B.B.

Unless Downey is signed to a two-way contract, or allowed to pass through waivers again, I don't see how there is room for him on the roster. Supposedly we will carry 8 D-men this year, and with McCarty probably signed as the #13 forward, then I fail to see Downey being a part of the active roster.

Good analysis. I think our biggest needs will be to draft a power forward, and a physical defensemen. In the later rounds, we will probably take a goalie, and a couple of undersized, skill guys that you hope can develop and turn into the next Hank or Pavel.

I think this is a good move by the Pens. If you look at their salary situation and you account for the upcoming salary increases for Malkin, Fleury and Staal, the Pens could either try to re-sign both Orpik and Malone or just go for Hossa. It looks like they are going for Hossa. Hossa is a legit superstar and was their second best forward in the playoffs. It is a no-brainer to keep a guy like him. Now, they will probably bump Stall and Talbot into top six roles. A top 6 of Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, Sykora, Talbot and Stall is good. Easily one of the best in the league, if not the best in the league. Everyone except Sykora figures to be better next year. Now, they still need better defensemen in order to be at our level, but I think this is a step in the right direction for them.

For those who are saying he cannot be an everyday player... uh... were you watching this year? He played nearly every game, and would have played in the playoffs if not for an injury. You don't just get rid of guy with his size and potential. He was really coming on towards the end of the year, and will take Drake's spot in the line-up if/when he retires. At the very worst, he will battle Maltby for playing time, and those two guys will probably be the 12/13th forwards on this team.

Well, I would much rather have Lilja than Chelli, and I think Lilja is about as good a #6/7 Dman as you can have in this era. But, honestly, why would Lilja WANT to come back? He won his championship, and now he gets his final chance to cash in on a pretty good contract. On a bad team, he could easily play top 4 minutes and get paid more than he would here. If he re-signed with us, there really is no guarantee that he would see the ice. I doubt Lilja wants to come back (regardless what he says), and since we seem to be offering Chelli a contract, then I think Lilja walks. Even if/when? Stuart walks, I think we will go out and grab another #4 defensemen, and would have no bearing on whether or not Lilja comes back. Lilja has been given plenty of opportunities to play on the second pairing, but has struggled. And, I don't think it is a coincidence that Kronwall really excelled once he started to play with a real #4 D-man in Stuart. Lilja is prolly gone if you ask me.

Honestly, it all comes down to Lebda. If Holland and others feel he has a permanent long-term future in Detroit as a bottom pairing defensemen, the Meech should and will be the one to go. They are essentially the same players, and you cannot have both players playing on the same 3rd pairing because they would be pushed around. Quincey, on the other hand, is the prototypical stay-at-home- D-men that will fit in perfectly with Lebda. Imo, you won a title with Lebda as the #5/6 guy, and he is a young guy, so there is no need to trade him to make room for an inexperienced and unproven Meech. Trade Meech for a draft pick, and lets see if Quincey can handle the 3rd pairing. If not, then Chelli can slide in there, or Ericcson could as well, if neither of the above two players could handle the responsibility.

One would think so, but it is hard to predict. We are drafting so late in the first round that the player will probably not be able to come in and contribute immediately, and will most likely need 4 to 5 years to develop. So, in 4 to 5 years, who is to say that we will have more depth defensively than we do offensively? But, looking at our prospects, the two things we need are tough, big, physical defensemen, and a power forward. Defensively, other than Erricson and potentially Quincey, we do not have any tough physical D-men in our system (unless you count Kolosov, but he may or may not be re-signed next year), and with both of those players about to wear out their stay in GR, we need to replenish the system in that department. Offensively, Mursak, Ritolla, Emmerton, and Axellson are potential top-6 forwards, and we have checking line guys in Helm, Abs who will be on our team for years. The one thing we lack is that power forward that every teams covet, and only the lucky ones have. Hopefully, we can nab one, because (and I hate to say this) but we traded away a beauty in Matthias last year, and we need to find another one this year.

This was pretty much expected. He will be a 13th/14th forward who will only play on the fourth line in case of an injury. He is well liked in the locker room, is motivated, has a lot of experience, and can still hit. Its a no brainer imo. Aldo, assuming we sign a Sundin or another FA, he could easily slide into being the 14th forward, and with our money situation for this year, we can afford to carry either 14 forwards or 8 D-men.

