GoWings1905

Well that's good to hear at least. I can hold out some hope that I still have a chance.

I dearly hope you are right about this.

Honestly, there are players good enough to sign here, but I don't care for any of them. I'm perfectly content with Holland standing pat if need be, and not signing someone just to do it. I have faith in the guys on the roster now, and if a move needs to be made, we will have cap space at the trade deadline to make an addition at forward. The Red Wings were in all likelyhood 47 seconds away from the Finals, and you could make the argument the team is better now with the addition of Rafalski. If I had to sign any of the free agent forwards left, I would pick Gelinas. However, there is no reason to panic because this is a darn good team as it is right now.

Nice to see he's getting a shot somewhere else. Good luck Joey Mac!

Oh yeah, as if saying Lindros and concussion in the same sentence is complete BS. You are right about that I suppose. I don't care how many points he was on pace for. The fact is he never gets there because of the injuries. Lets say a miracle occurs and Lindros somehow stays healthy, then yes maybe it would be a "worthwhile" signing. I have a better shot with Jessica Alba than Lindros does of staying healthy. Again, you can insult me if you wish, but I still think the Red Wings will be just fine without Lindros, and should just leave the roster as is.

Why do the Red Wings need someone right NOW? They are easily going to win their division, and if need be they save the cap space and add a real impact forward at the trade deadline. Lets give guys like Filppula, Hudler, and maybe Grigorenko a chance to show what they can do with an increased role next season. If these guys don't get a chance now, when will they ever? Sure, Yashin has great career stats, but he's not the guy he is now that he was during those massive point seasons. As much as I hate to say it, I would rather have Forsberg than Yashin. I guarantee after a couple of shifts, Yashin would be hated more on here than Lang in his prime.

Actually to be perfectly honest, I never had a problem with Dom coming back. It was a low risk, high reward move. At least Dom still had/has the potential to reach that high reward level. Even if Lindros doesn't take up much cap space, there is no point in signing players just because there is cap room available. What does Lindros provide that will make this Red Wings team any better with him on it? A decent body check once in awhile that will result in him getting a concussion? Great, what an asset. I'm sorry but I don't see any good reason to sign Lindros.

Robert Lang puts up decent numbers each season too, and he is a hard worker compared to Yashin. If we wanted a lazy, unmotivated second line center, we should have just re-signed Lang. I don't understand how by just putting on a Red Wings uniform will inspire Yashin to drop his laziness and play with some effort. Just because Yashin has on the winged wheel doesn't mean he automatically comes equipped with Dan Cleary's work ethic. Yashin is worse than Lang and not worth signing for any price tag. I don't want him here for four million, one million, or 100 dollars. Hopefully, Holland feels the same way.

Well said - I couldn't agree any more with you. There is no point in signing a guy that will likely miss more games than he will play. Save the cap room for the trade deadline, and go out and trade for a forward that will actually make an impact. No thanks to Lindros.

Don't get me wrong I like Tayshaun, I just think his importance to the team is nowhere near the level that Rip is at. The problem with both Prince and Rasheed is they don't know how to use those mismatches to their advantage. Prince couldn't even score on Gibson many times in the Cleveland series. Prince has one decent post move going to his left, but it never works against decent or bigger defenders. While his jump shot has improved quite a bit, it still isn't very consistent. Prince has no right hand, or ability to create off the dribble, and when he gets doubled in the post he often struggles to find the open man. The offense runs through Rip, mainly because Prince and Rasheed could be dominant, but often play away from their strengths. I would agree that Prince is the best defender on the team, but he is nowhere near the dominant defender everyone makes him out to be. LeBron absolutely abused Prince in that series. I know it's Lebron, but Bruce Bowen didn't seem to have much of a problem. I just believe if you take Rip off the Pistons, their offense would be downright awful. I've never been a big fan of Prince, although I know he is well liked by most fans and his teammates.

My, what short memories we have around here. I'm pretty sure last summer has this one beat soundly in terms of the worst. Losing Yzerman and Shanahan - it doesn't get much worse than that. Am I disappointed with the free agency period so far? Yeah, somewhat. I wanted Bertuzzi to come back badly, but other than that I have no problem with what has/has not happened so far. Realistically, losing Lang and Calder was addition by subtraction. Rafalski is an upgrade over Schneider, and well obviously the Bertuzzi loss hurts. I have a lot of faith in the guys on the roster now, Ken Holland, and Mike Babcock. There is no reason to panic over not jeopardizing the future to overpay for players just to make a move. The Red Wings will be fine. Everyone has predicted their demise for years now, and look what always happens.

Well at least now Guerin won't have to worry about disappearing in the playoffs, since the Islanders won't be going there anytime soon. Thank you Ken Holland for not signing Guerin. I'm not sure Guerin can even be classified as a top six forward anymore. Excellent non-move made by Holland.

Welcome Back Dom! One more chance to go out as a champion...

