krsmith17

If we clinch this afternoon, it would be the 3rd consecutive year we do so on April 9th. The last two years happened to be shootout and overtime losses in which we only needed one point to lock up a playoff spot. Although, it is possible we get in with one point (Boston lose in OT or SO), or even none (Boston lose in regulation), let's get in with a big win today no matter how the Bruins do in their game... LGW!!!

I wouldn't be completely opposed to holding onto Howard to start next season if we can sign Mrazek at a bit of a discount due to his struggles down the stretch. If Mrazek steals the starting role once again next season, which I think he will, we could then look to trade Howard at or before the deadline. On the flip side, if Howard gets us into the playoffs, maintains the starting role, and gets us through a round or two, his value will sky rocket, and it would be the best opportunity to move him... But if that were the case, would Kenny pulled the trigger? I'm not so sure...

You don't judge any players value solely on points, so yes you do sign a player, any player because of "intangibles" as well as stats... By the way 40 points gets you $4M in todays NHL, so even if you are just looking at stats, it's a fair contract. I do think it may be a couple years too long, but the cap hit is spot on. $4.25M over 5 years would have been perfect in my opinion.

Abdelkader's cap hit is very fair for what he brings to the team now, but it will likely end up being couple years too long. He may be slightly overpaid in years six and seven, but who knows where the cap will be by then... Make no mistake though, Abby is a huge part of this team. His production alone is worth $4M per season, but then add on top of that everything else he brings to the table, for the next three seasons, I see it as a steal. He's 6th on the team in points, 3rd in goals, he is by far our most physical player, leads the team in hits by a wide margin, will drop the gloves when needed, leads all forwards in special team minutes, etc. Abdelkader is a beauty and I don't get why people hate his contract so much. It's really not that bad... Also, I was a big fan of Lapointe and was kind of sad when we let him walk. Same would have been the case if we let Abdelkader walk. Would anybody be okay if we didn't re-sign Abby? Because like it or not, his contract is pretty fair, and he would have been signed to a similar contract this offseason if we did let him walk...

I'm pretty sure it was you MisterDangles. Here's a couple stills from the game...

Exactly, that package "should" be enough, but like you said the Jets would most certainly be looking for massive overpayment. Nonetheless, Kenny should be making a pitch for him. That's exactly what I meant by saying "just like literally any player in the league"... Maybe "close to double" was a bit of an overstatement, but the point was that Trouba would be by far the cheaper of the options. The only other player that I would go hard after that I believe would be available, based on what we would potentially have to give up would be Fowler. I'm not that high on Vatanen, and for what it would cost, I wouldn't have any interest in him at all. I know there's little to no chance Theodore would become available, but he would be the kid I'd want from Anaheim...

Press conference? I seen the brief interview, but never knew there was an actual press conference?... Or is that what you're referring to? From the interview, I get the impression that he was getting very frustrated with all the questions surrounding him and his future with the team, when he's still under contract after this season. He doesn't want to, nor should he have to answer any questions regarding next season, especially when his team is in a dog fight to get into the playoffs. His only concern right now should be and likely is getting mentally and physically prepared for the upcoming game(s). Why aren't reporters / diggers asking Mrazek or DeKeyser about their upcoming contracts? Why do most RFA's wait until after the season to get their contract worked out? Simply because in the midst of a playoff push, that's the last thing they should be worrying about... Same reason Stamkos isn't necessarily done in Tampa... Anyway, IF Pav were to leave after this season, I would be very disappointed, but no I wouldn't burn my Datsyuk jersey, and forget about everything he has done for this organization. I'm not even thinking about that though, like I said, he's not going anywhere. I'd bet money on it...

I love how people are bashing Datsyuk for doing something that he hasn't even done yet, and in my opinion, won't do... Pav will honor his contract, he's not going anywhere any time soon...

Jurco in tonight for Mantha... I love Jurco and I think he's going to be a solid player but I'm not sure how I feel about taking Mantha out... For f***s sake Blashill...

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Same for the Ducks Capitals game I would assume?...

Whatever it would cost to get Trouba, you can bet it would cost close to double to get any of Ekman-Larsson, Fowler, Shattenkirk or Faulk... I understand that there's risk involved in trading for Trouba, just like literally any player in the league, and yes, it is exactly the type of risk this team needs to take in order to land that number one defenseman...

Wow, that is a pretty s***ty schedule for Philadelphia... at Detroit, home to Toronto and Pittsburgh and at New York I. in 5 days to close out the season... That last day on Sunday must be the two makeup games are they?

