wingsownnhl43

How awesome would it be to steal Ehrhoff and Bieksa from Vancouver. We have the space to do it now.

Please, for the love of god not Kaberle.

I hear ya. Maybe Nick would take less than $6 million now? Either way, if Nick does indeed come back, and Rafalski does indeed retire, this is a positive for the Red Wings.

Did I compare them? Re-read what I wrote. Of course Rafalski doesnt compare to Nick. Just pointing out the fact that losing both Lidstrom and Rafalski in one offseason would be a huge blow.

My only concern is that this affects Nick's decision. As much heat as Rafalski gets around here, it would be devastating to lose both this offseason.

Based on that interview and other articles I have read, this is the kind of roster I project. I have a hard time seeing Kindl or Smith as a #7 defenseman, however I really believe both players are ready to be apart of the big club, full time. I could see Osgood coming back as a backup. If not, we will sign someone else for around the price tag I have penciled in. Same thing goes for Draper. With this, we have 21 players signed and have just over $5 million left over in cap space. It's impossible to project who Holland will sign, but we can bet itll be a couple players who didnt recieve the big money they had hoped for, and are still hanging around well after July 1st. CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m) Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.900m) / / Kris Draper ($0.600m) DEFENSEMEN Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m) Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) / Brendan Smith ($0.875m) GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Chris Osgood ($0.800m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $62,200,000; CAP PAYROLL: $56,733,711; BONUSES: $0 CAP SPACE (21-man roster): $5,466,289

The decision should be fairly simple. We really do not need Ericsson at all. Take the $2mil coupled with the cap increase and find a legitimate top 4 defenseman. Ehrhoff or Bieksa would be ideal. This would bump Stuart or whoever down to the bottom pairing. Kindl should be ready to be our #6, and there you go, our defense has been upgraded. 2011 Lidstrom/Rafalski Kronwall/Ehrhoff Stuart/Kindl For 2012, we will have $12million freed up from Lidstrom/Rafalski. Use some of that to give Kronwall a raise. Use a $6-7million chunk for Suter, Burns, or Weber. I think after another year in the AHL, Brendan Smith will be ready to be a #4 right away. 2012 Kronwall/Ehrhoff Suter/Smith Stuart/Kindl

I am thinking Ed Jovanovski could be a possible addition to the defense if we dont have enough room to add an Erhoff or Bieksa. Would be a nice stay at home defender for the second pair. He will certainly be getting a contract at a far lower price than his previous one. He's from Windsor so he could have been a Wings fan growing up.

CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) Erik Cole ($3.300m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m) Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Scottie Upshall ($2.250m) Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.850m) / Drew Miller ($0.750m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) DEFENSEMEN Nicklas Lidstrom ($5.500m) / Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m) Jonathan Ericsson ($1.250m) / Ed Jovanovski ($3.000m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Chris Osgood ($0.750m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $62,200,000; CAP PAYROLL: $62,133,711; BONUSES: $0 CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $66,289

As we all know, these next two offseasons will be huge for Ken Holland and the Detroit Red Wings. The core is getting a little bit older, Lidstrom will most likely retire, the Wings are starting to give up as many shots as I can remember, etc. It will be huge for Holland to firstly, rebuild the defense, and also find some forwards to support Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Franzen as the get older. Luckily, we will have some expiring contracts over the next two seasons, and the cap will likely grow, so Holland will have some flexibility. 2011-12 - Estimated cap increase of $4million - Lidstrom resigns at 1 year, $6million - Ericsson resigns at 3 years, $4.5million - Eaves resigns at 3 years, $2.7million - Mursak added to roster - Osgood or any backup goalie sings for $750k - Draper resigns at 1 year, $650k - Trade Hudler for a bag of pucks Outside the organization - Sign D Kevin Bieksa at 5 years, $25million (hopefully makes it hard for Vancouver to sign him) - Sign F Cody McCormick at 2 years, $1.4million - Sign F Erik Cole at 2 years, $6million CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) Erik Cole ($3.000m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m) Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.900m) / Kris Draper ($0.650m) / Cody McCormick ($0.700m) DEFENSEMEN Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.000m) / Kevin Bieksa ($5.000m) Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m) Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($1.500m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Chris Osgood ($0.750m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $63,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $62,983,711; BONUSES: $0 CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $416,289 2012-13 Estimated cap increase of $2million Losses = D Nick Lidstrom, D Brian Rafalski, F Tomas Holmstrom, F Todd Bertuzzi, F Kris Draper - Tatar added to roster - Nyquist added to roster - Brendan Smith added to roster - Sign D Ryan Suter at 5 years, $35million (signing either Ryan Suter or Brent Burns has to be #1 priority to this offseason) - Sign F Shane Doan at 2 years, $8million (a guy you love to hate. comes for a shot at the cup) - Sign D Barrett Jackman at 2 years, $6million (or any defenseman we can lock up at around $3million. Hard to project who we could grab at that price range) CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Tomas Tatar ($0.870m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Shane Doan ($4.000m) Gustav Nyquist ($0.762m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m) Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Darren Helm ($2.000m) / Erik Cole ($3.000m) Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Justin Abdelkader ($1.750m) / Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.900m) / Cody McCormick ($0.700m) DEFENSEMEN Ryan Suter ($7.000m) / Barret Jackman ($3.000m) Niklas Kronwall ($5.000m) / Kevin Bieksa ($5.000m) Brendan Smith ($0.875m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($3.500m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Chris Osgood ($0.750m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $65,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $65,257,000; BONUSES: $210,000 CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $143,000

You should be worrying more about Hudler cracking the lineup than Hudler being on the first line.

