DSM

I read some articles on NJ.com (the Devils Mlive.com) about the subject that had some interviews about the topic. I agree on his departure from Detroit though. Holland didn't want to overpay for a player that was still rather unknown. I don't blame him, and I don't blame Brunner for trying to cash in. I'm just happy now that his departure opened a spot for a whole bunch of young forwards who are clearly more useful players.

I don't think it really came up until he was in New Jersey. PDB obviously thought Damiens game needed some polish. Instead Brunner would keep playing the same game, get benched/demoted/scratched, then whine to the media about how he felt he needed 18+ minutes a game to "get comfortable". Clearly his attitude isn't great. He's pretty much scrapped any chance at an NHL career, because he didn't want to go the AHL. Had he reported, he might have finally learned how to play hockey in North America. If so, then a team might have eventually had an opening and might've take him off Lou's hands.

The only way I'm sending that kings ransom to Buffalo for a RH Dman, is if it's part of a three way deal sending Shea Weber to Detroit.... and they're retaining half his salary. It would be one thing if Myers had a consistent and healthy history on his NHL resume. However, his full potential is still a huge question mark. Plus, if he doesn't become atleast a #1-3 Dman, he'll have an Albatross of Andrew McDonald proportions for a contract. Speaking of Andy McDonald, I'll bet Tim Murray's asking price to Holland is so high because Philly already has their first rounder, Matt Read AND Sean Couturier on the table waiting for the green light....

Oh boy. Just when I thought the Suter crap was put to bed... There was also that whole factor where Suter was dead set on going to the same team as another expensive UFA that summer. A player the Wings had no room or cap space for... As for Brunner, he should be patting Sheehy on the back! His agent helps him secure a multi year, multi million dollar contract when he had a whopping 55 up and down games on his NHL resume. Instead of playing up to the contract, Brunner plays half assed in his own zone and without the puck, then whines about how he feels entitled to top six minutes. In my opinion, Ken Holland gets a gold star for NOT giving Brunner/Sheehy what they wanted. Holland/Babcock probably already knew that what has now transpired in NJ was a possibility had Brunner gotten a multi year deal here. Looks like they were right. Brunner pretty much followed Fabian Brunnstroms foot prints back to Europe. Lastly, this notion that Brunner would've been better had he stayed in Detroit is garbage. Anyone remember Ville Leino's first (and last) full season with the Wings?

Brunner isn't being "screwed over". The NHL PA protects players from just being terminated. For it to a happen, a player and his agent also have to agree to it. If Brunner wanted to collect his full $5M, he could have. Since no other team wants him, he could hang around Jersey and do what Lou and PDB want him to, or go to Albany and collect the same check. I think at this point it's safe to say Damien Brunner isn't an NHL player.

Apples to oranges.At only 23, there's a chance Nestrasil may still have some upside and he can still be retained as a restricted free agent at the end of the season if he works out. He's also got four inches and 20+ lbs. over Brunner, and has the versatility to line up at both center and wing. He also has an easily bury-able cap hit that is a fraction of Brunners. On the other hand... At almost 29, Brunner pretty much is what he is. A small winger who hasn't been able to hang onto a top six role in what amounts to about two seasons of NHL experience, but doesn't have the tools to play in his own end and is basically useless in a bottom six role.He also carries an unfriendly cap hit for a player that may end up buried in the AHL. His documented issues with PDB likely also make GM'S apprehensive. My guess here is that he has refused an assignment to the AHL, which is likely best for him at this point, if he wants to stick at the NHL level.

I agree. Callahan has always had the ability and mindset to play a gritty bottom six role, but just needed to add some polish to his game with the puck. At the AHL level, he's performed on par and even exceeded the production of skilled players the Wings have attempted to "mold" into gritty bottom six guys. Guys like Kopecky, Ritola, Mursak, Emmerton, Nestrasil and now Andersson.I can see Callahan filling a role similar to what Drake and McCarty brought during the run to the 2008 Cup. A role that is pretty much vacant at this point...

