WingMan56

Where did you hear this? Seems completely random...the guy has never set foot in the Swedish Elite League, OR the Swedish 2nd league (Allsvenskan)..so it seems weird that the Griffins would randomly sign some guy from a 3rd/4th tier Euro league. Also odd that he'd even leave Europe for an AHL deal.

I guess I don't understand how Granlund, who was injured most of the season, made the team over Teemu. Seems weird.

Not sure what happened..he had a point per game in all the pre-world championship games, and then he didn't make the final squad. Did he get injured? Or did Finland just decide to go with a more veteran team? Edit: Just saw that Granlund made the final cut and has been playing for Finland in the WC's...not sure what happened with Pulkkinen.

Minard and Johnson are both under contract with Detroit again next season (sadly). They will be in GR unless the wings find a team to loan them to. Parkes, Ferraro, Fournier and possibly Nestrasil will all be in GR next year also. I HIGHLY doubt Axelsson, Pulkkinen or Jarnkrok will be in GR.

It's probably a good thing most of the core will be gone..the team struggled most of the year. I think Mcnamara or the Wings tried a "rebuilding" year where he went more with youth and speed (Kolanos, Hussey, Brooks), and it kinda backfired. So I wouldn't be surprised to see him load up with veteran offensive talent (maybe the return of MacLean?), and a veteran D-man or 2. The checking lines should be pretty good..I assume Ellis will be retained somehow, and both Oulahen and Helm will be in the fold. The D looks relatively solid with Quincey, Kindl, Meech and Ericsson, so they really just need one or 2 steady veteran(s) like a Helmer or something like that.

Helm will be a good one...he won't set the world on fire with offense in the NHL, but he could be a Draper with better offensive upside. Think 04 Draper.

I believe the Wing's have already invited the Donati's to next years camp. But that doesn't mean they won't sign with another team before then. Jorgenson will probably also be invited back.

All of the Russians will likely finish their careers in Russia. None of them have done anything to earn a contract. Sundin is extremely inconsistent and is playing in a very low level, I think he's playing in Finlands 3rd level. Kollar is interesting. I mentioned last year that they should sign him and bring him over, but he doesn't appear to be on their radar for whatever reason.

Justin Abdelkader was a Wings 2nd rounder in '05. He plays for MSU

Dick Axelsson and Shawn Matthias also. Jeff May is one of the top D prospects and will be signed this summer too. He could be a future #5 D-man.

I think the kid would be better off playing a year in Grand Rapids. He's young..why rush him? The AHL will stll be a big step up for him, so it's not like his game will go stale. With recent comments by Wings management saying that they aren't going to rush Jimmy Howard, I think they should take that into consideration with Kindl.

You can throw Jeff May in that group too. He's supposedly a Quincey clone, a big (6'2 200) rugged guy who skates well for his size and can move the puck. He should be signed this summer.

anyone who plays a CHL game can not play in the AHL until they are 20. Bergfors never played in the CHL.

He's playing on a horrible Grand Rapids team, so not much he can do about his numbers. They've hung him out to dry.

I highly doubt he's signed after this season since he was just drafted and has a couple years of junior eligibility left.

Angel wouldn't have been in Grand Rapids anyways..he was Muskegon bound..again.

Why do you hope not? The Wings seem to think he has upside of being a great checking liner/PK guy with a little offensive upside. He will have had 2 years of pro experience in one of the best leagues in the world, and it looks like he's on his way to having a career year...so I don't think it's out of the question to see him signed and playing in Grand Rapids next season. I believe he has to be signed this summer anyways with that new "2 year" rule.

He's too young to play in the AHL. He'd either have to play on the Wings or go to Juniors, so that was his only option pretty much.

I see that Anton Axelsson is playing on the same team as Ryno and has 3 points in 3 games so far....could we see him signed and in North America next season?

Ah..ok lol Yeah, Hamilton was definitely a huge pick up. He's a consistent 30+ goal scorer so he should help replace the offense we lost when Maclean left. I'd expect 35-40 goals from him playing on a line with Filppula. Miller should replace Manlow's offensive output, and guys like Kolanos Hussey and Langfeld should all be 20+ goal scorers also.

Yeah..he was 2nd in scoring on Chicago last season and only played 67 games...not sure what "nothing special" means. He'll be in the top 3 in scoring for GR probably, and will be the quarterback for the PP.

Exactly...most people don't seem to realize that Kopecky, Hudler and Bootland all have to clear waivers to be sent down..Filppula doesn't...do the math. Why risk losing one of those top prospects just to keep Filppula up. Another year in the AHL being the teams top player and getting tons of minutes will be great for him. Also, the same sort of thing applies to Lebda...Lilja makes $1 million..why would they sit him in the press box and play Lebda all season long when Lebda can clear waivers and be one of the Griffins top D-men? He doesn't have to clear waivers..everybody else on Detroits defensive roster has to...so he'll end up in GR.

This is the lineup I have so far Filppula Kolanos Himelfarb Langfeld Hussey McGrath Oulahen Ellis Brooks Norton Lebda Quincey Meech Smith Ericsson Howard Liv/Macdonald/Macintyre

He has to return to the OHL. He only signed an amateur tryout with Grand Rapids to get him a bit of pro experience. He's not 20 years old so he has to either be in the NHL or the CHL, and we know he won't make the Wings next year.