Who Should Zidlicky Replace On The Blueline?

by nemo1107 on Dec 12, 2011 10:35 PM CST

Far be it from me to complain about an embarrassment of riches, but we knew this day was coming. We are now getting news that Marek Zidlicky and a whole slew of other players are practicing once again, so the notion that one of our current defensemen will soon be riding pine in the press box or sent down to Houston is coming closer to a reality. I don't see Zidlicky taking the spots of either Nick Schultz, nor Greg Zanon, so that leaves four defensemen who should be worried about losing their position. After the jump let's look into the merits of each of these blue-liners.

Mike Lundin: While Mike Lundin hasn't been contributing much offensively (just 1 assist), he has been rather efficient with his passing, and solid defensively, blocking 26 shots in the 7 games he's played thus far.

Marco Scandella: I've heard complaints that Pizza hasn't done enough offensively, and to those people I say pfft. Did you see that goal against LA? Yes, Marco Scandella leads all Wild D-men with 3 goals, but what has been a bonus is he has played some great hockey in the defensive zone. His development is critically linked to his playing time. Benching him now would be a mistake.

Jared Spurgeon: The absence of Zidlicky in the lineup created a hole in the powerplay that Spurgeon has filled with mixed results. He was getting points, but was struggling to hold the puck in the zone. But it seems with his demotion to the second unit he has been finding his scoring touch once again, contributing 4 assists in the last 3 games, 3 of those coming on the powerplay.

Clayton Stoner: Like Lundin, Clayton Stoner has been doing little to contribute offensively, but has been doing well in his own zone. Stoner adds another dimension though with his toughness, and willingness to scrap with other teams' ne'er-do-wells. For this reason alone, I believe he stays in the lineup.

This defensive unit has been quite impressive this season, and while it doesn't hurt having Vezina-caliber goaltending behind you, the defense has done well to force the play to the boards and create low percentage shooting situations for their opponents. The Wild have the third-best goals against per game average (2.10) despite seeing the second-most shots per game (32.1). That tells me that the Wild have done a great job of limiting the number of scoring chances that their opponents get in spite of the high volume of shots. Does this sort of efficiency continue with Zidlicky in the lineup? I sure hope so. But what's your opinion, Wilderness? Who does Zidlicky replace in the lineup?

Poll

Who do you want Marek Zidlicky to replace?

Mike Lundin

20 votes

Clayton Stoner

15 votes

Jared Spurgeon

11 votes

Marco Scandella

1 votes

47 votes | Poll has closed

The opinions posted here are not those of Hockey Wilderness

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I think Stoner, Zids, Lundin should have to fight for the last two spots on the defense. Whoever is hot will continue to start and whichever one isnt performing is the healthy scratch.

by Burnsie4mvp on Dec 12, 2011 11:24 PM CST reply actions

It's not that I WANT this

But I expect Lundin to be the 7th man. Stoner, Spurgeon and Scandella are all part of the young d-core. Lundin was signed to be the 6th-7th d-man. I don’t see how they take ice-time away from the 3 youngsters.

I'm that ''ignorant dumbass'' who writes with the ''whiny idiot homer'' over at Hockey Wilderness.

Twitter: BubbleWild48

by JSLandry on Dec 12, 2011 11:39 PM CST reply actions

The problem is that we are in 1st place. So a balance has to be struck between development and keeping it going. I personally think Lundin has been fantastic for his role. If it were me making the decision(which it obviously isn’t) Lundin would be in the lineup, and Spurgeon(who has not made the leap many of us hoped for but has still been decent) and Stoner fighting for the spot. If you want to keep both of them playing, send one down as they are both on two way contracts.

by ThatGuy22 on Dec 13, 2011 1:23 AM CST up reply actions

So a balance has to be struck between development and keeping it going

If I’m not mistaken, the Wild were doing just fine before Lundin came back from his injury. I don’t think sitting him out will magically throw the Wild out of the groove. The kids are alright. The question is will Zidlicky be able to jump into that groove.

I know Lundin is playing fantastic, but the intention was for him to be a depth defenseman in the first place. I can’t imagine the Wild will send down a d-man, they’ll want to keep a 7th guy, and I fully expect Lundin to be that guy even if it’s not the popular choice. With Stoner’s force, fighting willingness and solid D (consistently close to the team lead in +/-) and with Spurgeon’s growing offensive play and exemplary positioning, I fail to see how they could be sat or sent down.

Again, it’s not a knock on Lundin, he’s been great, but the intention was never for him to take anyone’s place.

I'm that ''ignorant dumbass'' who writes with the ''whiny idiot homer'' over at Hockey Wilderness.

Twitter: BubbleWild48

by JSLandry on Dec 13, 2011 2:42 PM CST up reply actions

He's also way less expensive to keep on the bench than Zids or Zanon are.

I'm that ''ignorant dumbass'' who writes with the ''whiny idiot homer'' over at Hockey Wilderness.

