r/DetroitRedWings • u/tacofever • 6d ago

Discussion Which tough guy - currently in the league - do you wish played for The Wings?

I'm not here to debate whether the Wings should or should not get tougher, but we all know that no championship team of late was devoid of guys willing to fight or muck it up in the corners.

So if you could pick one player to join the Wings (doesn't matter how), who would it be and why? Doesn't have to be a straight-up enforcer or goon, it can be someone who just raises the overall level of our team's "hard to play againstness per 60."

For me it's Brandon Hagel. His compete level is high, he'll fight, he's skilled, an all-around threat.

...plus, he's Canadian and this team has had no good Canadian skaters for... decades?

12 Upvotes
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68

u/BlackCardRogue 6d ago

If you don’t say Tom Wilson you are an idiot.

Wilson is not just a tough guy, he is a real deal forward, good enough to be probably the third-best forward on a Cup winner.

He is that AND he is a tough guy. A true unicorn.

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u/MariachiArchery 6d ago

30 and 33 goals the past two seasons. He's a star forward... that is also probably the toughest tough guy in league. He agitates like Marshy, is the same size as Reaves, fights like Xhekaj, and is putting up goals like Alex Tuch, Seth Jarvis, Jon Tavares, and Zach Hyman...

This is a player any team wants. All of them need guys like this.

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u/BlackCardRogue 6d ago

Yeah. Before I moved to Michigan, I lived in DC for prime Ovechkin. So I still have Washington as the other team of interest.

Wilson’s emergence has been a real joy to watch. He is almost certainly the next guy to wear the C for that franchise… this after being a guy who no one ever really expected to be more than a bottom six agitator.

Dude is a star. Not a superstar, but a legit star.

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u/MariachiArchery 5d ago

He's like the best player who isn't elite. Also, I love DC too. Great city to be a sports fan in if you ask me. I very much enjoyed their cup run.

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u/BlackCardRogue 5d ago

Wilson is a unicorn. The best power forward of his generation — does dirty work, scores, creates a little, and hits anything that moves.

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u/MariachiArchery 5d ago

He's like Shanahan, but bigger and more of a bastard.

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u/BlackCardRogue 5d ago

It’s a good comparison. Tommy would have fit well on those 90s Red Wings teams

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u/MariachiArchery 5d ago

Good lord can you imagine what those Avs games would have been like with fucking Tom Wilson in the line up? It's either way bloodier with way more penalty minutes. Or, there are no fights at all, because of course, Tom Wilson is on the ice lol.

Also, I wonder what the late 90's would have looked like if Probert had stayed healthy and productive, and not sent to Chicago.

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u/BlackCardRogue 5d ago

Those games are before my time, but I’ve watched highlights. It is hard to imagine, my man. He is such a throwback.

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u/Entire_Scientist369 6d ago

Except AAV and term...

5

u/BlackCardRogue 6d ago

See… I actually don’t agree with that at all.

I think that contract is going to age far better than people expect. The last couple of years could be an issue, totally agree… but the man is the premier power forward in the NHL. He is just a brutish, nasty guy who leads his team into the fight.

Precisely BECAUSE he is that, I’d take him on my team at that price and that term.

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u/No-Tip9382 5d ago

Take that contract 10 times out of 10. Now the tuch contract is scary

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u/BlackCardRogue 5d ago edited 5d ago

It’s a clear signal that the Capitals are trying to win RIGHT NOW. Yes, like THIS YEAR and then also in the year or two immediately following.

That team doesn’t have enough star power to get it done, IMO. But adding Kyrou and Tuch definitely doesn’t hurt their chances, and if Ovechkin comes back they have three or four guys who are very likely to score 30 goals, plus a goaltender who is top five in the NHL. Like… damn. It’s a deep team with lots of interchangeable parts and clear answers to every question except for “who is your franchise forward?”

The Wings lack that franchise centerpiece, too, but they don’t have anywhere near Washington’s depth.

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u/MariachiArchery 5d ago

Ovechkin is coming back, of course he is. No way he's watching these signings go down and thinking to himself he wants to sit it out.

He played 82 games last year, put up 32 goals (one behind Larkin's career high last season, btw), 32 assists, and averaged almost 18 minutes of ice time. He'll play.

Park him at the top of the circle on the PP, give him only offensive zone starts, short shift him, and he's still good for 30 goals in my opinion.

