Rice

Bertuzzi stood up to other players. Did that stop Pronger? Did that stop McLennan?

Because Grigorenko's ceiling is a top six winger. He's home-grown and needs time to develop -- but hey, let's never give him that time and just keep inserting Aaron Asham's ahead of him in the depth chart. They obviously see something in Kopecky, so I have nothing to say about that.

Yeah, you're right. Inserting Aaron Asham into the lineup would do wonders for the team-wide grit. Give me a break. Grit is a philosophy that starts at the draft and grows in the system. Signing Asham isn't all of a sudden going to turn the Wings into the Ducks. But go ahead, cry because Holland won't sign Aaron Asham. Think about it this way: Would Asham have been a difference maker in the Ducks series? IMO, absolutely not. The Wings showed tons of grit. Sure, they got pushed around a little bit. Asham's not going to stop that and he's most definitely not going to score the clutch goals that the Wings so badly needed.

Where would they play? There's no room for these guys. Asham is not a top six winger. Sorry, but he's not. Gelinas is an option, but how much can one guy do?

I'm not saying it's not out of question. You guys just get your hopes up for random players. I think grit would be good for the team too, but I'm not going to get all hung up on two guys that Holland probably won't sign.

He also said he wouldn't be making any splashes on July 1st. I'm not saying he's going to sign more, but you never know.

Good luck with that. I can see it now, "OMG WTF KENNY! THEY'RE GRITTY!!"

Kulfan says the same thing.

Since Brodeur ran out of gas in the playoffs.

Are you saying the Wings should've signed Rafalski and Smyth? Good luck signing Zetterberg in two years with four $6 million+ contracts on the team.

:nonono: Why? Why?! WHY?! It's endless. Rafalski is an upgrade over Schneider. Lang, Bertuzzi, and Calder were non-factors. Markov can be replaced, he's not worth more than he was getting. So, what has Holland done? So far he's upgraded the defense and dumped the dead weight. Its three days into the off-season. There's plenty of time to find an adequate replacement for Markov and round out the top six. But quick, PANIC! PANIC! PANIC! Deem this year a failure before the roster is even set!

We don't need more third/fourth line players. Asham would be interesting but there's no room for him. Why the hell would Chicago give up Ruutu for a 4th round pick?

Why would anyone want Shanahan back? So he can come back, score 40 goals in the regular season, then lay an egg in the playoffs because he's a perimeter player now? No thanks. It would be taking a step back.

It averages out to a little less than $4 million a year. He had 80 points last season, so it's not too bad.

How many threads are there on this?

I think he means the Islanders would be getting the player that waives his NTC. So, it's not us involved.

Where are you getting this from?

Wow. He's getting paid more than last year.

The Islanders don't really have anyone that would be considered huge. I could see the Wings being interested in Satan.

You're right, Holland's going to sign three more forwards. You guys set yourselves up for disappointment. The Wings currently have Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Draper, Samuelsson, Franzen, Maltby, Grigorenko, Filppula, Cleary, and Kopecky under contract. Kopecky was in the lineup at the beginning of last season and in the Anaheim series. He's going to play. That's 11 forwards not including Hudler. Holland wants to sign one top six forward to round out the lineup. EDIT: I see you've added your "wishlist" to your signature. So, I say once again, prepare to be disappointed. This happens all too often here and with some pretty random players. Adam Hall? Yeah, Adam Hall is the answer to all our grit problems! Give me a break. The only one that has a shot of coming here is Guerin. I can't wait to see the "OMG KENNY WTF?!" when he doesn't sign Adam ******* Hall.

You realize that the Wings already have a full forward core right? You want Holland to get "a couple gritty guys" and a top six forward? Looks like you're going to be let down either way. Holland's going to get a top six forward, be it through free agency or trade.

What? We lost our second line that sucked anyway. Rafalski is an upgrade over Schneider. Everyone knew that Lang and Calder weren't being offered contracts. Bertuzzi could've gone either way but he was a non-factor in the playoffs. Everyone panic!

Well, with the three big UFA centers and Thornton signing today, the market was set for centers. Drury and Gomez were both inked by the Rangers. They're both big names, but people tend to forget about their regular season stats. Gomez has had above 70 points once in his career. Drury has never hit 70 points. These guys are both good in the post-season, but the regular season counts too (unlike some Detroit fans believe). Drury's cap number will be $7.05 million with the Rangers. Gomez's will be around $7.35 million. That's a lot for guys who don't put up big numbers during the regular season. Datsyuk's cap number is $6.7 million and he's coming off back-to-back 87 point seasons and he has shown he can keep up the pace in the playoffs as well. Aside from his point totals, he's quickly becoming one of the most complete forwards in the game. He's being paid a shade under Thornton's discounted $7.2 million dollar deal, which seems fair to me. All in all, Datsyuk's deal is, at the very least, fair. I think it's good and it's only going to look better as the cap increases.

Holland may have to look for a trade to find a top sixer.

Didn't Nashville only beat us once last year? With Macdonald in net?