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I still think people are reading too much into this situation and getting too worked up. The way I see it, nothing too unusual or alarming has happened, at least according to the reports/rumors that have been circulating. Holland opened with a lowball offer, as you'd expect him -- or anyone else in his position -- to do. Athanasiou's camp came to the table with an unrealistically high demand, as expected. The agent is clearly using the KHL as leverage, as any agent would do. (The KHL card is the only one AA can play; it's the only leverage he has. Such is the plight of the RFA.) Holland countered with a perfectly good let's-meet-in-the-middle offer, as you'd expect him to do. This is all pretty standard stuff. The next and final step is "AA signs with the Wings." Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. If he does, great. If he doesn't and instead goes to the KHL (assuming this KHL thing isn't smoke and mirrors), then oh well, best of luck to him in his future endeavors. Holland can't allow himself to be bullied by an unproven RFA. He can't set that precedent.

I wasn't a fan of the Daley signing either, it made no sense to me. We already had too many defensemen signed and we didn't have the cap space. However I think you're selling Daley short if you think he's a 3rd pair at best. I'd say at this stage of his career, he's a very good 2nd pair defenseman. He's on a great contract, just not a great fit where this team is at right now. Also, Jensen is on the roster and will likely be in the lineup every night, assuming he doesn't royally f*** up or get injured. Russo didn't impress me much, and I'd much prefer to have Ouellet and / or Sproul in the lineup over him. I agree with pretty much everything else though. Holland and company definitely haven't done themselves any favors with all the bad signings over the years. It's finally starting to bite them in the a**. We desperately need to made some trades to bring some young talent and offload some bad contracts.

While I'm obviously not happy with our current cap situation, I am happy that Holland is standing his ground in regards to AA using the KHL as leverage in negotiations. If Holland were to cave and pay AA 3mil per because a KHL team offered the same, he would be setting an awful precedent. I know some like to complain and go with the narrative "AA should ask for more money, look at what Abby/Helm etc. got!!!!!!!!!" but Holland overpaying UFA's doesn't mean he should also overpay RFA's. If anything, hopefully this teaches him a lesson and he doesnt overpay UFA's moving forward. We're not going to be contenders this year, so if he wants to walk, let him walk. We retain his rights anyways and I highly doubt he spends his entire career in the KHL. Or, trade him for a D-man along with a 1st which is what I have wanted for a while.

If we're talking about an established 1D, that probably wouldn't be enough, even if it's a really high pick. The trade value of your standard 1D is crazy-high right now. I'm pretty sure AA's trade value is not especially high right now. Said it before and I'll say it again: we should be looking at young, hight-potential defensemen like Haydn Fleury. (Maybe that's what you're saying. If so, my bad.)

Before I respond Frank, let me say welcome back. As much as I often disagree with you, it's nice to hear different perspectives from people who are not just trolling. With that being said, what do you mean that precedent has been set? Holland has a history of signing RFA's to good contracts. Bad contracts given to your UFA's are not the same thing. But lets just pretend it does for conversation sake, why would making another mistake be the solution here? 3mil to AA because he got an offer from the KHL will make things worse for us especially with Mantha and Larkin due next season. And no that doesnt mean "lowball them" it means pay them market value which is why I agree with @PavelValerievichDatsyuk and say we offer him around 2.1. I dont think we are even close to being "guaranteed" the top pick, we are not as bad as people on here like to say we are. But again, lets just pretend we are for conversation sake, odds are not what they used to be. Look at the Avs, they had one of the worst seasons a team has had in a long time and they got 4th last year, Philly just missed the playoffs and they got 2nd. It's a lottery. I never said trade AA for a top 4 d-man, so Im not going to argue that. What I want is to trade AA and the first which could be anywhere from the 1st pick to 15th pick for a #1 d-man. Sure we could get the lottery pick, but realistically we are going to pick likely somewhere between 6-12 just based on the odds. Lets use the "chance" of the lottery to leverage a team to trade us a stud on the blue-line. So our of curiosity, what is your stance on AA? Do you say pay him 3mil? Or are you saying let him walk? Forget who are GM is, if it was your call, what would you do?

This precedent has been set long before that ship has sailed. It's not about AA being worth the asking price or not it' about not thinking ahead when signing veterans to unmovable deals, period. What's next Mantha and Larkin getting lowballed? When you are a team that's almost guaranteed a top pick you don't trade your first round pick and nobody is going to offer a top 4 dman for AA. AA can come back and ask for a trade so the Wings return would be even less that's the reality. Getting worked up over this stuff is useless but everyone saw it coming and it's just another reason why this franchise needs people from the outside starting next year

"Why does God hate me?" - Martin Frk, 2017

lol, I think I spotted an LGW'er on Twitter...

I didn't vote. I really don't know. I think because Zetterberg is so ******* smart he might get the edge. To be able to change your game and adapt in a young mans league is a rare feat. But Datsyuk is more skilled so.. Hard to vote.

