DickieDunn

Marty Lapointe got paid $4 mil, Holland let him go. Just because a player can get X amount ofiney doesn't mean it's smart to give him that much.

Except the contracts aren't just over payments for this year, they're for the next 4+ years. And who knows how many more Krazy Uncle Kenny will hand out before by es finally done.

Because those players being overpaid between 500 and 800k add up to enough money for an upgrade which they can't afford now.

He might get 50 points by the 2018 all Star game

Ott isn't that guy any more. If you're expecting that, you're going good to be disappointed. He doesn't fight, doesn't hit as much, and doesn't score any more. I don't even think he'll be on the roster by mid season of he makes it out of camp barring other injuries.

Ott hasn't been that guy in a couple years

AA is probably going to be a 20 goal 45 point player. A #2 D is lore valuable than that

Anything better than what they have now would be am improvement. They don't just need a Subban or Trouba. A physical winger capable being a legit top 6 forward, an upgrade over Smith/Quincey. Hell, if he didn't make trades but made room for the prospects that are too good to give up I'd be OK with that. The problem is he won't make trades or leave room for them. Like I said in another thread earlier, a team with Mantha and AA instead of Helm and either Vanek or Nielsen isn't likely to be that much worse, and if they take a step up, it might be better.

It's a self proving argument. Holland would make a trade if available therefore nothing is available because he hasn't made a trade. Just ignore all the trades every other team has made.

The rationale is evidence. Trades have been made, Holland is on record saying he doesn't want to trade the top prospects. He has made a ridiculously low number of trades compared to even the conservative teams. Two years ago he wouldn't consider trading Mantha but won't give him a legit shot at making the roster because he had to sign guys like Vanek and Helm. It's like he's stuck between when they were contenders and needed immediate help and knowing they have no real shot short term and need to plan for 5 years down the road and he's trying to do both and screwing it up both ways.

Excuses. There are trades to be made that would improve the team. It doesn't have to be for a Subban. Anything that makes the team better will do. Considering Holland has made half the trades anyone else has the last several years than NJ and even fewer than the average team has, and the fact that the team has been slipping for the last 5 years while Holland has kept doing the same thing that doesn't work anymore, something needs to change. Either Holland needs to find a way to be more active and be willing to move roster players, or they need to make a change at GM.

They all suck. One of them looks like an NHL 97 screen shot

He helped get Chelios

I think Karlsson's +/- is as much a factor of playing on crappie teams than anything against him

Won't happen. Holland won't trade a regular in the lineup and the prospects and guys like Jurco aren't enough

As long as the coke rumors are overblown, yes

Mantha, Dekeyser because of the ridiculous expectations some have, all of the current young D.

Holland would have given him an extra year and about $1.5 mil more a season

I don't understand why Jarnkrok agreed to that deal.

Ericsson was a gamble that didn't pay off. So was Weiss. I didn't dislike either, although I would have preferred shorter deals. Modano was signed to be a third line center, came into camp out of shape thrn had a freak injury. If he hadn't had his tendon sliced he might have made a difference in the playoffs that year. I don't fault him for those contracts or signing Franzen when Hossa was dragging his feet. Howard is well worth his deal if he's on his fame, but unfortunately he's a mental midget and a couple bad games send him into a three eek spiral. It's the deals Holland has handed out the last two years that are really bad. Abdelkader shows little offensive upside the first few years of his career, manages 20 goals riding shotgun fir Datsyuk and is handed a seven year deal at over $4 mil a season. Helm doesn't even get 20 and is gifted almost as much for 5 years. Glendening is a dime a dozen player and Holland can't even risk losing him so he gets 4 years. Nielsen gets a deal that's going to bite the team in the ass in 3 or 4 years.

With LTIR they're going to be barely under the cap, because they over pay mediocre players.

If they were gearing up for a legit run at the Cup I wouldn't care, but they're not. The Streak has become more important than winning it all, that's a loser mentality.

Nielsen is a second line center when we needed a top line center. Vanek is coming off his worst full season of his career. They don't make the team a contender. Helm is a checking player who has been treated like a 20+ goal guy for two years. His contract doesn't help the team win the Cup. I don't want to be the late 90s Blackhawks or early 00s Blues doing whatever it takes to keep a playoff streak alive at the cost of extending the time between being a real contender.

After LTIR they should be OK, but we went from plenty of cap room to nothing with only overpaid middling players to show for it, other than Nielsen who is a second line center apparently expected to suddenly be a top line guy.

Glendening and Helm will be in their mid to late 30s and probably ineffective by the time this team is likely to be a contender again best case scenario. I put Vanek on that roster because it was a one year deal, which I like a hell of a lot better than 6 years for a 32 year old second line center or overpaying and over extending a checking line player. Either way, in what world do you think that Holland would demote any of them regardless if how well rookies play in camp? We're going to hear the same tired lines about numbers and depth and over ripe.