SwedeLundin77

THANK YOU SO MUCH, took the words right out of my mouth and presented them with much more clarity! Shut these naysayers up! Haha, some people are soooooo critical, it's not even funny!

With having to re-sign Zetterberg and Franzen next summer, a signing like this would not work at all. We'll wait until Lidstrom is out to assess what kind of moves to make on the back-end. At least moves of that magnitude. You also have to take into account that we have a few defensive prospects rising up through the ranks that may very well fill in our holes as the years progress. You also cannot predict what Lidstrom will do when his two years are up. The way that guy plays, I could see him adding at least one more year after his current contract is up. We won't be able to make a move like this. I think the biggest move you'll see us make will be for a top end scorer for no more than 2 years, or a dependable top four defensemen for no more than 3 million a season.

I'm sorry, but you're crazy.... Have you looked at Rolston's numbers? The guy is a solid 30 goal scorer, and that is with Minnesota!!! He is 35 years old, but s***, you're going to tell me that he is going to slow down that significantly that he is going to be serviceable within 2 or 3 years? That's a joke man. Maybe you should talk to Mr. Chelios. Rolston would be a solid second line scorer that would be killer on the powerplay and an excellent addition to this team. He brings a physical edge, a great shot (which we have lacked since Shanny left) and great leadership qualities. Make it happen, Kenny, bring him home!

I'm not entirely sure we could get Roston for 3.5 million... I think more realistically, he would be making at minimum, 4 million, and at max 5.5 million. Although I do agree that he may take a hometown discount. Rolston, in my opinion, is the best FA this summer for our system. Great shot, can be physical, natural leader, solid defensively, and he's a team player. I am not sure Zetterberg will get 7.5, because I think he'll play the good guy and take around the same pay that Datsyuk gets. Right around 6.5, especially if he knows that Kenny is planning on bringing in some more firepower or a top four d-man if Stuart doesn't work out. Of course I could be wrong, but I just believe that Zetterberg is too classy of a guy to take more or request more than his buddy Dats is getting. Depending on how Franzen's year plays out, he'll get around 3 to 4 million on a multi-year extension, for sure. Taking this all into consideration, I believe we could sign Rolston at 4 million for two years and get away with it, of course we'll probably offer him 5 or so million for one year to make sure he fits well into our system and then sign him to an extension, just seems like a Kenny move. Here is how I see it all breaking down for the 09/10 season: Datsyuk: 6.7 Zetterberg: 6.7 Holmstrom: 2.25 Rolston: 4 Franzen: 4 Filppula: 2.5 Draper: 1.65 Hudler: 2.25 Cleary: 2.8 Maltby: .850 Helm: .500 Abdelkader: .710 McCarty: .850 Forwards: 35.76 Lidstrom: 7.45 Rafalski: 6 Kronwall: 3 Stuart or other top 4-man: 3 Lebda: .850 Lilja: 1 Chelios: .750 Meech: .500 Defensemen: 22.65 million Osgood: 1.45 Howard: 1 Goalies: 2.45 million TOTAL: 60.76 or 58.76 roughly if we cannot sign and do not replace Stuart with a high-end UFA this summer. Assuming the cap rises at an equal or close to equal rate as it did for this up-coming season. Otherwise it may have to come down to either Stuart or Rolston, in which case i'd take Rolston since we have plenty of our own d-men to bring up and would be served well to play. AKA: Ericsson, Kindl, Smith... Oh well, that is my in-depth probably non-sensical plan for 09/10... Glad i'm not a GM.

Seriously man, this is a FORUM.... where people post topics about things they think are interesting and want to discuss. Up until your post, there was actually some pretty good conversation going on about this topic, but then you had to jump in with the July 1st shenanigans. I understand the point of waiting until July 1st, but if Rolston is heading for UFA status and is a Michigan native, of course it's going to be talked about around here. And this website was set up for the very reason of having conversations, who has the right to put stipulations on when or where someone can discuss a topic? On the not of actually discussing this topic, I think Rolston would be an excellent addition for 4-5 million and we could make that work, even with Z and Franzen getting contract extensions because of how far we are under the cap right now. Rolston would be an excellent second line guy with Filppula, Franzen, Cleary, Hudler.... Seriously, Rolston is the man.

I just saw this on TSN. Toronto is putting Raycroft through waivers along with Wellwood. As much as I think Denis would be a solid fit, I also believe that Raycroft could be a good insurance policy as well and compete with Jimmy Howard for the #2 spot. Just as Denis, he has struggled, but again, he has had poor teams in front of him and has had poor defensive help, which all changes once you come to this team. Discuss amongst yourselves.... and yes, I'm ready for the bitching about how Howard should be the undisputed backup too, so bring it on.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion about who may or may not be a good fit for the Wings... While the amount of posts has grown out of control, I do believe that calling some threads BS is a tad over the edge and unprofessional by a site moderator. While I have started one topic about a goaltender, I do agree that some of the players that are being posted (Tucker, Isbister, Ryder, etc..) should be somehow lumped into one general discussion about possible acquisitions for the offseason. It's all about consolidation, less about BS. There are varying degrees of hockey knowledge amongst posters on this site, but that doesn't mean they aren't serious about what they are posting and trying to make VALID arguments for their case. But again, yes, we need to keep the amount of threads to a minimum before we break the internets!

Stillman is intriguing, but again, he is injury prone and not physical at all. The teams we play in the West are a lot more physical than in the east so I would be concerned about him being easily injured.

