Opening Night roster 2013-14
- Thread starter Run the Jewels
- Start date
There was no reason to sign Howard for 6 years, but chances are Howard wanted term in order to sign and at the time I doubt the team had much choice. I also doubt they expected Mrazek to progress as quickly as he did.
I think Monster is probably going to be playing elsewhere next season, the Wings will likely go with someone on a 1 year deal. I expect Mrazek to be the "Backup" after next season, and I think he will get more and more starts until he eventually steals the starting job. Similar to how Howard took the role from Osgood.
I don't like the idea of adding another guy in the twilight of his career, and I think he's struggled mightily in the playoffs this year but we could do a lot worse than Boyle.
He would provide the first pass ability the Wings are looking for and would also likely improve the PP.
Ya, you are probably right with Howard wanting a long-term deal. And I agree with your projected progression from Mrazek, that he will probably be the backup in 15/16, and continue to play more and more, until he is our starter.
I still think Monster will be back though. I would rather go with him, then some other UFA goalie out there, because Monster knows the system, and he exceeded my expectations this season. You can't ask your backup to do more than Monster did this year.
From Mlive,
"Barring an offer from another team to be their No. 1 goaltender, Gustavsson wants to return for another season – and perhaps many more – with the Red Wings, who want to retain the unrestricted free agent as their backup behind Jimmy Howard.
They just have to reach an agreement.
"It's been really fun, a great group of guys and I see a lot of potential here so yeah, I can see it," Gustavsson said Tuesday after the Red Wings cleaned out their lockers following a first-round playoff loss to the Boston Bruins."
What is a realistic way to get more RH d on our pairings? We have 5 that are penciled in long term. Kronner, Smith, Dekeyser, E, Ouellet. Surely 1 has to go right?
Man that's a tough call. I'd probably part with E or Ouellet right now. Smiths' ceiling is just too high and Kronner is our clear #1. Dekesyer is a huge body and plays just very solidly.
I watched his second half of the season and his playoffs and I might agree with you if I didn't see his potential as being just so much higher than what Dekesyer could end up as. Ericsson is pretty much a known quantity at this point. I still see Smith as being able to impress us within the next couple of years.
Please Babcock! PP time for Smitty!
Really? He has the highest ceiling and looked the best vs Boston. Especially when we lack puck movers. E is good but seems more replaceable.
I don't disagree about his potential. I just look at how he's used and it looks to me that Babcock has made his mind up about him.
Ericsson could end up being the odd guy out if Ouellet excels at the NHL level, while not as big I see Ouellet playing a shut down role similar to the role E fills.
Vatican Roulette
Baile de Los Locos
I'd sell high on Smith. After that, Ouellet.
I'd keep Sproul, Backman, Jensen, Marchenko.
EDIT: I'd also be ok with Boyle for a year or two, help the young guys with puck movement. No, he isn't a top line guy, but paired with someone like Ericsson, he'd be ok.
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Vatican Roulette
Baile de Los Locos
Ericsson won't be the "odd guy out" until the Wings have someone with his size to replace him. He's our largest defenseman by far, and someone that can play against the bigger forwards of the East.
Run the Jewels
Make Detroit Great Again
Honestly it's not entirely clear how good he is defensively. He had great possession numbers but the save percentage with him on the ice was pretty bad. The Jets have many problems so it could be a bit like saying Marian Hossa is a terrible two-way player based on his plus/minus in Atlanta.
I'd be willing to take a chance based mostly on how badly we need a net front guy and a right handed offensive d-man. Our bottom 3 can all be replaced internally. With that being said we know Babs loves net front guys and that is Buf's strongest asset by far. He'd bump Abby off the power play and make the power play that much better.
As far as cost goes, I'd be willing to send Smith who is just starting to come into his own. Smith's corsi on the power play was awful which suggests he's not your typical d-man who can play on the point. However he's a first round pick who had great 5v5 offensive stats, he can skate and he's a physical player.
I'd also throw in a depth guy, whether that be Kindl, Almqvist, Lashoff or Andersson. A draft pick 3rd round or later is fine as well. Buf is signed for two more years so we'd have some time to see how he fits in and by that time we should know just how good our defensive prospects are.
Run the Jewels
Make Detroit Great Again
The way I am looking at it is offensive dman-defensive dman pairings. Most of our defensive d are left d/LHD.
So with that being the case Sproul has been at the top of my dman prospects since last year. Marchenko looked good so he's also in the mix for sure.
