Dabura

No, I hear you, we're on the same page. I just don't think signing Boyle is a bad idea. Ideal? No, not really. But certainly not a waste of a signing. He's still a top-four defenseman. He can move the puck as well as anyone on our blue line, he can put up points on par with Kronwall, he can QB the second PP unit. The only things he can't do are skate real fast, clear the crease with big burly physical might (which was never his game anyway), and play huge minutes through 82 + deep into the playoffs. But we wouldn't be expecting the Dan Boyle of old. We'd be expecting a high-class #4 whose shortcomings would be offset by DeKeyser, who's arguably our best defensive defenseman. Saying that adding Dan Boyle to our second pairing wouldn't help us (I'm looking at you, Rich), I don't understand that. Kronwall-Smith/Ericsson and DeKeyser-Boyle is not a bad top four. And, again, if Boyle gets bumped down to the third pairing or gets injured, that's an opportunity for a kid. (We all know whichever players are slotted in as regulars this season, we're gonna have key injuries in our top four, and that will lead to great opportunity for a couple of Griffins.) Again, not ideal. But pretty damn ok, all things considered.

Eh, not necessarily. If it's Boyle for a couple years, maybe $7M each, that's not bad. Versus what you might have to pay for a top-four defenseman in his prime (free agent or trade acquisition). Or, we could get, say, Stralman (who I like), but that doesn't give us the point production and power play prowess we need from our top four, which Boyle would, in theory, give us. Don't get me wrong, I'm in favor of trading for a Keith Yandle, if we can. Just saying.

Meh. We don't need Quincey, in any capacity. I get the argument, but, meh.

The best argument against signing Boyle for more than one season is that, barring injury, only one of our kids is going to get a legitimate shot over that span of time, assuming Smith isn't traded. I can respect that. At the same time, you have to weigh it against pushing for the Cup. It's not that I don't think we can push for the Cup with a couple of kids on the back end. I just think it's unlikely, versus what we might get from a name talent. Yeah, Boyle isn't the player he once was, but he's still valuable.

Interesting choice.

Oh, plz. The Wings aren't on the same level as the Sharks. We could really use a Dan Boyle. How does having him on the second pairing for a couple years hurt us? Are we that high on our kids that we feel we need Ouellet and Marchenko taking the hypothetical two spots available or we're not going to be able to compete for the Cup? Kronwall, Ericsson, DeKeyser, Smith, a kid, someone from the outside. That's probably what our blue line should look like next season. If that someone from the outside is Dan Boyle, that's not a bad thing. If he falters, he gets hurt - then guess what: we can bring up a kid. Win-win.

I'd only want Quincey back if he came dirt cheap and was stuck on the third pairing. But then, three years of Quincey on the third pairing, for dirt cheap? Might as well just give Ouellet or Marchenko the spot. So, no - I don't want Quincey back. We wouldn't be bringing him back because he's especially good or helpful, we'd be bringing him back because...um...I dunno. Familiarity? I guess? Um...CUP OR BUST BABY!!! WINGS IN 2015!!! WOOHOO!!! (All of this assumes there's only one spot on the blue line open, not counting the one that's probably going to go to a kid. So, our solution to this season's problems would basically be re-signing Quincey. Awesome.)

Kronwall Smith DeKeyser Boyle Ericsson Sproul Kronwall Ericsson DeKeyser Boyle Smith Marchenko Kronwall Smith DeKeyser [?] Ericsson Boyle You get the idea. A couple years of Dan Boyle would be nice. But if Darth Snow can win him over to the Dark Side, oh well.

In fairness, the future looks incredibly bright. We're going to be big and mobile on the back end, and big and fast and skilled up front. We're going to have great value with the ELCs and bridge contracts. I just want us to capitalize on this "perfect storm" while Datsyuk is still here and the core is still effective. I firmly believe we're a couple players away from being a contender in the East. I don't want to wait for glory to come to us. I want Kenny to go out and find it and seize it!