Wow. Can't believe no team out there wanted to take a chance on him for the rest of this season. I thought he might work well in Pittsburgh since they could toss him on Crosby's line while Dupuis and Kunitz are out. Like they did two years back with Jussi Jokinen. I'm wondering if there are other off ice factors involved that made teams stay away. To me, Brunner has always had this "I'm awesome" type attitude and felt because he had some skills that he should be in the line up regardless of how little he was contributing. I'm guessing Brunner still doesn't think anything's wrong with his game, since he's giving up a decent chunk of change and an opportunity to still learn how to play in his own zone and without the puck... Compare his situation to that of Cory Conacher. After a good showing in the lock out shortened year but regressing hard in Ottawa, he's had two opportunities to show he can be a productive player again. That being said, I'm internally chuckling at all the people on here that called for Hollands head thinking he let the next Marian Hossa slip through his fingers...

Surprised there isn't any recent discussion in here. I think Callahan has developed well beyond expectations and deserves to be first in line for an extended call up when the Wings need another forward.

I'm still excited about this guy. I think his struggles at the college level should be expected. He's going from being a goon dman in USHL to being a forward in college where you can't be a goon. I would say he's still a "raw project", but he has useful tools that you can't exactly teach a player to have. With size, skating and the ability to engage physically, he doesn't need to add much to become a useful role player at the NHL level. Some responsibility with the puck and some awareness with out it is about it. Will he ever be a key player in NHL? Probably not, but I think his size pretty much guarantees that he'll get an entry level contract regardless of how he produces at the college level. Unless he somehow starts lighting up the college ranks, his ceiling is probably a physical 4th line forward who can throw his body around and chip in on the forecheck while also acting as an enforcer when needed, AND/or a physical stay at home third pairing Dman who can also act as an enforcer. He could also end up being a John Scott type for a team that might still want a player like that down the road. Might be off base, but his development will probably be similar to Ericssons. Ericsson was taken with the last pick in the draft as a "raw project" who had been going through a transition from Forward to Defense. However, the main reason he was taken was because he had NHL size. In the four years before he was signed, Ericsson was never able to stick at Swedens highest level, and had managed only a single goal and assist in 88 games when he did get called to the highest level. However, the Red Wings signed him to an entry level deal, where he quickly progressed in GR and became a regular in the playoffs for the Red Wings before his waiver exemption wore off. One of the biggest assets the Red Wings have with McKee is time. The deadline to sign him is June 2016, and he'll still get 3 years of waiver exemption at the pro level. Basically the Red Wings have till the end of 2018 on 2019 to try to hone him into an NHL player. That all being said, I still wouldn't mind if he became a serviceable Derek Boogaard type for the Wings... Take the sites credibility for what it is, but this "writer" thought he was one of the Wings better dmen at their prospect camp this past summer: http://octopusthrower.com/2014/07/08/detroit-red-wings-development-camp-talking-mike-mckee/

