dirtydangles

Yes to Weiss under 5mill per season. We can use a player with his quality - he can play a skilled or physical game depending on the situation and WINS faceoffs more often than not. Its a shame he isn't above 6 feet but he plays like it. We don't need more "meh" wingers - we need a sure thing.

Its not that bad to wait one year with the amnesty if we can't get any good UFAs and Sammy rides pine all year. The reason is that we can evaluate Franzen this year and see if he is going to be worth his contract into the future - if he is we can use the buyout on Tootoo if need be.

Wouldn't mind Ference over Quincey short term but I just don't see how we can give Ference a competitive UFA offer when he is already 34 and will want a 4-5 year deal likely (not many UFAs are looking for short term deals). Zidlicky is already 36 but he is a RHD that can rack up points - might be alright on a 1-2 year deal at that age but again, he will want more.

I'd take Vanek - he is a pure scorer. We can buyout Franzen next offseason.

This may put his career at risk if it is persistent. People at risk of persistent seizures most often have their driver's license taken away, as well playing a high stakes sport might be considered too much of a risk. Imagine if he had a seizure on-ice in the middle of a game - it could be very dangerous for him.

Hell Sammy deserves to be on LTIR. He sure as hell has been injured for a long term.

I think our most effective PP is when we move the puck down low and try to find someone above the crease or in the slot with a quick pass. Goalies are just too good these days at tracking things down from the point.

Too bad we have such a logjam of forwards. Can't wait until next offseason when we see Sammy, Bert, and hopefully Cleary off the books. I get the feeling we won't see any new UFA forwards in Detroit for quite some time unless they are absolute STEALS. We have so many kids playing great in GR that continue to push for spots. Assuming Tatar, Nyquist are up next year we STILL have Sheahan, Ferraro, Jurco, Jarnkrok, and Pulks all knocking on the door just to name the obvious ones. We won't have THAT many roster spots opening up due to free agency in the next couple years so I expect some sort of trade at some point. I actually wouldn't mind Holland letting Sammy ride pine all year and then use our second amnesty buyout on Franzen at the end of the season (if he continues with his laziness). We would be far better off without that long term deal haunting us in the future.

Z is also a little better and confident defensively so I would prefer to have him over Brunner at the point. Brunner in the slot is ideal.

Sammy

If Holland signs Cleary and then stands pat then he has succeeded in going against everything the fanbase hoped for. This is what will most likely happen.

and then fall over so the back check is less effective.

If we sign Cleary and NOT Brunner I will be livid. We need to lean towards a faster and younger team for the meantime to support Z and Dats rather than making them do the heavy lifting on shifts with old dogs like Clears.

Flyers are playing with fire if the cap doesn't increase fast enough. They have Schenn Couts and Giroux all needing raises and they aren't paying top dollar for a proven goalie yet. They also don't have a legit number 1 dman.

THIS.

Ignoring salaries we have 15 forwards signed if Brunner returns and Cleary and Fil don't. Tatar and Nyquist will not be brought up just to sit in the press box. Miller won't sit on his contract. Andersson has been great. If Helm is healthy we are screwed: Justin Abdelkader ($1.800m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Johan Franzen ($3.955m) Gustav Nyquist ($0.788m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Damien Brunner ($1.350m) Tomas Tatar ($0.840m) / Darren Helm ($2.125m) / Patrick Eaves ($1.200m) Drew Miller ($1.350m) / Joakim Andersson ($0.605m) / Jordin Tootoo ($1.900m) Cory Emmerton ($0.533m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($2.075m) / Mikael Samuelsson ($3.000m) If I saw this logjam with any other team I would think a trade was in the works - but that is never the case with Holland. You can pretty much pencil Cleary in there too. We will have an expensive press box any way you slice it this season.

I can see Vanek moving. But not for that package.

I said "aside from money." Is it really worth it to be disliked by an organization and fanbase for 1 million dollars when you already made plenty of money over your career? I dunno - never been in the situation.

But the price will inevitably be too high and we will be left with extra spare parts.

Aside from money why would sammy push to avoid the buyout when management and likely coaches wants him gone? Its pretty obvious he is preventing the team from moving forward with his actions. He has to know he is just being a huge pain in the ass.

Vanek is younger and a much more effective goalscorer than Franzen. It doesn't get much softer than regular season Franzen.

Getting rid of Sammy will cure Helm's back - book it

I don't think there has every been a 100% consensus on LGW. All the contracts signed last offseason were scrutinized plenty - some people were okay with them.

Sammy wants the full value of that contract (not 2/3 thru amnesty) - he knows he likely won't get anything more than a one year deal anywhere else and is holding on for dear life here using this injury excuse. I want him GONE. We have more intriguing options for injury replacements in GR.

Signing an ailing and injury prone cleary to a 3 year deal is INSANE. I understand maybe 1 year but this is nuts - especially if Sammy can't be bought out. Its one or the other in my books.