FunkedUp

Does anyone think we'll see a Franzen-Filppula-Bertuzzi line? A #2 line with 2 big power forwards and an improved set up man in Filppula would be an interesting watch...

On paper, there is no way that this years team is even close to that of last year. Although, on paper the 2008-2009 was better than the 2007-2008 group and we all know how that turned out... The good news is that the Wings will be hungrier than I've ever seen them, except for maybe the 97 season...but I do have a good feeling about this season though... Can you guys believe the season starts in roughly 2 weeks

stream is not working for me either...

http://www.newsday.com/sports/hockey/range...ngers-1.1444411 shocking, completely shocking.

Haven't you heard? Cloutier will be granted a tryout. I guess that would make him the toughest on the team...

Update This yahoo article (WTF?) has more content and info then the TSN one... Link some snippets... This actually sounds like it could be serious and pose problems...

No question. Every time I see the cup, the wings banners, hear the words "game 7" or "crosby," I am going to be reminded that we were the first team since 1979 in all professional sports to blow a game 7 at home. If we showed up for maybe 5 minutes in game 7 of the cup finals, when the Pens supposedly best player gets injured for part of the game, we could have repeated as Stanely Cup Champions and solidified an extraordinary sports run. This isn't counting all the Crosby holding the cup, which I've yet to see, commercials in which the media licks on his balls and makes sure everyone knows who won last year. Hell yeah I'm still depressed....but you know what? I'm going to be watching every single wings game (as always), cheering louder than I ever have before, and being more proud of my team than I ever have been knowing that I am now witnessing one the greatest sports franchises to compete, and I'm damn proud to say that they come from my home town of Detroit.

This is the result of a salary cap, or more precisely, laws that regulate prices and wages. As with any sort of rule or legislation, people are always going to find ways around the law. This sort of signing will become commonplace in the coming years. However, I'm predicting that the salary cap gets revoked in 2020. I know its a long ways away, but you can't artificially control prices and wages, as so many think that you can do. Does this sound familiar? Anyways, regarding Lu, this is a good signing for him as he gets to stay in Vancouver and make a nice check. Even with him signing I'm not sure why everyone thinks Vancouver is such a powerhouse team though. It seems like every year they are supposed to go deep, but never do. Oh well, we shall see...

So we've had these threads about posting your dream team, top wings team, or top canadian and american teams, but I haven't seen anything regarding teams that you would hate to play against. Maybe this team completely annoys you or maybe it is full off hard hitting guys who would fight everyone in sight. I don't know, get creative... Anything will work... Heres my idea with active players (retired is cool too though) Ott-Crosby-Avery Tootoo-Malkin-Perry Cooke-Ribeiro-Simon Ruutu-Hartnell-Tucker Pronger-Chara Phaneuf-Niedermayer Weber-Souray Emery I would hate to play them...

Oh boy. I do not like that roster.

Yeah, I agree. He has given the Wings a few headaches, and he really is an elite player in the game today. He doesn't really get much recognition playing in the market that he does, but his play doesn't go without notice by any means.

I know its a few seasons away, but I'm sure the Wings will bust something unique out for their 100th birthday...

Its no secret that the Wings have some wiggle room next season in regards to the cap, and its quite possible that the remnants of the 1990's Detroit Red Wings will be be only a memory. It's likely that Maltby and Holmstrom will be playing their last season in 09 and we could see a very different roster next season. Anyways, for some reason I can't help but wonder about the lineup to the 10-11 season, even though we haven't started the 09-10 season. I'm quite the patient fellow, eh? Anyways, I'd like to hear what you guys think about this... FORWARDS Pavel Datsyuk - $6,700,000 Henrik Zetterberg - $6,083,333 Johan Franzen - $3,954,545 Valtteri Filppula - $3,000,000 Daniel Cleary - $2,800,000 Kris Draper - $1,583,333 Ville Leino - $800,000 DEFENSEMEN Brian Rafalski - $6,000,000 Brad Stuart - $3,750,000 Niklas Kronwall - $3,000,000 Jonathan Ericsson - $900,000 GOALTENDERS Chris Osgood - $1,416,666 Jimmy Howard - $716,666 TOTALS ROSTER SIZE 13 PAYROLL $40,704,543 Likely Re-signings: + Forwards Darren Helm - Est. $1,500,000 Justin Abdelkader - Est. $1,500,000 + Defense Nick Lidstrom - Est. $5,000,000-$6,000,000 It's also possible that Homer and Maltby come back for another season, but I wouldn't bet on it. This is also assuming that Bert, Williams, and Eaves all bounce after their one year deals, which I think is likely. So with 9 forwards signed (including Helm and Abdelkader) and 5 defenseman including Lidstrom. Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Cleary Franzen-Filppula-? Abdelkader-Helm-Leino ?-Draper-? ? Lidstrom-Rafalski Kronwall-Stuart Ericcson-? ? Ozzie Howard Those are just sample lines, and I realize at this point its nothing but a crapshoot, but its somewhat realistic. Something I notice is the glare in our top 6. Not that it isn't strong, but it would be nice to add someone that is a pure goal scorer or someone of high caliber. Leino might be able to jump up to the 2nd line and be effective, but we won't know that for a bit. Also, our bottom line would need to be filled out. Abby might see some time here, but that would just open up slots in another line. We would also need to round out our defense... Therefore I am looking at these possible additions: FORWARDS Player Age - Team - Pos - 09/10 Cap - 09/10 Salary Kovalchuk, Ilya 27 ATL L UFA 6.400 7.500 Marleau, Patrick 30 SJS C UFA 6.300 6.300 Kariya, Paul 35 STL L UFA 6.000 6.000 Jokinen, Olli 31 CGY C UFA 5.250 5.500 Savard, Marc 32 BOS C UFA 5.000 5.000 Naslund, Markus 36 NYR L UFA 4.000 3.000 Hejduk, Milan 34 COL R UFA 3.900 4.000 Kozlov, Vyacheslav 38 ATL L UFA 3.667 3.850 Frolov, Alexander 28 LAK L UFA 2.900 4.000 Setoguchi, Devin 23 SJS R RFA 1.247 0.765 Tootoo, Jordin 27 NAS R UFA 0.975 0.975 Lucic, Milan 22 BOS L RFA 0.850 0.685 Kostitsyn, Sergei 23 MTL L RFA 0.817 0.585 Clutterbuck, Cal 22 MIN R RFA 0.726 0.623 Janssen, Cam 26 STL R RFA 0.550 0.550 DEFENSE Player Age - Team - Pos - 09/10 Cap - 09/10 Salary Coburn, Braydon 25 PHI D RFA 1.300 1.400 Letang, Kris 23 PIT D RFA 0.835 0.625 Meech, Derek 26 DET D RFA 0.483 0.500 Hjalmarsson, Niklas 23 CHI D RFA 0.643 0.666 Grossman, Nicklas 25 DAL D RFA 0.975 1.050 Colaiacovo, Carlo 27 STL D UFA 1.283 1.400 Ference, Andrew 31 BOS D UFA 1.400 1.625 Robidas, Stephane 33 DAL D UFA 1.500 1.500 Lukowich, Brad 33 SJS D UFA 1.567 1.800 Eaton, Mark 33 PIT D UFA 2.000 2.000 Keith, Duncan 26 CHI D RFA 1.475 1.900 Brookbank, Sheldon 29 ANA D UFA 0.525 0.550 Quincey, Kyle 24 LAK D RFA 0.525 0.550 Thornton, Shawn 32 BOS R UFA 0.517 0.550 Some possibilities and there's some other FA's that I haven't included. A mix of top players and role players. Some of them aren't very realistic, but that was also said about Hossa. Lots of good names out there, and I would probably give my left nut to get Kovalchuck here, but I'm not sure we can offer what Atlanta would be wanting for him at the trade dealine... Should be interesting, and I'm sure Holland has been thinking about this for a long time...

