TheDetroitRedWings

Apparently the years are flying by extra fast for me lately. Had to google it myself to believe it. All his more serious injuries seemed to be so much more recent than that. 75 and 77 isn't that bad actually. But he does have a prior track record of being hurt, and he's not getting any younger. I definitely see that trend going back to where it was before 2014. I definitely hope I'm wrong though. And I still disagree with Kenny re-signing him with the amount of good forwards we have. But who knows, maybe we'll actually trade for a defenseman that we desperately need (again, another topic for another thread). I'm still on Kenny's side overall. But I can certainly see where his critics are coming from.

This is why I was scratching my head a bit when Kenny re-signed him. Don't get me wrong, I like Helm as a player, and all that he brings to the table. But the guy just can't stay healthy. And the worst part is, it almost always seems to be an injury that forces him to miss weeks, and sometimes even months. Also, it seems to be different injuries every time, and not just him re-injuring a tender area. On the bright side, with Vanek coming back, and us having a surplus of capable forwards, we should be just fine up front (our back end however is a totally different story for another thread). Maybe, just maybe one of these years Helm will actually play 80%+ of the season. Seems highly doubtful though. And points towards another questionable deal by Kenny, despite the fact that Helm probably took a bit of a "hometown discount" to remain with the Wings.

Cause we're light on forwards right now In all honesty, I'm fine with this. He's a good 4th liner. And if anything, this just further points towards Kenny making a trade to bring in a defenseman.

Exactly how I felt/feel. As for the man crush, Stevie Yzerman was my main man crush. Though Feds was def up there too lol

Not bias towards Dats at all. Just stating my opinion on which departure was worse. In fact, I'd rather see #91 in the rafters than #13. People seem to forget (or are too young to remember) how dynamic and amazing Feds was. And how much of a huge part he was of all 3 of those Cups. And the fact that the Wings basically smuggled him out of what was communist USSR when he entered the league. The report was that Datsyuk had no clue about that "over 35" rule with contracts when he signed the deal. And with his motivation being his family, and him being in his late 30s, I have no ill will towards him whatsoever. IMO Feds situation was much worse. My heart was broke the morning I woke up and read that he left us for one of our biggest rivals at the time. Where we then had to play against him. But to each his own on which scenario was more offensive to the fans. For me it's not even close. And that's coming from me who would love to see #91 up there. I'm just guessing that's why the Wings will never retire his number.

He didn't leave in the "middle" of the deal. It had one year left on a 3 year deal. And he was only leaving to be back with his family (in a different Country and league), at basically the tail end of his playing career. Fedorov's departure isn't even comparable. He left us for another NHL team, left for less money than we offered him. And worst of all left for the Ducks who were one of our biggest rivals at the time (they had just swept us out of the playoffs the season before). And then had to play against us as the enemy 4 times a year. And on top of all that was still basically in his prime at the time. Much worse than Datsyuk's scenario. And that's likely why we'll never see #91 in the rafters.

Unfortunately the one option I would've voted for isn't on the poll. IMO Datsyuk is the only one out of the 4 that will have his jersey hanging in the rafters. Personally I'd like to see Sergei's 91 up there too, but the way he left for the Ducks makes me doubt that will ever happen. Hank is good, and was definitely a huge part of our '08 Cup. But for an organization like the Wings, you need at least 2 or more Cups to even be considered. So the jury is still out on Hank (maybe he'll lead us to another Cup before he hangs em up). As for Osgood. Always loved the guy. But he was never even close to elite. He was solid, which turned into decent, which turned into dreadful.

Ok Andy Dufresne

My thoughts exactly. With all the forwards we've signed, I could easily see a package including a forward, Jimmy, and maybe even a pick or 2, to bring in a top blueliner. Fingers crossed!

Always nice to add a grinding physical player. Especially come playoff time, and for a team like ours that lacks grit (a dimension we had for every single year we won the cup) And for just an 800k one year deal there's almost no risk here.

I'm confident that he won't be a "floater" in our puck possession style of offense. Last time he played in a similar offense he was with the Sabres and was arguably their best player every night. I'm not saying he'll be what he was in Buffalo. But I certainly don't think he'll be what he was in Minnesota.

Cannot stand some of the negative nancy downers here. I can see complaining about Kenny when he screws up (like most of you I'd also much rather have Stevie Y as a GM) but some ppl here will find anything to complain about, even when it's a solid deal. Kenny not getting Stammer isn't his fault whatsoever. He was never even on the open market. Some ppl need to GTFO with all the negative sky is falling no matter what mentality...smh.

Honestly, really good signing. He might not be the same player he was in Buffalo. But he has a right handed shot. And a change of scenery could be just what he needs. And my guess is he'll fit in better with out style of offense than Minnesota's. Plus its a dirt cheap, one year deal. Atta boy Kenny.

Can one of the mods at least fix the misspelling of "Nielson"? lol

Unless we can pull off a trade to free up more cap space. At this point. I'll take a bag of pucks for Jimmy.

Ever heard of this kid named Dylan Larkin? Despite reports to the contrary, he's likely to play at least one more season on the wing, before they move him to center.

Ok the term is too long. No doubt about it. But that cap hit is actually pretty reasonable. Just a few days ago I read he wanted in the neighborhood of 6.5 mill. The guy brings a lot to the table. Good faceoff guy, can set guys up and score, and most importantly is also a good defensive forward.

If that's the case, then I'm not too upset. I would have much rather it be a 5 year deal, but I hope the AAV is 5.25.

Both are too long in term, but the money is actually not too crazy like I thought it would be.

Ouch...will be very interested to see the term/money on those deals.

5.5 is actually not that bad for Ladd, considering all the talk about teams having to overpay today. Term is too long though.

IT HAS BEGUN!!! It's officially noon, and I got my fingers crossed...hard

I went with Lucic. The guy brings so much to the table with his scoring potential and toughness. Always hated the guy (mostly cause he seems to love dropping the gloves against guys smaller than him). But with Larkin being so young, and still about 15-20 lbs of muscle away from where he'll eventually be, Lucic would be a perfect linemate to help protect the kid and also generate points with him. There's a lot of good options out there though. And honestly, I'd be pretty happy with almost any of the top names out there. But If I had to choose I think Lucic would fill some desperate needs we have.

Don't get me wrong, it would have been nice to add a goal scoring machine like Stamkos. But with the amount we would have had to pay him (which would have been much more than the 8.5 he accepted with Tampa) and a blood clot issue that doesn't always just go away forever (ask Chris Bosh about that one), I think this is truly a blessing in disguise for the Wings. We can now afford to add 2 good players to the roster. And none that have potentially career ending medical issues, that may or may not resurface somewhere down the road. So hopefully we can add a Lucic and another top name. There's so many reliable options on the market. I think for once, most of us will be pleased on July 1st.

I almost did actually just for the jokes. But then decided to keep it realistic. Sorry Happy Hudler lol