LeftWinger

Emmerton, Mursak or Jarnkrok will NOT be replacing Abdelkader anytime soon...sorry, your 3rd line is a pipedream...Plus Abdelkader is far better than Emmerton or Mursak. Other than that, I like your team, but the more Semin gets demoted, the less I like him. Also, too much money for Lidstrom and not enough for Suter or Parise, unless they sign 10 year contracts. Bottom line is, Lidstrom needs to tell Holland he will take what's left after going HARD after Suter and Parise and offering them the world to finish their career's here...THEN and ONLY THEN should Lidstrom consider re-signing. No way Holland gets EITHER of Parise or Suter if he waits on Lidstrom and then gives him $6.2M ($4.5M is also too much) again...Nick needs to do right by his fans and this team...retire or take the HUGE paycut to insure the teams future as perennial contenders... without Suter and Parise, they won't be.

Nyquist-Jarnkrok-Tatar....you have been telling us that you want this line for a long time now...I don't think he demotes Helm to the 4th line either...as much as you wish, it ain't happening. Just like Jedi said, not until he is overripe. Not Holland's forte' to bring up a prospect fulltime until he has no more options...

I love the first one! I especially like the tie ups at the neck line! Makes for a very vintage look! Submit it to the Wings, you just may be surprised! EDIT: I like the last one too! Nice work!

Ya, with the other teams out there looking to throw money around like it's falling from their ass, I would hate to overpay someone like Semin. I like Semin on this team for $5M, anything more, I agree, not worth it. But I do think Holland should s*** money all over Suter and Parise and give them WHATEVER it takes to secure the Wings future. They got to be signed for AT LEAST 5 years each! He'd have so much f***in' fun, he'll be whistling Zippidy Doo Dah out of his *******! ©

Fun? Confidence? Like winning an ALL TIME NHL RECORD 23 wins in a row at home isn't fun or motivating, or makes you more confident....Fact is, you, I and the Detroit Red Wings know that they had no business winning all those games, not the way they were playing. They were playing like crap for the most part, fortunate they were winning at home, but they were losing everything on the road, then when they ran out of steam, they lost everything. Not one win at home in the playoffs. This team needs more than tweaks and line juggling...it needs a major influence up front (Parise) and on the D (Suter.) It needs a #2 goalie who is actually going to challenge Jimmy for the starting spot, not someone who is a career AHL'er. Some if not most of you do not like the "names" I picked, but in reality we all have players who we'd like to see leave and come to this team. A major shakeup would be letting go of Franzen, Cleary, Hudler, Holmstrom, Lidstrom, Emmerton, Mursak to trades and retirement and adding Parise, Semin, Morrow, Nyquist, Sheahan, Suter & Vokoun. You can insert your own names that you think will make this team compete again, but the fact remains, tweaks don't work with this team, it's been tweaked all year long. It's time for change, it's time for excitement to return to Joe Louis Arena and say what you will, but a top two scoring lines of: Parise-Dastyuk-Semin Filppula-Zetterberg-Nyquist is far more exciting and actually better than Franzen-Datsyuk-Bertuzzi Filppula-Zetterberg-Hudler. Lids may or may not retire, and that is fine, but he needs to sit down with Holland and tell him he will take whatever is leftover after trying to SERIOUSLY make a run at Parise AND Suter if not others as well. Let Holland try to secure our future first, then offer our history his final contract. If Holland throws $6.2M at Lidstrom again, it will screw us for Parise and Suter and we will NEVER have this opportunity again to secure two of the best players in the league today (IN THEIR PRIME) for the rest of their career's...Please Nick, either retire or do the right thing by your fans and this team...

I know you are trying to defend Franzen, but do you honestly believe what you turned his post into? Because if you do, then let me remind you of something. Wings were pretty much ONE goalpost away from a back to back Stanley Cup win in 2009. I'd say they did pretty damn good that playoff....yet, to this day, hardly NOBODY forgives Hossa for not scoring 50 goals in the playoffs...despite having 6 goals amongst 15 points (only 8 behind Franzen that playoff BTW) Man I wish Holland had chosen Hossa over Franzen that off season.....oh well. Now noone will take his God awful contract and in 3-4 years when he his only scoring 15-20 points per season, the only way out will be to buy him out...

