YoungGuns1340

And whats up with you spouting off about s*** you dont know anything about? Washed up hockey players? Lindros, yes. Roenick, yes. Forsberg and Yashin? Hardly. Forsberg comes in and dominates whether hes been playing for 50 games straight, or its his first game back after a 3 month injury. Yashin, on the other hand, is only 33, has no recurring injury problems, and has put up points like nobodys business over his entire career at a .92 ppg rate. Just because he was overpaid for the majority of that time doesnt make him washed up.

Is there some imaginary line I dont know about between ages 37 and 38. Drake was dishing out big hits last year at 37, and suddenly just because hes a year older thats all going to stop?

And you know that Markov doesnt want to come back to Detroit how? And Forsberg and Yashin are hardly has beens. They were both on pace to be 70+ point players this year. Ill take those has beens any day.

Actually, in the Mlive article, it says the Wings might wait around for Forsberg, and if his foot proves to be in good shape, they might pick him up, although its purely specualtion. However, it might be a good path to take given that most teams wont have the room to sign Forsberg mid-season (December?), and it would also allow the Wings to trade for somebody at the deadline. Anyway you cut it, the guy is still nearly a point per game player in the regular season AND in the playoffs.

Basically this means that the Wings are just waiting around for the likes of Shanahan and Yashin to drop their salary demands. If they dont, the Wings are covered with 13 spots filled.

Hes really been the center of trade talks for a few years now, surprisingly so. If he lands a big paycheck (4M?) and the rumors about Shanahan looking to go to Montreal, then I could see Montreal signing him and putting him up on the block a la Chicago with Calder. In that case, the Wings should take a chance on him.

Ribeiro has been underperforming for 3 years know. Plus hes a diving pansy who loves the theatrics to get penalites called his way. No thanks. Ryder, Stempniak, and Avery would all be good for at least 50 points, with Avery on the Cusp. Armstrong would be good too.

Anybody else see this?? From Mlive.com

No. The St. Louis Blues only pay Drake 2/3 of his salary, saving the Blues organization 1/3 of the salary. After being bought out, he is essentially a free agent, so whatever NEW contract he signs is paid in full by the signing team, in this case the Red Wings, and doesnt have any effect on the Blues.

Holland isnt paying him 1.1M. The St. Louis Blues are. David Legwand AND Marian Hossa Just wishin...

DALLAS DRAKE IS NOT GETTING PAID 1.1M by the Wings!!!!!!!!!!! Dallas Drake was placed on waivers in June. Teams had 24 hours to claim Drake off waivers, at which point, if he wasnt claimed, the St. Louis Blues would be responsible for 2/3 of 1.1M over the next 2 years. Dallas Drake was signed by the Red WIngs AS A FREE AGENT, meaning he could be signed to any dollar amount that is above league minimum. Its very possible that Dallas Drake is only costing Detroit 475k Ahh, sorry about that.

Can ANYBODY on this friggin board recognize sarcasm???? Jesus..

"Thomas" is a ****** bag. Signing Drake to the 12th/13th forward position for ONE year is clearly "running the team into the ground."

This officially means that the 2nd line will be any of Franzen, Sammy, Hudler, Filppula, and Grigorenko. More ice time for the guys = more points = more trade bait for the Wings and/or more experience for the young guys. Line #1: Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Holmstrom Line #2 and 1/2: Grigorenko-Filppula-Hudler 2nd Line #2 and 1/2: Sammy-Franzen-Cleary Line #4: Maltby-Draper-Drake For some reason, I actually like how that roster looks. Edit: forgot to mention Cleary in the rotation for 2nd line.

Ryder or Avery would be frickin sick, but I wouldnt hold my breath. Not because I dont think Holland would get them if offered the chance, but I just dont see either team looking to let one go, even with Arbitration coming up. Avery has a home in New York now, and Ryder is only 27 and, in his 3 seasons in the league, has scored 25, 30, and 30. I dont think the Habs will take that hit in their scoring.

Hank is ridiculous. I would definitely like to see him signed to a 7 year contract.

Yeah, because he just makes a hit and gets a concussion. Thats how it works. First its Yashin is lazier than Lang, then its Lindros makes a hit and gets a concussion. Why dont you inform yourself a little about players before you post bulls*** about them?? Lindros wasnt out for a concussion last year, he was out for a groin injury. Thats a matter of training, not a matter of past history. He was on pace for nearly 70 points with New York, nearly 60 points with an even crappier team in Toronto, and 45 points in Dallas where the leading scorer ended the season with a whopping 51 points and basically no offense could be mustered on the part of anyone sans a mostly injured Mike Modano. Its VERY possible that Eric Lindros could be had for 800k per. And if he signs with the Wings, he signs with a team with one of the most experienced training staffs whove been dealing with an aging, fragile cast for many years now. Eric Lindros is one of those guys that simply loves to play the game. Why do you think he hasnt retired yet? He knows hes risking serious injury every time he comes to play, but he does so anyways, and with an attitude that could rival that of Dan Cleary.

