trades will be happening during the draft, not the trade deadline. I don't get all the Holland hate right now. The guy said that he didn't feel that anything he could've gotten (without selling our future) anything that was better than Helmer or Bert coming back to the lineup. Is there any truth to that? Absolutely. Some fans just want a trade or change for the sake of a trade or change.

Holland WANTS to improve this team, but he's not going to sell off continued-success for the price of 12 game success. Would you rather have a cup right now, or have a shot at getting 10 cups over the next 10 years? Ian White and Filp were not going to get us big impact players, not without top prospects and picks following. They are simply rentals; one being a healthy scratch for numerous games this season and the other never breaking out and coming off of two injuries within 1 season. We didn't want rentals, because we aren't 1 piece away from stanley cup contention. It just wasn't our time, especially in a transition year to be giving out picks in a deep draft class. None the less, but we also can't be just throwing away our centers.

If we don't re-sign filp we lose one top 6 center, and if we lose Pasha next season we lose another top 6 center. Right now the only projected real top 6 center we have is Calle Jarnkrok and he's still 1+ seasons away from even coming within the sysytem. He sure isn't stepping within the top 6 immediately also, so i'll venture to say we don't have a top 6 center in the system for another easy 2-3 years. Riley Sheahan is most likely closer, but he's a projected bottom 6 center with no real hopes of becoming a top 6 center. There's just a lot of things to be considered when looking at this trade deadline and i'm very happy we didn't give up what was being given up. The one person I would've liked was Pominville but his asking price was unreal. It would've equaled out to Mrazek, Jarnkrok, a 1st and 2nd. That's insane, and this board would've flipped a lid if it had happened.

Most of the team is signed for next year. There will have to be multiple trades to change this team and that hasnt happened in quite some time. The last 3 or 4 years would tell us that the team most likely isnt changing a whole lot next year. Hopefully Holland surprises us and actually does something at the draft and next year but his track record says otherwise.

Also Fil is not a top 6 center that we would want. By the time Datsyuk leaves, Jarnkrok should be ready. Then we will need to work on a replacement for Z and we will know if Sheahan can do that or if we need to look elsewhere. I'd like to make a big move for a Burmistrov or Couturier or something like that.

We could have moved a person or 2 and brought up Tatar who more than deserves to be here playing right now. I didnt want to sell the farm but I dont like staying put with a total log jam of mediocre and washed up old vets.

 

[loLZokAY]

Most of the team is signed for next year. There will have to be multiple trades to change this team and that hasnt happened in quite some time. The last 3 or 4 years would tell us that the team most likely isnt changing a whole lot next year. Hopefully Holland surprises us and actually does something at the draft and next year but his track record says otherwise.

Also Fil is not a top 6 center that we would want. By the time Datsyuk leaves, Jarnkrok should be ready. Then we will need to work on a replacement for Z and we will know if Sheahan can do that or if we need to look elsewhere. I'd like to make a big move for a Burmistrov or Couturier or something like that.

We could have moved a person or 2 and brought up Tatar who more than deserves to be here playing right now. I didnt want to sell the farm but I dont like staying put with a total log jam of mediocre and washed up old vets.

I agree that obviously we haven't done much and for the most part the track record would show that we have nothing to look forward to but, times are different now. With the actual transition we're going through right now, with the loss of rafi, stuart and lidstrom, I think we're going to see things change.

We know that Holland WANTED to improve this team, but he didn't want to make movements that didn't make sense in the long-run. I'm okay with that, obviously I would've liked to see some fat trimmed off but he said all along that he wasn't going to be a seller, by any chance.

I can only hope for what I say to come true. I'm hoping that this year starts a change in Holland and he does push at the draft. He has hinted that the real movements will be at the draft this year, but we'll just have to wait.

 

[Bench]

And Holland's general lack of trade action over the past few years, and unwillingness to make space for a prospect or two, has a lot of people less than confident that he'll make moves later.