Hyperbole much? No one is saying Trouba is or ever will be a HOFer, What myself and many others believe is that he has all the tools and potential to become a bonafide top pairing defenseman. I like every other name you mentioned in that last post, so where were those suggestions when you mentioned Schenn? They would all make this team better, Schenn not so much. Anyway, all of those names have been mentioned here before and so has Trouba, but the reason I like the idea of going after Trouba that much more, is because he would likely be the least expensive of all of them and I believe his ceiling is just as high or higher than all of them...

In my fantasy world... I would offer a package of Nyquist, Ouellet or Marchenko and a 1st or 2nd round pick... Howard would be a separate deal...

I get what you mean kliq, but it would still be the last "regular season" game, which I'd be okay with. I've been to a ton of regular season games, but I've never been to a playoff game, and unfortunately, that won't be changing next year either... One of these days I'm going to move to Winsor, get season tickets and never miss a home game...

Great post kliq. I think we're on the same page when it comes to fixing this "mess"... We need to go hard after a top pairing defenseman to pair with DeKeyser, and Trouba would fit that bill perfectly. Young, local kid with great size, tons of potential, shoots right, is rumored to be available, and is in the Western Conference. This is the type of defenseman that you should be willing to overpay for and Holland needs to make a pitch that Cheveldayoff cannot refuse... That one addition would go a long way in fixing this defense. Adding more depth 3rd pairing guys does nothing to improve this team, and Schenn is not the answer. Regarding Stamkos, I agree that there is a chance that he comes here, although I think it's very unlikely. But can you imagine adding Trouba and Stamkos this offseason? I know, I know, the chance of one of these things happening is slim, let alone both, but that would make us instant contenders in my opinion... Larkin - Stamkos - Mantha Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Abdelkader Tatar - Athanasiou - Jurco Helm - Sheahan - Glendening DeKeyser - Trouba Smith - Green Kronwall - Ericsson / Marchenko Mrazek UFA

I've been saying all along I want the Wings to miss the playoffs. f*** the Wings. They're a bad team that don't deserve to get in. Sorry, what were you saying DatsyukianDekes?...

People getting waaaay too worked up over this... I'd bet anything on him finishing out that contract. It seems to be a little less likely that he'd sign for another season after next, but I still wouldn't rule that out either...

I too will be making one last trip to the Joe next season. I'd love to go to the last regular season home game, but we'll see how that goes. I can't imagine tickets to that game will be very cheap / accessible... Definitely something I'll be looking into though.

Yeah, it would make a ton of sense for Smith to make that statement, seeming how he has absolutely no bearing on the outcome of the games... F***ing Blashill...

"If you want players to be brought in, which we all do"... That's a bit presumptuous isn't it? I want changes but most of the changes I would like to see come from within the organization. I don't want to sign or trade for players just for the sake of doing so. I want to continue the youth movement and get the kids more ice time. Sure there are players that I'd be willing to move in the right deal, and there are players that I would love to go after, but Luke Schenn definitely isn't at the top of my list... We don't need anymore depth defensemen, we need a legit top pair guy. If we're not able to land that sort of player, I'd prefer do nothing, and continue the "rebuild"...

We don't need to win out. We need to beat Boston and one of Philadelphia or New York to guarantee third in the division. Of course there are many ways this could play out but that is our best case scenario...

Schenn at $5M? That has to be a joke right? No way is he worth that as a 3rd pairing defenseman. And people think Quincey and Ericsson are overpaid... Also, none of Nyquist, Tatar or Smith are likely to be moved, even Howard is questionable, I hope we hold on to Sproul, and Jensen or Andersson obviously aren't going to garner any sort of interest or return from any other team in the league...

I agree with everything you said frank, except for missing the playoffs for a better pick. Moving up a few spots in the draft guarantees nothing, and if there's a player that we really like, the option to move up is always there. Of course we're not likely to get in the top 5, but in the top 10 would be very doable if Holland was willing to trade our first plus another asset or two (roster player / prospect / pick)...

Ericsson and Smith have been given similar opportunity? Not even close. Ericsson plays top 4 minutes no matter how bad he plays or how many turnover he commits. Smith gets demoted or scratched if he makes one questionable play or sometimes even if he's on the ice for that questionable play... Everyone would love for Smith's offensive numbers to go up and for he and his teammates to score more on the chances he produces, but which defenseman would you rather have despite the point totals? The one that drives the play and spends more time in the offensive zone away from our net, or the one that gets hemmed in our zone and gives up scoring opportunities to the opposition?... Smith > every defenseman on the Wings except DeKeyser and Green and Kronwall (when he's on his game...).