VM1138

Because the Wings want to win NOW. They don't have time to rely solely on the young players. Frankly, I think what they've done the past few years is brilliant. They don't jump on bandwagons to get whoever is hot for the moment. Obviously great hockey players are great for a reason, who cares if their career is in decline? Something about the Detroit environment rejuvinates older players. Putting veterans with young players is perfect. The veterans get a boost in energy and productions, and the young players learn how to be better all around players. I think because of this our young players will end up being better than most other young players in the league because other teams rely too much on their young talent. For really cheap, I'd be for Lindros. He might get hurt, but then we'd be no worse off than we are now. And he's never really had a chance to play on such a talented team. And don't forget, "washed up has-beens" play with a chip on their shoulder, which is what got us so far in the playoffs this year.

I'm really glad he's not coming back to us. But with this and the Roenick retirement, the Wings are quickly running out of options.

Osgood is playing the same he's always played. Inconsistent. Sometimes he's amazing, sometimes not. But the guy paid his dues and deserves his spot with the Wings. He's an excellent fall-back guy, and could probably be a starter. He's here, from what I understand, because he genuinely loves the Wings organization and would rather sit on the bench here than start anywhere else. At least, that's what I've heard, that while on other teams, he always wanted to come back here and was never fully happy in those places. EDIT: Someone made a good point. We never failed in the playoffs due to goaltending, not even with Cujo in net. It's just Detroit's habit to blame the goalie's. We've always failed due to lack of production, lack of physicality, and lack of desire to come back. All we need to win the cup in any given year is for our offense, defense, and goaltending to click. We've never had a serious goalie problem, though we've liked to blame our goalies because it's easier to pin failure on one person than a whole team.

Franzen could be in our top six. I'm mixed on Samuelsson. We definitely need to pick up some grit. ANd it looks like we can only do that through trades at this point. Which hurts us even more, because I don't want to mess with the chemistry any more than already has been done. The only player I'd be willing to sacrifice is Samuelsson.

I'm hoping for anybody at all. Even if it's someone we could use as trade bait.

Again, people can bash the players we lost all they want. But the question still remains: Who are you going to replace them with? There's not many quality options.

Roenick would be nice. Let's face it, we've never gotten anyone in the past few years who played like a superstar. The roster is generally very balanced. So a 29 point season for cheap would still be good. We need to fill some gaps, and getting someone like Roenick instead of some untested player at least means we could get lucky and have a year where he gets his groove back. I was on the Roenick band wagon a few years ago, and I'm officially on it again. Oh, and why would Raycroft come to Detroit? Did I miss something with Hasek? He's still ccoming back, isn't he? And Osgood is still our backup. So why would we need Raycroft?

This is why I'm worrying: Last season, we didn't do so well. We can look through with fan-colored goggles on, but we had too many bad streaks and won a lot of close games. The playoffs were great, but we could definately improve on our regular season. Now we've lost a huge chunk of our team. You can say they didn't contribute or mean anything all you want, but they all did have big plays, and they all played a role well, and now there's hardly anyone left on the market that is decent enough to replace them. That's what I'm more concerned about. You think Kozlov is going to play anywhere near the level Calder did at the end of the season?

The last half of last year saw St. Louis and Columbus both have great halves. Now, they have virtually the sam eteams but with some better players added to the mix. We've lost 3 forwards who may not have scored a lot who left, but who are we going to get to replace them. There's hardly anyone better than them available. And if we trade, well, I really don't think we're in a position to. We need our players now. How do you figure this will be a cake walk? Chicago could be decent, depending on if their players perform as well as they could.

Wait. 2 Years is the "long term" contract Bertuzzi wanted but Holland wouldn't give him? Jesus. Two years is all it was? Why didn't we just give it to him!? Now we're stuck having to pick from a bunch of has-beens to choose from who were never even half as good as Bertuzzi was in his prime. And you just watch. Bertuzzi is going to bring his A-game next season, and Schneider is going to pick up his game as well. What a shame. Schneider leaving sucked, but was expected. But this....this downright pisses me off. And I'm no fairweather fan who questions Holland every time a player leaves.

