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So let's start with the UFAs: Daniel Cleary (let go - 1.5M) Erik Cole (let go - $4M) Marek Zidlicky (let go - $3M) Jonas Gustavsson (let go - 1.85M) This puts us at a cap space of $10.5M. Bring back all minor UFA/RFA's: Mitch Callahan Nick Jensen Louis-Marc Aubry Jared Coreau Tom McCollum Andy Miele Kevin Porter NHL RFAs: Brendan Smith (2-years, $2.5M/year = +$1.25M) Gustav Nyquist (1-year, $1.5M/year = +$0.5M) Tomas Jurco (1-year, $1.5M/year = +$0.75M) Joakim Andersson (let go, saving 0.75M) Teemu Pukkinen (2-years, $1.25M/year = +$0.5M) Landon Ferraro (2-years, $1.25M/year = +$0.75M) This leaves the team with roughly $7.25M in cap space. So we're looking at a loose forward lineup of: Abdelkader - Datsyuk - Zetterberg Miller - Glendening - Ferraro How do you fulfill the other two lines? I think you have to give a long look to Tatar, Nyquist, Sheahan, Pulkkinen, Mantha, and Helm. I'm moving Weiss to the first team that offers to absorb his contract. Kronwall - ? DeKeyser - Quincey Ericsson - Smith You have to consider Marchenko and Ouellet for a spot too. Maybe move Ericsson and his salary ($4.25M)? Let's say both Weiss and Ericsson are moved (getting nothing in return but spare minor league parts and cap space). That gives the team $16.5M in space. My two targets are Arizona/Chicago C Antoine Vermette and Washington D Mike Green. 2-years, $5.5M/year for Vermette and 5-years, $6M/year for Mike Green. So we end up with: Abdelkader - Datsyuk - Zetterberg Nyquist - Vermette - Tatar Sheahan - Helm - Pulkkinen Miller - Glendening - Ferraro Callahan - Jurco Kronwall - Green DeKeyser - Quincey Smith - Marchenko Kindl Mrazek ? ... what's that, you say? Yep, with $5M in cap space, I'm offering Ottawa G Andrew Hammond a $3M deal to play 1-year here splitting 50-50 with Mrazek, giving him the chance to springboard a 40-start season into a long-term contract. That's a 400% increase in his current salary. So where does Howard go? My goal is to offer him and a player like Jurco-Pulkkinen-Sproul for a true #1 PWF or DEF. What teams need a goalie? Buffalo, Florida (if Luongo retires), Dallas, Edmonton, Arizona, and San Jose, in my opinion. And with there only being one "true" #1 Goalie in FA (Niemi) I think there could be quite a bit of interest. My most realistic top target: Joe Thornton. Of course, his contract is an average value of $6.75M and, with trading Howard ($5.25M), the Red Wings have $0.50M in room or so based on conservative projections here. I'm offering D Joe Hicketts / F Tomas Nosek / mid-round draft picks if necessary. Nothing more, not with Joe going head-to-head against their front office so much. So my final roster... Abdelkader - Datsyuk - Zetterberg Nyquist - Thornton - Tatar Sheahan - Vermette - Helm Miler - Glendening - Ferraro Jurco - Callahan Kronwall - Green DeKeyser - Quincey Smith - Marchenko Kindl Mrazek Hammond And we keep Pulkkinen, Larkin, Mantha, Ouellet, Sproul, Athanasiou... Thoughts?

Just tweeted a big F U to NHL Player Safety... Where's Palat's suspension?! To the head, INTO THE BOARDS, and left his feet. https://gfycat.com/DeliriousPortlyCassowary Left his feet WELL before the hit, MUCH earlier than Kronwall's.

SPEARING a guy AWAY FROM THE PLAY didn't even garner a suspension last year, but a borderline hit near the puck and you SUSPEND the player for game 7?! Seriously, a bad hit at full speed on the guy carrying the puck is worse than jabbing your stick into a guy's balls behind the play? F the NHL and their inconsistent rulings. This is so bad it is mind-boggling.

