NeverForgetMac25

Babcock believes Modano headed to Hockeytown How can any Wings fan not love a comment like this!

Oh, I completely agree strictly in regards to the 7th Dman position. I just feel the question gets a little fuzzy when you start adding all the elements Meech brings to any team. Given the Wings style of play, the advantage of Meech is that he's a better puck moving/offensive Dman than Janik, but that's pretty much his only advantage in regards to the #7 Dman slot. As you said, obviously the Wings are in a better position depth-wise up front then they were last year. Not only that, Janik definitely brings more of what you're traditionally looking for in a bottom pairing guy than Meech. On top of that, he's a stay-at-home guy that'll be there to cover for the mistakes E was making last year, and Kindl will likely make this year. For those reasons alone the argument for Janik as the #7 is quite strong.

If we're strictly talking Dmen, I'd probably slightly prefer Janik. His game is very different than Meech's, and I think for a bottom pairing his style of play is a little more useful than what Meech brings. What makes your question blurry is that its not just Meech vs. Janik for the 7th Dman, rather its Janik vs. Meech for the 7th Dman + Meech, the capable plug up front. Good question.....tough to answer.

You may want to pass on Kindl for the higher draft pick, but the Wings' brass sure-as-hell won't....and nor should they. You've trashed Kindl in a few of your posts and now once again you mention that he could fetch a high pick or longer-term defense prospect. For argument's sake, you can't have it both ways. As for the "real question," I don't know why you're bringing that up, there was never part of our discussion. With no additions that may be true, but it only becomes the *real quesiton* if Kenny and Co. decide to stand pat. After we've come full circle with this discussion my original point continues to ring true, adding an additional UFA Dman puts Meech at the top of list to be shopped. And that's the whole point!

It's not as if Kindl was playing himself off the roster. While he may not have done enough to get a spot full-time, the Wings were in no hurry to bring him up given the way they let their kids develop. Either way, you're contradicting yourself once again. A couple posts ago, you talk about how Kindl could fetch "MUCH" more in return than Meech and now you make it out as though he's can't hack it and he's on his last chance. The bottom line is that he's not. Kindl's locked up for the next 3 seasons for a light cap hit and then he'll still be an RFA. At the very worst, Kindl will take over Meech's job as the 7th Dman but the potential is there for him to be more than Meech will likely ever be.

Well, which one is it Eva....Kindl or E? You're first post talked about the how much Kindl could fetch, now your talking about E's number being up. E had a rough season last year, no question about it, but that doesn't mean he's going to be garbage from here on out. You say yourself, E's shot and puck skills are there (which they are), his size is an attribute and as he continues to play he'll get more and more comfortable in the Wings' system. With his experiecne increasing he'll be more inclined to use his size and should be a tough guy to play against in front of his goaltender. But the bottom line is that his potential far exceeds that of Meech's. No one's knocking Meech...he's a hell of a plug-in man both up front and on the backend, but that's all he'll ever be on the Wings. Both E and Kindl have the potential to be consistent contributors on the everyday roster.

We can speculate all we want, but I could post reason after reason as to why Kenny would try to hang onto both E and Kindl given a veteran 5/6th Dman is brought in. It's just as likely that Kindl's potential isn't something Kenny and Co. want to move at this point. While not ideal, Babs could run a revolving door on the 5-6 pairing amongst those three (E, Kindl, Veteran UFA) to help get Kindl acclimated and keep the team competitive. Besides, having a light work-load next year isn't exactly going to kill E or Kindl. Meech doesn't have the upside Kindl does and both Lidstrom and Rafalski are nearing the ends of their careers, which makes retaining someone as young and with more potential than Meech necessary. Meech's contract is more attractive to teams fighting the salary cap next season and there's less risk given the one-year deal. Shall I continue? The list goes on and on, and its not as simple as just, Kindl will get "MUCH" more in a trade. The Wings brass may not be looking for getting the most out of a trade, rather hanging onto what they consider potential pieces of the puzzle for the future. Meech likely isn't one of them. E more likely, and Kindl even moreso, are.

It wasn't meant to confuse people. With Modano seemingly falling out of the running, it's becoming more likely the Wings will spend some of their cash on that veteran 6th Dman. That only makes things more difficult for him to crack the top-6 and if that happens, even with Meech's attractive contract he'll be one of the first offered up as trade-bait.

IMO, the member I was responding to wasn't referring to LTIR. He mentions Maltby (who's an UFA) and three other Wings who are set to be UFA's come 2011/2012. Homer doesn't fall into that category. As for missing the first half of the season, his replaced salary would only be allowed for the time Homer was actually out. So, no...if Homer misses the first half and then returns the Wings immediately have to become cap compliant and dump the salary they took on the first half when he was injured.

MLive Confirmation: Wings Re-sign Meech to 1-Year, $500,000 Contract Ansar Khan states Meech "likely to be traded after camp and preseason due to crowded roster."

Great signing by Kenny! A solid 13/14th forward, inked to a one-year deal with an attractive cap hit...which makes him easily tradeable if Holland's able to bring in Modano. Fantastic work Kenny!

Homer signed a 2-year, 35+ year-old contract. He and Kenny would not have agreed on that term unless Homer was absolutely certain he'll play both seasons. If he did retire after this year, the Wings would be on the hook for his $1.875 million cap hit in 2011/2012.

Aaah, I hadn't read the article yet. I just saw the picture and assumed he and a group rented the floor for evening.

That place looks sweet! How much did it cost to rent for the hour?

Tough to argue with this *only becuase* we're talking about a guy who's made a ton over the course of his career and the difference isn't an earth shattering amount. I've always said "it's easy to tell a guy to take less when its not your money", but if Mike's gonna split hairs over $500-$750k *at this point in his career* he's clearly valuing destination just as much as cash. Of the 4 he's considering, either team other than SJ or Detroit makes zero sense unless he wants money...plain and simple. In that's the case, enjoy pissing away your last season in ANA or MIN, because a cup chance is not in their immediate future.

Current state of the team Signed (15 Players): 9 Forwards, 5 Defensemen, 1 Goalie Unsigned (7 Players): 4 Forwards, 2 Defensemen, 1 Goalie (Niemi headed to Arbitration) Cap Space Remaining: $113,410 Ouch-Town, Population: Chicago!

But in reality Lebda isn't worth $1.45, so I have to call moot.

Totally....and just like most contracts, we'll have to moniter his continued devolopment over the course of those 4 years to see if it went from (what's right now) a good deal to what could potentially be an absolute steal by SJ (or CHI if they match).

I know its all about paying for potential, but my point is that he's not likely to play at a high enough level the final two seasons of the contract to make up for his likely level the first two. Yes, a guy of Hjalmarsson's talent is likely to outplay this contract at the end, but the price could be a shade steep for next year and possibly the following. Nowhere am I saying it wasn't worth it though. Like I said in my initial post, great moveif your SJ.

The only downside is the $3.5 per is a little steep for the first year or two of the deal. He should be worth that amount per year in no more than two seasons though, and potentially as soon as the 2011/2012 season.

Great move if your SJ! They add an extremely talented young Dman who will instantly shore up their core. Not only that, they pick late in each round anyway.

This is one area I simply don't agree with Kenny on. If Lilja can't be kept for $1 million, IMHO you need to look elsewhere to get a calming veteran presence to compliment E and/or Kindl. Not only that, losing Lilja is a huge blow to our PK, which really turned around once he came back in February.

When I saw the dollar amount last night, this is all I could think of:

Because they don't have arbitration rights yet. They'll be re-signed, but after (likely) both Eaves and Meech are inked.

Those were Datsyukian hands! Sick play all around by Miller.