With all of this expansion chatter, I thought it might be interesting to see what a possible Expansion Draft could look like for the Red Wings. I also think it might be interesting to see who some of you would/not protect in a potential draft. Since there has not been an expansion in the salary cap era, there really aren’t any rules to go by. For the sake of consistency, I figured we could use the rules from the 2000 Expansion Draft with tweaks tailored around the post 2005 lockout CBA(s). Also keep in mind that this would theoretically happen in June 2015. Here are the rules from the 2000 Expansion Draft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_NHL_Expansion_Draft): What is not included in the rules from Wikipedia, are factors that excluded certain players from the draft (https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!topic/alt.sports.hockey.nhl.mn-wild/HhMC1-4oqvU): Based on these, that would mean that all of the Red Wings unsigned draft picks (mostly from 2013 and 2014 drafts, along with any unsigned college level players from previous drafts) along with: G: Coreau, Paterson D: Backman, Hicketts, Jensen, Marchenko, Nedomlel, Ouellet, Sproul F: Athanasiou, Bertuzzi, Campbell, Frk, Mantha, Nastasiuk, Tvrdon Noticeably absent are Teemu Pulkkinen and Tomas Nosek. Here is my logic behind this: -For the sake of contract and waivers, the league already views Pulkkinen as a “3rd year pro”. Even though he has only been in GR for two full seasons, the first year of his entry level deal was 2012-13, where the Red Wings assigned him back to his Finnish pro team rather than GR. That season counted against his waiver exemption, therefore I’m assuming it will count here. -Nosek is a case that would not have been possible in the ’98-2000 expansion drafts. Before the 2005 CBA, all European players HAD to be drafted. Afterwards, the rules were changed and non-NA players fell under the same draft requirements as NA players, in that they were no longer required to be drafted after they turned 20 by a certain date, and could be freely signed by any NHL team, basically like a UFA (ie Ville Leino, Gustavsson, Brunnstrom). I’m not really sure how the league will view Nosek. By the June 2015 date of the “theoretical” draft, he will 23 with one year of NA pro experience and two years pro level in Europe. I’m going to assume that the league will count non-NHL contracted “pro-level” experience (AHL, ECHL, KHL, SML, SEL etc…) under the “first and second year pro” for undrafted players over a certain age. For this draft, we’ll make it 23. Other conditions: -I’m not sure how they worked in the previous expansion drafts, but I’m going to say that teams will have no choice but to protect players that have an active “No MOVEMENT Clause”. I would think that the NHLPA would raise a stink about these players moving to the expansion club, when their contracts were signed under the pre-tense that they could not be traded or waived without their consent. However, a player with a “No TRADE Clause”, can be left unprotected, since their clause only protects them from a trade. The expansion draft is a lot like waivers, which a team can still place a player with a NTC on without consent. Therefore, the Red Wings would have to include Pavel Datsyuk, Jimmy Howard and Stephen Weiss on their protected list. -Not that it matters much, but I’m also going to assume that Adam Almquist comes into play as well. The rights to experienced unsigned European prospects were subject to availability in the previous expansion drafts. Since the Red Wings will hold onto Almquists NHL rights until July 1, 2016, and has 3+ years of “pro” experience, he will be subject to availability. -Not that it really matters in the sake of protecting players, but I'm guessing the league will probably want the expansion team to select a combination of players with contracts that will have them operate above the salary floor atleast until free agency begins July 1, 2015. So basically, here’s the game: Pick a format: (1G 5D 9F) or (2G 3D 7F), or do both. Then decide which players to protect/not, remembering that: -NMC Players have to be protected (Datsyuk, Howard and Weiss) -If you protect 2 goalies, one that has played atleast 10 games in 2014-15 or 25 in 13-14 and 14-15 combined has to be left unprotected (Basically Gustavsson is your only option…) -In either format, atleast one Dman and two forwards left unprotected have to have atleast 40 games of experience in 2014-15 or 70 in 13-14 and 14-15 combined. (Nearly impossible not to…) Players subject to availability: G: Gustavsson, Howard (NMC), McCollum, Mrazek D: Almquist, Dekeyser, Ericsson, Kindl, Kronwall, Lashoff, Quincey, Smith F: Abdelkader, Andersson, Aubry, Callahan, Cleary, Datsyuk (NMC), Ferraro, Franzen, Glendening, Helm, Jurco, Miele, Miller, Nosek, Porter, Pulkkinen, Sheahan, Tatar, Weiss (NMC), Zetterberg With the proposed scenario (Howard having to be protected because of NMC), a lot of who the Red Wings protect rides on how much they value Mrazek. Do they think he’s such a large part of the future that they can afford to lose a current core player to keep him, or do they leave him unprotected to not lose a core player? Here’s my thoughts for both: 1-5-9 Format Protected G: Howard D: DeKeyser, Ericsson, Kindl, Kronwall, Smith F: Abdelkader, Datsyuk, Helm, Jurco, Nyquist, Sheahan, Tatar, Weiss, Zetterberg 2-3-7 Format Protected G: Howard, Mrazek D: DeKeyser, Kronwall, Smith F: Datsyuk, Jurco, Nyquist, Sheahan, Tatar, Weiss, Zetterberg For the record, I didn’t leave Franzen unprotected because I don’t want him, I did it because I’m assuming the building expansion team wouldn’t want to take on an aging player with five years left on his contract and would find more value in taking Mrazek or one of the Wings Dmen (obviously depending on format…) How would everyone else do it?

I would think they'd leave him exposed anyway. My guess is that they'd figure the expansion team would find his age and contract unattractive for a team that will be trying to build a core.IIRC, the Red Wings left Larry Murphy unprotected for atleast the 1999 and 2000 expansion drafts. In the seasons preceding the drafts, he had scored 10 goals each time and had 52 and 40 points respectively. However, he was passed over for a mediocre backup goalie (Norm Maracle) in 1999, and two AHL forwards (Darryl Laplante and Stacy Roest) in 2000.

Very true. As I said before, this is more a less a "What if". I'd seen some articles on other hockey sites, where they discussed what players certain teams may hypothetically expose. Even though I did expect everyone here to just immediately throw out Franzen and Weiss.

