Not saying this is likely, but if Aljo is legit...in 2 years we could have a homegrown top 4 and basically be set on D for the contention window (Aljo/Seider, Ed/ASP).
Prospect Info: 60th Overall, Albert Johansson, LD
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Not saying this is likely, but if Aljo is legit...in 2 years we could have a homegrown top 4 and basically be set on D for the contention window (Aljo/Seider, Ed/ASP).
I would look to get him signed for 4-5 years at a cheap number like 2-2.5 mill immediately. This is one thing that Vegas is very good at which helps lead to a lot of their success
norrisnick
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We already know he isn't. Rather than being built like an anorexic 12yo, ASP was the strongest dude tested at the combine and has competed against men for years now.
People need to stop scouting with a tape measure.
ASP is already very sturdy and well built for his size and possesses good anticipation and short area speed and great edgework. He's as physically ready as any young player can get.
Yeah just because he can score and is under 6 feet, there's this misconception that ASP is horrible at D. He's not. He's pretty damn physical and I'm confident he'll at the very least be competent at that end of the ice..which is a huge improvement on Hutson.
lilidk
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Still , id trust Edvinsson at defense like 2 to 1 compere to ASP and it's all about size. Also AJo looking much better at defense , so there is some room to grow for ASP
Yeah but there's a really big gap between a giant shutdown D like Ed and Lane Hutson, who literally gives back most of his offense when he tries to defend.
norrisnick
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TheOctopusKid
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Getting back to AlJo:
I've been a huge fan of his for quite a while and just see a lot of really great things. I said that my secret wish in my own head cannon I think from the summer is that he ends up playing next to Seider as a "sum is greater than the parts" kind of deal, because Seider can feel more free to take chances, and AlJo could end up being the ultimate "knows how to position himself to whatever Mo is doing" kind of guy. It's really his all-roundedness, headiness, and poise that stick out to me which makes him super versatile to move up and down and on either side in the group.
ALL of that to be said: ideally he's in our bottom 4. He is a really good player, but I don't think he's a world beater. He's exactly the kind of guy who want for a really long term at a reasonable cost who is reliable and can be deployed in a lot of different scenarios. Mo, Ed, ASP, are all going to be superior to him, and truthfully if you added a... Matt Roy or Chychrun, or one of those...5-6M dollar mid-level Top 4 veterans? They are going to be better than AlJo, and even not all-around, would certainly excel in certain aspects of the game that he doesn't have the ceiling for (i.e. ASP is going to be so much better offensively, it offsets AlJo being marginally better at other parts of the game).
AlJo is amazing - but what I loved about him is that he could be the best 3rd Pair D in the league who can hold down that pair and play literally with anyone, and come at a relatively favorable cost. It's why I keep using Jensen as a reference point. Does it make things work out better if he can slot up to Mo? Certainly in the short term, but that's mostly because we are looking for an excuse to punt Chiarot out. Window D Core?
Edvinsson - Seider
(Acquired LHD) - ASP
Wallinder / Buium / Johansson / Tuomisto
With the outside shot that Johansson breaks in to the Top 4 (maybe not Top 2) and you don't need to pursue the 2nd pair LHD. That's kind of the nice thing is that it does appear that a good chunk of our D core is addressed through strong drafting and development.
I've been a huge fan of his for quite a while and just see a lot of really great things. I said that my secret wish in my own head cannon I think from the summer is that he ends up playing next to Seider as a "sum is greater than the parts" kind of deal, because Seider can feel more free to take chances, and AlJo could end up being the ultimate "knows how to position himself to whatever Mo is doing" kind of guy. It's really his all-roundedness, headiness, and poise that stick out to me which makes him super versatile to move up and down and on either side in the group.
ALL of that to be said: ideally he's in our bottom 4. He is a really good player, but I don't think he's a world beater. He's exactly the kind of guy who want for a really long term at a reasonable cost who is reliable and can be deployed in a lot of different scenarios. Mo, Ed, ASP, are all going to be superior to him, and truthfully if you added a... Matt Roy or Chychrun, or one of those...5-6M dollar mid-level Top 4 veterans? They are going to be better than AlJo, and even not all-around, would certainly excel in certain aspects of the game that he doesn't have the ceiling for (i.e. ASP is going to be so much better offensively, it offsets AlJo being marginally better at other parts of the game).
