Bob Duff: Opportunity Knocks For Young D The Detroit Red Wings fully intended to keep a rookie defenseman this season, but circumstances have opened the door to a second newcomer.

Wings rock the preseason, Vegas got all my money betting on their cup-win!

Reassigning Veleno? As much of a bullpoop move as letting some moron, like Duff, post on this site.

Wings rock the preseason, Vegas got all my money betting on their cup-win!
- VeryModernMan

Rafi also knocks for young D.

Rafi also knocks for young D.
- smellmyfinger

I wish we had spots for all four.

I mean, our D would be terrible, but it's already terrible.

- Kronwall is washed and this is clearly his last year.

- Ericsson is a guy I can never quite put my finger on, but at best he's a below average second pairing dude who is maybe not a train wreck but also definitely overmatched as a top shutdown D. He's also 34, and the aging curve is not exactly kind to mediocre D who can't skate.

- Daley, who turns 35 in a couple of weeks, is a shell of his former self (and his former self was never that great to begin with). I'm pretty sure he's even worse than Ericsson, which I must admit I did not expect when we signed him.

- DeKeyser has never been good and never will be. I think everyone in the universe besides Red Wings management could see how bad a bet that contract was, even when it was signed.

- Green can still provide some offense but his impact on shot generation and suppression have been declining every year. That's partly on the fact that the team is sliding into oblivion with or without him, of course. But he's not getting any younger either. He'd possibly still be a great No. 3 or 4 with somewhat sheltered minutes, but in Detroit he can barely even tread water, if that.

- Fun fact: At 28 Nick Jensen is already older than the average NHL defenseman. He's a depth guy with nowhere to go but sideways and then down.

Now if we lived in some magical alternate universe where the Wings could jettison really any four of these guys at random without worrying about cap or contract situation and replace them with Cholowski, Hronek, Sulak and Hicketts, would their defense improve? Probably not. Would it get worse? Maybe, but I'm not even sure about that. Would it get cheaper, younger, faster, and more exciting? Definitely.

I wish we had spots for all four.

I mean, our D would be terrible, but it's already terrible.

- Kronwall is washed and this is clearly his last year.

- Ericsson is a guy I can never quite put my finger on, but at best he's a below average second pairing dude who is maybe not a train wreck but also definitely overmatched as a top shutdown D. He's also 34, and the aging curve is not exactly kind to mediocre D who can't skate.

- Daley, who turns 35 in a couple of weeks, is a shell of his former self (and his former self was never that great to begin with). I'm pretty sure he's even worse than Ericsson, which I must admit I did not expect when we signed him.

- DeKeyser has never been good and never will be. I think everyone in the universe besides Red Wings management could see how bad a bet that contract was, even when it was signed.

- Green can still provide some offense but his impact on shot generation and suppression have been declining every year. That's partly on the fact that the team is sliding into oblivion with or without him, of course. But he's not getting any younger either. He'd possibly still be a great No. 3 or 4 with somewhat sheltered minutes, but in Detroit he can barely even tread water, if that.

- Fun fact: At 28 Nick Jensen is already older than the average NHL defenseman. He's a depth guy with nowhere to go but sideways and then down.

Now if we lived in some magical alternate universe where the Wings could jettison really any four of these guys at random without worrying about cap or contract situation and replace them with Cholowski, Hronek, Sulak and Hicketts, would their defense improve? Probably not. Would it get worse? Maybe, but I'm not even sure about that. Would it get cheaper, younger, faster, and more exciting? Definitely.
- Sven22

Krons gone after this year, followed by Ericsson and Daley next year. None of those 3 players will receive another NHL contract. Would be nice if they were willing to bury one in the minors and bring up another young guy. Certainly some quality prospects buried in the minors.

I wish we had spots for all four.

I mean, our D would be terrible, but it's already terrible.

- Kronwall is washed and this is clearly his last year.

- Ericsson is a guy I can never quite put my finger on, but at best he's a below average second pairing dude who is maybe not a train wreck but also definitely overmatched as a top shutdown D. He's also 34, and the aging curve is not exactly kind to mediocre D who can't skate.

- Daley, who turns 35 in a couple of weeks, is a shell of his former self (and his former self was never that great to begin with). I'm pretty sure he's even worse than Ericsson, which I must admit I did not expect when we signed him.

- DeKeyser has never been good and never will be. I think everyone in the universe besides Red Wings management could see how bad a bet that contract was, even when it was signed.

- Green can still provide some offense but his impact on shot generation and suppression have been declining every year. That's partly on the fact that the team is sliding into oblivion with or without him, of course. But he's not getting any younger either. He'd possibly still be a great No. 3 or 4 with somewhat sheltered minutes, but in Detroit he can barely even tread water, if that.

- Fun fact: At 28 Nick Jensen is already older than the average NHL defenseman. He's a depth guy with nowhere to go but sideways and then down.

Now if we lived in some magical alternate universe where the Wings could jettison really any four of these guys at random without worrying about cap or contract situation and replace them with Cholowski, Hronek, Sulak and Hicketts, would their defense improve? Probably not. Would it get worse? Maybe, but I'm not even sure about that. Would it get cheaper, younger, faster, and more exciting? Definitely.
- Sven22

The worst part is even if the young guys out perform any of the veteran defenseman, Holland simply is not going to give them an opportunity (outside of an injury to one of the vets) simply because he doens't like to play young defensemen. We've seen this over the years. He needs to justify the horrible contracts by playing the vets. Terrible formula and bad asset management. His duty and obligation to the organization is to ice the best team... period. But he won't.

Wings rock the preseason, Vegas got all my money betting on their cup-win!

Wings let drop good old Central-friend Hawks and its "dynasty" to their knees... 82-0-0 seems now realistic. Holland for President, Rafi for Vice.