Are you describing Bertuzzi or Larionov in this post? ...plus Hudler is in charge of the sluts, silly.

fixed... ...let us not forget about all those GWG's too... I have had it! He was hurt, he is bored, he needs fun, excitement to change the team, his ass was chapped! I am tired of excuses with this guy...be gone! Here is next years excuse: "Well I was really lonely without my teammates and countrymen Lidstrom and Holmstrom out there. I think if we get more Swede's on this team, I will have more fun and be more excited..." Bingo Bango! Juck ******* Pott, right there! No, this one's the Juck ******* Pott! Dude, seriously, I am running out of my allotted Juck ******* Pott's...

IMO, is that the best goals they could find for Play of the Year? Yikes... I hope Pav wins, but there had to be two goals this season that were better than those....oh well.

Oh yeah, forgot about Franzen, he must have been invisible. But is Bertuzzi still good enough to play with Dats and Parise? Could he keep up?

Detroit...

On my make a wish team its the line combo of Morrow-Helm-Bertuzzi... ...but in reality it will be Cleary-Helm-Bertuzzi, which, when healthy was a pretty good 3rd line. Either way, I think if they sign Parise, he goes to the 3rd, with (hopefully) Nyquist taking a spot on the 2nd with Z and Val...

Freep Article today says if Lidstrom comes back he may bring Holmstrom with him. ...and here we go. Nick and Homer re-sign, for whatever they want because Holland rewards loyalty instead of according to waning talent. Homer should retire and Lidstrom should tell Holland he will play one more year for a salary of whatever it takes to make this team super again... http://www.freep.com/article/20120426/SPORTS05/204260576/red-wings-nicklas-lidstrom-tomas-holmstrom

Except Franzen's jersey would have a C-

ah yes, but unlike the song, we WILL get fooled again. All the "inside talk" about Wings having the track on Parise and making him and Suter their number 1 priorities...we will get overexcited only to be let down yet again... Change it had to come, We knew it all along, We were liberated from the Wings fall that's all, But the Team looks just the same And history ain't changed And Ken Holland Likes His Team The way it is! Just like yesterday And I'll get on my knees and pray We've ALL been fooled again!

Hijack a thread asking what we think Holland should do this offseason, by saying Holland should trade Franzen this offseason? That's what you call a hijack? You probably believe a man in cave planned 9/11 too... EDIT: Not like saying what I think Holland should do is off subject, but okay... ...anyhow, for the right player, yes, trade Franzen. It's just seems some "Realists" have a differing opinion of Franzen's worth and nobody else's opinion matters if they disagree. It's obvious I would not miss Franzen, but its not like he doesn't disappear half the season anyway. But I know he won't be traded...

I am just tired of his disappearing act. I guess if they actually land Parise and Franzen still nets 30 goals, it'll be ok, but I really need him to convince me he is for real again, especially come playoff time. I know he isn't really worried about what I think personally, but I would hope that he does care what his fans think about him, good or bad...he already said he doesn't care too much about the regular season. I really hope this changes, because I know (despite me trading him all over the forum) he will be a Red Wing next year and beyond and I hope he changes back into pre-serious contract Franzen...

Hey it worked with Hull...he mentioned more than once that he was impressed with the fact that Yzerman and Shanahan both tooks cuts (actually they deferred salary) in order to sign him... I wish Lids would tell Holland that he will sign for "whatever it takes" to get Suter AND Parise here...

Ya, I agree, but I don't think trading Filppula alone is going to get Detroit a great player, the other side of the sword is if Franzen is added in, then you would expect someone of Nash's or Perry's caliber in return...dunno, just keep them both and hope Franzen decides he wants to actually play someday.

...only let Quincey walk if Lidstrom re-signs, if he retires, you gotta sign Quincey , but ya not worth $3.5M, give him 5yrs @ $3M. I am re-signing Abby at a small raise. The rest I agree with you. No issues here, just use him as an injury call up along with Tatar. I can live without Cleary and Kindl, but I am trading Franzen as well. Plus I think Bertuzzi is going to excel on the 3rd line. Eaves is fine with me as well for the 3rd or 4th. I am also trading Mursak, he'll need to pass waivers to be sent up and down and we have two or three others that can fill his role on the team that don't have to pass waivers when sent back down. Agree, except for Mursak as explained above... I agree with these signing's except I think Lidstrom should retire or tell Kenny he will sign for whatever it takes to ice a winner...I think Helm is around $1.2M though and he needs to be signed for at least 5 years, same goes for Suter and Parise, they should be 10 year deals. Semin should be 1 or 2 to see how he works out, but I think he will do great with Datsyuk.