AlJo is amazing - but what I loved about him is that he could be the best 3rd Pair D in the league who can hold down that pair and play literally with anyone, and come at a relatively favorable cost. It's why I keep using Jensen as a reference point. Does it make things work out better if he can slot up to Mo? Certainly in the short term, but that's mostly because we are looking for an excuse to punt Chiarot out. Window D Core?
Edvinsson - Seider
(Acquired LHD) - ASP
Wallinder / Buium / Johansson / Tuomisto
With the outside shot that Johansson breaks in to the Top 4 (maybe not Top 2) and you don't need to pursue the 2nd pair LHD. That's kind of the nice thing is that it does appear that a good chunk of our D core is addressed through strong drafting and development.
This is where I'm at but I think we can't quite put his ceiling at bottom 4 just yet, given the huge strides he's making in this small sample size.
But having Johansson emerge as a highly flexible anchor who can maybe top out as a 20-30 point guy and we can hopefully extend cheap is a huge, huge plus to the team going forward.
19 for president
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Aljo is a guy that might fit in the top 4 as cheaper steady partner. Not someone who'd ever anchor a paring but if given a more elite partner like an Ed or a Seider can fill in fine enough.
Look at who Lids partners were throughout the years. I mean he basically had Rafalski and bunch of mehs. I think Aljo (if he continues to play like he has) fills in the better version of one of those types of partners. Steady but unremarkable, and honestly our cap structure is going to need that. Give me a guy that can be quietly unremarkable but allow his elite partner to do their thing.
lilidk
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lakai17
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He's been logging 20+ mins his last 4 games. Why can't he be a top 4 defenseman.
TheGelatinousCube
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Yeah, all those mehs like Brad McCrimmon, Paul Coffey, Larry Murphy, and Mathieu Schneider.
This organization feels way too risk adverse to do something like that.
I like the suggestion though.
newfy
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With Johansson breaking out, this team needs to get someone to replace Petry/Holl and the D would actually be solid. Gustafsson has been solid back there with McLellan behind the bench and that's with Holl as his partner. Getting someone who is just steady back there would make the D so much better compared to the start of the year
Coach Reggie Dunlop
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Pavels Dog
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Offensive touch is starting to show up more frequently. That touch pass along the boards to Dylan Larkin was both skillful and an example how good he is at playing the off side.
newfy
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Him playing his offside isn't really talked about enough either. Pretty crazy how good he is over there and gives the D a lot of versatility
In 190 minutes together Edvinsson and AlJo have aa 72% goal share and a 51% expected goals. It's obviously not a big sample but those are the best numbers of any pair on the Red Wings that has played at least 9 games together.
That goal share will come down but if they can continue to drive play in the right direction we could have something legit here.
That goal share will come down but if they can continue to drive play in the right direction we could have something legit here.
19 for president
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I won't comment on Brad as I didn't watch rookie era Lids. Coffey was an offensive dynamo but terrible defensively. There is a reason Scotty dumped him pretty quickly. The game had changed from the 80s/early 90s.
Murphy was at the tail end of his career and had been basically kicked out of Toronto. Still pretty solid, but Lids carried that pairing a lot. You could maybe argue for the cup years as Murph did look a lot better in Detroit, but his skating fell off heavily towards the end.
Schneider had a powerful shot that was either high & wide or a logo hunter most of the time. He was maligned for most of his Wings career.
Raffy is probably the only guy that Lids was regularly paired with that I didn't feel like Lids carried a significant portion of the play for the pairing. He is the only one that could have certainly anchored a pairing of his own.
Meh was non anchor pairing guy. Lids either got guys that were good but past their primes/ flawed (ala Coffey/Murphy) or played with guys that did nothing particularly well but could keep up enough to allow Lids to do his thing like Freddie O. If Aljo can do that for Ed/Seider than we hopefully have a good cost controlled guy for a long time. We can only have so many 8 mil dmen
****
As for Aljo. I am really enjoying watching him jump into the play a bit and get the puck on net. He routinely gets his shot through which has created a bunch of chances. In some cases I wish Seider took a page out of his book, as I think he could do to shoot more and quicker.
I wouldn't mind using Aljo/Ed on our 2nd PP unit. Especially if we are going to park Soderblom in front of the net. (once Kane is back)
Soderblom, Kasper, Tank/Berg
Aljo-Ed
I think would make a decent unit. A little more crash and bang vs. passing, but its a different look. I'm not sure our current iteration has enough skill to be a consistent passing threat the way our 1st unit is.
FabricDetails
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The algorithm really algorithm'n today as this old clip came up for me. Probably been shared in this thread before but "This is the easiest answer" was quite something.
