South Dakota wings fan

As much as I wish the wings could move east to cut down on travel, I think CBJ would be better served to join the Eastern Conference. They could be in the same division with the Pens & Flyers and have a natural georgraphical rivalry. I think that would help the league and CBJ more than the wings moving East. Plus, putting the K.C. Islanders in the Central division would give them another whipping boy to pile up some points. It would also be within driving distance for me to take in a game that would be cheaper than going to St. Paul to see the Wild.

They should use available money to re-sign our own players first. If that cannot be done, maybe a goalie upgrade. Then and only then would I want to see Penner, and only on a one year, $1 million deal.

I like these lines: Z-Dats-Homer Mule-Flip-Hossa Huds-Helm-Sammy Cleary-Draper-Malts/Kopy/Leino I really like what that 3rd line brings to the ice. It was the 4th line in the playoffs, and I think they have played very well with each other. I do struggle with what to do for the last forward spot. I like what Leino brings, but it is hard to boot Matlby in the playoffs.

I agree, with taking compensation for Hudler. It's the only way to get something out of one of your current assets. Personally, I would be ok trading Flip if it meant keeping Mule and Hossa.

Same here, I watch the games on Center Ice. It is still cheaper than going to one game per year, and I get to keep up with my team for 6 months out of the year.

agreed

I would swap Draper and Helm.

I wondered if they were going to work this out over the weekend and have something to announce when they got back home.

I think you make an excellent point about Kopy. He was finally playing really well until he got low bridged against Columbus last year and ended his season. Let's not forget that Helm did not start the playoffs in the starting lineup and only played a few games during the regular season. If memory serves me correct, Hartigan played the first 4 games against Trashville. Helm was inserted in game 5 and the rest they say is history. I guess if our 4th line has to suck to compensate for an abundance of talent on the top 3, I could envision worse scenarios.

I wonder what this does for the market for Franzen and/or Hudler? Don't forget that J.P. Dumont also got a 4x4 deal from Trashville last year. I bring that up only because Staal is a center, and Dumont is a winger...and Mule is both.

I think the Wings management would rather win back-to-back cups with Franzen and lose him than to trade him for a draft pick and lose. Now, we all know they could keep him and lose, but the chances of winning are better with him, future be damned

If anyone is moved, my bet is Meech, not Lebda.

oh yeah, that too.

I don't think Sammy is worth 3 million a year. For that price, I would rather keep Hudler. If Sammy comes for 2 million or less, let Huds go and take the draft pick(s). If not, re-sign Huds as he is younger and has more upside. The only thing Sammy has that Huds doesn't is a right handed shot.

I have actually been playing with this a little bit as well. It is kind of scary, and sad. It's almost too bad Lids signed a two year deal. That last year is really complicating the salary cap. Here is my rough draft: 7.0 Zetterberg 6.7 Datsyuk 4.0 Mule 3.0 Flip 2.8 Cleary 2.25 Homer 1.6 Draper 1.5 Sammy 1.0 Leino 0.88 Matlby 0.75 Abdel 0.6 Helm 0.5 Downey/McCarty 32.58 mill 7.45 Lids 6.0 Raffie 3.75 Stuart 3.0 Kronwall 1.25 Lilja 0.9 Ericcson 0.65 Lebda 23 mill 1.42 Ozzie .72 Howard 2.14 mill total = 57.72 Now obviously that is a problem being over. I think some front-loading of deals could solve that and bring down some average cap hits. Maybe someone takes a one year deal so that we can pay them more after Lids retires. That would be a gamble for the player, but it could happen. Meech would have to be moved. I think we take draft pick compensation for Kopy and Huds. Wave bye to Hossa as he heads to Vancouver with Gabby.

The problem then is losing him for nothing. I have been a little disappointed with him this year. Kopy was playing so well last spring when he got hurt. I think if they choose not to bring him back next year, we can at least get a draft pick for him since he is a RFA.

I agree with the idea of churning the roster to bring in "hungry" players to keep your vets from getting complacent. But who would YOU not brought back this year? Cleary hasn't played poorly this year. Flip has struggled due to a demotion from adding Hossa. Lilja has been good. I do think Stewart has gotten a little cup hangover after his new deal. The players themsleves talked about having a window to do something special, and how they knew they couldn't stay together forever. Maybe Kenny thought they could overcome a hangover? Time will tell, but the Sharks look hungry right now.

One thing this team does seem to lack right now is energy and intensity. It takes someone taking a two goal lead on them to cause them to wake up and start playing. They look like they could use an "energy guy" out there pumping them up. I think Downey and Drake provided that last year, and so far it is missing this year. I remember reading a lot of Downey's quotes, and even in his locker room celebration interview with the CBC, he talked about the mentality he brings to the rink. I have to believe that rubbed off on his teammates and inspired them to work harder doing their jobs while he took care of his protecting them. Their unreal power play was bailing them out to start the year, but now that has gone in slump, and they are starting to struggle a little bit. Maybe this will be a sign that it is time to change the way they are playing.

I tend to agree with you on this one. Send the Mule and Kronwall since he has never been there before, but let the rest of them stay home and rest. I am sure the last thing Lidstrom needs is another ASG.

I wish I knew. Never got the chance to actually see him play.

I totally agree, enjoy it while it lasts. I just hope we are able to keep more than Z.

I have gone back into the depths of the threads to retrieve this because I have been plugging some numbers into a spreadsheet to check possible contract amounts for next year and beyond. (Yes, I am extremely bored tonight) When looking at all of the free agents after this season, there is not a lot of $ to go around with the cap going down to an estimated $55 mil. The following are FA: Z, Hossa, Mule, Sammy, Huds, Kopy, Mac, Downey, Cheli, Leino, & Conks. If you move Helm & Abdel up from GR, that makes 8 forwards under contract. If you put Z in for 7 mill, Mule in for 4 (very likely low), Sammy for 1.5, Leino for 1 and throw in Meech who will still be under contract as a useful part who can play D and forward. Even these conservative numbers, when adding Ericsson to the D puts them around $2.75 mil OVER the cap. I see no way Hossa is back, unless we fill the rest of the roster with minor leaguers. Now more than ever, I believe we could see Flip traded, due to being replacable and making a fairly high amount of money.

I think we can all agree that Sammy can be a little frustrating to watch at times. He seems to play best, like most athletes, when in a contract year. No coincidence, he is a UFA after the season. I believe, that Sammy excels on our team but would struggle elsewhere. He has bounced around the league, and if there were every someone who fits the system and would be in his best interest to stay it would be Sammy. This is something to ponder for the off-season. Would you rather have Hudler at approx $2-2.5 mil per or have Sammy at around $1.75-2.25 per + draft pick compensation for Hudler leaving as an RFA? I think they service a similar role. If Sammy goes, the wings get nothing. If Huds goes, we get draft picks to re-stock the talent for the future. Not everyone can stay and some choices will have to be made.

I really think there is point to this topic, but I had to read it a few times so I could make sense of it. It does seem as if there is a lot of complacency on this team right now. Think about it, there are only two players without a cup on the roster. Where is the hunger for a title. Hell, with this many people in a contract year, you would think they would be lighting the world on fire. I do think Holland may look to "shake-up" the roster a little bit if things don't turn around before it is too late.

Was this posted by a third grader?