YoungGuns1340

My tune has really changed on the whole Hossa issue. Three months ago I was against it, but now that the cap is rumored to go up to 54M next year, its apparent that our goaltending situation will likely cost little more than 2M, and our defense is going to change little, id be all for a Hossa trade because I think wed be able to re-sign him. Itd probably cost us Hudler or Filppula (plus picks and prospects of course), but Id take Hossa for the next 5 years over Hudler and Flip any day. There are really no holes in Hossas game. I think by the time Zetterbergs new contract kicked in, the cap will probably at least be up to 55M, so that shouldnt be an issue as well. Not to mention Hossa is exactly the type of player thatll solidify your PP.

I know Sundin is a classy guy, and hes definitely the better playoff performer between he and Hossa, but for some reason Id prefer it more if we got Hossa. Maybe its because Hossa is a natural winger. Maybe its because I think playoff track records are a lot of times bulls*** and any player could break out at any moment. But more and more I think its just the fact that it irks me a little that Sundin is so set on staying with the most poorly run franchise in the entire game. Im probably just overthinking this, but Id almost question whether or not hed truly play his best game away from Toronto. And, as a side note, would Toronto really trade Sundin to Ottawa?

The Brunnstrom comparison to Datsyuk and Zetterberg was about THEIR AGE when he came over. And when they came over, they hadn't played one bit on NHL ice (see: unproven). What about that comparison do you not understand? And as for Detroit having Brunnstrom next year, yes they would - in their system. Regardless of whether or not he plays 82 games a Red Wing, 10 games as a Red Wing, or doesnt make his debut until the year after next, hes still coming to Detroit next year i.e. his development will no longer continue in European leagues. Sorry you want to pick fights for the sake of doing so, but I know much better than you do what I meant with MY posts, thanks.

Um, no. Please find where I said Brunnstrom is a sure-fire 1st line NHLer. In fact, find where I even said Hudler was one if you think thats what I was insinuating. The point of MY post had everything to with young forwards, with youth. If Brunnstrom is coming here, that makes it that much less of an impact if Hudler is traded because, whether its next year or the year after, we now have one more young forward who is, right now, probably closer to the calibre of what Hudler is now more so than any of our other forward prospects.

Neither did Datsyuk or Zetterberg...and Brunnstroms the same age as those two were.

Im curious. Does anybody think this sort of thing makes it more likely that Holland goes for a big trade and sends off Hudler plus XX to get a big name?

More like without Datsyuk, Holmstrom, and Cleary.

Yeah its crazy to think that the Wings would be thinking about trade possibilities with the trade deadline only 4 weeks away!

You forgot that Lebda was probably about 50% too. He injured his ankle in the Langkow incident and by his own admission wouldve been off the ankle and off the ice for another couple weeks if it hadnt been the playoffs. But thats neither here nor there. At this point, I'm convinced we're going to get Blake for several reasons. 1) Chelios claims Blake really wants to play for Detroit, a statement that Blake has not denied. 2) Blake has said he wants to go to a contender and with his NTC, he can basically choose which team he wants to go to. 3) According to some journalists, LA wants to trade Blake to the Western team that has the best chance of knocking off the Ducks (i.e. Detroit) 4) Detroit has the cap space and the assets to acquire him 5) Since he may request to go specifically to Detroit, that means Detroit can get Blake for a reasonable amount since there wouldnt be any outside competition. Ill admit I was against the idea for a while, but Ive warmed up to it a lot, probably because Blake has been playing like he did for the Avs over the past 20 games or so. And because, well, if the Ducks continue to take penalties like they do, Lidstrom-Rafalski followed by Blake-Kronwall is a pretty sick powerplay to answer to.

Yeah but hes what? 45? He has a good 20 years to rack up some serious wins. And if he stays with Detroit for a lot of that where they provide him with good talent to work with and a comfortable situation, then I see no reason why it wouldnt be a good guess to say he could be Hall of Fame coach someday.

