Ericsson: What's it going to take to get him off the top pair?
- Thread starter Frk It
- Start date
Cyborg Yzerberg
Registered User
Nothing to apologize for, and you're absolutely right. I dunno, would an Ericsson and Quincey pairing even be decent?
Kronwall-Smith
Dekeyser-Ouellet
Ericsson-Quincey
???
I personally think Ericsson and Quincey would be a disaster. I'm also not a fan of Kronwall and Smith together. I think both of their instincts make them want to cheat a little towards offense.
I think a Kronwall/DeKeyser pair would be huge but that's putting all your eggs in one basket.
Maybe Quincey would do all right with Kronwall, although I'm sure all of us are wondering if his play of late is legit or if it will all come crashing down.
I don't think Ouellet is going to do well with the best of the NHL coming at him. In time maybe, but why risk destroying his confidence.
Kindl? Ha!
So I guess that kind of answers why Ericsson is still there. There doesn't seem to be an obviously better choice.
WingedWheel1987
Registered User
Frk It
Mo Seider Less Problems
- Jul 27, 2010
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Probably what I would do.
I mean ideally we trade and get someone to play with Kronwall. Or bump up Dekeyser and let our acquisition anchor the 2nd pair in that scenario. But I'm not hopeful this happens.
It's hard. Ericsson is dragging down Kronwall IMO, which sucks. And he just shouldnt be going against top forward lines right now.
I also am not a huge fan of the Dekeyser-Quincey pairing, because while they are solid defensively, I feel like we don't have the puck as much when they are deployed.
So I would try to re-unite Smith and Kronwall, give Ouellet a shot with Dekeyser, and let Ericsson and Quincey shut down some easier match-ups.
Just thinking out loud.
Heaton
Moderator
Frk It
Mo Seider Less Problems
- Jul 27, 2010
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Based on how they both play, and thinking about it logically, I would absolutely agree with you.
But we have seem them paired together a decent amount, and it has seemed to work quite well, both eye-test and advanced-stats wise.
Compared to what I am seeing from Kronwall-Ericsson, the Kronwall-Smith pair has been far better. Now... like you said though, what would a Quincey-Ericsson pairing bring? I have no idea. Or what would a Dekeyser-Ouellet pairing bring? I also have no idea.
Cyborg Yzerberg
Registered User
Which unfortunately forces us to send down Ouelett.
Edit: Oh wait, we already did. Sweet.
Last edited:
He's been cringe worthy this season. Before the top 4 dman issue was more of a want rather than a need, but with Ericsson playing so poorly we essentially just have a gap in our roster now and it's really showing.
Kronwall: #1
Dekeyeser: #3
Smith: #4
Quincey: #4
Ericsson: #5
Ouellet: #5
Kindl: #6/7
Lashoff: #7
Kronwall: #1
Dekeyeser: #3
Smith: #4
Quincey: #4
Ericsson: #5
Ouellet: #5
Kindl: #6/7
Lashoff: #7
Mickey Redmond*
Registered User
- Nov 2, 2010
- 1,661
- 0
Put Ericsson in that #4 group, and I agree. The wings need another 1-3 guy. Push everybody down, and they are fine. Like others have said, this probably means XO is sent down. If it makes the D better I'm ok with that. He's not going anywhere.
Henkka
Registered User
Frk It
Mo Seider Less Problems
- Jul 27, 2010
- 36,246
- 14,755
Dekeyser-Smith looked like a formidable pairing early in the year. If we acquire someone we should go back to that. Not sure why it was ever broken up.
Again ericsson is the worst #2 dman of all playoff teams and even some of those clubs who aren't
his skill and abilities are best suited for 3rd pairing matchups and gameplans.
We need a #2 or else its lights out come game five of round one.
his skill and abilities are best suited for 3rd pairing matchups and gameplans.
We need a #2 or else its lights out come game five of round one.
Smith looked good as #2 next to Kronwall. Better than E anyway. It's a bit above his paygrade, but it allows DD, E, Q, Ouellet, to round out the bottom 4 which is more than adequate in my opinion.
We do it from within. Obviously it'd be great to add a top4 guy, but it looks like that's pretty damn hard so let's work with what we have and waive the garbage.
We do it from within. Obviously it'd be great to add a top4 guy, but it looks like that's pretty damn hard so let's work with what we have and waive the garbage.
davecrockburn
Registered User
- Jun 8, 2011
- 166
- 10
Ericsson is best suited to be a bottom pairing shutdown Dman imo. He doesn't move the puck well and he seems to have lost a step against first line forwards. I would be okay with this for the rest of the year:
Kronwall - Smith (have looked really good together)
Dekeyser - Ouellet (steady guys should do alright together)
Ericsson - Quincey (shutdown and PK pair)
Ideally we could get a RH top pairing Dman
Kronwall - Smith (have looked really good together)
Dekeyser - Ouellet (steady guys should do alright together)
Ericsson - Quincey (shutdown and PK pair)
Ideally we could get a RH top pairing Dman
Hobnobs
Pinko
- Nov 29, 2011
- 8,912
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sorry was focused on getting XO in there
hot dog
Registered User
- Mar 20, 2013
- 1,669
- 12
Yeah, deploy Ericsson and Quincey most frequently with the Glendening line and I think it'd work really well. Maybe not for their toughest assignments, but I think that'd be a solid function for Ericsson. I like those pairings.