The Penguins are in for a rude awakening this season. As some mentioned before they most certainly have a target on their back. In addition to some of their division rivals getting stronger, the eastern conference in general has gotten stronger. Does anyone think that those NHL commercials with Crosby in it get on other players nerves? Cause I have a feeling that we will be reminded all season who won the cup...

Z nets 50 this year, and Pav breaks the 100 point mark...

I'm just dreaming, I know it won't happen. Notice how I was mentioning the possibility of a cap-free situation, which I think will happen within the next 10 years, but that's a different argument. Anyways, those estimates of 1.5 for Helm and Abby are just rough estimates, and its usually better to overestimate in those types of situations. It is likely that those two sign deals closer to 1 million than 1.5, but it still is within the realm of possibility. I'm really looking forward to seeing Helm play on a regular basis, as well as Leino. Abby would be better off spending a full season in GR, but I'm sure we'll see him up a decent part of the season relieving injured players. As for Holmstrom, I'm pretty sure this is his last year. I really can't see him coming back next year, but wouldn't be opposed to him coming back at all. My cousin lives close to him and was telling me that he occasionally sees him taking out the trash to the end of his driveway, and he tells me that Homer was struggling doing that. I'm not sure how much more punishment he can take and I'm gonna miss the guy once he's gone, as he's one of my favorite players. I'm sure most of it will depend on his health this upcoming season....hopefully he can stay relatively healthy. One thing for sure is that he will be leading the NHL in goals at the end of the first week. He always seems to start the season with a bunch of goals...

Everyone hates him here, but I know that if he did come to the Wings then he would become a fan favorite immediately. I don't think Nashville lets him go though. He's literally their poster boy over there and it wouldn't be a good decision for them. Sometimes I wish that there was no cap. We would be adding guys like Kovalchuck, Lucic, and Keith during the deadline.

How about a Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Franzen line?

Theres no excuse for Philly to not where these....

Yeah, I'd want him...

After a whirlwind of an offseason, and losing 4 free agents, it would be in the Wings best interest if we stayed put until the trade deadline. I was a propenent of going after a few free agents, but they were scooped up or ended up being out of our price range. I think Holland has been smart and his cautious approach and patience are what keeps us contenders every year. There is no sense of picking someone up just to pick them up. I originally wanted Abby to stay down in GR, but I think due to our situation it is within the realm of possibility to see him crack the roster come training camp. I also think that we can wait to see what our needs are come trade deadline time, and make our move based off of that. Maybe we need some more depth, or maybe we try to find a sniper. Also, we could pick up a rental 4-5 million dollar player at that time instead of getting a couple of 750k'ers at the start of the season. The thing is that I don't know what prospect to bring up. Maybe Ouhalen, Ritola, Mursak, or Ryno.... Z-Dats-Cleary Mule-Fil-Leino Abby-Helm- Holmstrom Maltby-Draper-(Prospect) Meech Lidsrom-Rafalski Kron-Stu Lebda-Ericsson Lilja (replaces Lebda if he's healthy) Ozzie Howie

Like Who?

Wow, didn't know that. On a side note, its been very interesting to watch the players in your signature gradually get crossed out.

Figures... As much as I would have loved to see him here, as well as others, Holland has been making the right moves today. It's very easy to suggest trades and talk about stuff like this, but without inside information we won't know what happens behind closed doors... I have a feeling that this year we will be staying put, but make a medium sized move at the trade deadline. However, in 2010 I think the Wings will be big players in free agency...

BAM http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=283470