Richdg

Being in the top 53% isn't good enough. I don't expect to win a cup every year. But we should be in the position to win. We are not.

Correct and I wasn't clear in my statement. I don't expect any big outside the organization moves. 1 max if any at all. Callahan isn't a NHL caliber player. he has been through waivers 2 years now and no one takes him. He is just a little too small little too slow, and not enough skill. Good AHL guy but that is it. When we need checkers it will be Lil Bert and Nastisiak that take those roles. Who was Holland when h was named GM? He was next in line. same with Blashill. Until you look and try you don't know.

In other words you want nothing to happen. Which by the way is what I expect to happen. Nothing.

No one is going to take Howard and not have us retain a large part of his salary. Ericsson has a full NO TRADE CLAUSE. He isn't going anywhere. Our O dropped big time this year from last. What players are responsable for it? Z, datsyuk, Nyquist, and tatar. 1 is gone, 1 will continue to decline the other 2 are our best trade pieces. Datsyuk's contract isn't going to be moved unless Holland is forced to do so-which could happen. Now some of the others. Lucic got overpaid by Boston after he scored 30 goals in 1 season. he hasn't come close since then. He is typically around 20. Guys that score 20 goals per season don't get paid 6 million + per year. A 5 yr 25 million deal is close to market value for him. Same with Backes. STL is cap tight. They have several good young players they need to pay. backes turns 32 this summer. Again a 4 year 22 million deal for him is market value. As for trading for any good Dman, you have to give to get. We have up to 5 pieces we can use to make that happen: Nyquist, tatar, jensen, Smith, and Pulk. Do all have to go in the same move? No. There are 4 Dmen i would target: trouba, Faulk, Shattenkirk, and Fowler. We should be able to get one of them with that potential package.

If my math is correct and I can only use the info out there, is it possible to add backes, Lucic, Martin, and trouba in one off season? Yes it is. Try this lineup for the 2016 season with cap hits. Abby 4.25-Larkin .925-Backes 5.5 Lucic 5-AA .630-Mantha .865 Jurco .9-Z 6.1-Svechnikov-.925 Martin 2-Sheahan 2-Glendening .63 Miller 1 Dekeyser 5.5-Trouba 4 Kronwall 4.75-Marchenko 1 Ericsson 4.25-Green 6 Oullett .72-Sproul .75 Mrazek 3 Howard 5.3 Dead money for Datsyuk+Weiss 8.6 million. Cap is 74.97 million. We have a cap of: 74.60. We then have Nyquist, Tatar, Smith, and Pulk to put a package together to trade for Trouba. Summer of 2017 if we move Kronwall we would then have 15.75 to resign our guys and sign another big name to help the blueline and replace Kornwall.

One area that I will give some credit to Holland for is managing the cap. He has done a fairly good job to date. Yes it could blow up in his face if Z retires anytime soon and we do have some contracts that are hard to move. But each of the next 5 summers we will have enough space to resign our own players and add a few pieces. This year the cap is 71.4 million. The NHLPA has a clause in the CBA that they can activate every year that requires a minimum 5% cap increase. So next year the cap will be a min. of 74.97 million. for each following year the caps will be: 78.72, 82.65, and 86.78 mil. That gets us through the 2019/2020 season. For this summer after our RFA's are resigned will could have as much as 16.4 mill. to spend if we move out Tatar, Nyquist, Pulk, and Smith. Those 4 are our trade pieces to find a top pair Dman. then add 2-3 F's that bring size, toughness and scoring. Next summer we should have about 11 mil. to spend when Datsyuk's contract ends and the cap increase. That is also when Kronwall's contact changes from a full NTC to a limited one where he could be moved. Moving him would give us up to 14.5 mill to spend next summer. Summer of 2018 we have another cap increase and Green can go. That would give us almost 10 mil to spend. Summer of 2019 another cap increase, Howard's deal ends, and now we can buy out Ericsson. That gives us just over 12 mil. to spend. Summer 2020 we should have about 14 million to spend. Cap increase+buyout Z, and if done right one of the contracts for a UFA from this summer. Each summer we should have enough money to resign our own player(s) and maybe add 1 major piece via UFA or trade.

