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Laich is a better, younger version of Cleary. To say he is only deserving of Cleary money is a little absurd, he is worth more. 3.7 million or so could maybe reel him in, and he gives the wings some size and solid defensive play to go with offense. Everyone is like "Oh no we cant overpay at all" but with a tonne of cap space whats the point of sitting around on it? Might as well overpay a bit to get this team back into cup winning form. If what Babcock said is true and they want to add a top 6 player, Laich should be the number one choice. After Laich I'm "Laiching" (classic joke) Erik Cole as a potential top 6 player. He is another physical, big, point producer who can play in the top 6

This guy would fill alot of needs for the wings. They get a guy who can take the right handed shot and produce points on the PP, he is at least marginally better defensively than what Rafalski was in his final years here, he is young, can hit HARD and will enforce a bit if he needs too. He gives Detroit another threat on the blue line to take a guy head off like Stuart and Kronwall do as well. For anywhere under 5 million I think he would be a solid signing. As a Detroit kid I dont see how he can hate the wings that much, he was probably just saying it because he was playing for Chicago at the time

Looking at a couple mocks, it looks like the wings might be picking Joe Morrow from Portland. I would really like this pick, he is what the wings need. He is a big, western boy who is fairly physical but he does everything pretty well. He defends well, is a good puck mover, can throw a hit and will drop the gloves. Getting a defenseman like him would really help our depth at that position. I'm thinking Oleksiak will be gone by the wings pick but I would love to see him picked as well. A 6'7 mobile defender who can also play offensively and will be tough back there. He fights a bit as well. If the wings wanna go the defense route, they should try to get one of these 2 guys

Jokes on you guys, Weber was a second round pick..

No, not even close. Lilja is a shell of his former self, could hardly play for Anaheim

Not strong defensively is a knock on most young defensive prospects, that term loves to get thrown around. Fact of the matter is, lots of guys aren't amazing defensively and everyone makes mistakes so it isnt as bad as it seems. Kindl didnt look awful this year when he played and Smith has looked better than Kindl did in Grand Rapids. I would say Smith is at a point wher ehe could make the jump, play 16 minutes a night and it would help him more, playing against the big boys. Hes physically big and strong enough, and he will probably be on our PP from the get go, the defense will come along eventually

Well Franzen is never healthy anymore, is 3 years older than Clowe, on a bad contract that if he stays hurt all the time we will be screwed with. Clowe has been able to stay healthy, he is also a playoff player, more physical and tough than Franzen. CLowe didnt have a break out in the playoffs, he put up 62 points this year, 57 the year before and 52 before that. Hes steadily improving. Sure Kindl might be a top 4 dman, but he hasnt shown anything to say he actually will do so and with Smith providing everything he does and more he isnt really needed. Trading for Clowe would be like trading for Shanny back in the day. Getting tougher upfront with someone who can play the game.

Clowe is far from a diver lol. He is a player I would trade any forward on the wings for besides Datsyuk or Zetterberg and he would beat anyone on Detriot up in a fight. Franzen+Kindl for Clowe sounds great to me

The wings got a 6'5 defenseman who plays like he is 6 feet except for one fight every 40 games or so, I was saying that Ericcson looked like a potential norris candidate in his future with the way he played in the ahl (thats from bob mackenzie), and all of a sudden he comes to the NHL and has to readjust his game completely. What was the use in those extra years in the AHL when now he ould be adjusted to the NHL better if he came up a year earlier? Kronwall split his first North American season between the AHL and NHL and played his second during the NHL lockout with the griffins, I like how you leave that out to try to make a point. He was playing in the NHL from the get go and was getting experience, even if he didnt stick the whole season, he was getting significant time and experience. Fish played 52 games in the NHL in his first season and 7 in the AHL, than played 55 in the NHL his second year with 18 in the AHL. Once again, Fischer was an NHLer from the get go, racking up experience and adjusting to the pro game, not to the minors than having to adjust all over again. Any attempt at trying to make it sound like Kronwall or Fish weren't NHLers from the start is dumb I'm not saying keep Smith in the pressbox, get him into 40 games or so and send him to the minors if you need to after a while if he isnt ready. Not being ready doesnt mean he cant get experience playing against Edmonton, Florida etc

