dirtydangles

I agree but we have to keep a contingency plan in place to have him up the year after - we have to have some expiring contracts for Mantha or Pulkkinen barring a trade that opens up roster spots for them.

Here is a chart of our depth right now at each position (I included players I think will likely make the NHL at each position within the next 2 years). In order to manage our assets we have to think about what we will do with these players before they run out of options. Signing UFA's just bumps these kids down the chart so we definitely can make a trade for an impact player or two. Players in brackets are current roster players I don't think should be here next year. LW C RW Zetterberg Datsyuk Franzen Tatar Weiss Mantha Abdelkader Sheahan Nyquist Miller Helm Jurco Glendening Pulkkinen Ferraro Callahan (Andersson) LD RD Kronwall Marchenko Ericsson Sproul Dekeyser Smith Ouellet Backman Almquist (Kindl) (Lashoff)

AGREED. Sheahan is actually willing to play in front of the net and cycles really well with the puck - holds it well. Franzen doesn't go to the net much or work very hard and Abby doesn't possess the talent to keep up or contribute much to that line. If we had to move a C to wing to make room for Malykhin I think Sheahan would be a good option. I don't think Glendening is going to be a 4C on a cup winner - he should be a right wing with Helm. I think Mantha will likely make the team next year and take the wing with Z and Pavs though.

I'd like to see some more class in how the NHL handles suspensions. The playoffs are just a high-stakes hockey game - that means if a player spears another player in the groin or smashes their head violently into the boards suspensions should be handed out. I'd also like to see suspensions/fines given for obvious cases of diving. While it may be hard to tell in most cases - some players make obvious attempts at diving that should go punished to prevent them from tricking the refs in the future. There have been cases of players high sticking themselves with the opposing player's stick and getting away with it - suspend that kind of behaviour. Currently diving is almost always called in addition to a trip or interference against the other team - this means the player diving doesn't have anything to lose on average. I'd like to see more calls go one way or the other.

THIS. Either we go balls to the walls to make a trade for someone worthwhile or we should promote the kids. Some fringe top 4 dman via free agency only makes things worse long term when our D prospects get poached when they run out of options.

Watching the wings tank would slowly kill my soul.

Franzen had a decent hit on Lucic in open ice during the last game I think. That was about the only thing to write home about.

What happened? Nyquist and Howard are gone for nothing? If you aren't going to include them at least trade them in a package for a quality dman. Neither Niskanen or Boyle are top pairing Dmen and do nothing to solve our problems. What do we do when Ouellet/Sproul/Marchenko are ready? There is nowhere to play other than Boyle retiring potentially. Mantha up to be a spare forward? Unlikely. Brodeur? Have you seen him this year - he has been pretty bad and regressed a lot. Helm in the top 6 as a winger? Very unlikely to happen considering we have other wingers better suited to that position. Bolland isn't a first line player - he is a gritty 3C. Goc - the last thing we need is another bottom 6 C. Actually 2/3 of the players on each line is a natural C. I understand you feel we need a big shakeup - but we shouldn't attempt to turn over half the team in one offseason composed mainly of UFA players that are likely going to be overpaid. You have some good thoughts about adding size to the lineup - which I agree with. I also think Kindl and Lashoff should not be in the top 6 next year and should be moved. I just think you went a little far in implementing these ideas.

Well he played his last 2 years of hockey in Canada so I assume he is dedicated to playing here. Only problem may be having to play in GR for a couple years. He speaks english pretty well and seems to have a good attitude from the interviews I've seen.

Not sure what he is up to - Fyodor Malhykin or however you spell it. I like the idea of him on a 1 year deal.

So much hinges on Weiss it kills me. Its so hard to assess what we have right now. We may have a huge hole at 2C or a reliable 2C who knows... Also I think Datsyuk should just do the surgery. I don't want this creeping in again next year.

Do you guys expect Holland to trade back this year to recapture a 2nd round pick? I feel like this is dumb considering all the prospects we already have. Should take the best player available where we pick and go with it. No need for 2 players of lower quality when we already have a logjam at every position pretty much. Barbashev as a top 6 C prospect would be perfect for me. Need more russians too.

Just spitballing some random ideas for our forward corps (not all should be implemented). I don't know how/who - but I'd like to get a big bodied forward that can keep some flies off but still play effectively (a Lucic type). I'm not sure who fits this build though. Evander Kane might be someone similar but likely isn't available. I don't want to sign a goon just for the sake of having a goon - the player has to be able to fit in the top 6 such that we have protection for our talented players. We don't have anyone like this in the system. Brian Boyle might be another name but he doesn't have much offensive prowess. Also, Jagr might be useful for a 1 year contract (give up no assets) - he is impossible to take the puck off of against the boards due to his immense strength - would match our possession style nicely. It would have to be Jagr over Alfie though which I think is an improvement. One guy I wouldn't mind having - David Bolland (27 years old) - the guy is a competitor and a winner. Right handed C. Would be decent to have if we part ways with Weiss maybe. I already mentioned I like Matt Moulson a lot for his finishing abilities - would be nice to put him with Dats or Z and see him pot his chances - Abby wastes 90% of his chances. EDIT: Malykhin is also someone I'm interested in. Could be had for no assets and wants to play with Datsyuk. From the same town I think too.

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2014/04/red_wings_determining_whether.html Pavs might need surgery. Weiss had another surgery to remove scar tissue...

Howard plays best when he had no compitition and we ride him for the full regular season. I say sign a cheap backup like greiss and let howard play to earn his massive contract. Give him this year to sort it out and Mrazek will develop more in GR and then the following year make decisions on who is the long term solution.

