DSM

I agree. I however think that the Red Wings should bring in TWO Dmen this summer on short term contracts. These two Dmen will have defined roles that will hopefully add stability to a blueline that is patched together with too many "question marks". I mean, lets look at the Red Wings dmen this season and try to quantify wether they have a defined role or placement: -Kronwall - #1 Dman, PP QB. Defined role. -Ericsson - Proven to be able to play top line minutes. Plays well paired with Kronwall. Defined. -DeKeyser - Already plays well in his own zone, kills penalties, PP. Cemented spot in second pairing and also played well on first pairing with Kronwall. Defined. -Quincey - Seems like he has finally settled down his defensive game and has been decent with DeKeyser, but if re-signed can he continue that into next season, or will he go back to the way he played early this season and last season? Question Mark. -Kindl - Regressed after locking down a top 4 spot last season. Can he return to that level of play, or will he continue to struggle to even hold onto a third pairing spot? Question Mark. -Smith - Is lamented for penalties and turnovers, but seems to be playing better with Kronwall. Can his game settle down and mature to where he can be a top 4 guy? Question Mark. -Lashoff - Can he become a regular 3rd pairing shut down type guy, or is he destined to always be a #7 plug? Question Mark. That's just too many unknowns to me. I think the Wings should let Quincey walk and target two veteran UFA's that play established roles: - An established top 4 RH shot that can also play the point on the PP. (Dan Boyle, Marek Zidlicky or Tom Gilbert) - An established big physical Dman that can play a shut down role on the 3rd pair. (Brooks Orpik, Willie Mitchell, Greene, Cory Sarich, etc. Each could probably be had for 1-2 years, which would create some openings for when Sproul, Ouellet and Marchenko are ready to claim spots on the big club or run out of waiver exemption. With five proven dmen, Smith and Kindl in the mix, and Sproul, Ouellet and Marchenko able to fill in if needed, I think Lashoff can easily be waived to get down to 23 men and play in GR if unclaimed. That way you have Kindl and Smith battling to hammer down the last spot, or can rotate with the UFA 3rd pairing guy brought in.

I'm more leaning toward no, but I guess I wouldn't be disappointed if he did re-sign. Another thing to consider would be if HE wants to re-sign. He came here during prior to a critical contract year for Jimmy, and had an opportunity to push for the starting job. Now that Jimmy is the starter for the foreseeable future, that window has closed, and he now has Mrazek pushing hard to take his job in the very near future. I'm wondering if maybe Gustavsson might hit the market in the hopes of getting one last opportunity to be a starter. IMO, the Red Wings could do better. Lets look at some facts: -In Gustavsson's 2 (technically 1.5 with the shortened season) seasons with Detroit, he has been injured for multiple game stretches a total of 6 times. -He was really only consistent for a 2-3 month stretch at the beginning of this season. After missing a month with his second groin injury (third overall injury of the season), his numbers were lackluster from then on. In 10 appearances (9 starts) from January on, he went 5-2-2 with a 3.04GAA and a .896SV%. If the Wings are looking for a one year stop gap back up, there are better, probably cheaper and MUCH more durable options available in this summers UFA group. -Thomas Greiss, Justin Peters, Al Montoya and Carter Hutton all played second fiddle on non-playoff teams for at least 50% less than Gustavsson made this season and had better GAA and SV% numbers. Between the four, only one injury came up. Montoya missed the Jets last 7 games with a hamstring injury. That's it. The other three were ready to go all season. -Curtis McElhinney put up similar GAA and SV% numbers and made nearly 1/3rd of Gustavsson's salary. -Chad Johnson Johnson put up some real solid numbers, but that was while backstopping the best team in the league. Obviously Jaroslav Halak, Jonas Hiller, Ryan Miller and Bryan Elliot will be looking for 100% open starting jobs, but there are some veteran former starters that might take a backup job for the right price like Brodeur, Thomas, Bryzgalov, Nabokov and Emery. However, I would think they might be more apt to find starting opportunities, or an open back up spots for teams that will be favored to win a Cup. There's also the possibility of Cam Ward getting a compliance buyout this summer. Maybe he could be had cheap for a year in hopes a change of scenery can get his play back? Another one is Devan Dubnyk. He had an off year, but had posted some pretty good numbers playing behind some awful Oilers teams. He'll probably come cheap and might be a serviceable backup for a much better team. I noticed someone mention Reimer in here too. I'm not sure about this one. He'd probably make a good backup and would be reasonably priced. He'd probably also play well since he'd likely only sign for a year so he can hit the UFA market in 2015 and get a starting job. The question is, what would it take to get him from Toronto? And would Toronto even want to deal him to a division rival? I'd also be open to Mrazek getting the back up spot, but if he does I would hope that Holland gets someone with some NHL experience to play #3 in GR. That way they don't have to throw Coreau or Paterson in the fire if Mrazek and Howard happen to get overlapping injuries. It would also give them someone to ride the pine if Howard or Mrazek get injured, so Coreau and Paterson can keep playing in GR/Toledo. This person could also backup Jimmy if Mrazek struggles and they decide to give him some more time in GR. In conclusion, I think the team has better options than Gustavsson.

