krsmith17

I don't think any stat should be the complete focus on a players skill.... Anyone that know hockey, can watch a game and instantly see the kind of skilled player on the ice without looking at goals, assists, points, +/-, etc.... that all looks nice on paper but the truth is, it doesn't matter one bit, especially when it comes to playing for the Wings. You know when Babcock decides who is playing he goes with the guy working the hardest and playing well every time, not who's leading the team in points or +/-... anyway that's my two cents... see how many people have to comment on this one.... Anyway I'm not going to respond to any of the bulls*** anymore, to be quite honest I can't stand a lot of the people on this that think they know everything about everything to do with hockey, I guess that's why I have always just read articles and forums, and not got involved in the discussions... a lot of bulls*** back and forth... a lot of extremely opinionated people that think their logic is the only logic, if they don't agree with you, you're automatically wrong...

Lol couldn't agree more... Hudler - 40-50 points would be GREAT for HIM this season in my opinion... Zherdev - can easily be signed for around the $2m range... completely understand some people not wanting him but I still think he could be a great addition... Connolly - I think $4.5m is pretty generous, wouldn't be surprised if Buffalo resign him for $4m....

Well, I completely disagree with this, I know you're a Hudler fan, but come on now... Hudler is a much harder worker? I don't know if I'd go that far, Hudler has no heart what so ever... How many times do you see him back off from the puck in the corners or completely miss a pass because he is frightened to death to get hit... I would take anyone over Hudler but that's just me... I think he is garbage and hurts the team so much... As for getting Zherdev for no less than $3m... I know we'd be able to get him here for much less. His options are limited in the NHL, and I completely understand why people wouldn't want to take a chance on him but I would, I think he has unbelievable talent and in the right system with a great coach he become elite in this league... No one has to agree, just don't try to tell me I'm wrong, because no one knows for sure, he could come here and play 70 games with the Griffins or he can come here and play 82 with the Wings and put up huge numbers... Hahah my roster?? you just changed everything.... pretty sure that is your roster....

No, you're right the fact that you disagree with my ideas does not make you trolls, what makes you trolls is all you do is disagree with what people have to say. It didn't matter what suggestions I had made you were going to find something wrong with every player and that was it, that's what guys like yourself do. Internet tough guys... You seen that it was my first day on the board so you assume I don't have a clue what I'm talking about, news for ya, I have been on these boards for years reading a lot of the same s*** from the same people. I finally write something and all you have to say is how terrible my ideas are... kinda sad that you're so naive to think you know it all. I've been huge into hockey and one of the biggest Wings fans for over 20 years but hey what do I know... If I had said...... you would have said...... Brad Richards... No way Ken Holland signs him, he's asking for $7-9m... Ed Jovanovski... Not a chance, he's way overpaid and getting too old... J.S. Giguere... LMAO. Did you see the season he had in Toronto last year?... Andrei Markov... No way, way too injury prone... anyone can come up with all the negatives... doesn't mean they're right though... All these guys can have a huge upside, just like every player I mentioned. But if you don't like them, that's cool.... Do some research? I have all kinds of facts in my posts so don't give me that s***. The only thing that I said that may have been false was what I said about Hossa not being strong defensively before he came to the Wings and the only reason I said that was because as I already pointed out I never liked him as a player. Pretty much the same as people don't like Zherdev so they say he has bad work ethic and is a cancer in the room... I'd love to know what Zherdev has done for people to think this... Oooh rumors... okay that makes sence then... I have heard on several occasions that Dan Cleary has an attitude and thinks he's better than everyone, but I personally know the guy pretty well and he's one of the most down to earth guys you could meet... but yeah, rumors... must be true... I have no problem with people disagreeing with me, I like a good debate as much as the next guy, but when people come out just blatantly say no there's no way that can happen and s*** like that it just pisses me off, especially when all people are doing is coming up with their dream scenario for 2011-12 Red Wings roster... Fact is, we can easily get all the players I mentioned, I'm not saying that is what "the real" Ken Holland is going to do because there is less than 1% chance he will get all 5 guys I mentioned but that IS what I would do... I guess you're all lucky I'm not the GM... *** By the way none of this is directed specifially at either of you just all the board junkies on here that have nothing better to do in life than look at the negative side of everything...

