SwedeLundin77

Anything is possible... some people seem to forget this. Has Holland had any interest in doing this thus far? No. Certainly, certain circumstances could arise that make this kind of move a possibility for ANY team. Losing Rafalski and possibly losing Lidstrom also, are such circumstances. If you think, given these scenarios, that sending an offer sheet to an RFA is impossible/improbable, then you may need to check your head.

Hey if I wanted to sit here and state completely realistic possibilities, it would make for a very boring discussion, so why don't you take your pessimistic sensibilities and go annoy some other people.

It would be pretty exciting for this kid to come into training camp and play lights out and earn a spot, but I really just don't see it happening on the front office end. It would go against everything they've been preaching over the last 20 years. Develop develop develop... I would personally love to see this kid make it, because you see these instances happen in other cities (Doughty, Johnson, Weber, Suter, Green, Carlson, Suban, Bogosian, etc... It would be nice to see a young kid on the team being mentored by Lidstrom, Kronwall, and Stuart. To see him improve as the season progresses (hopefully). I think it would be good to see this happen, but not at the detriment of this teams progression.

Well now that Winnipeg is looking to be a lock, we should target their RFA's. Perhaps some of them may not want to stay now that the team is relocating and perhaps the team won't battle as hard to keep them if an offer sheet comes in. Zach Bogosian - $3,375,000 Andrew Ladd - $2,350,000 Blake Wheeler - $2,200,000 Anthony Stewart - $632,500 I wouldn't mind picking off any of these guys. Most notably Bogo, but he may be one player that Winnipeg will not let go, of course. Adding in any of the listed forwards would be good for the Wings as I think they'd fit in nicely and add a little size, youthful enthusiasm, and scoring depth. What do you think, folks?

Kronwall will sign at least a 6 year, if not an 8 year contract for a cap hit of around 4.5 million. It will be front-loaded as usual. I think it would be wise to lock him up long term, and Datysuk should also sign a contract similar to Zetterberg's cap hit for the remainder of his career. Stuart, I could see signing a 2-3 year extension as he is a west coast boy, so he may not want to sign a long term contract.

Oh wow, I never though of that! Larionov would make a great assistant. Is he still locked up in Russia?

