DSM

How about Dan Cleary with Jason Williams and Mikael Samuelsson as his assistants.

Pull a mulligan on the Dave Lewis years and bring in Barry Smith.

I say keep Howard for now and go into next season with him and Mrazek battling it out. Before getting hurt, Howard was consistently around 2.10GAA and a .92SV%. Howard obviously likes being here, and I have to think after watching during the playoffs, he'll be fired up to work hard this summer to get back to that level. I'm all aboard the Mrazek train now, but I think it's too soon to hail him as #1. I also think that Howard won't garner much on the trade market, and that there aren't any options available that will be an upgrade. All the UFA options are not being re-signed for various reasons but will be overpaid in July. Did someone say Reimer? Really? I'd go with a Howard/Mrazek tandem. Let Gustavsson walk. McCollum is eligible for Group VI UFA status, so he'll likely walk too. In his spot, sign a veteran #3 guy that is capable of NHL duty like a LaBarbera or Dan Ellis type, but can also mentor Coreau and Paterson in GR.

Eddie Olczyck

I disagree with this. Conklin (V2.0) was a disaster in St. Louis and Holland brought him back and he was a disaster here. Then Gustavsson ended up being a horrible signing. The only good goaltending signing Holland has made recently is Joey MacDonald.Holland even gave Gustavsson A RAISE after proving he was more useless than Magic Johnson at a blood drive for two years. Guys like Greiss, Montoya etc were available last summer for half as much, but Holland decided to overpay Glasstavsson.

Pierre McGuire

The UFA market is going to be so thin that it'll probably take a huge overpayment to get one of the very few decent UFA dmen this summer. Martin will likely go to the highest/longest bidder or a team that is more of a "contender".

I think the luck Holland had with players he brought in for the 08 and 09 Finals teams really spoiled us fans and greatly heightened our expectations for new acquisitions. If on October 5th, 2005, someone told me that in the next three seasons Dan Cleary and Mikael Samuelsson would be 20+ goal scorers and Chris Osgood would lead them to a Cup, I would've asked them to share the cough syrup.We got expected or better than expected contributions from most of the players he brought in between 05-09. Cleary, Samuelsson (V1.0), Osgood (V2.0), Lilja, Markov, Hasek, Rafalski, Drake, Downey, Stuart, McCarty, Conklin (V1.0) and Hossa all were pretty much homeruns. The only real misses were Cross, Bertuzzi (V1.0) and Calder. That luck started to fizzle from 2010-2012. Guys like Miller, Eaves, Bertuzzi (V2.0), Salei, and MacDonald (V2.0) all worked as expected or better. However, the duds starting rolling in. Jason Williams (V2.0), Modano, Commodore, White and Conklin (V2.0) all ended up as busts, and it's probably a safe bet to say that Quincey (V2.0) hasn't exactly been what they were hoping for at the '12 deadline. That luck has pretty much completely flipped from the 2012 off season to today... Alfredsson was the only real bright spot. Gustavsson, Tootoo, Samuelsson (V2.0), Colaiacovo, Brunner, Weiss and Legwand either didn't work out or haven't played up to expectations yet. I'm hoping Cole and Zidlicky reverse the trend... Otherwise, I feel like Holland might completely abandon trying to attract UFA's or swing trades. That or Holland is starting to realize the NHL is becoming more like the NFL, where 95% of your team building is done through the draft...

I agree with you to an extent, but I think injuries cut do cut into value at some point. Take for example, Jonas Gustavsson. Had a rough go with injuries and health issues in Toronto, then comes here and it's more of the same. Then he somehow gets a raise when cheaper, better and more durable backups are available on the UFA market. Now it's been more of the same. I'll be surprised if he has an NHL contract before training camps start this summer.

Not yet. First of all, he's going to be difficult to move. He has a NMC, and I doubt he'd want to go to the teams that need goaltending help currently. He also has a couple years where his salary is higher than his cap hit. Plus, having a potential limited field of teams will drop his return value. Then the question is, what does the team do going forward? Re-signing Gustavsson and running with a tandem of him and Mrazek would be a huge gamble. Also, none of the goalies on the UFA market this summer would be an upgrade over Howard IMO. Won't be many affordable options on the trade market either. They're going to have to ride Howard until he has a Theodore or Bryzgalov like collapse, or they decide to hit the reset button and go into full rebuild mode.

