Welcome Back Kyle

I almost started crying at work when I read that Pavel Datsyuk is going to be out 2-3 weeks due to arthroscopic surgery on his knee.  Today's trade to bring defenseman Kyle Quincey back to Detroit helped me hold back the sniffles.



I really liked Quincey when he was bouncin' round the state between Grand Rapids and Detroit.  It was a difficult decision when in 2008 Ken Holland placed the young, promising defenseman on waivers, but Quincey now comes full circle back to the team that drafted him.  And who's to thank for that?  Steve Yzerman!  Thanks Stevie!

Quincey never really got his shot with the Wings, appearing in only 13 games over three seasons.  However after being claimed off waivers by the Kings, the now-veteran defenseman has carved out a nice career with some notable stats.  In Colorado this season he led all blue-liners with five goals and was tied for most points (23) amongst the defense. 

The Wings lead the league for goals by defensemen this season and Quincey adds another deadly stick to an already deadly blue line.  Check out these numbers with Quincey's season stats inserted:

Lidstrom--10 goals/31 points
White--6 goals/28 points
Kronwall--12 goals/24 points
Quincey--5 goals/23 points
Stuart--5 goals/14 points
Ericcson--1 goal/9 points
Kindl--1 goal/9 points

One area the Wings could use some help is on the power play.  Out of all the goals above, only three (Lidstrom 2, Stuart 1) have come on the power play, and three of Quincey's total this season have come with the man advantage.  That I like.

Here's what I love.  What I remember about Quincey is he has great skates for a big guy, 6'2"/207 lbs, and can help the power play and the penalty kill.  He led the Avs in total ice time (22:21) this season, which compares well with Kronner's (22:28).  He has 68 hits on the season; that would rank him third amongst Detroit's D.  He has 29 giveaways--on par with White's 28--and 22 takeaways--just behind Lidstrom's 23.

I've been sweating the impending trade deadline, watching pieces fall to different places.  I saw Hal Gill go to Nashville and Pavel Kubina go to Philly, and I thought, "Who could the Wings bring in for depth at defense?"  If I knew Quincey was available I would have put him near the top of my list.  He's resignable (restricted free agent), he's not a huge hit to the cap ($3.13M), he's young (26), and we raised him right here in Grand Rapids.

Welcome back Kyle!

Peace. AWP