joshy207

You can now. That was added to the last CBA. I'm not sure exactly how it works, and whether it's just cap space or salary as well, but the trading-away team can maintain part of a player's contract. Capgeek.com can probably explain it...

Yeah, Nike has a contract with someone, I'm not sure if it's the IOC or IIHF. They are the official uniform supplier. Tackla was the supplier in the late 80s and early 90s.

It's really amazing how many NHL guys (players, former players, coaches, etc) do things like this. Maybe not quite as much as Tortorella in this case, but it happens way more frequently than we hear about. Most hockey guys are pretty grounded, they are generally good guys, even the ones you love to hate.

Yeah, I agree with this. They have solid prospects considering their draft position. Hopefully, a good number of them pan out... and I think they will...

All enticing prospects, yes, but for now they are just prospects. We can grade the drafting in 5 or so years after we see how many of these guys make the NHL.

Spot-on, very well thought out and written!

Tonight went much better than expected on the back end! All 6 played well.

I think it would have done as much or more good than playing in GR. Had he been paired with Lidstrom, yes, Nick would have been covering up mistakes, but Smith would have had no better teacher correcting him on the bench, discussing every play, every situation, what to do, what not to do. If (when) it was determined Smith needed more GR time, he could have been sent back with some great experience to learn from. My biggest issue with the Wings' development of prospects is that they leave them in GR until the last possible moment, when they are out of waiver options, and chances are they have 15, 20 games of NHL experience as a 4th-line or 6th-D callup, they are not put in the situations where they will eventually be playing. Yes, I know the Wings claim they are competing for a Cup every year, so maybe they don't want to risk putting prospects on the ice, they'd rather bring in someone with tons of experience... but that's why they are in the situation they're in now, with an overcrowded roster and payroll, and their up-and-coming forwards in GR or the press box.

This contract is subject to the Slide Rule, where it will not officially start until Mantha plays* (see below) for Detroit or Grand Rapids (or any other pro team)... so if he stays in the Q all year, the three years of his deal will be 14/15, 15/16, and 16/17. It will not count against the 50-man limit this year as long as he is not called up. Mantha can stay in the Q with a pro contract. This happens all the time. Frk and Nedomlel were signed last year but stayed in junior. This situation is precisely why players lose NCAA eligibility if they play in the CHL. The NCAA isn't so much concerned with the (small) pay the CHLers receive, but with the fact that amateur players are playing against players already signed to pro contracts. *The Wings could call up Mantha and have him play up to 9 games, then send him back to junior and not have his contract officially start. Recently, the Jets did this with Mark Scheifele. The Flames are contemplating keeping Sean Monahan or returning him to junior. The last Wing I can remember who was in that situation was Martin Lapointe.

It definitely worked for Howard, but I think in Smith's case, it has held him back. Babcock declared him "NHL-ready" in 2010, but it still took until what should have been the 2012-13 season for him to see regular duty. How much better would he be right now had he spent the first 20 games of 2011-12 paired with Lidstrom? Could he possibly have learned the same things in Grand Rapids as he would have here? Was signing Commodore a better option? I think each prospect has a point where they plateau unless they move up to the next level. You can obviously promote a kid too soon and damage him, but you can also leave him in the AHL too long, he becomes too accustomed to that speed and level of play, and has trouble adjusting making the jump to the NHL. The trick is knowiing that point with each of your prospects. I definitely agree that Holland's bad/unnecessary signings (Samuelsson, Bertuzzi, Cleary, Tootoo are on my list) have blocked the prospects and will hurt them in the long run.

