Barnes52

I like Ericsson's attitiude, he wants to develop his game to an NA style, and he's willing to start at the bottom. I wish we had more prospects like that

Fine, I'm on board. But he's not Swedish, therefore he doesn't register on Holland's radar.

See I don't get this, why is he a keeper? Because he played for Detroit? What was so special about his game that we couldn't replace at all? It's not like he's a physical preence, he tries to be, but more times than not he's on the short end of hits, and he has about as much goal scoring touch as Boyd Deveraux. Now, if you want him to replace Draper or Malby at a bargain basement price, ok, but I don't get what he brings that this team can't find in either Grand Rapids or on the UFA market.

Yes, I agree they're a class franchise, but sometimes they have to make difficult decisions. Especially with a salary cap, they have to decide if the money may be better spent on a younger guy who'll accept the league minimum. This team needs to make some hard choices, if they decide to bring back guys like Cleary, then they should look to get rid of guys like Maltby, who only scored 2 more goals. A big reason the team has not been effective in the playoffs is because they keep bringing back the same guys year after year out of loyality. That's fine when you win, but when you lose like they have the lst few years, everyone expects changes to be made, and they should be made.

Again, not worth more than the league minimum. Guys like Cleary are a dime a dozen

Anything more than the minimum and he's getting overpaid. He played gritty in the playoffs, I'll give him that, but he always comes on the short end of a bodycheck, and can't finish to save his life. His spot could be better utilized by a Grand Rapids prospect, who's younger and deserves a chance. Now if this means Maltby will be traded, fine, but someone will need to explain the reasons behind this signing if that's not the case

Guys like Virtue and Meech left Howard out to twist in the wind, they were no help, per usual.

He's a puck mover, we need crease clearers if I'm not mistaken. Now, if you want to get rid of Schneider and replace him with Jonsson, fine. Isn't he injury prone anyways?

ABL.....Anyone But Lilja!

Love this kid's attitude, he deserves a shot up in the "D" http://www.mlive.com/hockey/grpress/index....ll=6&thispage=3

Yes! Kopecky has a ton of talent, has size and the little things, but his game is that much better when he has Bootland at his side, he's so much more effective.

Stortini was heavyweight champ of the OHL last year, he's a big boy. Good for Amadio....Hatch this is why Kopecky is not as effective unless he has a Bootland type at his side. He's more of a pest and won't be as effective if he has to fight his own battles.

Umm, defensemen? How about the whole organization (outside of Bootland)

You're the man Hatch!!! Thanks

You may be right brother, but I have no idea what message it sends to future prospects when you improve very year and play your ass off, to never get rewarded in this organization. If that's the case, the Wings should end their agreement with the Griffs and sign one with the SEL or another European League or team

Hopefully we'll see Bootland and Kopecky up playing fourth line roles next year. I doubt Bootland would be too keen on a dirty knee on knee hit by Marchment on Zetterberg like the rest of the Wings were.

I told you guys, if he keeps his game simple, uses his big body and plays smart, Woolley is done here! Cross is more physical than Lilja ever will be. This is a decent move by Holland, improvement over Rivers.

I think he'll get the message that in order to play over Woolley, he'll need to use his body. Funny, the few games I saw him in with both Edmonton and Toronto, I found him to be lacking skills but playing gritty in front of his net. I'm willing to give him a chance because he's big and smart enough to realize he's not here to score goals. We'll see though

I read recently that Detroit is going to draft more college players because they can give them all four years to develop. They no longer have that luxury with European players. I take that as great news, because like you FBF, I like Winchester and Greene and there are many more of those in college hockey.

I really hope Cross brings some kind of physical game with him, that will set him apart from Woolley right away. Either way, I'd much rather see Cross as our number 6 than Woolley. I think it's smart of Babcock to have 3 offensive defensemen to be paired with 3 "stay at home" guys. I'm interested to see what how Cross performs with Kronwall.

One more thing to keep in mind, I actually think it was Willie Mitchell that Detroit was trying to acquire. Either way, Holland was working on something bigger than Cory Cross, otherwise Jamie Rivers probably wouldn't have ben traded. But I like that Rivers isn't here, we got a pick for him and I don't mind Cross here.

True, but Luke Richardson and Todd Simpson were had for less. But either way, I don't mind Cory Cross, he has size, can play mean, and with the leadership this team has I bet he plays well and fits in. I like him a hell of alot better than Woolley and hope he gets some time to play here to see what he can do.

I remember reading and it was even discussed here that teams were offering mid level picks for Witt. Nashville, Vancover and LA became players as the season went on because of injuries etc...My point is that the cost of acquiring Witt today was more than what it might've been 2 or 3 months ago.

I don't mind getting Cory Cross, and I like that we got rid of Jamie Rivers, but why did we have to give up a fourth round pick? My take is that Holland traded Rivers with the idea that he was acquiring Witt, when that deal fell thru or when Nashville upped their offer, Holland was caught with his pants down and overpaid for Cross. No way Holland thought last night that he wanted Cory Cross and would spend a fourth rounder for him. The biggest issue I have is why wait till the trade deadline? Witt could've been had all year, it was thought a mid-level draft pick was all it'd take about 2 months ago, why didn't Holland act then? That to me is the most frustrating part. Teams are no longer going to give players away to just dump salary, the cap makes everyone equal and with 20 games left, teams don't want to throw away the season. Therefore the lack of sellers drives up the market, anyone could tell you that, so why not act early? If Holland offered a 3rd round pick and a Williams for Witt, McPhee would've done cartwheels a few months ago, today it would've taken Hudler and picks perhaps or Kindl and picks. I can guarantee that McPhee's asking price only went up once Nashville and LA and Vancover got desperate

deal may be in the works....Nash is a healthy scratch tonite... http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hock...nash_the_wings/ Thanks Kukla