Jesusberg

False. Pavel has ties to the Russian mafia. That's better than two McGrattans, at least.

Brandon Bollig?

Guise, we need to have a eugoogly for the enforcer... RIP energy. Seriously though, I wouldn't be THAT shocked if Boston claimed him.

Fair point. I just wonder if Holland would look past it, more than anything. Would he bring in a guy who said he doesn't pay players what they're worth? For some reason, I can see the phrase, "We're not sure he's a good fit for our team" coming from Holland. You're right, though. Wiz already has his money, so that part of it wouldn't get in the way.

How about Boston claims him, and he can beat the s*** out of Lucic in practice every other day?

No. You stop it. You stop it right now. Although, it might give Weiss a break from his current job - telling Glendening how good he is for 12 minutes a game.

Bacock on Pulkkinen's call-up last season: “He just didn’t earn a spot,” Babcock said of Pulkkinen. “I’m just in the winning business. Can you help us or not. “All players think they need more ice time to play better,” Babcock continued. “Coach thinks play better and you get more ice time.” Sometimes I love Mike Babcock. More accurately, I love how Mike Babcock gets the team to win. Sometimes I see a quote like this, and Weiss on the 4th line. Then I go, "Uh huh... sure, Mike. I believe you." I think it's more like, "Play the EXACT way I want, and I play you. If you're realgud and heavy on the puck... you make a mistake, maybe I turn the other way. If I don't like parts of your game, you'll make one mistake and ride the pine. Realgud bench warmer." Gah.

Out of these guys, I think Wisniewski, Klingberg and Petry would be my top 3 choices. That's if availability and other circumstances weren't in the way. I'm not sure about the availability of Wisniewski, Barrie and Klingberg. I don't think there's a chance that Wisniewski ever comes here, based on his comments when he signed with Columbus. Barrie and Klingberg seem too important to their teams moving forward, IMO. Perhaps if Stefan Elliott was playing better, Colorado might be more receptive to moving Barrie, but as of right now I think he's part of their core on the blueline. If there's another team in this league who needs RHD as much as Detroit, I would say it's Dallas. Before they acquired Demers, they were in the same situation as Detroit on the back end. Savard, Petry and Spurgeon seem the more likely to be moved. Savard, I would say, is more of a longshot than the other two. He's played some big minutes for Columbus and still has a year left at 1.3 million. I only think he's more expendable than the three guys I mentioned previously because Columbus has a few more pieces on defense than Colorado and Dallas. I think Spurgeon could be moved, if only because Minny has Dumba and Folin to fill in behind him. They could use a shake-up there, for sure. I would be absolutely shocked if Petry wasn't moved. Prosser and Postma, I honestly have no interest in. I don't think they'd be worth spending assets on.

I wouldn't be against moving Weiss, but I wonder who would take on his contract at this point. He's owed 6 million in real dollars next season and the one after. I imagine Detroit would have to retain salary on the deal. Honestly, I think Edmonton would be a good fit, at least from their perspective, but I can't imagine why he'd waive to go there. At the very least, if he is going to rack up some points to bring up his value, Babs should move him up a line. Being on the 4th line RW is certainly doing nothing to help that out.

What did Weiss do to Babs? Jesus... via Chuck Pleiness' Twitter: "Early indications have Pulkkinen skating on a line with Sheahan and Miller. Cleary is the extra forward in Red. Weiss on fourth line with Glendening and Andersson. Top two lines remain same."

No sane poster on here is thinking this... at all. People are excited about a RH shot who fits in a pure sniper mold. I don't think people being excited means they're delusional. I'm certainly not - your 20-25 goal estimation is probably pretty likely, but I think he could push for 2nd line at times. I agree he probably doesn't have all the tools to be a true top 6 player, though.

How many did Marek Svatos end up with? Maybe a few more than him.

You'd think so, but Helm is an option, too Unit 1: Datsyuk, Z, Gus, Abs & Kronwall Unit 2: Sheahan, Weiss, Tatar, Helm & DeKeyser ....that is my nightmare.

You're not "in" anymore, man. You used to be cool. Swap Ericsson and Quincey, and it'd be a little more accurate, daniel. Big Rig's been hot garbage this year, thus far.

Tatar, Helm, Quincey, Ericsson and XO all got a little PP time on the 2nd unit last game... Babs shuffled it around quite a bit. My HOPE is that he uses Weiss, Sheahan, Tatar, Pulkkinen and DeKeyser on the 2nd unit on Saturday, but who knows.

The first time Tatar was called up, I'm pretty sure he put himself offside about 2-3 times in one game. Though, I hope they at least give Teemu some time on the 2nd PP unit. With the 1-3-1 they use on the PP now, putting him on the left-side half boards could work out very well.

