Jesusberg

DeKeyser filing for arbitration also opens up the second buyout window for the Red Wings. I'd hoped they might use it remove a certain lumbering defender from roster. Nyquist filed for arbitration last offseason, and the situation got my hopes up (spoiler alert: they didn't use it last offseason, and they probably won't this one, either. If I'm coming off as a bit snarky right now, it's because I hate that the opportunity is there, but Kenny won't pull the trigger).

Starren McOtty

Six pages of (mostly) hatred for a guy who: A) Will play on the fourth line/serve as a healthy scratch. B) Fail to crack the roster, and get demoted to the AHL. I've never really been a fan of Ott, nor am I saying it's a good signing, but... holy overreaction. Never change, LGW.

Abdelkader is the odds-on favorite, but I wonder if they might decide to rotate it between him and DeKeyser. As mentioned, DD is probably next in line for Kronwall's letter. Agree that it's too early to put a letter on Larkin - might add pressure, and there's no reason to do it just yet. IIRC, didn't Tampa Bay rotate one of their "A's" throughout the entire season? Not saying it's how Detroit should go about it, I just recall reading it somewhere.

To be fair, the team probably doesn't have the assets (at least, none we'd want to part with) to land Duchene. Of course, it depends on what Sakic is looking to acquire for him, but I think it's fair to say most of us would squirm at the price.

Stamkos most definitely took less money to stay in Tampa Bay. He was the big fish on the market this year. It's not what he got that's going to alter the prices of the remaining UFAs - it's that he's no longer available. The bigger names left on the market are in that 28-32 age range, and are probably looking to cash-in on their (potentially) last contract.

Personally, I feel as if it's kind of a crappy situation now. Obviously, a lot of us Stamkos here in Detroit, but with him off the market, the price tags of everyone else have jumped. I can't see Holland standing pat. He's got cap space to work with, and this team is playing its last season at the Joe, then going into its first season in a new building in 2017-18. Ilitch is going to want to push forward with the most competitive team he can ice. Unfortunately, I feel like that means overpaying/giving too much term to the guys remaining on the market. I'm not an advocate for tanking, but I'd hate to sign guys like Backes or Ladd to 5-6 year deals. I'd feel a lot better about the situation if they could shed one or two of the "bad" contracts on the team, but that's highly unlikely. Seeing all of these other teams buy out their defensemen (though, they have less term on their deals) is kind of frustrating. My guess is they go right after Nielsen, one of the "edgy" forwards (Backes, Ladd, Brouwer) and then maybe try for a gritty depth guy, depending on the prices. Meh.

Disappointed for sure, but at least we're not EDM or MTL fans. Jesus.

It's not shocking to see Toronto-based writers discuss the Leafs having the greatest chance of landing Stamkos. Yesterday, Mirtle wrote about how the Leafs have a 30% chance of signing him (he has the Wings at 25%). I tried my best to stay away from rumors, because it gets brutal this time of the year. I usually get my hopes up, but the available cap space this year has me in overdrive. Either way, we're at least two days away from real answers.

Per Bob Duff of the Windsor Star (who also writes for HockeyBuzz) - http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog/Bob-Duff/Wings-hold-strong-interest-in-UFA-Matt-Martin/216/77857 *scratches out projected fourth line* It's just a report, and I'm not sure how much Duff really knows about the situation, but that's not what you pay a guy like Martin. If that's the market for him, it's waaay too rich for my blood.

They also had the right guys blow up at the right time. They had a 22-year-old goaltender play out of his mind, and their "third" line was an absolute monster. The core of their team is made up of elite talent, too - can't say the same of the Red Wings. The previous 4-5 years, teams who won the cup had a balance of size and skill (maybe not the '15 Blackhawks, so much). I don't think anyone's looking to field a team of Matt Martins. At least, that's not what I'm pushing for.

