LeftWinger

I really don't want to gloat too much, but I am loving all these line combos with Hudler missing and Wisniewski and Jokinen on them! While I may have not been the VERY first to put these two in some line combos or suggest their signings (I may have been with Wiz because I remember getting railed UP and DOWN when I did mention him) but it's very nice to see folks mentioning these guys more and more! It has to be noted though that pretty much ANY forward signing hinges on Hudler being traded because they would be replacing him on the roster. If Holland keeps Hudler then there is only three spots to fill with Eaves/Draper/Miller/Mursak. Of course with a Hudler trade and a Jokinen signing, there are still only three spots to fill, but I am hoping for Draper just to hang it up and let the younger guys take over. Helm is more than capable to replace Draper's contribution's 10-fold. As someone pointed out to me, the Wings were right up near the top of the league in scoring, so if Jokinen can add 30 or so playing with Dats, then that should help tremendously! Adding Wiz and another d-man (Pitkanen would be a good one) along with a REAL defensive coach (Bougher? Hitchcock? Lemaire? Dunno?) should bring us back near he top of the league in defense. Thus more than likely (red glasses warning) propelling us to another Stanley Cup Championship!

I voted to sign him, but I would like to stipulate not at the expense of Miller or Eaves. If Holland does not trade Hudler and re-signs Draper, that will be 11 forwards signed before Miller and Eaves and before Mursak comes up...so Mursak connot be sent down with passing thru waivers that means if Holland wants to keep Mursak he would have to sacrifice Eaves or Miller. Eaves plays great with Helm, so he would be the first choice, but I think Miller should be signed over Draper in this scenario. So, unless Holland dumps Hudler in a package for a defender, Draper just may have to hang em up... In all honesty, Draper, Modano should both retire and Hudler should be traded so Holland can re-sign both Miller/Eaves, keep Mursak and add a UFA to add some scoring punch in the top 6...

Yeah, but about Weber or Doughty or Richards? Honestly, I am very interested to see if he makes a trade for a defender. I don't know of any out there (of Rafi's caliber) that teams would be willing to give up to us. Not unless there is a sign and trade deal that may help us out... (funny side note: on capgeek.com the most popular searched player is Brian Rafalski)

When are teams gonna stop hiring this jack-ass? I think the ENTIRE LGW member section joins me, when I say "SLAP!!" Do NOT joke like that!

You are right, but it's fun to dream sometimes. When I mentioned Kovalchuk, I made sure I mentioned the fact that Holland wouldn't get him because of his lifetime contract, but if he had a year or two contract at his cap hit of $6.6M, it wouldn't be out of the question that Holland may try for him. Holland likes those type of players, especially with the scoring upside...and Kovalchuk would be even better playing with Datsyuk. I for one, hope for another left field shot this season! At least we DO know he has the money to spend on a left-fielder!

THIS! Like was said earlier, if he were to make an off-season avatar in 2008, GUARANTEE Marion Hossa would be on it stating that he will NOT be a Red Wing. Why don't he just let people enjoy the off season and have fun fantasizing about who they would like to see become a Red Wing. Especially now with all the available Cap space! Even though most if not all of the names people are throwing around will not be a Red Wing, but NOONE and NOTHING is out of the question with the skills and money Ken Holland has in negotiating contracts and making deals. It would be SOOO funny if one or two of these names actually become a Wing, then maybe he can make an avatar of him pulling his head out if his ass....

Don't forget to throw Hudler in there for his Huge Potential...

I think you despise Stuart as much as I do Hudler... But I agree with everything you have said prior to that... Add Wiz and another depth guy or trade or bigger name and sign wiz for the third paring with Kindl. Not sure what to do about the 7th spot if Smith is gonna stay in GRR and just see spot call-ups, maybe utilize Janik or re-sign Meech (although I think I read he was done with Detroit, wants a NHL full-time job or something...what kind of crap is that? Where does he get off wanting a NHL job!?!? )

True! But, Holland could afford him, and he would be that pure sniper Datsyuk and the Wings need. I am sure in 2008, he would've had Hossa on a similar avatar too, but Holland pulled that one out of his magic hat... just not sure what Holland thinks of the length of the contract, he already has 2 lifers and I am sure Datsyuk is gonna re-sign a lifer when his is up as well... Oh well, it is more possible than Weber coming here...

I voted sign him, especially if Holland is going to testing the trade waters for a replacement D-Man or Higher end forward. Him and Miller (re-sign him too) can rotate in and out with Mursak. Do we know if Emmerton has any options to GRR left? IF not, maybe they showcase him and Mursak in training camp/pre-season to see who wins the 13th spot and they trade the other away. Not unless Holland knows who he wants up (more than likely Mursak) and bundles Hudler/Emmerton and whatever at the draft for said player... How would Jersey like Hudler/Emmerton/Kindl and our 1st round pick for Kovalchuk and his crippling cap hit? We could afford to pick it up... Of course then that would be yet another D-Man that would have to be replaced...

