Barnes52

It seemed her never fit in and I thought the move to sign him was strange to begin with....good luck to him

Devils have a few already.....they have guys on the farm and even have a few on the club. Detroit has no one ready to take that role, accept Bootland. Let's not compare draft records of Lamoriello versus Holland please, I don't want to take it there because it might embarass Holland. Not to mention the difference in payrolls they both were allowed to work with. Not saying Detroit hasn't had any success in drafting, they have, but don't compare Holland's and Lou's records. Anyways, should be a topic for another thread.

Apparently Detroit doesn't....at least they don't want to try and develop one

You are right...they did pass, but not all of them need size as bad as Detroit does though

Still better that Abdelkader, at this point

You speak the truth. This team needs a shakeup, and a trade will start to put people on notice. Their issues are deeper than just a lack of a D-Man, but this would be a start to get guys on their toes.

lmao wow thats gotta be one of the worst rumors ive ever heard in my life we might as well give away our best goalie and a top prospect in hudler for a bag of hockey pucks then salei and the other guy Hmmm... For one, I said that we would likely get more (perhaps a draft pick). Two, Hudler is not our top prospect. Kronwall, Grigorenko, and Howard are all above him. Lets not forget Hudler is 5'8 160 lbs, lacks speed, and is generally lazy. He has 35 points in the AHL, but so what? Erik Westrum has 36 with weaker line mates. You must understand the AHL is not nearly as physically demanding as the big leagues. Hudler will not be nearly as effective as he is in the A. I wouldnt mind shipping this guy out. He has a lot of skill, but we have enough of those type players and its not getting us anywhere. I guarantee once people see Hudler, they will never stop bitching about him. Artyukhin has good size and is mean as a bull.. maybe redwings scouts see potential in this kid.. he does afterall stand 6'4, weighs 255lbs, and is only 22 years old. I havent seen him play, but their must be something the wings see in him. Legace our best goalie?? maybe, but he's not a great goalie, nor is he part of our future. Howard is here to stay and Osgood has no trade value. Therefore, Legace will likely be moved. I'm sorry if you cant stand to here that. I rather a young and developing power forward, a solid defenseman, Howard in net, another draft pick, and less minutes for Lilja than having a career back up goalie inbetween the pipes, and 5'8 Hudler trying to crack a line up already full of skilled scorers. But if you would prefer a bag of hockey pucks..... Well said about Hudler!

I don't know if the rumor is true, but sounds plausible......think about it, Legace is a UFA next year that will command more than his current 1mm+ salary. 1/2 of Detroit's team are UFA's next year and Detroit won't have the money to sign them. Top that off with Manny having his highest value in trade ever....and never showing his ability to last a full season, so the ruimor is very plausible.

He's attractive trade bait....

Hey dude, I believe you, you don't have to be in "secret meetings" to hear things. Anyone who's worked in any organization knows that things get out and you don't need to be on the inside to feel a "buzz" or anything. Holland would tell Grand Rapids about this because GR needs to run a team also, they have to prepare if a player is not going to be available, no?

He was supposed to be the next McCarty, now he drops off the face of the earth. I hope that if Detroit stays with their Euro fetish, they look for guys in Finland. Finnish hockey is probably the most like hockey in North America and have boasted a few tough guys..Sami Kapanen comes to mind. Anyways, anyone have any info, Henkka?

Do you suggest I meant we trade all of them? Not at all, my point was that a lot of those guys will be UFA's next year and will be lost anyways or be more expensive, instead of trading draft picks, why not package one of 2 guys for some players. That's what I meant

Bootland and McDonell have been impressive also. Kopecky has stepped up his game, and Edmonton's prospect-forgot his name is also impressive. I'm actually excited at the number of prospects maturing and becoming players here. Holland definitely has some chips to play with if he decides to deal at the deadline. This summer will also be interesting. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts

Both guys are at least 3-4 inches taller than Hudler. Also keep in mind that Hudler and Kopecky have big, aggressive forwards on their lines that give them a bit of room and get them the puck to create. Where are those types on Detroit? Outside of Franzen, of course.

Did he fight the guy, or was it just because of stickwork....

I still say Matt Walker from St Louis, Witt if possible ( we now have lots of depth in Grand Rapids) or Garnet Exelby That'd be ideal

get rid of Mowers, and then let's sit guys like Williams and Cleary for a few games to see what guys like Bootland, McDonnell, Filippula and even Hudler can do. Why? Because this off season is going to be HUGE, a lot of veterans and prospects are in the last year of deals and decisions need to be made as to who stays and who goes. Thoughts?

You can thank Bootland mostly. It's a perfect line of finesse, powerful shot, and grit. Bootland has been outstanding, Filippula has been great and Kopecky has been the beneficary. I'd rather see Bootland get the call up, especially for a forth line role

My choices? Barrett Jackman or Matt Walker from St Louis, next would be a Mark Bell type. Ok, now I'll go back to sleep

They may not want Niinimaa, but they were looking at someone there....

J-Swift, How about also trading Derek Meech and Lilja for Matt Walker, the St Luis Blues D-Man. He's physical, will fight anyone but he's not a goon....along with trying to pry Bell out of Chicago's hands.

for sure.....but with the salary cap, teams may not be able to get involved. Keep in mind that Brendan Witt will also take teams attention.

True bud, but if St Louis continues to tank, you never know..remember we got Chelios from Chicago, so at the end of the day, teams will deal with whoever can get them the best deal.

My apologies

opps