No boarding penalty on Stamkos, no tripping right in front of the goalie/referee after the little whiner tried to get some payback after he was checked down, but THAT was interference? Come on. They both skated to the same spot and got tangled up.

fixed

Yeah, it seems nobody knows how Staten Island became a "borough" of NYC. LOL

That is correct. Technically, Manhattan is an island as well, hence why you have to take the tunnels, bridges, or ferries over. Go North and you find yourself in the Bronx, further north into Westchester County, and then into CT. Go South and you hit Brooklyn. West would lead you to Staten Island (GTA III, for those of you gamers). Go East and you hit Queens, then Nassau/Suffolk County, which is considered "Long Island". The boroughs of NYC are DEFINITELY unique - I dispatch elevator technicians throughout the region and it's always funny how someone who lives/grew up in a particular borough talks badly about the people of the other areas. Manhattanites are the demanding, rude people. Bronxites are the tough, old ghetto folk. Brooklynites are the wannabe gangsters. Queenies are the boring, sissified people. Staten Islanders aren't true NYC folk. Bronx has a bunch of shopping areas/hospitals. Manhattan has a bunch of hotels/corporate buildings. Brooklyn has a bunch of churches/housing complexes. Queens has a giant-ass airport. Staten Island has nobody-cares-what's-on-that-island. These are true stereotypes lol.

Very good article. Insightful, yet well-written. I like how he was modest and human, showing he too is not some robotic goon without feelings or a brain.

LOL This was genuinely awesome!

Yep. 42 seconds. Or 46. Whenever the "chorus" started. I don't even want to scroll back up to verify the exact time...

LOL! Yeah, that would be me, too. Seems like I only go to see losses and injuries. So, I decided to stay home.

Oh I agree 100%. I just feel Nyquist - Zetterberg - Franzen makes a really good second line. I think grabbing a top RW and going with Tats/Abdelkader - Datsyuk - Scoring RW best way to address the team's issues. I was trying to address the concerns of those that stated we need a new #2 Center to make up for the injuries to Z and D. Nick Foligno might be a good target. Young, UFA at the end of the year..

From what I understand, Legwand is playing the wing on the first line. Also, what do you all think of the list of centers that are going to be UFA's at the end of the year (the rentals you usually see moved at the deadline/in-season)? Vermette seems to be the only viable option that would be moved. You don't usually see teams in a playoff position trading away their top-6 talent. Weiss+Prospect+Pick? Does it cost you an additional NHL player too? Helm, Kindl, etc.? Do they want a defensive prospect? I don't think he's signing an extension to stay out there. It's way far from home (Quebec City), the team is NOT trending upwards, and he's 32-years-old- he's not getting many more chances to play for a Stanley Cup or Team Canada. Flights are $300 round-trip from Detroit to home and back, his family can drive down for the weekend, etc. etc. Short of going to Montreal, I don't see another team that is trending upward and still has star players like Detroit. Come here, be the #2 center, and make a huge push to win a Cup. Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Franzen Tatar - Vermette - Nyquist Helm - Sheahan - Abdelkader Miller - Glendening - Callahan Andersson - Cleary Send Jurco down to Grand Rapids. Something's not clicking this year and I want him to get better, not float about at average. Call up Callahan, he's really having an outstanding year. Kronwall - Ericsson Smith - DeKeyser Quincey - Ouellet Lashoff Grand Rapids doesn't change too, too much. Pulkkinen - Nosek (healthy) - Jurco Hoggan - Athanasiou - Campbell Jensen - Marchenko Backman - Paetsch Evans - Sproul Does it cost you Jurco to get a top-4 Defensemen? + Kindl, Ferraro, or a pick? Sigh. I'm glad I'm not the GM.

Off topic... my best friend is color blind. My friend's blue neon? Yeah, it was purple. Or, as he tells us now, Amethyst.. since that was on the title.