Twitter: BubbleWild48

by JSLandry on Dec 13, 2011 2:43 PM CST up reply actions

Was that the intention, I remember Lundin being a probable 3-4 Dmen with Scandella likely starting in the AHL again. But Lundin got hurt, Scandella had a fantastic camp(and season) and made the team. Due to other injuries the decision hasn’t had to be made since on what to do with it until now. I think the top 6 D should play, and I think Lundin is one of those.

by ThatGuy22 on Dec 13, 2011 3:15 PM CST up reply actions

I agree,

Lundin was brought in to be a top 4 dman. He wont be sitting. I personally wouldnt mind seeing Spurg being sent down, let him find his game again. or Sit Zanon.

by wild32384 on Dec 13, 2011 5:31 PM CST up reply actions

I don't know

If Fletch really did sign a guy to a 1 million dollar cap hit to be a top 4 d-man, he’s a genius.

I'm that ''ignorant dumbass'' who writes with the ''whiny idiot homer'' over at Hockey Wilderness.

Twitter: BubbleWild48

by JSLandry on Dec 13, 2011 6:01 PM CST up reply actions

Also

I don’t see why Spurge is getting so much flak. He’s leading all d-men in points by double what anyone else has, he’s playing out of his mind defensively, what is there to find?

I'm that ''ignorant dumbass'' who writes with the ''whiny idiot homer'' over at Hockey Wilderness.

Twitter: BubbleWild48

by JSLandry on Dec 13, 2011 6:04 PM CST up reply actions

Still eight guys for seven spots though.

by timprov on Dec 14, 2011 12:59 AM CST up reply actions

I'd say Lundin

Rotate him and Zanon. Have to keep the old guy fresh. Our young core needs the minutes.

Don't know what I'm fighting for, but I know what I'm fighting against

by PUTTINxONxTHExFOIL on Dec 13, 2011 1:12 AM CST via mobile reply actions

Too many small d-men.

I would sit Spurgeon or Zanaon…never been a big fan of either and can’t even spell one of there names.

by GooterBaby on Dec 13, 2011 2:03 AM CST reply actions

That's easy.

The zamboni… as in he can drive the zamboni.

by Krotz the Wall on Dec 13, 2011 9:13 AM CST reply actions

Lundin, Zanon, or Stoner

Put Zids with Schultz, keep Pizza and Spurgeon, and two of the other three as the third pairing. I would love to keep Stoner in there as much as possible for his physical presence, but the other two can hold their own if need be. Then the number 1 PP goes with Zids-Butch-Koivu-Heater-K-Brod, Second PP goes with Spurgeon-Pizza-Cullen-Wellman-Clutter. At least that is what I would do on a video game… Real life is a lot harder to figure out…

by eamon17 on Dec 13, 2011 10:04 AM CST reply actions

I don't know how you can bench Lundin right now.

With him in the lineup, the breakout has been so much better. Zanon looks refreshed, but maybe that means he will be the one to rotate in and out. Honestly, if Zidlicky replaces anyone, he better be kept on a short leash. If he starts to play like crap he needs to sit and I don’t care what his salary is, if he sucks, he sits.

by cgp711 on Dec 13, 2011 10:09 AM CST reply actions

Lundin looks like he plays the system well.

The more I look at it the more I want to see Zanon the odd man out. Lundin does a better job at getting the puck out of the zone and is blocking plenty of shots this year. Another thing about Stoner to go along with his physical presence he leads d-men this year(as well as last year) in plus minus….gotta be doing something right. Here are the pairings I would like to see:
Schultz-Zidlicky
Scandella-Spurgeon
Lundin-Stoner

by GooterBaby on Dec 13, 2011 2:23 PM CST reply actions

I can dig it

by eamon17 on Dec 13, 2011 3:26 PM CST up reply actions

I could totally see a trade scenario where we package Zanon for some draft picks/prospects

by nemo1107 on Dec 13, 2011 6:57 PM CST up reply actions

I would be happy with a 4th or 5th round pick for Zanon. I think Lundin needs time in the line-up to assess whether we should bring him back next year or not. We could steal him for a hometwon discount of 2-3 yr deal under 2 mil I would think.

by GooterBaby on Dec 13, 2011 8:34 PM CST reply actions

D

I think Zanon will be the odd man out. He seems to be a one-trick-pony in that he can block shots like no other, but won’t really contribute any offense and isn’t a great passer. Everyone seems to be blocking shots this year, and Lundin is a much better passer than Zanon. Ideally, I would like the D combinations to be the same as the one above.

Schultz-Zidlicky
Scandella-Spurgeon
Stoner-Lundin

After this year, however, Lundin may stay a couple years while we wait for Brodin to develop. To me, he plays a similar game to Lundin in that he plays solid D while moving the puck well. Brodin definitely has more upside to his game, however, so once Brodin makes the big club, Lundin will probably be looking for a job elsewhere.

by Joel Bertelsen on Dec 14, 2011 1:46 AM CST reply actions