Dabura

I think he's from Minnesota. (Who isn't.) You can never have too many promising kids. But he's 26, so, kinda moot. F*** Cleary. We can't let him win.

Peter Mueller 'generating some interest' on free agent market [theScore] Just saying.

You think the Caps are "def ahead of us" and the Isles will be competing for a wild card spot? Actually, I just meant that it falls outside the "five year drought." But I do question that it ever really happened. I mean, where's the proof?

I'd take him on a one-year deal. Why not. He's a proven producer. You win - and create roster depth - with proven producers. Manage his minutes, shelter him a bit, give him some nights off. Zetterberg Datsyuk Jurco Franzen Weiss Nyquist Tatar Sheahan Alfredsson Miller Helm Abdelkader

The big thing, at least from where I stand, is the conference. I asked this recently and I'll ask it again: How many teams in the East would be a really bad matchup for the Wings in a best-of-seven? If you point to our "five year drought," look at how it's actually gone for us. Two very good Sharks teams. A decent Preds team. A very good Ducks team, which we beat. The eventual Cup champs in the Blackhawks, who we came so soul-crushingly close to defeating. And, finally, the Boston frickin' Bruins, who we had to face without Ericsson, mostly without Zetterberg, with a hurting Datsyuk, with a banged up Alfredsson, with a bunch of rookies, and with the ghost of Jimmy Howard. (Penguins) Sharks Sharks Predators Blackhawks Bruins The East appears to be wide open. The Bruins, Penguins, Rangers, Canadiens, and Lightning are considered the teams to beat, and, of those teams, there's only one I'd pray the Wings avoid in the postseason. If our core can stay healthy and our youth is for real, I think the Cup Finals are in reach, as crazy as that sounds.

Dunno if this has already been posted or not: http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/red-wings-mid-day-news-tatar-talks-contract-turkey-the-wings-nbcsn-sked-and Tatar says... There are three options on the table: a two-year deal, a three-year deal, and a five-year deal. It looks like he'll take the two or three. It doesn't matter to him if he signs "today or in two weeks." EDIT: Damn, too slow.

The link is broken? Booo. And yet, fitting.

There's a difference between being genuinely, solidly available and being the subject of mostly baseless, speculative rumor-milling. I'm assuming the latter is what we're dealing in here, yes? Even if they are truly available, how are we landing either one of them, never mind both? And what are the odds that Seabrook would re-sign with us (his current contract has two more seasons on it), given that seemingly no big names want to sign with the Wings? Maybe two years from now we're a better team and a much more attractive destination for UFAs, but Chicago is going to want our best young talent.

From what I understand, that's exactly what they're going for. They want to build a Palo Alto. Around a Red Wings arena.

I like the "covered via" idea. Sounds Vegasy. Actually, reminds me of an early concept for EPCOT: http://www.yesterland.com/domedcity.html

http://www.freep.com/article/20140720/BUSINESS06/307200103

I know.

That Quincey was re-signed at all is bad. That he was given a raise, when seemingly no other team was interested in his services, is nuts. Not Orpik bad, but not exactly a stroke of genius.

It's the place where our team plays and has played for a long time. I've never been, but it holds sentimental value and then some for me, simply by virtue of its association with the Wings and my devotion to them.

I'm hoping for Olympia.

I dunno, I feel like if Z and D are his linemates and his job is mostly to create space and drive the net, Jurco would be just fine on the top line. That's the thing, though - I'd want him with at least one of Datsyuk and Zetterberg. I wouldn't put him with, say, Franzen and Weiss. I think I'd take Tatar-Sheahan-Mantha over Jurco with Shahan and Mantha because 1) Jurco and Mantha are both best suited for the right side while Tatar is best suited for the left, and 2) Tatar is the possession driver that makes the whole thing (keeping the puck in the o-zone) work. Jurco's size and strength might make things easier for Mantha, though, and I like the idea of Tatar in the top six, as long as he's with at least one of Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Of course, this is all probably moot. Mantha is likely spending most of the season on the farm (a good call) and Cleary's a lock for the first line and Hall of Fame (duh).

It'll be called The Octopus's Garden and shaped like Ringo's head.

A budget team with a weak bottom six and problems on the D side of the puck might be interested in him. A team like the Sens, maybe.

Ha! Well said. To me, it says Holland knows Cleary is done but feels *just awful* about *cheating* Cleary out of that *big contract* he was *guaranteed* by the Flyers and is now simply trying to give the man money.

