dat's sick

Would have been disaster to lose him so I expected them to find money somehow. This is why offer sheets are so rarely used. Now Holmgren looks dumb for losing his patience on the trade front.

It's so laughably awful. The Columbus fan is in for a rough year. I understand Howson being reluctant to ship Nash to us, but Franzen or Filppula would atleast have helped their team NOW. Anisimov is a depth scorer like Hudler, Dubinsky is a good 3rd liner and there's a reason Erixon has changed teams more times than he's been on the ice in the NHL. If I was the columbus fan I would have rather gotten a better return and face Nash 6 times a year than to get spare parts and a pick and not see him at all.

As others have said, it always looks like next year is a much better free agent market. But once we get there it won't be significantly better. That said, on that list Enstrom would be my #1 target. I even think Holland should go after him right now. . If he was indeed close to swinging a trade for Weber, why not try a trade for Enstrom? The asking price would be much lower than for Weber, and obviously Enstrom isn't Weber, but he is a very skilled and intelligent player. There is a risk he has a great year and his price goes way up. He had 51 points in just 72 games the year before the last one which was an off year for him with injuries. Getzlaf and Perry, even though I hate them both, would obviously be targets too. I doubt they both reach UFA status, but if they do they'll have Parise/Suter levels of interest so it will be just as hard to sign them.

We were apparently one of 4 "big players" in a trade scenario for Weber. That was until Paul went full Holmgren and killed that possibility. Holland is doing what he can. We were so close on Suter too. Quincey may not be "the guy", but without him our D would look even more hollow. Quincey also has some potential to be quite solid. Remember this is the guy that EVERYONE was calling Holland's worst move as a GM, letting him go. Reasonable contract, only 2 years. Good.

Tough question. Hank and Filppula had great chemistry last season so I don't see much reason to split them up. But then again Pavel definitely needs more help on his line. Can't always put Pav with table scraps like Bertuzzi, Cleary or Samuelsson. I think we're going to see even more rotation of the lines than ever before. If we can find a 2nd line that works, maybe Brunner-Filppula-Samuelsson or something, I'd definitely like to see Hank and Pav play full time together.

Big opportunity this year for Smith, Ericsson and maybe even Kindl. We'll see what they're really made of. Could be a fun year, could be a frustrating one..

I agree. Love Homer, he's a warrior, but this is gonna be a rebuilding year and we have a bunch of young guys ready to step into the lineup. We can't carry any more veteran forwards. 24/7 isn't gonna be as good without him though.

I do like that he doesn't want to handcuff the team for years to come by for example signing a mediocre player like Carle to a long, overpaid contract. Our young guys could step up enough to atleast take us to the playoffs, and if not atleast they've gotten icetime and development. For the life of me I still can't understand it if he doesn't atleast offer Semin a big 1-year contract. Gonne be a lot of unused cap space this year..

I see. Wonder if he'll come to training camp?

Really, you think he'll get 43 points!? I doubt it.. 42 maybe, or 44.. but 43 seems an unrealistic expectation. PS. I think he'll have a huge season and be a Calder finalist.

Anyone know why he isn't in the development camp?

Not even close... haven't you heard, Ryan is the bestest player ever! Real talk: Ducks have said they won't trade Ryan unless they're offered something that blows them away. Won't happen. Ryan isn't worth much more than Fil/Franzen + a prospect/pick. Someone else said it somewhere, Ryan doesn't do much other than score, but he's not criticized for it because he's north-american.

Yeah that seems super fake. I wouldn't make that trade anyway.

I personally think 2-3 years from now is when they'll be a contender, unless they screw up the development and retaining of their prospects. They need to get better defense and probably add a little more scoring depth. They have a pretty good situation but there are no guarantees for success. Lots of times when a team makes a big splash at the trade deadline or in the offseason they'll be hyped up as cup favorites, but it rarely works out so easily. How will Suter react to being "the guy"? He's had a comfy position in Weber's shadow in front of Rinne. Parise will also be pressured to produce on a team in desperate need for scoring. Lots of things can go wrong, and with those massive contracts come massive expectations and what if the first half of the season doesn't go so well for them? The fans could quickly turn on them. Or they win 5 straight cups. Who knows.

Typical politically correct comment that doesn't mean much. Although Pens are sure to be after Semin and he probably would like playing with Geno. Word is Pens are reluctant to offer anything long-term since they have Malkin to sign soon. Wings can spend, and they can easily offer 3-4 or even 5 years. Holland should NOT be outbid on this one.

Wings ARE desperate. If we are gonna be more than a 6th-10th place team we need to make significant additions. I hope Holland doesn't let Semin's bad rep overshadow what he'd bring to this team. Being surrounded by Babcock, Renney, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, maybe Doan, is different than being around Bodreau, Ovie and Green and I think Semin would behave accordingly.

Sooner or later something has got to give in that whole situation. Nash refusing to increase his list of teams, Howson refusing to lower his demands to a reasonable level... Nash can't possibly stay in Columbus imo but one or the other will have to budge. I hope Howson sees reason and realizes that Nash is not worth a 30 goal scorer, a 60 point 2-way center and 2 great prospects. Because I would love to see Nash in a Wings jersey. Imagine Semin on Datsyuk's wing and Nash on Zetterberg's. Killer 1-2 punch. Yes defense is a matter of great importance as well, but it could be solved if we could send Franzen one way and Filppula the other for Nash and Yandle respectively. Ahh, dreams...

WellI guess if that rumor is true Holland didn't want to give up Smith as well or Nash would already be ours. We're gonna have to overpay even more than any other team, so I wouldn't be shocked if it's true. Change Nyquist to Tatar and instead of Smith we give them a 1st or something, then I'd do it, on the condition that we manage to sign Semin or Doan.

From what I read elsewhere Detroit offered Franzen, Filppula and Nyquist, but CBJ wanted Smith too. If that is accurate, I say HELL NO.

I can just agree with what everyone is saying. Semin is CLOSE to a must-have. If we let him go to Pittsburgh I'll be disappoint. We have the money, we have a perfect fit for him on Datsyuk's wing, we have the kind of coach and organization that can get handle any possible 'issues' he might bring... I see very few downsides. If we can offer 90 million to both Suter and Parise we can easily offer Semin something like 5 years at 5-6 mil per year. Maybe more, if that 's what it takes. If we add him we have the freedom to make a trade for D. Get it done Kenny.

Yeah Enstrom is small but as a "replacement" to Lidstrom we're not looking for a big, physical guy, right? He plays really well positionally and is a good skater and exceptional puckmover. I'd give up Franzen for him in a heartbeat, and I'm a defender of the Mule. I'm sure it would take the addition of atleast a prospect and a pick however. My dream scenario is signing Semin and Doan and trading for 'Toby Orr'. Not that Yandle would be disappointing, but I think Enstrom could be had for less than his actual worth at the moment..

Trade for Enstrom instead of Yandle. Enstrom's value is probably at it's lowest right now. He's an exceptionally skilled guy that would be a perfect fit here.

Holland should try to get Oliver Ekman-Larsson... give 'em Franzen, Filppula, Smith, Nyquist AND all our 1st round picks. Just do it.

It's 6 years. Let's see the money.. edit: 5.5 Mill

Carle is not the solution. Really interested in seeing the money too. Probably WAY too much.