LeftWinger

IMO, I would hate to trade either of them (and you know my dislike for the small Euro-type forward.) But if it were a deal that would immediately impact our lack of scoring on the powerplay and overall, I would have to bite the bullet and bid adieu to one of them. I think Nyquist showed a lot of talent in the playoffs with his linemates and proved he belonged here. I really haven't seen too much of Tatar outside of his short stint in Detroit to say he is better or worse than Nyquist. I think this organization would miss either of them, BUT you also have to look at what else we have on the farm. There are a handful of players that again will be ready for the NHL in a couple of seasons. Frk, Athanasiou, Jurco, Jarnkrok, Pulkkinen and Tvrdon...I think if a Bobby Ryan, Alex Burrows, Keith Yandle or Heaven help us, Shea Weber trade proposal came up, I would be ok, with parting with either of them. If I had to chose today, I would chose to keep Tatar since he seems to be more of a scorer and Nyquist more of a setup man. But throw both names up in the air and whichever landed first wouldn't make a difference if it came down to acquiring the piece(s) we need to take it to the next level.

Really? $5.5M? We thought $5M was a far fetched rumor.... Hey, Val, regarding your salary request, Holland called and said: Have a nice day....

Hate the Hawks....but damn, I work with a guy that is a Bruins fan and I never realized how misinformed, uneducated, rude, big headed, cheap, lying, no good, rotten, far flushing, snake licking, dirt eating, inbreed, overstuffed, ignorant, blood sucking, dog kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fart assed, bug eyed, stiff legged, spotty lipped, worm headed, sack of monkey s*** they can be! Halleluah, Holy s***! Where's the Tylenol!?!! I hope they lose so I can laugh right in his face!

Trade for Ryan, sign Wiess, sign Ryder. Instant upgrades...

THIS! Better yet, get rid of the shootout all together!

please don't get me going on my obsession for the Wings to acquire Ryan. I would love it! It would be costly though. nah...buyout Sammy and Bert. Trade for Ryan, sign Weiss. Offense problems solved.

I am not so sure Pulock falls, Santini maybe. But yeah, Gautier would be awesome!

$2.5M is a deal for his "potential." Seriously though, if we get him for 4-5 years, $2.5M per, that would be great!

I prefer this pic!

Domi won't be able to hit like that in the NHL, we all know huge hits like that are 99% called charging and then suspended, especially if the hittee is hurt on the play...that is just how it is...

Would you trade for him if he were on the block, and what do you think it would take? Would you try to pick him up if he got bought out? I only made this thread to not derail the Hossa thread. I haven't heard anything about him being vought out or traded, but they are in a bit of a pickle with very little payers signed... I will quote what I wrote in the Hossa thread and you guys can comment from there: This guy indeed had prior chemistry with Dastyuk and at $6.6M cap hit, he is not too expensive considering the market...plus if he got bought out, he would be even cheaper...

What's next, no American's allowed to be in the CHL? This should be the cue for all European players to exit the CHL immediately. Stand up for your fellow countrymen. Boo Hoo CHL, what does your Va-J-J hurt? Does it stink that the top 5 goalies in the NHL are either American or European? Hey you still got Crawford...but he has the same label as Osgood. On that team, my grandma could be a Stanley Cup goalie...

Lets look at Alex Burrows who is way better and way more consistent than Franzen. He just signed a 4yr $18M contract. If Franzen signed a 4yr deal, his cap hit would be $10.75M, if Burrows had an 11yr deal his would be $1.63M...Franzen at $43M is ludicrous compared to Burrows at $18M. I would much rather have the $4.5M cap hit and be done with the contract after 4 years. Franzen will still be making $3.9M cap hit when he only scoring 5 goals a season and riding the press box in the playoffs... The bottom line is, it doesn't matter the cap hit when it comes to value for production. At $43M he needs to be scoring 40 goals a season and not mailing it in during the playoffs...and to put an end to the Hossa debate, Hossa at $63M who has scored 29 or higher 10 times, 40 or higher 3 times and averages .91 PPG is more valuable than Franzen who's PPG is .59...