Your points are valid, so please don't think I'm upset, but I can answer them: -I know Tatar was in the AHL from March on. I was disappointed when he was sent back down. I thought when he was here, he was the 2nd best forward in the lineup behind Datsyuk. Tatar made something happen on most of his shifts. Few other guys were doing that at that time. -Brunner did turn down a decent offer, yes. That's on him and his agent. I was disappointed that Holland didn't do more to keep Brunner, but giving away the farm would not have been a smart move. -I said ONE OF the biggest reasons the Wings made the playoffs was the play of the young guys. One of. But a big one. Had they come up and not performed, this team would not have made the post-season. As it is, they made it on the last day, by one point. The #1 reason they made it was Jimmy Howard's play. He was rock-solid from about 3 weeks in until the very end. Team MVP, no question. Datsyuk's and Zetterberg's play and leadership were also huge. -As for the points in April, that's fine. I'll still argue that the third line of Andersson, Brunner, and Nyquist was an important part of the Wings' making the playoffs and advancing as far as they did. -Filppula DID underperform. He has every season but 2011-12. For all his talent, he should produce more than he does. I see he's off to a good start in Tampa... it'll be interesting to see how his season goes. -Dan Cleary has been brutal for the last two years. Brutal. He had a good, productive playoffs, yes... but he's back to being brutal so far this year. -I did not "ignore" the contributions of veteran players, my post was not meant to be a complete and total summary of last season. I was simply pointing out how some important parts of last year's team are being pushed aside at this time for players that I feel have less to offer.

Last year, when Babcock scratched Smith for a game and Smith said it was OK, Babcock got PISSED and told him, no, it's not OK, I want you to be upset about this... how is being stuck in Grand Rapids or the press box ***when you have proven that you are capable of playing in Detroit*** any different?

I agree. One of the reasons the Wings even made the playoffs was because of the play of Brunner, Andersson, Nyquist, and Tatar. But it wasn't the Wings' plan to have them in the lineup (except Brunner, who was a low-risk gamble). So, as a thank-you to those players, Andersson gets saddled with 2 corpses for linemates, Tatar gets a seat in the press box, Brunner gets some black added to his uniform (NJ, where he has 3G/1A in 4GP but is a -3), and Nyquist isn't even in the league right now. Nice reward, eh? At some point, leaving a player in the AHL becomes counterproductive. The AHL game is noticeably slower than the NHL game. There's only so much you can learn there. You cannot adjust to NHL play in the AHL. Andersson, Nyquist, and Tatar all showed very well in the NHL last year, showed they were ready for regular NHL duty. Brunner also proved he can play in the league. Why was that not good enough for Holland and Babcock? Are there better defensive players than Brunner, Tatar, and Nyquist? Yes. But defensive awareness comes with experience, which you can only get with experience. You have to play. In the NHL. Was Yzerman a good defensive player in the first half of his career? NO. The vast majority of NHLers aren't. It's not fair to expect that from rookies. If anyone can explain to me the benefits (short-term and long-term) of playing Samuelsson, Cleary, and Bertuzzi over Nyquist and Tatar, please, go for it!

No. The Wings didn't sign Howard to a nice, long contract just to trade him. They want him here long- term, and he SHOULD be here for most, if not all, of his contract. I wouldn't be surprised to see Mrazek backing him up next year and, gradually over the next 2-3 years, building up into a 50/50 split, then getting the bulk of the starts. He and Howard already have a good relationship. At 33, Miller's still a pretty good goalie, but his best days are behind him. I'm sure Buffalo will explore trading him this season, and whoever gets him will probably want to lock him up for 2-3 years. It won't be Detroit, though.

Maybe Holland gave him a "corner office" and locked him in there??? Sorry, guys, I was going off of what Elliotte Friedman said at intermission on HNIC Saturday night. He said that LTIR could not be used until after the 23-man roster and salary deadlines had passed. I have also been told that is not accurate, and I cannot seem to get a definitive answer.