Let's take a look at pending free agent centers (typically the players you get in trades without selling the farm - ie. what it would cost to get ROR): Brad Richards - Chicago's not giving him up because he's signed to a stupid cheap contract. Shawn Horcoff - Not having a great season statistically or even in the eye test. More like a third-line guy. Jarret Stoll - He is good on the PK along with Anze Kopitar and the Kings may not have room to re-sign him. Not a top-6 center, though. Dan Briere - Age issue again. I don't believe he's playing center now anyway, I think he's on the wing? Olli Jokinen - Along with the next three players, he's an eldersman on the Predators top-6. He's also old as ish and I don't think he's the guy we need. Derek Roy - I think he's rather overrated, but what do I know. He's got 500+ career points, but only has two goals this year I believe? Matt Cullen - He's been banged up, but he's traditionally been a top-6 center. Off my radar, personally. 38-years-old. Mike Fisher - coming off Achilles' injury, he's not doing anything for us this year. Antoine Vermette - Having a down year in Arizona, but I think that has more to do with the players around him. I'd target him. Mike Ribeiro - I think he's still got what it takes to make a difference day in and day out. I would definitely want him for my 2nd line. Then, though, we go back to what I said before - what's the opportunity cost? What does it cost the Red Wings to get the Predators' top center when they're the #1 ranked team in the West right now? Vermette should be significantly cheaper, given how poorly Arizona (yuck) is playing right now. But what's the verdict - what would it take?

Always Franzen. People aren't lining up to give away 2nd line centers, though. And we had one, in Legwand, and it didn't work. And it cost the team one of it's more highly-thought of prospects AND a pick. That's the kind of talent it's going to take to acquire another one, and there aren't really any 2nd line centers as UFA's at the end of this year (the typical player you can get in a trade in the middle of the season). And to think, Legwand is playing top line minutes with the Senators and also playing on their power play... hmm... they're equal to the Red Wings anyway, at least looking at points (3 points behind with 2 fewer games played).

The Red Wings have some good prospects graduating over the next two years. Jurco, Mantha, Sproul, and Ouellet all will factor into the decision about whom to acquire and whom to move. I like the idea of separating Zetterberg and Datsyuk when they're not on the power play. ? - Datsyuk - ? ? - Zetterberg - ? ? - Sheahan - ? ? - Glendening - ? That's not bad at ALL down the middle. Let's fill in the pieces around them: ? - Datsyuk - ? Nyquist - Zetterberg - Franzen Jurco - Sheahan - ? Miller - Glendening - ? ? ? Still looking at having to place Helm, Mantha, Tatar, Pulkkinen, and Abdelkader. Do you fill in another with a trade/free agent? Defense... Kronwall - ? Ericsson - DeKeyser ? - ? ? Still looking at having to place Smith, Ouellet, Quincey, Lashoff, and Sproul. Not including free agents/trades. What does it cost the Red Wings to grab Mike Green? He's going to be a UFA after this year and the Capitals are strapped down on DEF with some high-priced contracts already. They also have some formidable defensemen in the pipeline. Helm + Pulkkinen + ? = Green? Does it even cost THAT much? The Red Wings would have to ask the Capitals to eat 28-30% of his salary, though, to make it work. Does that cost an additional pick? Prospect? Player? What does it cost as far as putting a block in front of the people that are coming up the pipeline? Do you trade them, too? There's a lot more that goes into acquiring players than simple A for B. There's opportunity cost AND salary cost.

I honestly thought it was a bad hit live. So I understand the Rangers being upset. I think they'd agree that it was a solid hit after seeing the replay, though.

^^ I think you're on to something there... Anyway, I always thought that a good goalie mask theme would be Thor. Thor was a God of confidence and a protector. Trust, strength, and defense. Sounds like attributes I'd want my goalie to have. Or Nike, the Winged Goddess of Victory. How cool would a Red-Winged concept of Nike be?

