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The reason the Wings have to pick up Doan is rather simple: We need to replace this face... With this one... Think of the photoshoppers Kenny, those innocent little photoshoppers.

Getting Doan and Tootoo in one off season would be magically delicious! esteef

Doan will most likely sign a 1 year deal with Phoenix and Semin will go to the KHL. Wings will likely sign Kubina as Kenny was rumoured to have interest in him at the trade deadline. Quincey and Abs will be re-signed. That will be it. Kenny will say how much he likes his team and that he will save his cap space for the trade deadline and will explore improving his roster. But really, nothing will be done. Kenny is all about adding and not subtracting. No impact trades will be made. Just depth ones. Realistically I think most Wings fans can agree that this team is good enough to make the playoffs but not good enough to go very far. This season and next season are stopgap seasons until our influx of young talent become the next decade's Red Wings. We are basically buying time for Jankrok, Jurco, Pulkkinen, Mrazek, Callahan, Nyquist, Tatar, Smith, etc.

I have lived in Minnesota for the last 9 years and actually have followed the Wild as a "2nd team", so I've seen and followed more of this team than most. This fan base is very knowledgeable about the sport of hockey, but extremely delusional and under-informed about the NHL (in my opinion). Jacque Lemaire and Doug Risebrough (former GM) did this fan base a great disservice by ushering in a boring trap style of hockey for years, which was especially ill-equipped to deal with the post-lockout style of play. If the question is whether this Wild team scares me, the answer is "no", at least not any more than any other playoff contender in the West. After being the hottest team in the NHL through December, this team was TERRIBLE for the rest of the year. And they didn't even have a sufficient excuse. They entered last season with the lowest payroll on defense in the league ($14 million, IIRC) and they are still young, undersized, and lacking depth. They swapped Schultz for Gilbert, but neither of those guys are legitimate Top 2 defensemen. Suter obviously gives them a centerpiece, but keep in mind that virtually everything he did was with the assistance of Shea Weber playing next to him. Defensemen, like goaltenders, are extremely vulnerable to their situation, and while Suter is very good (and I wanted him on the Wings), I don't think he's a Pronger or Chara-like building block that can completely turn around a defense. We'll see. The Wild are now up against the cap and have the most expensive forward corps in the NHL. That's unbelievable to me. The problem is that there are some pretty bad long-term contracts in there (Koivu $6.7 mil, Heatley $7.5 mil, PMB $4 mil). Heck, even $3 or $3.5 mil for Setoguchi and Cullen is a bit much for what you get. They get some more of those deals off the books next offseason, and Mikael Granlund is expected to be star quickly, but we haven't SEEN any of these young guys produce in the NHL yet. I think you could fairly say that the Minnesota Wild are "better positioned for the future" than the Detroit Red Wings right now. But keep in mind that the Minnesota Wild have done nothing BUT position themselves for the future since Fletcher took over as GM, since they have failed to put a winning team on the ice during that time. I think they could potentially be a team with a lot of firepower, but until they've established some kind (any kind) of track record, I wouldn't bet them against Detroit. Their defense is still garbage. Even with Suter, I don't think I would trade their unit for ours, and Detroit has obvious problems in that department.

Bolded: players who are capable of playing in the top-6 Filppula-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi Franzen-Zetterberg-Brunner Cleary-Helm-Samuelsson Miller-Abdelkader-Tootoo Eaves, Emmerton, Mursak, Andersson, Nyquist That's 9 different players who are capable of and could potentially play in the top-6 next year. We won't be trading for another top-6 forward, i.e. Nash and Ryan are not going to be Red Wings. It would be a waste of assets to trade, especially with Semin and Doan still on the market. The next move is obvious: sign Semin or Doan and then trade away 3-4 bottom-6 forwards, or don't sign them and still trade away about 3 bottom-6 forwards. Either or the bottom 6 dump is coming. Hopefully the trade will net another D-man. Edit: Can't understand why everyone is discussing trading for Nash or Ryan while we have more than enough in the forward department and a GAPING hole in our defense still. Bizarre-O world?

I cannot wait until they all become UFAs and they cannot afford to sign them.

Actually, if its around here, it sounds like the opposite of that Mitch Albom story. I guess we have started our decline and lost our luster according to the fans here. Only one fan has posted a positive story, everything else is gloom and doom.

Doan for 3 years please....not just a one year chance at a Cup....he'll want to go where he can win a Cup, but he will need a year just to get into our system 100%. Three years $5.5M please! Still leaves plenty of cap room...we need to get these types of UFA's in here, because they attract others...If Doan comes here, has a great time and gets into playoffs, guarantee he is respected enough among the players that UFA's next July will be calling him asking about his experience and if Detroit is the place to be...I don't think Semin would have the same affect, lets say, on Corey Perry or Ryan Getzlaf or even Shea Weber as Shane Doan would...just my $.02 worth....

I'm sorry, but you'll need to point me to where he said "We're satisfied with our current roster and won't be making any further moves." I haven't seen that.