I just get the impression that Kenny goes out of his way to avoid doing things. That he's risk-averse, concerned with only doing the bare minimum needed to get us into the playoffs. The rest he can rationalize away as "parity" and what have you. I don't have much to base this on, and I realize how petulant it makes me seem. But it's how I feel. Sort of. If I were to sit down and write an honors thesis on it, I'd probably be able to get to the heart of it and come to a realization that everything he does, he does in direct service to The Ultimate Goal, Winning the Cup. But on the knee-jerk level, he's become a caricature of himself, at least in his dealings with the media (which, admittedly, make up about 0.5% of his day-to-day "doings"). So what I'm saying is, I'm a petulant child. I guess. Vanek. The concern there is the concern with every big-name free agent who doesn't re-sign: that he's going to Get Paid. I might like him @ $21M ($7M x 3), but I'm expecting him, like Niskanen, to swing for the fences. If there are five teams telling you, "Look, we'll give you anything you want, just sign with us, please!" - I imagine that's too good to pass up, unless you've got your heart set on a club that maybe can't or simply won't pay what any one of those five clubs would. So Vanek is almost certainly out of the question, and I'm ok with that. And Niskanen is almost certainly out of the question, and I'm not sure how I feel about that. If he gets something that's not entirely unreasonable, I'll probably riot. If Kenny's being truthful in only wanting a short, cheap option (why does it have to be short and cheap?), that might rule out Boyle, but I assume he'd be willing to pay up for him. But I have to think Gilbert and Stralman are the most realistic UFA options for the back end. Up front, and sticking with UFAs, I'm only really interested in Benoit Pouliot. I think he'd be a fantastic fit (and maybe a good mentor for Mantha?), but it sounds like he has every intention of re-upping with the Rags. I'd be willing to overpay to get him. If he can score 15 goals as a Blueshirt, he can score 20+ as a Wing. Big frame, will hit anything that moves on the forecheck if told to do so, can skate like the wind, and is more skilled than he gets credit for. Stralman and Pouliot would be a great haul, IMHO. And nothing Kenny has said really rules either of them out. So I guess it's the trade market that I'm getting all worked up about. We have a wealth of tradeable assets. We have cap space. We have three years of Datsyuk left. Do something. Push for the Cup, not the playoffs. Don't sit on your hands and wait for the perfect deal to fall into your lap.

Regner: Babcock has one year to live

An actual Holland quote: (Source.) "We like our team kids." David Legwand says hi. OK, so that rules out all 32-year-olds. How about a 27-year-old Keith Yandle, or a 25-year-old Kevin Shattenkirk? Would either one of them cost three of our "untouchables"? Somehow, I doubt it. He does realize that all these assets means trades are now not only possible but necessary, right? Surely he must realize this. Surely he's just refusing to show his cards. Right? Something else in that article that rubs me kinda wrong: I guess it's more that second bit, that he "will listen to trade offers." Will he be proactively kicking tires, making offers of his own? Or is this going to be a "Man, our stable has the best horses. Anyone would love to have our stable of horses. That's why I'm not going to do anything, ever. Life is good" gameplan? If so, we can probably kiss the idea of Datsyuk getting one last Cup goodbye. [/overreacting]

Callahan's probably going to Get Paid. That's why he wanted out of New York in the first place - and that's why New York was willing to cut him loose. He's 29, his size (or lack thereof) plus the style of game he plays means he probably only has a few good years left, and even then, he's not really a goal-scorer or the kind of physical presence that we can't find for much less coin and term. He's a heart and soul guy who's gone mercenary, which I'm always wary of. I love the player, but, realistically, we need to stay away from him. Not that I'm in favor of standing pat, mind you. hahaha quote of the year!

Holland's newest round of comments makes it sound like we're not interested in doing anything big, in free agency or the trade market. Sometimes I want to punch him in the face. Not literally. Figuratively. I guess.

Like, I get that he's ultra-competitive, and I love that about him. But, yeah: if you're going to be the engine that drives your team in every situation - and that's absolutely him - then you've gotta be a positive, calming force. (LOL! Look at me - a faceless message board dude telling Drew Doughty how to do his job.) As for the outcome...I fell asleep (lol) and I woke up to Justin Williams scoring. I figured it must've been a dream, cuz that guy never scores. Then I remembered Jason Williams doesn't play for the Kings. Rangers let a win slip through their fingers. I guess the good news, for them, is it was close.

Horse racing is still more important than NHL hockey.

Doughty's gotta calm down.

Stralman with a couple big hits tonight. Would I be ok with signing him? Yes, I'd be ok with signing him. Death in the family.

Doughty! 2-2. This has six or seven games written all over it.

Clifford! Now it's a game again.

Hagelin! Shorthanded! Right off Voynov's skate. Rangers' speed is killing it right now. Speed kills.

Seriously, guy would be great on our third line. Too bad he's gonna re-sign with the Rangers.

First impressions: Rangers have had the better chances. It's a feeling out period, but so far this is looking like a very even matchup. Which is great. Kings haven't really been able to establish their forecheck. Pouliot scores on a breakaway! Once again, this guy is #1 on my UFA forwards list.

Didn't he play for the Rangers back in the '60s or something?

What was Pierre just saying about Montreal and Detroit? I didn't understand his point.