Dabura

Holland isn't one to sign-and-trade. (No GM is these days, honestly.) Bottom line, this is a Ken Holland Veteran Loyalty Program Extension. Helm will be with us for at least five more years, making considerably more money than he's worth. (And I say that as a big Darren Helm fan.)

The more I think about this deal, the more I hate it.

In all seriousness, it'll be Abdelkader and we all know it.

Barrie is phenomenal. And he'd probably cost an assload. (Offer sheet?)

There's no way Holland never intended to court Stamkos. That's an absurd belief. I'm as tired of Holland as the next Wings fan is, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt here. There's no reason why he wouldn't fight as hard as he could for Stamkos's services. That the Wings didn't meet with Stamkos could be interpreted a number of different ways; it doesn't (necessarily) mean Holland "didn't even try" or even that Stamkos had no interest in the Wings. Maybe Stamkos was saving the Wings for last but realized all the suitors were offering him pretty much the same thing and that what he really wanted was to stay with his powerhouse Lightning team. Maybe Stamkos's agent let Holland know fairly early that Stamkos was almost definitely going to remain in Tampa and Holland decided to treat him as, essentially, a sunk cost.

The Wings have handled "problem cases" before. I wouldn't expect any issues. Vanek's professional career is on the line in 2016-17. If he's smart, he'll steer clear of off-ice distractions.

But he's reel gud defensively tho.

Absolutely. This has always been my position.

(I still like Mattias Ekholm.)

We all know Glendening is being groomed for the captaincy.

Fowler seems to be the cheapest option out there, but I think there's a good reason for that: he's not an especially great defenseman, and I believe teams have caught on to this fact.

It's sounding like the only way you're acquiring a top defenseman via trade is by selling your first-born child.

We're basically getting the player that we'd always hoped Filppula would become. He's long been one of my favorite NHLers. I believe he's one of the most underappreciated players in the league.

I really hope Larkin magically becomes a monster 1C in 2016-17.

He's a lesser Nyquist/Tatar. Not worth it.

Realistically, he probably spends most/all of his time in Grand Rapids, no?

I've always had a soft spot for Steve Ott, I'm not gonna lie.

I am ok with this.

We get Vanek, one year.

McDavid or bust.

Loyalty. I guess.

Boedker is overrated. No, no, no.

Yeah, I feel the same way. We need help at center and Nielsen gives us an all-purpose veteran 2C who can play brutal minutes against top players and come out looking good. Six years is a long time, though. But if that's what it took to land him, well, then that's what it took to land him. (I believe the Isles actually offered him a slightly better deal.) I think everyone would be cooler with the deal if Helm were out of the picture. Helm's extension complicates things.

Yzerman has a Stamkos and Hedman to take care of because the Lightning were in a position to draft those players. The Lightning were in a position to draft those players because they sucked hard for several years. Worst/Best-case scenario for us, realistically: we suck hard for the next several years and get a Hedman and a Stamkos.

Love Nielsen, hate the contract.