wingslionstigers

We need to get Hudler and Franzen signed long term for about 5-6 years. We can pick Huds up cheap at around 3 mill a year. Hudler seems to have the potential and drive to become a great player in the next year or two. He could potentially bring in a value of 4.5-5.5 mill a season. In this league you need to get the most out of every dime of your cap space. Every player needs to be a somewhat steal for his price to put a team over the top. This is a start. Franzen on the other hand i think he has alot of potential to become better than he is now but at the same time im just not sure about him. I do think hes overrated throughout the Wings fan base. Although he definitely wouldn't be a bad player to have for around 3.5mill a season. There is no way he is worth more than that at his rate of play this season. Stats don't mean s***, just because hes got about as many points as Zetterberg doesn't mean hes near as good as Zetterberg. After signing them we have all the depth you need for our first 2 lines. Now we got a core. Holland will have these guys signed thats a fact. We all know the Red Wings are rebuilding and looking for a long term core with the new cap era. In the following years we defiantly need to get a good grindline together. We need a line that can come out hit, drop the gloves if need be, and prevent the other team from scoring. Maltpy is probably going to choose to retire after this season, Draper will probably stick around a couple more years which isnt a bad thing. We just really need a line that can go out face the other teams first or second line and shut them down. That way we can get our top dogs out there against some weaker units on a more regular basis.

You have no hockey knowledge. You just proved it.

Hahaha that was great.

I'm not saying Hossa isn't all that. Hossa is great. I'm saying that if Hossa wasn't around in my opinion that guys like Flips, Cleary would be playing better. I know i can't put Huds and Franzen on that list just because they do have alot of points this season. Although i think they would be playing better 2 way all around better hockey. Like i said this teams centered around Hossa, Z, and D up front. There isn't no room for guys like i listed. Them guys have a much smaller role than they would without Hossa around. They would have higher confidences feeling more valuable and feel like they need to be an asset of the team if Hossa wasn't there. To many star players isn't always a good thing, Is what i was trying to say by that. If he took 6 mill a year ill take him. Not very likely so im not even going to begin to act like its a possibility. Do you realize how much longer Hossa has been playing in the NHL? Hossa is maxed out Franzen is not. We can sign Franzen for the price of a a good player, when he could turn out to be a great player. You sign Hossa you sign a great player for a great players pay. Do you fail to see the advantage down the road your looking at here? This is a salary cap world this is how teams need to be looking to put there team over the top. I disagree. Last year there offense held on to the puck. If you can find the numbers i guarantee you find Detroits "time on attack" was MUCH higher last year than it is this year. Thats the difference. The other team didnt have a chance to score because Detroit had the puck in the O zone the entire game. Detroit out shot their opponents almost every game last year. This year they haven't.

You just watch hockey, hockeys apart of me. This might be over your head.

I'm not knocking a guy because he plays there? I'm saying your going to have a 2nd line fresh out of the AHL. I'm saying your team with Hossa is not going to do as well as a team with Franzen/Huds. The exact same team without Hossa played better than the exact same team with Hossa. We did better last year at this point. Flips, Franz, Hudler, Cleary; none of them guys have a role right now. There just tossed around like tennis balls trying to figure out what one can accommodate Hossa or Datsyuk on the second line. Thats one of the reasons are team isnt performing i believe. Them guys were second line players last year and felt apart of the team. Now its the Dats/Z/Hossa show on 2 lines and lets see who can benefit these guys the most. We don't have no 3rd line. Thats just where the guys that didnt make the cut on line 1a or 1b go for the night to take a shift and let our 2 lines rest. The Red Wings are a 2 line team right now, they try to get the job done with line 1a and 1b every night. Our second and third line had a huge role on the team last year, both them lines were somewhat equal. They both fought hard to be the line to help contribute along side Z&D night in and night out. Thats what were missing this year. We have one to many super star players that steals and hogs the show for the average guys. To many super stars = no good and its been proven many times. Depth is where its at hands down.

I'm pretty sure if he comes back he will probably take less. But go take a look at the teams in the top of the standings. These teams have depth and thats why they are at the top of the standings. They have no more than 2 super star forwards. All of the teams that choose to sign that extra super star over depth have failed and or are failing. 3-4 good lines wins cups. Not 1 super star line and a 2nd line with 1 super star and 2 AHL players.

Yeah if it aint keepers drop him hes done no chance hes coming back this season.

It would be great to keep Hossa. Yeah i would love to watch Hossa play with the Wings for the next x amount of years. Maybe im valuing Huds to much maybe im not. What i see in Hudler is a pure bread Red Wings hockey player. This guy just got his confidence going this year, he has been doing nothing but shining ever sense. If him and Franz got signed, he would be given a full time 2nd line role the way the roster would be projected for next season. I think that would be huge for him. On top of just the ice time he would be more confident and feel like a bigger piece to this team. I really think this guys going to come along ways i have high hopes for him. I think Hudlers better than Franzen. Hes got more potential and he seems more determined then alot of guys out there. I see Hudler/Franzen being a 60-70 point players from here on out if hes to stay on the Wings. Thats pretty impressive for a second line to be producing that many points along with the first line putting up anywhere from 80-100 points apiece. Sometimes the way Hudler controls the puck and gets comfortable with it in the offensive zone amazes me. You know this guy is all over Z and D in practice and wants nothing more than to beable to play like them.