The problems mostly are old ones. For years we have been too small, not fast enough, and not physical enough. Now we have added our older players are dropping off faster than the youth can develop. Which was the very first post I made on this very forum. We have to get faster. Many believe we have speed or are a fast team. We are not. We have a handful of very fast guys: AA, Larkin, Helm, and Dekeyser. But the rest of the team is average speed at best. We are getting bigger, which is good. But most are not physical. Yes having more size and strength will help playing in the dirty areas of the ice. Watching Nyquist set up on our PP as the middle man in the 1-3-1 and getting knocked over all game long is sad. That is the position that Mantha is the most dangerous and he will not get knocked over. But we need more toughness. Only Abby has that atm. But he is very average at it. We need 2-3 more guys that can do whatever needs to be done. The D overall is a mess. 3 old expensive guys that are hard to move-all have dropped off over the last 2-3 years in a major way. To many injuries, limited skill to begin with, and guys that never where as good as many thought. But for now we are in fact stuck with them.

We moved because of travel. As bad as we are playing vs the EC the past couple of years, we would be even worse vs the west. The best teams are all WC teams. But some of the worst teams are there as well. Overall if we were out west IMHO we don't make the PO's. Ana, SJ, LA, Dal, Chi, Stl, and Nash are all better than we are atm. Min and us would have been fighting for the last spot.

We are going to be lucky to win 1 game in this series. The sooner everyone excepts the fact we are a below average team to better. In fact that is the exect thing I want Holland to see. We need some serious changes. The only way that is going to happen is for someone in power to agree with it, say it out loud, and then act on it. Otherwise it will remain the same.

You are falling to realize that with the vets we are not going to win. Period. It is that simple. The ONLY chance we have to to give the young hungry guys a shot. Maybe we catch lightening in a bottle. Right now we are just using broken bottles.

Nothing else that I can add other than, the weather is great! Go outside and enjoy all that Michigan has to offer! RW's are toast. Baring MAJOR changes there will not be a 26th year. Some of us are old enough to remember the Dead Wings. This is starting to look like that again. Yes things are that bad and getting worse.

Coached longer than many on this forum have been alive-over 20 years at all levels in many different sports. But that isn't the point. You are right, we are not supposed to win, we finished 8th, and we are not going to win the SC. So why not play the youth and develop them instead of playing old and broken down playrs that are not going to be here next year? Bench Richards, Helm, Andersson, etc.... Play Mantha, Jurco, Pulks and anyone else that has a chance of helping us down the road. By playing those guys we learn what we have. Maybe they make it maybe they fail. But now the team knows what it has going forward. Right now none of us know if Jurco, mantha, Pulk etc... are going to make it. They only way to find out is to play them. So now these guys are on the bench or in the minors and next fall when we have to count on them we don't know if they can produce.

WE. LOST. Close doesn't count. We lost to wounded team missing their 2 best players.

Somewhere there is a joke or 2 about Semin, hands, holding his own, rolling around.........

Not "fighting". Can we even use that word here? That would be playing fast and loose with the definition.......

Yes. he is their best defenseman.

I am confused by something. Do we not make changes or do we change to much? In some threads people complain about the lines, in other threads its the lines changing to much, etc... This has been going on for many years and with 2 different coaches. Is this on the coaches or is it being dictated from the GM?

Seven pages of fans trying to talk themselves into thinking we have a chance. We don't. TB was faster and more physical then we were, they are missing their 2 best players, and they still won.

last nights game was a classic example of what we lack as a team and were we need to improve. Yes we started out ok. we were even or better than TB for the first 25-30 mins. Then we went downhill fast. Did Z, datsyuk, Nyquist, and Tatar even play in the game? Never heard their names mentioned other than when Tatar was about to get body slammed by Coburn. We were pushed around and treated roughly and other than Abby and DD-when he had no other choice, NO ONE ANSWERED! Both int. the guys in the studio talked about needing to get someone in front of the net to pick up the rebounds and score. Of course they guy that could be doing that was sent down to GR "due to defensive issues". But it was Helm that was responsable for 2 of TB goals. TB out skated us as well. This is a team that was missing their best F and best Dman. They still won, still out muscled us, and out skated us.

Better on O yes but not in his own end which is more important for a Defense-man.

During the first int. the studio crew on FSD talked about the RW's need to find a way to work into the high traffic areas in front of Bishop. Just wondering whom the RW's have that could do that? Answer: He is in GR tonight.

If Holland is able to resign him for 5 mil or less he deserves a raise!

Tor just resigned Reilly a 22 year old Dman to a 6 year/30 million contract. He was a RFA. Does anyone still doubt that Dekeyser will be in the 6 million per year range?

he needs to be kept at all cots. He will have at least an A on his jersey soon-maybe next year. Could also wear the C when Z retires.

Now I am just a fan. So my opinion and 2 bucks can buy me a coke somewhere. But how about a more informed opinion? Would Datsyuk qualify as a more informed opinion? he said he likes playing with Mantha on his line. Has he ever said that about helm? Nyquist? tatar? Andersson? The only other guy he went public for in support was Abby.