FlashyG

I'd say there is almost no chance Sheahan is on the Wings roster next season, He'll be in GR barring injuries. I also think you might have overvalued a few of those re-signed players. Before any FA signees the line-up would probably look like this. Forwards Datsyuk (6.7) Zetterberg (6) Franzen (3.9) Filppula (3) Cleary (2.8) Bertuzzi (2) Helm (1.7) Eaves (1.2) Abdelkader (1.2) Homer (1) Nyquist (0.8) Miller (0.8) Mursak (0.5) Emmerton (0.5) appx. 32.1 Million in forwards (some to be sent to GR or released to make roster room) Defence Lidstrom (6) Kronwall (4.75) Quincey (3.25) Ericsson (3.25) White (2.8) Kindl (0.8) Smith (0.8) 21.7 million on defence Goalies Howard (2.25) MacDonald (0.5) 2.75 in Goalies Total payroll of 56.55 million dollars approximately. Even at the current salary cap of 64 million we could afford a big ticket FA forward to upgrade on Hudler and a back-up goalie to upgrade on MacDonald. If the cap goes up we can afford even more, and either send guys through waivers to the minors or work a trade to open up roster spots.

The coach can hardly complain about Holmstrom since he's advocating bringing him back as well. Personally I trust that Babcock and Holland know more about the players on their roster than any of us posting about them on the web. As long as it doesn't prevent them from signing one of the big ticket FA's and it helps keep Lidstrom around another year I'm fine with Homer being brought back. I just don't want to see him on the first line anymore.

Could we have used more goals from the top 6?...sure, but it isn't why we lost. You need more than your top 2 lines to win a playoff series as Nashville showed us. They got over 50% of their scoring from their bottom 6 The Wings scored 248 goals this year 132 came from the top 6 for 53%.of their goals the defence contributed 49 for 20% the bottom 6 kicked in 67 for 27% In the playoffs The top 6 accounted for 67% of scoring The defence 11% and the bottom 6 contributed 22% .Nashville's bottom 6 shredded our bottom 6 both offensively and defensively, also the scoring from our defence disappeared. That is the reason we lost the series.

The top 2 lines accounted for 67% of our goals in the Nashville series. The bottom 6 and defence were why we lost that series.

Jurco had an unbelievable final to the QMJHL playoffs. In a 4 game sweep he has 5 goals, 5 assists, 10 pts, and is +11.

Easy there...I was actually agreeing with you. Datsyuk....I know its a small issue, but he is our best forward, is it too much to ask to spell his name right. As far as the playoff series goes, our top lines weren't the problem. We scored 9 goals total , 6 of them came from the top 6 , 2 came from the bottom 6 and 1 from the defence. Our 3rd line was -5 and provided no goals at all. With Helm in the line-up our 3rd and 4th lines get better, with Eaves in the lineup as well we don't need to use Datsyuk or Zetterberg as penalty killers and they are fresh to score more at even strength. Don't underestimate the value of depth.

I agree, when you compare the 2 against one another its hard to consider Wideman the better player overall. I think he fits the Red Wings better than Suter though, and I think we're more likely to sign him especially considering Suter probably doesn't want to face his former team as many times as he would with the Wings.

I probably would too depending on salary. We need a RH shot badly on the back end. Suter, Lidstrom, Kronwall, Ericsson and Quincey all prefer to play on the same side of the ice. Wideman and Suter put up the exact same amount of pts this year, but Wideman scored more goals, plays the side of the ice we want and will likely sign for less money.

He said there were 9 guys you could put your money on to "make it" in the next 1 to 4 years. You said you'd take that bet and changed it to "fewer than 2" of those 9 guys would be stars. I highly doubt he expected all 9 prospects to turn into NHL stars. Lidstrom is the only star that needs to be replaced, in 1 to 4 years Datsyuk and Zetterberg will likely still be playing . They may not be as big of stars then but not every team has that kind of talent anyways. If 9 of our current prospects are on our roster and 1 turns into a star player we will be in even better shape than we are right now. As far as FA's after Suter and Parise, I like the idea of a RH defenceman if Lidstrom doesn't come back, otherwise I'm not sure there is a roster spot for one. Upfront I think we need a goal scorer who can play with Datsyuk, I don't care if he's gritty, as long as he can score. We could use a little bit of grit on the 4th line but again roster space may be an issue if Hudler is re-signed. Lastly we need a back-up goalie better than Conklin, especially with MacDonald having back issues.

Way to go out on a limb there. He said they'd make it not become Datsyuk or Zetterberg.

So 8th overall isn't competitive? 102 pts sucks? Should Chicago, San Jose, Vancouver and Pittsburgh start shipping out their stars too? they lost in the 1st round too. You rebuild when your team can no longer compete, the Wings are a free agent signing and/or a few better playoff match-ups from being championship team again. Datsyuk isn't some run of the mill 33 year old, he's among the best players in the NHL. The closest player in calibre to him that I can remember getting traded was Peter Forsberg (and he wasn't traded by the team he starred with). He returned Scotty Upshall and Ryan Parent, neither of which are still playing with Philadelphia.