Hm..Anaheim and Colorado? Colorado wins in 96, going through Detroit. Then Detroit takes the next two cups back to back. Anaheim wins in 07, going through Detroit. Then Detroit...?

Haha Lou man your theory just got toasted! Seriously though, Id put my money on Foote. I'm betting everybody already forgot about this, but Detroit was actually NOT supposed to go with this defensive lineup. They were saying all through the off-season that they wanted a physical top 4, but couldnt find any Dman that would sign short term. Im guessing they still want that physical Dman and Im sure they know they need it. Foote fits the bill.. (or does he foot it?)

Honestly, this guys on his way to winning the Jack Adams this year, and I've seen the majority of hockey journalists agree. Babs is a young guy. I see him as the type of coach thats gonna have a Hall of Fame career.

I hear what youre saying about Maltby, but you have to remember that a BIG reason why Maltby was re-signed is because he is a Red Wing through and through. It reflects well on the organization to keep Maltby around. It shows other teams that Detroit's brass is loyal and generous, and it shows their dedication towards keeping other teammates happy. Could you imagine how the departure of Maltby would affect the dressing room? I cant imagine that Draper and Osgood would be too happy, especially Draper if he lost his linemate and best friend for the last decade. Not to mention, Maltby is one of the guys still around from the Cup Winning years. Its nice to have players that casual fans can identify, with so many other players coming and going in todays NHL.

To be honest, this doesnt worry me that much for some reason. Anaheims great on paper, but they arent clicking like they did last year. Sure Getzlaf and Perry are bona fide beasts now, but from what Ive seen and heard, Beauchimin, Schneider, Pronger, and Niedermayer arent where they were last season. Stanley Cup hangover? Coincidence? I dont know, but I know Hollands gonna respond to this sort of news with big moves at the deadline.

Luongos probably the best goaltender in the league right now, but I still think he can be proved to be human. As for Vancouver adding Sundin and Forsberg? Id bet my life that it doesnt happen. 1) cap space 2) reality. Plus Forsberg wants to be with Philly, and theyll likely make it happen. And if Vancouver were to add Sundin, that just brings them up to good offense, instead of weak.

IMO, Alfredsson is the best player in the league. Not Crosby. Not Iginla. Not Luongo. He does it all, and his goals in all situations make that evident. Too bad hes not at least half-black or Canadian, or else theyd be marketing the hell out of him.

ov-ver-rat-ed clap, clap, clap clap clap Seriously, Markovs physicality has been overrated since he came here. I know it would be nice that Detroit doesnt have to give up anything, but Id really like to see a guy who plays a bona fide physical stay at home game.

Everybodys talking about how hard it is to play against a team thats looking to run you all the time, but nobodys pointing out how it is almost equally tiring to play aggressively night in and night out. Detroit lost to Anaheim because, if you remember correctly, their PP crapped out. When their PP was firing on all cylinders, they blew out Anaheim. You can talk all you want about how Detroit will be toast against big bodies, but the bruise brother fans never seem to point out that it can kill a team when they have to chase a puck possession team around all night, especially when you commit to the hit when youve finally caught up with the puck and its possessor. Theres a positive and negative to both types of play. Ill take solace in the fact that its going to be a lot easier for Detroit to add size and grit to its roster at the deadline than it wil be for Anaheim to afford taking on a key top 6 forward.

I cant agree with that statement more. Wed have to tear apart this team to be able to compete with the Ducks physically. It simply wont happen. But when we add players at the deadline - and we will, mind you. Considering we might have won the Stanley Cup if it werent for key injuries, theres no way Holland lets that happens again. Hell stack Detroit up a bit more. - when we add players, itll only make us deeper and likely bigger and grittier, and Im banking on it being closer to a 1997 repeat than 2003...

