xtrememachine1

If you want to have depth in your forward lines, then no. I know that's how we had it in '08, but can Franzen, Cleary and Filppula be a threat on the second line still? I don't know. Flip seems like a completely different person when he plays on Z's line as opposed to not being on it. I wouldn't want to screw that up.

Apparently we're waiting on Shane Doan and won't do anything until that get figured out. https://twitter.com/HeleneStJames/status/225289408411222016 Holland must believe we still have a shot at him even though the situation in Phoenix looks pretty good right now, so I don't see him leaving. Not to mention, the deals that have been getting thrown his way from other teams, there's no way we're competing with that.

With the current state of the CBA, I'd be surprised to see anybody sign right now. Are the owners going to seriously push for this new cap? If so, the Wings are barely over it and wouldn't want it to go any higher.

When I read this, the first person that came to mind was Garth Snow. lol I could totally see him doing something idiotic like this.

What the crap?? http://prohockeytalk...onference-team/

With Phoenix looking like its going to keep the Coyotes, how is this not a dead issue now? Doan only wanted to leave if it wasn't possible for the Coyotes to stay in Phoenix. It looks like they are, so I don't see him going anywhere now.

I'm all for "breaking a few eggs" to get Nash, but I wouldn't trade Helm. He's brings a lot to this team, especially during the playoffs.

I'm all for positive thinking, but what this off season has taught us is that the Wings will not overpay for talent. They'll offer what they feel the player is worth and if they don't get them, they don't get them and they move on. If Getzlaf, Perry and Weber do become UFAs, the bidding on those players will be astronomical, so unless those players decide they want to play for Detroit, I'm not too optimistic about our chances of landing them.

If I had to put a percentage on the odds of Nash going somewhere, I'd say 60-70% that Nash is going to NY. Like 15% to the Wings, 10% anywhere else. Unless someone gives up a ton or the Rangers pull their offer, sooner or later Howson will figure the Rangers deal is the best he'll get and deal him out of the conference. I'm actually okay with giving up a bunch of assets for Nash, we already have plenty of forwards, so if we traded a few for Nash, that would be ideal. Plus, if we give up Flip and Franzen, the cap hit for Nash is next to nothing. Having said that, ideally, I'd like to see this deal get done without having to give up Franzen.

If Semin was going to go for a short term deal, a one year deal with the Pens would be perfect for him. Play on Crosby's line for a year, score 30-40 goals, drive up your value and then hit the market next summer and cash in.

We should be keeping an eye more on this situation as it will determine whether Doan will even consider anyone other than Phoenix. http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/09/report-goldwater-struggles-to-put-together-referndum-on-coyotes-sale/

I actually thought about him yesterday with all the Doan talk. Doan and Morrow would be really nice to have during playoff time.

So when Parise scores less than 30 goals, Suter is a minus player and the Wild miss the playoffs, are you going to be gone for good or are you going to be a reoccurring troll that we have to keep putting up with?

I just saw this on ProHockeyTalk.com http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/09/poll-nash-ryan-doan-or-semin-who-would-you-want/ I voted for the Rick Nash trade.

I actually think it might be the opposite of that. I think he's willing to take less like around $5.5 mil, but wants more years. Teams don't want to sign a guy with a reputation of having a bad work ethic to a long term deal. If it was a money thing, I would think one of these teams trying to reach the cap floor or a team with plenty of cap space would just sign him to high salary 1 or 2 year deal.

I didn't say they shouldn't sign anyone, but spending money on a player that will do next to nothing in the playoffs isn't a good move either. I know there's a lot of anxious people out there that just want to throw the bank at "player x" because at least its better than doing nothing, but that's not the Red Wings way. The Wings will offer what they feel the player is worth and if they take it, then great, if not, then we move on.

Exactly. A thin free agent market and this former 40+ goal scorer is still sitting out there says something about the person. We're supposed to be making ourselves a better playoff ready team. I don't see how a soft winger that's inconsistent and disappears during the playoffs helps that.