Dude were trying to build a core right now. Not loose our top prospects to sign guys out of there prime that will only be here for minimal years. The only way your going to build a contending team for many years in this cap world is to take chances like we did with flip. What if Flip would have turned into what we expected of him? We would have a star player for 3 mill a year. We need to sign up guys like Hudler/Franzen for 5-6 years for a fairly low salary and hope they turn out as good as we think they can be. Hudler and Franz both have the potential to be great players. Right now there good, if you can lock them up as good players for several years and they turn into great players. Then all suddenly you got 4 superstar forwards on one hockey team that has enough cap room to lock up 3rd/4th line depth. Thats the only way in this cap world you are ever going to beable to pull something like that off. Thats the only way you are going to be able to truly get ahead of the other great teams in the league. I'm not saying that these guys are going to be the next Dats/Z but they have the potential to be pretty damn good hockey players. They have the potential to not only give us the best 1st and 2nd line in the league. But the option to beable to afford to have one of the best 3rd lines in the league. If we signed them and they got better in the next year or two. We got a good chance to win a couple cups in the next 6 years. See what im saying? You sign Hossa what we have is what we have. We paid big for him and hes not getting better. Now we only got 1 super star line with a second line with 1 super star player with either 2 AHL players or two 3rd line caliber players on his line.

Anything can happen but not likely. I don't know if you know to much about our cap space Situation. We are looking at loosing Sammy on top of all this. Theres 2 ways Sammy could stay. 1; Take the same or less pay. 2; We don't sign Hossa, try to sign Huds/Franzen but loose them. Then Sammy gets signed as a last resort. Your really not going to find anything on free agency that can play like Hudler for less. The Wings have to much depth on there current team and AHL team to go off and sign free agents and loose there built prospects. The only free agent signings we might see on this team in the next couple years is likely a Drake type veteran player to play a 3rd/4th line role.

Okay well you can say that but i can say this. Zetterberg/Dats/Holms 1st line. 2nd line Franzen/Flip/Hudler, 3rd line Cleary/Helm/Leino, 4th line ?/Draper/Abs. It just makes to much sense. Look how strong of a 2nd/3rd line we would have. We are already looking at bringing up Leino, Helm, Abdelkader, Ericsson next season. We cant afford another rookie on our roster.

Anyways whatever you guys think about Hossa doesn't matter its not what this topics about. Hossa has about a 4% chance to be signed by the Wings. They will not let 2 of there top built prospects go to keep a single player that they picked up off free agency. Its not going to happen. The topic is about how good of a bargain these 2 players could be on a long term contract if they continue to improve.

Franzen is not worth 5.5 mill a season whoever is apart of them rumors are on crack. He may be down the road but he will not see a 5.5 mill contract. Your looking at 3.5-4 at max. Hudler will player for probably a little over 3 mill a season. Thats 6.5-7.3 mill a season max for them two. Hossa isn't going to be signed a 12 year contract like Zetterberg to keep the price low. If there was ever to be negotiations of a Hossa contract your talking 4-6 years at 7.3-7.8 a year. No them numbers arent fact but they are most realistic.

Lindstroms the fastest player on the wings followed by Maltpy hands down.

On top of that some of you guys are failing to realize Hudler and Franzen are going to get better. There going to be better next season. Hudlers been improving drastically.

Get cheaper alts of Hudler and Franzen? Like who? You guys act like you can just pick top 6 caliber players off of a tree. If you could get these players you speak of so easily why don't the Islanders go out and get them and make the playoffs this year if its that easy? What are you going to say Leino/Helm?? Okay yeah Leino looks like he can put up a few points if hes paired with Dats and Hossa. Anyone can. Now look at it this way. If you make a second line out of Leino/Flip/Helm and make a second line of Hudler/Flip/Franzen. Don't even try an tell me you think this line would come anywhere near Huds/Franz. Leino and Helm playing a second line role together would finish the season with a +/- negative rating with probably about 35-40 points a peace tops. So those are our top prospects which will not beable to fill the role of Huds/Franzen in an anyway period. So who are these guys your talking about?

You would take Hossa for the same price as Hudler/Franzen combined? So what your saying is you would take Hossas 26 goals/50 points over Hudler/Franzens 39goals/73 points

People on these forums are pretty weird who the f*** cares if you can "relate" to them its a hockey team. I like watching them because they play good hockey.

You guys are a bunch of *******. I liked it, i enjoyed watching it. I had fun watching the players dick around and have fun with it. I don't care whos in it or why they are there. It was fun to see them on a not so serious note playing around. What the f*** do you guys want out of it? Don't want it to exist? Why?

Get off the crack and watch some hockey. Liljas one of the best third string defensemen in the entire league.

I think hes just trying to keep things mixed up until post season. Why let the other teams get a chance to figure out our trio when we dont have to? I wouldnt be surprised to see Dats and Z together following our first post season loss.

I understand goaltenders for the most part take awhile to develop and i was a big fan of Jimmy developing into our goaltender. Although with Larsson and McCollum in the mix it may be time to move Jimmy. I would much rather see Larsson get more ice time because the way it looks he has way more potential than Jimmy. Then again it may not be a bad thing to have them battling for ice time, competition can only make you better.

You cant really dog him hes a super star player and brings alot to the table. Everyone has there strong and weak points you cant be mr everything. I'm not saying i disagree with him being weak in the defensive zone but thats the only part of his game you can pick apart. If Dats signed last year he would be getting somewhere in the mid 7s per year also aswell as Zetterberg will.

Great article thanks for posting it.