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http://www.mlive.com...itch_for_r.html Can we please put this to bed now? Also, those myopic posts about Holland not doing his job... Yea, you can't dance if you don't have a partner, no matter how much you try...

Both great centers and both play an outstanding two way game. Unless theyre needed to shut down a top line together i think they should be split. Id rather split the shut down abilities of both across the top 6 and have both center 1 and 2 respectively. We just need to give pasha some support inwhich case he's been lacking. I still think pasha and filp are a deadly combo. Bring brunner to second line with hank and push filp to 1st w pasha.

I wouldn't expect him to improve his #'s much at all. If he was a sniper he'd benefit from a set-up guy like Datsyuk but he likes to carry the puck more than shoot it and I don't think he'd have the type of chemistry you'd want with Datsyuk. Nash played with some of the best players in the world during the Olympics and his numbers sucked, I don't buy the excuse that his lack of production is the fault of his linemates. He is what he is...a sub 80 pt player that collects way too big of a paycheck.

...again, I love this signing. Jordin Tootoo is the type of player this team has been missing...and guess what? Unlike the Drake signing where it was a 1 year last hurrah, Jordin is 27, signed for 3 years already PLUS he will probably finish his career here (5 more after this contract maybe?) as most players who come here do. No doubt if Stuart didn't have the family issues, he'd be signed here for a career ending contract. I have a feeling Sammy will end his here as well. It's crazy how all these players can go to teams to "hope" the rebuild takes only a few years...I know Detroit cannot sign ALL the players, but it seems there are two types of players in this league...players that bounce around for the money and players who sign somewhere to win for the rest of their careers...not many teams have the Resume of the Detroit Red Wings when it comes to winning and consistency. There will be certain players who will regret NOT signing in Detroit...but Tootoo will NOT be one of them. He is here til the end of his career, guaranteed. Especially if during his 3 year contract Detroit sniffs a Cup Final or wins a Cup. Again I say welcome to Hockeytown Jordin! What took you so long?

Tootoo really cleaned up his game last year. His past hurts him when it comes to getting the benefit of the doubt with the referees. I'm interested to see if that continues now that he's wearing a different sweater. You'd be hard pressed to find another 4th liner in the league that skates as hard and fast. He won't hesitate to put the puck on net. He won't back down to anyone. His attitude and hard skating is infectious. He a total energy guy that will pick his team up when they need a shot of adrenaline. Not to mention he is just a total pain in the ass to play against. Support this guy and he will thrive.

Red Wings Rebuilding and Adapting to Maintain Dominance The Detroit Red Wings have been in a rebuilding phase since Brian Rafalski hurt his knee and retired. But with Brad Stuart and Nick Lidstrom gone, this sends the Red Wing organization into a much deeper rebuilding process. We are the victim of our own success. The Wings were so dominate for so long that fans around the country figured who ever won the Detroit/Colorado series would become the Cup Champion. The Eastern Conference could only hope the two teams would beat each other up to have a chance. But not even the mighty Avalanche could keep up with the Red Wings. As a result the NHL introduced a policy of parity among teams. That’s why I laugh at all the knuckleheads on this forum who attack Kenny Holland and the Red Wing management. These are the same people who forced the NHL to change the rules toward parity. The Wings not only dominated the ice with leadership and skill, but their marketing dominated even the NHL front office through its Hockeytown campaign. They redefined the game with the left wing lock and a specialized system which was unique to the league. The Wings dominated with an active owner willing to commit the resources for developing talent and building morale. The Wings dominated in attendance and fan base around the league. But the biggest domination has been in the draft and evaluating talent. It really would have been scary if 11th round pick Vladimir Konstantinov played a full career alongside Nick Lidstrom. Kris Draper for a dollar from Winnipeg! Kirk Maltby a trade with Edmonton in '95 for defenseman Dan McGillis! WHO IS DAN McGILLIS!!!! Vladimir Konstantinov 1989: 11th round, (221st overall) Sergei Fedorov 1989 - 4th round (74th overall) Keith Primeau to Hartford for Brendan Shanahan! Nick Lidstrom 1989 - 3rd round (53rd overall) Slava Kozlov 1990 - 2nd round (45th overall) Bob Probert 1983 - 3rd (46th overall) Joe Kocur 1983 - 5th Round, (88th overall) Johan Franzen 2004 - 3rd round (97th overall) Darren Helm 2005 - 5th round (132nd overall) Pavel Datsyuk1998 - 6th round (171st overall) Valtteri Filppula 2002 - 3rd round (95th overall) Tomas Holmstrom 1994 - 10th round (257th overall) Henrik Zetterberg 1999 - 7th round (210th overall) Jonathan Ericsson 2002 - 9th Round, (291st overall) Chris Osgood 1991 - 3rd round (54th overall) Jimmy Howard 2003 - 2nd Rnd, (64th overall) This proves the Wings didn’t just throw money at players! They built a dominating franchise in all phases in the sport! THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT As Red Wing fans we need to accept this transition of rebuilding and not demand trades for overpriced forwards like Rick Nash ($7.8 annually). Don’t trade the youth… develop the youth! The NHL has changed the rules, now we need to adapt and dominate like we have in the past. The following list of Red Wing youth all have a tremendous chance to contribute to the organization. Brendan Smith D Damien Brunner LW Riley Sheahan C http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=PET_AGhPCg0 Petr Mrazek G http:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TVpMrFNzOYTomas Jurco RW http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=biPsk6n2q5g Teemu Pulkkinen RW http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzfGZwoiGjU Gustav Nyquist LW http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGuCbnHiy3o Tomas Tartar LW http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=OivN-x05v24 Calle Jarnkrok C http: //youtu.be/pJrqdY4HDDg Ryan Sproul D http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fil5eZGVyb0 Xavier Ouellet D http: //youtu.be/aMgjqcQzbp0 Landon Ferraro C http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=20sz6_Aj4xc Martin Frk http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEQbMQLgZO0