Isn't the off season exciting? Especially knowing that Holland HAS to make a move or two? I still say either sign or trade for someone to play with Dastyuk as a pure scorer. Put Filppula on his line as well as it seemed they had a bit of chemistry together, move Zetterberg to line 2 with Franzen and Bertuzzi, Helm would center the 3rd line with Cleary and Eaves, then Abby can center Holmstrom and Miller, with Mursak as the 13th forward... I know everyone is posting names and line combos everywhere, but let me just say that if the Cap goes up to $64.5M, before ANY UFA's are signed, Holland has $25M available to sign/trade for players! Awesome! I know Holland wouldn't take on the long term contract, but man with that money I would love to see Kovalchuk on Dastyuk's wing next season! I am not sure Jersey would want to trade him away, unless they are looking to get out from under that contract... they only have 11 fwds, 5 D and 1 goalie signed next year and ONLY have $7M avail in cap. Even if the Cap goes up $5.1M that still isn't much to re-sign the like of Parise, Greene and Hedburg, let alone the rest of the open spots. I am pretty positive Kovalchuk would accept a trade to Detroit... of course I am pretty sure it would cost us at least a roster player AND some high end prospects/draft picks to acquire him...but WOW!

Here's a good question concerning RFA's....Let say Nashville offers Weber a contract and he turns it down and elects arbitration, if he gets rewarded a contract that Nashville doesn't like, then signs somewhere else (Detroit for example, ...just saying ) do the Preds STILL receive the compensatory draft picks?

Hey Kenny, this alone, makes me want to see Wiz on the Wings even more! even though it looks like Wiz hurt himself somehow, man that was a donnybrook with Tootie... I would love a trade to (try to)replace Rafalski, PLUS sign Wiz to round out what would be the best defense corps in the league! (spoken through red glasses) Lidstrom Kronwall Stuart Bogosian Wiz - Kindl Smith Heck they could even sign two UFA's and leave Smith in GRR, but I have a feeling they are gonna make this year Kindl's make or break year...

A couple things I look at when I see Wisniewski and also the same things really make me want to see him in a Wings jersey next season and for a LONG time. He has shown that (so far) he can excell in a system that relies on scoring from defense, and the prototypical team for that is Detroit, so you can only guess that he would continue that trend, also, every team he played for in the West, when the Wings went up against him, he physically punished the Wings (it helps that Chicago and Anaheim were huge rivals and adds fuel to the fire) so you would think that if he continued that trend as well, he would be nothing but pluses for the Wings. I mean, he is no Shea Weber, but he does have a snarl, clears the front of the net, sticks up for his teammates, rarely ever gives up an opportunity to check someone, PLUS he has shown that he can score some points, this could be a huge opportunity for Detroit to get the type of defenseman they have been seeking since Konstantinov was hurt. (disclaimer: I am in no way saying Wiz is just as good as Konstantinov.) I for one, am hoping among hope that he is a Red Wing next season and on a long term basis... (heck with all this Wisniewski talk, he almost deserves his own thread....almost)

Well he damn well better sign someone in the "first wave" He is losing his #2 defense-man from last season, you cannot make that up by adding 2 or 3 "fifth wave" players.... Holland HAS to land a legit top 2 d-man PLUS fill two other spots on D. All we have under contract is Kronner, Stuart and Kindl.... Smith is not coming up. He needs to get Lids signed (if he is signing) and then get three more starters because Kindl is not ready, even if he was, Holland would still need TWO more, ONE being Rafalski's replacement. He's got $25M in cash (if the cap goes up to $64M) and he better spend it! In the FIRST WAVE... Are you listening Holland?

Another thing that makes this bitter-sweet, if Holland decides to take a pass on Ericsson and Salei, this defense is in line for a shakeup that we haven't seen the likes of since Holland acquired Chelios AND Samuelsson back in 1999. Every year since then it's been one guy here another guy there. The three biggest that showed up were Hatcher, Schneider and Rafalski, but all at different times, if Holland decides to go UFA hunting he will need 2 if not 3 NEW players on D...

