Dabura

What credentials did Datsyuk have before this past postseason? And keep in mind, Datsyuk has had the luxury of playing in lights-out lineups his entire postseason career. Hossa has not. Bring on the complaints, folks. I'll keep knocking them down.

IMO, getting Hossa would eliminate the need for a player like Feds. At least for the time being. I'd rather see Holland put the Feds fund towards a solid d-man.

Sundin's not coming here. I wouldn't mind eating crow in this case, but look at the facts: - Holland has made it known he doesn't want a rental, but rather, someone who's going to be with the Wings for the long haul. - Every sign points to Sundin being a postseason rental. He doesn't even want to commit to the Leafs for more than a season. - Sundin is nearing the end of his career. - Sundin is a Leaf. The Wings are the Wings. Not coming here, imo.

I and others have shown that it would be fine financially as long as Hossa doesn't command more than 7. We could fit comfortably under the cap with room to spare for those pesky deferred bonuses you were ranting about in the other thread. Assuming Hossa's figure is 7, this trade is a must. (Yes, a literal must.) Anyone who disagrees is a terrorist. imho

And teams with no scoring depth, an iffy blue line and at least one key injury (because you know we'll have one) don't beat a Ducks team with Sundin on it. At this point, those opposed to bringing in Hossa don't have a leg to stand on. If the money is right (and judging by Holland's own comments, it sounds like it may very well be), the trigger should -- and must -- be pulled on this deal. This transcends feelings about a specific player. This is about winning the Cup and being as competitive as possible for the next four or five years. Bringing in Hossa would go a long way in making that possible. Retaining Flip, a prospect and a pick? Not so much.

I'd totally take Flip over Hossa too. You guys need to wake up.

Blah blah blah "I don't want Hossa here " blah blah blah

Hossa.

My thoughts exactly. Goodbye, scoring problem!

Even more insane: a potential 5-on-3 unit of Hank - Dats - Hossa Lids - Raffi Just...gah.

I'm not sure he'd want to limit his earnings, but he has essentially said he would do it if it meant being on a consistently competitive team.

Double

Ha, my thoughts exactly! I'm liking what Kenny's saying. :beerbuddy:

I'm sensing crunkitude + a photoshop contest coming on....

Bring him on.

Good thing we're deep on offense! Oh, wait....

I've been out all day. I apologize in advance for taking this thread back a few pages. Semantics. When I said, "squeeze," I didn't mean squeeze in the too-close-for-comfort sense. Poor word choice on my part, I guess. Anyway, Hossa has said money is not an issue. While I think that's largely bulls***, I do think he'd be willing to take less if it meant winning more -- i.e. signing here for less than the $8 million tag that so many people are attaching to him. If he does choose to sign here, he won't get more than $7 million. I personally believe he'd get less than 7, but let's, for the sake of argument, say he gets 7 flat. We're looking at a 54 cap for 08-09. That's doable, with elbow room to spare. IMHO, a cap increase in 09-10 is practically inevitable. But for the sake of argument, let's say it remains at 54. That's also doable, with elbow room to spare. Cleary (2.25m) - Datsyuk (6.7m) - Hossa (7m) Hudler (1.015m) - Zetterberg (7m) - Holmstrom (2.25m) Maltby (883k) - Draper (1.583m) - Kopecky (550k) Abdelkader (500k) - ??? (Let's call it 525k) - Downey (550k) ??? (Let's say 475k) Lidstrom (7.45m) - Ericsson (525k) Kronwall (3m) - Rafalski (6m) Lebda (650k) - Quincey (650k) ??? (Let's say Meech. 483k) Osgood (1.4m) Howard (800k) If my math is correct (I scribbled it out on a napkin on the train ride home, so it might not be), that adds up to $52,239,000 million. That would afford enough room with the 54 cap, and certainly enough room for comfort with a higher ceiling, which I'd bet good money on seeing in 09-10. Deferred bonuses are of minimal concern. This was done with little thought and limited knowledge/resources on my part, but I was still able to come up with favorable results. Were I to put more time and research into this, I could probably do even better. Obviously it's a given that Holland could work out something even better than that. Point being, Hossa can be had without putting the organization in a financial pickle. I remember you arguing that bringing in Hossa would force the Wings to rush some of their youngsters into the NHL. I thought about this today and concluded that, yes, there would probably be some rushing. But certainly not to an alarming extent. Abdelkader, for one, is coming along very well and surprisingly quickly. I've seen him play -- he's an impressive player. To quote Jim Nill: "Abdelkader's in your face. He's closer to being ready to play [than some other prospects] with the physical maturity. We had him in at our development camp and he was 210 pounds and he could carry another 10 pounds and it wouldn't hurt him. He's solid in all areas." (January 2007) Like I've said before, I don't think we'll land Hossa. But it is doable, and comfortably so. Moving on.... Somehow, I don't think that means much to Hossa. If he wants a contender, Detroit is the place for him.

I'll get back to this thread when I have time tonight. In the meantime, it should be understood that Hossa can, in fact, be squeezed in. The Cap increase may not be to Hossa proponents' liking, but even then, it would affod enough room for him and Hank to play on the same roster -- yes, even with these mean ol' DEFERRED BONUSES!!!11 True, tough decisions might have to be made, but no one has ever denied that. After all, you don't get a top-tier scorer for nothing, nor do you win the Cup with Jiri Hudler as your secondary scoring go-to guy in the playoffs.

No, it really can't. Over the past decade or so, no team has dominated in the regular season likes the Wings have; they've done it consistently and convincingly -- at least, relative to other teams. Unfortunately, many -- if not most -- of the those highly impressive regular seasons were capped off with unexpected, highly disappointing postseason exits. The cause? Typically, management's inability to address flaws in the roster that seemed inconsequential when viewed in light of regular season success, but were ultimately exploited by the opposition in the postseason. This is didactic, the lesson being this: those teams that do their homework and show up to the playoffs truly prepared are the ones that tend to go deep. It's no coincidence that the Wings went deeper this past postseason than they've gone in years; they knew they had to get tougher if they wanted to grind it out against teams like the Flames, Sharks and Ducks, and so they did just that. Unfortunately, their lack of depth on the blue line and in the scoring department ultimately got the best of them. This is still a gritty team, but it's also still lacking bona fide scoring depth and a well-rounded defensive unit. Management can take one of two paths: that of complaceny (i.e. "Look at our regular season stats and that shiny Presidents' Trophy. We'll be fine") or that of intelligence (i.e. "We're going to give this everything we've got. That means acknowledging that there are big-time holes and then filling them up"). I hope they pick the latter.

Hey, guys, remember that time the Wings did really well in the regular season only to be upset in the postseason?

No it wouldn't. This is a phantom argument.

1. In what world is something like Flip + Hudler/Sammy + Prospect/Pick for Marian Hossa too much? If it's about the $, it has been shown many times here that it is absolutely do-able, even with Hank's payday on the horizon. 2. For the 3,000,000th time, Hossa is not a rental; he would be here next season. Otherwise, Holland wouldn't even bother talking to him. I'm hoping that's not the case. Thanks for playing!

The Wings need to stay healthy and address their weakness (ideally, in a big way). As things stand right now, the Ducks would probably take this team in 6 or 7. The Sharks would also pose a problem. Our secondary scoring is shallow, and would only be even harder to come by in the postseason, and our blue line needs to get bigger, tougher, and more d-minded. The Ducks will make a big move. The Sharks as well, I assume. Holland had better be prepared to counter.

This thread is now officially a classic.

***SPOILER*** Hossa is the killer.