I prefer bringing up the kids and signing long term contracts with Justin Abdelkader, Valtteri Filppula, Pavel Datsyuk and Brendan Smith. We can always sign Shea Weber for $8.5 million per year next year. He's one of the few players worth the money.

At this point, we are going to have to overpay for talent. Either that, or just bring up the kids and focus on making the playoffs.

For his style of play and repuation, his PIM numbers are fairly small actually. A good number of those 92 PIMs last year are from fighting and you have to think a lot from roughing as well with another going to the box. Plus when he pisses off the other team he draws a lot of penalties as well. Of course youre going to get some penalties from this type of player, but when youre getting one of the hardest hitting forwards and one of the toughest pound for pound fighters, that small amount of penalties he takes is worth it in my eyes the next game when he has guys looking over their shoulders and hurrying with the puck

We need more style of play like Niklas Kronwall. http://youtu.be/fk3qIjz5EDM Pavel Datsyuk http:// youtu.be/fuedKsOGUCw and the work horse Darren Helm...

Ok....Brunner, better than Hudler....Sammy, better than Hudler...Tootoo, better than Hudler....seriously though if Brunner nets 20-25, Sammy nets 20-25, Tootoo reeks havoc and makes it harder to play against us, we are already better offensively than we were last season... Smith may turn out to be a 40-50 scorer...this is the year Kronner tops 40...Sammy WAY better defensively than Hudler... re-sign Abby and we lose Mursak and Emmerton probably...Nyquist will get 30 points (if not more as long as he stays in the top 6.) I am all for making the deal for Nash or Ryan, but honestly, this team doesn't suck, they have a TON of young heart and enthusiasm...more so that they have had in a LONG LONG time....hey guess what, back up goalie is better than last year too! BTW Howard is healthy, remember last season when he was healthy? He was leading all the talks in the Vezina department... I think Kronner really steps it up this season to become the leader he was touted to be when they drafted him...Smith will get heavy nods for Rookie of the Year (be nice to beat out that guy from Minn. I'd ) and I really think this Brunner kid is gonna surprise a lot of people...we won't know until this is the final roster...would like Doan and Nash/Ryan...but if not, then I think we'll still make the playoffs and along the way make some loud noises! I think if Franzine stays he needs to get 40 goals in order to secure his spot on the top line...this the year for him to prove he is that top line scorer... speaking of "the year," lest we forget Filppula is in a contract year and will be looking to earned $5M+ on his next one, so you never know, he may top 70-80 points...life is good in Hockeytown. Even with losing Lids and Stu....we took more steps forward than we did back... edit: As a matter of fact, the talk is who is gonna replace Datsyuk when he retires, where is he gonna come from...well if he stays, look no further than Val Filppula...I know I talk about trading him, but if he remains a Wing and signs a "career" contract like Kronner, he will be the #1 center in a few years...

Nobody "liked" Scotty either....Not saying that Babcock is as good as Scotty, but if Holland or Ilitch had ANY incling that Mike Babcock was hindering the team from landing quality talent, Mike Babcock would be castrated...