I think it's really interesting, and also pretty damn scary, that we've been in the position of potentially losing AA and Mrazek this summer because this team couldn't find a way to make them work in the system for one reason or another. No matter what you think of either of these players all in all at the end of the day, on a team that's sorely lacking in young talent, these are two guys who have at times shown some of the best potential we've seen from our roster. Why is Mrazek struggling so much when he's shown that he's clearly capable of elite-level play and has had two solid playoff outings under his belt, and why in the hell are we seriously in a position where we made him available to Vegas in the expansion draft? Why is AA ready to go to Russia at this point in his career? Again, on a team that's so sorely lacking in legitimate young talent, these two things should be unthinkable. You've really got to wonder what is going on with this team from the top down that this stuff is going on. Money always plays a part in it, but it seems reasonable to suggest that it's a given that there's gotta be more to it, and clearly Blashill doesn't seem to be a player favorite, and few people seem able to come up with much to defend him. Only thing I'll say to defend Blash is that he is a young NHL coach, and he's been dealt a s*** hand. Has he made countless fumbles? Yes, absolutely. But he could come around down the line, I'm willing to be open minded about it. But not on this team. Already too much poison in the air. Holland has to move aside for someone with a clear and new direction, and Blash has got to go. Probably next summer. But hey, like Frank said, maybe we can ride this dumpster fire to that big #1 pick! Funny.

Yeah, I'd put Sanheim in the Bean-Fleury category. Though, I think Sanheim's more valuable to Philly than Bean or Fleury is to Carolina. The Flyers have several really promising young defensemen in their system, but only one one of them is a more-or-less proven NHL stud at this time (Gostisbehere). The Hurricanes have a pretty deep NHL blue line led by a legit 1D in Faulk, so, in theory, they can comfortably afford to part with Bean/Fleury. But, yeah, we probably won't be trading for That Guy, whether he's an established top-three guy or a promising prospect. When we do finally get that studly top-pairing NHL defenseman, he's probably going to be a homegrown talent -- i.e. we're gonna have to draft and develop our way out of this mess. If only because, as krsmith noted, trades are hard. So very, very hard. #FreeFallin'4Dahlin

I definitely agree that I think it’d be nuts to buckle to the KHL prices and I don’t think anyone wants that. My point is that we shouldn’t be having this conversation. Had Holland been doing his whole job and thinking long term, we wouldn’t have to be here in this situation. This would’ve been buttoned up awhile ago with much less drama. You think any of this looks good for the Wings in any way? This is simply another part of the big picture of a crumbling empire with poor leadership. There are too many important parts to the job to completely flounder at so many of them year after year. I used to think Holland was merely a bit washed up and unmotivated and perhaps too sentimental. At this point, I’m honestly starting to think he’s truly in over his head in the cap era. He consistently hasn’t been able to get the job done well since he started having to deal with the real ramifications of the salary cap era. Our current cap situation combined with years and years of stagnation and countless bad contracts before our current ones is evidence of a GM who doesn’t know how to effectively do their job anymore. This didn’t happen overnight, but signs of problems have been there for years and it keeps snowballing. This team needs fresh thinking.

I'd be A-OK with Bean. Here's the thing: I think it pretty much has to be a mostly unproven prospect/youngster. Trouba isn't an established 1D, but, even so, he'd probably cost more than AA + 1st. Because GMs covet young high-end NHL defensemen that much. Oscar Klefbom isn't necessarily an all-star franchise defenseman, but the Oilers are flat-out not going to trade him at this time. My understanding is Vegas has pretty much zero interest in moving Shea Theodore at this time. We can go down the list... You and I are both in agreement here, I think. I'm just sayin'.

Or maybe Jake Bean?... I think that is what kliq was referring to though. Maybe not a prospect like you and I are talking about, but a youngish up and coming defenseman that may be slotted on the 2nd / 3rd pair, but has the potential to be a number one, like a Trouba or Theodore. I'd be okay with going hard after any of these guys, but of course we won't because trades are hard...

Of course that's why I think Chris will do something after this year. Just ride it out watch some teams that actually have promising young talent and hope for Dahlin or at least secure a top 4 pick. Edmonton and Toronto needed to see all the flaws till they acted maybe its the same with Detroit AA's situation shows a lack of longterm thinking and therefore the wrong philosophy for a real rebuild

I don’t think anyone’s capable of really defending the situation that we’re in here. They talk about building from the draft and being smart and this and that. And yet AA is undeniably one of our better young players that we’ve drafted, when we haven’t drafted many very promising players, and there’s a very good chance he’ll be playing in Russia soon. The fact that the KHL has come up at all is pathetic. This team is mismanaged, plain and simple. It’s nothing new, but it is what it is.

lovely VanCity. ohh wait, that's us now...

THIS IS RUSSIA

As long as Luke Witkowski is playing 20 minutes a night, I'm ok with anything and everything.

Sometimes we talk about Tippett and Hague

You mean there is a strong correlation between Red Wings success and activity on a Red Wings forum? Whooda thunk it?!

my hype is pretty low, im hyped for hockey in general though, just not the wings. I feel similar to waiting for lions season to start.

You would fit in well at cnn.