VM1138

I'm not sure where Sheahan fits anymore, to be honest. I'm not sure he's great for a grinding fourth line, and Helm just locked down the 3C (unless he stays at wing?).

Holland likes to panic and jump the gun on signing people. I like Miller, but it can't be that hard to find a UFA 4th line penalty killer if we somehow missed out on him. Goalies are hard to move. We're stuck with Howard, maybe for the duration of the contract. I would hope we could find a buyer over the next few years, but yeah, we're probably stuck with him. Ericsson, even with all his contract stipulations, would be easier to move. I'm with you on Kronwall, though. He's still a serviceable top four guy, he just never really stepped into the Number 1 spot like we all hoped he would. Unfortunately, we have about a thousand middle pairing defensemen, so...

I thought it was Backhand of Justice?

I hope he doesn't get his hopes up. The bloom will be off the rose soon enough when he's constantly scratched and traded for a conditional pick. EDIT: Rose, not rise. Man, typing on my phone makes me sound like a...well..you know. Stupid auto-correct typos. Apple's is particularly persistent in misspelling or replacing words.

Ott won't play more than ten games. Mark it. He's just a random depth signing like Tootoo, only Tootoo could still play a little hockey, too.

Quibbling over 500k is silly in an era of a $73 million cap.

Staal plays old, I should say. He's done. Some guys drop off.

Net front presence we've been missing for years? I'll take it. None of our changes will light the world on fire but they DO make us a bit more dynamic, which we badly needed. Give the offense a different tool to use and suddenly we aren't so one dimensional, even if that tool isn't a top line star. We still need a star or two but I'm making peace with the fact that we won't get them this offseason. But we still need a defenseman and to clear up some dead weight. I was almost as excited for the reductions as I was the additions this offseason.

You would think we have to trade some guys. Logjam at D and at forward.

Staal would get eaten alive by Wings fans. He's old, losing his legs and fans in NY hated him. He's a classic Holland signing that has blown up in our faces year in and year out. Nielsen took less money and term to come here. Apparently some players still like us.

My main concern is he's a playmaker on a team with no finishers now.

I want Nielsen here but he's not THE guy. We still need a star. Hopefully he and Larkin develop good chemistry. 5.5 isn't terrible. Helm is a $4 million player and Nielsen is twice the player.

The league needs to limit term to 5 years. Increase turnover and prevent teams from screwing themselves over for big chunks of years.

Just imagine the fun that will break out if Helm is AA's replacement, with AA being traded.

Works for me. I think Marchenko thinks he's going to break out and wanted a shorter bridge deal to cash in when he does take off. I hope he's better than we expect.

I'm expecting three years, 1.250 million.

Guys, you can't make bold moves by being bold. Familiarity leads to bold changes, Holland told me himself.

We need Helm. That price and term, though...with Radulov gone it sure does look like we won't be making any bold changes. Add a vet (Nielsen) for center depth and call it any year from 2010-2015.

Because he's not any good. NYR fans are eager to see him go, which is never a good sign.

I'm bummed we aren't mentioned often in rumors. Even knowing we won't do much it's still hard not to hope Holland works some magic for players we haven't considered.

People are thinking of Staal because of name recognition. He isn't of any notable caliber anymore. He's a worse Zetterberg from what I've read this year. Can barely play. Even one year would be a waste.

I'm with you guys, we still need forwards. We need defense, too, but without Stamkos I'm not sure we can afford to lose any scoring forwards like Tatar or Nyquist now. We need all hands on deck to keep te offense from getting worse.

Tanking is stupid. I wish we didn't even discuss that on here. It's embarrassing for the team and it doesn't guarantee anything except YEARS of misery. If we had landed Stamkos, another forward and a defensemen this team could have been a contender. Now we won't be contenders but there are a few moves to be made that can still upgrade various departments and make the team more dynamic. But yeah, let's tank instead and be crap for 5 or 6 years. Grab a couple lottery picks and hope we have enough talent to do something at some point within a decade.

It's unfair to throw Weiss, Modano and Cole into things. Weiss had a better track record than Filppula (who he replaced). Injuries had him off to a bad start, and after that I don't know what happened. Not to mention it wasn't a terrible contract. Cole was actually a great signing and while I already barely remember him being on the team because his tenure was so short, he had an immediate impact before a freak injury ended his career. Modano, same thing. He did well until his wrist got slashed open. We got him to be a third line center and that's what he did. Bringing Bertuzzi back was also a good move. Sure, he was slow but he still contributed and gave us an offensive boost and didn't overstay his welcome to the degree others did (coughClearycough). Colaiacovo was hardly a bust. He did very well when he wasn't injured. We knew he was made of glass coming in. He didn't have an outrageous contract and we didn't renew it after more injuries. Again, I'd hardly say he was a bust because we all (including Holland) knew the risk and didn't overpay for him or rely on him. Alfie was a great second line offensive spark for us, Richards, too, helped a lot. Zidlicky, against all odds, was good for us during the regular season. There were definitely bad signings, though. I really don't think that perception has much to do with a pro athlete's decision. Weather, yes. But every dump of a city has nice clubs and suburbs. A rich athlete can have fun anywhere.

Nielsen is healthy, though, isn't he? Weiss would have been great if not for that. Nielsen does need someone better than him to play with. Not sure we have that. It's an upgrade, just not a game changer that we need.