Wrong. Yashin is not a lazy player when compared to Lang. And hell be playing on a one year contract regardless of where he goes in order to rectify his reputation. Lang ran off with 4M and will retire in a Hawks jersey. You obviously didnt watch him under Nolan this year, because he was a much more motivated player, even with having to play with his old demons and no other decent forwards. And I love the comments you make about Dan Cleary and his "work ethic". That "work ethic", ironically, didnt come about until he put on a Wings jersey. Nearly the entire first decade of his career - yes, nearly 10 years - Dan Cleary had a piss poor attitude and work ethic. The only reason he made something of himself on the Wings is because he needed to create a new reputation of himself, which has worked out well for both parties. Now, does anyone expect Yashin to be a completely new player regardless of which team he plays for next year? Absolutely not, but most comments Ive heard about Yashin on this board so far have been completely misinformed. He IS a nice guy. He is NOT a locker room cancer. He is NOT as lazy as Robert Lang, and the list keeps growing. Nobody expects him to be a gritty guy - he is a soft player - but he would be a more potent attacker than was Robert Lang while being younger and faster than Lang. He is somebody that will thrive when he is not expected to be the captain and savior of his team, ironically, just as was a help to Dan Cleary after being expected to be a top 6 NHL stud. That being said, 4M was too much for Lang and Bertuzzi, its too much for Yashin as well. 3M max is all Id give him.

Maybe by the time Zetterberg or Datsyuk are 40 years old, theyll have had the two token fights that Yzerman was a part of. At any rate, I would agree on average that Europeans are softer than North Americans, but European hockey itself isnt a rough and tumble game. I have no doubt that if a European player began playing in the States when he was, say, 10, that hed more likely be a gritty player. Thats how you survive for the most part in North American hockey. Its a primitive thought process to think that there is something in the blood of direct descendent Europeans that makes them "soft". Hell, Europeans have some of the most barbaric history in the world. This is a common misconception that stems from the fact that most enforcers are North American. Franzen is probably one of our toughest forwards. Markov was our toughest Dmen. And all in all, hockey is becoming less and less about the extreme ends where you see pure enforcers and creme puff skilled forwards and more and more about the lunch pail and hard hat type player, which the Red Wings are full of. ...I love how people are calling Holland a dumbass for this rumor. ...When the real dumbasses are those who didnt even bother to read the article which says NOTHING about Holland having interest in Yashin at 4M per.

You want to talk about players that are close to keeling over and dying, yet thats exactly why no one has yet to touch Peca. The reason hes still around at this point is because of his recent injury problems.

If the guy signed for 1M flat out, maybe with some bonuses (the biggest one being games played), then this might be an interesting idea. I think the biggest misconception that people have is because Lindros is so injury prone, he plays a fragile game, when in fact he is likely so injury prone because hes never stopped playing a big mans game. I wouldnt count on him for too much offense, but hes still a tough guy to cover, a big presence, and has some offensive touch. I dont see how he could be any worse than some of the other options out there. Although he didnt put up any points, he looked good in the playoffs for the Stars too.

These are guys who the Wings *might* be interested in. Mentioning the number gives further insight whether or not the Wings would consider said player. In this case, it means the Wings probably DONT have interest in Yashin if thats what hes asking.

Do people even read the article posted??? Whoever started this thread should be given a warning and this thread should be closed down. NOWHERE does it say the Wings are prepared to offer 4M to Yashin. And just in case anyone else spouts it off, Yashin is NOT a lockerroom cancer. Hes, according to Isles fans, one of the nicest guys youll ever meet. I forget who said it, but someone once said about Yashin "Hes the nicest guy youll ever meet off the ice. Unfortunately, hes the nicest guy youll ever meet on the ice too." Hes a good guy, questionable player.

Ouch.

The thing is, grit in the form of 3rd/4th liners is a lot easier to make up for late in the season. For example, if the Wings were interested in Martin Lapointe last year, yet were concerned about his contract, that will no longer be an issue at the trade deadline, or even a few months into the season. He wont cost much to trade for either. These guys are perenially available, case in point given that they are more or less all that remains on the UFA market. Of course, unless you are thinking along the lines of Chris Neil and Raffi Torres, then you should know that these guys arent going to be had at the drop of a hat by anybody. Furthermore, waiting to spend gives the Red Wings a better chance to nab a guy like Marian Hossa given that its very likely the Thrashers wont make the playoffs this year. If I have to wait around to see a forward roster that looks something like this... Filppula-Zetterberg-Homer Grigorenko-Datsyuk-Hossa Lapointe-Franzen-Cleary Maltby-Draper-Sammy Kopecky ...then so be it.