Exactly. It's not like if some injuries pile up and you come across a situation where you don't need your Role Guy, you can't call up Jurco/Pulkkinen/Mantha/whoever to take a regular shift or dress 7 dmen. Holland should know full well the benefits. The only time he's carried a player of that ilk on his 23 man roster for an entire season since Joey Kocur retired, his team was still playing in June and he got to hoist this big shiny thing on the Penguins ice and got some nice gold ring that I'm sure he admires once in a blue moon...

If it were me: Forwards: -Assume all notable RFA's are resigned at reasonable price -Let Samuelsson, Bertuzzi, Cleary and Legwand walk -Re-sign Alfredsson if he wants to return. If not, target an affordable UFA forward that can score (Jagr, Iginla, Moulson, Bolland, Vrbata, Michalek, Jussi Jokinen, Raymond). -Sign cheap (>$750k for a year...) role player as #14 forward to keep the flies off when needed (Rupp, Glass, Parros, Konopka, Thorburn, Carcillo, Barch, Scott, Mike Brown, Bissonette, Westgarth, Janssen, etc.). -Start Jurco in GR, but recall when injuries create openings ==== Defense: -Re-sign DeKeyser obviously. -Target Boyle or Zidlicky as a UFA top 4 RH PP Quarterback for 1-2 years -Offer Quincey a reasonable deal to stay on as a third pairing guy. -If Quincey walks, target a physical defensive UFA dman (Orpik, Mitchell, Morris, Green, Robidas, Doug Murray, Volchenkov (If NJ uses a compliance...)) -Find taker for Lashoff or expose to waivers before season start. I've got to think that with two solid UFA dmen added and Ouellet, Sproul and Marchenko in the mix, Lashoff and his easily buryable salary become expendable. ==== Goalie: -Offer to re-sign Gustavsson for another year. If he walks and depending on cap space, explore the following options: a) Sign for 1 year, an experienced 1B/backup goalie (Bryzgalov, Thomas, Emery) or an established backup (Elliot, Greiss, Montoya, Chad Johnson, Hutton, McIlhinney, Justin Peters) b) Promote Mrazek to backup, but sign an NHL experienced goalie for depth/insurance (Dubnyk, JMac, LaBarbara, etc.) ==== Could look something like this: Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Abdelkader Franzen - Weiss - Alfredsson/UFA Nyquist - Sheahan - Tatar Miller - Glendening/Andersson - Helm UFA Kronwall - Ericsson DeKeyser - Boyle/Zidlicky/UFA Some combination of UFA/Smith/Kindl Howard UFA/Mrazek

I don't generally "dislike" any Red Wings players, just get frustrated with some at different points. At this juncture, I have to say my biggest frustration comes from Kindl. His re-signing last summer was a panic move gambling on the hope that he continued to play like he did for a chunk of a shortened season. Last summer was the last time he was eligible for RFA status, and he should've been given a one year deal to show that he could keep playing like last season. That way, they could've discussed a long term lockup if he stayed in the top 4, or let him walk as a UFA if he back tracked (like he's done this season). Now, he's back at being a #6/7 guy, while Quincey has seemed to finally carve out a spot as a #4/5 guy. If the tides were turned and Kindl was a UFA this summer, they could retain Quincey and add a good RH PP QB, or also let Quincey walk and get a solid defensive Dman as well. Instead the Red Wings really have one opening to improve on the blueline and will still have Kindl and Smith as question marks and the #4 spot potentially remaining a revolving door. Kindl's contract probably also makes him hard to move, or get a decent return for. What would you give up for Dman under contract for 3 more years with a $2.4 cap hit that lost his job to Brian Lashoff when everyone was healthy?

