krsmith17

Trades of this magnitude should not upset fans. But when you look at what Holland has done over the past several seasons, it's hard not to nit-pick every little move he makes. That's beside the point though. The only reason I'm a little (and I emphasize little) upset over this move is, because he let a 23 year old Paterson walk to bring back a 27 year old McCollum. I don't care about the conditional 7th, but Paterson had pretty respectable numbers in the ECHL, and plenty of room to grow, while McCollum has been average at best, and is what he is at this point. Just doesn't make much sense to me. Maybe Paterson was another guy with "attitude issues" and McCollum is a "good character guy"...

Who's going to trade him? Need a GM capable of making trades for that to happen...

Makes a little more sense adding him as a forward I guess...

In which case you say, good luck. I don't think anyone thinks Holland immediately offered 3 years, but if you can't get him at one or two, you should pass.

Only way this deal makes any sense is if one or both of Kronwall / Ericsson are done. Still shouldn't have been anything more than one year, two max.

This signing makes no sense... No room in Detroit. No room in Grand Rapids... Signing for Toledo?

I've heard this notion quite a few times lately, but I can't understand this mind set. Why waste the roster spot on a free agent veteran for the next three years when we could use that spot developing one of our young players? If he's taking one of Kronwall or Ericsson's spot in the lineup, fine, but he shouldn't be taking the spot of Sproul now, or Hicketts or Cholowski in a year or two.

F***, I hope not...

Well it looks like Daley will be a Red Wing... All we can hope at this point is that it's only a one year contract. Of course we know it will be 3-5 years though... Also hope the Daley signing means that one or both of Kronwall / Ericsson aren't ready to go (LTIR)...

I hope Holland stays out of the free agent frenzy today, but if he HAS to sign a player, I'd like it to be a young reclamation project, rather than an old, washed up vet. People have already mentioned Yakupov and Grigorenko, but what about Ryan Murphy? He hasn't done much at the NHL level, and was just bought out by the Canes. He's still young and could be a low risk, high reward signing. He may not be any better than anything we currently have, but if that's the case, we can just waive him. I'd offer any of these guys a one year, "show me" contract. Sure as hell beats signing one of the rumored vets to a multi year contract...

Tatar - 4 years at $4.75-5M Athanasiou - 2 years at $1.75-2M Ouellet - 2 years at 1.25-1.5M

If Holland does move on, the new hire needs to come from outside the organization. Promoting Martin or Draper wouldn't change a thing. We need a fresh perspective, someone that isn't afraid to shake things up.

I say we switch McIlrath to wing and form a 4th line of McKee - Tangradi - McIlrath...

Why?

We shouldn't be signing any UFA's, but if Holland has to spend money on any this summer, I'd prefer it to be a forward.

I hope he's done after this season, but unfortunately I could see him re-signing for another 12 years...

Yes, indeed we will...

That's the problem. We should be rebuilding, and signing multiple veterans isn't the proper way to go about that. I'd be okay with one of the rumoured defensemen (Daley) on a one year, small cap contract, IF Kronwall or Ericsson aren't ready to go. I'd also be okay with one UFA forward on a similar contract, for the sole purpose to flip them at the deadline. The main priority though should be for the kids get a legit shot with ample ice time. Larkin, Mantha and Athanasiou should take on bigger roles, Sproul and Frk should get a legit opportunity out of the gate, and Svechnikov, Bertuzzi and maybe even Hicketts should get another look at some point next season.

What isn't technically considered rebuilding? Obviously Holland is going to say his goal is to make the playoffs, but without significant changes, that won't be and shouldn't be the case. And significant changes doesn't mean signing a bunch of veteran UFA's. Changes need to be made via trade. This team needs a proper rebuild, and I'm not confident Holland has what it's going to take to get us through that...

Yup, great asset management... Sad thing is, I wouldn't put it past Holland to do it... because everyone knows the smart thing to do as a team rebuilding is sign past their prime vets and waive youth...

F***s sake! The only way this makes any sense is if Kronwall and / or Ericsson isn't ready to go. Even then, I don't like it. It better be for one year at <$3M...

I disagree. The roster spot is more important than the cap hit in my opinion. We shouldn't be a cap team for the next few seasons anyway, so that $2M we'd be paying on Ericsson's contract would be irrelevant. If we could get rid of Ericsson (and if Kronwall isn't ready to go), I'd be okay with signing a stop gap for one season, until one of the kids are ready to come up next season. It's a moot point though, Ericsson isn't going anywhere...

I agree, and that would be absolute best case scenario. Trade Ericsson (retain $2M), Kronwall ends up on LTIR, and sign Daley for one season... Daley - Green DeKeyser - Jensen Ouellet - Sproul Trade Daley at the deadline for a 2nd round pick, and re-sign Green to be our one vet on the blueline... At some point though, I still think it would be in our best interest to package some assets for a young, top 2 defenseman. Has to be done.

I've read some articles lately, including this one that have suggested that Mantha will become an "elite" goal scorer over the next couple years. I've been high on him for quite some time, and I tend to agree. I fully expect Mantha to lead the team in goals this season, and possibly challenge for the point lead as well. I'm not sure if he will become "elite", but he definitely has the potential to get there. Two questions for me would be, can he play with the same consistency and intensity through an 82 game grind, and will Blashill let him do what he does best, score goals (offense first)...

Happy to see these two back with the Griffins, but I hope this means Paetsch is hanging them up / moving on. Make room for the kids to play.