Definitely disappointing to read something like this come out of Holland's mouth. It sounds like every other year. However, its not like he's going to publicly come out and be like "WE NEED TO MAKE SOME MOVES!!!". That kind of destroys his ability to make deals.

Post from the future.

If Columbus wants our entire farm system, well that's too bad for them. We're not giving up everybody for Nash. Would I make that deal? Absolutely. Franzen and Flip's combined salaries would make Nash's cap hit almost non-existent. Not to mention, Flip is a UFA next summer. I would think Columbus would want an extension in place before a trade, but if not, we could always get him right back next year. Hate to lose Nyquist and Smith, but I'll always take proven talent over unknown commodities.

I give Holland credit where credit is due. He has put together some great teams over the years, no doubt and he should be commended for that, but the goal of this franchise isn't to just make the playoffs. Lidstrom was trying to finish out his career on top and Holland really didn't do anything to try to improve our chances at accomplishing that goal. A minor signing here and there, nothing of importance really. A lot of "standing pat" and "we like our team". Well Holland may have liked his team, but they failed to advance beyond the 2nd round in each of the last three years. This year, he actually had some cap space available, traded for Quincey and we got bounced in the first round. I don't want to get into a "Holland is the reason we lost" argument because there's plenty of blame to go around from the players to the coaches to the GM. Back to my original point, if there's an elite talent out there and available now, I would rather Holland go after it, trade some "untouchable" prospects to get it if you have to and give yourself a much better chance at success now. They didn't do that when Lidstrom was here these past three years and I would hate to see history repeat itself with Datsyuk and Zetterberg while they're in their prime right now which I why I think they should push as hard as they can for Nash. Don't give up the whole farm system to get him, but don't be reluctant to trade a Brendan Smith or Gustav Nyquist or both to significantly improve your team now.

Relax, I was referring to the last 3 years. Every year was "This could be his last. We need to load up for a championship now!" and we sign Ian White, Mike Modano, Jiri Hudler, and Todd Bertuzzi. I wouldn't exactly call that pushing for a championship. in those last three years with Lidstrom we knew it could be his final season and we barely did anything to help him finish on top. I would hate to see Datsyuk and Zetterberg waste the prime of their career waiting for prospects to get up to speed, when we could have a player like Rick Nash now.

Well he can't come and and be like "We desperately need to make a trade!". You kinda lose leverage when you talk like that.

That's interesting, where did you read that. I ask because I was pretending to be Howson the other day, imaging what I would want from the Wings for Nash and I said Franzen, Filppula, Smith and 1st rounder. That is a lot, but by the time Smith and Nyquist become star NHL players (if they do), Datsyuk and Zetterberg will be over 35 and they're skills will be diminishing. I feel like Holland didn't do enough to build a championship team around Nick before he retired, I would hate to see that happen again with these two. Get Nash, give our best players a chance to win now.

Plan B is we try to trade for Keith Yandle. He's a good young defenseman, that comes at a great price and is locked up for awhile. He should be able to match Lidstrom's offensive numbers on our team. He needs to be a priority right now. If we can't swing him, we go for Nash. Let's assume Columbus will trade with us and they want prospects and draft picks. I'm reading people not willing to give up Smith, Tatar, Jurco, etc. Obviously we wouldn't give them all up, but some will have to go in order to swing this deal. I feel like we didn't do enough these past couple years to give Lidstrom a good final run at the Cup. I would hate to see Datsyuk and Zetterberg play through these next few years waiting for these prospects to come up and get experience while Z and D get another year older and probably past their prime. If we can get Nash and not give up all of our prospects, let's do it, Z and D won't be around forever. The defense is still suspect, but if we're not going to get "our guy" get other guys. Pick up Rosival, Hannan, Eaton, Kubina, etc. Sign them to short deals that are not worth a lot. Plug in some guys that can fill those gaps till the next Suter comes along and we can fill that position with a long term solution.