Miller or Eaves, if you had to choose?

[sully6one]

Eaves will be here next year. He has a contract already signed, Miller doesn't. I like Miller better though.

 

[joe89]

Miller, though I don't see a reason for either to be around any longer.

Same opinion here. Both came when we needed some depth and they provided it. Now that we have depth, we can thank them and move on.

Miller imo will stick around in the league. Eaves I'm not so sure.

 

[Bench]

Same opinion here. Both came when we needed some depth and they provided it. Now that we have depth, we can thank them and move on.

Miller imo will stick around in the league. Eaves I'm not so sure.

Eaves could find work but he'd have to show something for the new team pretty fast. 6 points in 26 games isn't gangbusters, but he's playing limited minutes, so somebody will see the positives. He's only 28, so there's still life in those legs, too.

He's a smart player and a quality teammate, too. That goes a long way.

 

[detredWINgs]

Eaves is signed for another year at $1.2M.

I always liked Miller and I'd actually be hesitant to get rid of him simply for his PK skills. I think this team actually has a pretty ****** crop of penalty killing forwards right now in the bottom 6.

 

[Iowa Wingsfan]

I miss pre-injury Eaves. A couple years ago when injuries forced him into the top 6 he was excellent. Better then Abby and Cleary this year combined. As others have posted he is not the same player. It really is too bad.

 

[pdd]

I'd rather keep Eaves, because while Miller is better at this point he's not better enough to justify the cap hit above Eaves' current contract that he would end up with.

Emmerton, Andersson, Helm, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Filppula (?) are all capable penalty killers.

There's no reason to keep either of these guys on when we can replace them with Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan, Jarnkrok, etc. and perhaps a good free agent.

Here's the Wings' current roster for next year among signed players:

---/Zetterberg/Samuelsson
---/Datsyuk/Franzen
Abdelkader/Helm/Tatar
---/Emmerton/Tootoo
Eaves

Kronwall/Ericsson
Dekeyser/Quincey
Colaiacovo/Lashoff

Mrazek
Gustavsson

About $18m left in cap space.

As you can see, there's a bit of work to be done. Let's add in the RFAs (in bold) to get this:

---/Zetterberg/Samuelsson
Nyquist/Datsyuk/Franzen
Abdelkader/Helm/Tatar
Andersson/Emmerton/Tootoo
Eaves

Kronwall/Ericsson
Kindl/Dekeyser
Smith/Quincey
Colaiacovo/Lashoff

Mrazek
Gustavsson

This is all assuming Bertuzzi is on LTIR, of course. That's ~$2m that can be used elsewhere. Those RFAs just cost about $5m total, maybe even $6m. And the roster's full. But we have two amnesty buyouts and Colaiacovo is sitting as a spare, and Lashoff also. So we can buy out Cola or send Lashoff down. Holland would probably do the latter, gaining back almost $1m. So figure the Wings have ~$14.5m to spend on Howard, Filppula (or replacement), and perhaps another forward. In addition, trading Eaves opens up $1.2m AND a roster spot that can be used on one of Jarnkrok or Sheahan. There's no point to keeping Eaves as a PK specialist at that price if he's just the spare forward. Use that money for better players.

 

[yave1964]

Miller hands down. Solid fourth line player, can move up and down the lines in a pinch if needed, same can be said about Eaves but Miller seems better suited to the role.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

Pre concussion, Eaves, but Miller now.

I like Miller for what he is, but there is no reason he should be re-signed.

 

[VladTheImpaler]

Miller is much more effective in all categories.

 

[YostisHome]

I loved Eaves pre-injury but he's just a body now. That being said, he's still better than Cleary. Cleary is a couple slots down from "just a body" status

 

[Konnan511]

Eaves has a better shot. Other than that, Miller beats him in every other area, minus beard growing abilities.

 

[dtones520]

Miller now. Eaves pre injury. I'd take them both if I could get a non injured version of Eaves. But, Miller is durable and that is important.

Can I give Miller Eaves' wrist shot?

 

[LeighDx59]

I would prefer Eaves but I can't really ignore that Miller brings more to the team right now and is more effective then Eaves.

 

[JimLaheyprobert]

Since we are movin into the east next year, id get rid of both and get a heavyweight fighter, theres some big boys in the east.

 

[Lugaid]

I really want to say Eaves, I like him a lot, but his injury really affected him. I still think he can bounce back, but I don't think we should prioritize him in any way. Miller is a really good depth player for us, but as previously stated, we have young guys who could fill up our lower lines. I really like having him as a penalty killer though.

 

[JmanWingsFan]

Drew Miller, unfortunately. I really liked Eaves, especially for his stint in 2010-11. That Injury really has hurt him. The guy deserved a better career, but injuries have just utterly derailed it.

 

[PullHard]

Eaves used to be one of my favs, he was pretty fast once he got up to speed, had a heavy shot, and was one of our better PK forwards. Ever since he took a shot to the dome, he hasn't been the same, sadly. Miller is a good 12th or 13th forward as he does a lot of things pretty well, but nothing specifically above average. As has been mentioned, we may need to get rid of both guys and look to add some big slugs to balance out our line up.

 

[Frk It]

So you guys want a player the combines Miller's PK ability and defensive positioning with the skating and right-handed nice release wrist shot of Patrick Eaves?

Let me introduce you to Landon Ferraro. That's exactly what he is. PK's as good as Miller and skates and shoots as good or better than Eaves. Plus he is a righty.

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

neither player please

guys like this are a dime a dozen

designed to be cycled in and out every year

 

[Flowah]

So you guys want a player the combines Miller's PK ability and defensive positioning with the skating and right-handed nice release wrist shot of Patrick Eaves?

Let me introduce you to Landon Ferraro. That's exactly what he is. PK's as good as Miller and skates and shoots as good or better than Eaves. Plus he is a righty.

Has he spent 3 full years in the AHL yet? Then he's definitely not the answer.

 

[RedWinger10]

1.) Tatar
2.) Miller
3.) Eaves