Nick Lidstrom, my lord and saviour.
The captain of my favourite team, the leader since Yzerman left us, is now done.
Lidstrom and Detroit management held a press conference this past Thursday announcing that his career is now over, he is hanging up the skates for good.
The 42 year old has won basically everything there is to win, and is arguably the 2nd best defenseman of all time, behind Bobby Orr.
His career, in terms of success, might be the most successful of any single player in the history of the NHL.
So after 20 years played, he has never missed the playoffs. 4 Stanley Cups, 1 Conn Smythe trophy, 7 Norris trophies, Olympic Gold, World Championship Gold, and countless All-Star Team appearances. (both in the NHL and internationally) He was also the first ever European player to captain a team to a Stanley Cup.
Lidstrom has more hardware than your local Rona.
He will be sorely missed from the Wings blue line this coming season, as his calming presence and leadership are irreplaceable.
I just want to say Thank you to Nick, on what has been a tremendously successful career. Enjoy your time off. You've earned it.
You can watch the presser in its entirety here:
This retirement is leading to lots of questions as to what the Wings will do this coming Summer. There are many holes that this team has to fill in order to be successful and compete for the Stanley Cup in the coming years.
With the departure of Lidstrom, and probable departure of Stuart, the Wings D looks like this:
Kronwall - White
Ericsson - Quincey
Kindl - Smith
That is very raw and has no real backbone or steadiness in my eyes. Too many smallish puck-moving types, and not enough calm decision makers, or big bodied defenders who will lay their body on the line every game.
In a perfect world, Detroit will sign Ryan Suter on July 1st to a longterm contract, securing his rights for the foreseeable future. Suter could be the new #1 for this team, bringing his steady play over from Nashville. The fact that he plays for Nashville is cause for concern, however, as they are inner-division rivals. Its not so common to see a guy jump to a team within the same division, let alone conference. It has happened before, though. So the Wings will have to wait and see on him.
Suter could fill the #1 spot on Detroit's blueline for years to come.
Another alternative is signing Bryan Allen, a big crease clearing Dman, who can provide an intimidating presence for opponents and help correct our mediocre penalty kill.
Allen showing he can be both rough and tumble.
Trading could be another route Ken Holland chooses to take this Summer. Kindl is a guy who could have some success, but likely won't see it in Detroit, as he is always getting scratched in favour of other players. His talents are not being fully recognized here, and I think his ceiling could be a solid #4/good #5 d-man. He is a pretty smooth skater, with good offensive instincts. His defensive awareness could use some tweaking and polishing, but he has the tools to become a good 2nd pair guy, if he had a responsible partner to play with. I feel he would be a solid piece of trade bait for Holland to dangle to acquire an upgrade.
Kindl; is Hockeytown going to continue to be Hometown?
By packaging Kindl, a draft pick, and one of our depth forwards, maybe Kenny could find a nice 2nd pairing defenseman to replace Stuart. Say Kindl, Drew Miller, and a 2nd/3rd round pick in the 2013 draft. Although it is not an awesome package, the Wings have a lot of cap space and could maybe acquire a defenseman who is under performing in terms of production vs. contract. One example would be Keith Ballard of the Canucks. I think that they like him, though, so it might take more to pry him outta there.
The forwards are also kind of in flux on this team, as we have a lot of guys already under contract, but clearly are in need of some upgrades.
Zach Parise is a big WANT for the Red Wings. They need a player with his drive and determination to help spark their offense. There are too many forwards who play non-chalant all the time, who are content to meander throughout the duration of their shift (I'm looking at you, Franzen).
Would Parise leave Jersey & finals trip for a spot on the Wings' roster?
But with the Devils currently in the Stanley Cup finals, would Parise leave? It doesn't seem overly likely, to me. He is the captain and one of their main players. The Devils will do everything in their power to retain him this summer, making it harder on Detroit to acquire him.
At the end of the season, the Wings forwards looked like this:
Franzen - Datsyuk - Bertuzzi
Filppula - Zetterberg - Hudler(UFA)
Miller - Helm(RFA) - Cleary
Abdelkader(RFA) - Emmerton - Holmstrom(UFA)
The depth clearly isn't there, and it showed in the playoffs. For me, the best case "realistic" scenario would be:
Parise/acquisition - Datsyuk - Bertuzzi
Reason: Dats and new player carry Bertuzzi's weight and maximize his offensive abilities.
Filppula - Zetterberg - Franzen
Reason: Solid 2nd line in terms of offense and defense. All players are fairly reliable all over the ice.
Nyquist - Helm - Eaves
Reason: Pretty fast line. Can be relied on to bring a bit of jam and offense, as well as being defensively responsible.
Abdelkader - Emmerton/new faceoff specialist - Cleary
Reason: The leftovers/ grind line. Basically just some penalty killers and guys who would do anything to help the team win games.
I've left out Miller, Mursak, Hudler and Holmstrom, as well as potentially Emmerton. Holmstrom is rumored to be returning, but I think it best if Kenny gives him the Maltby treatment and basically forces him out, if he doesn't retire outright this summer. Hudler can move on to another team. I think he will price himself out of Kenny's range this offseason. Mursak and Emmerton will compete for spots, but are ultimately replaceable. I really like Mursak, but he needs to prove himself in training camp, because he hasn't been deserving of a spot yet. Miller I think can be used as trade bait after having a pretty successful season this past year.
In a dream world, Wings would stack up a bit more via trades/free agency, but I don't think Holland & Co. would want to strap themselves down too much financially if they were already acquiring Parise and Suter. Even either of them + upgraded depth could be costly. It might be best to wait and see what options are available throughout the season via trade than tie yourself down in July on some undeserving free agents. Names that pop out are Semin and Boyes as potentially irresponsible and knee-jerk type signings.
The goaltending should be fine with Howard and MacDonald holding down the pipes.
Lots to come in the next month or two for Detroit. Stay tuned to my blog to see what will come to be.
If you have any thoughts/comments/criticism/insight/troll material/hateful drivel/bedtime stories/etc. Please feel free to share in the comments section, thanks!
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