Wingseroo

It already has, wasn't it like 7 Russians drafted this year? Swedes are on the rise, and Russian players on the decline...

Besides Nick who there is coming back? Lebda maybe if he isn't traded? Nick most likely will take a lesser contract if he stays... Lets say Homer comes back, it will not be for 2.25 mil... Maltby I do not think they bring back... and if they do he will be cheap... Lilja is off the books also, if he is not traded before... Wings will have more room next year then this year... Even if the cap shrinks...

Agree... With Homer it is father time taking its toll... Add into that he was never a good skater to start with it is looking like a return of Larry Murphy who basically played his last year as a PP specialist... Larry still had the hands and the heart when he retired, he didnt have the wheels, I believe the same is coming true for Homer... Maltby stays because he has been a trooper and is cheap... If either one or the other was missing he would be gone... Draper is kind of the vocal Captain of the team... He is the kind of guy I could see getting involved in coaching after it is done... Maybe better broadcasting, someone has to take over for Mickey at some point... Leadership and intangibles he brings I think the Wings view 1.533 mil as just fine... I also believe he is the most trade worthy of the 3 since there are young playoff teams that could use his stuff... On and off ice...

I have never figured that one out in hockey... They tend to train young players to be left handed shots, most should be naturally righty shots... Most of us are right handed... Go outside pickup a baseball bat, a shovel, a rake, whatever 2h tool you want... 90% of us are right handed and at least 80% of us will do it this way... Not hockey though...

Best case scenario right now I would say is that Hudler wins a decision from arbiter that nets him a 3.25 mil roughly he plays in Russia this year and then Detroit negotiates some kind of real 4 or 5 year package next offseason... But Really if I am the Wings I might have to look at packaging Hudlers rights up with a player and/or pick or two in a trade...

Apples and oranges my man... They were young when brought in with a tag of underachiever... You are talking about bringing in old men with a steady decline...

If Morrison could get back to his Vancouver form he is what they need... A a guy to dispense the puck around to their shooters... Still I was looking at him wondering if he was finished...

thank GOD!

Not flaming, I am just telling you that on the open market there are more Flips then Huds... People pay for scoring... It all evens out anyway, Franzen took a deal that grossly underpays him over the length of it... Flip is getting paid more then a lot of similar players of his type... Neither one changes the fact that hudler has a value in excess dollar wise then the Wings can match in an open market... The Hudler's of the league make more money usually then the Flip's do...I do not argue Flip can be viewed as more important to the team, but that is how hockey pays out... Let me throw in that the light could really turn on for Flip offensively, and he could become a bargain...

I think people keep arguing around it, but everyone's posts keep proving one thing... There is a premium on scoring in the NHL... Thats why players that can put the puck in the net make more money, because well at the end of the day that is what puts butts in the seats... Like home runs, 3 pointers & slamdunks, and TD's... Hockey is no different in this, defense wins, but offense gets paid...

So what do you do when he gets bored/disappointed because he is not getting #1 ice time... And well guess what that talent level around him last year is reduced... So you want a pouty athlete that only plays full bore when everyone concedes to his wishes... You know Federov could have been one of the handful of greatest that ever played the game, but now he is out of the NHL and didn't even get to 500 goals... Howard set an NCAA GAA record in college... Leino has proven nothing, and is an unknown until he laces them up for a good stretch of games... I support him 100%, but he isn't Alexander Ovechkin...

I think an arbitrators number will be closer to 3.5 then 2.5...

LMFAO, Best post I have read on here...

Why are 13 regular season games more indicative then 60 or so AHL games? Yes some of the scoring will be replaced but not all of it by any means... I mean why should teams even pay players like Hossa when you could fill out your roster with AHL'ers at 1/10th of the price? The Wings young talent? Hudler was the developed young talent on the front line... Everyone else is still a question mark... Thats the thing people are forgetting Hudler had reached a point where he is a known quantity and also a player with a recognizable future with an expanded role... Leino, Helm, and Abdelkader are no more known quantities then Howard... And most feel Abie still needs another year or so developing below NHL level... You want your cake and eat it to... Leino might be ROY, he might crash and burn... He has the same weakness defensively and is not a much better skater then Hudler... Yet a fully developed Hudler is worse then Leino... Get real... If 2 of the 4 (Helm, Howard, Leino, Abie) step up and play Red Wings level hockey (as we expect it to be played) I will be thrilled... Honestly right now Howard is probably the most important of those to succeed... As it is right now this is not as good a team as last years... And while people try and bring it up as in comparison it is not even closely as deep and good as the 07'-08' cup winners...

No... Leino had to be given at least a 5% pay raise, I am sure Leino's camp started a little over 1 mil per for their offer... I think Hudler made enough for the 10% min raise to apply, but that is just the basement... Even Hudler's biggest detractors will tell you he was in line for doubling or tripling his salary this year...

An arbitrator is going to give him or would give him more then the Wings have offered... That is a simple truth that Ken Holland would agree with... Let me also ad not team was going to sign him in excess of 3 mil and be on the hook for giving detroit a 1st and 3rd draft pick or multiple firsts... So it is sent to arbitration, he is awarded a deal by the arbiter and then Detroit either honors it, trades his rights under the deal, or he becomes a UFA... Next year Kane and Toews there will be some teams willing to give up multiple 1st rounders for those 2...