I'm going to laugh if McCollum steals another teams backup job next season. His AHL numbers the past two years are better than anything Howard put up down there. However, Babs didn't want to give him a shot because he let in 3 goals playing mop up duty years ago. I couldn't believe he didn't get a start when Mrazek was dumping the bed before Howard returned...And yes, I did laugh when Joey MacDonald got plucked on waivers and became the Flames starter, all the while Gustavsson was on his way to becoming the most useless signing since Uwe Krupp.

Plus Florida has a whole bunch of recent high draft picks to build around, and a GM that's always willing to make moves to improve their roster. I'd bet Gary would pay him under the table to turn the Panthers into a winner so he doesn't end up with another Coyotes situation...

No Joke... They might as well toss McCollum in for a game. My logic: -His numbers have been solid the past 2 seasons and he's apparently been real hot lately (12-1-3 in past 16). -He's eligible for Group VI UFA status this summer, so he'll be hungry to audition for a new opportunity for next fall -Couldn't be any worse than what they're getting from Howie, Mrazek or the Glass Monster...

Ken and Mick said McCollum is something like 12-1-1 in his last few starts. He's also got better AHL numbers than Andrew Hammond... He's also playing for a job for next season...

^I don't understand why would have no value. Teams have traded for other dog housed Dmen (Meszaros comes to mind). You also have the Oilers who have to vastly overpay mediocre Dmen (Nikitin and Fayne) on the UFA market. Is Holland expecting some sort of Andrew McDonald kings ransom in return? If Kindl has no value, but warrants nearly $10M over 4 years after 41 decent games, I'm really going to bite my nails over what Holland might offer Smith this summer... In other news, John Scott has scored 150% more goals this season than his career total before this year. He's going to be a UFA this summer.

I'd take dumpster fire Chara over Ericsson at this point...

With RFA status looming, Mrazeks agent should be BEGGING him to go 2006 Cam Ward for the rest of this season and into the playoffs. If Holland can give $1.85M to a mediocre backup that perennially challenges Marc Savard and Chris Pronger for time spent on IR, how much is actually playing and stealing the starting job worth? I'd be badgering Holland for atleast $2.5M and patiently waiting for the Oilers or Leafs offer sheet.

What about the Sharks? They could offer all of the mentioned "perks" this summer. He'll get some authority since they will most likely be looking for a new GM and head coach. As for the spotlight, San Jose isn't as invisible as Florida, but it certainly isn't Detroit. Ottawa could offer a similar job, since they're looking for Murray's eventual replacement and Cameron is still "interim". Buffalo, Philly and even Pittsburgh could potentially offer up similar roles.

^I agree with this. I think Babcock wants to go somewhere where he can have a 1994-97 Scotty Bowman like level of control. I'm sure Shanny and Co. wouldn't think twice about paying Babs lots of money and handing him the keys to the bus. Same goes for the Sharks, who will likely be dumping Wilson and McLellan. He won't get that here, where players only leave through retirement or free agency.

I miss Joey MacDonald.

^Maybe that's why he hasn't signed an extension yet. Wants to go somewhere where he has a bit more control over his roster.

At this point, I could take him or leave him. I have a feeling Babcock wants to use his rare situation as a "Free Agent coach that wasn't fired" to gauge different challenges that will be presented to him. I have a feeling he might want to go somewhere where he gets the kind of control that Bowman got here after Bryan Murray was let go. Seems like Ilitch/Holland want to run the team as a band-aided and safe "Old Boys Club", than make significant changes to make the team better (like Bowman did after Murray). ....which leads me to my next point..... The positive outlook I have for Babcock leaving, is that atleast SOMETHING about this team changes. Since the last lockout, the Red Wings have become the NHL's definition of insanity. The team has the same two goalies and six Dmen that started in the 2013 playoffs and most of the same forwards. There's also the same GM and head coach, of course. We even went into this current season with nearly the same exact team that barely made the playoffs and couldn't handle the Bruins in the first round, minus Alfredsson. "Oh but we'll be healthier, young guys will get better, Jimmy will bounce back, blah blah". Wings fans act like Babcock leaving would be equivalent to Al Arbour walking away from the Islanders a day after leading them to a 4th consecutive Cup. In reality, Babcock has lead the Wings to win only three playoff series in the last five seasons, and they haven't made it past the second round in that same span. The way they're playing right now, it doesn't look like that is going to change. I know it's not all Babcocks fault, but when will some accountability fall his way? A new message might be refreshing, especially if the (likely) band-aiding continues.