What if, what if, blah blah blah. This is the same type of logic that you (or others..cant remember who exactly) were calling out Wings fans for when they tried to invalidate the Ducks beating us over 6 games. Doesnt matter. Hockeys a game where you make your luck as much as anything else. Maybe Detroit did get lucky with its offense, but Anaheim couldnt put the biscuit in the basket either, and who knows what they wouldve looked like if they had been without Getzlaf.. As for fighting, theres no way Cleary throws down with Pronger in the first place if this were the playoffs. And the Wings are a team that actually has the cap space to add more grit and size to the team, unlike the Ducks who better hope that Selanne is in damn good playing condition, and that the league actually approves the pittance (sp?) that theyll likely try and get him to play for..

I agree that we may need to up the ante as you say, but the teams that are going to be pitching offers for Hossa are going to be looking towards the cup just as the Wings are. I can't imagine any team taking two players off their roster - especially young forwards who've shown tons of improvement and still havent reached their potential. That being said, like I mentioned earlier, Atlanta has done some very weak drafting in the past, and they could use some depth in their system. If we up the ante, I say we do it through picks and prospects if anything. Something like Hudler, 2 1st round picks, Kindl or Ericsson, and Abdelkader. That gives atlanta 1 good young Dman, 1 scoring foward, 1 defensive forward, and two first rounders to work up in order to land Hossa. And before people complain about "trading our future away", keep in mind that Holland wont get into bidding wars for Hossa if he doesnt think he can re-sign him longterm. If we trade for Hossa and can sign him longterm, youre probably looking at Hossa, Hank, and Datsyuk for 5 plus years after this season. That sort of lineup doesnt require you to have rookie superstars waiting in the wings. By that time, well have added plenty more prospects to the pool up front, and clearly if we lost Kindl, for example, wed still have Lebda, Quincey, Kronwall, Smith, and Ericsson to solidify our future..

Im right with you. Whereas before I didnt think wed be able to pull it off, now I think we might be able to. Also, I think wed have the cap space to re-sign him. With Zetterbergs injury problems becoming pretty habitual, and his desire to sign a longterm contract, Detroit may be able to talk him down to Datsyuk type terms. Also, if you consider that the cap is projected to go up a good 4 million this year, and if it went up another say, 1-2M the following year, that means the cap will be around 55M when Zetterbergs big contract kicks in, which means wed be able to host 5 large contracts (Raffi, Lids, Hank, Hossa, Datsyuk) Personally, I dont think it would take Flip AND Hudler, even with the crazy proposals weve seen in the past. For Hossa I would give up: Hudler Kindl, Ericsson, or Quincey 1st round pick in 09 (better chance it will be a higher pick in 09 than this year) 2nd round pick in 08 and Samuelsson, if theyre interested in adding cheap scoring depth (their tendency to stick with players like White, Perrin, and Dupuis plus the impending departure of Holik makes me think they might be interested. If not, oh well) If you look at the price that was paid for Forsberg (1st, 3rd, Parent, Upshall), this deal tops that as Hudler has more offensive upside than Upshall did (and still does it appears) and both Kindl and Ericsson continue to develop nicely while Parents stock has dropped considerably. Not to mention, Atlanta doesnt have much in the stables, while they did say theyd want at least one player who could step in immediately. That gives them at least one roster player immediately in Hudler, and possibly another Dman if they want to bring in the youngsters on the back end right away. And IMO, it would be to our benefit to give up a top D prospect as oppose to BOTH Hudler and Flip. Seems we've more young Dmen than we can handle right now..

Um...yeah actually Hossa could more than replace Hudler and Sammy, for example. Id definitely give up Hudler for Hossa. At best Hudler will have the same offensive production as Hossa, yet Hossa has a better mental game, is bigger, and is at this point very good defensivly, while still being pretty young. And its not like Hossa would replace 3 players and wed just end up playing with 10 forwards every game...sheesh.

Enstrom may actually be the front runner for the Calder at this point, believe it or not. That are a lot of people that think he might nail it. Jackman over Zetterberg part dux?