mmamolo

I'm not sure where you've gotten that info but I think it's highly unlikely the cap goes down that much, if at all. Personally I think the cap with stay the same. The Players association has a 5% escalation factor built into their deal so even if league revenues drop 5% the cap stays the same. For the cap to drop $5M I think you'd have to see a very serious drop in league revenues.

Even though that was kind of a joking post I have to say that a couple of lines kind of stood out to me that I think would be interesting to see at some point of the season. Franzen - Zetterberg - Leino or Cleary - Leino - Bertuzzi Another line I wouldnt mind seeing at some point would be: Frazen - Datsyuk - Bertuzzi

Personally I'm really happy with the blend of new talent that will be on the roster this year (and by new I mean not on the 08/09 roster). Even though Im not a fan of Jason Williams, and was not happy when the signed him, his signing and the signings of Eaves and Bertuzzi help bring some veteran pressence to our forwards that although we already had some of a little more doesnt hurt with the infusion of youth into our lineup. Let's not forget that not only do we have Helm and Leino playing their first full season with the Wings but we also have Ericsson and Howard as well. I really think that bringing in Bertuzzi helps take off some pressure from Helm and Leino.

Guarentee Lidstrom works on 1 year deals from here on out (after his current deal expires). Lidstrom will basically determine the pay rate but knwoing him I'd imagine he takes a discount. My guess is $5-5.5M/yr next season. Then depending on how well he plays and if he decides to come back it will most likely be for a bit cheaper each year.

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Holmstrom Cleary/Leino - Filppula - Franzen Bertuzzi - Williams - Leino/Cleary Eaves - Draper - Helm I think Cleary and Leino will be moved around a lot depending on how each of them is playing and how the gel with other linemates. No way Holmstrom or Williams ends up on the fourth line.

Now that's f***in funny

Ppl in the Toronto area jerk off Grabovski like he is the next Jesus Christ. He has his moments where he shows flashes but he is far from the offensive juggernaut ppl make him out to be. Maybe he'll get there one day but he is by no means there now. You're talking about trading a Conn Smyth winner, future captain, 4 time 30+ goal scorer, and one of the (if not the) best defensive forwards in the game today. Although Scheen is already sick he is primarily a defensive defenseman. Grabovski wouldnt come near replacing the offense we'd lose in Zetterberg and Schenn does nothing to help. True our D gets better but we dont need it with the depth we currently have. Then on top of that you want to give up a 1st as well. I just dont understand you man

Agreed, Schenn plays every game he is healthy for with the Leafs this year. He'd probably even be in their top four. The other guy who suggested that trade is either joking and trying to rile everyone up or he is 11 years old and playing NHL 09 too much

That better not be a serious statement.

Bertuzzi's role will be different here than it was in Calgary. If he takes bad penalties and is lazy his ice time gets cut down big time. He wont be depended on to score as much here either compared to his time in Calgary. I think thats the type of situation where guys tend to be able to put up better numbres. He'll be playing against the other teams 3rd line and will have better guys on his line to play with. Here's Detroit's Cap Situation with Lilja in the line up: Detroit Red Wings

The one guy who broke down how Holmstrom makes our defensive scoring better makes good points. It's true, Holmstrom creates space on the ice and I think you'd get the most out of him while playing on the first line. It doesnt make sense to bury him on the 3rd or 4th lines. You want to place each player in a situation to maximize his effectiveness on the ice. The spot where that happens best for Holmstrom is on a line with Datsyuk and Zetterberg.

I definitely agree with that. With the injuries that are bound to happen to the top 9 forwards I wuold imagien if Helm started on the 4th line that he'd be the first to be elevated in all situations. I just cant see the Wings signing Williams at $1.5 to play on the 4th, or putting Leino on the 4th. So that only leaves helm. Let's face facts though, unless Holmstrom has some miraculously healthy season the guy will only play 50 odd games. That means for the other 30+ games everyone gets boosted a spot, putting Helm on the 3rd.

I cant see Cleary regularly being ont he third line. I think we'll see a lot of: Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Holmstrom Cleary - Filppula - Franzen Leino - Williams - Bertuzzi Helm - Draper - Eaves Maltby No way Leino is on the fourth line. I just cant see that. Then as they players develop and start getting into the swing of things everyone will be shuffled around (as usual)

That's definitely possible. In the last few years bertuzzi has played 60 some odd games. Chances are Holmstrom will play 50-60 games too. Maltby is 37 so maybe they envision him dropping his game totals down. Draper's 38 so maybe his game totals drop too. Maybe among the forwards they realize that with injuries and age it's a smart move to have a rotation in place. When Holmstrom sits Cleary steps into the first line with Datsyuk and Zetterberg. When Bertuzzi sits Helm or Eaves get elevated to third line to see how they fit. When Maltby sits Eaves and Helm work out on the fourth wings. When Draper sits Helm works as centre on the 4th. Personally I don't see maltby being the true 13th forward all season.

