dallas27

It'd work if Stuart didn't have a no-trade clause

Not to take away from Franzen's goal, which was pure awesome, but how quick we forget:

5 years with a cap hit of 3 million would be orgasmic *edit* And give them an outside shot to keep Hossa

You honestly think any team the Red Wings put out on the ice is barely going to make the playoffs? How exactly is Helm a rookie when he has 18 playoff games and a Stanley Cup under his belt? How is Leino a rookie when he has 5 goals in the NHL? Abdelkader I'll concede, but given the experience in the locker room I wouldn't foresee his transition that difficult. That's great, they both combined to score the same amount of points as Hossa did last year in the playoffs. Only difference is Hossa, had his team won, would have made a run for the Conn Smythe. Something those two won't even sniff. I wish people would stop with the Filppula thing, he's an over-achieving Draper (sans all the leadership Draper brings to the table) until he proves otherwise. Now your just being ridiculous. To say you think he's not worth it is one thing but to sit there and say he is extremely over-rated, well that's just retarded. I don't use that word to often seeing as my aunt has Down Syndrome but given what you typed in the bold text there, I think it's fitting. Extremely over-rated? In other news I'm winning the lotto tomorrow. He's top 20, but he's extremely over-rated. What if we win the cup? Does that all go away? That's great you can throw what if's around, it's too bad they don't prove anything. Who is the answer? Conklin? With his whole 6 minutes of experience in the playoffs? I think the Wings know another goalie that played well in the regular season but when he had his chance in the playoffs blew it. Think of Conklin as Legace 2.0. I would say Hossa at 6 is a whole lot more likely than all three at those numbers. Whatever Mr. Holland does will be best for the team, regardless of what we all think, and that's all that matters. Although given the numerous statements Hossa has made publicly I wouldn't be all that shocked if Mr. Holland talked Hossa down to 5 million. Hossa said he's had his big pay day. Franzen hasn't.

Offense: Hossa (6) - Datsyuk (6.7) - Holmstrom (2.25) Leino (.975) - Zetterberg (6) - Hudler/Sammy (1.5) Cleary (2.8) - Helm (.6) - Abdelkader (.74) Meech (.483) - Draper (1.583) - Maltby (.883) Defense: Lidstrom (7.45) - Stuart (3.75) Ralfaski (6) - Kronwall (3) Ericcson (.9) - Lilja (1.25) Lebda (.650) Goalie: Osgood (1.417) Howard (.717) TOTAL : 55.7 1 mil under the cap. All you have to do is trade Flip. Sammy or Hudler will take 1.5.

Not to take away from the article, which he is spot on, but... Only problem being Hossa has gone on record saying he knows he has to take a discount to stay on the team and says it's a matter of time while Franzen hasn't stated one thing. Comes down to money. Franzen at 3 and Hossa at 7? Gotta take Franzen. Franzen at 5 and Hossa at 6? Gotta take Hossa, you are on a high that isn't coming down anytime soon if you pick otherwise.

If you would have looked a little more down I said that post is wishful thinking. I'm not expecting Hudler to sign for that (or Flip to be traded), which is also why I said OR Sammy. One of them will take that amount to stay on the team, take whoever does. The first and second line is interchangeable, it's really 1a and 1b when you have that amount of talent. If Hudler was given the amount of ice time Filppula gets everyone would see he is more than capable. He's already shown that when he's with Hossa they can be pretty deadly. For the nth time and last time Mule is not anything like Homer nor will he ever be. Someone like Homer does not come around too often. Mule scores his goal by either floating around the net or driving to it, not sitting in front of it. If Mule is relegated to Homer's role you will see his goal production drop big time. It's a waste of talent to have Mule take Homer's role.

Yea, it's all wishful thinking on my end. This team will be worse off with Filppula on it IMO. He's a good hockey player but he's burning a hole in the Red Wings pocket with that contract. Trading Filppula opens up a ton of different options for Mr. Holland.