Based on Babs' comments I think both Marchenko and Sproul have a good shot at getting extended playing time in Detroit next year. At that point it's up to them to show they belong in the NHL.
I could live with that I think. Future would essentially be:
Kronner, Sproul
Dekeyser, Marchenko
Big E, Jensen/Backman
Too small of a team. We will get crushed by Boston and then have them laugh at us while we are on the ground.
Heaton
Moderator
Chicago has more size than us. We don't have a Bickel or seabrook. Plus their skilled players are actually skilled.
The key is grit.
Boston isn't a very big team...I believe they are actually in the leagues bottom half both in average height and weight, but they are gritty as can be and have that grit on all 4 lines.
They play a "big" game, regardless of their actual size.
Chicago is also a smaller team, and they don't really play all that physical a game. They remind me of the Wings when they were at their best...Not overly big or physical, but not at all afraid of taking hits or playing in the tough area's of the rink.
Yep...every time I watch the Wings I always wonder why we couldn't get a Datsyuk or Zetterberg with some skill
Grit is one issue we need to address, and keeping Glendening/Miller around isn't doing anything to solve it. A guy like Mitch Callahan is a sparkplug who has shown steady improvement through his overall game every single season. This fact alone is what makes me want him on the team. Not a big guy, but he plays fearless, won't back down and will stick up for teammates.
One other option for the bottom 6 is a guy like Mike Brown. Big, tough, excellent PKer. Free agent pick up for a good price. I'm just worried that if we signed him we'd turn him into Tootoo 2.0
Complacency is another issue to address. Too many times we've seen this roster half-ass it through games.
I think we should get shake things up and get rid of some guys that we've been loyal to for years. (Franzen)
The wings' management need to realize that in the cap era it's a "What have you done for me lately?" mentality that keeps you competitive. 5 years of lackluster production and injury riddled seasons is enough from Franzen. Ericsson is another I'd consider trading, as well. I've never been overly impressed by him and think we could do better for a #2. Plus it seems like whenever he gets a hangnail he's out for a month.
Trading a long-term contract sends a message to the locker room that you better perform, or you're gone.
One other option for the bottom 6 is a guy like Mike Brown. Big, tough, excellent PKer. Free agent pick up for a good price. I'm just worried that if we signed him we'd turn him into Tootoo 2.0
Complacency is another issue to address. Too many times we've seen this roster half-ass it through games.
I think we should get shake things up and get rid of some guys that we've been loyal to for years. (Franzen)
The wings' management need to realize that in the cap era it's a "What have you done for me lately?" mentality that keeps you competitive. 5 years of lackluster production and injury riddled seasons is enough from Franzen. Ericsson is another I'd consider trading, as well. I've never been overly impressed by him and think we could do better for a #2. Plus it seems like whenever he gets a hangnail he's out for a month.
Trading a long-term contract sends a message to the locker room that you better perform, or you're gone.
Retire91
Stevey Y you our Guy
- May 31, 2010
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In complete agreement. The wings have skill but not enough to compete with top teams in a 7 game series and some of that skill is hitting major decline age. The team has maybe 1-2 grit on a scale of 1-10 10 being the highest. Wings players are either skilled or grit the wings have no players like Marchand who brings both. Zetterberg has a kind of grit, a determination and overcoming adversity kind of grit but not a physically intimidating kind of grit. Abby has grit but practcally no skill. You can't have top liners that are either or. When you have someone on the top line that brings little to no offense its trouble no matter how much grit he has.
Babcock tries to sprinkle in grit with skill but the problem is the gritty players are bringing zero skill for the skilled players to work with or they are too past their prime to carry the play.
Babcock tries to sprinkle in grit with skill but the problem is the gritty players are bringing zero skill for the skilled players to work with or they are too past their prime to carry the play.
I couldn't have said it better myself. We need a few gritty players that can pop in 15 goals to sprinkle in. We don't need to become a huge team because Montreal isn't a huge team but that got some people on that team that are gritty and also can score.
I am thinking this might be better for now
Kronner, Smith
Dekeyser, Jensen
Big E, Marchenko
See how Jensen and Marchenko do and then make decisions. Trade one of Smith, Dekeyser or Big E to bring up Ouellet if we can handle that many young guys. Then we will can assess these guys and have time to make decisions on Sproul and Backman.
Kronner, Smith
Dekeyser, Jensen
Big E, Marchenko
See how Jensen and Marchenko do and then make decisions. Trade one of Smith, Dekeyser or Big E to bring up Ouellet if we can handle that many young guys. Then we will can assess these guys and have time to make decisions on Sproul and Backman.
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