VM1138

Honestly, I don't see a difference between Emmerton and Andersson. Andersson was good in the playoffs, but aside from being a good PKer he doesn't add anything to this team. Emmerton doesn't, either. But Emmerton doesn't hurt us either. Interchangeable. If Andersson can get us someone, go for it, I say.

Why not Why not? Assuming, of course, he's relatively cheap.

Why would Helm and Datsyuk being out throw a wrench in the plans? Unless Holland was planning on trading one of them, which is dumb. If anything their injuries make it MORE important we make a move. Maybe an additional move being needed is throwing a wrench into plans? I just hope he doesn't use injuries as an excuse to NOT do anything. EDIT: Add me to the bunch who thinks a move might happen. Last year Holland had already admitted we weren't going to do anything at this time on deadline day. If he's still "hoping" to make a move with an hour and a half left, that means we're still in on someone.

Right now warm bodies would help the Wings. Everyone Is looking at superstar when in reality, a solid defensive bottom three defenseman would go a long way toward helping us. . Same goes with a guy like Cammy. Also, the no rental rule is silly. Lots of UFA's re-sign. Offer a conditional pick, feel the guy out, and things would be fine. I'm not expecting an Ehrhoff or a Kessler but a mid-tier Stuart-type move will help us long term. His departure hurt us just as bad as Rafalski and Lidstrom. I just don't understand the wait and see approach when there are options right now. Where's the fire to win? A good trade now and some signings in the off-season and this team is a Cup contender next season. But if we wait and put all our eggs in one basket (Suter) we are asking for disappointment. But hey, we'll be good for one season 7 years from now.

I don't get why we woyld stand pat. There are good players available right now that are not rentals. The market prices are actually fairly reasonable, and teams are trading way more than I thought. With the Injuries we do need help to stay afloat. Whether we are a Cup team or not, standing pat doesnt Imprive us. I think this deadline has actually seen better players than the off-season will, and you can't build a Cup team through drafting alone. We wont solve all our problems by trading for one player, but It's a start. And it helps us win sooner than waiting for summer and missing out on who we want due to Inflated costs. (Dont ask why my phone Is capitalizing all words that start with I.)

I thought Ehrhoff went to Philly?

Franzen: No top 6? No problem.

Franzen is making this team his while Dats and Z are out.

Chicago absolutely did take Detroit seriously. Their play was consistent with their previous round, Toews lost his cool and hurt his team, and our kids outplayed the Hawks. We lost because we choked, not because Chicago was on some other level. Chicago barely escaped. Tanking to get one player is just not smart.

Just thank whatever god you believe in that we have both and don't have to choose. Fun to read the old posts, though. Eerily reminiscent of the Nyquist-Tatar debates. I remember back then I was a big Datsyuk guy. Wasn't all that impressed about Z. Although I was also a less sophisticated fan less able to appreciate the intangibles Z has.

I don't blame him. Even if Florida is a bottom-feeder, the weather is great, he probably has connections there like old friends, and the travel is easier. Plus, he gets out of the cluster-you-know-what that is Vancouver. No, he won't be winning the Cup, but he can start over now.

Man, if we miss out on someone because we were stingy with picks in a bad draft year...

Well, it seems that other teams are now the front-runners for the players the Wings were rumored to be interested in, at least the high-profile ones. And the low-profile ones that the Wings were linked to have gone suspiciously quiet. If past day-before-deadline behavior is any indicator, it looks like Holland will really stand pat.

Isn't Mezsaros really slow?

If that's the asking price, I'd be strongly compelled to take it. Only thing is, if we lose Helm for another Center, while we upgrade the position we don't solve our current dilemma of not having enough good centers healthy. I agree with Holland about no rentals, but he should absolutely be aggressive about anyone else. I'd part with picks easily, since the draft will be weak and the Wings will finish somewhere in the middle of the pack. We have a lot of prospects, so if one of them gets us a legit top 6 or top 4 guy right now, you do it. The injuries to Datsyuk and Z only make it more imperative that we make a move, not less. Even with everyone healthy, the team still needs changes and additions. So make them now, since there are some legitimately good choices available. This year's deadline is better than previous ones because there are actually good players available, so don't wait for the off-season to upgrade somewhere. And as for Cammalleri, he may be small, but he gets to the dirty areas, doesn't he? And he snipes. I think he's like Tatar. Small but he plays big.

Our defense has been bad. The first half of the season wasn't great, but Quincey was statistically on the ice for a ridiculous amount of turnover leading directly to goals. I forget the number but we'd be near the top of the conference with anyone better than him. And of course, we know Smith and Kindl have struggled. The defense is only 6 guys so two or three struggling, when your team philosophy is "defense by committee", hurts. Even with our scoring woes, and Howard struggling, the main issue is defense. To be Cup contenders we need a top 4 defenseman (preferably top 2) who can score, and a bottom pairing defenseman who is a veteran, solid defense-first guy. Now, more scoring never hurts, but even if you add a score the team will be giving up too many goals. Whereas if you fix the defense, you free up the offense to focus on what they do best.

I guess yes, but I'd really urge people not to get amped for the deadline. No matter how many TSN, NHL Network, or other trade deadline specials, remember how big of a let-down the past handful of years have been. They hype it up to get ratings and interest, but at most we'll see one big move. If that. League-wide. THat said, I know I'll still be hanging around and hoping regardless, haha.

This thread a train wreck. Everyone stay on the topics of trades. No personal insults, excessive sarcasm. If you have to "attack" leave out insulting language and STICK TO ARGUED POINTS. Some of you are making a valiant effort for real discussion. The rest of you, drop the bickering.

The exciting thing about Franzen is that this is the longest streak of excellence in years. Since his mysterious injury in October he's been nothing short of phenomenal, consistently. With Z out, Franzen will matter more than ever. As long as we dont have our inevitable let down game, we could be in good shape, even without Z.

Difference with Datsyuk's situation is that the Olympics were a short term thing. He could play through the pain for two weeks. But the NHL season is long and we are okay for the moment. I see the logic in him resting now that he's back, and I don't blame him.

Also, isn't Weiss back tonight?

The difference between Tatar's cockiness and some of these other guys is that Tatar didn't want anything handed to him. He did put in his time and hw got impatient. Other players get even more entitled before they pay their dues, or don't work hard, or pick fights with teammates. Those are tge problem attitudes.

Holland hasn't made moves because hardly any team has made moves. The recent CBA's made it far too restrictive to trade players. And this year a lot of teams have cap issues, are in the playoff hunt, or won't want our pieces. Don't always mistake Holland not making moves as not wanting to make moves. Things are very tight and there just aren't a lot of options out there.

I'm curious ti see how Z's injury affects Holland's strategy. We wont be sellers, there's no point. I think he still makes a move. All we have to do Is float around .500 and then Z will be back for playoffs (hopefully). So he should stick to his game plan. Maybe this puts an emphasis on getting a scorer, too, but overall our franchise goal stays the same. Improve defensively for a playoff run.

Both Z and Datsyuk are actually improving year after year. Z's career won't be as long as Datsyuk's but I'm not worried about either being less effective. Age is just a number, and I'm surprised so many people cling to these outdated notions of 30+ year olds suddenly becoming useless old horses. With medicine and conditioning the way it is these days, that's not as true as It used to be. I actually hope this gives Z a new lease on playing. I know he'll have back pains forever probably, but this could help him in the long run couldn't it?