YoungGuns1340

Penner, Vanek, and Parise are mine.

This is true, but I got to thinking about the deadline, and I cant think of another guy the Wings could possibly trade who would actually garner anything in return. Kronwall, Hank, Homer, Datsyuk, Lidstrom, Filppula - all of these guys wont be traded for one reason or another. All the other guys that we have wont garner anything of worth..except for Hudler if he does well. I understand what youre saying about Holland not wanting to trade Hudler, but Babcock sure as hell isnt his biggest fan, and seems to be one of the few that recognizes that Hudlers size really IS an issue. Maybe Babcock will help push to trade Hudler. Hed be my number 1 choice on a 1 year contract. I like the way Holland is thinking, though. Whoever we get we should only sign to a 1 year contract. If Lidstrom retires AND the cap goes up next year, well have a decent chunk of change to spend, and although half of them will probably get re-signed before they become UFAs, the likes of Redden, Boyle, Hossa, Heatley, Marleau, Rolston, Fisher, Naslund, Cooke, Kunitz, Sundin, etc make the next UFA more suited for the Wings needs than this year.

Has anybody else thought of the possibility of signing Hudler strictly for the purpose of trading him at the deadline? Think about it: Say the Wings go with what they have now, maybe they sign 1 more veteran (Guerin, Comrie, etc). That still only leaves them with 5 top 6 forwards (Hank, Homer, Datsyuk, Flip, UFA). That means that there will more time available for a guy like Hudler to put up more points. If hes able to put up 15 goals with crappy ice time, he could probably put up 20 with a couple more minutes and maybe some Powerplay time over 82 games. If hes signed to maybe a 2 year contract for under 1M, he could be an extremely tradeable asset come February. He is a skilled forward, but Detroit already has Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Filppula who'll be with the Wings for a long time. Hes small, and the Wings need size. He doesnt offer much grit either, but an out of the running team would see a young player with enough talent to score some goals and a cheap contract that he might be worth a decent player packaged with a pick or two. Hudler: 800k Guerin: 3 Hasek: 2.5 Total = 6.3M, leaving about 4M as a cushion.

Good luck with that. No only are there no guys like that available, but there are only about 10 guys like that in the NHL anymore. Its pathetic how few legit power forwards there are in the league anymore.

This is expected to happen. No big news here. No team wanted to pay him the 6M+ he wanted because hes all offense and no D. He wouldve been a terrible replacement for when Lidstrom leaves, but wouldnt have been a bad pick up if Lidstrom had already retired and Rafalski was all we had.

Bill Guerin apparently is looking for 3.5M. Guess thats why we havent heard anything about Detroit being interested. Thats too much for the guy. Im starting to think Detroit should just shed Lilja, maybe to Vancouver where they are in need of cheap defensive depth, and sign Sutton. Our forward lineup would be suspect, but Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall, Sutton, Lebda, and Chelios would be a stellar defensive mix.

Our team was much different then, most notably with the Russian 5. Doesnt matter anyways, because we didnt sign him.

Sergei Fedorov sat out too, so did Marian Gaborik, as have other players. It happens. As for liking Yashin, I dont like him either. Im not dying for the Wings to get him and, like you, Id be pissed if the contract terms were too much, particularly in length, because Id only like him here if it were on a one year contract. But I do like that he puts up points regardless of whether hes on a decent team or a s***ty team. Regardless of whether he tries or not. As for the playoff thing, well I expect this team to make some healthy additions at the deadline anyways with the extra money theyll have and players coming cheap.

You call that truth? The majority of the article is coming out of Toronto, and the only part that alludes to the Wings + Raycroft is the title, which is smart journalism considering they didnt come out and say the Wings were interested in Raycroft, they only posed the question, and it automatically stirs up talk (see: this thread), and the end part which says "The Red Wings are said to be interested in Raycroft." Thats great. If the Toronto Star are the ones that made up this rumor, then somebody did "say" the Wings are interested. But just because somebody said that, doesnt mean its even one bit true. I could start up my own Red Wings website and say the Wings are "interested" in trading for Sergeei Fedorov. Would that make it true? No. But it would make the statement "Wings are said to be interested in Sergei Fedorov" true.

We dont need big first. We need goals first. Big and goals is a bonus. Just big isnt worth it at this point. And given that Ekman provides neither, hes the furthest from what we need.

I shouldnt include a yet because Cleary is a 29 year old who rode the wave of confidence to 20 goals in a few months, and then couldnt pot a single goal in his last 18 games. In any event, who do I see as a better option? Well, in the event that they come cheap (around 2M), then I would feel more comfortable with Guerin, Comrie, or Yashin in the top six. And the only guy I really want the Wings to get is Guerin.

Well, whoever started this rumor got exactly what he wanted - a ton of buzz about it. Theres is no legit source from which this is coming, there is no quote from Holland saying he is interested in Raycroft, nor that he is even interested in exploring his options in net. There is nothing coming from Hasek. Nothing from Devellano. Nothing even from Kulfan, St. James, Cotsonika, etc saying that this is a legit rumor, yet everyone is already calling for Hollands head as if hes already signed Raycroft to an 8 year extension.