Las Vegas Stampede (Wild Horses) Las Vegas Thunderbirds (Nellis AFB) Las Vegas Bombers (Atomic Detonations) Las Vegas Wagers (Gambling) Las Vegas Flush (Gambling) Las Vegas Mobsters (Mob Museum) Las Vegas Shooters (Gambling) Las Vegas Red Foxes (Too close to Coyotes, I'd think) I give up. This is dumb, Las Vegas doesn't need nor want an NHL team. Most people that frequent the city are tourists and transplants, anyway.

Yes, it's because he elected to go to college still after signing an ELC. So the guy never truly ever played for the Blackhawks, that's why they get a pick back. And instead of thinking about it in current terms, think about it this way: If your first round draft pick doesn't sign and plays college hockey for four years, we'll give you a second round pick back... five years later. Doesn't sound so glorious now, does it?

If another team claims him on waivers, doesn't he have to be placed on their active NHL roster? Or can you claim someone and assign them to the AHL?

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have shared their NHL journey ever since they first took the ice together for the Chicago Blackhawks and combined their talents to produce a goal on Oct. 10, 2007. It marked the beginning of their success together. The ending is still nowhere in sight. Kane and Toews continued to align their NHL careers Wednesday by both agreeing to eight-year contract extensions which a source says are for $10.5 million per year, keeping them Blackhawks through the 2022-23 season. Their arrival in 2007 represented hope for an Original Six organization which had fallen on hard times for nearly a decade. They haven't disappointed since. Over the past seven seasons, Kane and Toews have played in nearly 500 regular-season games together. After four consecutive sub-.500 seasons prior to their rookie season, the Blackhawks have since gone 309-163-68 with them. The two players have combined for 933 regular-season points, including 375 goals. As good as they've been in the regular season, they've been even more clutch when it's mattered most in the playoffs. They returned the Blackhawks to the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2009 after five seasons of failing to do so and immediately helped them to the Western Conference finals. A year later, they both raised their first Stanley Cup and ended the franchise's 49-year championship drought. They've since led the Blackhawks to a second Stanley Cup and made them a perennial contender. From Day 1, they have accomplished it all together and never looked to outshine or outdo the other. While they already have money and fame, they could have even more. All it would have taken is one slightly larger ego, and they may have never agreed to identical five-year, $31.5 million contract extensions the first time around and certainly not their newest contracts. Kane and Toews are being paid like superstars, but they could have certainly asked for more and would have had their share of more significant offers to choose from if they had waited to go onto the free market after next season. They left money on the table, allowing the Blackhawks some cap flexibility. The Blackhawks may have to eventually let some core pieces go and turn to their prospects who are NHL ready, but they should be Stanley Cup contenders for the foreseeable future. The Blackhawks' main objective with that additional money will be re-signing Brandon Saad to a new contract. Saad will be a restricted free agent after next season, and there has to be some fear another team will come along with an offer sheet if he's allowed to get that far. Considering he's 21, has shown improvement in each of his first two seasons and the cap is expected to rise, Saad could fetch somewhere between $4-7 million a season. Kane and Toews permitted their careers to be harmonious, realizing their opportunity in Chicago is rare and can ultimately elevate them to a special place in NHL history. Kane, at 25 years old, and Toews, at 26, didn't attach themselves together through their athletic primes and into their 30s to make a run at just one or two more Stanley Cups in Chicago. They're out to deliver to the Blackhawks what Michael Jordan once bestowed upon the Chicago Bulls. Like Jordan, to honor Kane's and Toews' shared success and shared commitment to the Blackhawks, the organization will undoubtedly unveil matching statues of them outside the United Center whenever they decide to retire. It'll be a fitting end to their NHL journey, as they'll have a permanent place on Madison together side by side. http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/blackhawks/post/_/id/4684118/kane-toews-have-hawks-positioned-well ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wow! Kane is NOT worth $10.5M/yr... He better be thanking Toews for getting him this deal!

Well, you're thinking about this the wong way... think of it as a +2/+1 thing. Win in regulation and you get two points over your opponent... OT = 1.