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Causing The Least Amount of Damage

by IwoCPO on 09/17/07 at 11:54 AM ET
Comments (9)

Aaron Downey will beat the hell out of you, but apparently can’t hit Keith Tkachuk in the ass with a puck from four feet away.  Brent Sopel can blast a puck by the best goalies in the league, but his efforts in TC showed us he’ll just as likely give it away quicker than Bubba’s sister at a family reunion.  Igor Grigorenko has all sorts of talent and “hockey sense” but can’t skate for twenty seconds without pulling out the puffer. 

And so it looks like Uncles Kenny and Mikey have to make a few decisions based on potential and who’s going to hurt the team the least.

Those are the three most intriguing names being bantered about as possible Wings, but their strengths may not be valid enough to overcome their weaknesses.

Babcock played Sopel with Lidstrom a good bit in TC.  Bruce MacLeod sees that as a sign that he’s being given every chance to succeed.  Can’t argue with that, but what player wouldn’t look very good with Lidstrom?  If the Wings really wanted to see what kind of defensive skills he has, it seems a more logical place to view him would be beside Lilja.  Perhaps a frightening experience for any coach, but an eye opener. 

“Obviously, he has offensive ability,” said Detroit coach Mike Babcock of Sopel. “What we need to see from him is a safe, steady guy who makes good decisions with the puck and chips in offensively when he gets an opportunity. We’re an offensive team in a lot of ways, but we don’t take risks.”

A few things have proven Sopel’s not that safe, steady guy.  First, and most obviously, he doesn’t have a frigging job.  That, in itself, says a lot.  But, if he’s that good offensively a move Holland made over the summer may just be the best thing that’s happened to Brent Sopel. I’m talking about Brian Rafalski.  Despite reports that Babcock may be planning to pair those two (Lids/Rafalski) up, he may be going in a different direction if he keeps Sopel.

Rafalski, by all accounts, is as responsible as Lidstrom defensively. I didn’t say as talented, just the same mindset.  If Sopel plays with Lidstrom, and Rafalski shifts to the second pairing to bail out Kronwall, disaster may be averted.

And so, I’ll bet Sopel stays.

Aaraon Downey.  You have to know Mike Babcock likes him because Babcock probably watches UFA more than he does hockey.  His eyes glaze when the gloves drop and something tells me he wouldn’t mind seeing a few more Wings throw some from time to time.  The question is, of course, do the Wings have enough offensive firepower to sacrifice a skater for a brawler? 

Khan(!)/Mlive

“I just got to go out there and bang, crash, create energy and have a willingness to stick up for my teammates,’’ Downey said. “I definitely have a reputation around the league to do that. If I can just show them I’m 100 percent healthy and can go out there and do that, hopefully I can earn a spot.’’

“We’ll see if he can play with enough tempo to play for us,’’ Wings coach Mike Babcock said. “If you have someone to keep the flies off (an enforcer) that would be great. In saying that, you got to be able to play. We want to play four lines, you have to be able to contribute.’’

Do you keep Downey in reserve for certain teams? Calgary, San Jose, the poultry?  Unfortunately the teams who have the ability to pound us also have some offense the Wings may have to match.  And...Detroit hung physically tough with them in the playoffs last year without a player like Downey there to keep certain manners in check.  Plus, Dallas Drake is along for the ride now.

Sorry, but nope. Don’t see Downey making the club because…

...Meech is going to stay and, yeah, I think Grigorenko will too.  And if not Grigorenko, then Ellis.  And if not Ellis, then I’ve got a hunch the Nouvel kid Mursak may be a dark horse.

Filed in: | Abel to Yzerman | Permalink
 Tags: Babcock, Downey, Grigorenko, Holland, Rafalski, Sopel,

Comments

I think Hartigan would be the darkhorse.  Mursak will be sent down via the “better served with more ice time in more situations, than four minutes on the fourth line in Detroit” excuse. I think in two weeks Ellis will be a lock in Detroit, Grigorenko will be with the Griffins on an extended conditioning stint and then re-evaluated in November, and both Meech and Sopel will be fighting for the last spot, and if all things are eqaul than the wings will lean toward their own homegrown Meech over Sopel.

Posted by Jdunc from Flint, MI on 09/17/07 at 11:48 AM ET

still no mention of Cullimore from anyone..

not mcleod or kahn, etc..

doesn’t seem like he’s making much of an impression

Posted by ar_phar on 09/17/07 at 12:31 PM ET

Some of the Chicago fans had taken to calling him “Culliless.” I expect they had reasons.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 09/17/07 at 01:17 PM ET

A little off topic, but in terms of minimizing damage, it looks like we may have dodged a bullet with the loss of brittle-bones Schneider.  Doesn’t look like he’s aging well in the new NHL as he managed to snap his ankle against the Kings. Between that and the wrist at the end of last season, I’m liking Rafalski for #23 better and better.

Posted by Gabriel from San Diego, CA on 09/17/07 at 01:34 PM ET

Okay, so Sopel may not be the best option for a stay-at-home defenseman, but seriously, could he be any worse than Lilja???  I’ll tell you what I think should happen (but won’t, because i can’t stand Lilja).  Like this article says, Sopel can be paired with Lids and Rafalski can pair up with Kronner, with Lebs and Cheli as the third pair of course.  That would give us a balance of offensive-minded d-men (Sopel and Kronner) to be paired with probably the two best defensive-minded d-men (Lids and Rafalski) in our top 4.  This way, Meech gets to make the club like he should.  Then we get rid of Lilja’s slow, sorry ass and let Kindl be the first guy called up in case of injury.  I think our defensive corps immediately becomes better with Lilja gone, and his $1 million in cap space comes back to us.  I don’t see Sopel playing on this team being a bad thing, and besides, Lids made Markov look good, he just won’t have to do as much to make Sopel look just as good.

Posted by torango66 from Columbia, TN on 09/17/07 at 01:35 PM ET

Hartigan?  Is he gritty?  This spot is for a 13th, 14th forward role, I think Downey has a fighting chance, pardon the pun, because he’ll be league minimum, knows his role and will give some extra chutzpah to other Wings players.  I love Drake also, but let’s say another Draper/Lemieux incident happens, who do the Wings have to keep the other teams honest?  Say what you will about Bertuzzi, but to a man the Wings players all talked about how much they loved having him around, even if he was on the bench at 50% effectiveness, and the Wigs players played tougher as a result.  Look at the Calgary series and the way Pahneuf was neutralized.

Posted by bababooey on 09/17/07 at 02:02 PM ET

If another incident a la Lemieux happenned, I only see Lilja, Maltby, Drake doing something about it...(maybe the goalies too!!!).

That being said, i saw Downey play for MTL the last two years and nobody is afraid of him...nobody…

I’d prefer Ellis or Grigorenko…

Find another goon somewhere, bring back Big Snake.

Posted by Luc on 09/17/07 at 05:00 PM ET

Forget goons. Put scorpions in their water bottles!

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 09/17/07 at 06:43 PM ET

My opinions after reading MacLeod’s Red/White game analysis: 
Rafalski — on the team, even if he had scored all of the opponent’s goals into his own net. 
Grigorenko — one good shift per game isn’t nearly good enough. 
Grigorenko to GR, Ellis and Meech in, Sopel maybe.

Disclaimer:  I reserve the right to change my opinions often.

Re the scorpion idea:  I can support it but I wonder… that’s a high-risk job; does the scorpion-putter salary count against the cap???

Posted by BobTheZee on 09/18/07 at 12:04 AM ET

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