This all may be quite true, but there is one point you made that I think is slightly off. Rip just signed a contract extension either last summer or the year before that was rather lengthy. I believe it was around 7 years for somewhere around 60 million dollars. I tend to think if one of the starters did get traded it would be Rip, even though I disagree with that very much. I'm all for trading Prince if the Pistons can get a productive big man in return, but I would be very upset if Rip ended up getting traded. Rip is much more valuable to the Pistons than Prince will ever be.

I'm sorry, but Rip is the last guy I want to see get traded from the Pistons. They struggle to score as a team as it is. I can't imagine what it would be like without Rip's 20 plus points per game. When the Pistons offense is clicking, it is because what Rip creates running off screens and forcing the defense to scramble. Rip is the best mid-range jump shooter in the NBA, and he also shot around 45% from the three-point line last season. The Pistons offense begins to sputter when Filp Saunders, for some reason, decides to stop utilizing Rip. I would rather see Prince get dealt any day as opposed to Rip. Prince is extremely overrated.

I can't believe any one honestly wants Alexei Yashin to play for the Red Wings. I would be irate if Holland signed this bum. Yashin is Robert Lang, minus the playoff production. Yashin has one playoff goal in nearly 50 games. At least Lang was somewhat a decent performer in the playoffs. Yashin is lazy, unmotivated, and shouldn't even be in the league any longer. Sign me up for Josh Langfeld over Yashin any day of the week. Out of the free agent forwards remaining, I wouldn't mind seeing Gelinas come to Detroit. He can probably be had for a relatively cheap price, and he has proven to be a solid goal scorer. I believe Gelinas is near 300 goals for his career. Plus, he is clutch in the playoffs. He scored the series clinching goal in all three of Calgary's wins in the 2004 playoffs. I'm fine with the Red Wings standing pat and not signing anyone else, but if they do I hope it is Gelinas.

Well, for once around here we can praise Ken Holland for doing something productive in free agency.

I have no problem with Mo Pete, but he doesn't really address the frontcourt issue. The best chance Joe D. had to make a serious move was before the draft, by trading Rasheed and the 15th pick to Phoenix for Marion. Fact is, the longer we get into the summer, the tougher it is to sign and make trades. I agree that Joe D. is not done yet, but I think the best opportunity to make a big move has passed. I expect Nazr Mohammed to get dealt, but good luck getting any value in return. Amir Johnson is nowhere near ready to play, Maxiell is a beast in spurts, Rasheed lives on the three, McDyess is solid, plus Webber and Davis are likely done. That is far from a championship contender frontcourt. Hopefully, we can add a physical center that is willing to score in the low post, or this team is heading down the same path as the last three seasons.

Well hopefully this deal with Chauncey goes through pretty soon. I can't imagine that it will take too long now, since the terms of the contract were already disclosed. I'm not completely sold on paying 12 million a year for a guy that will be 36 at the end of the contract, but it is absolutely a must to keep Mr. Big Shot in a Pistons uniform. Everyone talks about his rough playoff series against Cleveland, but I think we all know that this Pistons team goes nowhere next season without Chauncey around. I thought the Pistons did very well in the draft, especially with the Afflalo pick. I loved watching him play at UCLA. He needs to improve his jump shot some, but he is a proven scorer, and a very solid defender. I'm on the fence regarding taking Stuckey over Young, but it looks as though Stuckey can be a pure scorer, which is something the Pistons need off the bench. I still am really concerned though with the Pistons frontcourt at this time. They cannot go into next season expecting to win it all with the frontcourt they have intact. I'm fine with Rasheed staying if no trade ends up happening, but the Pistons desperately need a physical center that will score some points down low. Three straight years now, the Pistons have been burned by over-relying on perimeter scoring and jump shots. Rasheed could score at will if he stayed down on the block, but it clearly is never going to happen.

I trust Holland completely, but like the poster above me said, the Red Wings desperately need to add a top six forward at some point. Other than that, I like this team's chances next season a lot.

Just curious, but how did you avoid crying on January 2, 2007? I think this day would be classified as a not so happy anniversary. Thanks for the memories Stevie Y!

I have no idea how this is possible. The Rangers have to be over or near the cap as it is, signing Drury and Gomez, and still maybe Shanny. I would be surprised if Souray ends up with the Rangers.

I'm stunned - this is awful. I don't want to overreact, but losing Bertuzzi is terrible. I wanted him back more than anyone else, including Hasek. Ken Holland messed up big time this time around. If Slava Kozlov comes here and gets anywhere near Bert's contract, it is a complete joke. The Red Wings have no physical capacity now, losing Bert and Markov. We desperately need a top six forward, and there are none left in the free agent market now. Besides Pav, Hank, and Homer who is going to score on this team? This is a very forgetable day.

Welcome to Hockeytown Brian!

Wow - great deal for the Kings. I had to look twice at the contract Preissing got. I wouldn't be surprised to see LA stlll end up signing Souray at some point too. Preissing is worth way more than he got in today's market. Very nice move by the Kings.