How good is Blake in the new NHL? He was an old school bruiser defenseman. He has the skills, but does he have the speed to keep up with the game these days? I haven't seen him in a while.
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How good is Blake in the new NHL? He was an old school bruiser defenseman. He has the skills, but does he have the speed to keep up with the game these days? I haven't seen him in a while.
I'm pretty sure that's still his style. Not typical of new NHL, but still an asset. He's 38, I think, and still somewhat productive. It's hard to take his +/- seriously because he's been on a horrible Kings team. He has been their leader (or top two) in time on ice forever. I think he's out there 22 or 23 minutes per game. I'm not saying he would come in and be the guy with Lidstrom, but I'm quite certain he would be an upgrade over, say, Lilja.
Also, the "new" NHL, has it really taken over the postseason? Blake would certainly be an upgrade at some level. But, again, that's my question. Enough of an upgrade to give up young talent? I'm not so sure.
So he'd probably be on line 2 with Kronwall? Then Chelios and Lilja/Lebda on line 3? I could deal with that, but I don't want to give up the young guys to do that really. How much is he making? That could be the key thing here. Before, we could take on any contract we wanted and not worry, not so much anymore.
I haven't seen anything on Blake, but I believe you, Jeth.
What I have seen is rumors of these two:
Sundin Rumors are heating up, and will get hotter as long as the Leafs continue to struggle. The leadership over there is talking like it's up to Holland to pull the trigger. They're talking about Mats like he's already gone.
Even more interesting is the Marian Hossa rumors. The Thrashers might be in selling mode come deadline time, and if you watched the game last night you know that Hossa lit the Wings up for a hat trick. He just turned 29, so he's still pretty young.
But what would it take to get those guys? If Hossa still had 2-3 years left on his deal, I'd be more willing to trade a few assets. Of the young guys, I don't want to se Filpulla going ANYWHERE. He's really been having a breakout year and he could turn into the next Datsyuk or Zetterberg for us.
I trust Kenny Holland will know what to give up and what not to give up.
I'm also a huge fan of Franzen. Kenny knows how to construct a team, and I doubt he'll screw anything up.
Given what it would cost us to acquire Sundin or Hossa (some combination of Filppula, Hudler, Kindl + prospect and picks), I say pass on those guys. And given their FA status, it wouldn't make much sense for us to be trading away our future.
I would much rather see us go after a Top 4 D (Kubina? Gill? Foote?)
When is the NHL trade deadline?
February 26th @ 3pm.
This little losing streak may be good for the Wings. That way they might feel the need to acquire some firepower.