I was perusing the UFA's and noticed a peculiar name pop up and I had to check the stats to make sure I remembered correctly, but we should really make a push to sign Maxime Talbot... The guy is a spark plug if I'm not mistaken and if you notice he has always showed up in the playoffs to provide secondary scoring. Check out his stats! We should definitely make a push to pick him up over Miller. We could get him for 1.25 mil more than likely. CAREER STATS Year Team League GP G A PTS +/- PPG PPA SHG SHA GWG PIM Shots PCT Hits 2010-11 Pittsburgh 82 8 13 21 -3 0 0 2 1 2 66 117 6.84 154 2009-10 Pittsburgh 45 2 5 7 -9 0 0 0 0 0 30 49 4.08 - 2008-09 Pittsburgh 75 12 10 22 -9 0 1 2 0 1 63 102 11.76 - 2007-08 Pittsburgh 63 12 14 26 8 0 1 2 0 1 53 80 15.00 - 2006-07 Pittsburgh 75 13 11 24 -2 0 1 4 0 4 53 88 14.77 - 2006-07 WB/Scranton 5 4 0 4 2 1 - 0 - 3 2 15 26.67 - 2005-06 Pittsburgh 48 5 3 8 -12 0 0 2 0 1 59 45 11.11 - 2005-06 WB/Scranton 42 12 20 32 12 2 - 2 - 0 80 - - - 2004-05 WB/Scranton 75 7 12 19 7 1 - 0 - 1 62 74 9.46 - 2003-04 Gatineau 51 25 73 98 33 10 - 6 - 9 41 - - - 2003-04 Canada WJC 60 3 3 - - - - - - 2 - - - 2002-03 Hull QMJHL 69 46 58 104 40 16 - 7 - 9 130 - - - 2001-02 Hull QMJHL 65 24 36 60 16 11 - 3 - 2 174 - - - 2000-01 Hull QMJHL 24 6 7 13 2 1 - 0 - 0 60 - - - 2000-01 Rouyn-Noranda 40 9 15 24 7 2 - 0 - 0 78 - - - 2000-01 Total RN/Hull 64 15 22 37 9 3 - 0 - 0 138 - - - 1999-00 Antoine-Girouar 42 19 21 40 - - - - - - 32 - - - Total NHL 388 52 56 108 -27 0 - 12 - 9 324 481 10.81 - Total AHL 122 23 32 55 21 4 - 2 - 4 144 - - - Total QMJHL 249 110 189 299 98 40 - 16 - 20 483 - - - Total WJC 6 0 3 3 - - - - - - 2 - - - Total QAAA 42 19 21 40 - - - - - - 32 - - - CAREER PLAYOFF STATS Year Team League GP G A PTS +/- PPG PPA SHG SHA GWG PIM Shots PCT Hits 2010-11 Pittsburgh 7 1 3 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 9 11.11 12 2009-10 Pittsburgh 13 2 4 6 1 0 0 1 0 1 11 23 8.70 21 2008-09 Pittsburgh 24 8 5 13 8 0 0 0 1 2 19 37 21.62 - 2007-08 Pittsburgh 17 3 6 9 4 0 0 0 0 1 36 16 18.75 - 2006-07 Pittsburgh 5 0 1 1 -2 0 0 0 - 0 7 5 .00 - 2006-07 WB/Scranton - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2005-06 Pittsburgh - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2005-06 WB/Scranton 11 3 6 9 8 0 - 1 - 1 16 - - - 2004-05 WB/Scranton 11 0 1 1 -2 0 - 0 - 0 22 14 .00 - 2003-04 Gatineau 15 11 16 27 17 6 - 0 - 2 0 - - - 2002-03 Hull QMJHL 20 14 30 44 23 8 - 1 - 1 33 - - - 2001-02 Hull QMJHL 12 4 6 10 1 1 - 0 - 0 51 - - - 2000-01 Hull QMJHL 5 1 0 1 -1 0 - 0 - 1 2 - - - 1999-00 Antoine-Girouard QAAA 7 3 6 9 - - - - - - 0 - - - Total NHL 66 14 19 33 12 0 - 1 - 4 87 90 15.56

Wings assistant coach?!? Haha.

Your argument against getting him is pretty silly. So because he slashed our injured player and scored 2 big goals, we don't want him on our team years later? Give me a break, if you sat down and looked it objectively and noticed his post-season production, any sane man would reconsider. I'll take him. He's a player you hate to play against, but would love to have on your team. Quit living in the past. It's present and future that you should be concerned about.

I completely agree with Jokinen, I saw his name out there the other day and thought, wow! That would be a great idea to bring him in. He's a guy who can score 30 goals and I think he'd play really well with Datsyuk or Zetterberg. Laich is going to be way overpaid and as much as I think he'd be a good gritty guy to have, we aren't going to overpay for him. Joey MacDonald will not be our backup, plain and simple. They will more than likely go out and get Conklin, Hedberg, Boucher, etc... They may even try and get Nabakov from the Isles since he doesn't want to be there. Your defense is spot on. I don't believe Wiz will command 6 million and I don't think any team will pay that for him. I think he'll relish in the fact that he could play for a contender and make 4-4.5 million. I think he'll like the fact that that contender is right by his hometown.

Yeah, that sucks back then, but imagine having those 2 goals in a big game for us in the future... Starts to look a lot better.

Jovo is a stop-gap until next season's FA crop or a trade comes along that suits us better. He wouldn't be a terrible guy to have on a third pairing. He played solid when with Vancouver (contending team), and he has never won a cup. We all know how well the Wings are at reclamation projects and Jovo is a prime candidate. He's a veteran, will provide size and strength, and he can put up 35+ points consistently. I forgot to mention. If Jovo is out, I would target Pitkanen for a multi-year 4.5 per season. It doesn't matter, it will never stop, so just go with it. If you see something you want to comment on, comment on it... Otherwise ignore it. He made 6.5 last season... Do you honestly think that's overpaying when considering what he made last year? I'm trying to be realistic, not say, "Oh let's sign Jovo for 3.5 million... right...

