If you could save 3 players who would they be?

Neely4Life wrote:

cash wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:Its is pretty harsh, but thats the NHL. There have been other guys with more tallent who havnt made it because they refuse to play a tougher and more agressive game. He better learn or he wont be anything more than a plug on D. Even Bobby Orr had an edge to his game.

He isnt good enough to depend solely on his skills. He needs to change his game and worth ethic.

Physicality is obviously important in the NHL, but there is more than one way to be an effective top-4 D in this league. Lidstrom and Redden are prime examples.
As long as we don't expect Lee to be more than he is, then we should be satisfied - especially given his progress since returning from Bingo.

What Lee is right now isnt good enough to be a top 4 Dman in my opinion though. Sure, Lidstrom isnt very physical, but you are talking about a top 3 D man of all time. Redden, well not being physical is killing his career right now. You get in on that guy, the puck is getting turned over, he will be a big downfall in New York.

Lee is Lidstrom and Im not expecting him to be, but he has to be more than he currently is and learning to play with an edge will be the only way he can thrive in the NHL.

THe kind of style you develop as the years go by...
I would give lee at least 5 years before decideing of his fate.

First- and sorry I didn't get in on this sooner- but all the hate for Kelly and his price tag is ridiculous. I'm completely with Neely on this one, and can't believe that others don't see it also. He's the type of player that you don't notice until he's gone. Sure, you should expect him to contribute a few points, but that's not what he's there for- he's a 3rd line centre, nothing more. He does his job ridiculously well, and it pains me that you guys are so quick to defend Spezza and Heatley, but completely throw a guy like Kelly under the bus.


To chirp in with the topic-
I can't believe there isn't more love for Foligno in this room. What has this guy ever done wrong? He plays a fantastic energy game, and he can completely replace Mike Fisher moving forward. If we're blowing this team up, I'm keeping Foligno.

Alfredsson, Foligno, Volchenkov.

and here's why.
Alfredsson is the face of the franchise, and he will retire here and take on a management position. That is a given. I'm pretty sure that he'd rather retire than play for another team. He's a solid player- a quiet leader, and somebody I'd hate to see in any uniform other than ours.
I've already talked about my mancrush for Foligno- This guy is probably never going to be a 1st line guy, maybe a 2nd at best. But the energy he brings night in and night out is unparalled- especially given the performance of the rest of the team in the past 400 or so days. Reminds me of the young Mike Fisher. Let's not make the same mistake by signing him to a contract that is too big for his game... As Ari Gold says "manage your client's expectations"

Volchenkov speaks for himself- he's probably one of the toughest guys in the league in terms of durability.. He's cheap, happy here, and is our 3rd goalie. He's incredibly valuable, and I'd hate to see him go.


Spezza and Heatley are going to fetch good return, there's no question. I'd like to retain Spezza, but if we're only keeping three, I'm taking the aforementioned.

I'd also like to keep Elliott, Kelly, Lee, Donovan and a bunch of guys currently in the farm, but everybody else- shop them.

Of course I wouldn't let go of Karlsson, but I don't consider him a member... yet.

Elliott, Volchenkov, and Karlsson. If I can't choose Karlsson, then I choose Heater.

Neely4Life wrote:

cash wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:Its is pretty harsh, but thats the NHL. There have been other guys with more tallent who havnt made it because they refuse to play a tougher and more agressive game. He better learn or he wont be anything more than a plug on D. Even Bobby Orr had an edge to his game.

He isnt good enough to depend solely on his skills. He needs to change his game and worth ethic.

Physicality is obviously important in the NHL, but there is more than one way to be an effective top-4 D in this league. Lidstrom and Redden are prime examples.
As long as we don't expect Lee to be more than he is, then we should be satisfied - especially given his progress since returning from Bingo.

What Lee is right now isnt good enough to be a top 4 Dman in my opinion though. Sure, Lidstrom isnt very physical, but you are talking about a top 3 D man of all time. Redden, well not being physical is killing his career right now. You get in on that guy, the puck is getting turned over, he will be a big downfall in New York.

Lee is Lidstrom and Im not expecting him to be, but he has to be more than he currently is and learning to play with an edge will be the only way he can thrive in the NHL.

You're missing the point: There is more than one way to be a successful and useful D-man in the NHL. Lee doesn't have to be Lidstrom to be effective. And who says I was talking about Redden in 2009? or 2008? or 2007? lol oh the memories...

There are plenty of effective D-men in the NHL who aren't overly physical. It would be nice to have a Weber-esque mix of size, skill, and physicality, but that isn't the only type of D-man in the league.

You make it sound as if being that is the only way for him to be relevant....

I would love Lee to become like S. Zubov

cash wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:

cash wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:Its is pretty harsh, but thats the NHL. There have been other guys with more tallent who havnt made it because they refuse to play a tougher and more agressive game. He better learn or he wont be anything more than a plug on D. Even Bobby Orr had an edge to his game.

He isnt good enough to depend solely on his skills. He needs to change his game and worth ethic.

Physicality is obviously important in the NHL, but there is more than one way to be an effective top-4 D in this league. Lidstrom and Redden are prime examples.
As long as we don't expect Lee to be more than he is, then we should be satisfied - especially given his progress since returning from Bingo.