I was pretty adamant last year that this season would define Holland's position as a GM. And his inaction leaves me with little choice other than to assume he either thinks the team is better than it is, or he's unable to execute. Either way, put me on the list of folks who are disappointed and while I'm not calling for his head, I'd like to see room finally be made for the prospects.

If you can't swing deals for guys like Suter and Gaborik, then you need to develop your own Suters and Gaboriks.

 

[Detroit Sports*]

Babcock just said DeKeyser plays tonight!

Ansar Khan ‏@AnsarKhanMLive 29m

Babcock said DeKeyser, White and Quincey will play tomorrow.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Babcock just said DeKeyser plays tonight!

Ansar Khan ‏@AnsarKhanMLive 29m

Babcock said DeKeyser, White and Quincey will play tomorrow.

Excited. I have to miss the game, but I'm hoping to catch it on replay somewhere online.

 

[XO]

Stud. Well deserved 2nd star of the game.

 

[Nut Upstrom]

Hell yes. Great game by 65 - keep it up Danny.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Holy crap, so much poise for a guy who's played less than a dozen games.

 

[HTT3*]

Our best dman under 25. This kid is the real deal.

 

[VladTheImpaler]

Love this kid. I wish I would've went to watch him more often while I was at Western.

 

[Point Shot]

Kid is the real deal. One of the few bright spots on this team this year.

 

[Motown Beatdown]

He's played great, but lets temper it a hair. Young D-man go thru tons of ups and downs. Remember how good Ericcson looked when he first got called up. But the kid does have a ton of potential.

 

[JPE123]

His poise is most surprising. Looks like a veteran out there

 

[Run the Jewels]

He's played great, but lets temper it a hair. Young D-man go thru tons of ups and downs. Remember how good Ericcson looked when he first got called up. But the kid does have a ton of potential.

Agreed. Speaking of E, there was at least one shift where E and DeKeyser were out there together and it was one of the cleanest d zone exits we had all night. I would be interested in seeing those guys paired up a bit more to see how that works out.

 

[HIFE]

He's played great, but lets temper it a hair. Young D-man go thru tons of ups and downs. Remember how good Ericcson looked when he first got called up. But the kid does have a ton of potential.

I haven't seen anything that special from Dekeyser, but he will make it full time in the NHL. He stepped in late in the season and is surviving. Other teams are checking him very hard and he's bouncing back up. I have seen a LOT more from rookies like Schultz and Hamilton, but they did start the season at the same pace as other teams. Good for him goals aren't being scored on his shifts (he's +1) and that's his main job. He can retrieve the puck and make a pass to the forwards... I guess for this team may be that's all we can be satisfied with. Basically I'm not in the mood to be so overly enthusiastic about him.

As a positive, for supposedly being a stay at home D I love seeing him way up in the play. When he drove the net with Nyquist last game was excellent. The guy has guts. Being active as an all around great hockey player is what makes you a top D. I do see the makings of that in Dekeyser, it's all how he develops himself this off-season.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

I have seen a LOT more from rookies like Schultz

One thing you haven't seen a lot more from Schultz is defense... he makes Kronwall look like Lidstrom.

Other than that, I don't understand the "temper the enthusiasm" type comments. I don't think anybody is saying that DeKeyser is going to be a first pairing guy. Most of the comments right now are about the fact that he had a great game, and he did. So the way I figure, every time he has a great game, we say it's a great game. Every time he has a crappy game, we say it's a crappy game. That way he's rated dead on...

 

[Frk It]

I think Dekeyser is going to take Ericsson's spot as the big-minute stay at home complement to one of our offensive D. And I think it's going to happen sooner rather than later. Ericsson is good at what he does but he gets exposed by the forwards with elite speed. Same with Lashoff. They can get beat to the outside by these guys and then they get behind us and drive the net. Doesn't happen all the time but you see teams like Chicago do it pretty easy. Dekeyser is very fluid and can turn with people very well, plus he has a very good stick. I think he'll be the best defensive D we have in time, especially when he puts on more muscle and can play more physical. Plus like Ericsson, they are both pretty smart and play a simple game.

