Confirmed with Link: Wings Protected List

[Hen Kolland]

Looking forward to watching the bloggers freak out over Yzerman leaving a 5'10 third pairing defenseman exposed.

Couldn’t they say that they are upset that they are protecting a 7th D instead of a third pairing defenseman that would have value via trade at the deadline?

 

[Pavels Dog]

I have happily moved on but this is yet another reminder of just how truly awful Holland was over the last decade or so.

tell me you've never been through a rebuild without telling me you've never been through a rebuild

 

[Henkka]

It's nice to hear that Ken Holland was the reason for Svechnikov's injuries.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Rather have Stecher than Lindstrom, dont see much upside in Lindstrom

Same. Stecher isn't big but he played his ass off and was physical for a little guy and would solidify the bottom pair with Seider and Hronek on the right side of the 1st and 2nd pairings.

I'm hoping that Lindstrom unlocks some unseen level of talent but I sincerely doubt it. The dude seems like a career plug 7th D-man. I give it 2 years before he's back in Sweden.

 

[newfy]

Makes sense to not protect Stetcher over Lindstrom. Stetcher probably leaves as a UFA next year, Lindstrom is under team control for a while.

Thats the exact list I woulda went with, woulda thought hard about Cholowski but with Leddy that became an easier decision

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Here's the protected list for the whole league.

NHL announces protected list for 2021 NHL Expansion Draft

The good news for us is that there are a lot of serviceable defensemen that I could see being picked ahead of Stecher.

Gudas
Shattenkirk
Goligoski
Demers
Hjalmersson (I didn't watch Arizona much this year. Is he still good?)
Giordano
Bean
Gardiner
Zadorov
De Haan
Kulikov
Gustafsson
Subban
Greene
Gostisbehere
Foote
Rutta
Jensen

For insurance I'd like to see us send a 4th or 5th over to Seattle to ensure they pick Cholowski, Svechnikov or Namestnikov.

 

[jaster]

Stecher is in the prime of his career. He's 27 and played on one of the worst teams in the league..... And he was 6th in TOI/GP. The hype he gets among some fans is odd. He's mobile. That's nice, truly. But he's also a PMD who is only average at moving the puck, doesn't provide much offense, is weak, and is a poor defender.

Lindstrom can defend and makes a good first pass. He's certainly less exciting to watch, provides even less offense than Stecher, and his floor is washing out of the league completely. But he's also a safer player with the IQ and physicality to play a bigger role than Stecher, as a shutdown defenseman. And as newfy pointed out, he's under team control for a while.

Stecher, especially being a UFA next year, doesn't bring any long-term value to the organization, given where it's at in the rebuild. He doesn't have any good trade value, and he's easily replaceable. He has no business getting a protection spot, especially over a young player who has a chance at being part of a rebuilt team down the line. Stecher is the Namestnikov of the defense corps.

 

[Steve Yzerlland]

Why you hating on Hronek?

Because Chychrun is better plus wouldn't still be paying that awful Nielsen.

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Stecher is in the prime of his career. He's 27 and played on one of the worst teams in the league..... And he was 6th in TOI/GP. The hype he gets among some fans is odd. He's mobile. That's nice, truly. But he's also a PMD who is only average at moving the puck, doesn't provide much offense, is weak, and is a poor defender.

Lindstrom can defend and makes a good first pass. He's certainly less exciting to watch, provides even less offense than Stecher, and his floor is washing out of the league completely. But he's also a safer player with the IQ and physicality to play a bigger role than Stecher, as a shutdown defenseman. And as newfy pointed out, he's under team control for a while.

Stecher, especially being a UFA next year, doesn't bring any long-term value to the organization, given where it's at in the rebuild. He doesn't have any good trade value, and he's easily replaceable. He has no business getting a protection spot, especially over a young player who has a chance at being part of a rebuilt team down the line. Stecher is the Namestnikov of the defense corps.