I've never thought in his previous short stay that we got a fair shake at Bertuzzi. Him resigning here makes trading Mattias at least worth more than the 10 odd games he played for his a few years ago.

capgeek.com has it listed at $1.5M and I find them to be fairly reliable usually. Right now that puts them about 900k ovr the cap limit. I think they must have waited this long to sign Bertuzzi (or whoever else they may or may not have been talking to) to get a better idea about Lilja. I'd have to imagine that Lilja is going to be starting the year on LTIR. If Lilja doesn't start on LTIR they cant just move one of Lebda or Meech because that wouldnt clear anough cap space. In my mind either Lilja starts on LTIR or something else is in the works that we haven't really heard of yet.

The check is definitely borderline and Im not surprised that some ppl say it was dirty and some say it was legal. Personally I have a hard time saying it was completely dirty. Sure he followed through a little bit with his elbow but it's no worse than any number of hits we see on a regular basis night in and night out in the NHL. The only difference is in this case Naslund fell into the hit as it was approaching. For me, I say it was a borderline hit that could go either way. Either way you want to call it Bertuzzi punching Moore in the back of the head is dirty. I know his intentions weren't what eventually happened but a punch to the back of the head like that is dirty no matter how you spin it. At least, in my mind, Moore's hit was borderline and there wasn't a clear intent there.

In

I would be absolutely blown away if the Wings moved Maltby, even if to Edmonton. In my mind there is ZERO chance that happens. Despite the cap situation the Wings are in I could see a $1M signing of Bertuzzi. That being said, i think this is just a rumor right now and I doubt it will happen. Personally I wouldnt mind seeing it because then it forces Williams to earn a spot in the top 9 forwards as opposed to just handing it to him. It would also allow for the option to play Helm on the 4th line as opposed to centering our 3rd line when Helm's offensive abilities are limited. Despite not being a huge fan of Bertuzzi's I do think he'd even out our forwards pretty well and that'd enable us to spread out some grittier guys like Cleary, Franzen and Bertuzzi so that each of our top three lines have some speed, some scoring and a bit of grittier type players.

What is this? The XFL?

THE BEST OF NEXT SUMMER'S UFA's Forwards Ilya Kovalchuk Patrick Marleau Paul Kariya Olli Jokinen Marc Savard Pavol Demitra Alexander Frolov Milan Hejduk Ray Whitney Antoine Vermette Saku Koivu Matthew Lombardi Chris Higgins Marek Svatos Tomas Holmstrom Defensemen Nicklas Lidstrom Scott Niedermayer Sergei Gonchar Kim Johnsson Goalies Roberto Luongo Jonas Hiller Evgeni Nabokov Marty Turco Martin Biron Ray Emery Vesa Toskala Chris Mason Dan Ellis Antero Niittymaki I figured since this board is rammed with everyone talking about this summer's UFA period when the Wings had very little cap room I'd rather talk about what we could do next summer when we actually have some money to play with. Obviously money is an issue but of all the players listed there the ones I would be interested in talkign to would be: Forwards:Olli Jokinen, Marc Savard, Alexander Frolov, Tomas Holmstrom Defensemen:Lidstrom, Johnsson Goalies:Hiller, Nabakov The rest would either be too expensive or not someone I would really care for.

Palffy was an absolute beast when he was in the NHL and since coming out of his retirement he has put up sick numbers in the Slovak league he plays in. Check out his numbers: Wikipedia: Zigmund Palffy I remember coming out of the lockout how bad I wanted the Wings to sign him. I was always a little biased for the guy but you can't deny his numbers.

100% agree the situation has worked out very well for the Wings and if Hudler does return and is that much better of a player that cap hit will be a real bonus for us. But despite how well this has worked out for the Wings I still cant agree with the how it all went down. It's a matter of principle. Personally I think the KHL was in the wrong to sign Hudler here, as was Hudler to sign that contract, and based on what I believed was a binding commitment to play in Detroit by filing for arbitration I think Hudler should have been in Detroit next year. Personally, I glad the way it's worked out because I think the Wings are in a better standing without Hudler this season. But the principle makes it tough to swallow, not the hopefulyl temporary lose of Hudler.

Yeah you're right the KHL has been pretty good so far. I do think that the KHL showed its interest in Hudler prematurely and it made his decision clear. But that's just a matter of opinion. I believe that Hudler filing for arbitration was a legally binding commitment to play for the Red Wings this season. Other ppl believe differently and I guess the KHL did as well.

I remember Zetterberg raving about Larsson last year and if Im not mistaken Larsson outplayed Howard for the bulk of the season (or at least the first half of the season) in GR. Obviously Howard has earned his chance with his seniority over Larsson and at the end of the day his numbers were better. Plus, Howard is out of AHL options and we'd lose him on waivers if we tried to send him down. Obviously Howard gets the shot today. But with Larsson already having played one season in GR he will soon be out of AHL options before McCollum. I have to imagine that Larsson is next in line, ahead of McCollum.