Would Shanahan coming back throw a wrench in the locker room though? I mean, I don't have any inside information, but I haven't heard of any ego or behavior problems with the Wings. Everyone seems to get along really well and click. Is Shanahan going to come back and expect to be queen of the ball? If so, no thanks, though we miss his slap shot. I say let's keep our eyes on the future and not get too nostalgic.

I'm not sure about Guerin. He really didn't do so hot these last playoffs. Sykora is still on the market, isn't he?

According to Holland, we've got 8 million to spend on a forward, a depth defenseman, Hasek, and Hudler. Hasek is going to resign for about 2.5. Hudler isn't going to get anything more than 1.5, do you think? At least, he shouldn't. So you've got 4 million to sign th eother two. I don't know if this includes Bert or not, but I would love to see Sykora in a Wings uniform.

I'm not talking about being upset that Kariya left. I'm talking about being upset that your team has been consitently raped the past week.

Thornton couldn't have commanded that much elsewhere, methinks. Not much of a discount there.

If I were a Preds fan, I'd be furious. This scale of destroying a team is even worse than perennial underachievement like the Detroit Lions. I can't believe they just decimated their roster. On the other side, I've been wanting Kariya to come to the Wings for years. It's sad that he never will, but I never expected him to come this year. Just would've been a cool addition. I forgot about the young guys. We may have the same roster, but those young guys are light years better than they were at the start of next season. They are no longer roster fillers, they are justifiable team members in their own right.

Hasek will not be leaving. He said himself it's the Wings or retire. He's only waiting to see how much money the Wings have left, so he won't break the bank. As for Bertuzzi, I think if he were leaving we'd be hearing more about him. As it stands, I bet he's also waiting around, but not intending to leave. He's going to be better last year. It's been said a million times, he came to a new team, after not playing for almost a year, with players who don't usually get along with him in games, and was injured. And we expected the world of him? Think of him as a new player. He has to re-develop a little. He is no longer a superstar, but he is still a second-line, reliable, productive player.

St. Louis is going to be a contender. Nashville could still be a force, but I bet they won't be a serious contender for the title. St. Louis, on the other hand, could replace Nashville and could give us a run for the money. After all, we upgraded on defense, but lookikng back at last year, we still need a little more scoring. The games we played were pretty close, and the upgrade in defense keeps us in a few more games, the way I look at it. But we still need that extra oompf. I like St. Louis, though, and Legace, so it'll be good to see them get back on their feet. Plus, St. Louis-Detroit games are always great.

I'm not that familiar with the sales side of things, as I've rarely had enough money to buy a hockey uniform or anything like that. But with the new uniforms coming out in a few months, can we expect to see this season's uniforms go on clearance in stores? Or will they keep the prices the same, knowing that they will still sell? Or is there some sort of agreement that the old uniforms have to be pulled from store shelves if not sold after a certain period?

I think people are getting ahead of themselves. A lot of teams want Smyth. The Wings won't get him. Their big name signing is done. Bertuzzi is needed because without him we would have two forward slots to fill instead of one, and Bertuzzi is a proven player. There just aren't enough options out there. He fits with the team style. But he himself said he was never 100% when he played for the Wings. Give him another shot. He is probably past his prime, but we're not asking him to be a super star. We're asking him to play gritty and get the puck in the net once in a while.

Why? The cap hit is a lot lower than 10M and that means that in the latter years of his contract hell be making significantly less than the cap hit which will be easier to buy him out or trade him if they need too.

Datsyuk's contract doesn't look so crazy now. (Not that it ever did to me)

Briere has a no movement clause? Isn't that where you can't even demote them? This guy is set for life. I fully expect him to get lazy, complacent, and drop off the map after next season.

Briere doesnt' deserve 10 million. Have the Flyers totally lost it?