Update (6:44 PM): For those fluent in Portuguese, reacts to the trade at temporarily renamed “Griffins Brasil” (formerly Red Wings Brasil).
It’s sad, really, how negative we North American Wings fans can be in contrast to our Brazilian counterparts. - Matt
Update (4:58 PM): George Malik has more on the trade here. - Matt
Update (4:52 PM): Stuart wore #6 in LA and though that number is not hanging from the rafters, he’s going to have to get a new one as it was retired by James Norris in 1939. He has also worn #7 in his career, but that won’t work either, as it is currently hanging from the rafters at JLA in honor of Ted Lindsay. - Matt
Update (4:27 PM): Lyle Richardson a.k.a. Spector has more on Stuart:
Stuart was once considered a promising young defenseman with all the tools to be a star in the NHL during his years with the San Jose Sharks, but he’s never been the same since the Sharks dealt him to the Boston Bruins in the Joe Thornton trade in the 2005-06 season. …
… He’d struggled in the first half of the season but seemed to show improvement in recent weeks.
… It remains to be seen how Stuart will adjust but playing on a deeper club like the Wings despite their recent struggles could take some pressure off his shoulders and help him regain some confidence. If so he could become a good depth addition for the Wings down the stretch and into the playoffs.
- Matt
Update (4:16 PM): HockeyTownTodd comments on the trade here and George Malik does so here. - Matt
Update (4:09 PM): The commenters at Abel to Yzerman aren’t exactly thrilled with the trade. - Matt
Update (3:50 PM): I should point out that a more immediate answer to the question of who sits depends on who returns for what I assume will be Stuart’s first game with the Wings, the meeting with the Sharks on Saturday Friday. If none of the injured regular defensemen return, Garrett Stafford is the odd man out.
If one of Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, or Chris Chelios returns, my guess is Kyle Quincey will get demoted. If two of those three make it back, both Quincey and Ericsson will return to Grand Rapids. If all three do (which is unlikely), the two Griffins get demoted and Meech is a likely healthy scratch. - Matt
Update (3:41 PM): Khan reports that the 2nd rounder is a 2008 pick and the 4th rounder is a 2009 pick. -Sarah
Update (3:34 PM): This obviously isn’t a bad deal as it did not cost the Wings a roster player or an established prospect. The added depth and experience is a good thing, though going into the post-season with Meech as the 7th man would not have been the end of the world by any means. Personally, I’d rather have seen a scoring forward come this way in a trade rather than a defenseman, but I’m not going to complain too much.
The question now is, who sits when everyone is healthy? - Matt
Update (3:29 PM): Some more detail on Stuart: he’s a 28-year-old potential UFA making $3.5 million this season. He’s got 5 goals and 16 assists this season. His career high is 39 points - 9 goals, 30 assists - over 77 games in 2003-2004. - Matt
According to Kukla’s Korner, the LA Kings have traded Brad Stuart to Detroit for a second and fourth round pick. More to come.
Gosh, I was just about to turn off the TSN deadline audio feed and all of a sudden the post-deadline deals start pouring in. I’m just glad we didn’t give up a roster player. I think I can deal with the loss of a couple draft picks. It’ll be nice to have some relief for our depleted defense. The poor Griffins need their defensemen back!
Okay, his wikipedia article is already updated…somebody has way too much time on their hands.
Khan seems to think Lebda will get bumped, but I’m pulling for Lilypads. Guess we’ll see when we get everyone back.
I’d be surprised if Lilja gets bumped given his size. That gives him an advantage over Lebda, though Brett’s skating ability may come close to negating that advantage. For all his defensive lapses, though, Lilja brings elements the Wings need: size and an edge.
It all depends on how everyone is playing at that point in time. If Stuart turns out to be a bust, he’ll be the one sitting. If he gels well, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lebda get the shaft, unfortunate as that is.
I’m more concerned about Meech, as this buries him on the depth chart once again. On any other NHL team, he’d have earned a regular spot just by his play over the past 13 games or so. Now it’ll be even harder for him to crack the lineup over more established players.
I have met a total of two people from Brazil.
Based on that vast experience, I don’t think that Portuguese even HAS a word that means “pessimism.”
Hey Matt!
Thanks for the update
With Quincey, Ericsson, Stafford, Howard, Hartigan in our lineup and with McCarty in Grand-Rapids, we temporarily renamed the blog. LOL
Here in Brazil we think a little different about the Wings. In Ken Holland we trust!
Do you know TheSlot.com.br? It’s a weekly online hockey magazine in Portuguese. Tomorrow the 184th edition will be on the air. I don’t know if there’s anything like that in other language, even in English. Do you know?
Sorry for any english mistakes, Matt.
Greetings from your Brazilian friends.
Humberto
Well, I’m floored. Humberto has better English than roughly 90% of the commenters on many blogs!
Hey Humberto,
I like that: “In Ken Holland we trust.” Maybe Wings fans should adopt that as their official motto!
Congrats on the 184th edition of The Slot! That’s very impressive. I haven’t seen anything like it in English, no. Nothing with that kind of longevity, anyway.
Say hi to the gang at Griffins Brasil for me!
Baroque,
How true. I like to think that the level of discourse in a blog comment thread is somewhat higher than that of your average message board. However, the difference can at times be slight to the point of nonexistence.
Thanks for doing your part to keep the level high!
Hey Matt,
Thank you.
Today or in a few days Griffins Brasil will be Red Wings Brasil again
Baroque,
I try to do my best…
Hey Matt,
I just got stoned by this post Humberto just gave me.
The RWB blog idea is to let our guys know a lil’ more about the Wings. Everyday we read the online papers, listen to Detroit radio and try to catch up the latest news around.
Well… The balance on the blog is made by our 3 members: Humberto, Caueh and Me. Each one with a proper style of posting. Humberto is the grumpy-old-bastard, who makes the things straight, Caueh runs from that to a silly-crazy-lad and I am CRAZY! LOL.
It’s fun. I have a frind who lived 15 years in San Jose. He is a Shark. But, who cares? Everyone has its own problems, right? Let him take care of his. So, he has a Sports Bar here in my city (Fortaleza-CE) and I’m gonna give him a 7 ft Red Wings banner to stick on the ceiling and also my Red Wings Jersey. I’ll send photos when it’s done.
That’s pretty much it. And thanks for the support.
LET’s GO RED GRIFFINS!
P.S. 1: Get ready for Detroit Red Wings (or Griffins) vs. Cologarbage Avatrash on first round. Big Mac is back. Downey is getting into the Red Wings spirit. There will be blood.
P.S. 2: Sorry for any grammatical/orthographic mess, I’m at work and having to think and talk in Portuguese and write in English.