Stecher looked good by the eye test and his underlying stats were fair for a player of his caliber. I'm not expecting that Stecher will be anything more than a 5th defenseman that can play up a pair as the 4th defenseman.

Lindstrom skates well enough to not be lost on the play but he's not really physical or very good at separating the other team's players from the puck, he's not throwing himself in shooting lanes and blocking shots like a typical stay at home guy, he's not a great passer and at least when I saw him in GR wasn't making that first pass out of the zone, but sending a pass to his partner who would send it up ice, and he's more likely to chip it off the glass and out to center than our other RD. Lindstrom is the Christopher Ehn or JDLR of our defense. He's a warm body filling a roster spot and his only addition to the team is not sucking so much as Trevor Daley or Madison Bowey. Outside of us having team control on him as an RFA for a bit longer I see no real positives to his game.

 

[Dotter]

Wings are lucky these expansions come when they do. We are literally going to lose no one of any significance to the future of the club. I actually kinda feel bad KRAK have to draft our junk.

 

[jaster]

Stecher looked good by the eye test and his underlying stats were fair for a player of his caliber. I'm not expecting that Stecher will be anything more than a 5th defenseman that can play up a pair as the 4th defenseman.

Lindstrom skates well enough to not be lost on the play but he's not really physical or very good at separating the other team's players from the puck, he's not throwing himself in shooting lanes and blocking shots like a typical stay at home guy, he's not a great passer and at least when I saw him in GR wasn't making that first pass out of the zone, but sending a pass to his partner who would send it up ice, and he's more likely to chip it off the glass and out to center than our other RD. Lindstrom is the Christopher Ehn or JDLR of our defense. He's a warm body filling a roster spot and his only addition to the team is not sucking so much as Trevor Daley or Madison Bowey. Outside of us having team control on him as an RFA for a bit longer I see no real positives to his game.

Can't agree with a lot of that Lindstrom analysis. He's young and still makes mistakes, but the solid foundation is pretty easy to see. He plays a fairly physical game, certainly moreso than Stecher. Hits/60 isn't the be-all end-all of evaluating physicality, but he was behind only Biega and Nemeth there. He staples guys on the boards to separate them as much or more than any other Wings D. And he blocked more shots per 60 than everyone except DDK and Merrill. He uses his stick to defend pretty well while keeping excellent gap, and his panic threshold in the D zone is as good as you can have for that age. He reads plays well. Guys like Stecher more often are just running around.

Whether it's to his D partner, or a forward, or off the boards, Lindstrom consistently makes the right play to alleviate pressure in his zone. I find it refreshing to watch after seeing the plethora of dumpster fire d-zone defensemen we've had over the years, including Cholo and Stecher.

If you think Lindstrom is nothing more than a #7, it makes sense to compare him to the bleh forwards you did. But he has the upside of a 4-5 shutdown defenseman. An upside Stecher does not possess. And since Stecher means nothing to Detroit, I'd rather go with the gamble that is Lindstrom over the replacement-level player that is Stecher. The reward easily outweighs the risk.

 

[DoMakc]

I think it is also important, that Stecher dies not play on special teams. Lindström played more PK minutes than Stecher, despite playing 30 games less

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

Can't agree with a lot of that Lindstrom analysis. He's young and still makes mistakes, but the solid foundation is pretty easy to see. He plays a fairly physical game, certainly moreso than Stecher. Hits/60 isn't the be-all end-all of evaluating physicality, but he was behind only Biega and Nemeth there. He staples guys on the boards to separate them as much or more than any other Wings D. And he blocked more shots per 60 than everyone except DDK and Merrill. He uses his stick to defend pretty well while keeping excellent gap, and his panic threshold in the D zone is as good as you can have for that age. He reads plays well. Guys like Stecher more often are just running around.

Whether it's to his D partner, or a forward, or off the boards, Lindstrom consistently makes the right play to alleviate pressure in his zone. I find it refreshing to watch after seeing the plethora of dumpster fire d-zone defensemen we've had over the years, including Cholo and Stecher.

