RyanBarnes!

Complete BS stats in my opinion. I dont understand why anybody would waste their time to measure this? As pointed out, too many variables come into play for this to be significant in any possible way.

I disagree. I'd rather have a active GM trying to improve than one keeping status quo on a team not winning.

No way! Fedorov was great, but he is no Yzerman or Lidstrom. Retired jersey's are for legends not greats. If Detroit retired jersey's for every great player to suit up, there would be none left eventually.

There are all sorts of possibilities. Holland could involve a third team if Calgary indeed insists to get a defensman in return. I stand by my belief that a deal can be made for Bouwmeester and still improve this team.

You are not going to find a replacement for Lidstrom anywhere you look, you need to find the right bits and pieces here and there, and try to put something together that will be better than the individuals. I think the qualities you listed is a perfect fit paired with Kronwall for example. I think a deal could be made that will benefit both teams.

But can we afford not to add Bouwmeester? I think a defenseman that can log 20+ minutes is worth more to Detroit right now than any realistic package going the other way.

Could be, but then again top four defensemen will not come cheap, even if they have a big contract. The question was if I'd be willing to part with any players mentioned in the Nash deal, and as stated, I would.

Smith is untouchable, but one of Filppula, Franzen or Nyqvist + pick I think is fair for Bouwmeester.

Oh yes, would love to see what Bouwmeester could do in Detroit. He is not the type of flashy defensemen Detroit fans has gotten used to but he can log a ton of minutes and play responsible in his own end. I think that's exactly what Detroit needs now that Lidstrom retired.

Right now, it looks like your wish will come true. I dont see Holland making any outrageous offers to Doan, but he might feel tempted to throw a few more years at Semin if the price is right.

Yes, maybe. But who knows which free agents will still be out there come July 1, 2013?

Any GM looking for a franchise defenseman and with the financial means necessary would match this offer, I have no doubts. If by "overpaying" you mean pay more than someone else -then yes. It is like buying a house, if you buy it, this mean you have paid more than anybody else was willing to and thus by the same definition you would have "overpaid". So what I'm objecting to is really the word "overpaying", because on this board it seems to be losely tied to some imaginery figure in people's minds with no relation to the actual market. Naturally there's a premium to lure away talent like Weber, but in support of the market theory, history show that most offer sheets have been matched (the only exceptions being Gratton and Penner). In order to evaluate an asset (a house or a player) I think you must also consider what it is worth to you.In conclusion, I agree it is not a cheaper strategy, but it could still prove to be worth it for a financially strong team. It is all about how you evaluate the talent.

Babcock will never surrender. He is the best coach in the NHL.

By your definition all players are overpaid, and that might be true in some regard, but if the market is willing to support this contract it is market value. Many GM's around the league would happily match this offer if given a chance, if the Preds can or not is a matter of Financial means, not market value.

Well there is no way to know either way is there, but the argument is the same nonetheless. The draft is a lottery, but Weber is a sure thing.

At least it is mentioned in this article... Weber agrees to offer sheet "Per the CBA, if the Preds match Weber, they can't trade him for an entire year. But they could still trade with the Flyers, a team who has the extra top 6 forwards they need." Maybe Holmgren decided to take advantage of this rule and loose the competition? Maybe Poile and Holmgren are in on this together somehow?

Think about the message it will send to the fans if the Preds would not match an offer for their best player. Also Poile said the Preds would match any offer. There is more at stake here than "just" money.

Well Fischer obviously was bad luck. Kronwall turned out nicely after a somewhat questionable start. Kindl is uncertain although most on this board I bet would already call him a bust. Smith will hopefully be everything we hope he is.Now I think many GM:s would at least consider trading these four for an all proven Weber, and this in retrospect when the outcome is already known. So again, if you ask me if Weber is worthy of 4 first round picks when the outcome is totally unknown (could easily be Eriksson, Golubovsky, Kuznetsov and Wallin) then my answer would be "yes". Simply because franchise defensemen like Weber don't come around that often, especially not in the late first round, when Detroit is usually picking.

We all know that Preds will match this offer sheet, so that is not the point. But Weber would easily be worth 4 first round picks in my opinion. It is not like the Red Wings have a fantastic draft record for defensemen taken in the first round the past 20 years -and it is not like they aren't trying. Detroit used 8 of 10 possible picks on defensemen and traded ten 1st picks (in 97, 99, 01, 02, 03, 04, 06, 09, 11 and 12). The exceptions are McCollum in 08 and Sheahan in 10. 1993 Anders Eriksson 1994 Yan Golubovsky 1995 Maxim Kuznetsov 1996 Jesse Wallin 1998 Jiri Fischer 2000 Niklas Kronwall 2005 Jakub Kindl 2007 Brendan Smith

If trade talks heated up? Yes, I think it could spark Franzen. He is a competitor. I have a friend who used to play with Franzen back when he was a junior. He said Franzen was a really lazy guy who didn't really like to practice or work out much at all, but if anybody beat him at something, for example running the mile, then he would go crazy and just run that mile again and again until he had you beaten. For those watching the World Championships, Franzen was very much his old self again, creating traffic and crashing the net. I guess Babcock must find out what makes Franzen tick.

I think you are right. Until players reach a certain status, like contribute to a Cup win, nothing will be good enough and even the slightest mistake will be scrutinized. This changes once a player has proven himself on a Cup winning team. The player might still be criticized, but to a lesser degree, and he will always be a better option than the "newbee".

To be fair, it was not too long ago people complained about Kronwall's defensive game either. I think having Lidstrom around for so many years has seriously spoiled Red Wings fans because he barely ever made a mistake, but defensemen much like forwards make mistakes now and then, and it is usually not a big deal. I'm happy to have Quincey back, it should be interesting to see what he can do with more ice time.

Ideally? No...

Seem like Doan's price tag is unreal. I dont think he should get anywhere near $7.5 M at this point in his career. He would have been an interesting option at $4-5 M perhaps...

Detroit Free Press "The Wings have been talking to Abdelkader's camp for a while, and the negotiations were going well enough that Abdelkader opted not to file for arbitration by the July 5 deadline, unlike teammate Kyle Quincey. Quincey has a hearing July 25, and while the sides could reach an agreement before then, Quincey would, through arbitration, be assured a one-year deal that would leave him an unrestricted free agent next summer." I hope both are signed to long term deals shortly.