kipwinger

We barely make the playoffs each year, get our asses kicked in the first or second round, and target mediocre players as a solution?

Apparently so was the Boyle signing. Only I'm not sure who he's romatically linked to.

I agree. I'd rather go with what we have and kids than lose Tatar to Buffalo in a trade for Meyers.

Helene St. James @HeleneStJames #RedWings offered D Dan Boyle more $$ than the 2 yrs, $9M he got from #NYR . More like $10M .

We'd massively overpay in trade if every single other option has already been exhausted. Buffalo would ask for the moon knowing that Holland didn't have a choice, just like Poile did in the Legwand trade.

So far, both Erhoff and Boyle have gone for less than their reported asking prices.

Don't worry, we'll trade for Tyler Meyers and Buffalo will rape us because we've got no other options.

Pierre LeBrun @Real_ESPNLeBrun Hearing veteran d-man Brad Stuart has been traded from San Jose to Colorado; still pending trade call, Not official yet

Helene St. James @HeleneStJames #RedWings have extended G Petr Mrazek through 2015-16, at $737 ,500.

YOLO references make me smile. And I need to smile today.

Awww. Thanks, babe.

What happens if we get neither Niskanen or Boyle? Does Kenny sign some cheap replacement, or massively overpay in a trade because everybody knows how desperate he is?

Well boy was I ever wrong. Good thing I'm not an NHL GM eh?

Stastny to St. Louis

Ok, I give. It was pre-ordained that Ehrhoff was going to Pittsburgh because despite the fact that not a single source reported him being interested in Pittsburgh, he "obviously" wanted to go there.

So tell me how Pittsburgh is a better investment than Detroit. Since you're so sure it's about playing for a contender. Do you not remember their last four or five HUGELY embarrassing playoff exits for Pittsburgh? Or have I been sleeping and they made it to a Cup final since 2009? If it was about playing for a contender he's have picked some place other than Detroit OR Pittsburgh, since neither team is contending lately.

The point was, that just because we didn't get a guy doesn't mean that we COULDN'T get a guy. I don't know what Ehrhoff was thinking. But I know it's a little premature to say "he obviously wanted to go to Pittsburgh", which is speculative. One day ago he "obviously" wanted 5 years and 5 million too. Nothing is definite, least of all Christian Ehrhoff's "obvious" intentions.

Fayne and Puliot to Edmonton. Good moves.

And 3 years at 4.5 or 5 million couldn't have convinced him otherwise? Don't start making excuses yet. My least favorite part about FA day is that in the end, when we're left holding a bag of s***, everyone tries to explain why it wouldn't have happened any other way. That team has had no more success the last five years than our team has had. I'm not sure why you think so.

Erhoff, 1 year, 4 million to Pittsburgh (good work Kenny!) I thought Ehrhoff was supposed to go for 5 years and eleventy billion dollars?

Up to the minute FA tracker through the Detroit Free Press for anyone who's interested. Following Lebrun, McKenzie, and Dreger. All of whom are most likely to break the stories. http://mobile.scribblelive.com/Event/NHL_free_agency_rumor_mill_2?theme=4000 Malhotra to Montreal

Wow, super good contract. Atta boy Kenny, and atta boy kid.

I didn't say it's impossible, few things are. I did, however, imply that it is so unlikely as to be pointless to discuss. In the last 20 years only 8 or 9 offer sheets have been given out of the hundreds upon hundreds of RFAs, and only twice has the player's team not matched the offer sheet. In each instance it was for players that were marginally talented, not players of Johansen's caliber. Hold your breath if you want to, but Johansen is not leaving Columbus on an offer sheet. EVER. If I'm wrong, and it does happen, I'll volunteer to be lobotomized by a Mexican doctor with an online degree in brain surgery. So sure am I.

That's definitely a possibility. The other possibility is that he's a really good defenseman who's numbers are increasing because he's just entering his prime. Either way it beats signing a 38 year old declining veteran. One who scored 36 pts. on a top six offensive team. And who was -8 (the only defenseman on their team with a minus) on a top five defense. Normally I don't put a lot of stock in plus/minus. But the only people on that team with a worse plus/minus were fourth liners playing less than 13:00 a game. Not a single other defender was a minus. 36 pts. and -8 is not that great, and it's only going to get worse considering Detroit is worse than San Jose offensively AND defensively. And we'll play 5.5 million dollars a year to get it. I cannot stress how stupid signing Boyle is.

If someone told Helen St. James that the Wings were going to sign Ted Lindsay, she'd run the story without a second thought. She'd regale us with theories about how "in the right role...", or "on Datsyuk's wing...", or "age doesn't affect hockey sense...". It's like her entire identity is at stake should Ken Holland's player acquisition strategy be thought unsuccessful. Apparently, once Red Wings fans ever decide that loading up the team with declining veterans is a bad idea, the house of cards will tumble.