From the sounds of it, he clearly has a lot of skill and would seem to fit in seamlessly with our puck-possession style. But, I would consider him a long shot to make the line-up this season. He will have to adjust to life and hockey in North America, and that could take some time, and there have been questions about his skating ability. If nothing else, he is one of our top forward prospects for next season. Assuming Helm cracks the Wings line-up, then Leino and Abs would probably fight to be the first forward called up from GR in case of an injury to a couple of regulars.

Well, it was great year. All of the critics, and all of the questions during the season have been answered. We are the champions!!! (Gosh, it feels good to say that) With that said, it is time to look towards the off-season… Here are 5 things that must happen imo: 1. Get Babcock locked up long-term. Scotty Jr. is the best coach in the game. Hands down. 2. Re-sign Filpulla to a long-term deal. He is developing into a great two-way player, and someone who can be counted on in the PK and to score 20 or so goals a year. Bowman specifically mentioned him as one to watch, and I agree. He is 24, and will continue to get better (and he already is a 2nd-line center on a Stanley Cup champion.) My question, though, how much will he sign for? Cleary is getting 2.8 million, and Filpulla and his agent could certainly demand that he is worth more than Cleary (especially based on his potential). Could we get him signed for 2.5 mil or is that unrealistic? 3. Re-sign Stuart. +9 in the finals and 5 points in the finals? That is just sick. He and Kronwall destroyed the Malkin line, and that was the key to the series imo. (Zet, Dats, and Crosby’s line sort of neutralized each other. But, Pitt got nothing from that second line, while we got 6 goals from our second line in this series.) With him locked up, and Lids, Ralf, Kronwall, Lebda and (potentially) Ericcson all locked up for another 2 years… what a top 6. Hopefully he’ll take 3.5 mil. He certainly can earn more on the open market, but with the lure of another cup, hopefully he will take the 3.5 mil and be happy. 4. Re-sign our other RFA’s. Ericcson certainly seems to have impressed Babcock and Holland, and I would not be surprised to see him in the line-up next year. If he, Quincey and Howard combine to sign for 2.5 million then I would be very happy. 5. Bring in a veteran from outside the organization to motivate the guys. I fully believe that you cannot bring back the exact same team, otherwise complacency may set in. Bring in an outsider like Sundin or Nausland, and those guys become our rallying cry ( a la Robitaille and Hasek in 02, and Drake this year). I would say Rolston, as well, but I think Minny is going to re-sign him. Without further ado, here are my projections for next year’s roster… -With no FA additions, and assuming Hasek retires/ asked not to come back: Z-D-H (11.85 million) Franzen- Filpulla- Samuelsson (5.35 million with the assumption that Filpulla gets 3 million). Maltby-Draper-Cleary (5.6 million) Kopecky-Helm-Hudler (2.305 million) McCarty (500,000) Lidstrom-Rafalski (13.45 million) Kronwall- Stuart (6.5 million assuming Stuart signs for 3.5 million) Lebda-Ericcson (1.650 million assuming Ericcson signs for 1 million) Quincey- Chelios (1.5 million) –I think Meech will be traded/waived after training camp b/c he is a similar player to Lebda and we need a big body on the bottom pairing like Quincey and/or big E. Osgood (1.7 million) Howard (1 million) All in all, with this line-up, our salary total would be $51.405 million, and that is with high salary estimates for Val, Ericson, Howard and Quincey, and with us carrying 8 defensemen instead of the usual 7. So, with the projected cap at $56 million, we would have roughly 4.5 million left for the trade deadline. -That to me is the conservative route, and one that we are most likely to go with. The next two projections are based on the idea that we sign either Sundin or Nausland. Here is the idea if we sign Nausland. I like Flip as our second-line center. He can continue to develop and prosper there. However, I’m not too keen on Samuelsson playing a top 6 role again. Nausland can be a true sniper on that second line, and Franzen can be our power forward and Filpulla our playmaker on that line. Nausland also would have a lot of motivation. If I am correct, he has