TheOwl

Red Wings have top talent (Z and P) but our two other best forwards (Flipulla and Franzen) don't show up most games. Flipulla has been better than Franzen. The secondary scoring on this team is not terrible, but our top two lines just suck. 3rd liner - Datsyuk - Franzen (lazy) 3rd liner - Zetterberg - Flipulla (lazy) If your going to just randomly stick someone on those lines, you should at least put someone with some descernable talent. Tatar and Nyquest are at least fast and motivated. Cleary randomly scores goals sometimes. Aby had one amazing game, but isn't a top line player. Change the god damn lines, the Wings can't score, they haven't been scoring for a while.

The roster is the problem. Of the 24 players on the team, only 7 of them weren't drafted (or first signed) by the Wings. And of those 7, Cleary, Bert, Miller and Eaves have been here for a long long time. The Wings have a stale roster, they need some outside of the system players.

If any of the teams below us get hot it's over. The Wings have a tough schedual for the rest of the season.

Finally someone who can make a pass on the rush!

Buy-out Quiency. It makes no sense buying out someone who only makes 2 million a season. Buy out the guy getting paid almost 4 million a season.

The Wings squander so many scoring chances. It's like they panic with the puck and just shoot automatically. Remember having Homer and Lidstrom on the ice hoping for that last minute goal. We always knew they would get it done. The confidence lost by this team without Lidstrom is outstanding. The Wings just can't get that clutch goal anymore. Franzen is USELESS. The Wings defense is solid this year, and the only change the Wings should make in that department is shipping White and Quincey out of town. If you're getting paid almost 4 million a season as a defenseman, you are expected to put up points. Top 3 forward is the only thing that will help this team.

Franzen cap his is pretty good, even if he sucks it up most of the season. He is 5th in goals, 5th in points. The guy is a bit of a floater, but losing or Flipulla would be a huge hit to the teams already medicore offense. He consistantly scores more than 25 goals a season, and puts up 50 points. The Wings should buy-out Sammy or Bert, and Quincey. Assuming they can't be traded or waived. The Wings can use the 6 million dollar savings on a top 3 forward.

^ Solid top 6. Brunner needs to come back. He's played better than most of the roster, and has been putting up assists consistantly.

Hmmm.. The Wings need a top 4 puck moving defenseman, and a couple top 6 forwards who can actually score a goal. Hmmm... if only there was someway to obtain such players. Hmmm... if only you could somehow exchange players, picks or prospects with other teams to make your own team better. Hmmm.... it would be so perfect. Hmmm... if only we could of gotten rid of some of the 3 extra defenseman we don't have ice time for. If only we could of gotten rid of some of the 4 extra forwards who take up a bunch of cap space? And if only we could get rid of some of our goalie prospects wasting there lives in Grand Rapids because we already have a #1 for the distant future, and a very skilled #3 in the waiting. Hmmm.... if only every other team in contention hadn't magically become better!

He sure did, 3 point night. The guy just needed to change teams to catch fire. He's a hell of a player, perfect for the Wings.

"Prices too high" No they aren't, the prices are rock bottom. No team overpaid for any player other than perhaps Hanzus. Holland doesn't seem to know the difference between quality versus quanity. He's hording all these prospects which will go nowhere. Gaborik, Roy, Pominville, Iginla, Meester, Jagr, every signifcant player traded, was traded for NOTHING. Worthless prospects and draft picks aren't high prices. Trading one great player for 2 crappy prospects and picks isn't high prices. One good player is worth more than 3 crappy players everytime.

That is a fools way to look at things. Gaborik has scored more than 40 goals in three seasons, including last season. Wings missed out big. Look at the UFA list for next season, how are the wings going to get a top 6 forward now?

Anyone who thinks trading for Gaborik would be a mistake is a fool. He would instantly be our second best goal scorer on the team, if not the best. Wings needed someone exactly like him. Is it just me, or has Holland not made a signifcant move since signing Hossa? I mean come on, almost every single player on the roster has been drafted by the Wings.

All the injuries are kind of irrelevant IMO, only Helm and Flipulla missing time hurt us, the rest are a bunch of useless bums. Holland should be ashamed, the Wings need a goal scorer more than anything, and Gaborik would of been perfect. I really cannot believe Holland didn't sign Semin last season. He would of been a perfect fit too. The Wings will be a bubble team for years to come.

The Wings should get Hudler back, he would instantly be our 5th best forward.

