Jesusberg

The issue is, this team should have been last year's opening roster. A starting, healthy forwards corps on this team is very respectable: Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Alfie Mule-Weiss-Nyquist Tatar-Sheahan-Jurco Miller-Helm-Andelkader Scratches: Andersson Glendening It's when you throw in those past-their-prime vets, and incur an insane number of injuries that things go south. I really think the forwards on this team are solid. That healthy line-up, along with a boost on the back-end would fare well, IMO.

Eaves seems to be in that tough position where he's not physical enough to be a consistent 4th liner (including injuries), and not skilled enough to play on a 3rd line. He's got really high IQ on the PK, but he's had such terrible luck getting hurt. I wish the guy nothing but the best.

Miller-Helm are our 4th line, and they're hot garbage? Right. Helm basically speaks for himself, but Miller was 5th in the league in PK time per game, 15th in blocked shots among forwards. He was also 2nd on this team (behind Abdelkader) in hits. Miller is a perfect 4th liner, sans your desire for him to drop the gloves. I get it, you like to see guys drop the gloves and police the ice, but a player that does only that will NEVER be on this team. Ever. Any enforcer-type player who plays for this team is going to have to be successful at more than one thing. I look at guys like Hendricks, Roussel, Maroon, Crombeen, etc... they put up some points, or work on the PK as well. Thronton is a thug who can't skate, score or play on the PK. No place on this team for a guy as limited as that.

Just when I was applauding management for stocking the cupboards with some young FA's, this... jesus, Kenny and co. Stop. Let Dan go. It's done.

Every single player drafted outside a Crosby, Ovechkin or Malkin is a "project". Every draftee takes conditioning and time to turn into an NHL caliber player - if anything, guys like Nosek and Sekac are a bit ahead of the curve. They "expect" NHL spots because they say they want a spot? Every single player better say that, otherwise why the heck are you a hockey player? Stating the playing in the NHL is your goal should come out of every player's mouth. These guys are 21, not 17-18, just selected in the draft. If they're not good enough to play in the NHL, they'll be bumped down to GR, just like any prospect who plays in Detroit's training camp.

I really don't see the issue with adding some younger guys who will (Nosek, possibly Sekac), for better or worse, reveal if they're going to work out sooner rather than later. The Wings are letting several UFA's go, and I'm guessing that along Emmerton going to the KHL, Parkes and Coetzee probably won't be qualified. Nothing wrong with stocking the shelves with some players who aren't 17-18.

Yeah, I really don't think he'd have a place on this team. The extra forwards as of right now are likely Andersson and Ferraro/Callahan - they add someone else and one of those two get bumped for Glendening. Any of those guys are a better option than Thornton at this point. As mentioned, a 4th line of Miller-Helm-Abdelkader would be preferred, though it would require the team to add another skilled forward or a prospect to jump into the top 9 (Alfie, Mantha, etc.)

It's a win-win signing. As someone else said, all the hype that comes along with these kids is unfair. Brunner and Leino both helped the team in ways - heck, I still remember Leino spin-o-rama goal. The issue is expecting them to come in and produce like top 6 guys. GR has lost a fair bit of talent without replacing it. Tvrdon was sent back to juniors, Frk struggled (as is expected) and who knows if Callahan, Ferraro and/or Nestrasil will be retained. Pulkkinen will be fine, but Mantha and Athanasiou are going to be in their first year of pro hockey. Could use a player to bolster the top 6 down there - get a chance to see how he transitions.

I actually wouldn't hate Green at the right price, either. I assume the Caps will try to get all they can for him, though. But I think pairing him with the right guy (DK or Ericsson) would work out nicely. He's a heck of a PP guy, and right handed - something this team needs right now. He would be better than Boyle, no doubt... it's just a matter of which assets Washington would want in return.

Ekblad would be an amazing pick-up, but we'd have to ship over a good chunk of our prospect depth, and a body on the roster to get that pick. On a similar note, it's weird how Florida just butchers player development. A few years ago, Kulikov, Gudbranson, Robak and Petrovic were shaping up to be a pretty darn good defense core for the Panthers... they've all appeared to fall short of expectation.

He might be 6'3, and 220... but he's also S-A-W-F-T, saaaawft. As far as his actual destination, I think a Spezza for Kesler swap makes a ton of sense, but I'm sure they'd want to tweak it beyond a straight up deal.

There no value in a guy (Tootoo) that the team has publicly stated they're going to buy-out. Teams will just wait to sign him afterwards, should they have any interest. I honestly feel as if Anaheim has the best chance of landing Kesler. It seems like Vancouver wants prospects, but also center who can help them right now. Not to mention, Anaheim has an extra 1st round pick. If Vancouver is offered a package of Bonino, Smith-Pelley/Etem/Rakell and a 1st, that's pretty much more attractive than anything Detroit would be willing to offer for him. The only sticking point between the teams would be trading with a divisional rival, but Anaheim is more well equipped to trade for Kesler at this point.

