joshy207

Stalberg, the guy who was benched for poor play the first two games of that series? OK...

Filppula can skate, yes. I don't see him as a "battler" at all. Battlers go in the corner, get gritty, play tough. Filppula does not do that. He isn't lazy, his effort isn't the question, it's the results... which are seriously lacking for a player of his ability. He is good defensively and on faceoffs, but cannot center a 2nd line, he has proven that throughout his career here. And at 29, the days of discussing "potential" are long over.

Vancouver needed a #2 center early this year, their depth was drained with Kesler and Malhotra out. Kesler is back, so they wouldn't need any higher than a #3 center. I agree with you, Franzen would probably do a lot more damage in Vancouver than he does here. Probably true for Filppula too. Just like other guys do better once they come here (i.e. Cleary).

Agreed. The other poster's idea to trade Filppula's rights for a first is not logical. 7th, MAYBE 6th round pick. The Wings lost their opportunity to get any value from Filppula when the trade deadline passed. I saw a tweet somewhere from Nick Cotsonika that said Boston wanted Filppula and Cleary. I would LOVE to know what they were offering in return......... Also, sign-and-trades are a basketball thing, they rarely if ever happen in hockey. Maybe once every 10 years or so. If that.

IF the Wings don't use both buyouts this summer, I think they could look at buying him out next summer if he has a bad year. He has scored at a "consistent" (please forgive the use of that word) pace of 28-29 goals for the last 4 years. He'll be 34 at the end of next year, which is not an age where players normally start to get better or work harder. That could be cause for concern if his production begins to drop next year. However, I hope they use their two compliance buyouts on Samuelsson and either Bertuzzi or Colaiacovo to help create roster room for Andersson, Nyquist, Tatar, DeKeyser, and possibly Lashoff to stick full-time next year, and also for any possible free agent signings they may want to make. So that would mean we're stuck with Franzen until either his deal expires or he retires.

YES. That, and trade an underachiever or two. There's an air of complacency around this club that I don't like...

True. But in those 12 games, he began to show a lot of poise and promise. He does have a lot left to prove and could fall victim to Jonathan Ericsson Syndrome, where he starts out great then disappears for a few years before finally becoming a steady NHL defenseman. I like what I've seen so far though, and hope to see a lot more of the same next season (or even this season, should the Wings make the Cup final!) It's also kind of an indictment of the rest of the defense corps. This is pretty much what I'm thinking too, except that Cleary should not be re-signed. Samuelsson and one of Bertuzzi or Colaiacovo should be given compliance buyouts. The other one could be bought out as well, or Colaiacovo could be traded. My projection has them keeping Colaiacovo and giving Lashoff more time in Grand Rapids. Unless Holland can land Ribeiro or Ryder (doubtful on either), he should avoid the free agent market.

Yeah, I can't see why you wouldn't be able to. However, this would be an insanely stupid move.

I'd say DeKeyser is already their #3 defenseman and could pass Ericsson next year.

The Wings have PLENTY of cap space to give Filppula his reported asking price. The reality is, he is nowhere near worth that price ($5M). He is a half-point-a-game player, is good defensively (but so are a lot of other forwards) but does not produce offensively to his talent level, and very rarely shows any desire to be better. He's basically a perimeter player. Let someone else pay him what he is "worth". Also, T.Low, what goes around comes around, the Wings have picked up players off the scrap heap that have contributed here, and in the near future, could benefit from the exact situation you are describing, getting quality players from other teams who can no longer afford them.

I just saw somewhere on Twitter that DeKeyser got the cast off, is skating, and can handle the puck and take wristers but not slappers. He thinks he'd be available if they make the Final. He's their #2 or 3 defenseman, no way they'd leave him out if he's ready to go.

They didn't trust Gustavsson to play in regular season games, what makes you think they trust him in the playoffs????? The only way Howard comes out is if he dies. Even then, he might be better than Gustavsson.

Where did you hear that? Gordie was basically forced to retire after the 1970-71 season. He was given a front-office "job" where he basically had nothing to do. In 1973, when Houston of the WHA wanted to sign his sons, his wife talked to them about signing Gordie, too, who wanted to play and felt he still could. (Obviously, he was right!!) It wasn't a money issue, the Wings didn't even want him playing.

Here's what I would do for next year: (no trades included) Get rid of some of the dead weight, bad contracts, and guys who are taking up roster space that is needed for the young guys. Then add a few pieces that would make the team more competitive. Step 1: Internal free agents Re-sign Brunner ($2M), Nyquist ($1.25M), Andersson ($1.05M), Smith ($1.5M), Kindl ($1.15M). Let walk Filppula, White, Cleary, Miller. Step 2: Buyouts Compliance buyouts for Samuelsson and Quincey, $0 cap hit. Standard buyouts for Bertuzzi ($625K), Colaiacovo ($600K), and Gustavsson (500K). Step 3: Free agency *IF these guys reach UFA status, I would go after them hard, especially the forwards. Aggressive contracts, probably 2 years, maybe 3 if necessary. Sign C Mike Ribeiro ($6.5M), RW Michael Ryder ($5.25M), D Scott Hannan ($1M), G Ray Emery ($2M). I realize Ribeiro, Ryder, and Emery may be longshots, but IF they do hit UFA, those are the guys I'd want. Ribeiro is a solid playmaker who can produce, he's been a good fit in Washington, and they don't have much else to re-sign, so I don't see them letting him walk...an alternative could be Tyler Bozak from Toronto. Any other option would probably have to come from RFA or trade though, all other UFAs' careers are falling off. Ryder is another guy who can still put up points, he's been a consistent goal scorer. He has bounced around a bit over the last couple years, but I don't think that's a negative reflection on him. Montreal may have to make some moves to keep him. Other options include Iginla or Jagr, again any other option via RFA or trade. I wanted Hannan for this year, I still think he'd be a nice 7th D who can step in and play decent minutes, block shots... a little upgrade over Huskins. Other, lesser options would be readily available. Emery has had a great season with Chicago. He and Crawford make a very solid tandem, either guy can go any night. Money will be tight in Chicago, maybe Emery looks for a better offer... but he may want regular playing time, too. Other backup options include Jason LaBarbera and Anton Khudobin. LIneup: Datsyuk-Zetterberg-Brunner Franzen-Ribeiro-Ryder Nyquist-Helm-Tatar Abdelkader-Andersson-Eaves Tootoo-Emmerton Kronwall-DeKeyser Ericsson-Smith Kindl-Lashoff Hannan Howard Emery