If this team lost Franzen and Flipulla, we would be at the bottom of the conference. The Wings only have 4 legitimate top 6 forwards (not counting Brunner who is a potential top 6). If we lost two of them, we would be screwed. You can't just stick two wingers with Dats and Z and expect offense. The guys are having a hard enough time scoring already. A first round pick does not equal a top 6 forward, or a top 4 defenseman. A first round pick in fact the majority of the time equals not playing in the NHL at all. The Wings have a good core, we literally need a top 6 forward and a top 2 D-man, or two top 6 forwards to be a legitimate contender for the Cup. We got two solid goalies, a group of solid rookies, and an extremely solid top 4 forwards. Datsyuk will be gone soon. Zetterberg and Franzen are becoming less effective. We have 1-2 seasons left at a chance for a cup. As soon as Datsyuk leaves, this team will tank. Might as well try and win a Cup while we stil can. The Wings are drowning, DROWNING, in prospects. How many legitimate goalie prospects do we have? Half a dozen. If Holland is going to do anything, he might as well ditch the dead-weight on the team and get picks. The team has so many players who are not needed, he should just refresh them by trading them for picks. The real question is, if you trade Flipulla for a 1st round pick, what is the probability of getting a player (who in the future) will be better or equal to Flipulla. If I had to make a guess, I would say less than 10%, and that's being generous.

I will bet right now, $20, that the Red Wings first round pick this year will never play a single game in the NHL. Late 1st round picks might as well be 2nd round picks at that point. And a 1st round pick only has a 50-50 shot at even playing in the NHL at all. Picks are over-valued, especially for play-off teams. Get rid of them picks Kenny!

I disagree. Jagr is the leading scorer on Dallas, and has more points than all but two of our players this season. The two prospects will likely never play in the NHL, so they are not worth very much. Picks are also not worth much, as they are also very unlikely to generate an NHL player. Every premium player, Jagr, Meester, Iginla, have so far been traded away for nothing. The prices are rock bottom.

Trading Flipulla for a first would be a huge mistake. He is our third best forward, and integral to the team. He's not playing great right now, but NOBODY is. Especially if that first round pick is late in the pool, it's basically useless. Only 1/2 of the 1st round picks even play in the NHL, only 1/4 of second round picks and later even play in the NHL. The Wings got prospects galore. Trading a legitimate top 4 forward for picks or even a prospect is a huge mistake. If Flipulla wants 5 million a season, give it to him, 3 year deal or whatever. He's worth it. Would you rather have Sammy at 3 million, or Flipulla at 5 million. DO NOT TRADE FLIPULLA. Imagine two years from now if Datsyuk retires, and we let Flipulla go. We will be at the bottom of the conference, no doubt.

Brunner needs the off season, and a real pre-season to get into shape. The guy is a bit lost, and his line-mates aren't helping him either. Just needs time to think. But on the positive side, his contract will probably be longer and cheaper the worse he plays right now. Which is good!

The Wings should trade for Ryan Clowe. Trade and sign, no rental bs. Clowe will greatly help the Wings now, and when the Wings move to the East. The move to the east could make trading Clowe more digestable to the Sharks. In my mind, the major problem the Wings have is the number of people on the roster. The Wings currently have 16 forwards, 9 defenseman, and two goalies. Just think, instead of spending 3 million each on two players, you replace that with one better player who makes 6 million. The latter a much better scenero since we have an abundance of NHL players. Why do we need so many players. Holland is wasting over 10 million dollars of the cap, on players who aren't even playing. And even when they are playing, they aren't useful. Imagine if Quincey, Sammy, White weren't here. All three are expendable, and combined, are wasting 10 million in cap space. That space could easily be used on a top 3 forward, and an upgrade on defense. Holland should clear house at the deadline. It's obvious he isn't going to make a big move. If he would trade all the extra players, who are useless on or off the ice, then he could at least accumulate a bunch of picks. Those picks could either be used in a trade now, or in the off season. Clear house Kenny. We don't need all these extra players. Losing these players also wouldn't hurt our mediocre play-off push.

Quincey, McCollum, Mursak for Iginla. Throw in a pick even. Ignila would be at least our 4th best forward. If Kenny gets er done, we should be looking at the Cup. He's not just a rental, no reason we couldn't re-sign him immediately. Iginla-Datsyuk would rip it up.

Datsyuk has an amazing shot usually. He's not playing very well and has horrible line mates (better tonight though). I would argue he has the best shot on the team. Franzen usually does, but is extremely streeky.

Detroit will be screwed once Datsyuk leaves. The Wings have the system right now to win a cup. They have lots of prospects, cap space, and the core to make it happen either this year or next year. Holland is too scared to make any moves, he seems pretty content with the way things have gone the last 3 years. Babcock is losing is marbles and making terrible decisions. The problem with the Wings right now is coaching and management. If Holland would make the changes needed, and Babcock would read the writing on the wall that multiple players are USELESS, this would be a different team.

The defense has been pretty good. I think a lot of you forget there is no reason your top pairing D-men need to make 5+ million a season. The Wings need scoring.