mmamolo

Keep in mind that Wideman made just shy of $4M last year and will probably need a raise as he is coming off a very good year.

Personally, I think Trotz said that to Lidstrom because he realizes that if Lidstrom returned it would make it that much more difficult (cap-wise) for the Wings to sign Suter. This is all strategy and posturing by Trotz. Ok, in all seriousness yeah it's a nice thing to say

I actually think White is a little overrated on these boards because of how well he played in the first half. The way I see it the Wings have Kronwall, Ericsson, Kindl, Smith, and White signed for next year. If Lidstrom returns and Quincey is re-upped (which you've got to imagine he would be as Holland moved a 1st for him) that gives you 7 D. If the Wings were able to sign Suter I would like to see White moved. His money can go to aiding the potential Suter signing or going to a forward up front. Despite White being RH I would rather keep Quincey, Smith and Kindl as 5/6/7 Although, I noted in a different thread that if Suter weren't available I actually do like Wideman.

Honestly, I think the Wings fans who are hating on Weber right now will calm down as more time passes. Although the Weber incident was pretty s***ty he is still too good and too dominant that the Wings would gladly take him. There was a time when no one would have ever wanted Chris Chelios and now he is a reveered Wing for life. Hell, the Wings have brought in plenty of hated guys before. Plus, Weber embodies everything the Wings are currently missing on their back end. That being said, it's irrelevant because Weber is staying in NSH for at least one more year (if not more)

Of the secondary UFAs the ones I bolded would be the ones of your list I'd want the most. I think Jones is a realistic target that the Wings could definitely use. On the blue line if Lidstrom returns and you're only looking to replace Stuart then someone like Jackman could be good because you wouldnt need to replace as much offense. But if Lidstrom goes I think you need to look at a guy who can produce points and to me Carle and Wideman are good options. I wanted Harding in Detroit badly last summer. At least at the time he was coming off an injury (which I realize would have scared the Wings off anyways) where as this year he is going to want to go somewhere to be the #1 - unfortunately that place won't be DET. I think a Howard/Harding tandem would be unreal. Both guys on the younger side of 30, pushing each other to improve, and capable of winning games on their own when they are on top of their game.

I would be willing to bet a lot that Franzen is still a Wing come next October. That being said, I think he and the wings are much better served with him in a third line role. I think he needs players like Helm and Bertuzzi playing a grinding style where the way you score is by driving the net and working pucks down low. I dont think Franzen works that well with Datsyuk because Datsyuk has the puck so much and Franzen as to act only as a shooter. I think Franzen is more effective when he has the puck on his stick and drives hard down low.

I woudl like, and think it's a distinct possibility (especially considering it was rumored the Wings were interested at the trade deadline), that the Wings go after David Jones of the Avs. 27 y.o, 6'2, 210 lbs, and shoots Right. He made $2.5M last year and his numbers were slightly down from the previous year. It may not take a ton more to get him. He would be an ideal replacement for Hudler. I could also see them being interested in PA Parenteau. Even though he definitely isn't a goal scorer and he's not big he seems like the type of player the Wings like. That being said he's really only produced for two seasons and he's 29. The strange thing about him is if you look back at his career numbers he was consistenly putting up PPG stats (after his first couple years) in the AHL but he never got a shake in the NHL until these last two years.

I hear what you're saying. But really there's no point in talking about 'what if all 3 teams wanted him' because that's simply not the reality. Also, adding Stuart in as part of a package doesn't really serve any purpose but to make a potential trade look more balanced/unbalanced on paper. At this stage Stuart has little to no value in a trade because of his all but stated intentions in signing on the West Coast. Also, just because it's 'a fact that stranger things have happened in reality' doesn't mean it's going to happen, it's probable that it will happen, or even that it is likely to happen. That's just fluff to say it's possible. Guess what, the Wings could sign Suter for $1M/yr, Parise for $1M/yr, while Lidstrom could return and sign a league minimum contract, and the Stars could trade Morrow to DET for the rights to Igor Grigorenko....it could happen, stranger things have happened

I've got to be honest, Im surprised Holmgren didn't get nominated. Not that I'm trying to take anything away from the 3 actual nominees

I said this last summer and I'll say it again, the Ericsson contract (although shorter in term) is just like most of the contracts Holland signs his mid-twenties players to. It's a deal that they hope that he grows into immediately but realize that come the middle and last years of that contract he will be well worth the dollars. The way Ericsson progressed this year, despite the blind hate for him on this board, he could very well become a good deal in the final year of that deal. Next year I'd say he ends up playing like a $3.25M defenseman and Holland gets fair value. In year three the Wings get a bargain.