That is just it, he has some weird fixation on not offending his "loyal" players...he will tell Zach that noone can make more than Zetterberg (or Datsyuk, whichever one is making the most) and then Parise will go elsewhere because someone else will offer him $8M plus. I think Holland should offer Parise one of those 10 year contracts worth between $7M and $8M per. But he will worry too much about what Lidstrom will want to do and give him whatever he wants, then he will worry too much about what Datsyuk wants when his contract is up...Datsyuk ain't signing anywhere else but here, I fricking hope Holland shows his balls this summer and lives up to his "Best GM in the NHL" moniker...

Hollands problem is, he likes this team. He refuses to ditch certain players who haven't shown up that last few playoffs. He rewards veterans with contract just because they were/are loyal to him. He let's Nick Lidstrom tell HIM what he wants to make. He is still waiting for "playoff Franzen" to show up and he still believes that UFA's will flock to Detroit, just because of their history PLUS they will more than welcome accepting 1/3 less salary for that same reason... ..all this talk and all these threads about what will/should happen, realistic or not, I just don't think Holland is capable of rebuilding this team. I have a strange feeling that Scotty was the one to woo Hossa here in 08-09, plus he probably was the one to orchestrate the Hasek deal in 01-02. I have yet to see Holland make a huge impact signing or trade on his own. If he gets one or both of Suter and Parise, I will start singing his praises, but I just have a feeling that he will low-ball both of them and try telling them, "Hey, we're Hockeytown, it's your honor to be contacted by me and to be here..." (exaggerating of course, but I realistically won't be surprised if noone of any impact comes here via UFA or trade...and that is sad, because he is ruining my love for the best sport and team in the world...)

If we are talking about Filppula, what about packaging him and Franzen to Anaheim for Perry? Would that be enough? Would you have to throw in Mursak? I am all for ANY trade getting Franzen the "F" out of Detroit... Geesh, where's "The Realist" when you need him to tell me what's gonna happen and what would work and not be over or under payment? (for the record, I am not advocating trading Filppula, but if a package gets someone like Perry or Nash in return, then ok)

You showed me....ooooo scary. My "master plan" as you put it, includes your realistic signing of Parise, but I guess if none of it is going to happen, then your plan isnt so realistic afterall... Basically everything everyone is talking about here is hopes and fantasy, including yours. Agree to disagree, you hold Franzen more valuable than I do. He has broke his last straw with me, how many more years of his asinine contract until he breaks you? Also I did agree that Franzen may be a bit overpayment, but so was a 1st for.Quincey, so Holland has overpaid before....but you are just too focused on cutting someone down for wanting lazy players out and hard workers in, for wanting change. Lets all just hope for a better team this october than the one that stunk up the ice since march.

This we do agree upon! I have never like Kindl, even on draft day. I list him as my 7th defenseman only because at his pay and experience, not many other #7's out there that are worth it. It's pretty sad that he turned out to be a wasted draft pick. But until recently I have always second guessed Holland's choices at the table, none moreso than Kindl. For a long time, he seemed fixated on mid-size European Defensemen like he was trying to find the next Lidstrom or maybe still trying to replace Vladdy. He has done pretty well in the 3rd and later, because his scouts are always finding him that obscure talent and he knows when he wants to select them, but he always seems to falter when it comes to that first round pick. ( I do like the Sheahan pick) That is why I shutter at the thought if he ever had the #1 pick overall... Earlier I mentioned that I would've loved for Holland to sign free agent player Jeremy Welsh out of Union. He signed an EL contract with Carolina so I figured that was over. Turns out, Welsh only signed a deal that lasted until the end of the season. He is a RFA this July 1st. I would love to see this kid signed to shore up GR and eventually make the jump. He truly is a diamond in the rough. He is going to turn some heads one day soon in the NHL...