I'm on the fence regarding re-signing Legwand. I do firmly believe that without getting him at the deadline, this team wouldn't be playing right now. I know everyone is just incensed over losing Waynlle Jarnkretzky, but I think this team is showing right now that they'll be better off without another smallish forward on the team. I do have to wonder if he'll test the market. Behind Stasny, the UFA market is extremely thin for top 6 capable centers. Legwand could stand to get a hefty offer from another team looking for a 2nd line center. I also for some reason don't think the whole "playing in his hometown" thing is factoring in much. In his first game here, they interviewed his Dad at the Joe who made it seem like playing here wasn't the biggest deal. If you subtract the Red Wings UFA's and assume that all notable RFA's get re-signed, the team has 12 forwards and 6 dmen in the fold. If they re-sign Quincey, Legwand and Alfredsson, they go into the season with the same team that is getting out muscled by the Bruins and can't produce on the PP, except for the additions of a healthy Zetterberg, Weiss and Ericsson. Is that enough to make this team any better?

While I'm no longer one of those "WINGS NEED AN ENFORCER" types, I do think Holland/Babcock should consider having someone on the team that can keep the flies off. It has to say something when EVERY team that has won a Cup in the salary cap era did so while carrying a player or players of that ilk on their roster for the entire season. Included our beloved 2008 Red Wings team. I know one of the common laments is that the player takes a roster spot from a better player, but a better playing sitting as #14 forward isn't going to play much anyway...

They will both be RFA's until they are 27. That is unless they don't get a qualifying offer, which obviously won't happen. Not sure, but if you are confusing it with waiver exempt status, neither player can go back to GR next season.

John Scott.

That team is one Boyd Devereaux away from a dynasty...

I agree with both. I fell asleep during the 1st intermission of the game, and while looking at some stats from it I remembered this thread. FWIW, he was also sent to the box for a roughing minor to give the Sharks the PP that Thornton scored their 7th goal on.

For the record, Greene was inserted into LA's lineup Las night and was -4 in 13:23 of ice time...

^While I'm sure Sproul, Ouellet or Marchenko would probably be able to fill able to fill a 3rd pairing role for the big club, I can't see Ken Holland doing this. With cap space to burn, history tells me that Kenny will likely either re-sign Quincey or bring in a UFA Dman that he thinks will help the team. Almquist is another story. If you simply delete Quincey and add Amquist, the Wings "defensive" struggles from this season don't get any better. They lose a player who as of late has been one of their better "defensive" Dmen, and add one who won't add the same dimension. I think the real question should be, when does Lashoff becomes expendable? His ceiling is pretty much a #6/7 guy. It's probably a safe assumption that in a more perfect season (less injuries, Kindl plays the way he did to justify a $2.4M cap hit, and Smith has less growing pains), Lashoff would've spent a large chunk of 13/14 as a healthy scratch. Which brings me to Almquist... If the Red Wings go into training camp with an established top-6 (likely Kronwall, Ericsson, DeKeyser, Quincey/UFA, Smith and Kindl) and Amquist adds some strength in the offseason, would a strong camp and preseason make the team consider giving him the #7 spot instead over Lashoff? I have to think that if Almquist shows that he can still develop into a puck moving top-4 guy, it wouldn't be worth losing him over a guy that is pretty much Derek Meech v2.0. With an impressive AHL resume, I can't see how Almquist would clear waivers next season. However, his lack of an NHL resume likely means he won't net more than a late round pick if they try to trade him. Logic tells me that with three Dmen that are likely to be NHL regulars within the next couple seasons able to go up and down from GR, his easily buried cap hit and low upside, Lashoff has to have the same kind of expendability that Cory Emmerton has had the past three seasons. I guess time will tell.

