Diluvian04

Kaberle and Gagne are still available. Any takers?

I'm telling you guys he is gonna sign Jovonovski. I wouldn't mind Kaberle though. Our offense is built around our defensemen with quality slap shots so it would be beneficial to get an offensive defenseman.

Ed Jovonovski, Patrick Eaves, and Chris Draper. After the Ericsson contract I lost interest in the free agent frenzy. Holland is becoming gun shy and appears content with 1st and 2nd round exits but hey atleast we make the playoffs. I miss the good old days without a salary cap. Who would have thought that the salary cap maximum wouldn't effect us as much as the salary cap floor would. Grossly overpaid below average talent. The salary structure is going to turn into what the NBA has. If that happens Bettman should be labotomized.

On my phone right now, What is he saying?

Holland is gonna sign jovonovski I can just feel it. There is no talk about him at all from other teams. I'm very nervous about our team going forward. I guess we will see tomorrow.

He has been my #1 choice as a defenseman since day one but I figured he was an RFA so Holland would not go after him. Now with all of these defensemen getting signed and rights getting traded, why not look into it? I'm sure Phoenix will probably give him a bloated contract to help reach the floor but atleast we should make a phone call or something. We haven't heard anything about him. Phoenix is hurting financially and Yandle should know its only a matter of time before they move somewhere else.

Point taken. I only wanted to point out the obvious overpayment in prior years. Jagr hasn't been in the league in like two or three years and we are trying to get him. I guess if the money is right its worth taking a shot however I feel like he doesn't really want to come here. The age along with the KHL going back and forth has me really questioning whether or not he is right for our team. On top of that he has been rumored to be a cancer in the locker room and if that is right that he only scored 19 goals or whatever last season. Is he really worth it?

I understand what your saying but its the fact he left the best league in the world for easy money. It doesn't make the NHL look so good when some of your star players leave for a smaller league. Thinking about how long it would take me to spend one million dollars. It would take quite a few years spending how I normally would. 11 million per, not including his contract before that is ALOT of money. Depending on how much you make it could take 20 years to save just one million. That's crazy! All I am saying is that he is set for life and then went to Europe, that I understand.But he is coming back at the same time his euro team is having money issues. How greedy can you get?

Good. We don't need a 39 year old player coming from an inferior league trying to capture glory through riding on the wings coat tails. I'm bitter towards players who bolt the NHL for a payday. That's like a fish leaving a lake for a pond. I'd rather have someone who has heart and desire for the game and not the green. The Guy used to make 11 million a year, why in gods name would you need anymore money than that?

Ehrhoff and Wisniewski only because I don't like Jovo but something tells me he is gonna join his buddy Bertuzzi here in D-town. Oh well something is better than nothing.

The wings will go after one or both of Jovanovski and/or Wisniewski. As far as forwards I really hope they don't have all of their eggs in one basket with Jagr. With all of these players getting signed I am starting to get a feeling of panic. Teams like Columbus, San Jose, Las Angeles, and Vancouver retaining their players are going to be better. I'm more nervous because of the money these guys are going to get paid. We are talking like these players getting a 30% raise in pay with new contracts. Not all but some anyway. I want Yandle and Ehrhoff but that almost doesn't seem possible now. What do you guys think? The salary cap floor is going to inflate these salaries. I don't know about you guys but I hate the fact that the salary cap went up.

Now Tanguay is signed. The free agency pool is getting smaller and smaller.

San Jose Nice call on the Mic.

I think if teams get caught up in the draft, they may make a trade they wouldn't normally make. I am really hoping that the Wings get lucky and are able to pluck someone away. Over the last few years it seems like the wings can't make any trades because teams are trying to fleece us. It would be nice to actually get something to go in our favor. I think when Holland isn't able to make a trade happen we get frustrated with him but in all honesty what he does for the team is to make sure he balances the young talent in the minors with talent in the Majors. It just seems like lately the talent in the Minors has not been developing as fast as we would like. Someone like Ericsson who has not been as good as we all hoped for can be a major blow to a team that needs to remain strong on Defense. Before him Jiri Fischer who was poised to be one of our best had his career cut short. In other words our drafted forwards have been ok but our drafted Defensemen have been subpar or had setbacks.

Yandle in a perfect world but that won't happen. Christian Ehrhoff, James Wisniewski, and Simon Gagne. Gagne is a risk but man can he put up the points.

The Wings won't even try to get Wisniewski through trade. They value their draft picks to much. I understand that the picks are valuable but just thinking about the Sharks getting Brent Burns and Chicago getting Cap space through trading Campbell, I'm very nervous for the upcoming year and fear that the wings will drop in the standings. I'm tired of teams like the sharks knocking us out and when they strengthen their team and we haven't done anything. July 1st is going to be a very stressful day for Detroit Hockey fans.

I'm starting to believe that the wings will not make any trades. They don't really need to make any trades if they are confident in free agent signings but with campbell coming off the books. Chicago and other teams are making trades to free up cap space which make July 1st become much more pricey. These players are gonna be asking for much more than they were originally going to get. It just sucks.

Holland will pick the Best available player. They never have their sites set on any particular position. He trusts his scouts and only drafts based on their opinions rather than his gut. It's frustrating at first but he doesn't do to bad.

Brent Burns to San Jose just ruined the rest of my day. I guess Holland isn't gonna even attempt to make any trades. I hope July 1st is a big day for the Wings.

I like Filppula, However Hudler didn't have a very good year and is smaller than Filppula. If we are gonna get a legitimate young big man defensman who is right handed then we have to be willing to part ways with players that we like. Free agent forwards are available also that can replace Filppula. In my opinion it is a cheaper way to go. If we can deal Hudler lets go for it but just looking at the trades that happened yesterday we have to assume that more will asked for in order to get deals done.

I think everyone wants to get rid of Hudler, However I would trade Filppula, our 1st round pick and a prospect for Burns as they probably will not bite with Hudler involved. Then through free agency try to sign Brad Richards if possible. Or possibly one of Laich or Tanguay if Richards is too expensive. I think the risk involved would be a number of UFA defensemen on our team next year.

I personally don't believe Jagr will come to Detroit but rather go to Pittsburgh instead. I could be wrong but it's just a hunch. He lived in Pittsburgh before and is familiar with the area. Most players who consider playing for their former teams usually go back toward the end of their careers. Unless Detroit overpays for him which they don't normally do. On top of that I hope they don't get him because I think we can all agree that they need to get younger.

Has anyone thought about going after Kieth Yandle? He was Phoenix's best defensemen this year with 11 goals and 48 assists and played in all 82 games. The guy also had 5 assists in 4 playoff games this year. If he were a wing around all the talent that we have, he would be a beast. I would guess that if Phoenix is in trouble financially and possibly moving then the possibility of getting someone like Yandle would be something that Holland could look into. Yandle is obviously a RFA though so I understand the odds of getting him. Two guys worth looking into are Bieksa and Ehrhoff but everyone needs to understand that these guys aren't gonna sign for the same amount or even alittle more than what they are currently making. I would not at all be surprised if one or both of these players look at 5.5 per year or more just because of the current crop of defensemen free agents. My choice would be two of these three guys, however I wouldn't expect to sign a top flight forward as replacing Rafalski is gonna be more expensive then people think.