LeftWinger

Well I think I speak for all of us when it comes to this type scary shiit.. ..you shut your mouth when you are talking about these type of rumors you motor boating son of a b!itch!

Hindsight is always easy to wipe away and see clearer. I know the options that Holland had and already mentioned that at the time Franzia was lights out every night and in the playoffs, so you cannot blame Holland for thinking that that would continue. As it turned out, it didn't and keeping him over Hossa looks idiotic right now. I could only hope that Chicago buys out Hossa and Holland reclaims the jewel he lost. But will Hossa want to come back here with our winning ways behind us for the moment? Datsyuk sure would be happy...

I totally agree, I know he won't buy them out, but it is still the right thing to do if he wants to keep Filppula and Brunner long term... Unless they both sign 1 year deals with a slight raise until there is more cap open the following year...but that only happened when the Yzerman's and Shanahan's were around, that shiit don't happen now...

Well if we are just talking cap hit, then Hossa only makes $1.3M more than Franzia. ...and like I explained, if Holland chose to keep Hossa and not dick around with Hudler, he would have not had to lose anyone else. He offered Hudler $3.5M and gave Franzia $3.9M...Hossa signed or $5.2M...in the end Franzia got $3.9M and Hudler walked to Russia. If Holland kept Hossa you wouldn't have seen Williams and his $1.5M, thus freeing up more money...

Hossa and Franzen were both loved here that year. Hossa hurt himself and that is why he underperformed in those playoffs and he missed half the next season while recovering from that surgery. I for one, never wanted to re-sign Franzen and wanted to keep Hossa in his place. Sure Hossa costs $1.3M more per season but that wouldn't have to drop anyone. Holland chose to wait out Hudler and his stupid games. He signed Franzia for the $3.9 Cap, then offered Hudler $3.5M per season. They had plenty of money because other guys wouldn't have been picked up (Drew Miller) the next season. Especially when Hudler was awarded only $2.9M from arbitration. So take away Drew Miller and Hudler's original $3.5M You got $4M right there. Take away Jason Williams $1.5M and bang you have both Hossa and Franzia... which would have been fine and very doable. But Holland decided to dick around with Hudler all summer and Hossa left. So like I have always said, Holland chose Franzia and Hudler over keeping Hossa, which is probably one of his biggest mistakes...

He got this contract because back in 08 and 09 he was on his game every night and in the playoffs. We lost Marion Hossa because Franzia was on his game every night and in the playoffs...he got his contract and his play has declined more and more each year, especially in the playoffs... is it due to age, injury, laziness, I am not sure, but one thing is for sure, he was expected to play a lot better than he is and the fact that he'll score 20 goals in 2 months, then score 9 more in 4 months makes him a viable and deserved whipping boy. His contract was 11 years $43.5M paying him mostly up front, averaging $3.9M. He is getting well paid to do nothing, now if he makes it to the point to where he is only making $1M per season salary and plays like this, so be it, but for $5.5M he needs to step it up everytime he gets out there... exactly, because 1. He looked like a Mule and 2. He was a big body and hard to move out of the front of the net. Looked like a Mule, acted like a Mule, he was called Mule. He plays now more like a toy poodle. But I get what you are saying, he had a contract prior to this one. He had his EL contract his rookie year and then signed a 3 year one when he still played lights out and really earned his nick-name. Then he got his retirement contract and now takes 50% of the season off.

if Holland does the right thing and buys out Bert and Sammy, that frees up $5M right there

That is fine too, I am just saying, considering he makes $3.5M now, a $1M increase is not too much...Filppula got his current contract before he had his breakout year, so I am assuming Brunner will get $3.5M to $4M here. Hopefully that is enough to keep him around to help bring this team back to the Cup...as a matter of fact, Fil got a 5 year $15M deal with a cap hit of $3M. If Brunner got 5 yrs $20M I wouldn't be upset...Although he could command upwards of $5M per... of course with only $17M in cap space available next year, we cannot be giving $10M of it to Fil and Brunner, so really something may have to give with Fil...

Kindl is a #7 when he is the one rotating with the other #7 Huskins. Kindl was passed up on the depth chart by Lashoff. Kindl will never be top 6 on a consistant basis outside of injuries...

Nah, what does Babcock know about Franzia? We have the expert in the author who wrote the useless article...

Franzia is well deverved of his whipping boy status, by his own admittance that he gets bored in the NHL and doesn't give 100% all the time... Also, the author is wrong about how he got his nickname. He was called the Mule because it was so hard to move him from in front of the net. (When he was younger and didn't get his serious contract yet.) It had absolutely nothing to do with his work ethic on the ice. A mule is unmovable and stubborn and cannot be pushed down once it stands it ground. That is what Franzia was prior to his contract signing. That is why he was name the Mule. The author needs to get the facts correct before he writes his gibberish. That was a quote directly from Steve Yzerman himself in describing why he called him the Mule along with a tongue in cheek shot at his huge front teeth which makes him resemble one as well... I also like how the author refers to him being one of only two players to score 5 goals in a game...that may be true, but he omitted the fact that he scored those 5 goals and then didn't score again for 2 months, and I think only 4 more the rest of the season... Then he ends up with a challenge, if you have the guts post your comments below. Well I certainly have the guts, but do not conform to social media controlling what I post since you are required to have a waste-of-facebook account, which I do not, I cannot comment. I would certainly invite him here to debate with us because I can guarantee 75% of our users have more hockey knowledge than he does...