Part of the cap is in place to keep Canadian teams competitive with USA teams... I think we all know with taxes and everything else Toronto is the only team in Canada that can compare income wise with the high end USA franchises... Hockey fan base is still in Canada though... NHL overall makes a lot of its revenue share from Canada... The way NHL was going you were talking about a 12-16 team NHL with Toronto and maybe Montreal still left in Canada... The fact that the Wings are one of the handful of teams that can outspend the cap in a major way is beside the point... While I might like to see some changes that help teams retain their own talent most of it leads down a slippery slope back to what amounts to an uncapped league again...

I like this for RFA's... And maybe something like 2 designated franchise players... Also the NFL veterans deal where you can pay guys with over 10 years exp at almost double the cap hit with it only counting for league min. I think it behooves the NHL to work out a system that helps keep players within the same organization... Keeping young talent and old fan favorites only helps build fan loyalty...

Look at the FA's this year... As an UFA Hudler I think could have gotten in excess of 4 mil per, that Versteeg kid if he was a UFA would be looking at 5mil+... They pay who can score, you can talk defense and toughness, but they still pay people to score... People around here seem to forget that... I think he should take or have taken a 1 or 2 year deal for 2.5 to 3 mil per, but I wouldn't sign for 5 years for that as a skilled young offensive minded player... Its like the Flip vs Huds argument... I think people are right when they say Flip is more important to the Wings, but Hudler has more value on open market. He is the more valued player in a larger hockey sense... Players get patted on the back to play defense or play tough, players get paid to score... Everyone in hockey knows this...

Yeah it is getting that time for these guys, but Maltby is cheap veteran and Draper I think they feel 1.5 mil for defense and leadership he is worth it... If you are going to go this route explain 2.25mil for Homer then (maybe he rebounds at 36 I just do not see it)... I mean if Maltby retired it would be a prefect slot for a 600K guy like Oulahan from inside the system...

I like Malhotra, only problem is he i basically a further along version of Abdelkader... I really dont understand why CBJ has not resigned him, seems like just the right kind of player for an up and coming playoff level team... Wings need a shooter... The more I think of it Sykora would be that guy... In love with the shot not the player... If they could work it without a doubt Tanguay would be my first pick of the FA's though... I am starting to wonder if he is one of those guys slipping through the cracks of a tight NHL economy... I think he wants to play for a good team, but really only the bad teams have lots of cash left... I think he might be the one guy in FA that the Wings might move a player to fit in under the cap... I do not think Tanguay is getting 5 mil per again unless its from a bottom feeder... Looking this over maybe people are starting to realize the value of a 25 yr old player like Hudler on the market vs LGW perceived value? Why are people still calling for a low end grinder when the Wings need a scorer? I would rather have all AHL callups then guys like Moan... Oulahan can probably supply the defense and 10 pts Moan would get us... Or is it for the 2 fights in 82 games Moan would get in?

Tanguay Sykora and Williams... For offensive help the only names I can come up with... And Sykora is the only one who I could see signing for what the Wings have to offer... Sykora likes to play for playoff teams... Boy there are some retreads out there that were big scorers at on time like Parrish and Bonk, but most of that group have done nothing in like 3 years+...

I honestly will be shoked if Homer even comes close to his numbers from 2 or 3 seasons ago again... I doubt Draper will ever have a 24g season again... Father time has caught up to some of these guys, expecting more out of them is not very realistic... Also Homer needs a shooter on his line who's garbage he can clean up... Zetts could get 40 but he is not a pure shooter, and if he plays with Datsyuk to get his 40+ will that weaken the 2nd scoring line? It all works together... Just like you can say some players can improve, they might reduce other players numbers (Franzen) by moving off of lines with them... I mean the Wings might really have to overwork and pinch to provide offense since most of their best mid to long range shooters are all on the blue line now... Who is going to take those 1 timers that create goals, who is shooting from the faceoff circles? Datsyuk, Zetts, Franzen, Homer, Leino (from what I have seen), Flip , and all are all at the net scorers... Sammy's time was done but he was a shooter... Hossa could shoot... Hudler could shoot... Maybe I just miss having guys like Yzerman, Shanny, and Hull that could be lethal 15 feet out from the net... Do not kid yourselves this very thought is weighing on Hollands mind, and I hinestly believe he will bring someone in with some kind of shooting ability...

I just hope people are not expecting too much from the young guys like Leino... 18G and 30a will put him in ROY consideration (I am not expecting any Ovie or Crosby type rookies this year)... I mean 18-30 would be great, and honestly to get the 30a part he would need some 2nd line PP time... The Wings need a sniper in a bad way, they are short on pure scorers at the moment...

The thing I notice is that a lot of us were counting on Hudler getting resigned and thenhaving a 30g-45a type season... And this was more then a reasonable assumption looking at numbers, progress, and expanded playing time... I Also have noticed that many of the same people that have wanted Hudler out the door from the start are the same people that expect Leino to provide these kind of numbers... I hope Leino does, but in no way am I counting on that at this stage of his career... Someone else mentioned that the Wings develop talent and plug the piece in when needed, well that developed piece to plug in for the top 2 lines was Hudler, he is the guy that was at that point. I hope Leino has a rookie of the year season, but I am not going to bet money on it... I mean look at free agency... How many young 70+ point potential players under 34 are there out there? I could find you 3 or 4 good 2 way centers under 30... Scoring touch is at a premium and always will be...