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He's not overpaid. Mike Halford summed it up pretty well: Tomas Tatar has been Detroit’s most consistent goalscorer over the last three years. He’s netted 29, 21 and 25 in each campaign, for a grand total of 75 — more than Phil Kessel, Patrick Marleau and Matt Duchene have scored over the same timeframe. Now, Tatar wants to be paid accordingly. Helene St. James: The 75 goals he has scored from 2014-15 through 2016-17 ranks 31st overall in the NHL. Tatar is a really good top-six scoring winger and a solid (if unspectacular) first-line scoring winger. And, according to the conventional possession metrics, he's an elite possession-driver. $5.3M x 4 is a really good deal for the Wings. He's performed above his pay grade in each of the past four seasons. 2013-14: 19 goals and 39 points in 73 games. Cap hit: $630K. 2014-15: 29 goals and 56 points in 82 games. Cap hit: $2.75M. 2015-16: 21 goals and 45 points in 81 games. Cap hit: $2.75M. 2016-17: 25 goals and 46 points in 82 games. Cap hit: $2.75M. He's been performing like a $5M player, and now he's getting $5M. So, the only "demand" that his new contract makes is "Keep doing what you're doing." The team is bad because we lack top-end talent at every position. That's not on Tatar, it's on the people who run the organization and construct the team. Tatar is not The Problem. Tatar has not been holding us back.

Report - Jimmy Howard will be the starting goalie next season, they would like him to start 50-55 games if healthy. He was easily the better of the two last season, I think he's earned his spot. It's make it or break it time for Mrazek, prove me wrong and be the goalie we need you to be Petr. They also stated that Las Vegas "Was not at all interested" in Mrazek which may reflect on his overall value. http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2017/07/23/red-wings-would-like-jimmy-howard-to-play-50-55-games

Some of Osgood, Patrick Roy's best years came when they were 36-37 years old, same for Hasek. Howard should still have a lot of good years in him. Craig Anderson had a phenomenal year and he's 36. Goalies are a different breed than forwards and defenseman.

And people complain about Blashill...

Haha... gee, it might be for the use "retard." I'm fairly certain if he had typed, "Holland is an idiot and needs to be fired," they would have cared less. Some people I'll tell you... Of those players listed, I'd be willing to trade Nyquist, Tatar, and maybe Athanasiou/Svechnikov. The latter two I would only trade for a top 2 D or top C. Nyquist's trade value, right now, isn't great. Hoping for a bounce-back season. Tatar's value is probably so-so until he can show he can be more consistent.

You know, even though this case went to arbitration, one could say this is now two decent contracts in a row Tatar signed. I am not going to begrudge him the 5.3 million since it is a fair rate for his production, and, as I said before, if his shoulder is fine and Blashill deploys him correctly it could end up being a bargain. I was just thinking about how his previous contract at 2.75 million for three years and, more importantly, leaving a year of RFA afterwards was a huge deal for the Wings. I am hoping he lights it up in a big way this year.

I'm already building a case against Petruzzelli for the 2021/22 season

Howard is rightfully so the starter going into the season, but I wouldn't be at all shocked if Mrazek returns to form and steals the starter role once again. Here's to hoping...

If Holland really believes Coreau can be trusted as the #2 behind an injury prone Howard, it's just another piece of evidence that he's lost his mind Sent by my minions via telepathy

RedWingFred

I agree, goalies are different, but I think goalies' shelf lives are shorter, not longer. There are examples of goalies having great years later in their 30s, but those are few and far between I think and they are also more one offs (i.e. you don't typically see a string of several good years). This isn't backed up by any statistical analysis though.

I'm not arguing which of the two makes the team better. It's very clear that Howard was the better goaltender last season, and if he continues to be again this season, of course you ride him. What I'm saying is that it's natural to hope that the younger goalie unseats the goalie that will in all likelihood soon be on the decline of his career. Yeah, we definitely need to unseat the 21 year old Larkin. He's way past his prime anyway... Forget that ridiculous example, do you not hope that Larkin unseats Zetterberg as the top line center in the next year or so? No? Bulls***. Yes? Why? Because Zetterberg likely only has another couple good years (if we're lucky) in him before he starts to drastically decline. This has nothing to do with me liking Mrazek over Howard (I've always been a Howard supporter), this is about what's better for the team going forward. I do hope the younger goalie gets back on track and unseats the older goalie. And if all things are equal, I go with the younger goalie (player) every time. (Note: I'm not talking a few years, I'm talking significant difference in age (8 years)).