If I were Holland, I would sign Jovanovski to a 1 year deal around 5.5 million. I would then go out and sign Wisniewski for 2 years at around 3.75-4 million per year. Wiz may be an easy sell as we are contenders and we are conveniently located where he grew up. I would then shore up my forwards by re-signing Eaves on a multi-year contract for around 1 million per, signing Maxime Talbot or someone similar to him for 3 years at 1.25 million, and possibly re-signing Miller on a multi-year 750k deal as our 13th forward. I would attempt to trade Hudler if possible, and plug in Mursak in his place. As for goaltending, I would see how cheap I could get Nabokov back from the Isles for (remember he's making a league minimum contract for one season so that would be ideal - and you know he wants to play here). Otherwise I would sign either Hedberg, Conklin, or Theodore to a 2 year 1 million per contract. Done and done. Oh and bring in Boughner for our D coach. If MacLean moves on, bring in Gretzky for our O coach (just a little bit of fun - not serious!)

Can you remind us what he did? I can think of another Wing who did something atrocious, yet we all welcomed him in and he hasn't been all that bad for what he makes.

For what it's worth, those who may not know how Jovo-cop plays: Jovanovski is known as a two-way defenceman. Able to contribute offensively, he is an adept puck-carrier and joins plays deep in the opposing team's zone. He plays defence physically, bodychecking opponents primarily with his shoulder. In both aspects of his game, he is considered to play with a high level of risk, taking the chance of being out of position in favour of a good scoring chance or a hit. He is a good player overall, but takes too many risks that create problems. Could playing on a team like the Wings bring him more discipline? It's hard to teach an old dog tricks, as they say. Overall, he was more solid in his Vancouver days.. so being on a good team overall may help him.

I would certainly entertain trading Hudler to Long Island for Nabokov and maybe a pick or prospect swap. I am not as sold on bring in Scottie Upshall. To a point, if we were to trade Hudler anywhere, I would entertain bringing Fleischmann in at that point to play with Zetterberg and Cleary. What qualities do you see in Upshall that will help this team? More imporantly, qualities that we don't currenly employ (Eaves, Miller, Helm, Abdelkader, Mursak)

Really?!? Budaj?!? He is a terrible goalie, even as a back-up. For the same amount of money, you could potentially get: Hedberg, Osgood, Turco, Conklin, Harding, Theodore, Auld... even Nabokov possibly. All of these guys are better than Budaj and I would much rather see them backing up Jimmy.

I don't think it's wise to put Fleischmann on a team that already employs the likes of Hudler and Filppula... it's just asking for trouble. If you are trading Hudler away and bring in Fleish, then that would be fine as you would be upgrading the position there. You're putting too many guys who have skill together and not really bringing any bangers. I like Wiz, as I have said numerous times because I think he can put up 50+ points consistently and be a PP staple here. He also seems to play with a little bit of an edge that we could mold into a more disciplined style. Pitkanen, I'm not as sold on. He's young, but has had his ups and downs. He seems to be okay but another left handed shot? I mean if you are going to pay him 4.4 million, wouldn't you rather make a strong push for Bieksa for that same amount? Or you could save money on someone like Montador, Salo, Sopel, etc... since they'll more than likely be a 5-6-7 d-man. If Salei can fit in on the third pairing and do an okay job, I'm pretty sure any of those FA's can do the same, if not better.

This whole "discussing his playing future," even though it's all but been confirmed that he's retiring signals to me that he will be immediately moving to the front office in some capacity. The really intersting thought, that some will hate to hear, is could he be a candidate for assistant coach? Haha! This would warrant the smoke-screen that Kenny is putting up around his retirement tomorrow. Bring on the hate!