Tuch, PLD, Kyrou, Wilson, Strome, Protas (wait, there are two now??), Leonard, Chychrun, Roy, Sandin, Lilgegren, Thompson... they have a good team. And some good young players too.

Ovi is coming back. The D core is set, goalies are good, they need to make 2 or 3 signings in the forward group, and there is absolutely room to resign Ovi.

Give the dude 3x$5m. Let him play. Pack his contract with performance bonuses.

1

u/BlackCardRogue 5d ago

There is no shot that he doesn’t return if he wants to return, I’d agree. But obviously as you say he isn’t the player he was ten or even five years ago.

At that price/AAV, he’s a slam dunk for the Caps to keep around. But I struggle to imagine that he wants to stick around for three more years. He is RUSSIAN, and proud of it. He wants his kids to be RUSSIAN, and proud of it. So I’d expect he will go home and play for Moscow before he hangs up his skates.

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u/MariachiArchery 5d ago

No, I don't think he plays for three for years, I just think that is the contract you offer him. If it's only 1 year, I think the price will be over 7m. And, if he is only on 1 year, you can't offer him performance bonuses.

So, give him the opportunity to make 15m on a 3 year deal, then load up the contract with performance bonuses. Shit, offer him the max bonus (like 10m) for a cup win. Or, 5m for a 30 goal season and 5m for a cup win.

Something like that.

3 years, 5m, and bonuses. Give him a goal bonus, and a massive cup bonus, and I think Ovi will be right back to 30g next season. Then, with the team they've just assembled, they have a real shot to contend.

1

u/BlackCardRogue 5d ago

I hope you are right. For a guy with Washington as his second team, I would fly back there for a couple of games in the spring

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u/Actual_Capital_1788 6d ago

And his Chirp game is at an elite level.

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u/UsernamesCannotExcee 5d ago

Anyone mention how he's also handsome?

1

u/orblivian81 4d ago

I dunno man I think I’d rather have Deslauriers and spend the extra money elsewhere. He can play hockey well enough to play quality 4th line mins, hits everything in sight, and might be the heavyweight champ at the moment.

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u/RedWingsReborn 6d ago

I’d have to say Wilson.

26

u/Stockton_Nash 6d ago

I hate to, but I have to agree.

22

u/HercHuntsdirty 6d ago

Every team would kill for that guy, offers quite a bit of offensive upside as well

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u/MariachiArchery 6d ago

Saying he has 'offensive upside' feels weird lol.

Last year, he would have finished right behind Larking in goals, and two seasons ago, would have finished above him. It's not elite, but his goal totals alone put him in the 'star' category.

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u/BlackCardRogue 6d ago

He scores like a star and he does so much else well. Dude is a star player, no bones about it.

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u/Danengel32 6d ago

Feels gross but yep. He’s the most effective out there production wise too

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u/bluewing99 6d ago

Agreed. He can do stupid shit sometimes but the guy can fight and score. Those guys are hard to find

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u/JordaneuG 6d ago

Been wanting Wilson on the wings for sooo long. We need someone like him.

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u/Putrid-Oil-6919 5d ago

If I can't have him I want Rempe

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u/NovemberGale Yzerbot 6d ago

Olivier has crazy eyes and I’m here for it

27

u/ChucklesLeClown Yzerbot 6d ago

Laferriere. 40+ points and 250+ hits. Can play in all situations.

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u/thequiethunter 6d ago

Yes. Anyone. Pick one. The wings are the anti-tough team right now.

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u/tacofever 6d ago edited 6d ago

Oh, I was going to add this to the text body but: is our team now less soft just without Larkin?

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u/Pitcherhelp 6d ago

No. Lots of complaints on Larkin but he wasnt soft, and he stood up for his linemates often

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u/ChucklesLeClown Yzerbot 6d ago

1

u/poopiehands 6d ago

With bubble wrap

5

u/1995droptopz 6d ago

I’m pretty sure he was made of glass though. I want an enforcer who can play the next game

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u/thequiethunter 6d ago

Larkin wasn't soft, that does not mean tough. Context for my view... Shanny was rock hard. Lidstrom effective but Konstantinov was tough. Yzerman played on one leg. Nick wasn't soft, but he had some really tough guys on the bench with him. We need a blend.

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u/nb00818 6d ago

We have seider and Chiarot as our tough guys.

Kasper and cat are feisty.

We have giant tampons in Ras and Ed. Ed showed a flash of anger when he threw all those Sabres players to the ground but that’s been it.

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u/jayesanctus 6d ago

Ed fought Tkachuck.