What Lee is right now isnt good enough to be a top 4 Dman in my opinion though. Sure, Lidstrom isnt very physical, but you are talking about a top 3 D man of all time. Redden, well not being physical is killing his career right now. You get in on that guy, the puck is getting turned over, he will be a big downfall in New York.

Lee is Lidstrom and Im not expecting him to be, but he has to be more than he currently is and learning to play with an edge will be the only way he can thrive in the NHL.

You're missing the point: There is more than one way to be a successful and useful D-man in the NHL. Lee doesn't have to be Lidstrom to be effective. And who says I was talking about Redden in 2009? or 2008? or 2007? lol oh the memories...

There are plenty of effective D-men in the NHL who aren't overly physical. It would be nice to have a Weber-esque mix of size, skill, and physicality, but that isn't the only type of D-man in the league.

You make it sound as if being that is the only way for him to be relevant....

Its not the only way to be sucessful but when you dont have enough skill to play the kind of game you're used to playing, like in high school and college for Lee, you have to adujust. Lidstrom and Zubov are guys that dont play physical, but they arnt knocked off the puck like a child.

Lee has a long way to go before he can even be considered the kind of D man that can be counted on. Getting knocked off the puck like he has been and not having the strength to compete inhis own zone is a HUGE problem. Physical is one thing, being totally dominated physically is another. Lee is going to have to learn how to play around that other wise he will just be another D man who can skate and pass.

Neely4Life wrote:
Its not the only way to be sucessful but when you dont have enough skill to play the kind of game you're used to playing, like in high school and college for Lee, you have to adujust. Lidstrom and Zubov are guys that dont play physical, but they arnt knocked off the puck like a child.

Lee has a long way to go before he can even be considered the kind of D man that can be counted on. Getting knocked off the puck like he has been and not having the strength to compete inhis own zone is a HUGE problem. Physical is one thing, being totally dominated physically is another. Lee is going to have to learn how to play around that other wise he will just be another D man who can skate and pass.

I've noticed the same. I'm tempted to say head to Bingo and start lifting weights hardcore. This year is a waste and if Lee doesn't get bigger, I doubt he'll ever have an impact on this team.

He's a puss, plays like one, acts like one, looks like one.

He's MFing 21 years old!?? Give the kid a break and give him a freakin chance to break into the league. He's made enough strides since coming back for me to consider him a worthwhile prospect again. He's gaining solid experience playing against NHL competition right now and he's only going to get bigger and stronger.

He is getting solid expeirence sure, but he is also looking like he is a kid playing a mans game.

Fact of the matter is he may not have the mind set or the physical capabilities of being anything more than a basic puck mover who is a liability in his own zone. He is basically Brendan Bell.

Donovan, Foligno, Lee

Neely4Life wrote:He is getting solid expeirence sure, but he is also looking like he is a kid playing a mans game.

Fact of the matter is he may not have the mind set or the physical capabilities of being anything more than a basic puck mover who is a liability in his own zone. He is basically Brendan Bell.

As of right now he may be basically the same, but he's WAY younger and he wasn't a 1st round draft pick for nothing. You're being way too short-sighted here.

Volch, Alfie and Heatley

Elliott
Volchenkov
Spezza

Volchenkov
Heatley
Spezza

caissie_1 wrote:Spezza, Volchenkov and Karlsson!

You can't pick Karlsson in this question. It's NHL roster as of now.

cash wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:He is getting solid expeirence sure, but he is also looking like he is a kid playing a mans game.

Fact of the matter is he may not have the mind set or the physical capabilities of being anything more than a basic puck mover who is a liability in his own zone. He is basically Brendan Bell.

As of right now he may be basically the same, but he's WAY younger and he wasn't a 1st round draft pick for nothing. You're being way too short-sighted here.

I agree. He's shown improvement and needs more time before a judgement can be made on his future. To quote Neely (who said this about Elliott) "There's nothing more for him to learn in the AHL."

Cap'n Clutch wrote:

cash wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:He is getting solid expeirence sure, but he is also looking like he is a kid playing a mans game.

Fact of the matter is he may not have the mind set or the physical capabilities of being anything more than a basic puck mover who is a liability in his own zone. He is basically Brendan Bell.

As of right now he may be basically the same, but he's WAY younger and he wasn't a 1st round draft pick for nothing. You're being way too short-sighted here.

I agree. He's shown improvement and needs more time before a judgement can be made on his future. To quote Neely (who said this about Elliott) "There's nothing more for him to learn in the AHL."

Big difference being that Elliott was sucessful in the AHL, Lee went back and struggled. Also, Lee isnt physically ready to be in the NHL, at least on a regular basis.

People forget that Bell was CHL Dman of the year when he was with the 67's, thats more than ANYTHING Lee has done at any level. Lee should not have been drafted where he was and Muckler dropped the ball on that draft pick, you cant really argue other wise.

Lee would not be on the Sens roster if they had any kind of decent defense or any resemblence of a puck mover. Lee is there because they have no other choice.

Until Lee can actually compete at an NHL level in his own zone, then he will be exactly what he is now. I really hope people arnt holding their breath for this guy because you might be in for a very long wait.