You'd think the fact that Sweden is using him on their World Championship roster over several NHL players that he's one of the better prospects out there. He's also dominating the faceoff circle over there winning over 60% of his draws. That would be a nice addition to the Wings puck possession style of hockey. As far as the Wings ability to build internally through the draft, show me a team with more players on their roster they drafted and developed. Nashville might be the only one who compares and I believe they are tied.

you still didn't answer my question. Which championship teams in any sport have traded away the players that made them great, and improved without any years of mediocrity in between? Who knows what Datsyuk will want salary wise in 2 years, and who knows what the roster will look like then. The Wings are still very much competitive and Datsyuk is the best player on their team, just because he's aging isn't a reason to trade him.

I wouldn't say the Wings have been on a slide. They've finished with 102, 104 and 102 pts in those 3 years and this year being their worst of the 3 they finished 8th in the entire league. They haven't had much success in the playoffs but in the post lockout NHL the best you can ask for is to make the playoffs every year and anything can happen. Just look at the 2 teams in the WCF. I think the Wings Management team is always looking several years ahead, leaving enough cap room to add Free Agents and also for salary increases for the current roster. I also believe that while the Cup is always the goal, management probably doesn't consider every year they don't win it as a failure.

Datsyuk isn't a FA next year. He's signed through 2013-2014. Flip could be moved if the right deal comes along but a Datsyuk trade is completely out of the question. Moving your stars (aging or otherwise) for picks and prospects causes you to become a bottom dweller, letting good players play until they retire hasn't hurt the Wings in 20+ years. I believe the saying is "if it ain't broke don't fix it" What championship teams have traded away the players that made them great, and then improved without a few years of mediocrity in between?

I'd definitely add Jarnkrok to that list. He's the best prospect we have IMO. And the Wings don't rebuild, they reload.

The only thing nasty about Rick Nash is his cap hit.

We can throw in Emmerton or Mursak as well.

With Vlasic done for the tournament Quincey should see a bunch of ice time now too. Tomorrow he's starting despite having just gotten to Finland.

Steve Yzerman was the exception not the rule and he only took a discount for 1 year. He made 5.8 million in his 2nd last year and for his final year he took a salary of 1.25 million. Neither Datsyuk or Zetterberg will ever be traded, regardless of trade value. They'll both retire as Red Wings. Its that dedication to our veterans that created the Wings reputation as a prime FA destination.

Johan Franzen - 29g, 56pts, 60 hits Ryan Smyth - 19g, 46pts, 53 hits Dustin Penner - 7g, 17pts, 90 hits Looking at their play this year the only way I'd want to sign either Smyth or Penner is as a bottom 6 player. Franzen is a more valuable top 6 forward than either of them right now, although if Penner could return to his form from the beginning of his career I could see him moving past Franzen on the depth chart. It would depend on the salary he wants.

I can understand thinking Franzen's contract is long, but its not like he's overpaid. His cap hit is actually quite good considering the production you get for it. There is a long list of forwards who get paid more than him who produced a lot less than his 56 pts. Brooks Laich (41), Ryan Kesler (49) David Booth (30), Ville Leino (25), Derek Roy (44), Drew Stafford (50), Brad Boyes (23), Mike Cammalleri (41), Jordan Staal (50), MIke RIchards (44), Jeff Carter (34), Dustin Penner (17), Brian Rolston (24), Nathan Horton (32), Tim Connelly (36), Ryan Callahan (54), Brandon Dubinsky (34), Scott Gomez (11), Tomas Plekanec (52), Jason Blake (12), Ryan Smyth (46), Shawn Horcoff (34), Ryan Malone (48), Vinny Lecavalier (49), David Backes (54), Shayne Doan (50), Damon Langkow (30), Dany Heatley (53), Mikka Koivu (44), David Legwand (53), Mike Fisher (51), Andrew Ladd (50), Nik Antropov (35), Paul Stastny (53), and Brendan Morrow (26)

That makes even more sense, The Wings generally let even their best prospects (Datsyuk and Zetterberg) get about 2 or 3 years of development before even bringing them over for camp. 2013/2014 should also have more roster spots available giving him a better chance of making the team right away.

In Babcock's interview with Fox Sports Detroit he said that he doesn't expect any prospects but Nyquist or Smith to crack the roster next year. He acknowledged that Jarnkrok is an elite talent but said that most draftee's take about 5-7 years to develop. I think he'll start in Grand Rapids for sure but he can play his way into the line-up if he keeps improving like he has.

Not sure if this is the whole interview but its the best I could find. link