e_prime

...and in the meantime they'll be suffering on D.

Which means they'll trade 13, 14 &15 for third overall, huh? What a buncha wicked morons!

You'll never know because I'm sure Boston never would have considered it -- trading Hamilton to us -- no matter the offer.

I think Mac is speaking of the entirety of getting two first round picks for Kessel and not ending up with either of those picks still in your system just a couple years later.

I'm surprised there aren't more people crying,"Why didn't Ken Holland make the trade for Hamilton?!" Or "We could have offered more!!" As if the Bruins would have any interest in sending one of their guys to a division rival.

From Winging It in Motown: After consulting with each other, and our current roster situation, we have come up with some projected 3v3 line combinations: Pavel Datsyuk - Tomas Tatar - Niklas Kronwall Henrik Zetterberg - Gustav Nyquist - Danny DeKeyser Riley Sheahan - Tomas Jurco - Alexey Marchenko Darren Helm - Teemu Pulkkinen - Kyle Quincey

I understand. I think we're all a little eager to get this off-season started.

Bret Lebda.

Kronwall - Franson/Green/Wiz/NeonDion Dekeyser - Quincey Kindl - Marchenko XO Ericsson and Smith to Edmonton for players/picks *addsanothernametothedefensemanwoodpile* How about Carlo Colaiacovo?

...and Jensen makes the club because he's out of waiver options? He's played exactly zero games in the NHL and he's going to be up over XO or Marchenko?

In Toronto? Nashville? Also, all of our defensemen are signed for less than $5million... Kronwall, Ericsson, and Quincey being the top earners. So Franson getting somewhere around $6 million - current market value -- is not really that big of a deal. Kronwall signed back in 2012. Ericsson's latest contract went into effect this year at a whopping $1million increase.

I don't think Franson fits in Nashville's plan. With the depth they have at D: Weber, Josi, Ellis, Elkholm, Jones, etc. -- they don't need Franson.

I appreciate the fact that you want to bring someone to the team that fans would hate more than Franzen... it's so nice of you to want to deflect the hate away from the Mule. Semin is the current model of inconsistency in player performance. Honestly, I'd rather keep or buyout Weiss at 4.9 than be agonizing over buying out Semin at 7 million next year... and I don't wanna hear anything about how awesome it would be for him to be on Datsyuk's wing. No. No. No.

Wow. They will let anyone write for that site, huh?

Discussing ALL available players isn't *so* horrible, I mean... we all know about who we want first and foremost, but there's no harm in discussing players that might be slightly off the radar. It is a discussion board after all. I mean, McBain just got thrown on the pile. EDIT: More on McBain. What happened to him? A couple of decent years with Carolina. Traded to Buffalo for Sekara. Not qualified by Buffalo. PTO w/ ARI. Signed to the KHL. Signed w/ Kings. krsmith?? care to enlighten if you know? Not that I'm very much interested in any of Philly's d-men, but I wonder what they're going to do with the plethora of d-men they have. On top of the eight d-men they have signed (including Pronger it's 9) They've also got Del Zotto who put together a half-way decent year for the Flyers, as an RFA that they may want to re-sign. Streit MacDonald Grossman Schultz Schenn Gudas Manning Medvedev

Bieksa is due for a good year... Hamhuis is more of a stay at home guy. Neither of these guys really interest me.

Cap issues could be worked around if you're able to move Weiss... and while I don't totally disagree with the idea of getting two D upgrades, I think it's more likely that we'll see one or both of Marchenko and XO up on the main roster. I think it's crucial to see them both up for some extended time to really figure out what we've got because we're going to lose waiver eligibility for both at the end of the season. Either they'll be up next year or they'll be traded. I'm also not opposed to giving Smith another year to stick (who knows how he'll perform under Blash) or to showcase him for a deadline trade. Kindl can, and should go. Lash can be signed, and waived. If he gets claimed, oh well.

Rivalred: generalfanager.com or nhlnumbers.com is your friend Signed: Kronwall - thru 18/19 Ericsson - thru 19/20 Dekeyser - thru 15/16 then RFA Quincey - thru 15/16 Kindl - thru 16/17 Lashoff - thru 15/16 then RFA Marchenko - thru 15/16 then RFA Oullete - thru 15/16 then RFA RFA: Smith UFA: Zidlicky

That should tell you how realistic I think it would be that we'd actually acquire Bickell.

Did you read my previous responses to your initial response? I don't even believe that what I typed in my initial response. Also, do you really think that I want a top four guy that fights? I'm in favor of signing Green for chrissakes. I do not disagree with your assessment of Franson AT ALL. I would take Franson in a heartbeat. The guy is totally the physical presence we need. I understand. ...have you not noticed that I'm a complete smartass around here? Veiled shots at Frank, dude. Not you.

For Kindl or Andersson.

I'm not disagreeing with you. I just don't think you can find Cody Franson on hockeyfights.com. I'm just trying to round out Frank's argument for Phaneuf for him. Personally, I don't think Phaneuf gets moved now that Babs is coach. I would very much like to have Franson on this team and if not, the very non-physical, Mike Green would be okay with me. If both of those guys get signed by other teams and we're looking to make a trade for an upgrade, I'd say Wisniewski would be a cheaper option than Phaneuf.

So, a pitchfork wielding mob you say? Where's the sign-up sheet?

One of them will probably be the seventh defenseman or they both can start in GR if necessary. As they do not have to pass through waivers. Kindl should be traded or waived. There's the seventh spot open. I'm not against trading Smith away as well. There's another. Kronner Green/Franson Dekeyser Quincey Ericsson (Smith) Marchenko XO

I think he should aggressively go after both Green and Franson in hopes of landing one or the other.