I think you can plug Nyquist on the line and potentially be better off. Hudler is far from irreplaceable.
Or you could plug in Nyquist into the lineup and then drop Hudler or him down to line 3 and have much better scoring depth. I dont see why it has to be Nyquist OR Hudler scenario. Why cant it be Nyquist AND Hudler.
Or you could plug in Nyquist into the lineup and then drop Hudler or him down to line 3 and have much better scoring depth. I dont see why it has to be Nyquist OR Hudler scenario. Why cant it be Nyquist AND Hudler.
I dont see why it has to be Nyquist OR Hudler scenario. Why cant it be Nyquist AND Hudler.
Depends on what else is available. Hudler might be the best option. Or maybe things really fall the Wings way and he's expendable.
And I think a larger, ignored factor, is what Hudler wants. Does he want to get a bigger contract and be a locked in top line player? Maybe he's ready to be "the man" rather than ride shotgun. He could find that on a handful of teams. On the Wings, he'd have to have a contract that would make sense if he were to play the 3rd line.
And I think a larger, ignored factor, is what Hudler wants. Does he want to get a bigger contract and be a locked in top line player? Maybe he's ready to be "the man" rather than ride shotgun. He could find that on a handful of teams. On the Wings, he'd have to have a contract that would make sense if he were to play the 3rd line.
This. If Hudler wants to be a guaranteed first-liner, then he's going to have to leave Detroit. If he doesn't mind being the 2nd/3rd line tweener, then he fits here.
For some reason, I can see him being perfect for the Islanders. He'd easily be one of their best forwards.
You don't need big fast guys to win in the NHL and the Red Wings are proof. Not to mention big and fast aren't synonymous with each other. Until the Red Wings can't win with their "small and soft" Euros, why fix what ain't broken. We were easily one of the top 3 teams in the NHL the entire, hell we lead the NHL for part of the season, until injuries struck. If they are preforming like top six players are suppose to why fault them for being small. You know Datsyuk isn't very big either, and people aren't giving Hudler enough credit i have seen him battle with some of the biggest guys in the NHL and come out on top. It's not as much about size as it is position. Get over it.
so what has this team done with small forwards the past few years against bigger forwards in the playoffs. how about getting bounced out of the playoffs early. Dont even bring up datsyuk bc his skill is way different the huds so it doesnt matter what his size is and the fact the pavs is faster and better defensively and works along the boards so its irrelevant. bring in size or speed not necessarily both in one player to help out z, fil and pav for there lack of size and/or speed. plus we dont need another soft player along the boards or another passer. we need people who will finish and or punish the opposing dmen.
were has huds been the last couple weeks when the games were getting tighter and more like playoffs and now in the playoffs. he hasnt done anything. its time to move on
so what has this team done with small forwards the past few years against bigger forwards in the playoffs. how about getting bounced out of the playoffs early. Dont even bring up datsyuk bc his skill is way different the huds so it doesnt matter what his size is and the fact the pavs is faster and better defensively and works along the boards so its irrelevant. bring in size or speed not necessarily both in one player to help out z, fil and pav for there lack of size and/or speed. plus we dont need another soft player along the boards or another passer. we need people who will finish and or punish the opposing dmen.
were has huds been the last couple weeks when the games were getting tighter and more like playoffs and now in the playoffs. he hasnt done anything. its time to move on
In his last couple of weeks of the regular season he had 4 goals and 3 assists in 8 games (points in 5 out of the 8 games).............
In his last 18 games of the regular season he had 11 points. That's a 50 point pace over a full season, right on par with his season numbers.......
.....In the past two weeks he scored our only goal in the Florida game. He scored our only goal in the Nashville game. He assisted on our only goal in the Devils game. i'd say that's doing something...wouldn't you?
In the playoffs he doesn't have a point yet but both top lines aren't really doing much altogether.
He can't carry the mail but he's a solid complimentary player. For whatever reason he just hasn't found his niche in Detroit. He bounces around from the 1st-3rd lines and has skill but he's simply never found a role he could sink his teeth into. I take that back, he's been excellent as the second guy in our shootout rotation. There's got to be a team out there where he'd be a good fit and value I just think that he'll always struggle to find that spot with the Red Wings unless we stack the lineup like we did back when we had Hossa for that one season and we had a really good third line. How likely is that to happen again?
I'd rather get a player who may be a touch less skilled but can skate and forecheck and who's game is better suited for playoff hockey. Detroit is the only team in the playoffs with a 5'7 runt with no speed in their top 6. I'm watching series like Sharks-Blues...there is no place for small and slow in that kind of game where the tempo and physicality of the play is so high.
I'm pretty sure our prospect could fill his void in 2 years or less. I've seen him make some pretty bad defensive mistakes this year as well. He is very slow, and small. I believe our team needs to add size and I don't like the way he performs during the shootout. He just squares up and takes a normal shot ever single time.
I will be completely ok if he goes somewhere else. I have a feeling that if signed again he wont put up a 20+ goal season unless his contract is up for renegotiation.
Franzen also had 11 PP goals, and played a great deal of PP time with Datsyuk and tons of ES time with Datsyuk (typically with Bertuzzi or Cleary on the other wing)
Hudler played the point on the second PP, played maybe 10 minutes of forward on the PP all season, and scored 2 PP goals and 23 ES goals while spending most of his ES time with Zetterberg and Filppula. He (would have) finished tied for 45th among defensemen in PP scoring. Assuming he held that rank among forwards (taking the forward time from maybe Bertuzzi and Cleary), that would be equal to 19 points. From 2006-07 (first full season) through last year, he scored 15 PP goals and 45 PP assists, a 1-3 ratio. So we'll go with 6 goals and 13 assists. That increases his totals by 4 goals and 3 assists to 29-28-57, career highs in goals and points. Leads team in goals, fourth in points. Say he scores 7+ goals and 22+ points on the PP. That's over 30 goals and over 60 points.
You have to keep in mind that almost all of Hudler's production came as an even strength forward. Some of it came playing the point on the PP, but that spot provides significantly reduced numbers compared to playing up front. Especially with how lethal Hudler can be down low.