Yes, the D looks even better with Suter there... ...but you have to figure that how good Nick played this season, if he re-signs, then plays just as well, why wouldn't he play another? I know its only one year at a time for him, but he played another Norris deserving season this year, maybe he will last as long as Chelios.... I do like the idea of Wisnieski for 3-5 years and getting Suter for 3-5 next year... Just imagine this in 2012-2013 Stuart - Kronwall Wiz - Suter Lids - Smith Kindl But I have a feeling that is Kindl hasn't made top 6 in the next two season, the Wings will trade him... So imagine THIS! Stuart - Kronwall Wiz - Suter Ehroff - Lids Smith (ok, ok I wake up now....) Heck, if Holland decides to just keep his forwards status quo and re-sign Eaves & Miller, that could be THIS years defense minus Suter, they could always offer an aging D-Man dying to win a Cup (Jovo) a one year deal, then land Suter next off season... God I love the off season! It's fun to play armchair GM! Well, honestly, if Kronner can learn to put up 50-70 points per season (like Lids) AND still lay on some kronwalling, who needs Weber?

I don't like this team with Hudler on it at all, BUT I am all for getting Wisniewski and another UFA D-man to make our D the best in the league, so if that means spending most of the Cap on a D paring (along with Lids coming back) then I can endure Hudler again (:puke: ...oh, excuse me) and as long as we have a few million left over for Trade Deadline help, if needed...

Just a useless thought, what ever happened to Barret Jackman? He went from ROY, and now I never even hear his name...I see he still plays for the Blues, but....hmmmm....not so dominating as expected. Sorry, I thought of him after looking at the Dany/Andrei Markov thread over there, I remember when he beat on Dany that one year he was here... anyhow, back to the originally scheduled thread topic...

Ya, I think you posted this twice. No thank you on Fleischmann, especially at $2.9M, we already have a small, soft overpaid, underskilled forward for that price... and our back up goalie will be under a million...

Sounds good, but Richards makes nearly $8M now, why on Earth do you think that you would sign here for $6.7M? Or anywhere for that matter for $6.7M? Not unless you are looking at a "Cap Hit Ken Holland Special" that averages $6.7M but pays him $9M for 6 years and $1M for 6 years or some weird math equivilant that works out to be a lot more...

Sorry to inform you PredsFanTheBayou, but he is not gonna come out and say he DOESN'T want to be in Nashville, how would that sound? He isn't even gonna say he wants to see what happens come July 1st. He is be PC and so he doesn't lose faith from fans or his teammates, but in a business, anything can and will AND HAS happened. We've experiencede both sides of that puck: 1. Chris Chelios hates Detroit so much that he would accept a trade there...oops, March 1999, Chelios waives his No-Trade Clause and is traded to Detroit. 2. Marion Hossa tells everyone in the free world that Detroit is where he is gonna end his career, he is gonna a Red Wing and he is going to take less money to stay here. He says it's not even a question, we are just working on the details...oops, July 2009, Marion Hossa signs a "lifetime" contract with the Chicago Blackhawks, chooses to leave Detroit... I am not saying it will happen, I am not saying it won't happen, it may not even be Detroit where he goes, but prepare yourself because it COULD happen, and if it does, you guys will turn on him just as fast as a Louisiana.....well you understand.... Oh, let me give you another example that needs no explanation, just one word.....Fedorov....

That is fine, but then you force them to pay them $9M and then they could very well lose Suter next off-season. Then again are 4 first rounders worth giving up.....

What? It's not out of the question...

Lids signs for $6M then offer $9M and 3 yrs to Weber (I hope that would be enough (what is the most a player can make?)) If Nashville matches then they would surely lose Suter next off season, if they do not match, then we lose how many first rounders? Anyhow, trade Hudler away and even with the $15M tied up in Weber and Lidstrom, Holland still has roughly $11.5M to finish up the D, (which I would still love to see Wisniewski) and maybe get a solid scoring winger to play with Datsyuk (Tanguay? Jokinen? Dunno) For example purposes, I chose Tanguay and MacDonald as a back up ( I realize I could be off a bit on their salaries.) CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR FORWARDS Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Alex Tanguay ($2.500m) Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m) Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) Drew Miller ($0.800m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.900m) / Jan Mursak ($0.550m) DEFENSEMEN Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.000m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Shea Weber ($9.000m) Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) / James Wisniewski ($4.000m) Brendan Smith ($0.875m) GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Joey MacDonald ($0.550m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $64,500,000; CAP PAYROLL: $63,108,711; BONUSES: $0 CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $1,391,289 ...again, just guestimating on some salaries, also still not sure how many first rounders we'd lose to sign Weber at $9M... I realize this lineup doesn't do much to address our lack of grit problems up front, and you would especially NOT want your $9M Weber fighting, but I'd say our D gets mean and tougher for sure.... EDIT: Whoever negged me, please explain why...because Hudler gets traded? Also I said I just used Tanguay as an example...Mods, you should make it so when someone negs someone they have to explain why...