DetroitRedWings1993

Granted, but I just feel like he's started declining already. However, you bring up a very interesting point. At 29, he's not in the "slow decline" stage just yet. He should be entering his prime. He might just be the perfect "change-of-scenery" type of player. He's looked lightyears better under Hartley than he ever did under Sutter. He's a guy who can be a solid top-line, two-way D-man who logs a lot of minutes and stays consistently healthy. If he can continue improving, he might just be the guy.

"Looks OK, but if Calgary are serious about trading this guy, I'm sure Holmgren or Sather would over-pay, out-bidding Holland." Good point. If there's a player to be had at all, Holmgren and Sather will jump in and offer the sun, moon and stars for him. That's the only problem. Seems like the only players the Wings could use or are rumored to go after are targets for GM's like Holmgren and Sather who will pay any price, no matter how ridiculous. A young defenseman and a top prospect is steep for an underperforming, irresponsible defenseman in the twilight of his career with a sickening cap hit. "Like I said, Calgary can pay 35% of his cap hit under the new CBA. I think J-Bow is worth 4.2M." Yeah, but would they? We can't just force them to pay that much of his salary. Bouwmeester is being shopped for two reasons, based on the asking price I've heard. One, they want to get younger and stockpile young talent and prospects for the future. Two, his production does not coincinde with his cap hit. They probably won't want to continue paying that large a chunk of his salary, if any at all.

Oh, I agree. We need a solid, top-pairing, two-way D-man who can run the power-play and provide consistent defense and offensive production and a proven, consistent goal-scorer to help stabilize the 5-on-5 offense and get the power-play going, at least. We could use even more, but those two things are the biggest need that I see. Would love for that scorer to be a true, gritty power forward, too. Problem is, neither of those two things seem to be available now or well into the future. Of course, I don't see Holland trying very hard, either. I certainly hope there's something going on behind closed doors that we don't know about, because I've heard absolutely nothing.

Depending on how bad Datsyuk's injury is, I'd say the need for O'Reilly just opened up. The defense doomed us last night, though. Several guys out of position or commiting bad turnovers numerous times. O'Reilly may be able to help with that, to an extent. Still think he goes to either Toronto or Ottawa, but this makes things interesting.

We're not really sure. He hasn't been on the ice, and hasn't had the chance to show if he can improve or show consistency. He has the talent to. Teams looking to acquire him are doing just that: banking on his talent and work-ethic to carry him to improvement and consistency.

Re-signing him may not be that big a deal, as we have money coming off the books after this year. However, some of that money belongs to Fil and Howie, and I think both guys should be re-signed. Acquiring O'Reilly, keeping Fil, and then subsequently losing Fil in the offseason doesn't make sense. May as well have traded Fil to get O'Reilly. O'Reilly's not a rental. If we get him, he's in for the long haul. Iginla is more of a rental-type acquisition. Re-signing him at his current price would be very tough to do considering our free agent situation.

Just kicking the tires on the rumor mill to see if there's anything going on at all. Anyone who watched that game last night knows that something has to be done about the power-play. A scorer and a top-line, two-way D-man to run the power-play...our same needs as last offseason.

I'd love for this deal to go down, but I just don't think it will. All talk I've heard concerns teams in the East, and Ottawa and Toronto will go HARD after O'Reilly and have more attractive prospects, most likely. That being said, some of the deals I've seen presented: Either Franzen or Filpulla - The Avs want youth, and Franzen doesn't fit the bill. Injury-prone and inconsistent, too. Filpulla would be an attractive piece, but I'd rather keep him. He and O'Reilly are very similar and losing one for the other would be a wash, most likely. Nyquist and a first - A steep price for a guy who's relatively unproven and wants around 5 mil. a year. Considering this is a very deep draft, picks are very valuable in most rounds. Not to mention Nyquist hasn't really had a chance to earn his salt in the big leagues. Avs might do it if this is the best offer. Probably won't be, though. Tatar and a second - Not even close to enough to get the Avs to move a player with #1-center potential. Doesn't fit their demands. Adding Andersson - Decent, but not overwhelming player. Avs probably don't want a checker for a top offensive talent. Adding Sheahan - DUI incident hurts his trade value. Won't be a cornerstone of any deal. Adding Emmerton - A fourth line center for a first-line center? I think not. Adding Miller - Again, the Avs don't want spare parts for one of their best players. Would not get the job done alone. My guess? He goes to either Toronto or Ottawa. Greatest need combined with excellent prospect pools to deal from. Our talent is at enough of a premium as it is. We need a solid, top-line, two-way D-man who can run the power play, and another scorer to provide more on the PP. O'Reilly only satisfies one of those. No need to sell the farm for him, which is what it will require.