centcougar07

We should start to turn our focus to getting younger and lining the prospect pool with more talent and high end assets. IMO, we should be starting to get younger and definitely not trade away any picks. We don't have a ton of prospects that I would consider untouchable. Minus Jurco, Nyquist, and Smith, considering they are the closest thing we have to top prospects. If we start to get younger now it will lessen the blow in 2-3 years when we're really going to have to look at rebuilding.

Agreed. I have said that I'm not a fan of the prospect pool, I think it's pretty shallow and pretty average IMO.. But I think there are ways we could swing a deal for a top end scorer with a package of prospects/picks/current players in a way that could work out well for both teams. Will Ken Holland do that when/if we miss out on Parise and Suter? I don't know. I suppose we'll find out after July 1

Perhaps a little. But not as much as you think. And Parise and Suter may not command that much, but they sure as hell will be offered that much by at least a couple teams IMO. That's what happens when you mix a lot of desperate teams with a thin FA class.

Clearly you haven't read this and other threads all the way through. There have been several people claiming that Suter and Parise are locks to come here. And even more people who have put up future rosters including the two of them. The Wings CAN offer AS MUCH as anyone but not more.. There are plenty of teams with 18-20 mil in cap space that will make offers. And my point is that Ken Holland never overpays for players so why would he start now? I know they are going to go hard after Parise and Suter but what happens when other teams offer Parise 8-8.5 Mil? You think Holland will go that high? No chance. Same deal with Suter. The only reason you dislike my opinion is because I don't agree with you and others who think that both of the most sought after FA's in this years class are both going to land here.

If NJ beats Philly in this series there might not be any Parise FA sweepstakes as it is. I'm of the belief that they (the Devils) will have a hard time signing him to the kind of contract he will demand and just convincing him to stay there in general when the ownership thing is going down the tubes fast. But certainly getting to the conference finals would make it a little more difficult to leave NJ so quickly. So.. Lets go Philly

Yeah and it was only 13 percent of all players. That's all well and good, and of course Detroit is a good destination.. But it isn't the one and only place. And it looks like a lot of those votes are based on history alone which is why Toronto and Montreal made the list I assume because they are terrible right now. History and tradition are great things to have but when you're not winning and you're franchise clearly is not built for the future.. You're going to have a tough time attracting top guys who can go anywhere they want. Especially if they get offered more money there. You can have your head in the clouds about all these prospects and think that UFA's are destined to come here all you want but it's going to be a cold slap in the face this summer when none of it materializes.

Datsyuk and Zetterberg's games also transferred well to the NHL based on skill set alone. I'll shy away from comparing those two to Jarnkrok and Pulkkinen. And by come out of nowhere I was referring to draft position. 6th and 7th rounders who surprised everyone. We don't have that now. We know what the majority of our prospects have to offer. Like I said, I'm not saying every prospect we have is bad or anything. But most of them are average with a ceiling that we have a pretty good idea of already because we've seen what they can do in the minors for years and knowing that numbers drop even lower once you get to the highest of the high in terms of leagues (the NHL), it's pretty plain to see that there aren't any Datsyuk's or Zetterbergs to be had. And it's not surprising.. Those are rare.. rare players to be had. We've been blessed to have guys like that but eventually they were going to get old and lose production.. That's the cycle of life in the NHL and in all pro sports.. Save maybe for MLB where it's a money based league IMO. It's just time I think. It will do us good to rebuild in a few years. Oh.. and I followed the link to the poll I saw Chicago and Detroit. Then I saw Montreal and Toronto and I laughed and clicked the red 'x' lol. But yes, Parise has said he admires the organization and all that. He's also said it about Minnesota and NJ.. It's all talk. In the end it means very little, if anything.

Again, everything you've said I already addressed. The Hobey winner this year won't even be playing in the AHL next year.. The WINNER. Not a nominee.. A winner of the award. That doesn't mean a whole lot. Secondly, HF boards mean next to nothing. They had Benoit Pouliot listed as a 9.0B 4 years ago and now he's scoring 40 points a year in Boston. Even if they were accurate.. 7.5D isn't that great of a ranking. It's average, probably second line talent. Which is exactly what I've been saying this whole time. And I go to school with a kid who's dad and uncle are BOTH NHL scouts and being the hockey nut that I am, I'm always picking their brains about teams from across the league. They are both western scouts so I pay more attention to the west but I also know a little but about east. Hockey is like a religion for me. You may not like or agree with what I have to say, but the way you present it makes you look like an arrogant f*** with his head in the clouds. I'm not sure there is ever any bad press about any teams prospects unless there is no glimmer of hope. What do you expect the paper to say? "All our prospects are s*** and we have nothing to look forward to. This whole organization is s***." No. They would never do that. And it's not accurate. But it's true that our prospects are average and that our core of players is old and getting older. I'm not sure you get to tell me which team I can and can't cheer for. But hey, thanks for reminding me that there are in fact 30 teams in this league. I almost forgot!

