ogreslayer

I think it all comes down to how badly he wants to stay a Wing. Given how quickly goalies can lose it, I have serious doubts Holland would offer more than 4 years & based on past history, he won't overpay for a goalie either. Sure he might command $5-6m but I have a feeling Holland will be looking at the $3.5-4 range instead. Personally, I think Jimmy would take a hometown discount but I guess we'll see.

Tatar got his tryout for a permanent spot next season & looks like he's locked one up. I see this as Kenny telling Nyquist that it's his turn to try to do the same. Can he do that playing on the 3rd line though? I have my doubts he'll be in the top 6 given past history.

I think White's as good as gone. If not via trade, he'll end up somewhere else in the off season as a UFA. Saw an article from an Edmonton sports writer suggesting a White for Omark trade would be good for all parties involved. Not sure I would want Omark over a draft pick at this point though.

While they both may be listed as centers on NHL.com, they aren't in any way, shape, or form. You would have to see plenty of injuries (like to Hank, Pavs, Flip, Emmerton, Abby, Andersson, & Franzen all at the same time not to mention Helm) & a lack of call-ups (Sheahan, Ferraro, Aubry) to see either one of those two center a line.

Which was largely done on a roster he inherited & a hot goalie that he got really lucky on. They missed the playoffs last year by 8 points & he's on the outside looking in again so far this season. So looks like he's gonna be 1 for 3 in playoff appearances? Sorry, I for one don't buy into the whole "Stevie is the front office messiah" thing at all. Anyway there are two internal candidates, Jim Nill & Ryan Martin, that should be ahead of him in that line for Kenny's job if he decides to hang it up in the next couple to few years.

I'm J-no on J-bo. Not needed & he'll absolutely screw up the cap situation for the Wings next season. The kid I want to see the Wings pick up for the future is Andrej Sustr from Nebraska Omaha. Wouldn't that be something to see in a few years, a 6'8" Sustr on the blue line & a 6'6" Rasmus Bodin up front?

MULE!!!!!

Is being a ginger with no soul considered a positive or a negative? Either way though....pass.

If by "here" you mean behind the Wings' bench, yes. If by "here" you mean LGW, I think you might be mistaken.

No line-up changes tonight so no.

Shouldn't that lone arrow be one pointing to his left & another to his right? Or should it be one pointing at the bench maybe?

Hard to pay $7.5m a year for a grinder....which is what Babcock is turning him into playing Cleary & Abby on his wings.

It's really starting to feel like someone bet Babs that he couldn't turn Abby into a top 6 winger. That has to be what's happening right? Last time I predicted a loss the Wings ended up beating Vancouver so I'm sticking with that to try to start a trend. Avs 4: O'Reilly x3, Duchene Wings 1: Tatar...and Babs will still answer "No" when asked about contemplating him on the 2nd line in his post game presser

It's amazing what's happened with the top & bottom 6 all year, injuries included. Bottom 6 can't buy a point the first half of games played but are clicking now thanks to the Tatar & Andersson call ups, Tootoo, & even Emmerton and Miller aren't looking too bad. At the same time, the top 6 who had to carry all the scoring the first part of the year look like crap now. Huh, what's the common thread between the two trends? Could it coincide with Cleary & Abby being moved up to the 2nd line maybe? Just a thought.... Either way, if Tatar & Andersson & the rest of your bottom 6 are the ones producing right now, why the hell are they barely getting on the ice most games? So much for earning your ice time. Hopefully the offense can kick it into gear either way over this next stretch.

You might have to wait until he recovers from having his legs broken by the rest of LGW.

Last I saw, Helm expects to start skating again this week. Maybe when he does get back, Cleary & Abby will already be back on the 3rd line to greet him.

And with the kids in GR either being ready now or in the next season or two, it's less about what the Wings can get back in trading Flip but what they may be losing out of in continuing to play him in a top 6 role if he's going to cap out at 40 points a season. If he really wants $4.5m a season, is that money better spent with a $875k Nyquist or $840k Tatar in his spot if he's going to be a winger or a $900k Calle Jarnkrok at center and using the rest of the money somewhere else? It's really coming down to opportunity cost as they continue to wait for Filppula to finally become that "star player" they thought he could be.

He's probably off the market now unless Florida will take draft pick (5th-7th rounder maybe) for his rights. Shutdown for the rest of the season with a wrist injury. From Bob McKenzie: FLA's Stephen Weiss is shut down for the rest of the year, will require surgery for an ongoing wrist problem.

And the only time Flip has shown any offensive touch is when playing the wing, not center. Sure he brings a lot to the table as a solid 2-way player but the Wings need someone who can put the puck in the net.

Buy outs will help a bit on that front. Replace Sammy's $3m with Nyquist at $875k & maybe Carlo's $2.5m for Lashoff at $725k. That now gives the Wings ~$22.4m to spend on probably 3 forwards, 3 d-men, & a goalie. The Wings will have 5 UFA/RFA forwards going into the off season & I would think the priority might be to sign Brunner first though I think Andersson will be locked up sooner given that he's an RFA. God forbid we have another "sign Mule or Hossa" situation happen between Brunner & Flip for everyone to ***** about for the next 5 years if the Wings lose one of them. Even worse, God forbid Cleary is one of the 3 re-signed.

Just a what if. Say Pavel goes to Kenny sometime next season & says he's done, Ovechkin is looking like his old self in Washington, the Caps are Cup contenders, & George McPhee comes calling with an offer. They think Pavel is the last piece to getting them The Cup that season and that they might have better shot of re-signing him if he's playing with Ovechkin, so they offer a package of Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, and prospects/picks. You still wouldn't consider it then? Anyone can be traded if the circumstances & return line up correctly.

See if you get the same "No" Babs gave the press when he was asked Sunday if he'd ever consider playing Tatar & Andersson with Pavs. I'm sure he would looooooove that.

The team that would probably take him is the Islanders. They use the full cap hit to make sure they stay above the salary floor & have Toronto cover a chunk of his salary.

And that's why I typed salary, not cap hit.

Have to figure he's one of Toronto's buyouts come the off season. Unless there's another team out there that thinks he can be the missing piece as a rental for a Stanley Cup run & will promptly buy him out in the off season themselves, the only way I see Toronto trading him is if they eat some of his salary in the trade to make him go away.