The only place he should go is away. I know the OP didn't mean in Detroit but he shouldn't be playing anywhere, he's 42 and he's got nothing he can offer a team at this point. It's over, great career but c'mon now. Very few players can play in their 40's and he's not one of them.

I'd either sign him for one season at a relatively high cap hit (5-6) or 2+ for a low hit (3-3.5). Not high cap hit and a lot of seasons.

I guess we are probably looking at it differently. I don't necessarily see revenue sharing as a "fix" to a temporary issue for which the smaller market team will come out of. I see it more of a permanant thing whereby teams share revenue since overall revenues are driven by the league, not necessarily individual teams. I'm not suggesting you take all the revenues and divide it evenly amongst all the teams in the league (though I'm sure there are people out there that might suggest that), I just think there shoudl be sharing of revenues that are not necessarily team specific. A team can't make money if they aren't playing another team. To use an extreme example, if the league was made up of 2 teams and they just played each other all the time and the only revenues being generated were from the gate, if one team was in a different geographic region, different economic factors, etc., they might be bringing in significantly more revenue than the other team. In that model, it would make sense for one team to be bringing in more money, but it wouldn't make sense if there was an enormous disparity between the two. Look, I think the ultimate solution is to get rid of the teams in struggling markets, but I think we need to forget about that, it is not an available option.

It definitely was an awesome fight. I was nervous in the 1st round after Chael took him down right away. lol

Alright, so I've been thinking about this, because much like the majority of fans on here I've been anxiously awaiting some exciting news. If you take a step back and look at what we've already got to work with, it's really not as bad as some are making it out to be. Perhaps after a few boring off-seasons we were all just itching for some big splash - something exciting, not necessarily because we needed it, but because we'd kinda earned it. There's no denying the fact that we are weaker on D than we were last year. Suter or no Suter, this was inevitable - Lidstrom alone makes this so. Stuart, as much as some liked to bash him, was great and will be missed. This only adds another large hole in our defense. We could use one more depth defenseman especially given the departure of both Exelby and Janik. Now that they are gone, if there is an injury, which there almost always is, we really have nobody to call up. As sickening as it is to even say it - someone as crappy as Lebda would suffice as his only purpose would be 'bandage.' Luckily we still have a few viable options via free agency, not to mention the fact that we have WAY too many forwards and will likely trade a few for something. If that something isn't picks, it should be a depth defenceman. I see a lot of complaining regarding Quincey and Smith. Yes, Q was not what we'd expected after the trade deadline, but keep in mind he was really good in Colorado and we were all a bit sour over losing him. He is better than he showed, and perhaps it was merely the adjustment from one team to another. I would expect an impressive effort from him this season and I feel that our first round pick was most certainly not wasted. Smith - what can be said about the kid? He is our best prospect, and our prospect pool is pretty damn decent. Rated as high as 4th was it? If teams like Philly can just throw their underripe prospects into the roster and see results, I would expect good things. I already liked what I saw last year and I, like many, didn't want to see him sent back down. Did these two fill the gaps left by both Lidstrom and Stuart? Of course not. Will they keep our team competitive? Bet your ass they will. As far as forwards go... well, we may not have acquired any flashy free agents, but our team has improved. We lost Hudler - Jiri Hudler. With the exception of Eva and maybe two other people, he will not be missed very much. He wasn't as bad as we made him out to be, but there's the whole KHL thing, and oh yeah he's the smallest guy on the team. Sammy will not only replace the offence Hudler took with him, but will bring size and grit. Judging by about half of the rosters I see from various posters, it seems most of us have forgotten about the acquisition of Damien Brunner. He was the winger version of Schultz, and nobody really gave two craps when we learned of his interest in Detroit. He is a gamble, but then again so is Alex Semin. He could very well out score Hudler, and although unlikely, score more goals than Parise, who was signed for like 6 million more than Brunner. We don't know how well his game will translate into the NHL, but the potential is there, and that, to me, is as exciting a signing as any. We also have Jordin Tootoo. Tootoo may have inadvertently caused the death of miscellaneous computer hardware by signing here, but he will also cause death to those who f*** with our young guys, which is my next point. We need to give our young prospects a shot in the NHL. There's a reason why most of you wouldn't want Nyquist included in a trade; He is the real deal. I don't understand how we can discourage trading them for proven players such as Nash or Ryan, yet be perfectly content with letting them rot in the AHL while we sign DOAN or whoever else. Doan is great, but he is old and he is not ours. For every Mueller, Prust or Doan we sign, a prospect loses his wings. For another season at least... Babcock guaranteed Brunner a spot. Tootoo is not sitting out at that salary, and neither will Samuelsson. We already have too many forwards, so as far as Doan and Semin go, we really don't need them. Nyquist is ready for the NHL and he will only become as great as he has been projected to be if we give him the chance. Our team may not be stacked, but it will make the playoffs. We lost out on the Thunder Buddy sweepstakes, but we landed Brunner. This will be an exciting season and it could be full of pleasant surprises which will benefit our team in the long run. All we need is more depth on the back end and Holland will address this. The sky is not falling.