never won a Cup, and he has struggled in recent years. If he signs for a 1 year deal, and he scores 30 or more, and performs well in the playoffs on a Cup-contending team then he could command one final big money contract in the next off-season. This also would push Sammy down to a checking-line role, which is what he is suited for perfectly, and provide us with much-needed depth in case of injuries. Z-D-H (11.85 million) Franzen- Filpulla- Nausland (8.35 million with the assumption that Filpulla gets 3 million, and Markus get 3 million, as well). Sammy-Draper-Cleary (5.85 million) Maltby-Helm-Hudler (2.305 million) Kopecky/McCarty (1.25 million) Lidstrom-Rafalski (13.45 million) Kronwall- Stuart (6.5 million assuming Stuart signs for 3.5 million) Lebda-Ericcson (1.650 million assuming Ericcson signs for 1 million) Quincey- Chelios (1.5 million) –I think Meech will be traded/waived after training camp Osgood (1.7 million) Howard (1 million) This line-up would cost us $54.405 million and still allow us a little bit of money to use at the trade deadline if need be. -And then there is Sundin. He is arguably the second-best forward available on the FA market, and might command some big money. However, if he is willing to sign for $5 million, then he would be quite the addition. To put it simply, he provides us with a lot of options. A lot. We could split up Z-D-H. Or, we could let him center a line with Franzen and Filpulla on the wings. Or it could allow Filpulla to be bumped down to the 3rd line, and Draper to the 4th and make us the strongest team in the NHL down the middle. The possibilities would be endless. But, with only $4.5 million or so to spend (again, this is based on salary projections that probably overestimate their eventual salary) we will probably only be able to carry 13 forwards and 7 D-men. Here, then, is one possible line-up: Z-D-H (11.85 million) Franzen- Sundin- Filpulla (10.1 million with the assumption that Sundin gets 5 million, and Flip get $3 million). Sammy-Draper-Cleary (5.85 million) Maltby-Helm-Hudler (2.305 million) Kopecky ($520,000) Lidstrom-Rafalski (13.45 million) Kronwall- Stuart (6.5 million assuming Stuart signs for 3.5 million) Lebda-Ericcson (1.650 million assuming Ericcson signs for 1 million) Quincey (750,000) Osgood (1.7 million) Howard (1 million) This line-up would cost us $55.675 million, and would, thus, leave us little room at the deadline to make any moves. It also would mean the end of McCarty and Chelios and I doubt that ends up happening. Also, it will stint the growth and development of Flip as a center. This projection does come with a caveat, though, If Flip signs for 2.5 mil, and Ericcson and Howard each sign for $750,00 then that opens up an additional 1 million to use for Chelli and McCarty or for the deadline, and signing Sundin becomes a lot more reasonable in terms of salary costs. It then would come down to whether or not the Wings want to add him to the team. So, if I’m the Wings, and it comes down to Sundin or Nausland, I think I have to take Sundin. He is the better two-way player, he provides us with more options, and he is still a point-a-game player who has shown no signs of declining, unlike Nausland. Markus would be the more conservative signing, but I think Sundin would ultimately prove to be the better acquisition with my only fear being that it may hurt the development of Flip. But, Flip could easily be placed on the wing as he was at times this year and have his best year ever, so that discussion would be moot. Here, are other line-up possibilities: Z-D-H Franzen- Sundin- Sammy Hudler-Flip-Cleary Maltby-Draper-Kopecky McCarty -In this line-up, Helm would be allowed to dominate in the AHL and gain experience in playing in all situations. Lidstrom-Rafalski Kronwall- Stuart Lebda-Ericcson Quincey-Chelli Osgood Howard Or if Scotty Jr. wants to split up D and Z... Franzen-Sundin-Zet Homer-Dats- Cleary Kopecky-Flip-Sammy Maltby-Draper-Hudler McCarty Or… Franzen-Sundin-Zet Homer-Dats-Flip Cleary-Draper-Sammy Maltby-Kopecky-Hudler McCarty Or… Franzen-Sundin-Zet Homer-Dats-Flip Cleary-Draper-Kopecky Sammy-Helm-Hudler Maltby/ McCarty Or.. Z-D-H Franzen-Sundin-Cleary Flip-Drapes-Sammy Maltby-Kopecky-Hudler McCarty And, I could go on forever. Sundin, with his ability to center a first or second line and strong defensive play gives us a lot of options with lines. Thoughts? Opinions?