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Matthias Brome is headed to Detroit, and the rules on Taxi Squads have been clarified. We’re getting close to on ice play for the first time in over 9 months.
Yzerman was able to let some players go by non renewal, and even a buyout on Abdelkader. With fresh faces coming in it will be interesting to see who plays well together and who may be bumped off of the depth chart. I’ve done some chewing and put together my own thoughts on what the forward lines and defensive pairs could look like.
With the current lineup, I’m putting together a “hoped for” lineup at this point. I’m also trying to be realistic. I still hope that Rasmussen and Svechnikov can put something together, but I’ll put Svechnikov as the odd man out for now. It’s impossible to know for sure, because he’s lost so much time to injury. Rasmussen has to earn his way in, but I think he’ll get at least a shot. Putting him on the forth line with Helm and Glendening where he’d be a winger (Glenny much better at faceoffs, important for a grinder).
Your can see I left LARMANZZI intact. I don’t see a reason not to. For the second line, I’d prefer Namnestikov at center over Fabbri (though there was real interest in having Fabbri center) and Zadina on the right wing. Zadina has really made an impression with his shot and ability to get open. I have Gagner centering Brome and Ryan. If this happens, this could be a nice surprise line. Limited minutes, but Ryan certainly has experience shooting and Brome can work the corners and dish the puck. Gagner was our most creative player after he came over. Made plays just inside the blue line, stopping short, dishing to throw the defensemen off a bit. Any of these three could be used on the second line if there was injury trouble.
It seems a long shot that Filppula and Nielsen would both be scratched, but not impossible. The extended time off either helped recover from some injuries or made players lose a step. If Svechnikov is scratched (and healthy) I would expect some sort of rotation with Rasmussen until one or both solidifies themselves as a player and bumps someone else off the list. Helm and Glendening are getting to the point where injuries make start to take over, so I do expect a good deal of shifting on and off of IR this year. It will be 10 months or more since this team played competitive hockey. Bumps and bruises are almost guaranteed.
Forward LInes:
Bertuzzi - Larkin - Mantha (Larmanzzi)
Fabbri - Namnestikov - Zadina
Brome - Gagner - Ryan
Helm - Glendening - Rasmussen
Out of the lineup - Filppula, Svechnikov, Nielsen, Erne, G. Smith (Taxi)
For defense, it may be a bit of a pipe dream, but I hope that Dekeyser has been able to rest and rehab to the point of being in the lineup consistently. He and Hronek are familiar with each other, and Hronek (at this point) is our best NHL defenseman. Merrill and Stecher are an interesting pair. There was a lot of surprise from Vancouver fans that Yzerman was able to get Stecher in the lineup. Merrill is coming off of playing in Vegas, and they’ve had some really good defensive structure at times. Nemeth and Staal are an upgrade from the merry go round of IR that was had in Big E and Daley. I still feel like Lindstrom has work to do, but can swap into the bottom pairing at any time. Cholowski will get a shot at some point, but unless he comes to camp a man possessed and ready to make his mark, I can see him sitting in the box and rotating with someone else.
Defensive Pairings:
Dekeyser - Hronek
Merrill- Stecher
Nemeth - Staal
Out of the lineup - Cholowski, Biega, Lindstrom (Taxi)
All Greiss and Bernier have to do to give the team a better showing than last year is have a GAA of less than 4. With some more maturity on the ice in Merrill and Staal, I do hope to see pucks cleared out instead of being T’d up for opposing forwards.
Goal
Greiss (1a)
Bernier(1b)
Out of the lineup - Larsson (Taxi)
These are just some thoughts. I’d love to see where you all are at and what you hope to see when the Wings hit the ice again! It’s exciting to think that in 10 days, there will be practice squads. It’s been far too long.
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