Well with Erhoff I doubt very seriously he plays until 40, so basically you've got a guy who will put up 30+ points a year, and runs the hell out of a powerplay, for 4 million dollars until the end of his career. I do understand being wary of that term though, and you're right, it's a gamble, but if Brian Rafalski can put up quality numbers despite having s***ty knees, at 36-37 years old, so can Erhoff...and Erhoff would be cheaper. Wiz is as good defensively as Kronwall, hits, fights, is 20 lbs. heavier, and scores as much or more, and god knows he'd help our powerplay Plus, unlike Erhoff, he won't be all that old when his contract is up...33 I think. In all honesty I don't really understand why people thought this one was so bad. His bad defensive years were with Columbus -13, and the Islanders -18. When he was traded from the Island to Montreal he was a plus four for the remainder of the season. Excluding the two years playing on two of the worst teams imaginable, the Wiz is a career plus defenseman. He does take bad penalties now and again, but usually it's because he's overly aggressive, something I wouldn't really mind on our team. Those are my defenses of those two guys, you're welcome to disagree, as neither of them are elite players and I'm aware of it. Obviously my list included more than just those two as well, but the point I was always trying to make is that there have been plenty of good defensemen available over the last three years. We either didn't want them, or didn't think we needed them. In lieu of our current defensive situation I'd say that those were both poor decisions. Finally, hindsight is 20/20, I get that. But isn't it part of a general manager's job to anticipate the future (as best as possible)? Holland constantly talks about the future. So it's hard for me to say that he shouldn't have been better prepared, preparation falls pretty much exclusively on his shoulders. He's still a great GM, but I agree with Esteef, he could have handled this better.

Not just Russian players....many players don't care about the Cup. Most recently Suter and Parise, who will now never see it again unless they do a Discover commercial with Peggy. A championship used to be the focus of everyone and was cherished, now these guys could care less about winning, as long as they have a bloated contract, are playing with friends and are worshiped by their fans. It's turned into the NFL and NBA.

Ya the league going to a lock out thats great news!

Tootoo won't be on the ice when Zetterberg is. Smith Tootoo won't be on the ice when Zetterberg is but Smith will stand up for his teammates would be nice to get a power forward as well

Yet you seem to be able to tell the future of hockey....I bet the kate upton thing happens before the Wild win a Cup... I'm sorry? I know Detroit is close to Canada, but it's not IN Canada...didn't see the Wild on the short list either, maybe because they aren't in Canada? $110M offer from teams that had no chance to sign them, but offered them the world to try to sway them...again you seem to be omitting the part about family. Parise "If it weren't for family I'd be back in NJ..." Suter "I was leaning towards Detroit but decided to play where my family is" I hate to break it to you, but Minny ONLY got them because of family, they said themselves. I said it before, if their families lived in Seattle, WA they'd be playing for the Canucks...if they were from Fort Lauderdale, they be Panthers...what part of that do yo not understand? They didn't go to Minny because of their great team or stellar future...THEY WENT FOR FAMILY! And it took MORE money to get them there! Hey, if their families were from Ann Arbor, MI. guess where they'd be playing? Are you 12?

of all people you should know.....Quincey wrecks shop

Everyone sees arbitration and labels the player as a villain, but in a lot of cases arbitration is actually a positive. Like others have said, I'm pretty sure it means he's locked into the Wings now. Once arbitration is submitted he is saying he will agree to play with us (or go overseas) for whatever the arbitrator says which could wind up being less than he wants. He just wants to make a case for a higher salary. It's his way of saying he wants to play for us but wants more money. Not quite as douchey as holding up the team in negotiations forever and then bolting for big money elsewhere. And like others have said, Quincey just needs time to adapt. I doubt he'll meet his full potential anytime soon, if ever, but he's still a serviceable #4. And as for Abdelkader not filing, it's probably because he and Holland wrapping up a deal and aren't far apart in what each side is asking for.

It's a business decision, Quincey holds must of the power right now, he knows the Red Wings need defensemen, and he knows they have plenty of money. Not a big deal, just his agent looking out for his player's best interest.