A year ago I would have agreed with you on getting Zetterberg's minutes down, but he proved last season that he can handle those big minutes, and he should continue to get them until he shows he can't handle it anymore. Nielsen isn't capable of handling top line minutes and would get eaten alive as our number one center. I also disagree with Larkin playing on the wing. We need him to develop his game as a center, so that's where he should be going forward. I'd try him as the 2nd line center, and if he can't handle it, drop him back to the 3rd line. Just keep him in the middle. I agree with your top 4 defense, although I'd switch the two pairings around. DeKeyser proved that he can't handle the top pair matchups, and is better suited on the 2nd pair. I'd also have Ouellet and Sproul as our 3rd pairing over Kronwall and Ericsson, but that simply won't happen if they're both healthy. Just another reason we need to make a trade or two. One that would see Ericsson moved to make room for one of the younger guys.

The Helm contract isn't as bad as Abdelkader's in my opinion, and I also think Helm is more valuable to the team when healthy. The salaries for both were a little too high, but the term is where the contracts went to s***. I actually think Glendening's was worse, obviously not in overall impact on the cap, but what he brings to the team vs the contract he received makes it the worst on the team in my opinion. I would have been okay with Abdelkader at around $3M X 4 years, Helm at around $3.5M X 4 years, and Glendening around $1.2M X 2 years. 4th line centers of Glendening's caliber can be replaced any year in free agency, or by players within the organization. I think Turgeon could be a viable replacement as early as next season, but Glendening will still be getting overpaid for another three seasons after that...

If they get Mrazek playing games, and he does play well (better than Howard), and takes over the starters net once again, why would they want to trade him at that point though? Unless his attitude really is so bad, that it doesn't matter how well he plays, they want him gone regardless. I'm not sure how it could possibly be that bad, but if it is, I guess it would make some sense... Regardless, best case scenario for this team would be for Mrazek and Howard to play out of their minds, and to trade one (preferably Howard) at some point this season for help on defense.

The Wings are not the one's that look bad from this post.

I wonder why...

You've listed the guys that I'm sure other GMs would want, however, the majority of the guys that you listed are the few guys that I'd never want to trade and are exactly the guys that I'd rather build around moving forward.

I strongly believe Poile is one of, if not the best GM in the league and has been for quite some time. He has made some of the best trades in recent years, great at drafting, great at negotiating contracts. Nashville should be in great shape under him for a long time.

f*** you Holland. This is a perfect example of why he has no clue. The NHL has passed him up. He is horrible at everything. Keep thinking he'll make this cap situation work. He'll either insult AA with a $900K offer or he'll pay him $2M and waive players in hopes they sneak through. This guy is dumber than Homer Simpson. I was right not to trust him with a top 10 pick, I'll never trust him with a #1. He can't make a trade to save his life, so don't hold your breath that he'll even attempt to acquire a top defender. He still believes that E coming back is our fix on D. E should've been gone 2 years ago, Helm should've NEVER been re-signed, Abby shouldn't be above $2.5M, Glenny is a $800K player...ugh, this just pisses me off that he hasn't been fired.

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2017/07/red_wings_tomas_tatar_excited.html "I really, really wanted to stay," he said. "I think Detroit is where I belong. I have so many friends, the fans are awesome. I have a great relationship with guys in the locker room, so it would be really, really hard to have a one-year deal and kind of not knowing what was going to come in the future. I'm extremely happy that I could stay and we found a way to sign the deal"

I don't need $11M, I just need $2M from Abby, $1.5M from Helm and $1M from Glenny. That'll let me have breathing room for AA and that 13th forward and injury call-ups when necessary. I'd alos like to shed $4.25M from Ericsson, but ya, right.

Well the difference between us and 15th highest? $11M. Not so marginal and would be tremendously helpful.