Why the hell do people continuously say "unrealistic"... this is a topic, for people to throw ideas out there, to make a few moves to our current roster. It is very unlikely that Holland trades Hudler before July 1, but yet pretty much every single person wants him gone, and have made that move in their roster. Who cares what is and what isn't realistic, have fun with it, stop being so damn negative towards everyone...

Okay, first of all I'm not saying that Connolly in particular is the guy we "need" but we do need more right-handed shooters up front mainly a centerman. This has been pointed out many many times and is very evident when it comes to defensive faceoffs. How many times can you remember in the past couple seasons us losing draws in the defensive zone and the puck ending up in the back of the net. No, I'm not saying getting a solid right-handed centerman would eliminate this problem but it would definitely help us out a lot. So yes it is a need for our team. All I have to say about the Hossa/Zherdev thing is that maybe my opinion on is a little biased because I have never been a fan, even when he did play here for a year I never liked him and was happy to see him go to Chicago. I am not a huge fan of Zherdex either but for you to say that Hossa is far more offensively skilled isn't completely true, I'd definitely give him a bit of an edge but Zherdev is 6 years younger and hasn't had quite the opportunitiy as Hossa to play with a lot elite players. Yes he has put up a lot of solid numbers over the years but there is not all that much difference in the numbers Hossa put up when he first came into the league with Ottawa, who were a great hockey team at the time to the numbers Zherdev put up when he came into the league with Columbus, a terrible hockey team. I'm not trying to argue that Zherdev is or ever will be as good as Hossa but I think Zherdev can put up huge numbers alongside Datsyuk. Your last two points were pointless seems how I said previously that there is more money in the bank to spend on him and I would spend a little extra on him and as for the pairings like I said previously there are countless combinations but you or no one else can say for sure the combination would not work for certain... I'm not going to be disappointed if this doesn't happen, probably because I don't expect this team to happen, it's just what I would do if I were Ken Holland, read the title of this topic pal...

HAHAHAHAHA F*CKIN HILARIOUS.... God Damn Trolls have nothing good to say about any ideas.... --Reply to hockey23-- -Yes Tim Connolly has only played in 70 games one time since the lockout but you failed to mention that he has 250 points in 302 games since the lockout (0.828 points per game). Which isn't bad playing on a team like the Sabres. He was also playing on the top line for the majority of his time in Buffalo and you can argue that his points per game won't be as high playing on our third line but he also won't be playing against top players in the league all the time. He can easily put up 40-50 points, that along with the fact that he's a right-handed centerman that we desperately need I think he's well worth $4.5m. Let's look at a comparable cap hit on our team shall we... Johan Franzen's cap hit is $500k less ($3,954,545) but his salary for the 2011-12 season is $750k more ($5,250,000)... Seems how you're so fascinated with passed numbers, since the lockout Franzen has played in 395 games and put up 219 points (0.554), (significantly lower than Connolly wouldn't you say?) and yes his point totals are getting higher, but his injuries are becoming more frequent meaning, like Connolly neither are expected to play a full 82 games... -Honestly, I don't really care who is or isn't a fan of Zherdev, the guy would put up big numbers on a line with Datsyuk and that's all I care about. Can you or anyone honestly say you were a huge fan of Hossa? I doubt it, he's an offensively gifted player like Zherdev and before he came here he lacked on the defensive side of the game like Zherdev. He was put on a line with Datsyuk for the better part of the year and he flourished in his role and began to quickly learn defense playing alongside the best defensive forward in the world... -I'd love to know how you are so confident we would not be able to sign Wisniewski for $3.75m? Because no players have come here or any other team for discounts at a real chance to win the cup... Not to mention it being his home state, so he was more than like a Wings fan growing up. And remember, I did have $2.8m in left over cap so if he wanted $4-4.25m I say we still go for it, he's a good defenseman with a lot of upside... -A Babchuk-Ericsson pairing would cause every LGW'er to gouge their eyes out within the first month of the season. Hahaha I'd love to hear the explanation of this one... let me guess... another Ericsson hater... Both are young guys (27 years old) so they're bound to make mistakes, but they both also have a lot of upside... So if it doesn't work out split them up, there are countless ways to pair the 7 defenseman... Keep complaining about everything fella's, I'd hate to have your negativity... I feel for you, I really do... actually not all that much.....