I agree. I think if he continues on the level he's been on this season, he'd be a great fit with the Wings. However, I don't think he'd deserve to make more than Kronwall on this team considering it's probably going to take a long term deal at over $5mil/year to get him. On the other side of the coin, I do think there might also be a slight risk factor with signing him long term for big money. Up until this season he was pretty mediocre for the Penguins, and fell of the wagon after a couple of decent seasons in Dallas. Question is... How much of his "break out" this season had to do with the multiple long term absences of Martin, Letang and Scuderi? Might Quincey or Kindl put up similar point and +/- totals if they are skating in front of a couple of .91+ SV% goalies, and are one of the teams only qualified options to skate behind and feed pucks to Crosbalkin and Co.?

I have to kindly disagree with this... Holland would have to be completely inebriated to give that contract to a guy that has been severely limited by injuries recently, a healthy scratch for 20 games and pretty much his teams Bryan Lashoff (on the depth chart) when healthy this season. Matt Greene of 2012? Absolutely. All I would offer Matt Greene of 2014 is a prorated version of Mike Commodores last NHL contract. Somewhere in the neighborhood of $1M for a year. If he can stay healthy and/or stay in the line-up, then we can discuss a raise/extension. In reality, Brooks Orpik could probably be had for close to that contract. He's a better, faster and MUCH more durable version of Matt Greene, while only three years older.

I wouldn't be so sure about that for atleast two reasons: -#1. Niskanen is arguably the most valuable Dman destined for UFA status. MacDonald was a close 2nd or possibly 1B. After MacDonald signed his extension with Philly, I'm sure Niskanens agent has made him well aware what could be thrown at him on the open market. -#2. Already tight at the cap and with Letangs raise kicking in, the Pens have just shy of $16M in cap space to fill seven roster spots. That includes Niskanen and Orpik's spots on the blueline as well as atleast one top-6 forward. They may have to choose between one of them to fill their needs.

I wouldn't mind if Holland added one of those four this summer. Rather than overpay longterm for someone like Niskanen, they could get one of those guys for 1-2 years which will leave some flexibility for Ouellet/Sproul/Marchenko as they get closer to loser waiver exemption. Zidlicky and Boyle would give them a proven RH PP quarterback and give the team a Dman that could post 35+ points not named Niklas Kronwall. ---------------- As for getting Matt Greene's rights, I don't see the need. Obviously it would only cost a conditional late round pick that LA would get if he signs here, but if Holland really wanted him it probably wouldn't be difficult to swing after July 1st. However, while Greene Michigan native physical RH Dman, he isn't exactly what the Red Wings need. The Red Wings need a RH shot that can quarterback a powerplay, which Greene doesn't do. He's also slow, and has struggled with injuries playing in only 43 regular season games over the last two seasons. He was also a healthy scratch for 16 of LA's 23 games after the Olympic break and wasn't in LA's opening lineup for the playoffs. If/when he's healthy, he'd be a #5-7 guy for the Wings. That still leaves the #4 spot as a revolving door if Smith and/or Kindl struggle next season.

In reality, it's probably exactly what he would've gotten on the open market on July 1st. Looks like Holmgren is trying to plan ahead for the likely retirement of Timonen, instead of waiting for July 1st to come around. This summers UFA class is super thin on proven big-minute dmen that are not yet on the backslide of their careers. MacDonald and Niskanen were probably going to be the most sought after. Niskanens agent is probably doing cart wheels right now...

Good write up. I am however going to have to disagree with the part about a young Dman replacing Quincey. Coming off a season with lackluster performances from Kindl and Lashoff, and the continued growing pains from Smith, I doubt the team wants to add another question mark on the blue line and potentially have the #4 spot be a revolving door (again). If Quincey doesn't re-sign, they'll have the cap space to sign a UFA dman that is an experienced and established top 4 dman. The team is certainly in a youth movement, but I can't see Ken Holland leaving the #4 spot on the blueline open for a young player, especially if he has cap space to burn... That being said strong play from one of them could cause a rostered dman to become expendable during the season. Quincey's improved play and Kindl struggles this season is what has brought them to this juncture. You've got to think that the headscratching contract that Kindl got last summer was in the hope that his "emergence" last season meant they could allow quietly let Quincey finish the last year of his contract battling for 3rd pair action with Lashoff and Smith and then become a UFA. Then they could give the open spot to a no longer waiver exempt Almquist. Now, Quincey is playing great, while they're stuck with Kindl for the next three years at a hefty $2.4m/year, who couldn't hold down the #4 spot and up until the Ericsson injury, lost his regular spot to Lashoff. If Kindl continues to struggle next season, that hefty extension is going to look real bad.