Step 1: Sign Hossa @ 6 mil Step 2: Trade Filppula Step 3: Sign Hudler (or Sammy) @ 1.5 mil Step 4: Sign Leino @ .9 mil Step 5: Call up Helm and Abdelkader Final result: Offense: Hudler (1.5) - Datsyuk (6.7) - Holmstrom (2.25) Leino (.9) - Zetterberg (6) - Hossa (6) Cleary (2.8) - Helm (.6) - Abdelkader (.74) Meech (.483) - Draper (1.583) - Maltby (.883) Defense: Lidstrom (7.45) - Stuart (3.75) Ralfaski (6) - Kronwall (3) Ericcson (.9) - Lilja (1.25) Lebda (.650) Goalie: Osgood (1.417) Howard (.717) TOTAL : 55.58ish 1.4ish million UNDER this year's cap which leaves plenty of room to do whatever. Helm, Abdelkader and Ericcson have proved they can play at the NHL level. Spare me the "I don't know about having that many Griffins in the line-up" routine. With the likes of Hank, Pav, Draper, Homer, Maltby and Lidstrom in the locker room they have plenty of mentors to show them the ropes. They have to be brought up at some point, now is the perfect time.

You're losing a lot more letting Hudler go than Filppula. I have no problem seeing a player that doesn't shoot the puck, sometimes looks downright confused in the offensive zone and holds onto the puck too long go rather than a player that, given the ice time, can potentially get 80 or more points. Flip's a good defensive player, no doubt, but the Wings have plenty of forwards that can do that.

Which is precisely why they should have traded Filppula.

Quite frankly I'm surprised with the amount of people having Flip center Hossa. I would have figured six months into the season people would realize he has proved that he has no reason to be out there with Hossa while Hudler (averaging 3 minutes less than the untouchable Filppula) has proved he should be out there with Hossa. Flip is an upgraded Draper while Hudler's offensive awareness and hands rival that of Datsyuk's (to an extent). Although Flip did score a cake goal last night so that gives him immunity for at least another season. I know it sounds like I'm ragging on Flip but man does everyone give him too much credit while they throw Hudler under the bus. Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Homer Hudler - Leino - Hossa Franzen - Filppula - Sammy Maltby - Draper - Cleary Lidstrom - Kronwall Rafalski - Stuart Lilja - Ericsson Osgood

Bottom line: Not trading Flip is going to make next year's team worse. Mr. Holland has to worry about inking Hossa, Franzen, Hudler and let's not forget about Leino. Whom are all better than Flip. Shedding Flip's salary will make signing at least two or three of those names feasible given some "hometown discounts." Nothing against him, I'm sure he'll turn out to be a fine hockey player, it's just the Wings do not need him more than they need the names above. And spare me the defensive/two-way forward bit. Perhaps the biggest part of being a good defensive player is being in the right position, which you can teach as previously stated. As I've said before, Flip is a jack-of-all trades player. Does everything well but nothing exceptional.

Fixed. Ahhhhhhhh yes, the infamous "Bobby Orr" goal that vaulted Flip to superstar status here. Notice how both Orr AND Flip shot the puck before they went flying. Except Orr's won a Stanley Cup. Flip is a jack of all trades player. Does everything well but nothing exceptional. And quite frankly seems lost and confused in the offensive zone when he's out there with Hossa, Zetterberg, or Datsyuk. Nothing against the guy but Hossa + Hudler > Hossa + Flip. Only problem with the former is that you have to trade Flip.

I'm not going to go overboard on finding quotes proving such. Also not going to say they can eat their crow just yet but it's looking like that will be the case. And after countless times being shot down and treated like an idiot for thinking of such "impossibilities" it's going to be pretty sweet to sit there and watch them eat it. Winning is contagious, as is being part of the classiest organizations in all sports. It's no wonder Hossa and everybody else on the team wants to be a part of it and is willing to do what it takes to remain on it.