I agree with Denis over Raycroft. These are goalies with potential, you forget that our defense and system is much different from other teams. Some goalies that have been struggling may strive in a back-up role in a better system. It's science! Look at Ty Conklin, I think two other teams wrote him off, but he came into Pitt and played on his head.

Oh and lets not forget Theodore... he seems to be finding his groove again too. There are such things as come-backs you know. When you take a player from a particularly crappy team and put them in a strong organization with plenty of support, almost anything is possible.

Wow, you could have said the same thing about Samuelsson and Cleary a few years back, heck even Downey.... Better have a little more faith in people then that. You sure are quick to dismiss any potential at all and you must be excellent at predicting when an athlete's time is truly up.

Denis had it rough in Tampa Bay. He didn't have the best team in front of him nor the support that I think a successful goaltender needs. Look at what Denis did with the struggling Columbus and that'd be a better estimation of what he is capable of, even today. If he clears through waivers and we can sign him for a million or less, I think it would be a smart move, since he would be a good insurance policy. I want Osgood and Howard to work out, I really do, but I am also of the realization that if we have any injury issues this season, it would be SMART to have someone else who could step in. Use you heads!

Seriously guy, that was an honest mistake, when you're typing a lot of s*** and you are just thinking in your head, Stuart... the name Stewart is also up there in the noggin. It's a common mistake to mistype something like that. Word jumble, yeah, it happens. Losing credibility over it, is a little over the top. It's not like I typed Stuert or something. Some people on here get so freakin' sensitive over some of the dumbest stuff, it's comical. Next time I'll make sure to dot my T's and cross my I's.

Hahaha

Well yeah, but if you could somehow get a guy of his caliber (say we can't re-sign Stuart), he could fill in with Kronwall, and that would be great! Just a dream, that's all.

Datsyuk has more finesse to his game, which is why he is so amazing at stealing the puck from the opposition, which he led the league in by a wide margin. Zetterberg is an amazing two way player and one of the top defensive forwards in the league. But to say one should get it over the other is a hard thing to decide. It came down to the steals, which isn't a bad decider, in my opinion.

No... No... No. Curtis Joseph, for all his good years and his veteran status, would not be a good insurance guy to have considering he played a limited role with Calgary last year and was not all that good, he is a relic these days. I can go either way with this argument. One saying that Howard should and deserves to play 20-30 games in a back-up role so that he can improve and we can see exactly if he is our goalie of the future or not. On the other hand though, just in case an injury were to occur, it would be nice to have an insurance policy in a more veteran type goalie that doesn't cost too much. Ty Conklin comes to mind since he pretty much stood on his head for Pittsburgh toward the end of the season. I could also see Holmqvist or Kolzig (assuming he wouldn't mind taking on a limited role and possibly winning a cup in doing so). But seriously, NO Joseph!!!

You are rediculous if you truly think that Datsyuk shouldn't have won the Selke.... Please explain your reasoning behind this, because I can guarantee you there is no coherent argument in your favor. I do believe that Zetterberg had a very good chance of winning it, but he also didn't lead the league in take-aways, so that's just a one up on him there. But please, try to explain your reasoning.

If we are ever ever ever going to have a third jersey, it had better be a classic jersey and nothing more. Maybe update it a little bit, but I'd say the classic stripe jersey!

I think it's great to have Chelios back for another year. He is a solid veteran who knows what he is doing and accepts his role, whatever it may be. He is an excellent mentor for the younger guys and a locker-room presence! Let's not forget that we have yet to sign Stewart here guys, and also there is no guarantee that Lilja is back next year. Honestly I hope that Lilja is gone now and we can move onto someone new. Lidstrom - Rafalski Kronwall - Stewart Lebda - Ericsson/Meech/Chelios Although I would like if we could go out and pick up a guy like Kalinin (Buf), Vandermeer (Calg), Hedican (Car), Hainsey (Colum), Bouwmeester (Fla), Cullimore (Fla), Carney (Min), Streit (Mon), Salvador (NJ), Commodore (Ott), Orpik (Pit) Those are a few UFA D-men this off-season that I wouldn't mind filling any voids with. I also would not mind losing Lebda in a trade of some sort. My belief with that is that Meech is just as quick as Lebda, but a little more aggressive and has a better offensive upside to his game (knows when to jump in on the play). Oh well - that's my opinion!

I suppose Kocur would be the most likely choice for filling in the assistant coaching void, but I'm sure Babcock has a list of suitors in mind as well.

Congrats McClellan! Now we need to secure a strong assistant coach Babcock! I am really hoping that we could somehow get The Professor, Mr Larionov back in to Detroit - but that's probably a long shot. Joey Kocur? Is Barry Smith available, let's steal him back from the baby coach Gretzky.

Beautiful, now get Larionov to fill in McClellan's spot if needed! Or Kocur perhaps.... Or bring back Barry Smith! F U Gretzky, give him back!

Downey is a great team guy and a great fighter and all, I dont' doubt that, but there is a reason why he didn't play a single playoff game. He is not that type of player, and he would have taken silly penalties too, all enforcers do. I want Downey to stay, but make no mistake, McCarty is more of a help playing 4 minutes in the playoffs than Downey would be playing 10. You have to take into consideration how much of a locker-room presence McCarty is, and how much he helps motivate on the bench as well. Personally if we lose one of our assistant coaches here in the next couple of years to a head coaching position, I'd like to see McCarty take a chance in that kind of role beside Babs.

Uhh, yes, it is safe to say that Hossa would have been unnecessary. Although to add to that from this point on.... Having everyone signed to contract for next season but Filppula (who will sign). We have a decent amount of money under the cap and could definately find some creative ways to make this already amazing team even better! Brian Rolston perhaps?