The guy's getting under 4 million per year, and he's in the top 60 forwards in the league for points per game. You can argue that he's not what you, Ken Holland and Mike Babcock wanted him to be. You can argue that Hossa is a better player and they should have kept him. You can argue that he gets lazy and hasn't played to his potential... but what's the point? Seriously. The truth of the matter is that he's worth the money he's being paid, and there's basically no chance the team gets rid of him. The argument is mind boggling to me. He's an exceedingly frustrating player to watch, but he's here to stay. He's a good complimentary player, and he's being paid a fair amount of money for that role.

I have to disagree. Considering the deals that have been rejected (reportedly) by other GM's for a top 4 defender, I'm not sure Detroit lands a guy without blowing up the prospect pipeline. Who are you willing to move? Tatar and Nyquist? Mantha? If Detroit could land a top 4 guy, moving a package of say... Smith, Pulkkinen/Frk/Athanasiou, Jensen and a 1st/2nd, perhaps, would be fine with me. But who are they realistically going to get for that package? Honestly, if Detroit could pry Bogosian from Winnipeg by sending them Smith, Helm, another prospect and a 1st, I would do it in a second. However, I think that last player would be Mrazek (they could use a goaltender). If that last prospect is someone like a Pulu or Frk, I make the move. But it's likely a solid piece like Mrazek, and I'm not willing to give that much up, and I'm not sure how many other Wings fans are as well. I just don't think there are many trade options out there that meet the criteria of getting a high quality, top 4 defender without overpaying for him.

A number of people who post here are pretty pro-Boyle (or just pro veteran, right handed defender). When it comes to the Wings' defensive situation for next season, there are pretty much three trains of thought. #1: Niskanen! Niskanen! #2: Sign Boyle for 1-2 seasons and let one of the kids mature on the third pairing. #3: Let the kids play (Two of Ouellet, Marchenko and/or Sproul up with the Wings)

That's one way to look at it, but how many other players have said, "thanks for the interest Garth, but no thanks"? Another way to look at it is that he's doing SJ the favor and getting something for his rights. He's got no real obligation to sign with the Isles.

I still want him here, but trading a 5th (possibly 4th) for an impending, 38-year-old UFA... uh huh. Sounds like a Garth Snow move.

I don't think that Ericsson playing on the 3rd pairing is a demotion. It's about balancing pairings and believing that Ericsson can run his own pairing, and that Smith still needs to be paired with someone stronger. Who knows what Babcock will do, but my philosophy is "why not get the most out of both guys?" Smith has the potential to be a 30-35 point guy next season in the right situation - E's not going to put up over 20. I don't think that being paired with Smith is going to hurt Kronwall, or that being paired with E is going to benefit him to a much greater extent. Putting Ericsson with either Sproul or Marchenko will allow for them to make some mistakes that he can cover for, ones that Smith can't help with at this time. He'll still get ample minutes (the team seems to balance the defensive minutes), and will surely be the top PK guy. As far as Almqvist is concerned, his size and lack of speed were concerns when he was coming over. The consensus seems to be that he didn't do anything to rectify either of those issues. I think he's got great hockey IQ and does very good work on the PP, but I would take any of the big four defensive prospects over him. If what's being said about his work ethic is true, and they're willing to put in the off-ice work and he's not... he kind of just let his job slip away.

Good to see they've got Blashill locked up. My only worry is that he might be Babcock-Lite, as it were. It's not just his voice, but his persona and coaching style. I do think he's a bit more mellow than Babs, and probably has pretty good rapport with the kids. I would be interested to see what his role is if Babcock decides to stay. Does he stay in GR or try to work in as an assistant coach?

This. If it was feasible to trade for him before, it isn't now. They really think they can turn Edler's game around, so the trade package for him would most likely be more than most fans and management would be comfortable offering.

Please happen. Please, please, please.

I don't want to touch Jumbo Joe, but if Holland found a way to unload Weiss, would people be more receptive to it? Again, don't want the guy - just playing devil's advocate here.

In retrospect, I may have felt that way at the time, but I definitely don't think it was anymore. Coyle's a stud, but Setoguchi didn't last long and the 1st ended up being Zack Phillips, who hasn't produced much in the AHL as of right now. It's a moot point, since San Jose's package was favored, but I would have liked to have Burns here, regardless of an overpayment.

With Nilsson signing in the KHL, I think the Isles will try to keep Nabby to back-up Halak this year. The other option is Poulin? I think. I don't think they'd feel safe with him as a back-up over Nabby, so I imagine they try to retain him. I agree with every thing said here - Kindl just doesn't seem to have a place here anymore. I think he could be a good fit somewhere like Edmonton, Jersey, Carolina, etc. There are a few teams who have room and could use a guy geared toward offense.

Sometimes I feel like Kenny gets a little defensive - he's tried to grab superstars (Parise, Suter, etc) and it just hasn't worked out. In the same article: "I think there's this perception that July 1 free agents, there's this hockey store, there's this fantasy hockey league that I'm running, playing in, and that we can go get superstars," GM Ken Holland told Detroit's CBS Affiliate. "Those days are over. That was a bit of the league prior to 2005. Those days are over. This is a league now where you've got to draft, you've got to develop, we've got to make people better."