Meh, how much has leaving these defenseman in GR really helped them in the NHL? Ericcson sucked, Kindl sucked.. Why not bring up Smith and instead of him adjusting his play based on AHL players, let him go against some real players. He might look bad for a year but than he is still adjusting to the NHL game at least. He is a very high end prospect, he could get some big PP time while learning the game defensively. There isnt a good track record for the wings developing defenseman in GR. Kronwall was hardly there, Ficsher wasnt there. Kindl and Ericcson both did not seem prepared at all for the NHL game when they got here. Smith should get time to play with a top 3 defenseman all time and learn his game

When I think about it, Mike Green wouldnt be bad a replacement at all for Rafalski. Yeah Green isnt good defensively, but he is no worse than Rafalski and still has plenty of time to improve his defensive game. Green is one of, if not the best offensive defenseman in the game and could be a good trade option. I would still rather just sign Wiz and Bieksa or Pitkanen however, you dont need to give up assets for either of them

exactly, Rafalski wasnt in the league at Wiz's age. He is a mean little bastard who is capable of playing the PP, right handed and has good offensive instincts. He could keep developing into a nice 50 point scorer consistently. He is a huge hitter, a tough fighter and with Kronwall and Stuart would give Detroit one of the toughest defenses to play against. Being from Detroit, young and providing other elements the wings lack like clearing the crease, I cant see how the wings wouldnt target him. Add him and Bieksa and theres rafalskis offense replaced as well as the wings all of a sudden have the toughest defense in the league pretty much. Pitkanen is a pretty good option as well

Well with the possible movement/retiring etc of Miller, Eaves, Modano, Hudler (trade maybe?), Draper, Salei and Ericcson it is looking like the wings very well have to make a depth signing. I think that Emmerton will be taking the route of Ritola/Ellis and Mursak will be with the big team. Here are my guys in order of who I would like to see the wings sign. Forwards Cody Mccormick - For starters, he is a solid light heavyweight scrapper that can take on most guys in the league and do well. He had 21 minor penalties this year, many of which Im sure were coincidental roughings. He does not take a lot of dumb penalties. He had 20 points on the year, which puts him even or better than Eaves, Abdelkader, Miller, and Draper while being a physical player and solid fighter. He played 11 minutes per game which is good for an enforcer, more than Draper and right in the ball park with Miller and Eaves. I watched him play a few times this year and he didnt look very slow or anything, he is a fairly well rounded player for a guy who fights so well and often. He would be a great 12th/13th forward on the wings. Brad Winchester - A 6'5 forward who uses his size to play mean? Sure why not. He can put up 10-15 goals a year, fight pretty well and is a solid hitter. He is also a pretty good PKer who can eat up the minutes lost at the expense of a guy like Drew Miller. Matt Bradley - A big tough guy who knows his role on his team. Check his scrap with Downie, he doesnt let people go after the star players on his team, something this Detroit team lacks as of right now. He can also play around 11 minutes a night while packing a pretty good punch and physical play (161 hits last year). 11 points isnt bad either. Zenon Konopka - One of the best faceoff men and most active fighter in the league. He can play some PK and up in the 10-11 minutes per game range. He can replace Drapers ice time and his face off specialty ( 2 good reasons to sign him actually and now that I think of it would make a lot of sense). As a 12th/13th forward there would be nothing wrong with having him. Mike Rupp - He is constantly throwing his weight around out there and has the size and mean streak to do some damage. He plays over 10 mins a game and put up 17 points which is close to Miller, Draper, eaves and Abdelkader. He is a very solid fighter and would also be a very good 12th/13th forward. After these 4 you have a few other players like Tanner Glass, Scott Nichol and Ben Eager but for one reason or another I dont want them as much as these other guys. Defenceman Shane O'Brien - Decent puck skills, plays mean and can play the game well. He hits often, will get players off their game and protect the goalie. He played on a team who lived or died by their defense and was playing over 17 mins a night for them. He is a decent fighter and somewhat willing but still protects his goalie and clears crease which is more important than fighting. Steve Montador - Logging almost 20 mins a game, this guy can play mean as well. Not scared to fight or hit but is not the best fighter. No slouch offensively with 26 points. Im torn between him and O'Brien as to who I want more. Either would be great. Erskine - Can fight anyone in the league, one of the best heavyweight fighters. He hits a lot and blocks quite a bit of shots. He just stays home and knows his role, he isnt a pylon out there though. He is not as big of a minutes hog playing only about 15 per game but that is fine as a 7th guy. He plays the PK a bit and is one of the toughest in the league. Thinking about it, I probably want Montador the most but its hard for me to decide. All these guys play mean and provide what Salei and Ericcson do. These are the 3 I could see Kenny targetting most if Salei is done with the wings. The main thing I would like to point out is that none of these guys are 5 minute a night enforcers. They all contribute in some way or another and play over 10 minutes a night. Last year the main guys I lobbied for were Matt Hendricks and Tim jackman who had great years as well. Hopefully Holland can pick up one of these guys and they have years like Jackman and Hendricks