Really? Why would you? Holland initially signed Hasek with the intention of him splitting games with Osgood. Osgood is no starter, but he can do well to split games. Raycroft is still young, but also capable enough to split games. Also, keep in mind that it would only be for 2 years, and next year, with Osgood gone, wed still have the chance to sign yet a different starting goalie. Bottom line, Detroit is showing that they have options. If the difference in contract demands is 250,000, this is a good tactic to get Hasek to slightly lower his demands.

And on what player do we use that money on again? Ozzie sucked, he was injured, and he was awesome. He went through three very different phases last year, ended the season on a high note, but still didnt show the consistency or the resiliency to be a starter.

I like Cleary. Hes a great guy. Love having him play here and its awesome that hes had such a big year... BUT Hes simply not a 2nd line player. Kris Draper put up 24 goals one time too, remember? One good year does not a 2nd line player maker.

This sounds like a media tactic if you ask me. Wings get it in the press that they are interested in getting Raycroft to show to Dom that they have other options if he keeps holding up contract negotiations. Good move by Holland and co. Put pressure on Dom to sign by showing that its not Hasek or bust here in Detroit. I doubt Detroit really has any serious interest in Raycroft, so you can all relax.

Even if he doesnt have the motivation or desire to do anything about it, he still put up 50 points in 58 games this year. If thats how he plays without any motivation or desire, I wouldnt mind him here on the cheap. But to actually address the point of "motivation and desire" is interesting, because I've heard some Islanders fans argue that Yashin was the Islanders best forward for much of the year. And likewise, if money is what motivates him, then a 1 year contract would do that. People are all over Comries balls on this board, yet he put up 5 less points than Yashin in 7 more games and has the same attitude issues as Yashin while likely costing more. Just because Yashin was the most overpaid player for the length of his contract doesnt mean hed be overpaid at 2M for 1 season.

What the hell? Why cant Toronto wait a few months to see Toskala play a few games before paying him more than half the goaltenders in this league get paid? He is a good goaltender, but hes never been a starter before. Im not sure hes even gone a few months playing the majority of games before. If Toskala ends up sucking, Toronto is screwed. If Toskala ends up playing well for his first few months in Toronto, they could still offer him that type of money and hed undoubtedly jump at it, after making 1.4M.

Actually, after being bought out, Yashin has something to prove. Lang, on the other hand, didnt. Its highly doubtful that Yashin will 1) get a lot of money or 2) get a long term contract, so signing him to a 2M, 1 year contract might not be that much of a deal. If he stinks it up, its only for a year, and being that hes cheap, well still have plenty of space to pick up a different guy during the season or at the trade deadline. He is a big body and has a better shot than Lang as well as being a much better skater. If we were to start the season with Rafalski over Schneider and Yashin over Lang on the cheap, we'd be a better team than we were at the start of last season. I cant believe Id ever make a post like this, but Yashin on a 1 year, cheap contract could be a great move.

Kozlov isnt what we need. Hes a good player, he can put up the points, but he plays with Hossa and Kovalchuk. Theres no way hed be able to replicate his stats with the Wings. Going from being the main pass first guy on a line with 2 primary goal scorers to being a pass first guy on a TEAM full of pass first top niners is not going to help us out.

Trading Kronwall is not a good idea at this point. If he continues his injury love affair, then yes, but with the way Dmen are being overpaid left and right, hes no longer that expensive. Especially when he'll get more responsibility with both only Rafalski replacing the loss of Markov and Schneider. ...and itd be nice to have more than just 3 north american forwards out of 13

I think a lot of us just want to sign somebody for the sake of signing them. Personnally, Comrie and Kozlov are a waste of a roster spot unless they come incredibly cheap. Guys like that dont have anything else to offer if they arent scoring. They arent gonna be fierce hitters, astute defenders, strong leaders, anything if they arent scoring. And thats whats screwed us over in the past. Our players are too one dimensional. We have so many of the same guy with slight differences. Kozlov and Comrie would just be variations on something we already have. Thats what I like about Guerin too. Hes had some s***ty playoff years, but hes had 4 or 5 good ones too. If hes not scoring, it doesnt mean hes a ghost. He offers leadership, he offers experience, hes always been gritty, a fast big guy. He would give Detroit a dimension that it doesnt already have in spades, unlike Kozlov and Comrie.

The New NHL Sucks ass these days. Good news for the Oilers, but the FA market is going to be ridiculous if everybody who isnt nearing retirement keeps re-upping or signing 4+ year contracts.

It would be nice to have a top 6 that wasnt entirely European, wouldnt it? As for Stuart, 3.5 is a good deal. As is the idea of trading Samuelsson.

Who cares if Berkhoel sucks? Hell be 4th string. Getting Brad Ference sounds like a good plan, though, even if he is 8th.