Abbotsford's season is done, they didn't make the playoffs. Detroit would have been free to do the same had Grand Rapids not qualified.

Actual sweaters. No forward passing. Goalies not being able to leave their feet. The rover.

How much help will any of these guys really be if they can return to action? They have played 7, 4, and 1 game(s) respectively in the last 12 months. Helm and Bertuzzi are coming off back injuries and Samuelsson, well, who knows what's really wrong with that guy. They'll have no more than 4-5 games to "get back in shape", recover their timing, etc. before (if) the playoffs begin. Are any of them truly better options at this point than the guys who have been playing night in and night out? As much as I like Helm, I'd probably have to say no to all of them. Your thoughts? Do you put any of these players in your postseason lineup? (Mods, I know there's a thread on each of these guys, but this was a general question relating to all three players and their roles going forward...)

A few thoughts: -Compliance buyouts for 2 out of this group: Samuelsson, Bertuzzi, Colaiacovo, Gustavsson. I'd lean toward Samuelsson and Colaiacovo. -Brunner is not worth $3M (yet) and Filppula is not worth $5M. If that's what Filppula wants, he can get it somewhere else. Brunner, I'd keep between $2M and 2.75M. I wouldn't go higher than $4M for Filppula. -It's hard to argue $5M for Howard, he's been the team's MVP this year. If he wasn't playing this well, they would be nowhere near the playoffs. That's a good number for him, considering he's probably going to have to play 65-70 games next year. -Barring trades, Nyquist and Tatar need to be on this roster next year. If they aren't, it's a crime. Room needs to be cleared for them, through buying out Samuelsson, letting Filppula go, or moving someone else out. Sheahan and Jarnkrok should also be given honest shots at making the team next year. -I think the D looks good, other than buying out Colaiacovo. Kindl has shown this year that he is a capable NHL player, and Ericsson has played well also. On one hand, I'd like to see them get a #1/2 defenseman, but on the other hand, I'd like to see them continue the youth movement, even at the expense of making the playoffs for a couple years. -As I said earlier, Howard will have to shoulder the vast majority of the load in net. They can't trust Gustavsson, he's too inconsistent. Maybe he'll be better with a training camp next year instead of the informal practices, but to me, he's been a disappointment. Mrazek should be brought up for a few games when Howard needs a break. IMO, this summer will be a defining one for Ken Holland. His last few off-seasons and trade deadlines have not been good. The team needs to pick a direction, either trade for and sign players that will keep the Wings in (at least) playoff contention or overhaul it through a youth movement, let the prospects sink or swim, and rebuild through good drafting.

Guys, the reason is given right here, on the first page. Tweet #1 from Khan. If you want to see Tatar before the postseason, hope for more injuries up front.

It might be, but it will be in the KHL.

Dude, none of these things can happen. Tatar and Datsyuk are already signed through 2014 and Mrazek is signed through 2015. You cannot re-sign a player until the final year of his contract. That new contract does not start until the season after the current contract expires. There is no restructuring, either. A deal is a deal until the end unless the player is bought out.

Actually, with the salary cap dropping so much next year, he may have more value this spring than usual. A team that's close to maxed out for next year yet still has cap room this year may jump at a chance to pick up Filppula, knowing he's just a rental.

It seems the linesman (mistakenly) thought the Nashville player intentionally sent the puck into his own zone, which, if he had actually done that, would have resulted in no offside. Instead, the puck bounced off the Nashville player and into his zone, so it should have been offside.

Bertuzzi. Good signing.

I don't think you'd find anyone better right now than Babcock. Sometimes I've wondered whether his message is wearing thin with the players, but then the team will snap back and play better hockey. There are some things that frustrate me though, like hearing him say the same things over and over, like "we have to start better", "we have to play a full 60 minutes", "we have to be better prepared", "we have to work harder"... well, what happens when the bad habits continue game in and game out? NOTHING. Same guys, same roles. If Franzen is lazy, scratch him. Or bench him, make him dress and sit on the end of the bench all game. If Cleary is hurt (last year), sit him out for 2-3 weeks and let him heal, he couldn't have gotten any worse. If Howard has played all but 4 periods this season and will probably wear down like he kinda did after playing just about every game late last year, rest him. Mrazek is here for a reason, to play. If he's not going to play, tell Holland to bring McCollum or Pearce up. Maybe ream a guy publicly, even though it's not his style. Something's gotta give in those situations. That said, the team's record and performance to date are better than I had expected. Not that I thought they'd be 0-13 or anything like that, but they do show flashes of being a pretty good team.