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Offensive defenseman have been behind the Wings success over the past 20 years. Because of their puck-possession style of play, Detroit relies on solid transition passes from the defense more so than perhaps any other team in the NHL -- and quite honestly, only a handful of defenders have ever really been able to excel equally at both offense and defense. All defensemen whom have found themselves playing in Detroit during Lidstrom's tenure (with the notable exception of Konstantinov) "sucked" defensively. We've been spoiled here.

Raycroft has been a .885 SV% goalie since the lockout. Congrats on actually finding someone with worse regular season stats than Osgood (about a .900 SV% since the lockout)! Maybe Vancouver would trade him. Between Howard and him, they have a combined 7 NHL playoff games -- sign me up for that! Dusting off Manny Legace would be a better option than that. Montreal would not trade Price, not at his age. Fail.

Considering this team is in cap trouble, I'm curious what goalies out there are better than Osgood and 1) are cheaper and 2) would ever be traded in the first place.

Since this comes out an awful lot - I thought I would take a stab at presenting the pertinent data. Yes, the emergence of Kronwall makes trading Rafalski appealing (if we ignore his NTC)... but that is a good thing. Rafalski was a huge improvement over Schneider - whom if we remember, was asking for north of $5m from the Wings at the time.

Kronwall had scored all of 20 pts in a Red Wings uniform, and was just back from a 52-game injury (which was not even his first extended IR visit) at the time he signed his contract. Not exactly an apples to apples comparison. If Kronwall signed today, it would be for Bouwmeester money.

Probably underpaid -- A defenseman who can put up 50+ pts a year is a worth a ton in today's NHL. And Rafalski is decent defensively to boot (better than a lot on this list, for example): Ryan Whitney - $4m Kubina - $5m Wideman - $4m Campbell - $7m Hannan - $4.5m Liles - $4.2m Visnovski - $5.6m Souray - $5.4m Gilbert - $4m McCabe - $5.8m Ballard - $4.2m Johnsson - $4.8m Hamrlik - $5.5m Streit - $4.1m Redden - $6.5m Rozsival - $5m Timonen - $6.3m Jovanovski - $6.5m Blake - $4m Brewer - $4.3m Maszaros - $4m Phaneuf - $6.5m Komisarek - $4.5m Kaberle - $4.3m Green - $5.3m Rafalski is arguably equal to or better than all the earlier listed top-paid defenseman in the NHL. His $6m compares favorably and is still less than many of the following defenseman who are all better than him. Boyle - $6.6m Pronger - $6.3m Weber - $4.5m Markov - $5.8m Lidstrom - $7.4m Bouwmeester - $6.6m Niedermayer - $6.75 Chara - $7.5m Keith - $5.5m Gonchar - $5m Consider the top-scoring defenseman since the lockout are: 1) Lidstrom 303 2) Kaberle 252 3) Niedermayer 247 4) Pronger 244 5) Gonchar 242 6) Rafalski 241 6) Boyle 241 8) Campbell 240 9) Markov 234 10) Phaneuf 228 I'd say Detroit has gotten a fair return (though 1 year was with NJ). You have to pay a premium for high-scoring defenseman like Rafalski.

Lidstrom looked like he was 25 again out there last night... Playing with a lot of confidence and jumping up into plays. 17 pts and a +13 in his last 15 games. Outstanding! He's even finding the back of the net with 4 goals in the past 7 games. What really impresses me is that while Detroit has been outscored at even strength (GF: 84 GA: 91), his +/- is amongst the best in the NHL at +19. Not bad for a guy who turns 40 this year!

Datsyuk better be shooting the puck more....

I'd say Filpulla is a decent value... he certainly did not give Holland any sort of a discount, but he has improved, which both parties were expecting when they signed the deal. How much he has improved is up for debate, but I'm sure many are a bit disappointed there. The fact he is signed to a fair contract is whay I always pimp him for trades... as he would get the Wings a nice return.

McCrimmon was his earliest established partner, and Lidstrom has been quoted as stating he had a big influence on his early years (Mark Howe, as well). Lidstrom never really played that often with Konstantinov, except on PKs.

Going backwards... and I'll need help: Rafalski Markov/Lilja Schneider/Fischer Bykov Duchesne/Chelios/Dandeneault and even Olausson Murphy Coffey Aaron Ward... even Rouse sometimes Mark Howe and some Chiasson Brad McCrimmon

Could be Mikita (21) getting hit there...

Hockey games can and have gone on forever... scheduling with networks would never allow for that. I love the idea of more OT, but it is utterly exhausing for the players... especially 4 on 4 or even 3 on 3, and plus teams shorten their bench in OT.

Definitely Howe.

NBC: Crosby for Selke!

Yup. Aparently playing in the east this year gets you a boost in that area (can't believe how high Ottawa's is).

Best defensive defenseman in the NHL right now: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/globe...article1448148/

The hockey writers guild has access to sweet stats. Bastards.

I've long viewed Filpula as tradebait, even though I love him on the team... I just think if a trade is to be made, he's the best candidate - would get a good return, relieves good cap space and his game is a bit redundant on this team (good two-way, can't score to save his life). I'll be happy if he stays on the team, but I'll be pissed if another similar salary player is ever traded in front of him -- like Kronwall or Cleary -- and I always thought someone like hudler was more of a need to this team than Filpula. But Flip's been great! Anyways - the defense last night was atrocious. Forwards and defensemen were turning the puck over on a consistent basis in their own zone and Jimmy (and the posts) really saved their bacon (I honestly think if Osgood was in net, with the way he is playing it would have been a 5-3 loss, and then we'd hear about how the defense left him out to dry - and that would be a correct observation, as Howard was lights-out last night). That said the Wings' offense has really started to click, so hopefully it's just a case of putting it all together now that everyone is coming back.

I like how Sidney's smile can light up a room.

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You can accrue unused cap space over the season, that's for sure. But LTIR definitely muddies it... I believe your first paragraph is dead-on on how it is applied. In other words, LTIR specifically only gives cap relief while the player is out.

LTIR players still count towards the cap...

That dude totally ripped me off: http://www.letsgowings.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=62814

Fierth!