First off, everyone get off the ledge. We didn't lose out because we're falling apart, or because Kenny didn't do his job, we didn't get the key FA because THEY chose to play together and WHERE they wanted to play and were going there regardless of what everyone else offered them, or because someone gave them an OBSCENE contract, with way too much term (*cough* Carle *cough*) that they did not deserve, that we do not need killing our team in the short, or long term... especially with a new CBA coming, that could freeze the cap. This is not an eternal ceiling that keeps going up and will continue to go up, nor should it be. Once the top FA were gone, the market this year falls off... drastically. When this happens, a good team, with a good GM, does not panic and then reach and sign unnecessary contracts, to marginal players, that hurt their team in the short or long term. They stay the course. Holland is a damn good GM. period. Now, we're all allowed to be upset, dissapointed and even downright pissed that this off season didn't go the way we all wanted and NO one hates the Tootoo signing more than me... but TRUST your GM. You got the best there is in the game and you should be god damn thankful you do and stop being a spoiled, pissy little brat who doesn't appreciate everything they have gotten, or have, because they didn't get the toy they wanted that year... there will be new toys and you'll probably get those too, so get the f' over yourself and stop telling daddy you hate him and he's the worst dad ever, just because you didn't get a unicorn that never existed in the first place. Now, things didn't go the way we wanted, so you formulate an action plan... you don't trade away half your roster for a primadona who is goverened by a nutjob that doesn't even realize that 7 draft picks > 1 draft pick, or reach for a replacement to arguably the best (and unarguably top 2) defenseman to ever play the game and trade away too much looking for something you'll never find. There is no replacement to Nick. Probably ever. You do the best you can to adjust, not replace... Holland is a damn good GM. period. With that said, we have some young players who are ready to show what they have... there may be some growing pains, but if there was ever the time, it's now. Once Quincey signs, that will put us at 6 NHL dmen, you sign a big, shot blocker (Jurcina or Vandermeer) as the 7th to a one year deal and let them battle it out in camp for the spots and you give Smith, Ericsson and Kindl ALL a chance to put that extra body in the press box when everyone's healthy. As for forwards, unless a trade that ACTUALLY makes sense comes across, you stand pat and have faith in the system and, once again, the young guys. Let Nyquist, Brunner, Tatar, Shehan and even Brunnstrom (he's in the process of signing according to reports) come to camp and PROVE they belong, then you give them the spot and give them the faith, without having to look over their shoulders, or going to camp knowing they don't even have a chance to make the team. You put your faith in them, give them the responsibility and the confidence and most importantly... the ice time. Finally, by doing all of this, you don't handcuff yourself for one year, while in panic mode, when you have a season coming up, in which Iginla, Perry, Getzlaf, Horton, Weiss, Clarkson, Weber, Timonen, Whitney, etc, etc, etc... may be free agents (some may re-sign, but others certainly will not)... oh yea, not to mention several of your own that need to be re-signed and will probably be commanding raises... This is not a sprint, it is a marathon, have faith and always remember... Holland is a damn good GM. period.

I guess you mean Kocur? Kocur was known to throw possibly the hardest right in hockey and it destroyed people. Tootoo is not even close, he is an agitator.

All for this idea. Vandermeer or Jurcina would replace Stuart for the time being and beef up the blue line. I like the idea of rotating our prospects through this year and giving them not just 4th line minutes like we've seen so often, but put them on the 2nd and 3rd lines to expose them a little more and see what they're made of. Andersson and Sheahan would be good 3rd line guys, while Tatar would be better suited to take a crack at the top 6 if he gets called up. I just get sick and tired of seeing guys get called up and sit on the bench or play 3 minutes per game and not even get a chance to show what they're made of. Not sure what guys are ready to make the jump on D, but signing one of Vandermeer or Jurcina would be a good insurance signing.

Hoping that either way, this is the last reference we have to testicles & Semin in the same post.

It was mine first. And I like it, and its probably true, so get use to it.

I'm sure some of you have seen this before but this is absolutely hilarious! Gosh, we're gonna miss #5...

Hfboards provided this: Michael Del Zotto might be a doable option. If we can agree to terms ahead of time with MDZ I think we could trade Franzen and Kindl or a pick for him if he signs long term with us. Would be a good young dman that fills a need and would for sure be a top 4 for many years. 6 foot 22 years old LH shot. Doesn't fit in as well as a RH dman. This is the second option: Franzen for McIlrath + 2nd. This kid is huge 6foot 5 and 212lbs. RH shot. 20 yrs old. Could be ready in a year or even this year. Ideas?

But the wings are a lock to win the cup every year...........

Wow, do you have any idea how strong each of those players were at the time they were acquired? Injuries cost Hatcher and Krupp their time in DET and Lang eventually deteriorated. But all three of those guys were impact players when they were acquired. I'm actually embarrassed for you. That has got to be the single worst post I have ever read - and that includes all of your pointless line threads/posts

Is that you Don Cherry?

If Bowman's influence were so substantial and so grand, then the Blackhawks would be a much better team right now. Some of you are far too intent on finding someone to blame.

ok ill do this 2009 Ryan O'Reilly (picked right after Landon Ferraro) Craig Smith 2010 Justin Faulk

Come back, Nick.

Get ready to welcome back Lilja. esteef

Lidstrom is so awesome.

I must have missed something....what position do you play for the Wild?