VM1138

He's said he'll stay with Anaheim or retire.

I think after Ericsson's drop in quality most of us are skeptical of Kindl, too. He was highly touted when he first got here, but since he hasn't impressed. Whether he's been good or bad, he simply hasn't impressed. He'll start the season out of fairness and to see what he has, but I don't think he'll finish the season a Red Wing.

Abdelkader hasn't really been allowed to play his offensive game yet. There's no doubt in my mind that if given the chance, Abdelkader could be at least a 2nd line scorer. I don't want him to play in the AHL, but it'd be nice to have Modano. If he truly is meeting with other teams now, I think it's time to move on. We can always trade for someone later in the season to fill a 3rd line scoring role if we need to. If Modano signs, then fine, but I'm no longer as excited as I was. Maybe that'll change if he signs.

By default, they HAD to get picks. They can't afford to trade for any players. It's a fire sale. He may be a great GM but this isn't a demonstration of it. He's forced into this action. It's not genius or cleverness, it's the only thing he CAN do. And picks hardly ever pan out. It could work for them, but they'll have to suck for 3 or 4 years to get to that point. Teams like the Wings can be great without having to suck for years to dive for picks.

Well, Kindl could rotate in like Meech did for the longest time. Although I'm not sure why Smith (totally unproven) would make it in over Kindl, even with a strong camp showing. It just seems like we owe Kindl a shot before Smith. If Kindl doesn't work out we can just bring up Smith or Janik later. I really don't see a need for Meech.

You know, he could very well get some good press in Toronto. In Detroit, we're so spoiled we rip on the greatest defensemen (Rafalski, even Lidstrom from time to time), but on another team where there really isn't a "complete" player of any caliber, they could very well overlook his glaring mistakes and appreciate his speed. He DID do well that time he was the only NHL defenseman left uninjured on the team for a week or so, but he can't achieve that level again for any length of time. There's no way a player gets worse with less playing time.

Thanks, for some reason those weren't showing up when I went there myself. Maybe it was a slightly different URL or an older article or something. My personal favorite is this: Those poor Leafs fans won't know what hit them. Or maybe not since they're used to terrible players with bloated contracts.

Can someone link to the TSN comments? I was over there and I don't see any comments on the article or on their message boards.

You have got to be kidding me. There's no way a team is dumb enough to pay Lebda anything over the league minimum, knowing what we know about him now. The Leafs continue to cement themselves to the league basement. I half expect Lebda to suddenly become a top pairing defenseman. That seems to be the luck we've had with losing players for nothing.

I understand how retiring is a big decision, but I absolutely hate waiting for athletes to make up their mind. Modano needs to come here.

Wow, that sucks. I hate to see anyone go to the KHL. But on the other hand maybe their fleeing will help the league contracts balance out. I always thought it was ridiculous to pay a goalie anything more than 3.5 or 4 million because they are the most unpredictable players.

You're probably right, but at this point I don't see why Abs or Helm should get paid any more than Eaves. After all, despite playing different roles on the team, they are all about just as good as each other.

Exactly. As much as I like Eaves, Miller, etc., the fact is we have prospects with higher end projections. We bring Modano up for a year to replace Eaves or Miller, and then when Modano retires we have Mursak or Tatar or someone ready to make the jump.

50-60 points. I know Babs wants 70 from him, but I think that's too much to expect from him after playing in Russia. No doubt there will be an adjustment period as Hudler adapts to the NHL again. That and playing with new teammates. Like most "new" players it'll probably take him a few months to get going. I can see 70-80 points in 2011-2012, but not next season.

Scoring was the biggest problem for the team last year. We need mroe than an occasional goal from Helm, Abdelkader, Eaves, Miller, etc. Modano can help boost everyone. And I don't get this whole thing about losing young players. As much as I like Eaves and Miller, they've already peaked. True, they could provide solid roleplaying, but Modano can, too, and then some. He gives us a shot we don't have, veteran experience on the bottom lines now that Draper is on the way out, and a guy who will be hungry to win one more time before he retires. Most people accepted that we would lose one of Eaves or Miller anyway, even before the Modano drama, so I don't see the problem with adding a Hall of Famer. It's not like we're going to miss out on the next Datsyuk by adding him.

But with Lidstrom retiring, along with Draper and who knows who else, a lot of cap space is going to be freed up next summer and it's likely his 900k cap hit after retirement won't hurt the team any. This is probably Holland's reasoning (again, if the 2 year part is true). So really it's a smart move, a cheap 2 year contract even if Modano retires after the next season.

Chicago fans must be dreaming. Not only can't they afford him, but Modano himself has repeatedly stated that Detroit is the only team interested in him.

It's not that we don't believe you, as things leak like this all the time. But like anything else in the world we have to take it with a grain of salt until we find some solid proof.

Modano can play a few different roles on the team. I doubt we'll have consistent lines all year. Modano will probably be a PP specialist along with a guy to feed the pucks to Eaves, Miller, Helm, Abdelkader, whoever he plays with. But I have a bad feeling he'll sign with Chicago, thus helping them alleviate their disaster. It'd be just too perfect for Chicago to be able to get out of their hole by pulling a Wings move by signing good players for dirt cheap. Just like they stole our style of play and players.

Maybe Modano isn't an option anymore. At any rate, I don't see why anyone here would hate Miller. I can't recall a single time he didn't something stupid, or was lazy, or had a bad game. The kid gave his all every night and was never, ever a liability. The only reason I can see people wanting Miller gone is because he technically does what Eaves does and we might need an extra roster space. But I fail to see how re-signing Miller is in any way, shape or form a bad thing.

Hate to see Miller go, but if we can get Modano it might be worth it. Miller works hard but he'll probably never be any more of an impact player than he is now. So we're not really losing some long-term development, we're just upgrading for a year until Ritola or Abdelkader is ready to make an impact.

It'd be neat to sign Modano, just to have a fresh, cheap face. But in reality the Wings should probably pick up their 6th defenseman (if it's not going to be Janik, Meech, Lilja, etc.) and save some money for the trade deadline. The team was good enough to make the playoffs despite all the horrible things that happened, so they'll be okay until the trade deadline. And then we could make a big move to make a deep run. There's no one we NEED to sign this off-season. The crop is pretty poor. But at the trade deadline a real impact player could be picked up.

Modano really started to slide the past few years. And sometimes I think we overestimate the ability of playing with the Wings to cure your career problems. But Modano might be one of those players who really comes around. He's not playing for a declining franchise, he's never been sold out by the Wings and he can escape whatever went on in Dallas. He could come play for a team that would appreciate him, and with the linemates he'll have he can easily put up some numbers and at the very least retire with another respectable season and quite possibly a Cup win. Let's face it, there are very few teams that stand a real shot at winning, and Detroit is one of them. Detroit also happens to be the only team that contacted him. Ergo, if he still has a desire to win one last time, he signs with the Wings for whatever they offer.

Um...no? Zetterberg is the better player, and trading him before he starts to decline (and probably even after that) would put a black mark on this franchise in relation to loyalty that would take decades to recover from.

Uhh...you can't have too many scorers, but you can have too many fighters who can't play hockey. If they sign Modano they could play keepaway and not need a serious enforcer.