I guess they still need to show me they can outplay San Jose for more than one game. In my opinion, San Jose has outplayed the Red Wings in five of the six games thus far, with Jimmy Howard standing on his head in pretty much each of them.

The wings would obviously have more room than the $3 million dollar cap increase. Moving Hudler would free up space, Modano/Osgood/Draper/Salei have $5.8mil coming off the books as well.

I disagree. This team definitely still needs a shot in the arm. I am still 100% for trying to move Hudler, and also adding a top nine forwards and a top four defenseman..... Which is doable if the cap goes up by $3million.

I just dont see Hudler being on our top line next season, let alone getting a raise the following season when he's not even good enough to crack our line up right now.

Lucky? I dont know, but Howard certainly stole one. The Wings were severely outplayed.

No. We need to get tougher and we need a top four defenseman. And if we do go after a top six forward, it had better be a goal scorer.

The Red Wings definitely need some changes. Here we go.. Assuming the cap goes up $4 million and Lidstrom retires. 1. Trade Hudler. 2. Sign Brooks Laich, Raffi Torres, Kevin Bieksa, and James Wisniewski. We would add two forwards that would make us bigger, stronger, and tougher to compliment and maybe even protect our euros. We would also add two solid defenseman that can actually block a shot. CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Brooks Laich ($3.750m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m) Raffi Torres ($1.500m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.950m) / Cory Emmerton ($0.533m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) DEFENSEMEN Kevin Bieksa ($4.750m) / James Wisniewski ($4.250m) Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m) Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($1.750m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Chris Osgood ($1.000m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $63,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $62,967,044; BONUSES: $0 CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $432,956

I raised the cap $3MIL for next season. With Lidstrom, just plugging in our free agent players, we would have one spot open with around $3.8 million in cap space. CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m) Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.950m) / Cory Emmerton ($0.533m) / Kris Draper ($0.650m) DEFENSEMEN Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m) Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) Jonathan Ericsson ($2.000m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Chris Osgood ($0.850m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $62,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $58,542,044; BONUSES: $0 CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $3,857,956 Without Lidstrom, I see two spots open with around $10 million in cap space. CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m) Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.950m) / Cory Emmerton ($0.533m) / Kris Draper ($0.650m) DEFENSEMEN Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m) Jonathan Ericsson ($2.000m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Chris Osgood ($0.850m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $62,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $52,342,044; BONUSES: $0 CAP SPACE (21-man roster): $10,057,956

Have I been missing something? Why on earth would Chicago buy out Hossa.

Can anyone with photoshop skills make Cartman licking Shane Doan's tears? http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://members.arstechnica.com/x/ratstomper/cartman_tears.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.thedailypage.com/forum/viewtopic.php%3Ft%3D42347&usg=__cB4zIMmob61ihDcjonajrqGHAIE=&h=300&w=400&sz=22&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=Ohw8R7LVNGqB5M:&tbnh=144&tbnw=205&ei=BsKvTZrhCMbY0QGr9emzCQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcartman%2Blicks%2Btears%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Den%26biw%3D1282%26bih%3D620%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=281&page=1&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&tx=112&ty=78

Ill just post the year and who I predicted for that particular year. 1995 - Detroit 1996 - Detroit - Not a doubt in my mind. 1997 - Detroit - After the brawl, not a doubt in my mind. 1998 - Detroit - VKSM. It was just destiny this year. 1999 - Detroit - Chelios, Clark, Ulfie, Ranford 2000 - Colorado 2001 - Colorado 2002 - Detroit - No doubt in my mind. 2003 - Detroit - Pretty much the same team as 02. 2004 - Colorado - Kariya and Selanne 2006 - San Jose 2007 - San Jose 2008 - San Jose - Yes, I seriously picked them three years in a row. I really liked the make up of those teams. 2009 - Detroit - Hossa. Still stunned we didn't win. 2010 - Pittsburgh - Notice this is the first east team I've picked. I thought Chicago was too young, and that Detroit had lost too much. 2011 - Vancouver - I just think its their year. So much talent top to bottom. I hope I'm wrong. I've been 4/17 at this afterall, haha

Lets just assume the Wings win the cup this year and Lidstrom, Modano, Osgood, and Draper retire. How do you fix the defense? I dont really think you can replace Nick with one player. The priority in the offseason should be to try and obtain two $4 million caliber players. The only way to do this is to move Hudler and a pick for Stempniak who makes $1million less than Hudler. I think Stempniak is the type of player that could excel here, especially playing on a line with Pavel Datsyuk. Another benefit of adding two defenseman now is that Rafalskis $6mil will be coming off the books the following season. How would you guys rebuild the team without Nick? CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Lee Stempniak ($1.900m) Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m) Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Patrick Eaves ($1.000m) Drew Miller ($0.650m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Jan Mursak ($0.700m) Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) DEFENSEMEN Tomas Kaberle ($4.250m) / Kevin Bieksa ($4.250m) Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m) Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($1.000m) Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($2.000m) /Evgeni Nabokov ($0.750m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $59,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $59,183,711; BONUSES: $0 CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $216,289

What do you guys think? Jimmy Howard Jonathan Ericcson Patrick Eaves Nicklas Lidstrom (if he doesnt retire)

I'd love, love, love to steal Max Talbot from the Pens. In my ideal world, I'd move Abdelkader up to the third line with Flip and Bertuzzi, and then pair Talbot with Helm and Eaves to make up our fourth line.