Tell Ivanans that Big Mac is a hugger lol, are you sure youre not mixing him up with Stortini? And yeah if he was a useless player I wouldnt be saying he should come here, regardless of what some posters on here think, I dont just want an enforcer or else I would be saying we should sign Mac.

I think Wiz is a good fit as a number 3 guy for the wings. He produces 50 points this year and is still young, that is a good chunk of offense. He is a right handed boomer from the point on the PP and can help make the wings have an even more feared defense when it comes to laying guys out. A defense of Stuart, Kronwall and Wiz would be deadly to other forwards who like to keep their head down. Wiz will protect his goalie as well. Hes a Detroit kid too, I really think we will see him in a wings uniform next season. They actually have the money to sign 2 solid defenseman with Rafalski leaving, cap increase and some other money (Drapes, Modonna) coming off the books. If they could sign Wiz and Bieksa they would have the toughest D (arguably) in the league. Another guy I wouldn't mind is Pitkanen. Wiz and Pitkanen could easily replace the loss of Rafalski and than some. Plus picture having this too look forward to when Tootoo runs a wings player...

Well Emmerton might be going the route of Ritola this upcoming season. And as for Konopka's skating, hes no slug, contrary to what some people on here would say but hes an average skater who can take a regular shift for any team and can skate well enough to PK.

Why is Tardif, who hasnt played an NHL game yet more realistic than signing Konopka or Mccormick for around 800,000 or something?

Well I'm gonna go ahead and throw out who I want now. Wiznewski, Bieksa, or Pitkanen preferably. I'm not all that sold on Ehrhoff. Wiz or Beeker can clear the crease, hit and fight a little as well as put up points. Could be that guy the wings havent been able to find for a very long time

No I want a guy who can drop the gloves and do something else for a team. Konopka is that guy, wouldnt I be sitting here saying sign Mcgratton or Mcintyre if I just wanted a fighter since those are 2 of the toughest guys in the league? Konopka is the best faceoff man, most active fighter, solid defensively and can throw a hit. Drew Miller has an edge of probably 5 or 6 points a year offensively (barely anything), is solid defensively, is 180 pounds and not physical. Both guys are decent PKers. They seem like players of similar value to a team, it just depends what your team has. Detroit has no big, tough forwards that can wear down other teams defenses really and with Draper going they dont really have a guy you could for sure count on taking a draw late in a game. They also dont have any really willing fighters. All of these things point to Konopka providing things the wings lack. Miller is a good PKer, just like almost every wing forward not named Hudler, and 5 or 6 points doesnt really make up the difference that Konopka would provide other things

