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1. Leino was released in order to free up cap/roster for Franzen's return. 2. Holmstrom is a specialist that is the very best at what he does. 3. He can still score goals, 25 goals for under 2 million is an absolutely great deal. 4. You can not pay too much for a player like Lidstrom, especially when you aren't talking 8-10 million. Before last year I was in the same boat as you, I didn't think Homer had a place in the top 6 due to his skating ability. But he clearly proved me wrong last year on his way to being the second leading scorer. Lastly Steve Yzerman over Ken Holland? Damn I've probably replied to a troll. Oh well.

I will certainly never forget. http://espn.go.com/blog/sportscenter/post/_/id/57110/this-day-in-sports-the-stanley-cup-returns-to-motor-city

Holmstrom is a warrior. The Demolition Man. And he is one of the keys to Detroit's success over the years. There is no one better at what he does. NO ONE>>ANYWHERE. Period. He deserves to retire a Wing.

sheesh... imagine if that never happened and Jiri never had the heart attack... that could have been the most epic blueline in NHL history... Early 2000's... just the top 4 alone that could have been... Lidstrom-Konstantinov Fischer-Chelios sheesh...

Wow what do you know.. Newfy made another one of these threads, surprising right? Okay I think this is the last one(we'll see) but here is another pretty good option for our gritty 4th line type guy. He's definitely not my first choice but he isn't an awful choice either. I think the biggest thing to look at here is the ice time. He can consistently put in 10 minutes a night without being a huge liability as well as put up 20 points roughly a season. He is definitely a tougher player, he had 13 fights one season but that number was down to 3 last year and 5 the year before. He's 31 which isn't too old and still play 9 or 10 minutes a night. He has very similar size to Abdelkader. He doesn't fight as much anymore but will step in for his team and definitely defend himself. He is very similar to Dallas Drake. Check this fight out. http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/52186 or this one which shows he can hit pretty good and will answer the bell. http://www.hockeyfights.com/fights/92405 What do you guys think?

I have read a lot of crap on this board. But you take the cake here. When you have the best owners in hockey, Jim Nill, Holland, the scouting and support staff this team as assembled over the years and you win four Cups in 11 years, make the playoffs every year. Other teams take notice. The staff of this team has been dissected over the years, because it's well run by smart people! People who look at the big picture. Teams are feasting on our sloppy seconds and doing really good. One of the great things this organization does for the sport of hockey is establish, groom, and promote their people. And if they ever feel like they want to leave, their time spent here will always be the highlight of their careers. And they will go on to be successful wherever they may go. BTW, Leino was not interested in learning the hardest system in hockey. There was never an issue with his talent, but his ability to conform. We all know Holmstrom has lost a step or two in the last 4-5 years. But Holmstrom has always worked his ass off, scoring the hardest goals, and paying the price nightly. And maybe your grandma can skate faster than him. But can your grandma tip a puck or take 5 or more crosschecks a night?

jroach17, youre an idiot. if didny notice, when homer is healthy, he is one of our best fore checkers. plus 25 plus goals and not counting all the ones he creates by sitting in front of other teams goalies... he should get paid more on any other team but this is Detroit and his home, so he takes less than he deserves

We probably have a better chance of getting him than some of the other names people have been throwing around. Namely because he's older, and doesn't fight that much anymore. Buffalo may think he's expendable, whereas guys like Clarkson or Nystrom are more likely to be re-signed, or to have multiple teams pursuing them. Mair would not be the guy I'd be looking for to join us. There's better options out there, even though I think it'll be harder to land those other options.

Pssh .875 is a lot for someone who can only score 51 goals. I mean, he's technically worth it, but he'll have to take a Red Wings' discount in order to show his loyalty.

Loss of words then. Loss of words today.