Yes, on shorter term contracts though...if Franzen were on a 5 year deal, he'd be topping $8M a season for his (lack of) production. The only reason he is at $3.9M is because of the 11 years. If all those other guys were also on 11 year contract, they'd be in the $3M's as well. There is nothing valuable about Franzen's contract, because we are stuck with him for the next 7 years.... Lets look at James Neal, currently making $5M per season. Similar numbers, he's up and down has actually scored 40 before, but he averages in the mid 20's. He signed a 6yr $30M contract. Franzen singed an 11 year $43M contract...who has the better value, Franzen cost us $13M more... Lets see what Franzen would be making if he had signed a 6yr deal....oh geez, $7.1M per season. Now what about Neal's $30M on an 11 year contract? $2.7M per. Again, there is no value to Franzen contract. Period. I'd rather have Neal at $30M tens times over Franzen at $43M... So who is more valuable? Franzen's 28 goals at $7.1M on a 6 year deal or Neal's $5M on a 6 year deal? Franzen's $3.9M on an 11 year deal or Neal's $2.7M on an 11 year deal? Franzen's $43M or Neal's $30M? All three ways, Franzen is a waste of money...

I agree, he will definitely get more than those three...$2.5M would be high end for sure...

I did read the post and he said that these are high end realistic raises...they are not. If he would have just said high-end salaries, he wouldn't have gotten any negative feedback, at least not from me, but his entire post, while an informative and nice read, was based on his notion that the cap may be worse for us than once thought, and he based that on unrealistic raises for our UFA/RFA's... anyhow, I did not know about the sub-$3M buyout rule, that is unfortunate, that means we are stuck with Bertuzzi taking up a valuable roster spot. I am not worried about his cap hit, it's the roster spot I covet. Why I certainly hope Sammy gets the buyout, nobody else seems to be a candidate for the buyout. I can't see Holland using one on a defender, there isn't really anyone who is that ready to step in and take that spot unless he plans on acquiring someone via trade as a top 2 guy...anything can happen, but I if he were to want to get rid of Big E or Q, they would be very tradable assets, at least for a nice draft pick... So if a buyout is used, I guess we will be looking at Sammy in order to open a roster spot up. Let Fil and Cleary walk then go with the kids... ...and in all honesty, if Fil walks, I am betting he becomes a Duck. Especially if Selanne signs one more season. Just a hunch.

I really don't know too much about this kid other than what I read on here and a few websites, but if he is really projected to be that type of offensive player Holland would be stupid to pass on him. That is the type of player this team needs and needs badly! We aren't going to acquire Ovi or Malkin, but if we could draft one and develop him, then this team would be in business! That being said I would be ok with Gauthier as well. I have listed my players I would be happy with, fortunately both Mantha and Gauthier are on that list...too bad Holland doesn't take my phone calls......(anymore....j/k)

I tell you what, I am looking over the list of UFA's and I really don't see a #1 scorer on it...at least not one that I am interested in seeing here or one that won't cost $7M+. A lot of you guys talk about Ryder, Horton, Clarkston, but their numbers aren't really sniper-esque and for the price they command, they may cost too much against our cap... I still like Dupuis, but agree he has had many average season's compared to his couple of good ones... I think our best bet is going to have to be a trade or sign someone who may get bought out...I am really looking for that one guy that will get on the wing of the #1 line and solve our lack of scoring issues...at least make our scoring more consistent... ...can we just fast forward through the Cup finals and get to the offseason already?

That is the problem in todays NHL...the lockouts were supposed to keep salaries down. I love Ladd, loved him in Chicago, he ALWAYS played the Wings hard and always seemed to get points against them, and at $4.4M he is a great player, but unless he decides to stay in Winnipeg for less, he is going to get a big payday, probably get offers from dumbass GM's that will overpay him...ie Wisniewski....

if Kindl gets an Ericsson type contract, I will seriously question Holland. That money is needed elsewhere....scoring.

Jersey, more than Pit, has the tough decision to make. They only have 6 forwards signed and 6 defensemen. They do have $26M available, but again, that will disappear fast with some of the names they'd like to retain...either make a hard decision on Kovi, or hope for some hometown discounts...or just fill your roster with AHL players...That would be a ton of money to buyout Kovi, I do agree!

Last 5 teams left in the playoffs were the last 5 winners...

I would be down with that, except re-signing Filppula. I like this: Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Horton Franzen - Helm - Tatar Nyquist - Andersson - Brunner Abdelkader - Emmerton - Tootoo Eaves You could even put Andersson, Brunner and Franzen on the 2nd line and have Nyquist with Helm and Tatar. Of course we will see TONS of lineup changes throughout the season, that is for sure!

I sure would love to see the Olympics go back to Amateur players...the Nations ALL have plenty of amateur talent to make this tourney enjoyable and entertaining. USA, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland....they all have great players under 18... I am tired of watching the NHL All Star game water down the Olympics....

Isn't that funny, both lockouts were to keep salaries down, but you can pay a player nearly $13M a year...the only thing the lockouts did was water down the NHL.