If you think Lindstrom is nothing more than a #7, it makes sense to compare him to the bleh forwards you did. But he has the upside of a 4-5 shutdown defenseman. An upside Stecher does not possess. And since Stecher means nothing to Detroit, I'd rather go with the gamble that is Lindstrom over the replacement-level player that is Stecher. The reward easily outweighs the risk.

Fair enough. We shall agree to disagree.

I hope you're right about Lindstrom but I'm not going to hold my breath while waiting on him to prove he can be that guy.

 

[Hen Kolland]

The reward easily outweighs the risk.

Does it? I think the only reason this assertion can be made is because the Wings are so bad that they need the best players possible. Lindstrom might have a higher potential than Stecher, but it’s also likely he’s never more than a 7th man.

I’d say the risk is much higher than you feel, but that’s also because I view Stecher as a pawn to be traded. I don’t think Lindstrom nor Stecher have a relevant future for the Wings

 

[jaster]

Fair enough. We shall agree to disagree.

I hope you're right about Lindstrom but I'm not going to hold my breath while waiting on him to prove he can be that guy.

THERE CAN BE NO AGREEMENT TO DISAGREE, YOU MUST BURN FOR YOUR INSOLENCE

Yeah. We obviously see different things. With both players. Totally fine. And not to sound like I'm couching my opinion here, but I do admit Lindstrom could flame out. Hence, the "risk" involved. I just see tools that offer an upside I like. Time will tell. In the meantime, avoid that suffocation

 

[OgeeOgelthorpe]

THERE CAN BE NO AGREEMENT TO DISAGREE, YOU MUST BURN FOR YOUR INSOLENCE

Yeah. We obviously see different things. With both players. Totally fine. And not to sound like I'm couching my opinion here, but I do admit Lindstrom could flame out. Hence, the "risk" involved. I just see tools that offer an upside I like. Time will tell. In the meantime, avoid that suffocation

Don't get me wrong, I see the tools there to be at least a bottom pairing steady stay at home guy, but I'm also not seeing enough of the toolbox to keep him there. He's very much a Ken Holland defenseman.

 

[bearball]

Don't get me wrong, I see the tools there to be at least a bottom pairing steady stay at home guy, but I'm also not seeing enough of the toolbox to keep him there. He's very much a Ken Holland defenseman.

Lindstrom is the new Marchenko.

And I loved me some Marchenko.

 

[jaster]

Does it?

Considering the risk is damn near zero, yes

I think the only reason this assertion can be made is because the Wings are so bad that they need the best players possible. Lindstrom might have a higher potential than Stecher, but it’s also likely he’s never more than a 7th man.

I’d say the risk is much higher than you feel, but that’s also because I view Stecher as a pawn to be traded. I don’t think Lindstrom nor Stecher have a relevant future for the Wings

Well there's our two sticking points.....

I don't think Stecher has any significant trade value.... again, this guy is in his prime, on an awful team, and still couldn't get beyond #6 minutes. He had to be sheltered behind such greats as Jon Merrill, Marc Staal, and Patrik Nemeth. You could argue that he wouldn't need to be as sheltered on a better team, but yikes that's not very inspiring. So what could he possibly bring back in a trade? I saw someone mention a 2nd rounder, and that is obviously ridiculous, especially given that everyone is agreeing the best we can expect from flipping Leddy at the deadline is a 2nd.

And so given the above, it doesn't require a high likelihood of Lindstrom having a future in Detroit to overcome the minute risk of losing Stecher. I think it's far from a guarantee that Lindstrom has a big future in Detroit, but it's also easily non-zero for me. It's something worth pursuing when the trade-off is possibly Troy Stecher, imo.

 

[SoupNazi]

Jake Bean immediately comes to mind. I wonder how much Carolina is willing to give up to avoid losing him.