SJ already has Boyle, Vlasic, Burns, Demers, and Murray signed for next season. They also have Braun as an RFA. In total the Sharks have $8.7M in cap space with 9 players to sign (they only have 7 forwards). ANA already has Visnovsky, Sbisa, Lydman, Beauchemin and Fowler signed for next season. LA already has Doughty, Scuderi, Mitchell, Greene, Voynov, Martinez and Drewskie signed for next season. None of those teams are in a position where they would trade for the negotiating rights to Stuart. Even if the Sharks do want a new identity (on their blueline, which clearly isn't the real problem) I can't see them handcuffing themselves by trading for Stuart's rights and then either having to give away one of their current top 5 or be stuck over spending on their blueline. Anaheim could possibly be interested in Stuart but they're already committed to 5 quality (in their mind) blueliners. If they want to supplement what they already have I don't see why they'd be giving anything up for a chance to sign Stuart. If it's clearly already known that Stuart wants back in with one of the California teams (which obviously that seems fairly apparent) I think the Ducks easily take notice of the fact that they are the only ones with cap space and roster space that makes sense. LA has 7 d signed for next year. Stuart isn't much of, if at all, an upgrade over their current top 4 (despite what some Wings fans may feel). Stuart is probably a lateral move between the Greene's, Scuderi's and Mitchell's of that roster. Plus, the Kings were willing to lose Jack Johnson off their blueline because they like their kids (Voynov and Martinez) so much. No way the Kings sign Stuart, let alone trade anything for his negotiating rights.

As much as everyone is frustrated with the lack of success the last few years I think we should all be looking at this differently. Most teams in the NHL go through rebuilding modes where they miss the playoffs. The Wings are able to go through their rebuilding periods while having early playoff exits. Everyone who was screaming for UFA signings last summer would be the same people pissed that the Wings wouldnt have cap space heading into this summer to try and get a big ticket player. I think too often people look at hockey teams on one year intervals. People always say things like, 'the Wings didn't make any trades at the deadline this year, wtf?'. Personally if you look at the cap and the way teams manage it you have to be looking at it on a much larger scale. The Wings are in a prime opportunity to go after big ticket players now and have some prospects that can potentially be impactful. Every time of the last number of years when fans have called for the re-tooling of impact players Holland has done it. Yes, some of those times were pre-cap but he was also able to replace Schneider with Rafalski. I honestly think the Wings have had this summer as their target over the last 2-3 years of cap planning. I'm not a Holland apologist and I do think some of the moves he has made could have been better. But I do still believe that the overall plan was to move forward this year.

Obviously every one is talking about how bad Bryzgalov is but if FLO beats NJ and one of BOS or NYR lose then we'll see a PHI vs. FLO second round. If anyone thinks Bryz is so bad that they wouldnt have a good shot at beating FLO then they are crazy. PHI would most definitely be in trouble if they faced BOS or NYR though. As far as the finals are concerned I'd like to see LA vs. NYR. Two big markets with both teams having awesome D and goaltending but some forwards that can provide enough excitement up front. I also wouldn't mind STL. vs. NYR or LA vs. PHI or STL vs. PHI

I guess I dont see it being that realistic that the Wings don't bring Quincey back. Plus, you'd need to add another forward to fill out the 23-man roster.

I will be the first to admit I dont watch every Caps game. However, I guess what I am saying is that I don't think Semin has suddenly changed, I think he was never as lazy as people have made him out to be. I think people expect him to produce tons of goals and points so when he doesnt they think he's just lazy. It's mostly, in my opinion, because he isn't amazing at any other portion of the game so when he's not rolling offensively then ppl think he sucks. To me he is overpaid at $6M but with scoring down league wide (on an individual player perspective) I don't think he's the only guy that looks to be a shell of his former self. Maybe he's had far more bad games than I've ever had the displeasure of watching but I just think the guy gets way too much of a bad reputation. It's almost like the bias against Hudler on these boards. Do I love him and think the Wings need to keep him? No, but I don't think he is nearly as worthless as most posters would describe.

Honestly, I know Quincey had a rough time adjusting to the system and turned the puck over a lot but I would rather see the Wings move White (instead of Quincey). I know White is a right handed shooting RD but I see more upside in Quincey and I think White is now overrated on these boards because of the first half of this season. White played so well in the first half that people didn't seem to notice his massive fall off in play. He turns the puck over, over commits against the rush (he was the problem in that horrible goal in Game 4), and offensively he is really streaky with trying the same shots from the top of the point all the time (and they get blocked a lot). Overall I liked White this year but Quincey is bigger, about as good a skater, has more offensive potential and (to me) has a higher ceiling.

I voted no. Even if the Wings make very few moves this summer the status quo is not lose players who dont have any more options (Andersson) in favour of a player with options (Tatar). That being said, I'm not even entirely sold on Mursak/Emmerton being on the starting roster.