As we all know, the Wings are over the roster limit and the salary cap going into the season. The roster needs to be whittled down to 23, and the payroll to under $64.3M, by Monday afternoon. Long-term injured reserve cannot be utilized until after the roster deadline. The players called up for today's game (Jurco, Ouellet, Sheahan, Glendening, Sproul, Pulkkinen, Coreau) will be sent down, as will Almquist. Paetsch and Hoggan will be released from their PTOs. I would also assume that Mrazek (who will start as Howard's backup with Gustavsson hurt), Nyquist, and DeKeyser (because they don't have to clear waivers) will be sent down also, even if just paper transactions. Willie Coetzee is still on the roster, I'm guessing it's because he is injured and cannot be sent down... if so, he'll have to be one of the 23, won't he? Bottom line is, a couple guys are going to have to be waived and, if not claimed, be sent down (in which case most of their salary will still count against the cap). Eaves and Tootoo have both been named as candidates to be moved, but both are injured, so they couldn't be sent down if they clear (someone please correct me if that's wrong!). And can they even be waived if injured? Samuelsson is another obvious candidate, but if he goes unclaimed and gets sent down, his cap hit is still about $2.9M. They'll need to hang on to Emmerton with Helm still out. Miller and Cleary were just signed. Bertuzzi is another candidate, but with his age and back, he's a risk. Holland hasn't been able to find a single trade to alleviate the crunch all summer. Can he find one now? NY Islanders, Calgary, Colorado, Ottawa, Florida, and Buffalo all have a lot of cap room, and Florida has already signed some guys since being sold last week. So... who gets waived?

I like Mrazek. A lot. I think he's going to be a very good to great goalie, and I want to see him in a Wings uniform for a long time. But not this year. I'd rather he play 50-55 games in GR than 15-20 in Detroit. Call him up occasionally for a spot start, yes. Call him up if one of the Wings' goalies gets hurt. And if Howard has to miss any games (knock on wood!!) then Mrazek takes over and Gustavsson remains the backup. Next year, if Mrazek has another season like last year, he becomes the backup. Over the length of Howard's contract, Mrazek should play more games each year, transitioning into the starter's role as Howard ages.

Abdelkader is a better option, I guess, than Cleary, Samuelsson, or Bertuzzi. I HIGHLY doubt Babcock would use Tatar in that spot, even though he may be the best-suited player to fill that position.

There are 2 guys tied at #9. Also at #7 (there is no #8).

This is the first new uni of the summer that I like. It's similar to the old one, but much cleaner. Still has an appropriate amount of stripes, especially at the waist. Nicely done, Wild.

I should have said a leading "fan" candidate to be bought out. I highly doubt Holland would do it, unless his production completely falls off the table this year. But he is a bum. He doesn't appear to put forth a consistent, solid work ethic that the logo on his jersey demands. He has the ability to be a dominant player, that's the frustrating part to watch. He disappears for weeks at a time. When he isn't scoring, he provides nothing. There have been a lot of players who "don't care". Alexandre Daigle comes to mind. First overall pick, hated hockey, only played because his dad wanted him to. Plenty of other guys have pissed away opportunities because they don't work hard, don't commit to what it takes. Franzen is not that bad... but he's not what he could or should be. Silly post? No sillier than yours.

Wow. Bum. And now the primary Compliance Buyout candidate next summer unless he proves he actually cares enough about his job to actually do it.

Had this question been asked in 1980, the Wings would have been dead last. Every team has its ups and downs, which correlates to its popularity. The Lions are the most popular, despite being horrendous for almost 60 years, because football IS the most popular sport in the US. The Tigers rank (probably a close) second, between baseball's historic popularity in the US and the Tigers' recent success. The Wings have lost some of their luster because they haven't been quite as good the last few years, and as some of you have said, the fans have almost become numb to their success. The Pistons are in another doldrums and their embarrassing attendance figures last year showed the fans' apathy. Hockey does rank higher in Detroit than in almost any other US city (Boston and Minneapols/St Paul could challenge) but is still a distant third to football and baseball. The one type of "fan" who pisses me off is the "I only watch hockey in the playoffs. I don't watch the regular season." You know what, guy? Don't watch the playoffs either! You are no hockey fan! It's impossible to truly appreciate the game if you only watch it for 2 months.

Djoos only had 2 NHL goals, so I'm gonna guess "no"... maybe it was assists? And as soon as I posted this, I saw the Garpenlov answer. Ha.

Conklin played well in his first stint here, who knew he'd crap the bed the second time around... Calder was a trade, Exelby was for GR depth, Cross was a trade... Lang was a trade, too. Yes, Holland has made some very questionable signings and has not pulled the trigger on others. But some of these guys you listed weren't supposed to play big roles or even be on the roster...