I've been thinking along these same lines (pun). I get that it's top-six-or-the-farm for Mantha in people's eyes, but Tatar-Sheahan-Jurco's basically a sheltered scoring line, a young two-way pivot flanked by two young goal-scoring wingers. In theory (and, admittedly, it's probably a stretch), Mantha - in for Jurco - would keep that basic dynamic. And I've loved the idea of Jurco with Z and D for some time now. Franzen-Weiss-Nyquist is, I think, pretty much an inevitability. I'm not crazy about it, but if Weiss can be the player he was for the Panthers, or even just somewhere close to that, it should work well. Chemistry might be an issue, but Nyquist seems to be able to excel alongside anyone, especially fellow Swedes. Miller-Helm-Abdelkader is probably my ideal fourth line, but I feel like Callahan in for Miller or for Abdelkader (preferably the former, I guess) would be good for us. (Cleary sux)

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Callahan

Well you made the defensive/offensive distinction and said it's because he falls into the former category. My point with Stralman is that that distinction doesn't necessarily hold up. Or something. Not that I fully disagree with what you're saying. DeKeyser's no Lidstrom or Rafalski with the puck on his stick. But, I dunno, I think you're making him sound like Lashoff, and number9 is putting too much on "being physical," whatever that means (besides laying big hits, which I think is largely a take-it-or-leave-it kind of thing, unless the guy in question is a beast like Stevens or Pronger or Chara and brutality is a huge reason why he's one of the best hockey players on the planet). DeKeyser's good with the puck, good without it, uses his body well, has spent half of his NHL career with Kyle Quincey, and - the big thing here - he's only going to improve (unless he continues to be stuck with Quincey). Kid's 24 years old and doesn't even have two full pro seasons under his belt, but I'd feel ok with him on the first pairing with Kronwall. My original point about the corsi was that it's the one thing a person could, I guess, knock him for, maybe use to talk down his asking price in a contract negotiation or something. But, y'know, we're not a very good possession team at all. And, seriously, Quincey. So, all things considered, he's definitely a keeper. Much more than a guy who "gives the puck away as soon as he gets it" and "isn't physical." C'mon, dudes. Don't hate the player. Hate the game Kyle Quincey. In short, blah blah blah I'm just talking for the sake of talking blah blah blah. Someone asked for a Tatar comparable. The first name that popped into my head was Chris Kreider, but I guess that's not very helpful in trying to set a market value for Tatar. Unless he gets extended before Tatar, in which case I think he'll largely dictate what Tatar gets. I'm gonna say Tatar again, because Tatar. Also, Tatar. blah blah blah

I'd put Mike Babcock at #1 and Darryl Sutter at #2 and "Coach Q" at #170. All Babcock does is achieve, Sutter is a mad genius, and Q has a mustache.

"I think we need to let our young people grow. We signed enough players to buy our kids time in the minors. We have four d-men who are going to play here eventually and probably be upgrades on our roster. How much time do they need? We don’t know the answer. [ . . . . ] I didn’t like us in the playoffs last year against Boston, but we like what we have coming. And we like our kids. So the biggest thing is not to rush it. We could really use some puck-moving D. Well, we just happen to have some puck-moving D in the minors. Big guys that can skate. When are they ready? We’re sure not going to rush them, but if they’re capable of taking jobs they’re getting the jobs." - Babcock, from the interview Let's be honest - the Wings aren't in really bad shape. We've spent the past few seasons "retooling" in the sense that we've kept our core intact and kept the streak alive while also building up a very impressive stable of very promising young players like Nyquist and DeKeyser and Mantha and Mrazek and Sproul and Ouellet and Jurco and Athanasiou. The "youth movement" we've been waiting for is already happening; it's a slow drip rather than one great big swell. We're not rebuilding, not looking to tear everything down and ice a roster with 20 kids. We want what every Cup contender boasts these days: quality veteran leadership (with at least two elite franchise players at the top of the totem pole) and a small army of young studs on early, affordable contracts. And we're in a position to have that very soon. I hate the Quincey and Cleary re-signings. I hated that we brought back Samuelsson. I hated that Nyquist was stuck in Grand Rapids at the start of last season and that Jurco's going to get the same treatment this coming season. But, all things considered, this stuff isn't a big deal. What's important is that we're steadily building up to that kind of roster that can truly compete for the Cup. Again, I think that roster is within reach, we just have to be patient and not do anything really, genuinely, hugely, dangerously stupid. For example, as much as I want a Mike Green on this team, I do feel that moving, say, Nyquist for him would be really, genuinely, hugely, dangerously stupid, or at least close to it. Even if he were to have a great season, do you suppose he re-ups with us? I wouldn't be surprised if he were to re-sign with the Caps, giving them both Nyquist and Green. But I digress. Point is, it's going to be ok, maybe. I'm generally extremely cynical about the state of the Wings, but if I'm being objective, I like us, and I think we're only going to get better over the next two or three years. Mantha will save us all.