Well of course it is.. But it's no longer THE place. That's what most people here don't realize. They think it's going to be ever so easy to entice Parise and Suter to come here. There are other things and other factors they will consider. Having a "winning tradition" is all well and good. As is having a couple players who have done great things in their careers (even if they are on the back end of them). But at the end of the day, they are going to be hotly contested FA's and we know Holland won't overpay. He never has and never will, even if it's necessary. And I don't blame him, it's time to start thinking about rebuilding in a couple years, not just reloading like we've become accustomed to. And all the prospects you mentioned are middle of the road, second or third line forwards/d men. Smith has the most promise IMO, but having one top D man and a whole bunch of average prospects isn't going to help much. When Datsyuk and Z were coming up, they exceeded expectations and came out of nowhere after being drafted. The guys in our prospect pool now.. We've had a pretty good look at. We know what they are and aren't capable of and after seeing that and reading everything there is to read in the NHL about prospects, I'm comfortable saying that we don't have much to get excited about in the future. That's an opinion I share with a lot of league scouts and people who follow prospects very closely. Maybe yours is different, and that's fine.. But I stick to my opinion. It's going to be hard to get Parise and Suter here (either one, let alone both). All these ideas you're throwing out are great, sure they would be awesome if they happened. But will they?.. Probably not. P.S. I'n not sure what poll you are referring to.

Certainly, Parise makes any team better. He's an elite player, even beyond the numbers he puts up. But one player won't make the difference for this team. It's not that simple, especially not in the long term.

Real talk. Agreed. It's hard to be realistic without seeming pessimistic in this situation because all anybody is saying is Parise and Suter sign then get a couple more guys, Nyquist comes up and tears it up and bam.. Wings are a dynasty again... Yeah... Ok.

Getting Parise and Suter = pipedream

Adding one single top 6 forward is not suddenly going to make us a cup team. With all do respect, that's just absurd. I'm not pessimistic, I'm realistic. It's not like I don't want the Wings to win now but the reality is this: Declining on ice product/aging core of players + average prospect pool = time to rebuild soon. That's how it works in every pro sport. At least some variation of it.

Good to see there are still some knowledgeable hockey fans out there that realize the team is aging and declining. We're going to have to rebuild in 2 or 3 years when Datsyuk and Zetterberg aren't producing much anymore and Lids is gone. Dislike my comments all you want but it's the reality and I'm glad to see I'm not the only fan who isn't afraid to be realistic. My mistake. And yeah.. Those would be fantastic additions but you actually have to get them. Getting them all is close to impossible, getting two is unlikely and getting even one is going to be no easy task especially if we're talking Suter. He's going to have a ton of teams after him.

Where and how did you design these?

Yeah I can't possibly see him settling for so little. Especially because your opinion and my opinion of the roster are different. You see a killer roster, a see a roster that will have to claw to make the playoffs next year let alone contend for a cup. We just have too many old players and a lack of stellar NHL ready prospects with which to replace them like we did last time around. We still have a couple years of possible contention but in 2-3 years we're going to drop out of contention and we're going to have to rebuild through the draft.

Why the hell would Zach Parise take 6.5 Million?? He makes 6 Million right now and that was generous of him to take that little. He's an elite talent and this FA class is thin at best. To think he won't get at least 7 is crazy.

First of all, love the name/picture. Tombstone.. Great movie. Secondly, I think he'll get a 5-6 year deal with 7-8 Million throughout. He'll be 34 at the end of his new deal if he signs a six year contract.. No need to front load it, especially for teams who will have a lot of cap space in the years to come.

Parise and Suter will not take 6.5. It just won't happen.

Problem with this is that you're assuming Parise takes a million dollars less per year just to come here. I don't see that happening. And I think were Parise goes, Suter goes. That's the ***** of it; and we know Kenny Holland won't pony up the dough that other teams will.