Hindsight's 20/20, but the Wings should have grabbed one of Buffalo's goalies at the deadline as a rental insurance policy. Here's why: -Howard had been back for almost a month, but he clearly wasn't playing like he was before the injury. (2.81GAA/.901SV after injury vs. 2.11/.92 before) -Gustavsson simply can't be trusted to stay healthy. (and got hurt in his first appearance after the deadline...) -Mrazek clearly struggled handling the starters workload. Getting yanked in three of his last eight starts before Howard returned, and allowing four or more goals in four of those same eight games. I'm certainly not saying that Jhonas Enroth or Michal Neuvirth would be an upgrade. However if Howard continued to struggle (and obviously has), both have starting experience and would've have given the Wings a better option than a goalie that can't stay healthy for a month to save his life, or a 22 year old that is playing like he's 22. Plus, both of those goalies are playing for a new home and salary raise this summer as UFA's and might have been motivated to play lights out if given an opportunity to fill in for a badly struggling Howard. Both goalies were had for a struggling placeholder (Lindback and Johnson) and a conditional 3rd rounder. The Wings could've tossed in Gustavsson or maybe even McCollum to really help the McDavid tank. If we want to go back even further, I called re-signing Gustavsson a horrible idea last spring. Looks like I was right... Thomas Greiss signed with the Penguins for a year with a cap hit just a tad more than Gustavssons, after having a way better year than Gus in 13/14. He's been healthy all season, and has numbers better than all three of the Wings goalies... Just my thoughts.

To me it looks pretty simple. No real big changes, just continued emphasis on developing and improving home grown talent. Up front: (In no real order) 1. Datsyuk, 2. Zetterberg, 3. Wiess, 4. Franzen, 5. Tatar, 6. Helm, 7. Abdelkader, 8. Miller, 9. Nyquist, 10. Sheahan, 11. Jurco, 12. Andersson, 13. Glendenning, 14. Pulkkinen -All RFA's resigned -Cleary is a goner for sure this time. -Pulkkinen is no longer waiver exempt next season (but obviously doesn't need to go back...) and gets a spot. -Franzen will be back -As will Weiss. He will literally be impossible to ship out without getting another bad contract back. Especially since his salary goes up to $6M in the next two seasons. I can't see Holland doing a buyout either. -Unless Cole goes on an extreme tear and/or it appears Franzen may not be ready to start the season, he won't be resigned. -Callahan and Ferraro get re-signed and get to battle over who will be the next Nestrasil. On D: 1. Kronwall, 2. Ericsson, 3. DeKeyser, 4. Quincey, 5. Smith, 6. Zidlicky/UFA/Marchenko/Ouellet, 7. Lashoff/Kindl/UFA -Smith re-signed -Attempt to re-sign Zidlicky for one more year. Then, when Quincey/Zidlicky/Lashoff leave on July 1, 2016, Ouellet, Markchenko and Sproul have open spots when their waiver exemption goes away. -Or, Marchenko gets #6 spot as sole RH shot. -(Unlikely) Or they go after another UFA RH shot. -Attempt and hopefully succeed trading Kindl for pick(s). Having him (expensively) sit out most games will just make him even harder to trade. -Lashoff slides in at #7 again to sit in the dressing room most games. I don't see Holland putting Ouellet/Marchenko in this spot, since they could play every night in GR. They could also bring in a cheap veteran UFA for this spot as well. In goal: 1. Howard, 2. Mrazek -Gustavsson FINALLY leaves as a UFA a year later than he should have -Mrazek gets the backup job -McCollum elects for Group VI UFA status to get a change of scenery -Bring in an experienced #3 (ala LaBarbara, Ellis, JOEY MACDONALD PLZ, etc.) to push Mrazek in camp, give them a serviceable backup if needed, and mentor Paterson and Coreau on the farm. UFA's/Trades: I don't see Holland getting too aggressive in the market this summer. The UFA class this summer is stupid thin, which will lead to stupid Andrew MacDonald like overpayments in both trades and salaries. The overpayments can also lead to Stephen Weiss 2.0. Plus, the Red Wings need to be a little conservative for the future. Loading up on big long term contracts will make it harder to retain all of the good young players when they start approaching UFA eligibility. If the team is poised to make a run, they can use any extra cap room for affordable rentals again.

I tried to collect some perspective from Devils fans and words like "floater", "lazy" and "bad penalties" came up frequently. What I find ironic is that the Devis kept Tootoo over Brunner. Can you imagine what people would be saying on here if Holland did that?