Unless lidstrom takes a discount I really fail to see how the Wings would be able to sign both Parise and Suter while re-signing Lidstrom. Don't get me wrong, I'd like all 3 but that's a tall order

I'm not on the bring Semin in bandwagon but I've watched a good amount of Caps games this year and Semin is not deserving of the reputation he has on these boards. I'm not saying he's amazing but he most certainly is not lazy. He does make some mistakes defensively but at the right price he should be considered (in my opinion). Perfect example was Boston's 3rd goal yesterday. Semin tried to get the puck to the net but Seguin took it the other way. The announcers, instead of ripping Backstrom's extremely lazy back checking, decided to blame Semin for the turnover while ignoring him busting his butt back and tying up the Bruins stick on a wide open net. If Backstrom had hustled back as hard as Semin he easily would have been in position to stop Ference from tying the game. People who question Semin's effort should take a look at that play.

This summer will definitely be interesting for the Wings. The one thing I would be concerned with, in terms of the money the Wings toss around, is that after next season the Wings have some (currently) pretty important players needing new contracts in Howard and Filppula. Next summer Cleary's contract will expire and if he were to be re-signed it would be at a lower cap hit than his current $2.8M/yr. Ian White's contract will also expire by then. Obviously everyone around here wants Suter and Parise. Obviously Im in that boat but beyond those two I'd also like to see someone like David Jones. Despite his injury problems from a couple ofyears ago and his slightly down season this year he's a guy that score mid-twenties, plays a physical game and wouldn't require much more (if any) money than his current $2.5M/yr deal. I think he'd be an ideal (and realistic) replacement for Jiri Hudler. I agree with what you are saying in terms of Holland holding off of spending last year so that he'd have the required money to go after legit targets (like Parise and/or Suter) but imagine for a second that the Wings did sign Suter and Parise even for great deals at say $6M/yr. Even at that rate there is very little chance (even with possible cap increases) that the Wings would have the space to bring Weber in the following summer - as much as I and a lot of Wings fans (Zetterberg head bash aside) would love to see that.

I'm not really in favour of signing Semin but people are way over blwoing his apparent worh ethic and ego issues. If you've watched any of the Boston/Washington series you'd know that those sentiments are not truly accurate. I'm not syaing he's the hardest working guy in the world but he's not the laziest. The defensive play he made in Game 3 was amazing by any one's standards. It's like when people remember his one playoff series against MTL where he just couldn't score and had just 2 assists in 7 games and now claim that he's not a playoff performer without realizing he has 32 pts in 41 playoff games. Again, I'm not saying I want him. But maybe let's turn down the blinders a bit

ha ha wow, if you really were here for content you'd read the entire thread before posting as the poster you're refencing already cleared up his original reply

If the cap goes nowhere here's the plan: Out: White, Stuart, Holmstrom, Hudler In: Parise, Nyquist, Suter, Smuth Obviously this is fantasy My Custom Lineup FORWARDS Zach Parise ($6.500m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Gustav Nyquist ($0.875m) Danny Cleary ($2.800m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) Johan Franzen ($3.955m) / Darren Helm ($1.200m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($2.075m) Drew Miller ($0.838m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.950m) / Patrick Eaves ($1.200m) Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Cory Emmerton ($0.533m) / DEFENSEMEN Niklas Kronwall ($4.750m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($3.250m) Nicklas Lidstrom ($4.000m) / Ryan Suter ($6.500m) Kyle Quincey ($3.350m) / Brendan Smith ($0.875m) Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) / GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) Joey MacDonald ($0.550m) ------ CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $63,667,295; BONUSES: $37,500 CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $632,705

I have never been on the Lidstrom discount train. I'm not even screaming 'discount or retire' this year as some people here are. That being said, this is the first time that I actually see it as a possibility. If the Wings get bounced tonight the Wings and Lidstrom are going to discuss their plans for next year as Lidstrom will be contemplating his return. Lidstrom has long said that he wants to keep playing if (1) he can physically play at a level he deems acceptable, and (2) if the Wings are contenders. Last season the Wings had cap space but not an overwelming need to add an impact player through a weak UFA class. This summer, however, the need for a scoring forward and a Stuart replacement are glaring. Lidstrom may view his potential discount as a serious feather in the Wings' cap (no pun intended) in terms of appealing to UFAs. Imagine the Wings being able to say to either Suter or Parise, come sign with us for a chance to win and look at the dedication one of the greatest defenseman of all time is willing to do in order to create the best possible chance to win. Plus, I could definitely see Lidstrom taking a page out of Yzerman's book by doing anything he could in order to usher in the next generation

I too live in Canada and saw the game on CBC. I'd asusme so did the OP because TSN has the FLO/NJ game on. The 'save' definitely was frustrating but what I found to be the worst was Kevin Weekes announcing job. Literally every penalty that the Preds took he'd say 'Player A definitely sold that one' and every time the Wings took a penalty he'd said 'Oh, you definitely have to call that one'. He was laying unjust praise on the Preds any chance he could get. Dont get me wrong, they deserved credit at various moments sprinkled throughout the night but they got prais even when they didn't deserve it.