RyanBarnes!

This

This is so sad... Because it is true.

Vital? No but compared to the players on your list I see him as a future Red Wing and a solid role player. I would trade him if the return was right but to me that is very different from being expendable.

You cannot be serious about putting Abdelkader on this list! That is just silly.

My comment was just stating a fact, but to be honest I dont think the Rangers future look that bad. They have a great core that will stick around for many more years. Probably longer than Datsyuk and Zetterberg.

Rangers improved a lot this week, not just with Clowe but also Brassard and Dorsett.

we would have to disagree on that one. Even in a supposedly deep draft there is far from any guarantees that you will find a top pair defenseman in the bottom half of the first round. Anders Eriksson, Golubovsky, Kuznetsov, Wallin etc are proof of this.

My point was rather that there are several pieces missing, not just a top pairing defenseman or a top six forward.

because the price was right and he would improve the team. Simple as that.

How so? Bouwmeester's contract only had one more year left. Also, there is no single player available that will turn this team into a contender overnight.

Holland has been rumored to be interested. Anyway, he will continue looking then, because I doubt any better defenseman will fall in his lap within foreseeable future.

Clowe would fill the same role as Abdelkader only better. He is good for 20-25 goals.

Holland must have been sleeping when this trade went down. Would easily have been worth matching the return Flames got here.

PATHETIC loss in every sense of the word.

Who cares?? I dont ever want to see his name on a Red Wings roster again.

Retire already!

Yeah Chara is legit. He is a beast. He has got considerable size advantage though, which is why I opted to go with Tootoo. I like players that are not that big but plays like they are and never turns anyone down. Kocur was the best though.

Fake toughest? Hartnell Legit toughest? Tootoo Biggest clown? P Kane Classiest? Iginla

Rundblad would be interesting. The Quincey and White bashers would have a field day every time he is on the ice.

I would say the Red Wings is very popular here, but these things tend to vary a lot with generations. Back in the early 90's when the Pens won two Cups and had both Lemieux and Jagr, then they were pretty popular, then when Forsberg played with Colorado, they were popular, and of course the Red Wings. I guess some teams featuring players from the area can be big locally, like Rangers/Lundquist and the southwest of Sweden.

Found this comment on hockeybuzz.com that I found notewhorthy. http://www.hockeybuzz.com/boards/thread.php?thread_id=105106&page=1 "Today @ 8:48 AM ET Bergevin and Holland have talk alot at GM'S meeting. Markov, Diaz, Weber, Abdelkader and Filppula have been discussed." I know it is not even a rumor, but to me this sounds like a typical Holland move, that's what scares me. Plus, there's no secret that Detroit has coveted Markov. Maybe a potential two for one swap? I notice Montreal seem to have decent depth at defense. I certainly hope this is nothing though. I don't think this deal would help Detroit at all.

That's funny, because it is not like Holland has ever brought in veteran defensemen before (Lilja, Rafalski, Huskins, Olausson, D. Markov etc.) And certainly not defensemen from common countries (Russia, Sweden). Both Diaz and Weber are Swiss like Brunner. And Diaz put up 13 points in 19 games. Holland doesn't like undersized offensive minded defensemen. They are 27 and 24 yrs old respectively. As for injuries, Holland took a shot on Coliacovo didn't he? There is more but why bother?Anyway, I wouldn't expect that talks would involve all players mentioned, but perhaps something like Diaz and Markov for Filppula, if Holland decided not to negotiate a new contract before end of season. I'm not going to waste more time on this, as it is no more than a random comment, but there is definitely some Holland logic to it IMO.

I'm all for Iginla and Bouwmeester if the price is right. They would both be tremendous additions to this team IMO.

As mentioned, this is not an Eklund rumor, then we would be safe, this is a random comment from the Eklund site, but it's got Holland logic written all over it. At least it has now been officially discussed, that should be enough for it to never materialize into anything.

I'd be happy to get rid of some of the veteran depth, but the streak must not end.