Wings sign Lilja and MacLean

The Detroit Red Wings signed defenseman Andreas Lilja and center Don MacLean today. This afternoon on 1270AM, head coach Mike Babcock announced the signing of Lilja to a one year contract. Lilja, 30, has played for the LA Kings and most recently, the Florida Panthers. Lilja rounds out the defensemen group at seven players (Lidstrom, Schneider, Fischer, Chelios, Rivers, and Delmore). "Lilja brings NHL experience along with the size and toughness we needed on our blueline," said Red Wings general manager Ken Holland. In his 180 NHL games, Lilja had 186 penalty minutes and 27 points (8 goals and 19 assists). MacLean will most likely be playing for the Griffins this fall with the opportunity to come up to the NHL. He was drafted by the LA Kings, traded to Toronto, signed by Columbus, and is now heading for Detroit. MacLean has played a total of 29 NHL games scoring six goals and got three assits. In 2001-2002 on St. John's, MacLean led the AHL in assists and points. "MacLean gives us depth on offense and will have a chance to compete in training camp. We're happy to have both players signed and look forward to seeing them in the Red Wings' jersey," Holland said. UPDATE: (Matt, 7:49 PM ET) : Here's a little more information on these guys (via. TSN): Andreas Lilja

Size: 6'3" 228 lbs. Assets: Has good stay-at-home qualities from the back end. Plays the game with smarts and possesses excellent size for an NHL blueliner. Flaws: Doesn't have a lot of offensive upside. Must make better use of his huge frame in order to improve his overall NHL game. Career potential: Top six defenseman.

Don MacLean

Size: 6'2" 199 lbs. Assets: Can line up at all three forward positions. Has good offensive instincts and a nice scoring touch. Is sound defensively. Flaws: Must play with more consistency. Could help himself by using his 6-2 frame more to his advantage. Needs to start avoiding serious injury. Career: potential Fourth-line forward.

These look to be decent signings, based on that but we'll have to wait and see how they gel with the team. They certainly bring some much needed size. I'd like to know whether they bring speed, though. Are we still getting slower?