 

[sarcastro]

They've been playing him with E a lot lately, and I don't think that's going to work long-term. Leaves the other pairings with a bunch of Quinceys and Smiths. Yuck.

 

[Frk It]

They've been playing him with E a lot lately, and I don't think that's going to work long-term. Leaves the other pairings with a bunch of Quinceys and Smiths. Yuck.

Would be nice to be able to play E and Dekeyser together. Someone has to babysit Kronwall though

 

[HIFE]

...Other than that, I don't understand the "temper the enthusiasm" type comments...

Speaking for myself, I take note that the guy is 23, not 19. We've lost 5 of our last 7 games he's been in. People (especially Hughson(?) etc. last night) saying he played "great", I don't know. Great is scoring or assisting a GW goal. Great is causing a penalty because of your attack. Great is breaking up 2 on 1's game after game like Lidstrom. What I've seen is descent and kinda sad he was the 2nd star of a game. Our more veteran D can't show anything more spectacular. Yea we get by(barely) but it begs the question WHAT IF?

Listen on a team like Boston, DeKeyser doesn't even play.

It's not as simple as "well the forwards aren't scoring." Detroit since at least the lockout has been structured on superior defense. We should be threatening with a dangerous, cohesive, 5 man unit. Kronwall doesn't fill Lidstrom's skates, Ericsson doesn't fill Stuart's. We're still reeling from the loss of Rafalski.

Smith is hanging on by a thread. Quincey is uninspiring. Lashoff if in the minors and DD has now played more games than CC. Sorry but the whole thing is so desperate at the moment my mind is clouded with doubt and I'm probably unable to see the really good things DeKeyser is doing.

 

[WesNichols14]

Speaking for myself, I take note that the guy is 23, not 19. We've lost 5 of our last 7 games he's been in. People (especially Hughson(?) etc. last night) saying he played "great", I don't know. Great is scoring or assisting a GW goal. Great is causing a penalty because of your attack. Great is breaking up 2 on 1's game after game like Lidstrom. What I've seen is descent and kinda sad he was the 2nd star of a game. Our more veteran D can't show anything more spectacular. Yea we get by(barely) but it begs the question WHAT IF?

Listen on a team like Boston, DeKeyser doesn't even play.

It's not as simple as "well the forwards aren't scoring." Detroit since at least the lockout has been structured on superior defense. We should be threatening with a dangerous, cohesive, 5 man unit. Kronwall doesn't fill Lidstrom's skates, Ericsson doesn't fill Stuart's. We're still reeling from the loss of Rafalski.

Smith is hanging on by a thread. Quincey is uninspiring. Lashoff if in the minors and DD has now played more games than CC. Sorry but the whole thing is so desperate at the moment my mind is clouded with doubt and I'm probably unable to see the really good things DeKeyser is doing.

Detroit is 9th best in goals against per game, with 2.49. and your definition of a great game seems suited more for a forward or offensive D than a defensive one. last night DD did have a great game. he was fast in getting back into our zone and right back into the offensive zone. He will never be a number 1 but he could be as good as a great number 4D this is his first 10 games. He hasn't looked like a problem on the ice. He hasn't had us on the boards complaining he's in the lineup, and 23 is still young especially for Detroit.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

Speaking for myself, I take note that the guy is 23, not 19. We've lost 5 of our last 7 games he's been in. People (especially Hughson(?) etc. last night) saying he played "great", I don't know. Great is scoring or assisting a GW goal. Great is causing a penalty because of your attack. Great is breaking up 2 on 1's game after game like Lidstrom. What I've seen is descent and kinda sad he was the 2nd star of a game. Our more veteran D can't show anything more spectacular. Yea we get by(barely) but it begs the question WHAT IF?

Listen on a team like Boston, DeKeyser doesn't even play.

It's not as simple as "well the forwards aren't scoring." Detroit since at least the lockout has been structured on superior defense. We should be threatening with a dangerous, cohesive, 5 man unit. Kronwall doesn't fill Lidstrom's skates, Ericsson doesn't fill Stuart's. We're still reeling from the loss of Rafalski.

