Quoting: aedoran
I don't see Hronek going anywhere.
Not so sure. You won't find many Hronek supporters like me out there, and I was excited to see him return to the form I expected of him after his first couple seasons. He was lights out top pairing to start the year, but he has cooled off as Seider has heated up. I have no explanation as to why.
My thing with Hronek is he has been plagued by inconsistent plays his entire career, and his play often decides games for better or worse. He can be Mr reliable defensively for 22 minutes, but he is glaringly out of position for two goals against; or he can be a black hole for offensive production all game, but he directly affects his team scoring 3 goals via 3 great passes or shots. I've never thought Hronek was bad. I'd hoped he could settle in as a 1B (like Kronwall or Chelios to Lidstrom). Instead I think he will be a 2nd pairing guy who relies heavily on chemistry with his D partner.
In this proposal, Toronto gets the best defenseman. Liljigren is a downgrade, but his cap hit won't be as bad as Hronek's next deal. Niemela has yet to play in NA. He should be NHL ready in 2 years. You'd have a heck of a D group by then, with Seider, Wallinder, Johansen, Edvinsson, Liljigren, and hopefully Niemela.
Knies seems like a pretty good middle 6, maybe top 6.
This is a good trade for Detroit, and a good one for Toronto now. I don't know if the Toronto prospects line up with Yzerman's plans to compete though...2-3 years?