It's time. Oh, it's time. It's Teemu time! The Holy Slapper, coming to a Washington Capitals' net near you.

The issue with Smith being "untouchable" is that simply moving Kindl and other spare parts only replaces Kindl on the blueline, keeping XO on the outside looking in. So if it's stand pat with what we have, I don't think it can also be "make a trade without using the untouchables." There simply isn't the room to do so. You really wouldn't move Smith in a package deal for Green (let's assume he's willing to re-sign here) or Yandle?

Oh yeah, Babcock wants to walk into this... http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/maple-leafs-need-to-bridge-divided-dressing-room/ The best part for me is Polak's quote about guys on the blueline just wanting to play offensively. I can only imagine how Babcock would handle Franson, Gardiner and Rielly.

As do I, but I felt that way about Tatar last year, too. My issue with going into next season with the roster that I outlined, is that if Pulu does make it to 3rd line RW, that likely means someone is struggling or injured. I'd just like Holland to try and cash in on value for some of the guys I mentioned ASAP, before it declines. We're going to have to make the room, anyway. It's a bit annoying that he can stand pat for at least another year. Honestly, I think he's in a bad situation with the defenders right now, and he still hasn't made a move. I understand what you're saying in that last sentence, that it would be risky to lose assets. I'm of the mindset that we need to upgrade the defense now, though. I wouldn't hate if they just kind of let it work itself out, but I think it carries its own risks, too. We don't make a move now and find out what we've got in Ouellet, Jensen, Sproul and Marchenko... but what if they don't pan out? I'm not anti-Smith, I think you know that... but in order to be a top 4 guy that this team needs, he's going to have to show more. Is Babcock going to put him in a situation where he can chalk up some numbers? I don't know. Put Smith, Kindl and a forward or two in a package to get a top 4 guy, keep Smith and hope he and the prospects pan out... both options carry risk, IMO.

Hey now, I suggested Mule, Smith, right to Backman and a 2nd rounder. I know you've gotta be OK with half of the assets in that offer, so I should get half credit. "Fine, one an a half people. Jesusberg is half a person." There, we're good now.

He should be, but how likely are one of those other guys to be moved? It's not Holland's style to move people unless he absolutely has to, and when some of those other guys are Mule, Weiss and Helm, there are some obstacles in the way. With next season in mind, my must/should keep around guys up front are: Nyquist-Zetterberg-Abdelkader Tatar-Datsyuk-? Jurco-Sheahan-? Miller-Glendening-? One of those question marks is Mule, one is Helm/Weiss and one is Cleary/Andersson. For me, they're assets worth looking into moving because they're not playing their role as other could, or because they're a bit redundant, IMO. Believe me, I think Mule should be the expendable winger, because the wingers on the team now are younger, faster, etc. and I'd rather his spot be filled than theirs. With Weiss/Helm, I think it makes sense to keep one, not both. We've got Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Sheahan down the middle, so we really only need one who can shift to center from wing when the need arises. When Datsyuk leaves, we'll definitely need someone to help with the transition. That leaves Andersson and Cleary... I think it's clear what Holland should do with those two. I guess my point is, it's easy to see which other guys should be traded, but how likely is it? Factor in their contracts (Mule, Weiss) and what they mean to this team beyond statistics (Helm). How likely is it that Holland wants to stick with "proven commodities", as opposed to making a spot for Pulkkinen, Mantha, etc. As I said before this, I truly believe Pulkkinen's spot next year is as 13th/14th forward, based on what Holland decides to do with Andersson. Technically, Holland doesn't have to make any real decisions until next off-season, when Helm, Abdelkader and Miller are UFA. By then, I'm sure we'll all be going bonkers for Mantha and AA. The reality is, I'd like Holland to be progressive, instead of letting the team hit training camp, and reacting to who looks best... but he certainly doesn't have to be.

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I think Holland is going to stand pat. He'll let every one come to camp next season, retain Andersson (because asset management) and Pulkkinen will be the 14th forward, having to earn his spot a la Tatar. I mean, I hope Andersson goes the way of Emmerton, but who knows. FWIW, this isn't a criticism of Holland, so much as it is me predicting how it will all shake out.

I think the league got it right with this one, tbh. Pretty obvious dive. I'd like to see the NJ one that lead to the initial warning, though.

They're not, though. They're riding the pine. You can waive either guy, and Teemu simply takes their spot on the bench. In order for him to get any real ice time, someone else has to go. If he's up, who out in this team's top 9 sits? Putting him on the 4th line wouldn't do much good, IMO. I want to see Pulkkinen on this team as much as the next guy, but right now it wouldn't do him or the team much good. Maybe if Jurco goes on IR, he gets a look, but I still doubt Babcock will bump Helm down to the 4th line.