Smith is hanging on by a thread. Quincey is uninspiring. Lashoff if in the minors and DD has now played more games than CC. Sorry but the whole thing is so desperate at the moment my mind is clouded with doubt and I'm probably unable to see the really good things DeKeyser is doing.

I disagree with a lot of this. For one thing, we're talking in different measures. You're saying that since DeKeyser didn't have a Lidstrom-level game, he didn't have a great game. I say that DeKeyser had a great game for a DeKeyser. I rate him against himself. If we compare rookies to Lidstroms, we'll never have much of anything positive to say.

Likewise, if we base praise for DeKeyser on offensive production, we're missing the point. (No pun intended)

Other than that, the team has been particularly stingy on the defensive end with DeKeyser in and he deserves a share of that. He's playing on the second pairing, after all. The pairing with Kindl is downright stable in their own zone, and that hasn't been the case for Kindl's pairings for most of the season.

I think DeKeyser would be playing regularly in Boston. Boston played Elite NHL Talent Andrew Ference 21 minutes against Buffalo. If you love Ference (which is sort of hard to do in a pure hockey sense), I can always point to Former Elite NHL Talent Wade Redden, who's on their bottom pairing. isn't putting up points, and is a minus on the season. We move to the Pittsburgh game and DeKeyser would be up against such NHL stalwarts as Matt Bartkowski and Adam McQuaid. I'm of the opinion that Boston doesn't have a great D past Chara and Seidenberg. (Hamilton will get there.)

 

[HIFE]

I disagree with a lot of this. For one thing, we're talking in different measures. You're saying that since DeKeyser didn't have a Lidstrom-level game, he didn't have a great game. I say that DeKeyser had a great game for a DeKeyser. I rate him against himself. If we compare rookies to Lidstroms, we'll never have much of anything positive to say.

Likewise, if we base praise for DeKeyser on offensive production, we're missing the point. (No pun intended)

Other than that, the team has been particularly stingy on the defensive end with DeKeyser in and he deserves a share of that. He's playing on the second pairing, after all. The pairing with Kindl is downright stable in their own zone, and that hasn't been the case for Kindl's pairings for most of the season.

I think DeKeyser would be playing regularly in Boston. Boston played Elite NHL Talent Andrew Ference 21 minutes against Buffalo. If you love Ference (which is sort of hard to do in a pure hockey sense), I can always point to Former Elite NHL Talent Wade Redden, who's on their bottom pairing. isn't putting up points, and is a minus on the season. We move to the Pittsburgh game and DeKeyser would be up against such NHL stalwarts as Matt Bartkowski and Adam McQuaid. I'm of the opinion that Boston doesn't have a great D past Chara and Seidenberg. (Hamilton will get there.)

Again I don't hate the young guy. He is the least of our problems, I am happy he's a Red Wing. I'll have to watch a replay of the Vancouver game to answer my own curiosity. I didn't notice him much, which for D can be a very good thing. Not at all comparing him to Lidstrom, I was trying to comment on the meaning of "greatness." As RWN mentioned in the GDT Datsyuk and Franzen also had strong games. To me Datsyuk is the defenition of greatness. Every Game. I understand the nomination for star of a game is loosely awarded to recognize a player's character and storyline, play as an individual. Good for him to get past Canadian inspections.

I do "love" Ferrence. It's the respect earned watching him hoist the cup in 2011, and Mr. McQuaid was there too. Those guys are bad-boys. They can exhibit sloppiness but they are tough and do more than the world expected. Boychuck you simply have to respect as well. As much as I hated them they get the job done. Can't say I know much about Redden or Bortowski.

Like I said in the past props to DeKeyser for his maturity and ability. He and Kindl have an edge that I like. It comes with confidence and being given the room to try things and therefore make mistakes. If DeKeyser is this competent in 7 games we can only imagine what he could do in a few seasons.