I would rather go with Wisniewski & Montador (costs a little less - still can put up 30+ pts). That would give us two right handed shots on defense which is one more than we've seen the past several seasons. I'm not sure what kind of shot Montador has from the point, but I am pretty sure Wiz has a good hard shot that is also deflectable. Other right handers available would be: Bieksa, Salo, Rivet, White, Staios, Sopel, Martinek, Babchuk. Bieksa is the only standout, White is intriguing but some on here say he is terrible defensively, Babchuk would be an interesting pick-up (he could quarterback the PP)

You are trying to tell us that Richards at $5 million would be even a remote possibility? That's laughable at best as this guy was among the top point producers the past two seasons and was previously making over $7 million. Why would he take a $2+ million paycut when he can just as simply go to a contender who will pay him at least what he makes now? Same can be said for Bieksa, he'll be looking at minimal to potentially hefty pay-increase after his playoff performance this year and possibly winning a SC. Wisniewski is a more likly pickup for Holland. He will come at around $4 million, is right handed, is under 30 but has an uptick in point production, and is fairly responsible defensively. Nothing Babs and the new D-coach can't work out once he arrives. Oh and I know this is over-used, but he is a Michigan native. He played for the Whalers and was actually the Captain back in 03-04, so me thinks he has some leadership qualities at least that could contribute to our locker-room. I'm not the wiz on this guy though, so if someone can school me on this information mash-up, have at it.

We never do it, but you see all the other teams do it and their players end up alright after the first year or two. If Brendan Smith is really as good as we all know he is, than bringing him up this year to play third pairing minutes, should not be a hinderance on his development. If anything it's a trial by fire upbringing. Look at Jack Johnson, Drew Doughty, Shea Weber, Ryan Suter, Erik Johnson, etc... These guys are all coming into their own, some more than others at this point, but they are all showing they can handle the big league pressure, so what's to say Brendan can't? He would do well to learn from Lidstrom hands on, and bring some youthful enthusiasm to the back end. I am all fine with having him play, but you HAVE to have him play consistently, and either let Kindl play and have a FA be our 7th d-man or have Kindl be that guy again and spot play when a player needs rest or discipline. Just saying...

Yeah, the only way I would want Fleischmann is if we trade Hudler. Then it's an upgrade situation, but to have them both.. No thank you.

With the departure of Rafalski, and this has already been a glaring hole in our system (as some of you have pointed out), we need right handed shots. I threw up a roster above that would add 3 right handed shots (Wisniewski, Montador, and Arnott), but wanted to (in my boredom) throw out the potential right handers on Offense and Defense on the UFA market this off-season. Offense: - Tim Connolly (30) - Michael Ryder (31) - Steve Sullivan (36) - Radim Vrbata (29) - Alexander Frolov (28) - Jamie Langenbrunner (35) - Chris Clark (35) - Sergei Samsonov (32) - Chuck Kobasew (29) - Antti Miettinen (30) - Nikolay Zherdev (26) - Replace Hudler - Joel Ward (30) Defense: - Kevin Bieksa (29) - Sami Salo (36) - Craig Rivet (36) - Ian White (26) - Steve Staios (37) - Brent Sopel (34) - Radek Martinek (34) - Anton Babchuk So who would you like most of of these players? Ian White is intriguing has he is only 26 years old...

CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m) Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / Jason Arnott ($4.500m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Patrick Eaves ($1.000m) Drew Miller ($0.650m) DEFENSEMEN Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / James Wisniewski ($4.000m) Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m) Steve Montador ($1.550m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($2.000m) 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: $62,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $61,708,711; BONUSES: $0 CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $691,289 What would we think of this lineup? I mean, we would be bringing in 3 right handed shots. Wisniewski comes into replace Raffi, and he's only 27, so there is room for growth, too. Montador had a pretty decent season with Buffalo and brings a good sized frame, we re-sign Ericsson because you know Holland won't let him walk if he can help it (especially now), and Bring in Arnott for some more offensive punch and a right hander. I doubt he'd play on the third line, but you never know. Just bored at work, what do you all think? I also considered Vandermeer and Pitkanen, but they're both left handers.