I would assume Yzerman would have fielded a call about him, I don't see many scenarios where he comes in around the same asking price as Leddy and we don't make the deal for Bean instead.

Canes fans will not be happy to lose Bean.

 

[Mlotek]

They will probably take Namestnikov, unless Seattle ends up selecting too many $$ defensemen.

Depends.
Don't see Namestnikov more than a 3rd liner who didn't particularly produce well offensive.
Empty netters and fluke goals aren't exactly a high bar.

Only thing going for him is versatility, but Stetcher would be better option. Even if trying to flip the player down the road.

 

[grewalwings]

Anaheim – Josh Mahura (RFA)
Arizona – Tyler Pitlick ($1,750,000)
Boston - Connor Clifton ($1,000,000)
Buffalo - Zemgus Girgensons ($2,200,000)
Calgary - Mark Giordano ($6,750,000)
Carolina - Dougie Hamilton (UFA)
Chicago - Nikita Zadorov (RFA)
Colorado - Gabriel Landeskog (UFA)
Columbus – Max Domi ($5,300,000)
Dallas - Adam Mascherin (RFA)
Detroit - Troy Stecher ($1,700,000)
Edmonton - Tyler Benson (RFA)
Florida - Chris Driedger (UFA)
Los Angeles - Carl Grundstrom ($725,000)
Minnesota - Kaapo Kähkönen ($725,000)
Montreal - Cale Fleury (RFA)
Nashville - Calle Jarnkrok ($2,000,000)
New Jersey - Nathan Bastian ($825,000)
New York Islanders – Josh Bailey ($5,000,000)
New York Rangers - Julien Gauthier ($775,000)
Ottawa – Ryan Dzingel (UFA)
Philadelphia - Robert Hagg ($1,600,000)
Pittsburgh – Jason Zucker ($5,500,000)
San Jose – Nicolas Meloche ($750,000)
St. Louis – Vladimir Tarasenko ($7,500,000)
Tampa Bay - Yanni Gourde ($5,166,666)
Toronto – Jared McCann ($2,940,000)
Vancouver - Matthew Highmore ($725,000)
Washington - Vitek Vanecek ($716,667)
Winnipeg – Dylan DeMelo ($3,000,000)
Cap Hit: $56,648,333
Cap Space: $24,851,667
Forwards
Landeskog - Gourde - Tarasenko
Domi – McCann – Bailey
Zucker - Jarnkrok - Dzingel
Grundstrom – Benson - Pitlick
Depth – Girgensons, Bastian, Gauthier, Mascherin, Highmore
Defense
Giordano – Hamilton
Zadorov – DeMelo
Mahura – Stecher
Depth – Clifton, Hagg, Meloche
Goalies
Vanecek
Driedger
Depth - Kähkönen

 

[Zetterbeer]

Canes fans will not be happy to lose Bean.

I'm very surprised they went this route, I think exposing Skjei gives them a lot more flexibility.

On one hand, if Seattle takes Skjei, you can promote Bean into the top 4 and use the added 5m cap space to re-sign Hamilton.

On the other hand, if Seattle signs Hamilton, you essentially walk away scott free, assuming they were going to let him go into free agency regardless.

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

The off season is here, boys

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

I'm very surprised they went this route, I think exposing Skjei gives them a lot more flexibility.

On one hand, if Seattle takes Skjei, you can promote Bean into the top 4 and use the added 5m cap space to re-sign Hamilton.

On the other hand, if Seattle signs Hamilton, you essentially walk away scott free, assuming they were going to let him go into free agency regardless.

If SEA signs Hamilton it's b/c they outbid CAR on $ & possibly on term also. CAR played it smart here.

You can't let Hamilton hold your franchise hostage for $8.5-9m+ or whatever he thinks he's worth LT. $8x7 is fair for both & still has the ability to look like poor value in yrs 5-7.

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

Hakstol recruited and coached Stecher at North Dakota so there’s that