As already stated, with Cleary currently a UFA this is pretty much already done...

Oh absolutely. That's why I used "re-sign/replace", since anyone who isn't resigned will need to be replaced, whether it's from within or outside sources. -Samuelsson, Bertuzzi, Eaves and Gustavsson are probably pretty much gone. Alfredsson could retire. Emmerton will be an RFA, but obviously if the team thinks he can be replaced or that they'd have a hard time moving him once he's resigned, they can decline a qualifying offer. -The Quincey situation will be interesting... Obviously Ericsson seems to be the more valuable of the two, but Quincey currently makes more. -I doubt Sheahan will get a spot on the big club for 14/15 unless he shows big improvement in GR this season, or they know he'll be playing a big role. He'll have one more waiver exempt season after this one, and he'd probably be best kept in GR until his options are out. -Almquist, Ferraro and Callahan are all out of minor league options after '13-14 and it seems they may have the fast track on any small role opening for '14/15. -Howard has now proven that he can handle a big workload and should be expected to start 60+ games a year. After Gustavsson is gone, they could probably get away with using an experienced and cheap journeyman backup in the ilk of Conklin (the first time), Mason, McElhinney, Joey MacDonald etc. That way Mrazek can keep playing and developing in GR. -I've also gotta think that with all of the cap space opening up after this next season and the potential retirement of Alfredsson, Holland will probably try to go after a big name in the UFA market next summer. Vanek? Pominville? Ryan Callahan? Michalek? Timonen? Thornton? Marleau? Boyle? Kessel? Phaneuf? Sedin(s)?

True. That is also not accounting for whatever salary opens up from whatever second player gets trimmed as well. I only wonder if Holland is reluctant to retain any of Tootoos salary for 14-15 when he will most likely already have a handicap from Alfredssons deferred bonuses and will need cap space next summer to re-sign/replace Alfredsson, Quincey, Ericsson, Samuelsson, Bertuzzi, Gustavsson, DeKeyser, Eaves, Tatar and Emmerton. Might make more sense to trade/waive Emmerton and Eaves, and carry Tootoo as an extra forward and rotate him into the lineup when they need him against some of the more physical teams. Then, if they still don't want him next summer they can use their last compliance buyout on his last year without having anything negatively affect their cap for 14/15. One thing to also consider with Tootoo, is that depending on what continued improvement he has in GR next season, Mitch Callahan might be ready to step into a similar spot as a part time agitator. However, he'll probably be playing for league minimum which will be less than 1/3rd what Tootoo will be making in 14/15. None taken. As you can see by that mammoth post, I rather enjoy engaging in these discussions...

I wouldn't really call it a "desperate" situation. I'm sure a lot of NHL GM's (if not all of them) would love to find themselves in a position where they have 16 proven capable NHL forwards on their roster. I know that most here can't stand that they are still on the team but when/if healthy, Bertuzzi and Samuelsson provide a lot more than the players that are currently on "the bubble". They add size to a relatively small crop of forwards, can skate on the 2nd line and PP if needed, and before being derailed by injuries they were coming off of seasons where they produced at a .5 point per game clip. Samuelsson also has that right handed shot that the Red Wings seem to covet, and Bertuzzi is clutch in shootuts where the Red Wings lost quite a few extra points this past season. Samuelsson also had some chemistry during his short stint in Florida playing alongside Weiss. Emmerton, Eaves and Tootoo all bring their own elements to the team, and are useful in the right situations, it doesn't seem like the team finds that valuable enough to give them cemented roles within their 12 regular forwards. All three have been passed on the depth chart by Andersson, Nyquist and Miller, and have become expendable in the teams eyes. You also have the variable of Tatar being out of waiver exemption and I'm sure after his stock rose in the AHL playoffs, the team will give him one of the 14 spots to see what he can do at full time NHL duty. It appears that the Red Wings have 12 forwards that have pretty much cemented spots on the 23 man roster when the season opens. It pretty much looks like this: 1. Datsyuk 2. Zetterberg 3. Alfredsson 4. Weiss 5. Franzen 6. Abdelkader 7. Helm (if healthy) 8. Samuelsson 9. Bertuzzi 10. Miller 11. Andersson 12. Tatar For the last two spots, it'll be a battle between Eaves, Emmerton, Tootoo and possibly Nyquist. Obviously, Nyquist should be somewhere between 7-9 on the depth chart, but the "luxury" of him being waiver exempt might mean that he'll have to start the season in GR while Holland waits for the opportunity to unload another forward.

