Red Wings Blogger Roundtable, Day 2: The Acquisitions

The roundtable rolls on, and today’s stop was over at Snapshots with George Malik. Malik asked the panel:

If the Red Wings had signed a smallish 20-goal-scorer with an inconsistent work ethic, a power forward on the decline who has bounced around for a few years, if both were familiar to the coaching staff and GM, and their names were not Jason Williams or Todd Bertuzzi, would you feel more comfortable with Ken Holland’s work in signing two players who can post 15-20 goals and 40-50 points in “I really wanted to stay with Columbus” Williams, “I have a freight train’s worth of baggage and am a divisive force” Bertuzzi, and 10-15 goals and tremendous potential in Patrick Eaves for a sum total of $3.5 million?

I had this to offer:

Chris @ MotownWings: Frankly, I don’t have much of a problem with Holland signing any of those three. Considering the roller coaster ride the Wings went on this off season with losing players and having Hudler string them along with the arbitration and KHL mess, it makes sense for the front office to pick up a pair of guys that have a previous history with the Wings. It may be a checkered history to some degree, but it’s better than picking up three guys who may or may not mesh with the team and coaching staff and who may or may not embrace the system of hockey the Wings play. Does this mean Bertuzzi and Williams will completely embrace it and slip in without any issues? Not at all. But the familiarity does give the coaching staff a better idea of what they have in the lineup. As for Eaves: he’s a bit of a wild card, but he comes at the right price and has the potential to contribute. Given that the free agent market wasn’t as conducive to the Wings pocket books as we would have liked, I think Eaves is a good value bet by the front office, and if they believe he can fit in and make a difference in the lineup, then so do I.

Simpler, simpler version of the above: I trust the braintrust.

Tomorrow, the road-show heads over to The Triple Deke, where we take a swing at whether or not the playoff runs of the past three seasons, combined with the Olympics this year, will be a factor in the pursuit of another Stanley Cup.

Be there.

Tags: Jason Williams, Patrick Eaves, Red Wings Blogger Roundtable, Todd Bertuzzi