GoWings1905

I have very little optimism Doan is coming to Detroit -- never really did for a number of reasons. Semin is going to jump on the biggest offer he gets once Doan signs and it's pretty tough to believe that will come from the Red Wings either. The Red Wings will probably add a depth d-man, Holland will kick the tires on trades and nothing will come from it and the roster we have now will be the same on October 12th. For once, the Red Wings need to hope the cap comes down.

Yeah, like a lot of us younger Red Wings fans had control over being born and growing up during their marvelous run. I'm sure those fans exist, but you are making some serious over generalizations there. Even more annoying than this "better fans" debate are people that try to judge what constitutes a "real" fan.

Back in first place! Oddly enough, the Tigers also returned to first place exactly one year ago today and never looked back. I think the White Sox will hang around, but this is the Tigers division to win with the way they are finding their stride lately. Four straight excellent starts from the rotation and the offense is coming up some with serious clutch hitting. This is the team we all expected back in April. Better a little late than never.

Resting on the laurels of the four cups isn't going to keep the Red Wings competitive. Holland has to change his approach to adapt to the league -- maybe he doesn't become as overly aggressive as Holmgren, but his current state of complacency isn't working either. Just because the system was successful before doesn't mean it is going to work forever and it appears the Red Wings luster is wearing off. Holland is a really good GM. I'm thankful for everything he has done, but this is the biggest test of his career and so far the results aren't very positive.

Clowe, Perry and Edler would be my ideal three. Getzlaf is a great player, but the Red Wings need natural goal-scorers and Perry provides that way more than Getzlaf. Edler would be the top-pairing defenseman the Red Wings badly need. I'm not getting my hopes up anymore for free agency though. Ryan Suter ruined everything for me.

I don't think Nashville would be any more likely to match a Red Wings offer sheet than the Flyers. Trading with Detroit is a different story. The front-loaded part of the deal is something the Red Wings have done before and was an incredibly smart move by Holmgren. That's the catch that will determine if Nashville can match or not. I think an offer sheet for Weber would have been worth it for the Red Wings even if it meant the risk of keeping Weber in the Central. They are desperate for a top pairing d-man and there are very few options available. It isn't in Holland's nature to do so, but you make an exception for a player like Weber.

You could easily make a case Weber is the best d-man in the NHL. The likelihood of any of the first round picks being as good as Weber is very slim. Especially since the Flyers will probably be picking lower in the first round. Given other contracts in the league right now, this is a very reasonable deal for an elite player. The 14 years is insane, but Weber may not even play out the entire contract and he's in his prime right now. This was a really shrewd move by Holmgren and the Flyers. Taking advantage of the system before it changes drastically. I'm starting to think today that Nashville won't match either.

I was specifically referring to Weber and Nash playing in the same division. It definitely hasn't helped the Red Wings chances of acquiring either player.

I'm with ya there. Not a big fan of offer sheets, but if there was ever a player worth the risk, Weber is certainly it. Especially if the cap hit turns out to be less than Suter's somehow. It genuinely seems like Holland is putting forth a ton of effort into making a huge splash on practically every name available, so I'm not upset there. Just disappointing that the results aren't going in the Red Wings favor at all.

Dreger just tweeted Detroit was involved in trade discussions for Weber. Another case of bad luck for the Red Wings with Weber playing for a team inside the division. I'm sure the asking price was another Nash scenario and Holland never goes to offer sheets.

Risky move for Weber if he truly doesn't want to be in Nashville long-term. However, with a new CBA looming, maybe he also viewed this as his best opportunity to get a massive contract. I'm sure it is front-loaded with a signing bonus just like Parise and Suter's deals were.

Nashville has to match this, no? Interesting point on Twitter that I just read that if they were willing to offer Suter a huge deal, then surely you would think it applies for Weber too. Obviously the compensation is a little different than losing Suter for nothing, but highly unlikely any of those picks turn into a Shea Weber. Very surprising the Flyers went the offer sheet route and Weber signed it. I thought he would just take another one-year deal in Nashville and hit UFA next summer.

What is that based on? Quincey being better is just your opinion as he certainly wasn't very impressive since coming back to the Red Wings. He isn't getting hated on just for the hell of it -- the Red Wings gave up a first rounder for him and he looked a lot like the player the team let go for nothing. I mentioned in my previous post, but Quincey really only presents more offensive upside than Stuart. Quincey is not as good defensively, nor on the penalty kill for certain and he has a knack for taking bad penalties. Although I think Stuart has gotten less physical over the years, that was still an element of his game too. Quincey has a chance to prove himself certainly, but I don't think he really instilled a whole lot of confidence going forward from his play last season.

