LeftWinger

Ya, you're right, I meant that if he got traded back here instead of Columbus he would've most definitely helped us get past Anaheim that year. If he had been acquired in 08, like he almost was, we may have been looking at back to back for sure in 08 09. My point was, if he got dealt here in 06 instead of Columbus, we may have been looking at 3 in a row, at least 3 Cup finals in a row. IMO.

Now, see, I would protect Z, just becuase I can protect 7 fwds. Disregarding my dislike of Helm, I would think he may be safe with that long of deal, plus nearly $4M for a bottom 6'er. I absolutely would be livid if we lost Sheahan to expansion. On, D, with the current D we have, I chose DD, Marchy and XO. I still don't think someone would chose a broken down Kronwall, especially with younger, more prospective D-men available. If I'm looking at Detroit and I see Kronwall, Ericsson, Green, Sproul, Jensen available, I'm taking Sproul. Not unless they would look for more leadership qyualities, but still, I'd much rather take a young player with tons of potential over a half crippled Kronwall. I chose XO because he has the most NHL experience of the 3 kids in GR. I really agree that of the players being left exposed, Jurco, Pulkkinen or Sproul may be the ones most apt to be picked. I think we're stuck with Howard and he will have to be bought out next summer, Vegas will not pick him with the prospective talent that may be available at G. Of course all this will change if Holland gets D. Lets say he trades Nyquist or Tatar for a D-man, then of course that D man will be protected and XO is not, and then we can put Helm on the protected list as the 7th fwd. I'd love for Jurco to bust out this season and earn a protection, but with the plethora of fwds, he might see 25 games.

Ya...it'll give me someone to blame everything on anyhow.

Without Fedorov, our 3 Cups are more difficult to win, PLUS when if he got traded here instead of Columbus, we would've beaten San Jose in 07. He was still a scoring threat on 09 as well, we may have been looking at 3 Cups in a row, it would have been at least 3 Cup finals in a row. #91's rightful place is next in line to #5

Smith is a ufa, no need to waste a protect on him. He won't get claimed being that he would possibly leave your team 10 days later. Don't waste it on a pending ufa. That would be stupid. I agree on Sheahan and Kronwall though. Protect Riley instead. And protect marchenko, Nobody is going to pick a broken down Kronwall and if so, then good.

Helm will botch that line up. No hands, fumbles the puck to much.

You said it....Helm makes more than that. If that's not the narrative to the sad state of the team, then I don't know what else to say.

AA won't even be up unless it's an injury recall. Too many Helms... Now, a line of Mantha - AA - Vanek would be fun to watch!

Lol at Sheahan being left unprotected over Helm...Holland will be an idiot to do so. Oh wait.... if, as the article says that Marchenko will be left unprotected, you better believe someone will take him. I doubt he is left unprotected. Here's my list from the tool provided barring trade: Protect : Z, Abby, Nielsen, AA, Nyquist, Tatar, Sheahan DD, Marchenko, XO. Mrazek No body is going to take a broke down Kronwall, The E Pilon or a $6M Green. Smith is a UFA so he won't be taken because they wouldn't waste a pick on someone they may not be able to sign come July 1. Vanek the same deal...so any or all pending UFA'S don't need to be protected really. IF Holland acquires Fowler, then he gets protected over XO.

Vanek should be 2nd line. He was signed to score goals, not play with a checking center who should be 4th line anyhow.

Some things never change...remember Bert, Sammy and Cleary? Of course you do, but if it wasn't for their injuries, we'd of never seen the Jurco - Sheahan - Tatar line that pretty much got us to the playoffs that year....

DD is worth about $4.5M, IMO and I also think Mrazek should get Vaisilovskiy money.

Howard, if not claimed or traded, will be bought out after this season.

Helm....waste of roster space. Just keep the same guys we keep losing with.

The only way Helm gets protected over Sheahan is if he has a NMC. if not, and Helm gets protected over Sheahan? Something is more than wrong...but Helm shouldn't have been re-signed anyhow. Has NTC not a NMC. He doesn't have to be protected.

He would only have to waive 2 of the 3 D kids and keep Frk, or waive Frk and can keep 2 of the 3 D kids for 8 D-men to start the season. WIthout a trade, though, when Pulk come back, the extra guy he didn't waive at the start of the season will have to be waived to make room for Pulk. So in you idea KRS, he wiaves Frk and jensen (hopefully they'd both clear) and keep both Sproul and XO. But then when Pulk returns, one has to go...

Problem is, we only have $9M-ish with LTIR. Is that enough to sign these guys before they get an award? Or will Holland wait for the award and then deal with the cap?

problem is, as of right now, with LTIR Holland has a complete roster with 3 fwds that can start in GR with no danger of being claimed AND 2 of 3 D Kids that MUST make the team or be wiaved. So Holland can not do a thing the rest of the summer and start with only a couple of decisions to make. He can either save 2 of the D kids and wiave Frk, or only save 1 and save Frk. (not line combos) Zetterberg - Larkin - Abby Nyquist - Nielsen - Vanek Tatar - Helm - Sheahan Miller - Glenny - Ott Jurco/Frk DD - Green Kronwall - Smith E - Marchy 1 of XO/Sproul/Jensen or remove Frk and add another D kid. Notice no AA, Mantha or Nosek. (they all have waiver eligibilty) Not sure what will happen when Pulk comes back, one of the extra D kids or Frk will have to be waived. Of course barring ANY trade this is the current roster with LTIR. IMO, if Holland gets Fowler, et al. He will need to trade 2-3 fwds, 1 of our NHL D and a prospect D total. (not all for Fowler, but in order to become compliant with a healthy roster.) But noone wants E, Smith is pretty good, so I could also see him trading a fwd and a D kid only. Lets say Nyquist(or Tatar) and XO for Fowler. Now who becomes #7, Smith or E? I just think Holland will either overload his D or just stay pat and do nothing. Either way, we risk Frk and/or 2 of the D kids to waivers... BTW, is Jamie Benn really worth $9.5M per season?

Not a bad lineup. Ott in for Miller and trade Nyquist move Tatar up and fill in with jurco.

He really is...overpaid 4th liner. This is Cleary 2.0.

Jurco and Pulkkinen are too good to be extra forwards. They need a chance to play. I like Ott, but I also don't know why he was signed. So take away Ott, Miller and Helm, now we're talking room for our future. Odds are we lose one or both of Jurco and Pulkkinen before next year. I only hope it's via trade for an upgraded D. Nyquist should be the center of any trade. Here's hoping Miller becomes the 13th/14th guy instead of the others....and I like Miller, but it was/is just time to let the kids play...no Miller no Helm, Ott not sure why he was signed.

Glendening isn't keeping kids in GR. The kids ready to come up are top 9. Helm is keeping kids in GR. They are going to be up here to play 4th line minutes so they may as well be in GR. That's why Helm was a waste of a roster spot.

Does anybody find it disturbing that these two haven't signed yet? I know their hearings are coming up, but doesn't it just show that maybe Holland is trying to lowball? That being said, we only have about $8M left after LTIR. Boy, that $3.8M to a 4th liner sure looks great now!

Haha, Holland is such an ass hat and needs to be fired if he doesn't get a better defenseman this summer. He needs to dangle nyquist out there along with a prospect and pick. He needs to make a trade or delve back into ufa to try to find a better dman. Our current crop is not good enough.

I don't mind Glendening at $1.8M for 4 as much as I hate Helm at $3.8M for 5. disney.com is what he is, and Helm is what disney.com is, just a bit quicker. the Helm contract will be an albatross in 2 years time. Much like E and Howard. Holland never learns.