I know a lot of people are going to hate some of these signings but they all make sense to me, and right now I am Ken Holland so this is what the team would look like next season. Feel free to bash any of my moves but quite frankly I don't care what all the know-it-all, wanna-be GM's think, just throwing some ideas out there... My main goal was to find some solid right-handed shots to add to the line-up. I think it really hurts us having a team 95% left-handed shots, especially on the powerplay and in the faceoff circle... So let's get to it.... Up front I started out with Draper and Modano retiring. Then I resigned Eaves to a reasonable $850k ($100k raise), let Miller walk and traded Hudler for a prospect and a late round 2011 draft pick. First, to replace Hudler I signed Nikolai Zherdev to one-year $1.75m, a slight pay-cut due to the fact that he is running out of options in the NHL, but I am willing to take a gamble on him. Also, knowing he would start the season playing alongside Datsyuk helped lure him here. I know a lot of people are sceptical about this signing just because of his lack of defensive ability, but let's be honest, was Hudler that much of a better defensive forward, hell no. And with Zherdev's offensive upside I'd take him in a heart beat, so I did. Put him on a line with Datsyuk and Filppula (two of the three most defensively aware forwards on the team) and not only would it make up for his lack of defense but it would help his defensive game watching these two guys working their asses off at both ends of the ice. Zherdev is more than capable of putting up 50-60 points on the top line with Pav and Fil. Then I went out and signed Tim Connolly to a three-year $4.5m per, to fill the void of a right-handed centerman we desperately need. I don't think it would be too much to think Connolly could put up 40-50 points in a third line role with Bert and Cleary. So my Forward Lines look something like this... FORWARDS Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Nikolai Zherdev ($1.750m) Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m) Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Tim Connolly ($4.500m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.850m) Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Cory Emmerton ($0.533m) I think they're solid looking lines with a lot of chemistry and depth... Mursak and Emmerton would be our first call-ups and could possibly be inserted into some sort of rotation involving Abdelkader, Eaves and possibly Holmstrom... If Holmstrom were the odd man out I would have Cleary up in his slot with Hank and Mule, bump Abby up with Connolly and Bert and Mursak with Helm and Eaves, another solid option in my opinion... On the back end I started out with Rafalski retiring, letting Salei walk, Lidstrom resigning a possible final one-year $6m contract, and Ericsson resigning at a reasonable three-year $2.2m per contract. Then I went out looking for two solid right-handed shots, one that could chip in offensively and help out on the power-play (replacement for Rafalski), and the other to give us a little more depth and help out on the penalty kill (replacement for Salei). So I signed James Wisniewski to a four-year $3.75m contract and Anton Babchuk to a one-year $1.8m contract, two perfect replacements to help out our team and give us a little more balance and depth on the back end. No, I don't think Wisniewski is going to completely fill the loss of Rafalski, but he can definitely help us out. He's not going to make that first breakout pass like Rafi could and there's not too many in the league that can but he brings just as much to the table in my opinion. He's a slight upgrade in size but much harder on the puck and can clear the front of the net as good as anyone and is not afraid to drop the gloves. Not to mention he can put up pretty reasonable numbers, he's not a quarterback on the power-play but can defintely help out if paired with Lidstrom which I would do for the first PP unit. As for Babchuk, I think he is an upgrade to Salei and would pair great with Ericsson. Babchuk is not quite the same stay at home style defenseman as Salei, he is a little more mobile and has a decent shot from the point. So my Defense Lines look something like this... DEFENSEMEN Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.000m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / James Wisniewski ($3.750m) Jonathan Ericsson ($2.200m) / Anton Babchuk ($1.800m) Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) Like the forwards, my main goal was to pair guys that I think would complement each others style of play, would mesh well together, as well as looking for balance in the pairings. When looking at the goalie situation, first Ozzie retires and I let Joey MacDonald walk. Now I'm looking for a decent goaltender for a reasonable price that can play 25 - 35 games when called upon. So I signed Brian Boucher to one-year $850k. Boucher is a decent back-up goaltender that can play well behind another solid goalie, he had a decent season last year but struggled in the playoffs when he was the number one guy. I think the pressure got to him a little but as long as Jimmy can stay healthy and on top of his game I think Boucher is very competent to play a solid 25+ games for us. So the goalies look like this... GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Brian Boucher ($0.825m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $63,500,000; CAP PAYROLL: $60,692,044; BONUSES: $0 CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $2,807,956 I think this team is capable of not only making the playoffs but as long as we're relatively healthy we can win it all in 2012. We still have a little flexibility with $2.8m in cap space to make a move at the trade deadline if necessary.