RyanBarnes!

Even if Holland would have managed to sign a free agent defenseman like Niskanen or Boyle, I'm not entirely convinced he would not have re-signed Quincey.

Kindl was the worst defenseman on the team last year.

Even without additions this team will improve as the kids gain more experience and confidence. Smith and Dekeyser will be a year older and this should help. Now I dont expect much improvement on the injury front as this team is still terribly soft. On the other hand it cannot get much worse can it? The Red Wings is a playoff team with the current roster. Will be interesting to see if any deal can be made and if Mantha can compete for a roster spot.

Quincey actually played well defensively the second half, he is just not producing much offense. I'll take it if Kindl is gone.

Good, I dont understand why people wanted Ehrhoff anyway.

If Larkin is anything like Helm with better hands then I'm all for it. Red Wings need to add more speed to be a threat.

If you mean they want NHL ready players then I'm with you because FLA is not terribly young on defense. I dont think they would turn down Dekeyser because of his age. He is 24 and has already shown he is NHL ready. Now, Dekeyser is probably a top 5 favorite Red Wing for me, he is someone I really dont want to give up, but people must realize that other teams are not looking to trade away their assets for leftovers. If you want something good, it will be a key player going in the opposite direction. It will not be Nyquist, Tatar or Jurco other teams will be calling for. It will be Dekeyser, Mantha, Mrazek or Sheahan. When did I insinuate that we only picked up 5'10 160 lb players? Also how many of these bigger guys actually play big and physical? None imo.

Pelle Lindbergh, but unfortunately it is already too late.

yes Hudler did return to the NHL but ultimately Holland decided not to re-sign him after a 50 pt season. Hudler is a the prototypical player that chooses to leave for the KHL. Skilled but average skater and useless in his own zone. I dont think we will ever see Almquist in the NHL again, but we are obviously looking very differently at why he chose to flee to the KHL...

i dont think FLA would be very interested in Nyquist and Jurco, they are not elite. As mentioned before, I think Dekeyser and a pick or prospect might catch their attention. But then the price is much steeper.

I predict that Holland will trade down and pick Barbashev. Or they keep the pick and select Kempe.

players that leave for Russia generally have questionable work ethic/attitude or defensive lapses. See Radulov or Omark for example. Or they lack the skill, see Emmerton.

I'd prefer to see Holland trade up this year. Ekblad is out of reach but then trade up to grab one of the skilled, physical forwards. Red Wings have depth and plenty of skill but no size whatsoever.

Isn't "get an opportunity to play" the same thing as not playing in the NHL? And that would indicate they didnt have what it takes to play a more important role in the NHL. I think the salary argument is not valid for regular NHL players -there havent been that many quality players leaving for the KHL besides a couple of Russians deciding to return home. I can also say that most players never dream about the KHL, except maybe Russians, they dream of the NHL.

Honestly, if Almquist had the skill and attitude to make it in the NHL, he would not leave for Russia. I dont think we will see him again.

Ugh, retire already. Second half nobody looked slower and more uninspired than Alfie.

Forget it.

LOL, yes I read that, but there is no way Cleary will play in the NHL again. It is only for show, to make good on that promise.

Re-signing Gustavsson would be a wise move I think. There will be injuries, so Mrzek will probably play some in the NHL anyway.

I agree, let Alfie walk. You could see he slowed down considerably during the second half of the season. I hope Holland has learnt from his mistakes with Cleary, Samuelsson and Bertuzzi...

I'll root for any team I want thank you. Zetterberg is nothing like Yzerman. To be succesful you must sometimes make hard decisions. At least we can agree that Franzen is not a tradable commodity then. That is something.

A captain that struggled last season with a back injury, a captain that might play three more season's if we are lucky. Overhyped? Ekblad is an exception player, first defenseman to gain this status ever. I'm not suggesting this particular trade necessarily, but I'm advocating that it could be an interesting possibility to trade up. OK, let's go back to discuss trading Franzen and some bottom six guy for top elite players, because that surely isn't NHL 14-esque at all.

Yes, Captain Obvious, if you want to play it safe this is not a deal for you. It's a risk, but a calculated one imo. I have never said otherwise.

Zetterberg is a good but not legendary captain in a post Lidstrom era and the Red Wings need to rebuild. So, no I dont see much similarity at all actually. Great rewards rarely come without risk, and in this case I think Ekblad could prove to be worth it.

Did you just compare Zetterberg to Yzerman??