I guess it depends on your definition, but I think this team has four bottom-six forwards based on a (loose) comparison to Martin: Glendening, Miller, Sheahan and Athanasiou. Obviously, the latter two have more skill. If anything, I think the Red Wings have too many fringe NHL forwards. Guys who basically walk that line between "complimentary offensive winger who needs to play with superior talent" and "AHL-caliber talent". I would have taken Martin over Miller as well, but part of the problem with this team (and Blashill has admitted it) is that too many guys were unsure about their roles last season. You need a player to know what his role is on the team and commit to it. For example, Jurco is a guy on the fourth-line who thinks he should be in an offensive role (I'm not trying to pick on him, I just think he's the best example on this team). If your bottom-six/fourth-line guys know who they are, so do the guys above them. The line combinations and TOI were a mess last year, and I think clearly-defined roles would help to fix that up. Part of that means Blashill needs to stop his love affair with Glendening (why does it change L.G.D. to disney.com?) and commit to playing the skilled players more often.

The last time I was this excited about free agency was... well, 2012. OK, bad example. But seriously, can you imagine? Lucic-Stamkos-Nyquist/Tatar Larkin-Zetterberg-Abdelkader Athanasiou-Sheahan-Tatar/Nyquist Miller/Jurco-Glendening-Martin Line combinations are subject to change, obviously. Like you said, even getting 2/3 would be an upgrade. I'm sure people would take issue with guys like Mantha, Jurco and Pulkkinen on the outside looking in, but that's a solid-looking group of forwards.

Depending on the price tag, I wouldn't mind Matt Martin. Guy's an absolute wrecking ball on the ice. https://twitter.com/StapeNewsday/status/747904641262829568

I'm on the same page. Nielsen might be the next best option on the market, but what's the point? Perhaps if the Wings were in a better position, it would make more sense. Not that I'm already writing the team off for next season, but I don't think they're a Frans Nielsen away from contending. Given the current state of the team, why commit 5.5M and 3-4 years to a 32-year-old when you'll have younger players pushing him within two years? Larkin and Athanasiou have served as centers in their career, although not in Detroit. KH has stated he envisions Larkin slotting in at center, but Athanasiou is up in the air (unless he's commented on him as well). It might be a "baptism by fire" situation, but I'd try them out there (if one struggles, try the other) before signing another players over the age of 30 to a contract with term. I understand that you generally want to insulate guys in these situations - let them start out as the third-line center and work their way up the depth chart. I think that could have worked with Pavel on this team with one year left on his contract, but now they'll have to offer term to someone else. If that someone else isn't part of the core moving forward, it kind of feels like a lateral move (at best) to me.

I wouldn't mind Nielsen, but I think the team really needs to address their core. Obviously, Stamkos is the big prize this offseason, so there's going to be a lot of competition to get him. Pointing out the obvious, at this stage, he's exactly what the Red Wings need. Adding a player like Nielsen is great when you've already got the core of your team established, but I see him as more of a solid, complimentary guy. Don't get me wrong - he's a very capable second-line center and solid penalty killer. He's also 32-years-old and apparently (as Dominator pointed out - also rumored to push over 6M, possibly) wants 5.5M+ and 3-4+ years. In terms of playing style, he's a great fit for the Wings. I don't think his situation/contract demands are the right fit, though.

Honestly, no problem with the Miller signing. Guessing it means Helm is testing the market. The rumor (based on a HSJ article, so who knows) was that he was the priority, and once he made his intentions clear, Miller could sign. I'd prefer Miller on the fourth line than Helm taking up a spot in the top-six (or even top-nine, for that matter). I don't see this having as big of an impact on guys like AA, Mantha, Jurco and Pulkkinen as some people think. One of them was already getting pushed into a fourth-line/healthy scratch role. Z, Abby, Nyquist, Larkin, Tatar and Sheahan are locks for the top-nine, leaving three spots for those four guys. One had/has to get bumped down a line. Not to mention, adding a skilled UFA forward will knock them down further. Miller doesn't have an impact on that, unless you feel they should be used on the fourth line. The one negative impact I could see is him taking up a spot on the PK, where AA could get some extra minutes in. Although, part of the issue there (IMO) is the way Blashill utilized Abdelkader last season. I'd much prefer to see Sheahan-AA and Glendening-Miller used on the PK, but I guess we'll see.