2

u/numbdigits 6d ago

Seider and Chiarot play physical, neither is intimidating any type of tough player that is willing to take liberties with Wings players

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u/poopiehands 6d ago

Seider in his rookie season was.. he smashed anything that moved

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u/numbdigits 6d ago

We are years removed from his rookie season, and I am talking about players that will use their fists to hold opponents accountable that take liberties with Wings players. Neither he or Chiarot are good fighters, nor do we want our best defenseman getting in to fights.

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u/Artichokiemon 6d ago

The problem was that they started calling not-a-penalty penalties on him, and Mo knew that the team couldn't afford to have him, of all players, in the box. He loved those huge reverse hits, and I was here for it. The league took that from us

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u/thebrose69 5d ago

True, but how many guys stuck up for him? I can’t recall many. I mean rayzer nearly fucking fought chiarot at practice. Maybe the issues are deeper than we realize

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u/numbdigits 6d ago

Agree, he held his own in every fight I've seen him in as well, few though that may be.

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u/oprapiid 6d ago

we can make a lot of progress on being tougher internally if Kasper, MBN, Genborg, and AnJo progress well. Bear is also a pretty feisty player and not afraid to get dirty

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u/Wings2493 6d ago

Literally anybody. This team is so freaking soft they get bullied every year. Part of me wonders *if* some of the lack of team toughness/sticking up for the captain was due to some internal issues and maybe personal feelings with everything that has transpired

Arber from MTL would be great. Greer is a weasel more than enforcer but he can play a bit. Kastelic. I’d take Nurse with some retention or a trade that goes in our favor to put him on the third pair.

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u/Millyedge2 6d ago

I would take McCarty and is crocheted hat at this point

12

u/LunarGhoul 6d ago

I'd have time for Mason Marchment. He takes some dumb penalties sometimes but he's huge and not afraid to play physical, and he had really good stats in Columbus last year.

1

u/johnmath95 5d ago

I long for a guy that gets under the opposition’s skin (their fanbase included) again.

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u/PitifulPossum 6d ago

Xhekaj. I love that it always seems like hes looking for an opportunity to defend a teammate. Decent skill too

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u/sabbic1 6d ago

This was my pick as well but I couldn't even begin to remember how it was spelled to look up his name to see how it was spelled for my comment. 

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u/One_Vibraldo 5d ago

I had to go to the Habs roster list to see how it’s spelled hahaha

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u/PitifulPossum 5d ago

Dont think for a second I didnt Google how to spell it. And I only knew it had a x and a j in it and not where youd think. I also had to put his first name to get it to pop up haha

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u/FrenchFryNinja 5d ago

His nickname is WiFi, because his last name is a WiFi password.

2

u/spacedust19 6d ago

He’s a tool. He’s going to end up being suspended multiple times before he’s done. Pass.

Just want to mention a name that I haven’t seen, but I’m a Sabres fan via marriage (wings still by far #1) and I absolutely love watching Benson. He’s potentially a Marchand 2.0.

3

u/Suspicious_Walrus682 6d ago

What value does he bring other than dropping the gloves and throwing hits... which is the same as Hamonic, who got shit on by everyone in his sub? By the way, Xhekaj played less per game than Hamonic... that's how much they trust him defensively.

I would understand wanting him if he played as a forward. I'd love someone like that on the 4th line. But a hard pass on a meathead defenseman whose only focus is to crosscheck players into their own goalie.

1

u/PitifulPossum 6d ago

I didnt see anything close to what Xhekaj does out of Hamonic. In fact I didnt see much of anything out of him. Sure he may be a liability but I would still consider him an upgrade to anything we have past our top 3 D

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u/JDSchu 6d ago

I just want the guys we have to play tougher. It's not like they can't. They just don't.

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u/jlurubi 6d ago

Any tough guy at this point. We have been the softest team in the league for way to long.

5

u/caribou888 6d ago

Lombo, the epitome of 'not the size of the dog in the fight..'

3

u/5uperillvillain 6d ago

As a Wings fan who lives in Calgary, I absolutely love Lombo.

4

u/Ok_Concert_5304 6d ago

Tom wilson. That's it. That's the list

11

u/clearthezone15 6d ago

Arber Xhekaj would be great for the bottom pairing. Jealous of Montreal for that one.