Abby might actually be decent trade bait. If we pair him with a 1st and Kindl I wonder if we could get something decent. He is young enough to be valuable to building teams as well as competing teams. We have lots of bottom 6 players right now with Callahan and Ferraro out options and our Kid line and Miller-Helm-Glendening bottom line. Abby isn't a top 6 player on a contender. In a few years if you add Mantha, Pulkkinen to our already crowded top 6 with Nyquist, Z, Franzen, Datsyuk, Weiss, etc. there isn't much room for Abby.

Ask the predators how this worked for them... I think you need to put up goals and have a decent D - and a good goalie to make saves.

Gotta think that Ouellet is ready. Considering how he handled an NHL elimination playoff game I would say he is ready. Marchenko has all the physical tools and experience in the KHL - I think he is ready too. Sproul needs a little more seasoning to round out his defensive game but should be up barring injuries as the first call up. I'm scared of what happens to Backman/Jensen/Sproul with all of this... if Marchenko and Ouellet play solid then we have 6 full timers up with Kronner, E, Smith, DD, Marchenko, Ouellet. Do we trade a couple for a legit upgrade? It seems like we are one year away from some sort of blockbuster potentially.

I've read on Hf that some Penguins fans would rather trade Letang and re-sign Niskanen for cheaper. Would you guys entertain a deal for Letang? His value is at an all-time low right now. RH young puck mover - legit top pairing dman.

He said it a while back I think. I'd do something like this (alter the salaries if you think they are unrealistic (we have the capspace). FORWARDS Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($7.500m) / Thomas Vanek ($7.500m) (probably dreaming) Matt Moulson ($4.500m) / Stephen Weiss ($4.900m) / Gustav Nyquist ($0.950m) Tomas Tatar ($1.000m) / Riley Sheahan ($1.000m) / Tomas Jurco ($0.709m) Justin Abdelkader ($1.800m) / Darren Helm ($2.125m) / Luke Glendening ($0.628m) Drew Miller ($1.350m) / Mitchell Callahan ($0.605m) / DEFENSEMEN Niklas Kronwall ($4.750m) / Brendan Smith ($1.263m) Danny DeKeyser ($2.250m) / Alexei Marchenko ($0.667m) Jonathan Ericsson ($4.250m) / Xavier Ouellet ($0.670m) Brian Lashoff ($0.725m) / GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($5.292m) Thomas Greiss ($0.750m) BUYOUTS Johan Franzen ($0.000m) Carlo Colaiacovo ($0.000m) BURIED Jordin Tootoo ($0.975m) ------ CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (estimations for 2014-15) SALARY CAP: $71,100,000; CAP PAYROLL: $62,241,667; BONUSES: $565,000 CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $8,858,333 If Weiss busts again - move Z back to C and bring pulkkinen up to play wing.

I'd really like to get Moulson this offseason. He is the kind of player you put with a skilled C that creates chances. He will bury the chances he gets unlike Abby. Vanek is likely going to MIN from what the media says but I'd like to hear that Kenny at least made a comparable offer but was turned down - otherwise he isn't doing his job. I know this is going to be unpopular but I don't want to see any acquisitions on D. I think Marchenko and Ouellet are ready and should be up next year. By no means do I rank these 2nd and 3rd pairings any differently - I think Babs has shown he likes to play his pairings pretty equally: Kronwall - Smith Dekeyser - Marchenko Ericsson - Ouellet Lashoff (with Sproul as first call-up) I think that if you split Ouellet and Marchenko up like that we will be just fine. Ouellet won't make many rookie mistakes and Marchenko has already played in the KHL. Those pairings all have size and skating. I know people will want E back with Kronner but I just don't think E is a top pairing guy who moves the puck that way. I think that E with Ouellet could be a very steady pairing that can be relied upon to kill penalties going forward. Let's face it - we aren't getting a top pairing Dman through trade because they aren't available often and Holland blows at trading. I don't see why we should pay top dollar to get a top-4 guy like Edler or Ehrhoff when we will only create a logjam in our D development pipeline going forward and open up a hole somewhere else on the team. Our kids can step up just fine it just takes a shred of patience.

I think everyone here knows how I feel about this. We have a huge question mark going for in our top 6 C positions going forward without Jarnkrok. Legwand was never a long term answer and he SHOULD have been pretty inexpensive to acquire considering he is an aging UFA that would only waive to come to Detroit (so no competing offers). Despite this we ended up giving up our top C prospect who was just getting hot and a 2nd in a deep draft. That hurts. Having Weiss going into next season it makes it pretty clear this was a move by holland PURLY to get into the playoffs. There is no long-term place for Legwand on the roster with all our kids and Weiss around. Would I rather have Jarnkrok + 2nd and not get to brag to my friends that Detroit has made the playoffs 23 years straight? Yes! We did dick-all in the playoffs and embarrassed ourselves anyways. I will be keeping my head down even around Leafs fans after this playoff performance. The streak means nothing to me if you don't at least come somewhat close every once and a while to winning the cup (which we haven't since 09). Holland showed that the streak means more to him than the long term future of the team - the streak is his legacy at this point in addition to his previous cups (he is too near to the end of his term here to go full youth movement and turn the roster over).

Holland talked about Mantha maybe being able to play in the NHL right away - replace Franzen please.

Earned the hate tonight. Not only did he float - but he took stupid penalties and gave the puck away leading to a goal.

Stick a fork in Franzen - he's done. If he had just floated instead of actively inhibiting us tonight we might have had a chance. Buyout candidate number 1 for me. I'd trade Kindl for a 5-7th at this point too. Just take him off the books.