I agree completely, but the team may be find themselves in a similar situation with Tootoo that they are currently in with Samuelsson. If Holland can't find a team willing to make a trade for Tootoo without the Red Wings retaining some of his salary or taking another contracted player in exchange, they will probably be stuck with him and will have to make use of him somewhere in the lineup. When the rumors of him being traded circulated, it sounded as those were the only two variables teams were willing to accept in order to trade for him. His salary sucks for what he has become with the Red Wings, but he was signed during an offseason of way overpaying UFA's and after a year in which he compiled 30pts playing a bottom-6 role in Nashville.

I don't like the situation as much as you don't, but I was just looking at it from the most realistic perspective. With the new CBA, it is going to be almost impossible to clear Samuelsson and Bertuzzi from the 23 man roster without coughing up valuable cap space needed for the 23 players that would actually be ON the roster. They can't be bought out, can't be buried on LTIR (unless of course they face another longterm injury), and I doubt they would be easy to trade, even if they did waive their NTC's. Because of the situation, Holland and Babcock are going to have to take the lemons they have and make lemonade this season. I like Emmerton too, but it's really not hard to see that he is probably the most expendable forward they have. I doubt many teams want to give anything up for him, since the 29 other teams will probably have a couple of young guys out of minor league options, or a couple of camp tryouts that could give them what Emmerton offers without having to give up any draft picks or prospects. I have my money on the notion that if Helm is ready to go and Holland can't find a way to unload a couple of forwards via trade, Emmerton will be first on the waiver wire. It's a crappy gamble to take given that Emmerton probably still has some upside, but when the deadline to get to 23 comes around, Holland may not have any other options. If he does get claimed, he won't be hard to replace. Capable 4th line centers are a dime a dozen and the Red Wings have two centers in GR that could probably fill Emmertons shoes on a call up if needed, in Sheahan and Ferraro. In fact, given what the organization is saying about him and the fact that he has scored one less AHL goal in 130 games than Emmerton did in 217, Ferraro is probably following in the same path that Emmerton did to the big club and may even have more upside. Not sure what you mean about the Wings taking "ages" with all of the players you mentioned... Mursak followed the pretty standard path to the pros. Drafted and then spent two more years in juniors, then got the standard three waiver exempt seasons in the AHL where his junior numbers failed to really convert. When his waiver exemption was up he was pretty much given a spot as a #13/14 forward on the big club in the hopes that his speed could turn him into a useful bottom-6 forward. He was given two NHL seasons to make his mark, but couldn't stay healthy and didn't seem able to handle the physical aspects of the game. Got waived and no one was interested. Now he's in the KHL. The team didn't throw in the towel, he just didn't cut it at the NHL level. -Total time spent: 7 years -Total effort: Same as any other player -Total Money: Not much (in the grand scheme of things) -Loss to the team: Minimal if none at all. Unless he has some miraculous turn around in the KHL, we have probably seem the last of Mursak in the NHL. I doubt the Wings will ever look back and say "Gee, I wish we would've waived Emmerton instead..." Kopecky is probably the only one that fits your bill of "resources" used, but the team didn't throw in the towel. Like Mursak he got the usual two years in junior after being drafted, then got his three waiver exempt seasons in GR. His offensive game from junior didn't translate whatsoever to the AHL, and he struggled to even stay in the lineup in GR. Probably due to his projectable size, the Wings decided to give him one more shot in GR to see if they could translate his game into a physical game. He was able to turn it around playing on a line with Hudler and Filppula, scoring almost a point per game and added some size and an edge to his game. He was given a spot on the 23 man roster than was his to lose, until he missed significant time with an injury. He established himself as a useful bottom-6 forward and spent two more seasons with Detroit, before deciding to leave as a UFA to follow his friend and countryman Marian Hossa to Chicago. IIRC, the Red Wings were interested in re-signing him, but he really wanted to go with Hossa. -Total time spent: 9 years -Total effort: Probably no different than