Unfriendly Ghost
Kasper
This is an interesting point, though, because I think it's the organization's viewpoint. There's sort of a standard for small players where unless they're the next D/Z, they have to wait.So the two options are "NHL capable" and "the answer to the Wings problems?"
That's like saying "because Tatar isn't Datsyuk, he's basically Emmerton."
They can have Zetterberg, Datsyuk, and Brunner as small skill guys... and that's all. If you're smaller or less skilled than those guys, you can't make the lineup. That's because Z and D need big guys to play alongside them and because the third line and fourth lines are designed to be defensive in nature.
Realistically, where are Tatar and Nyquist going to go? They're not allowed to play on the 3rd line, whether that's Babcock's call or Holland's (I think it's both), but they're not allowed to play on the top 2 lines either. The 4th line is out of the question. What's more, where is Jarnkrok going to go if Filppula stays?
I think the Wings' lineup is completely hostile to more small skill guys. There's nowhere to put them based on this team design. The question then is, is this a smart move? I'd be concerned about next year, because there will be 3 small skill guys knocking on the door. I don't think the Wings organization can afford to say no to all 3 of them. Something will have to change between now and then.
and as final note, let's not pretend we're talking about Jiri Hudlers. Tatar can skate very well. Nyquist skates very well. Jarnkrok is a good skater. These are mobile guys who could have a scoring role at the NHL level and still get back to support the D. and they could all do it right now.