Wow. Craig Custance has provided more Wings-related info this summer than all of the DD’s combined in the past year.  Two years?  Ever?  Has he supplanted Bruce Macleod as the anti-digger?  Or because Custance is a national writer now does he deserve his own title?  Anyway, keep up the great work Craig!

Posted by yawt from norcal on 08/28/08 at 03:53 PM ET

I’m ok with Pav and Z being split. I don’t like the idea of Fil on 3rd line, but he serves as a better center than Cleary. Yet as we’ve seen before, Uncle Mike switches things around. I’m sure by game 10 we’ll see different lines.

I’m curious to see if the first PP unit gets loaded up. Personally, I like having a body like Homer and Franzen on each.

Posted by Nate A from Dark side of the moon on 08/29/08 at 08:42 AM ET

Let’s be real here.  We’re going to get 2 or 3 games into the season and these will be the first 3 lines:

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Holmstrom
Franzen - Filppula - Hossa
Cleary - Draper - Maltby

And if Franzen can do what he did last year, the top two lines will just murder opposing teams.

I for one don’t like the idea of splitting Z and Datsyuk up.  It made more sense last year than this, if you ask me… With the above configuration you have two top scoring lines that also are very solid defensively, and still keep a soldi 3rd unit in tact.  With the lines Mike is talking about the 2nd and 3rd lines have glaring defensive weak points (Hulder and Samuelsson).  I don’t like the idea of a 3rd line with a glaring defensive weakensss.

Posted by Primis on 08/29/08 at 10:29 AM ET

Well, glory hallelujah. Happy is at least going to get a shot at second-line duty. It’ll be interesting to see if he can parlay that into a near-30-goal season.

With the lines Mike is talking about the 2nd and 3rd lines have glaring defensive weak points (Hulder and Samuelsson).  I don’t like the idea of a 3rd line with a glaring defensive weakensss.

I’m going to have to disagree with you, Primis. First, Sammy isn’t even close to being a defensive liability. In fact, it’s probably his greatest strength. His real liability is to any Wings player standing on either side of the net when he takes one of his wicked slap shots.

As for Happy, I think he made huge strides as a defensive player during the playoffs last year. By the time the Finals started, I didn’t view him as a defensive liability at all. And with the off-season work he’s doing with Cheli’s group out in La La Land, I expect him to be much harder to knock off the puck as well as much tougher around the net.

I guess we’ll get a chance to see in about 3-1/2 weeks when the first preseason game is played. (Man, that makes me grin from ear to ear just thinking about it being so close.)

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 08/29/08 at 11:18 AM ET

I agree with OTC. Sammy and Huds aren’t liabilities. They may not be great + players, but they should work out to about even. Huds used to be slow and lazy in his own end, but I think he understands the need to work away from the puck now.

Of the first 3 lines suggested by Babcock, Homer is the only one who might be a liability in the defensive end. While not especially quick or mobile on D, he is generally in position and will support when the puck gets jammed up on the half-boards.

Posted by Nate A from Dark side of the moon on 08/29/08 at 12:03 PM ET

One other point, if Babs’ preliminary lines stay intact, the Wings will have, arguably, the best fourth line in the League in Draper, Maltby and Kopecky/McCarty. I mean, how many fourth lines are there in the league that can legitimately be put up against almost any top line in the league?

Just a guess, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Babs viewed his lineups as two first lines and two third lines. If he gives the top two lines equal amounts of ice time and then gives the bottom two lines equal amounts of ice time, the Wings are going to be very hard to play against in the third periods of games.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 08/29/08 at 12:58 PM ET