Another good point. I just threw that out there. Maybe instead of players salaries, it would hinge on leaving a certain percentage of the teams projected salary cap from one way contracts for the next season unprotected. Obviously that would also be combined with factors based on experience. I would think that the League would do whatever they can to keep the new team from being hamstrung by untradeable bad contracts that would keep them a bottom feeding team for years. UFA'S already get way overpaid every summer. The expansion team would have to go even beyond that. Having to pay a Dman like Kyle Quincey top pairing dollars would be the path to another Atlanta Thrashers, which I'm sure Bettman does not want...

Beat me to it. Goalies get an extra year over skaters of the same age. Both Howard and Ryan Miller spent four in the AHL for Detroit and Buffalo before losing theirs. Since Mrazek signed only a year after being drafted, he got five years.

Again, this is all "theoretically" based on an (unlikely to actually happen) June 2015 expansion draft based on the rules for the last expansion drafts. It's also unlikely that those rules would be the formula for a "Cap Era" expansion draft. Two things didn't exist during the last expansions: The salary cap and the notion of "higher league parity". I wouldn't be surprised if the league adds new provisions for a salary cap expansion. The first thing to consider is that the expansion team would need to reach the minimum salary floor. The league probably knows that the expansion team won't have a snowballs chance in hell to compete in the now thin UFA market and would struggle to reach the cap floor without having provisions in the expansion draft. They would also want the new team to atleast be able to compete on level with basement level teams. Something they can't do with one draft worth of prospects and the pack of career AHL players or mediocre veterans that moved in the '98-2000 expansion drafts. My guess is that the league will also put in rules stating that teams have to expose a certain number of players that have a cap hit over a certain level and/or a certain number of years remaining on their contract. Something like: Each team must leave unprotected atleast: -Four players (1G, 1D, 2F) -One of which is under contract for atleast the next season with a cap hit at or over $3.5m -One of which is under contract for alteast the next season with a cap hit from $2m-$3.5m -Two of which are under contract for atleast the next season with a cap hit from $700k($150k over league minimum)-$2m Then the league would mandate that the expansion team take a certain number of players that meet each criteria, like: Atleast 3 of the $3.5M+ players exposed and 5 from the $2m-$3.5m category, and atleast 7 from the $700k+ category. Would be a good opportunity for some teams to offload bad contracts (ala Lecavalier), but also guarantees the expansion team atleast a small amount of NHL talent for their inaugural season, and a jump start at meeting the salary floor for their first season (most likely in the same fashion Edmonton did this past season, by overpaying mediocre UFA's like Nikitin and Pouliot!).

Then again, giving up those assets to protect a better asset is an OK situation when you are going to lose something measureable anyway. Coughing up a middling prospect or a 4th rounder to bring in a McElhinney type before the expansion draft would be way better than having to expose Mrazek or Howard, who would both go claimed without hesitation.... You are right though, no way an expansion happens until atleast June 2016. Nashville built an arena in 1996 and made their presentation the the NHL in 1997. The NHL made their announcement in June of that year, and put the draft in June 1998. That gave teams plenty of time to prepare. I just made this as a hypothetical "What if", to give "GM's" bored with NHL15 a voice. lol

McCollum counts, as in he would be available to choose, but not towards the 10/25 game experience. If this draft did happen this summer in June, Gustavsson fits the bill perfectly since impending UFA's count. Mike Richter actually got claimed in one of the drafts, but became a UFA a week later and re-signed with the Rangers. Leaving him unprotected allowed the Rangers to protect more players. The Red WIngs managed this back then by hanging onto guys like Maracle and Hodson, and at one point trading for Bill Ranford. You are correct though. In order for the the Wings to protect both Howard and Mrazek, they would need a goalie that they can expose. If they came upon a situation where they didn't have one, they could either trade for one at the trade deadline or aqcuire an impending UFA goalies rights before the expansion draft to expose. You bring up a good point about a 2016 expansion draft though... Maybe if an Expansion draft is looming, the Red Wings might keep Mrazek in GR for 15-16, and sign a cheap backup for Howard for a year so that they have someone to expose. Interesting thought...

