Nevermind

Beach Classic

If we trade Hudler away, I wouldn't be opposed to signing Jagr for less than $2M or so. Hell, if we trade Hudler away, practically any signing looks good.

Kindl and Smith on the 3rd pair is a nightmare actually. We're not throwing an offer sheet to Weber. And we're not spending that kind of money on a forward (Richards). And if it's a dream, why would you trade Filppula instead of Hudler?

Sorry, my bad. I thought you meant you'd sign him for anywhere up to $4M (so, like $3.9 would be a fine price for you).

So why sign Laich then? $4M for him is just ridiculous.

Is it even possible to high-stick Chara? That's twice now.

Burrows takes a bite off Bergeron's finger? Being a French-speaker, I think he misunderstood what 'playing hungry' means.

Yeah, but Cleary only makes $2.8M and we're going to have to overpay if we want Laich. Even though he'll easily get over $2.8M on the open market, I don't we should pay Laich any more than Cleary to come here. $4M as some have suggested is just ridiculous IMO for a player of Laich's caliber. That's higher than Franzen's cap hit.

I think Shanny will do a great job. He seems level-headed and honest. It is kind of funny though that the NHL's head disciplinarian has over 2500 PIMS. A committee would still be a better idea than just a single person in charge though. I don't think Shanahan would want all the decision-making responsibility.

Lidstrom re-signs with Detroit or retires. End of story. Besides, I wouldn't really consider TB more of a contender than the Wings next season.

I'm starting to think you're messing with all of us... Even if Hudler played 20 minutes a night with Datsyuk, he won't come even close to putting up these numbers in the playoffs. GP G A P +/- 16 13 5 18 13 23 12 11 23 8 12 6 12 18 8 Who's jealous?

Sorry, nevermind.

I've heard this kid has OUTSTANDING hockey sense though. Also an excellent outlet passer. He can still fill out in GR. In a few years, hopefully he can be a top-4 defenseman.

That's a good deal. I'm willing to bet that it's going to become a steal of a deal 2 or 3 years from now. Hate to say it, but Hudler has a higher cap hit next season.

God, please don't tell me Hudler is third best. I never bothered ranking, but if I had to here's the top of my list. Remember, defense and intangibles can be just as important (if not more) as offense. 1a. Datsyuk 1b. Zetterberg 3. Franzen 4. Filppula 5. Cleary After these two groups, I would say players like Helm, Holmstrom and Eaves are much more essential to our team than Hudler. They all have a certain niche on our team.

With the exception of Avery, those are all still classy guys off the ice. (RIP Probert)

How has no one mentioned Yzerman yet? I'd add Joe Sakic and Ron Francis as well.

Instead of Bogosian... What would you guys think of Tobias Enstrom? An established, 50+ point scoring, puck-moving defenseman. Atlanta's rebuilding, so maybe there's a deal to be had there.

As much as I didn't like Rafalski making $6M the past season, there's no one as offensively talented as him out there. The guy consistently put up great numbers even when playing through injuries. We're going to miss his outlet passes. Here's to his great career. I don't really know if I want to overpay for solid, but not marquee defensemen in this year's UFA pool. We could come up with a stopgap solution and shell out a ton of money next season when potentially Weber, Burns and Suter can be unrestricted. The problem though is that we may only have Nick for one year (assuming he comes back--he couldn't retire now, could he? ) So we still need to make a last run at the Cup. I highly doubt Weber's going anywhere. But, if he's still a RFA come July 1, I say we offer him a front-loaded 10-12 year contract for $7.5M. That way, it's just below the cutoff for giving up 4 first round picks. We would have to give up 2 firsts, a second, and a third. Nashville will probably match, but I say it's still worth a try and the compensation would be worth it. It would also provide a major spark to our team next season. What's the harm in trying? At worst, our hands are a bit tied the first two days of free agency if we want to sign another defenseman.

Why do you want a gritty, hard-working player like Cleary gone?

I actually do think Eaves should occasionally be given a chance with Datsyuk or Zetterberg at some point. I think he can be a 20-goal scorer with his work ethic, shot and speed. Unless we're really injured, I've never seen him crack the top six for more than a few shifts. Regardless, Hudler should be given the chance to play on another team next season. He's woefully inconsistent for our top six and too slow/small and defensively unpolished for our bottom six.

I wouldn't mind signing Cody McCormick or Brad Winchester for depth as a 12/13 forward. Montador would be a good depth signing as well. What about Scottie Upshall? He's gritty and a better scorer. But, after a 22 goal season, he may demand too much money on the open market though. Also, could Ethan Moreau be a Dallas Drake type signing? He's a gritty type of guy who's never won a Cup.

A character guy, no doubt. This is sad.

Well said. Homer never takes a shift off. He's not really bad once in the defensive zone. He just sometimes takes a little longer to get back there. Even though he's a slow skater, at least he always skates as hard as he can. Bottom line is that, like Echolalia said, he plays a very smart game according to his strengths and weaknesses. Nobody else is close to as good as him in front of the net. And he's excellent at retrieving loose pucks and maintaining the cycle as well. I bet Pavel would still want Homer on his line.

Why do you think I want Leino back? I don't. Not one bit. I'd rather keep Hudler. What I meant by 'future considerations' was we can trade him to another team for nothing in return as a $2.9M salary dump. Isn't 'future considerations' just a saying when a team trades a player for nothing. I should have said 'bag of pucks' to make my point more clear. In all honesty though, I'd trade him for draft picks/prospects or part of a package deal for something better. Hudler's not consistently good enough to be in the top six and he's not a grinder either. I'm curious, is Hudler your favorite player on the Wings right now?