Okay I thought I had the lines figured out that I wanted for the playoffs for the Red Wings. But after watching Ville Leino's 1st NHL goal, I have to tell you, I want to see more. They say he's a step slow, but he has skill. The thing when the playoffs come around is that you have to have enough grit, mixed in with skill to make a run for the cup. Some reports say Leino has been trying to add some grit to his game in Grand Rapids, I'll have to see for myself if it's enough to make a difference in the playoffs.
The problem the Wings have is that there are a few players on this team who haven't played good this season. Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, Dan Cleary, Valterri Fillpula, Nicklas Kronwall, and Chris Osgood all have had sub par seasons. When deciding on playoff lines Draper is a must because of his faceoff percentage. The rest of those listed also need to be in the lineup with the hope that they pick up their play, everyone except Maltby. He just doesn't bring enough on the ice anymore.
Because the changes I'd like to see probably won't happen for the playoffs, I'll just repost the lines this team has to have next year, including some tough free agent decisions.
Fillpula Datsyuk Holmstrom
Franzen Zetterberg Hudler
Leino Helm Cleary
Kopecky Draper Abdelkader
Lidstrom Rafalski
Kronwall Stuart
Ericcson Lilia
Osgood
Howard
1 comment:
i think hudler and kopecky will be gone and they'll somehow find a way to get franzen and hossa back. i see franzen getting a deal around 4 million/year, then hossa will sign a contract similar to zetterberg's, where it will be for 9, maybe 10 years (making him 40 at the end) and they'll front load the deal and have flexibility at the end.
i could see hossa taking 10 years, 58-60 million (he said he'd take a discount to stay) where he'd get 1 million each of the last 2 years. if the wings could get him to take that, it would be an incredible steal. the zetterberg deal has set the bar. he's obviously in line to be the next captain so no one is getting more money per year than him. hossa has shown his desire to win and a winning environment are most important to him.
hudler has played a little over his head this year i think. he'll get a big contract from another team via trade. there just isn't enough room for kopeczky with the young guys coming up. samuelson is gone, chelios (obviously), maybe even lebda, too. filpula has been a HUGE disappointment to me. cleary hasn't been as bad, but he could be better. draper's really fallen off this year and maltby has stunk for going on 3 years now.
the tough thing is guys like hudler, kopeczky, filpula and lebda don't suck. they have legit talent. look at kyle quincey for the kings. he's actually having a pretty good year. better than i thought he would. now you have guys coming up like helm, leino, ericsson, kindl, abdelkader - these guys are gonna play. they can't stay in grand rapids forever.
the biggest concern, just like we talked about before the year is goaltending. osgood is near the end. i wouldn't be suprised to see them try and do something at the deadline. especially since they have played like crap lately. they can't go out and get a big money guy, but conklin isn't the answer either. it's a problem and the defense isn't helping out.
Post a Comment