I hate to be an ahole, but I sorta am. I've been advocating for months that there is no evidence showing that Hossa wouldn't take another discount to stay here. Looks like I was right. That aside. I'm waiting to see if Mr. Holland signs Franzen first. Why? Market value. If Mr. Holland lets Franzen hear what other teams will offer him in the off-season I suspect it would be a lot tougher to sign him compared to Hossa. Hossa has made it clear that he wants to be a Red Wing for some time to come, he knows what teams are willing to offer him BUT he has stated publicly that he is willing to take a discount. So you don't have to worry about Hossa jumping ship once he hears outrageous numers, not so sure about Franzen. Of course if Flip isn't traded then I say screw it, don't take that gamble and lock up Hossa ASAP.

My numbers. I got flak for it because people didn't want to have an AHL team for a line. Well, I think it's been made perfectly clear that Helm, Leino AND Abdelkader can very much skate at the NHL level and be very effective. Ericcson as well. Please note it's under this years cap. And to think people called me crazy and was smoking a crack pipe to think the Wings could retain Hossa, I won't name names.

So long as he trades Flip to make cap room for any combination of Hossa, Franzen and Hudler I could care less who he brings in.

His name is Lamezky, get it right

John Keating, Mickey York, even Larry Murphy are all cheesed***s

OH, GET YOUR HAT READY Cuz it's going on the ice

I'll try to save it too The Wings are thinking about calling me up to play for Hank while he has back spasms

You sound like an idiot by saying this and trying to use it to back your argument. This doesn't help either. Especially since there is probably some team out there waiting to offer a big body that can score the amount of goals he does to that type of contract. Guess I'm on crack. How do you know that he isn't willing to take a cap number of 6 million like Zetterberg? Who's to say he sees Zetterberg, who could have got the same amount on the open market as him, and the sacrifice he took and takes a number like that to remain on the team? You realize that Hossa is only ONE year older than Franzen correct? I'm afraid you would have to lump Franzen into that category of guys out of their prime as well. I can see Hossa playing for another 5 years at the level he is right now. Same with Franzen. Franzen can only dream about being the hockey player Hossa is however. The reason why the Wings did better last year at this point compared to this year is because they had a hot goaltender and an actual defense. Two things they are lacking right now. The only way you get your option is if they trade Filppula. That locks up Franzen and Hudler. But at that point you can feasibly sign Hossa and Hudler, which is the better option, I'd be happy with either one. Since they won't be dealing Filppula, for whatever reason, you're probably looking at Franzen and Sammy. I'm taking Hossa, if the money is right, over them.

Hossa is arguably the hardest backchecker on the team, I rarely even see Franzen in the defensive zone. Also has 11 assists to Hossa's 24. Powerplay? Hossa has 29 points, Frazen with 19. Hossa is a skinny fancy European? Hossa doesn't use his body to make plays? Do you watch the games? Or do you come on this board and repeat what you see people say? And for all this physical play people keep talking about, Franzen only has 12 more hits than Hossa. It seems as if Franzen is some sort of checking machine the way he is talked about. If it's so much easier to shut down Zetterberg and Hossa why do they have more points? Why are they two of the best two way players in the game? Why are they used on the PK and Franzen isn't? Why did they both end up with more points than Franzen in the playoffs last year? Saying Franzen would be a better option is one thing, but to sit there and say Franzen is a better hockey player than Hossa is just outright dumb. I'd be perfectly fine signing Mule, I'm just not fine with not trading Flip to have a chance to lock up Hudler too, but that's a different thread.

So will Filppula be a better hockey player than Hossa or Franzen and Hudler? That's the problem, they will be letting their loyalty get in the way. I don't see how it's not a no-brainer to trade an expensive role-player if it means either a top 10 forward / two way player in the league or two serious, serious offensive threats. Either option is better than Flippula.