Dabura

How so? People are acting like Holland is committing some grave injustice and has catastrophiscally miscalculated. I don't see that at all. I see him offering AA market value. AA is not McDavid. AA is not Draisaitl. AA is not Pastrnak. AA is not Parayko. AA has scored some goals in a sheltered role and that's about it. He's also been exposed as a rather one-dimensional winger who needs to work on the defensive side of his game and learn to use his linemates more and learn to make more cerebral plays (as opposed to trying to outskate everyone and deke out three guys and deke out the goalie all by himself). He's very promising, but "very promising" doesn't necessarily get you $3M-per-year when you're a 23-year-old RFA with only 100 games of NHL experience He could end up being better than a lot of these young RFAs who've been given big deals, but guys in that category have mostly earned those contracts. At this time, AA really hasn't earned much. What we might be offering him if we had more cap space isn't really relevant, and it's mistakenly assuming that Holland has just been winging it, doings things without a plan. It's not like he signed Daley and Tatar and then said, "OH S***, ONLY NOW DO I REALIZE THAT MONEY'S TIGHT! I wish I'd gone into these negotiations with some kind of plan!" I'm sure he and the rest of the brain trust mapped this stuff out to the best of their collective ability, possibly a year or two in advance. I have my problems with Holland, but he's not an idiot. When it comes to RFA deals, he knows what he's doing.

RFA deals =/= UFA deals

$1.9M x 2 is market value. $1.4M was maybe a bit on the low side, but that's how these negotiations open. One side starts too low, other side starts too high.

I ship it.

Finish bottom five, get lucky.

AA hasn't proven that he's worth $3M. He's played less than a full season, he really needs to work on the defensive side of his game, his possession numbers were brutal last season, he hasn't shown he can really hold his own in a demanding role and consistently win matchups. $1.9M x 2 is completely fair and is more or less market value for an AA type player. He/his agent is trying to play chicken with Holland and Holland isn't budging, which is good, because AA has no leverage and you can't set a precedent that a kid with no leverage can make a demand and get what he wants "because KHL" and because he scored some goals in a sheltered role. I keep saying it: AA hasn't proven anything, hasn't really earned anything, has a hell of a lot to prove. Right now, he's basically a third-line winger. It's up to him to show he's more than that. Take the offer, sign the deal, and show the organization that your next contract will have to be a big one.

6-1. Massacre.

Unfortunately, we don't know how to make simple passes and effectively cycle and put pucks directly in shooters' wheelhouses. Frk might have the most hateful, scorching shot I've ever seen. And unlike Vanek and Pulkkinen, he can skate.

Still don't know how to run a 5-on-3.

AA base jumps from rafters, Beastie Boys' Sabotage blasts, AA throws his stick at Keith's face, kicks puck past Crawford from our blue line.

Booth with a big open-ice hit, Rasmussesn drives to net, crashes net, scores.

Though, in fairness, Chicago's lineup is much more talented.

>Be Wings >Be dumb >Fail

Also, another thing: I don't see Holland booting a good soldier like Sheahan to accomodate a contract holdout RFA with less than a full season of NHL experience under his belt.

Game will be on NHL Network.

I fully believe that Holland and Rutherford have talked about it. And maybe they do have an arrangement in place. But actually pulling the trigger? I have a hard time imagining Holland actually making the trade, regardless of what we'd be getting in return. Because Holland doesn't make these trades. But I'm cynical, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Actually, the more I think about this, the less sure I am that there's anything to it. I'm not saying Friedman's making stuff up, just that Holland is Holland and will do absolutely everything in his power to avoid trading a roster player. Especially a former first-round pick who's young and 6'3 and plays center and plays in all situations and seems to be one of those low-maintenance Good Canadian Boys who respecks da system. And we'd be selling low on him. And we'd be selling low on him out of necessity, due to issues that Holland has created, which might not be a great look for Holland. Holland, like any and every GM, has a massive ego. I know everyone is saying we can't sign AA without making some kind of move, and I guess that's true. But I just feel like we've been here so many times, with Holland always pulling an LTIR/waivers rabbit out of his hat. This is peak Wings fan cynicism, but I almost want to say four guys conveniently hitting LTIR at the start of the season is more likely than Holland trading Sheahan to the Penguins. Holland will probably wiggle out of this. He always does. Which is fine, I guess. I'm not really in any hurry to see any one of our players traded at this time. We'll see what happens. *shrug*

I haven't really thought about what return would make sense for us. I guess Pouliot would be a worthwhile gamble, given our needs on defense. But I'm not convinced he's much better than what we have in the system. Dunno if we should be adding to the logjam, unless it's a really impressive defenseman. Maybe just a draft pick or two? Then we'd be sending money out and not taking any back. Wouldn't free up much cap space, but every bit of space counts, especially for an organization like us that's right up against the cap ceiling.

Good find, CRL. Friedman's about as credible as it gets, so it appears this is indeed an actual thing.

Holland.

Place yer bets.

I don't really buy it either. But I do think if Tavares hits the market, Holland will make a very serious push.

woof

Eh, we don't know what Tavares would want. Maybe it'd be all about money. Maybe us landing Dahlin/Svechnikov on top of the pretty decent stable of forwards we already have would make him think, "If you add me to this mix, this could be a solid team for the next 5+ years." Ultimately, it's all speculation and conjecture. Which would I rather have? Tough call, but I'd probably go with the kid. If we want to re-establish ourselves as a perennial contender, we're going to need a new nucleus of young franchise players. Dahlin/Svechnikov would be a big step in that direction.