I agree with SoupGuru - Ericsson looked great the lockout year, pretty good the first half of last year, and has been pretty underwhelming throughout the rest of his career. Was a frequent whipping boy for a while, redeemed himself, and quickly getting back to the 2011ish status with his usage and lack of traditional whipping boys (Cleary barely playing, Andersson generally benched, Kindl clearly behind XO organizationally, everyone else pretty well liked)... meh. The Wings see him as a part of their core and he'll be around a while because you're not moving that contract with how he's played.
detredWINgs
Registered User
Kronwall - Smith
Kronwall - Dekeyser
Kronwall - Ouellet
Kronwall-Smith was a surprisingly effective pairing. People have becomes so obsessed with having a puck-mover lining up against a defensive stay-at-home guy on every pairing that they forget how successful two puck-possession defenseman can be. Smith also seemed to focus a lot more when he was on the top pairing. He seemed to take his cues from Kronwall whereas with anyone else, he's kind of his own little island out there.
Kronwall-Dekeyser also looked good last year. But as another poster said, that is kind of putting all of our eggs in one basket. Dekeyser looked his best alongside Kronwall and that seemed to off-set the jump into having more consistent top-line competition.
Lastly, I'm throwing Kronwall-Ouellet out there as an option down the road if our defensive strengths don't get addressed. Its a lot to ask for Ouellet but I'm not so sure that it would be that much of a drop off from how Ericsson is playing right now. You can't ask this of Ouellet now, but if we make room for him full-time, and he plays another 20 NHL games admirably, I'd keep moving him up the chart. Strangely (or rather, sadly), he's looking like he could be our best puck-mover outside of Kronwall.
As for our defense as whole, I'm having a hard time differentiating between Quincey, Ericsson, Dekeyser, and Smith this year. They all play slightly different games, but in terms of performance, they're close enough to being a wash that I essentially consider them to be damn near interchangeable. As someone said earlier this season, there is such a huge drop-off from Kronwall that it doesn't really matter who our number 2 defenseman is. Its probably simply going to be a matter of chemistry with Kronwall if our defense is upgraded from within.
Kronwall - Dekeyser
Kronwall - Ouellet
Kronwall-Smith was a surprisingly effective pairing. People have becomes so obsessed with having a puck-mover lining up against a defensive stay-at-home guy on every pairing that they forget how successful two puck-possession defenseman can be. Smith also seemed to focus a lot more when he was on the top pairing. He seemed to take his cues from Kronwall whereas with anyone else, he's kind of his own little island out there.
Kronwall-Dekeyser also looked good last year. But as another poster said, that is kind of putting all of our eggs in one basket. Dekeyser looked his best alongside Kronwall and that seemed to off-set the jump into having more consistent top-line competition.
Lastly, I'm throwing Kronwall-Ouellet out there as an option down the road if our defensive strengths don't get addressed. Its a lot to ask for Ouellet but I'm not so sure that it would be that much of a drop off from how Ericsson is playing right now. You can't ask this of Ouellet now, but if we make room for him full-time, and he plays another 20 NHL games admirably, I'd keep moving him up the chart. Strangely (or rather, sadly), he's looking like he could be our best puck-mover outside of Kronwall.
As for our defense as whole, I'm having a hard time differentiating between Quincey, Ericsson, Dekeyser, and Smith this year. They all play slightly different games, but in terms of performance, they're close enough to being a wash that I essentially consider them to be damn near interchangeable. As someone said earlier this season, there is such a huge drop-off from Kronwall that it doesn't really matter who our number 2 defenseman is. Its probably simply going to be a matter of chemistry with Kronwall if our defense is upgraded from within.
TheOtherOne
Registered User
- Jan 2, 2010
- 8,274
- 5,272
I don't see what's wrong with
Kronwall - Dekeyser
Ericsson - Smith
Quincey - Ouellet
in theory.
Actually in theory I'd rather swap E with Q but the Q-Smith line was a train wreck for so long I don't really want to try it again.
I mean if Dekeyser is really as solid as the entire internet seems to think he is, then you give that top line real top line minutes against the best of the best, and Kronwall can still jump in and put up points while DD shuts it down in the back. Then the other 2 lines should be capable of at least a little offense against weaker competition.
Kronwall - Dekeyser
Ericsson - Smith
Quincey - Ouellet
in theory.
Actually in theory I'd rather swap E with Q but the Q-Smith line was a train wreck for so long I don't really want to try it again.
I mean if Dekeyser is really as solid as the entire internet seems to think he is, then you give that top line real top line minutes against the best of the best, and Kronwall can still jump in and put up points while DD shuts it down in the back. Then the other 2 lines should be capable of at least a little offense against weaker competition.
joe89
#5
- Apr 30, 2009
- 20,315
- 178
Especially poor with the puck.
I've been saying for him to be placed on the 3rd pair until he finds some game again, but the reason I don't complain that loud is because I think the others options would get equally exposed against top competition.
Dekeyser doesn't really work because then you're left with no stability on the other pairings. Our best bet is still probably that E finds his game over Q being that option. As for Smith, could be worth a shot but I'll believe it when I see it(him handling that load). Of the top5, Smith's been playing second worst defense to E imo. I'm rather happy with Kronwall, Q and DeK so far.
You could always put Ouellet out there with Kronwall and see if he sinks or swims. There are certainly other young D's in the league who have run with it when being paired with the top D on the team.
I've been saying for him to be placed on the 3rd pair until he finds some game again, but the reason I don't complain that loud is because I think the others options would get equally exposed against top competition.
Dekeyser doesn't really work because then you're left with no stability on the other pairings. Our best bet is still probably that E finds his game over Q being that option. As for Smith, could be worth a shot but I'll believe it when I see it(him handling that load). Of the top5, Smith's been playing second worst defense to E imo. I'm rather happy with Kronwall, Q and DeK so far.
You could always put Ouellet out there with Kronwall and see if he sinks or swims. There are certainly other young D's in the league who have run with it when being paired with the top D on the team.
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