any other player -Total Money: Not much -Loss to the team: In a summer where the team also lost top 6 forwards Hossa and Samuelsson, Kopecky wasn't really a huge blow. His game has seemed to develop more and he has been more productive since his departure. I'm sure if the need and opportunity opened up, the Wings wouldn't mind getting him back, but I doubt they are beating themselves up over not making a bigger effort to re-sign him. Tomas Fleischmann is a completely different story. He wasn't even in the Red Wings system for two years after being drafted, and hadn't even made it to the pros yet, before the Wings used to his rights to aqcuire a player that they had an immediate need for at the deadline. Robert Lang was at the time they acquired him, the leading scorer in the NHL and the team had a glaring hole at center they wanted to fill after the departure of Sergei Fedorov. Ultimately not knowing exactly what Fleischmann would bring to the club, he was a good sacrifice to make at the time. -Total time spent: Less than 2 years -Total effort: Not much at all -Total money: Probably almost none -Loss to the team: Not huge. Obviously Flieschmann has gone on to become a very good top 6 winger and Lang really never become an integral part of the team after 2.5 seasons. The Red Wings smartly made the sacrifice because they had a glut of forwards in their system and had a need to address. The blow was probably softened when two forwards in Fleischmann's draft class ended up becoming very good players for the Wings in Hudler and Filppula. Like Kopecky, I'm sure if the need and opportunity arose, I'm sure the team wouldn't mind adding Fleischmann, but I'm sure they aren't kicking themselves for trading him for a player that filled an immediate need and gave them 40g and 119pts in 159 games. Ritola was similar to Mursak except that due to a good standing with the cap and a crowded roster, he wasn't gifted a spot on the team. Spent two more (actually real bad) years in Sweden after being drafted and then spent his three waiver exempt seasons in GR after signing his EL deal. After not really doing anything noteworthy in GR, the Red Wings still thought he might be able to add something to team in a bottom six role and signed him to a new deal after his waiver exemption was up. There was even talk from the Wings that summer that he would be given a spot as a #13/14 forward and make Drew Miller the odd man out. Ultimately Drew Miller proved to be a better option and the team also had 13 other forwards that they deemed better than Ritola. The teams only option was to waive him, where he was claimed by Tampa Bay. The Lightning gave him a spot to start the season, but he failed to impress in 5 games, so he once again him the waiver wire but went unclaimed. He actually lit it up after being assigned to the AHL with 27pts in 17 games. He was again given a spot to start with the big club the next year, but again failed to show anything substantial in 5 more games. After being waived and unclaimed again, Ritola refused to go to the AHL for a 5th season, and agreed to terminate his NHL contract to go back to Sweden, where he has been for the last two seasons. -Time spent: A little over 5 years -Effort spent: No more than any other player -Money spent: Not much -Loss to team: None whatsoever. At the time he waived, the Wings had 14 better forward on their roster. They were also compiling some pretty decent forwards in their system, and had Emmerton and Mursak ready to get looks at the NHL level. Ritolas skill never translated to the AHL or NHL game, and he ultimately never panned out. He's still relatively young at 26 and could turn his game around in Sweden and make a return to the NHL. That being said, at this point in his career, I doubt the Red Wings have any regret over waiving him when they did. I don't think the Red Wings really put much more time and effort into players than any other team does. Unless they are a college player, you basically get five years after they are drafted to try and make them a useful player. After than five years, they run out of waiver exemption and their entry level deals will be coming to an end. Because of the 23man roster limit, 50man reserve limit, waivers, more young players entering the system every year and the need to ice a competitive roster, it's hard for teams to wait around for young players to turn into anything more than what they have become when those five years are up. While he is still relatively young and may still have some upside, on paper and to all 29 other GM's in the league, Emmerton is nothing more than an average 4th line or #13/14 forward. There are lots of them in the league, and lots of teams have them in their systems. I like him and it'll suck to see him go, but sometimes this is how things go in this business.