I would think CBS and MIN would be included. In the '98 expansion, the Ducks, Sharks, Lightning, Panthers etc. took part and they were all expansions in the early 90's. The ten game minimum criteria is confusing to me as well. For this "theoretical" situation in which the draft takes place this coming June, Gustavsson and McCollum could still get claimed. *It looks like the Wiki rules mean to say "each team that is protecting 2 goalies, needs to expose atleast one with the experience requirements". They are more clearly stated in the second link I posted. It was basically stating that at minimum, each team had to leave available at least one goalie, one defensemen and two forwards with certain experience.

Yes. Unless it's a two team expansion like 2000. But even then, you could only lose two players and only one could be a goalie or dman. He is exempt for a long time... He fits under where I said "unsigned draft picks". Any player still in juniors or college would be exempt.Basically any player the Red Wings drafted in 2013 or 2014 doesn't even get mentioned in a June 2015 expansion draft. Agreed.However, I'm thinking Gary does not agree...

That's assuming they can leave Weiss unprotected. I left Abdelkader and Helm unprotected since they are both UFA'S in 2016. I'm assuming that the expansion team would pass over them in favor of something more long term, or take one but then send them back in exchange for something more fruitful (Ala Doug Brown for Petr Sykora after the '98 expansion draft).

Could be a "bold move" for MacTavish.... I'll put money on Brunner being in the KHL next season.

Schultz needs to be paired with a solid top pairing Dman to take advantage of his puck moving ability. Instead, he has to be stuck with one of the Oilers glut of overrated 3rd pairing and AHL Dmen. The Oilers biggest issue was not knowing to be atleast a bit cautious with banking on a roster full of recent 1st overall picks. They don't all become Ovechkin, Stamkos, Crosby, or Tavares. You can also end up with a Patrik Stefan or Alexandre Daigle... They had a good foundation up front with Eberle, Hall and RNH and should've used the 2012 pick to get a Dman or trade it to get a top pairing Dman or an actual starting goalie. Instead they had to have Yakupov who's now on the fast track to Nikita Filatov to back to the KHL. It also doesn't help that Edmonton seemingly can't draft with a pick that comes after 10th overall...

Bumping this up because the Oilers most recent struggles have gotten people calling for changes there. I wonder if a straight up swap for Kindl would bring Petry to Detroit? Kindl is obviously the Wings most expendable Dman. Yes, I know that Lashoff is lower on the depth chart, but Lashoff gets paid peanuts to fill in for a short term injury or someone struggling. With everyone healthy and/or performing up to snuff, Lashoff is a healthy scratch doing whatever Derek Meech and Jakub Kindl did in the same spot in years before. No sense in having Kindl occupy that spot when he could be traded for something, or a young guy who would be better served dressing every night in GR than sitting out in Detroit. For Detroit, they finally get a RH shot dman. One who comes without the steep payment, long expensive contract and inconsistent record like Meyers, and without the injury history and most likely overpayment for what could be a rental in Mike Green. Yes Petry would be a rental too, but for much cheaper. There's a good chance he would stick around if he works out too. He's from Farmington Hills, and he played with Abdelkader at Michigan State. If he doesn't work out, they can let him walk as a UFA, which opens a spot for a UFA or to promote Ouellet next season. For the Oilers, they get something that is much more valuable to them than other teams at this point... A warm body on the blue line for atleast another season. It's no secret that good UFA's don't want to go to Edmonton, and that Petry will have a new address next October. Just look what they had to do to get NIKITA NIKITIN... They dumped off a pick to get his rights and then signed him for $4.5mil a year... They also had to overpay to get MARK FAYNE. Kindl gives them a decent Dman, who still may have some upside for a reasonable cap hit without overpaying. In retrospect, Kindl is a much better return than they got for Smid, who is arguably a better player than Petry. For reference, Smid fetched them a middling late round goalie prospect and a mediocre Euro prospect who has already bolted for the KHL... If Kindl isn't exactly what they want or need, he's atleast serviceable and would give them a trade chip to use on what they want in the offseason. In reality though, I'm betting MacT will hang on in hopes that Petry's numbers will look better at the deadline, so he can ask an Andrew McDonald like kings ransom in exchange...

Obviously Morris doesn't hold the luster of the players that Holland lost out on, but I think he could still make the team better. Find a way to dump Kindl in a trade, then sign Morris. He won't cost much more than Kindl, but would be a definite upgrade. Gives them some more experience, a RH shot and someone a little more willing to be physical. I really hope Holland doesn't pull the trigger on trading for guys like Green or Myers...