VM1138

There was a time when I thought Hudler and Fil would be Datsyuk and Zetterberg, Jr. And now both are gone and I don't even miss them. I wish Flop the best but good luck struggling on a bottom feeder.

Cleary is a great grinder. But on the Wings he was a top 6 guy and it didn't work until playoffs. Even then he rarely made things happen, he just happened to be there at the right times. I'd take him back, but short term and bottom 6. We may be stuck with Sammu, but after the move he pulled I doubt Babcock ever plays him. Enjoy the press box all season like White, Sammy.

Wash for Ottawa. Gave up a lot. Ryan disappears at times. He replaces Alfie and is younger. So...I'd say it was a good move, but it doesn't really change anythig in Ottawa.

First time in years we can roll three scoring lines. Very, very excited at the signings abd departures. Stronger down the all important middle, a wingers for Datsyuk, and maybe everyone else goes back to the bottom 6 roles they are supposed to play. And no overpayments. Glorious. And Ye might not be done yet. Still have to clear roster space. As much as I like Brunner, I forgot about Tatar. Tatar could be just as good with a full season. Which is probably why Brunner hasn't signed yet.

Cleary the fourth line grinder who can chip in some ugly goals is great. Cleary the top 6 would-be scoring superstar? Not great.

Dallas will be an almost entirely new team next season. Crazy. Nill doesn't waste time, does he?

Weiss is a steady 20 goal, 50-60 point guy. And on a much worse team. You know, the guy we kept waiting for Filppula to become. Instant upgrade. Did you forget all the time Flip spent with Zetterberg and Franzen? Flip should have been much more productive than he was.

At the right price, and combined with the Alfredsson signing, it makes us stronger up front and gives us lineup flexibility. Could make our top 6 pretty good. Not dominant, but good.

Just because he hit the free agent market doesn't mean he is gone. We've signed several players over the years after they hit the market. Is like to know if these writers have any real information indicating he is gone or if they are just assuming and being unimaginitive.

If Alfredsson is the start of a big summer, it's going to be a good one. If he is the end, next season is going to be every bit of the slog last was.

I just read that his contract won't be for $6 million, but for 3.5 which is way more appropriate. I really like this signing for that price. But I don't think he'll get 30. He is slightly declining, and add in a new system and teammates, and the fact that usually our veteran signings don't do as well offensively as they used to, I'm betting he nails 20 goals, 25 if we're lucky. But I feel a lot better about this signing, and am actually excited about it for 3.5 million.

Yeah, the big difference with Modano is that he had a reputation as a floater for a few years before he came to us. Alfredsson, while old, still has game. EDIT: As discussed in the other thread, the problem most people have with this signing is the money (rumored to be around $6 million), and the possibility that he is our big free agent acquisition this summer. I don't think most of us actively don't want him here in any form. But with all the talent we're losing, people are worried he isn't going to make that much of a difference. We are still where we were a few weeks ago, and need help offensively.

Sure, how we perceive this Alfredsson signing depends on who he is replacing. Is he replacing Cleary? Then it's a good move. Is he our "big signing" of the summer expected to solve all of our problems? Then it's a bad signing.

Here's how I feel about this: Alfredsson is not a bad player. But we need a goal-scorer. We need more than 15-20 goals next year, and he's likely only to get that many. I don't care about us getting "soft." Toughness is overrated. Like others have said before me, you need to be some degree of tough, but the toughest teams don't necessarily go anywhere. I guess he wouldn't hurt us, but he doesn't fit anywhere in particular. He doesn't replace Flip, but maybe it allows Franzen to move to center. He doesn't give us goals, which we desperately need. But maybe if he played with Datsyuk or something? I don't know, I'm really lukewarm about this. I don't hate it, especially if it's cheap, but this can't be our "big move." He helps us maintain the status quo for losing the points of Flip and maybe Brunner, but only for a year. But we still haven't addressed the problems we had before the season ended. Getting back to where we were in May doesn't qualify as a successful off-season. I mean, let's look at the lineup with Alfie in it. Alfredsson-Datsyuk-Abdelkader Franzen-Zetterberg-Cleary/Brunner? Tatar-Andersson-Nyquist Bertuzzi-Emmerton-Samuellson Miller, Eaves, Tootoo Does that look stronger than last season's? No. We can hope Nyquist and Tatar can turn into top 6 guys this season, but I'd rather not just hope to chance while we have cap space. And 6 million for Alfredsson to put up Filppula-like numbers (50 points) is horrific.But I guess for a one-year deal year you have to overpay.

I do, too. Maybe I'm just naive, but Brunner has this doe-eyed "gee golly shucks" good naturedness about him. He seems so happy with everything, and gets so excited about experiencing new things, he probably does just genuinely want to know, haha.

Alfredsson, the captain who gave up on his team in the playoffs? Despite his talent, we are already fighting complacency on this team. I guess he fits what we need, I just wouldn't put him at the top of my list.

I don't think Brunner is gone. Both sides are probably unsure of what his actual value is. He probably wants to field some offers to have some evidence to back up his demands. I don't think Brunner intends to leave the Wings. Whether Holland quibbles over $500,000 or not...

Can you name picks from any GM? Holland is the manager, not a scout. His job is to know when to trust the scouts, who to hire, and who to sign and trade. He has a better track record than anyone else this era.

He's not a buffoon. But he is becoming overcautious. He is taking the long term approach. Which has flaws. For instance, you'll never win the Cup if you wait year after year for the solution to come from within. No matter how the kids develop, we will always have needs. So how many years can he just wait? I don't hate his moves, but I worry that he has lost his "win now" mentality in favor of "make playoffs and win two rounds.". It's nice to be consistent, but we fans dont care about revenue. We want to see Cups.

That's insane. This guy will make over a million dollars for the next 16 years no matter what he does in his life. Wow. And he's done very little to earn it, which makes it even more amazing. The dude is the luckiest (in money) and unluckiest (in health) at the same time.

Isn't he still technically under contract with someone? Wasn't it the Islanders?

Still embarrassing.

The draft was a mediocre one to me. Sure, these kids could be great, so I'm not saying it was a bad draft, but it lacked the excitement of whatever year it was we drafted Pulkinnen, Jurco, etc. 2010 was it? Still, Holland did great picking up that extra second rounder.

Not sure how to.feel about this pick. A lot of people are high on him but scouting reports seem to focus on the negative. Work ethic usually can't be taught. except for Cleary.

Smith is a really likable guy. You can tell he tries hard and is devastated when he screws up. I'm rooting for him because of that.