nawein

Added health of Z and Pav plus the added experience for guys like Gus, Tatar, Sheahan, Jurco, and we will be a better team next year if we go in with the exact same roster. If Boyle gets locked up, Niskanen wants too much money, Mitchell resigns, everyone else moderately young wants a long term deal, who out there do you propose could come in and be decent defensively (which Q was most of last year) and get our system right away without a learning curve? And don't say Greene, because a Greene Lashoff pair would be the slowest defensive pair in the world and get eaten alive by speed.

Is signing any one player in this years free agent class going to win us a cup? No. So what's the beef with adding a guy on a short deal to help our PP? Could he be any worse than Kindl? Let me answer that for you: NO!

They could stock our pop machines for a year.

Honestly, everyone wants us to sign a dman in free agency and if he plays like he did end of last year, there's not a ton on the market better. Those that are better want long deals. Lock up Q to play on the third pair while the kids develop and get shots isn't the worst thing that could happen. Plus, the devil you know..

Say he doesn't sign, we should throw Kindl at them.

Next year this team needs more Mattias Backman.

After the scout meetings and pre free agency team planning meetings: Holland wouldn't commit to Bert, Cleary, and Quincey being gone. According to Ted Kulfan's twitter.

If he goes for 5.5 and we don't get him I'll be just as pissed as you. But if he goes for the around 7 I think he will, then no thanks. I just think he'll get paid more than you think he'll get paid because everyone wants a top 4 right handed dman and he's the best on the market, going into his prime, coming off a career year. He's definitely worth 5.5, I just don't want us to pay a massive price tag for the guy.

I don't think anyone here is against signing a guy just entering his prime. And no doubt a team of old guys isn't going to work, but I think the issue is with the player in question. Sure there's an argument for signing Niskanen and I understand it. I would love to have him. But I don't think he's an all star number one build your d corps around him defenseman and that's what he's probably going to get paid like in a month. Basically a team if past their prime players won't win a cup, but neither will a team who has good players getting paid like great players. Not in a salary cap world.

While getting all the assists and all the fights and making all the saves. Plus coaching.

Neither could Gary Roberts. Upper body strength isn't super important anyways, it's all about the legs and core.

So a 2 year guy in Mitchell would be worse? Mitchell is better than Greene and is also a solid defensive dman. Not to mention the kids might learn something from him, where they won't learn anything from Greene. There's a reason Greene is playing less than 5 minutes a period. Not to mention we don't need another 3rd pairing defenseman.

Not sure why people want Greene. Guy just played 17 minutes in a 2ot game. Looks like his feet got stuck in molasses if you ask me. I get that he's big but he doesn't solve any real needs. Just make our back end bigger. I'd much rather take Willie Mitchell.

Fix the D by getting a solid top 4 puck mover that can man the PP and both the offense and defense improve. A lot of O is generated from the back end. Our forwards are fine, they just need the puck.

Looks to me like he left after contact. Either way it was a head shot

I follow guys like Khan, Ferraro, a couple rumors guys that aren't huge but I know don't make stuff up. Mark Easson being one. Then I follow players, the wings, the griffs, red wings prospects has an account. There's a few others I can't remember off the top of my head. Keeps me very up to date on a lot of wings and other stuff happening around the league.

So an undersized defenseman with a good shot and offensive instincts, very little physical game to speak of, mediocre stats everywhere he's played besides this year, and is decent defensively is worth 7 million a year and 4 first round picks to you? You've got to be kidding. Am I saying he won't be good, no, because I think he will be a good offensive defenseman. Am I saying a guy with his game benefited from being on big bad bruins? Absolutely. Protection from a hard forecheck helps any defenseman and not being roughed up all the time does too, especially the small ones. He may be good, he'll never be an elite defenseman in my mind because elite defenseman play like elite players at both ends of the ice. Lidstrom, Suter, Weber, those guys are elite defenseman. And there's only one I'd give up 4 first round picks and 7 million a year to have.

And if you change his ice time stats to that of your best goal scorers (21 min/game) like you did his shooting percentage and do the math, he scores 32 because he'd have more shots each game. Don't just change the stats that support your point. It's getting old.Edit: the 32 goals I got using his shots/minute rated to 21 min/game and the same number of games and shooting percentage that Rich used.

Though it might be good to see how our future stars fare in this years playoffs. Won it all last year and looking to repeat. I'm not entirely sure on who all could go back down if the wings lose (Jurco+Shehan?), or who all would come up if the griffs lose to be our black aces. Either way should be fun to keep an eye on them. First game is 4/24 10 pm EST in Abbotsford. Go Griffs! All games got pushed back, moved to tomorrow.

Even if he is moved and they retain salary and we make an offer, Toronto won't trade him here. They'll move him out west.

Ahh yes. Here's to a team full of Cleary's and Glendening's.

Franzen and Smith are the two I would move this summer. Together they could get us a good dman. If you need to throw in a pick do it, but both if those guys are replaceable in our roster. Especially since we'll be getting a top 4 back. Trade Kindl for a pick at the draft and let the kids fight over his spot. That's all the trading I'd like to see this summer though. Howard isn't going anywhere and in a few years we'll have a 1, 1a situation in net.

I've been reading this forum for so long I forgot troll was an insult.Back pn topic, if we get a great puck moving dman or scoring increases and we don't need a scoring winner as much. Top 4 puck mover is our biggest need.

The fact that in our rebuilding years we're still making the playoffs should get Kenny a raise, not fired.

Wings have one compliance buyout left, unlimited regular buyouts. I believe he meant regular buyout for Tootoo.