A tougher player can only rub off on the rest of the team. It helps to have a guy that can energize the team with some big hits and can stand up for players when need be. You want your team to have all the dimensions and be well rounded. I don't see how that player can hurt the team, unless he takes stupid penalties all the time. However, that depeneds on the particular player, so it's unfair to stereotype that against fighters in general. As for offensive production, once again, that depends on the player. It doesn't hurt to have 4th liners that can score, but if they're soft and don't know how to check (Williams), then they don't help on the 4th line no matter how much they can score. 4th line is for energy and hitting first and foremost. Scoring is secondary when it comes to choosing a tough guy. We don't need our enforcer to play on the top line after all.

Catch 22. Last time we had a couple of guys who were more than willing to drop the gloves was 2008, and you see how that worked out. Yet, having a pure fighter on this roster doesn't seem to help. Dallas Drake and Aaron Downey actually contributed in other ways than fight (Drake more than Downey) and we cannot forget how happy we all were after Lappy leveled Lidstrom and had to eat fists later on, right? Plus, Drake was a huge part of our Stanley Cup run. Brad May is no Aaron Downey and Todd Bertuzzi was no Dallas Drake, it's obvious what has been missing since 2008, but to what extent do we need a tough guy? We've seen that May barely helped us at all in the playoffs and we never really got that Dallas Drake type player (thank you salary cap) when we needed him. That being said, I do believe we need a player that is more than willing to drop them, yet be out there for 60-70 games instead of 15-20. He needs to be able to skate, hit and fight and do it well enough that people are looking twice before they run Datsyuk or Hudler. Admittedly I don't really know too much about the guys being mentioned around this place, outside of recent research on Exelby. If we could land someone like Drake (if they are out there) it would really help this team, but as for a pure fighter who is gonna sit for 27 minutes a night and only play 15 games, I think we can pass on that type player...

I don't know if using the team that got into the playoffs on a shootout in the last game of the season is the best approach at getting your point across. Especially when the player in question only played in 15 games, not half the season. Anyway, I would love to see a fighter on the Wings roster. But like others have said: I want to know that he can score when needed and wont be a liability.

Yeah, Cleary sucks. He's never scored any clutch goals and can't play in any situations. LET'S TRADE HIM!!!! Good thing he doesn't have a NTC!!!

More like "Chicago offered me a better long term deal!" Get over it, guys. Hossa didn't owe Detroit jack s***.

He lost against us, then said ''i i cant beat them join em!'' Then he lost with us and was like ''Chicago has a deep team'' and i hope he gets f***ed over again, joins a team to win the cup at the age of 40, loses, retires, and lives his life knowing he is a loser. Picture how good this will look, hossa losing again, him sitting on the ice, wondering what went wrong, this time he wll probably ball his eyes out

Lilja used to be fairly mean before the concussion and he wasnt a bad fighter when he decided to fight either. Now that he isn't that same player anymore I think the wings target a similar style of pre-injury Lilja. A big, mean stay at home guy that will clear the crease.

Rob Blake.

Yikes. Then you're 100% right. We don't need the worst team in the league's cast offs.

He's still got one year left on that juicy contract.

Dude espn always talks about how no one ever cares about hockey, yet they've overcovered the entire NBA playoffs like everyone cares about the NBA. I don't think that many people in this country care about the NBA.

Scoring nearly a point a game in the late 90s/early 00s definitely still qualifies as 'star' caliber. He was 10th in the league in scoring the year he won the Selke. He might not have been Sakic/Forsberg/Jagr level, but he was still a top-end forward in the league.

Yzerman scored 50 goals (6th in the NHL) and 52 assists in 64 games in 1987-88 and was 11th in Selke voting with first-place votes. His projected points line was 63-65-128, which would have placed him 2nd-9th-4th. Yzerman scored 65 goals (3rd-3rd-3rd) and 90 assists in 1988-89, and was 18th in Selke voting with first place votes. He also won the Lester B. Pearson award that season. I didn't say Yzerman didn't have to sacrifice offense. But to say he was not good defensively at his offensive best is idiotic.

I hope Hossa never gets a Cup so I'm definetly Rooting for Philly. Let the Curse Continue.

2008 - "I wonder what it would be like to play with those guys..." 2009 - "Chicago is a hot, up and coming team...." 2010 - "Hey, I'd love to be your wingman next season." to