Ehh I feel about the same today as I did when the Red Wings got Quincey back. I don't hate it, but I'm certainly not in love with the move either. The cap hit isn't all that bad at least, which is one positive to the situation. With the lack of bodies/proven talent on defense it was almost a foregone conclusion the Red Wings needed to re-sign Quincey for the upcoming season. Maybe a full year in Detroit will elevate Quincey's play. I didn't see anything since the trade happened to feel confident about that though. Stuart had some flaws, but he was also extremely reliable and chewed up the most minutes on the PK. Quincey has more offensive upside than Stuart, however, I don't think Quincey will be anywhere near as solid in his own end or on the penalty kill. He also really needs to cut down on the stupid penalties.

I voted no. I just don't think the Red Wings have enough skill in the top-six to have the luxury of putting their two best forwards together. Teams will just send their top pairing out there against them and then you are really relying on Franzen, Filppula, Samuelsson to come through offensively and I'm not sure any of them can do that without having Z or Pavel on their line. Also, I think you could easily make the case that their magic together has worn off since 2008. Maybe if they consistently were on the same line, it could return to an extent, but they played together early in the season last year and were actually quite awful. Z and Filppula had terrific chemistry, so it would be hard to go away from that to start. The obvious downside to that is unfortunately you leave Pavel lugging around Franzen again. The top-six is just severely lacking a true goal-scoring winger and has been since Hossa left. That's why Semin seems like such a logical move. I would try Filppula, Z and Sammy (maybe Brunner depending on what he shows) and Franzen, Pavel and Nyquist together. Not an overwhelmingly strong top-six, but probably adequate enough to score goals during the regular season. Playoffs are a different story.

Jimmy definitely wasn't the biggest difference in the series. Nashville shut down the Red Wings offensively and made the most of their limited scoring chances, often a result of the Red Wings making mistakes. The pathetic goal the Red Wings gave up in Game 4 right after Kronwall had scored was basically a testament to the entire series. The Red Wings controlled most of the play, took a ton of effort to score a single goal and gave it right back by being careless defensively. I wouldn't say Howard was anything special in the series, though. He didn't get enough work to really stand out and his team hung him out to dry for a majority of the goals against. The goaltending matchup looked more lobsided than it really was. The shot totals were deceiving because Rinne faced 40, but the Red Wings made most of them easy saves from the perimeter. I guess ultimately the only part of the team I feel "content" with going into next season is the goaltending. Although, both Jimmy and Monster are going to be relied on a little more to maybe steal some games with so much uncertainty on defense. That safety valve of #5 is gone.

There's a big difference between being NHL ready and being attractive in a trade. Mursak is a 4th liner and Tatar is a prospect. The Rangers could blow that offer out of the water.

Columbus could do way better than that deal even with Howson's demands. Franzen has 60 years left on his deal, Mursak is a 4th liner and Tatar is a promising yet completely unproven commodity. Columbus may come down on the return for Nash, but not that far. Especially for the Red Wings.

Considering the Red Wings didn't even play in May this past season, that would be a reason to smile going forward.

What a great move by the Giants getting Melky. For the price of a starting pitcher that can't throw strikes. I think the Giants may win the NL and Lincecum has been a disaster so far. It will be interesting to see what DD does at the trade deadline. My preference would be a corner outfielder right now with Dirks still not coming back until maybe August. I don't see Berry keeping up this pace and Boesch has been brutal offensively and defensively. Carlos Quentin sure would be nice.

Even if Howson's insane demands come down, they are still always going to be highest for the Red Wings. I just don't see the Red Wings able or willing to pay the steep price unless all other options are off the table. This is why I wish the Red Wings would make a harder push for Semin, especially if he would only sign a one-year deal. No assets given up and then you can try and swing a deal still for a quality d-man. Trading for Nash is sending out someone from the top-six. The Red Wings already need to add in that area without losing someone like Fil.

Now we see why JV has to pitch instead of just throw. I wouldn't want to be the Orioles on Sunday. Even though it doesn't mean much (except to Bud), the competitive nature of Verlander isn't going to be pleased with that showing. Can't wait for the second half to start.

True. I should have elaborated better. Doan has the experience, but Z has been groomed for years including watching Nick and Stevie as mentors. I don't think there's any doubt he can handle being captain and it seems like Babcock and most of his teammates have said as much. As far as the better player, I agree that it doesn't always have to be a deciding factor. However, with everything Z has accomplished, it certainly helps his case. Besides, ultimately I don't think it would be very Red Wing like to hand over the captaincy to a brand new player when the current team has plenty of options that have served the organization for years.

Not a chance. Why would he? Z has been with the Red Wings and is a better player than Doan anyways.

If Doan doesn't stay in Phoenix, I have very little belief he will sign with the Red Wings. Pretty much every team that has reported interest is closer to contending than the Red Wings. Doan is 35 years old -- I doubt he wants to play in a situation where the team is on the decline.