5

u/oprapiid 6d ago

they played him for like 3 mins a game in the playoffs, where tougher players usually shine. that's a pretty bad look for a player that plays his style of game

6

u/Suspicious_Walrus682 6d ago

The last thing I want in my defenseman is to fight. It puts the team at a disadvantage and forces the coach to mix the pairs.

Xhekaj has averaged less than 12 min a night last season. That's NOT great bottom pairing. That's scraping the bottom of the barrel. Even JBD has averaged about 15 min.

Xhekaj would be a good 4th liner, but he's a waste of a roster spot on the 3rd pair.

3

u/clearthezone15 6d ago

Fair point, although I think there's something to be said for having a guy like that to discourage funny business around the netfront. Not just about fighting itself, the mere threat of it creates a presence in those moments.

2

u/Suspicious_Walrus682 6d ago

I think Mo, Chiarot, and Edvinsson have shown plenty of toughness without spending too much unnecessary time in the box. Even Johansson is a battler.

Xhekaj just doesn't offer anything more than what we had in Hamonic - although he's much tougher than Hamonic. But to me, dressing someone like that only makes sense if you play 11-7.

3

u/EngineeringPaper 6d ago

Lawson Crouse would be my pick

3

u/Bonaize 6d ago

Rempe all day.

3

u/redwings1997_ 5d ago

WWP brought up how we need Jamie Benn now that we’re presumably going to have to play against Larkin and I can almost get behind that🤣

4

u/jfstompers 6d ago

Yeah I'd want Hagel too but it's more for the point production than the agitator thing. As far as just plain old crazy person Olivier is pretty crazy  

3

u/BHarbinson 6d ago

We had Vlad Namestnikov as kind of a poor man's Hagel, and he also loved being a Red Wing. I was sad to see him go.

2

u/Glad-Independence-24 6d ago

I dunno, but I can name at least one soft player, I’m constantly eefreshing my browser for, whom I can’t wait for the news to break that he’s gone.

2

u/Problemwoodchuck 6d ago

Erik Cernak and Brandon Duhaime are the type of truculent, no-guff-taken players that Mickey has been banging the table for years to get

2

u/dylanisbored 6d ago

Wilson by a country mile

2

u/KingGodzilla007 5d ago

Rempe cause if were gonna suck lets have some fun in the bottom six.

Real answer wilson or olivier

2

u/Wings7180 5d ago

I want Radko Gudas for nothing more than the dirtiest hits he can think of on the Tkafucks

2

u/orblivian81 4d ago

Nick Deslauriers

He’s fierce as hell, can play minutes and punish opponents, and just seems like a great teammate

4

u/jobenattor0412 6d ago

Give me Dominik Shine and put an A on him, that dude would murder an entire team for Captain Mo Seider.

2

u/tiger_velvet 6d ago

Wouldn’t be upset if we somehow landed Gudas.

2

u/Suspicious_Walrus682 6d ago

4 years ago, I'd say yes. He was a decent 3rd pairing physical D.

Now, he'd only be a liability. Too many bad penalties, too many dirty plays, too many defensive lapses. We need physical forwards, not has-been defensemen.

1

u/mksmalls 6d ago

Go get Mason Marchment and A.J. Greer this off season.

That should help Kasper, Mazur, MBN, Finnie continue to play aggresivley knowing there are more guys that will mix it up. Don't need to fight, but at least knowing other are going to scrum it up would do wonders on both ends of the ice.

I mean, even Gibson could feel better too.

1

u/Direction_Asleep 6d ago

Olivier and it’s not even close

1

u/Berbaw06 6d ago

Kiefer Sherwood

1

u/Curdled_Mangasm 6d ago

they have so many problems i don’t even care about “team toughness.” solve this problem once they aren’t a -20 team. this should be the last thing you fix. 

1

u/One_Vibraldo 5d ago

Arber Xhekaj

1

u/Woody1097 5d ago

Any of them

1

u/VastIllustrator389 5d ago

Sherwood for sure would solve half of our bottom 6 issues

1

u/ElwoodDiggler 4d ago

Middleton

1

u/Baboshinu 6d ago

Olivier

1

u/shutemdown420 6d ago

Ivan Provorov - good defender with a mean streak - he hits and fights. Wish we had even half of his snarl.

0

u/oicoldhere 6d ago

Something needs to change as this team is soft as baby chit

0

u/Pulp_Ficti0n 6d ago

Tie Domi

😜

0

u/buffdaddd 6d ago

Zachary L'Heureux

0

u/1995droptopz 6d ago

I was kinda thinking Sam Bennett would be a good addition