You all seem to forget that Holland likes to keep his own players first and foremost... as much as I think Bert and Sammy should be bought out, they probably won't. Cleary has something on someone, so he will be re-signed and unless a playoff favorite offers a nice deal for Filppula, he will get his asking price of $4.5M (if that rumor is true.) Couple those in with re-signing Smith, Howard, Brunner, Andersson, Kindl and possibly Miller and Huskins there will be hardly any cap room or roster space... In my perfect world, Holland does the following. (and I will use your guys want for Clarkson just for example) Say goodbye to UFA's Cleary, Miller, White. Re-sign RFA's Andersson, Smith & Kindl...re-sign UFA's Brunner, Filppula, Howard & Huskins... Sign FA D-man Danny Dekeyser and sign your guy Clarkson. Then buyout Sammy and Bertuzzi and waive Colaiacovo making our roster look like this: Tatar - Dastyuk - Filppula Franzia - Zetterberg - Brunner Clarkson - Helm - Tootoo Eaves - Emmerton - Abdelkader Andersson (Sheahan) Kronwall - Ericsson Smith - Quincey Lashoff - Dekeyser Kindl (Huskins) Howard Monster ...that is an ideal roster moving forward next season and growing together. Now if Holland cannot fit all this under the cap, then other routes will need to be explored, obviously... also I am not sure of Nyquist's status for waiver or not. If he cannot be sent down then of course he will take the place of Tatar to begin the season....

This GDT thread has been turned into anything but.... While we are on the subject of D, I also can live with that D above, just add Dekeyser and we are fine. I have been on Q's case a lot, mainly because he cost us a 1st round pick to get him, and even though he is still not worth the pick, I am seeing improvement that I can live with. Kindl will forever be #7 defenseman on this team, I am fine with that too. I think that Holland should sign Huskins too to rotate with Kindl at that #6/#7 spot. Kronwall - Ericsson Smith - Quincey Lashoff - Dekeyser Kindl (Huskins) That should be a nice solid D-Corp for a few years while Sproul, Ouellet, McKee and Backman do their time in GR... Maybe someone should create a thread to discuss the State of the D in the D.... I will say that I am betting on Dekeyser being here for the playoffs and beyond. If Holland cannot get him signed it's because he refuses to give him top 6 minutes. Which, when White leaves and Cola gets waived he should be able to give him the minutes.

...if Cleary is re-signed, frick this team! Talk about taking up a roster space from someone who deserves it...Holland needs to be fired if he re-signs Cleary....period. Say goodbye to Dats if Holland does nothing to make this team better and Dats is stuck playing with garbage like Cleary... $4.5M is fine for Filppula. I don't see why the Wings would say its too much, it's only $1.0M more than his salary is now. In my opinion any lower would be a low-ball. Flip can get $5M on the market easily...

For that $7M lost they can have a serious scorer for the first line and keep the kids up... ...that just leaves the little problem called Franzia....I still say dump him...

The last thing we need is for Brunner to become a playmaker...we have too many of those already! He needs to more of a Cy Young winner than a playmaker. That pass he gave to Franzia, the one that Franzia love tapped and wondered why he couldn't score, Brunner would've buried it top shelf. People need to stop telling him to be a playmaker, he was brought here to score goals, not create them...

Yes. Glad he is doing well. As long as he is doing well somewhere else. He f***ed the Wings over in 2009 and I have hated him ever since. This is a team, not an individual. Holland offered him $3.5M which was way overpayment and he opted for arbitration because he wanted more...then he left for Russia. I have no room on my team for individuals, so long Hudler, I hope you score 50 goals, just don't EVER try to put on the Wings sweater EVER again...

Abby has his place on this team...he has his role...he plays his part very well...he doesn't belong with Datsyuk. Abby on the 4th line is a valuable member of this team, Abby on the 1st line is deer in headlights. Cleary on this team period is just asinine....

yes, that certain Russian was baffling on some nights... Maybe Franzia thinks he deserves more money now that there is a certain guy who score 30 goals making $12M right now and he is only making $5.2M...

^ Something I seen happening since they re-signed him. His played has steadily declined since that signing and he is on a fast track to garbage...I am so glad everyone is seeing it now. It took a while for everyone to see Hudler for what he was and now you all are coming around with Franzia... I like it!

Well, fast forward to now...nothing stings more than watching this team struggle to score goals...I have said it all season long, and before the season, Corey Perry would be great here and I have always beat the drum of Bobby Ryan. Power Forward or not, I would take both of those guys over what we have playing with Datsyuk now AND Franzia... I would like that as well, but man, at what cost?

are you sure you are a Wings fan? I don't care either way, but you seem to get off by rubbing losses in our faces (the 94 Sharks and Datsyuk v. Neiderlander fight) I will just say this...I will take the 94 loss to the Sharks, the Datsyuk v. Nederlander and Perry draws or losses, I will take the 95 sweep by the Devils and the 96 heartbreak the Av's because I have 4 Cups since we lost to the Avs, what do the Sharks have? Of course your brother is going to be bitter...what do the Hawks have? 1 Cup...as matter of fact, since the 05' lockout only two teams have been to the finals twice and they each won a Cup and since then the finals opponents and winners have all been different. I will take all that along with the 4 Cups, 6 Presidents Trophies and 21 straight playoffs... St. Michael's Brother: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYfJ9vxx8os Couldn't resist! BTW what exactly was it about the 94 Wings that reminds him of the Hawks? If anything he should refer to the 95 Wings or the 96 Wings for huge letdowns... Sure the Sharks beating the #1 seed Wings in 94 was an upset, but it was 7 games and Osgood was a rookie goalie...tell him to talk about the Wings when the Sharks manage to win a Cup or 4...

Uh...do you really need MY opinion of Franzia? To keep it clean, NO he is far from a sniper and FAR from a power forward...I will stop there.

Ya, its just like I said earlier, Perry is more of a scorer than a power forward...either way I would love him here....

I love and share in your confidence that Dekeyser will be a Red Wing! Get it done Kenny!