Now I'm just worried if he strikes out on Stamkos, he'll overpay Okposo or sign Backes/Brouwer to some term.

I'm sorry about all of the mean things I've said about you, Kenny. I know you're reading this. Good job, chief.

Really? Now I'm curious. It doesn't sound right, but what do I know? From my knowledge, once a team acquires a contract, they're responsible for it. Plus, taking a quick look at the history of mutually terminated contracts in the NHL, they occur throughout the entire year: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015%E2%80%9316_NHL_transactions#Contract_terminations

I'm assuming he's referring to Holland's self-imposed deadline. Technically, he doesn't have to move Pavel's contract by July 1st, but he's not going to commit cap space to a free agent without moving the $7.5M. If GM's are (reportedly) asking for guys like AA and Svech now, they'd absolutely have Holland over a barrel if he signed someone before moving the deal. He would have to make a trade - not necessarily Datsyuk's deal, but he'd have no choice but to shed cap space. Don't think he'd put himself in that position.

First off, let me clarify that I don't think Holland is going to find a price he's willing to pay to move the deal. The biggest reason is that I don't think there are enough teams willing/able to take on the contract. I think Wings end up having to eat the 7.5M for the year. In response to your comment about other teams moving their unwanted deals - those other teams may have given up a lot to move contracts off their cap, but they were also paying the salaries for the players they were receiving. Datsyuk is 7.5M of cap hit without actually getting paid a salary. I'd wager that's appealing to a number of teams who have financial issues, and are trying to get to the floor. It's a different situation. I think Holland makes a ton of excuses and digs himself into holes quite often, but the posturing at the press conference is probably the best move he could have made given the situation. He mentioned three things that might push teams to knock down their asking price: 1) He's spoken to a few teams about the prospect of taking on the contract. 2) He's not willing to move a high-end pick or prospect. 3) If a deal doesn't get done by July 1st, he won't bother. If a team like Arizona or Carolina have legitimate interest in taking on the contract, Holland's laid out the situation for them. He's letting them know that other teams are involved (whether true or not, who knows), which assets he is unwilling to part with in order to move the contract, and his deadline to make the deal happen. Whether it works remains to be seen, but it puts some pressure on GM's who have genuine interest in acquiring Datsyuk's contract. Again, I think the Wings are stuck with the contract when it's all said and done. Holland did the best he could to lay the groundwork for a trade today, though.

As krsmith said, Nosek has one more year (or 64 games in the NHL) of waiver exemption. Frk, Ouellet, Sproul and Jensen are no longer waiver-exempt as of next season. Before the offers to Helm and Miller (apparently Miller signing is based on Helm not signing, though?), I thought both Nosek and Frk had outside chances of making the roster - each guy brings something different to the table. I figured Nosek could fill the fourth-line/PK role for one of Miller/Helm, and Frk could jump into a role similar to Pulkkinen's last season. I have a gut feeling Holland is going to explore the market, though. Without Pavel, this team's top-six probably consists of Zetterberg, Nyquist, Abdelkader, Tatar, Larkin and one of Mantha/Athanasiou/Jurco/Pulkkinen. I can't picture Kenny being comfortable going into next season with those guys. I have a feeling he's going to try to find some cap space and push hard for one of Backes/Brouwer/Ladd (not that I think he should).

I pretty much have the same mindset regarding the whole thing - it doesn't feel like something Holland is going to pull off. That said, Ericsson was 4th in TOI per game among DET defenders for the first half of the season. The second half he dropped to 6th, and was 7th during the last 20ish games or so. I'm not expecting Holland to buy him out, but I wouldn't be completely shocked, either. It's tough to stomach paying a guy playing as your #6-7 defender 4+ million per year.

The Weiss buyout hit is on the books until 2020-21. If they buy-out Ericsson, the combined penalty for the 2017-18 season will run at just a shade under 4.2M.