Well than dont make ridiculous statements like a guy cant go from having Gillies and Martin on his line to Helm and Eaves and improve by about 8 or 9 points. Do you not see how ridiculous that is? His 2 most common linesmantes the past 2 years combined have under 40 points while Helm and Eaves alone had 52 in one year. I said he could probably top out around 20 points, how is that ridiculous when he had 9 this year, that isnt even that big of an improvement. Than you said 15 is more realistic than 20, so you wanna make that huge argument over 4 or 5 points? like come on, you wonder why I would call out your hockey knowledge. The fact that he PKs and is one of, if not the best face off guy in the league, the most active fighter and can put up 15ish points sounds like a pretty solid 4th liner/13th forward

Actualy if you look at who is most common linemates were the last 2 years, they did in fact score under 40 points combined the last 2 seasons. 2.2% of this season Konopka was matched up with Comeau, Bring bck the bruise bros just had some facts mixed up. You almost had a point that made sense, but it turns out it was just a misunderstanding and you still look like you know nothing about hockey

Haha listen to yourself, youre comparing a guy who has gotten shots with Datsyuk, Zetterberg etc to a player who played most of his time with Trevor Fricken Gillies, Micheal haley and Matt Martin. He doesnt have obvious offensive prowess, but 20 points doesnt require that duuuur. Linemates do have an affect on how many points you put up believe it or not, noone buys that with Hudler anymore because he has been given PP time, top 6 play etc. If you dont think a change from the aforementioned linemates to Helm and Eaves could give Konopka 8-10 more points than do us all a favour and shut down your account. If you dont see how playing with Helm and Eaves could give you 10 more points than with Haley and Gillies than something is wrong... do you even watch hockey?

Yeah a guy who cracked the NHL 2 seasons ago first making it as an enforcer than carving a decent little niche as a faceoff specialist has no room to improve, even though hes been improving every single year. You dont think he could get 10 more points, 10 whole points by playing with Helm ( who could be a second liner on some teams) and some combo of Eaves or Mursak instead of playing with a combination of Trevor Gillies, Matt Martin and Micheal Haley? Or how about in hia first full year when his primary linemate was Todd Fedoruk who had recently had his face shattered and was a shadow of what he once was? If you dont honestly dont think Konopka can get 10 more points playing with Helm, Eaves, Abdelkader and Mursak instead of Gillies, Haley and Martin than you have no grasp on the game of hockey whatsoever. To compare, Helm and Eaves combined for 52 points this past season. All of Konopkas linemates the last 2 seasons had 35 points COMBINED over the last 2 years, Helm and Eaves had 52 just this past year. So do you still think playing with guys like Helm and Eaves he could put up another 8,9,10 points?

Mcneil was ranked 20th in the final rankings, if the wings could maybe trade up there is a shot they could grab him. But ya, the first round isnt the place to really reach or anything to address size issues. A flyer can be taken on a big tough player later in the draft, first round should be more of whoever has the most potential, even as a guy who knows toughness is important, the first round isnt always the place to address it. Biggs at 24 would be a solid pick however and not a reach Also, JT Miller could be a good pick in that area. He looks like a Ryan kesler type. He is somewhat tough and physical as well and is projected to go around where the wings pick

Playing on a line with guys like Helm, Eaves etc, I could see Konopka hitting around 20 points. I have watched him quite a bit because the Isles have a lot of ex sting players who I used to have season tickets too. For those who say he is a one dimensional goon, he isnt. Getting a heavyweight fighter who can PK like he can, specialize in faceoffs and skate more than 10 minutes a game is exactly what the wings need. The only people (Im not saying you Doc, just in general) who should be opposed to a Konopka signing are the ones who do not want fighting in the game at all