ben_usmc

posted this in another thread but this is probably more appropriate for here: Look at it this way if you roll with what we have, and go into the regular season with all this free cap. Then we can have a very good idea on who can produce at this point (Nyquist, Tatar, Smith, etc...hell even some established players) and make trades accordingly. Our defense is not good but I don't think it will be the abortion on skates that most here do. I say this b/c while Lids was imo the leading Norris candidate before injury, after he cameback he wasn't his normal self. Compound that with Stu who checked out very early and seemed basically one of our worst dman all year, and Quincey/White playing terrible= overall bad team d. Now with the inclusion of Smith (who will be better then either a terrible Quincey/Stu) and from watching Q in both Col/LA (he will be better), White may not improve much, he I don't think he will be as bad as late last year either, then to me the defense looks like a wash. It won't be near the top, nor near the bottom... Our offense to me has already improved Tootoo will bring out more in either Helm or Abby. Sammy (though I dislike the signing) is an improvement over Hudler in physicality, plus he certainly is more willing to shoot! Brunner sounds like he will improve Helm (but I'm not totally counting on that). Nyquist in my opinion is going to blow peoples minds with a full season in the NHL. He looks a lot like Datsyuk so I have high expectations for him, last season in his time up he was at one point 7 for 7 points/games switching between 1st/4th line duties. The most recent comparison to me would be Matt Duchene in that he would get knocked off the puck super easy because of weight but pops back up instantly and is always making something happen. Tatar wasn't OMG amazing when brought up but compared to the baggage this team has dragged around the last 2 years, I believe he will be an improvement. Our goaltending should improve hell we were using Conklin (I thought it was a good signing at the time, and I admit I as wrong as hell) Wildcard statement: Give Sheehan some more time with the big club. The only NHL game he played in, it appeared he was great at maintaining control with people dragging on his back. Overall my opinion is that we right now are about in the same boat as late last season. Right now we will make the playoffs, but get dropped in the 1st. Keep the cash until we see what we have and what's available, as long as we can just tread water while others start sinking then there is no point in throwing fist fulls of cash towards players just because it's what's popular (Suter/Parise) or trade away depth for (Ryan/Nash).

Look at it this way if you roll with what we have, and go into the regular season with all this free cap. Then we can have a very good idea on who can produce at this point (Nyquist, Tatar, Smith, etc...hell even some established players) and make trades accordingly. Our defense is not good but I don't think it will be the abortion on skates that most here do. I say this b/c while Lids was imo the leading Norris candidate before injury, after he cameback he wasn't his normal self. Compound that with Stu who checked out very early and seemed basically one of our worst dman all year, and Quincey/White playing terrible= overall bad team d. Now with the inclusion of Smith (who will be better then either a terrible Quincey/Stu) and from watching Q in both Col/LA (he will be better), White may not improve much, he I don't think he will be as bad as late last year either, then to me the defense looks like a wash. It won't be near the top, nor near the bottom... Our offense to me has already improved Tootoo will bring out more in either Helm or Abby. Sammy (though I dislike the signing) is an improvement over Hudler in physicality, plus he certainly is more willing to shoot! Brunner sounds like he will improve Helm (but I'm not totally counting on that). Nyquist in my opinion is going to blow peoples minds with a full season in the NHL. He looks a lot like Datsyuk so I have high expectations for him, last season in his time up he was at one point 7 for 7 points/games switching between 1st/4th line duties. The most recent comparison to me would be Matt Duchene in that he would get knocked off the puck super easy because of weight but pops back up instantly and is always making something happen. Tatar wasn't OMG amazing when brought up but compared to the baggage this team has dragged around the last 2 years, I believe he will be an improvement. Our goaltending should improve hell we were using Conklin (I thought it was a good signing at the time, and I admit I as wrong as hell) Wildcard statement: Give Sheehan some more time with the big club. The only NHL game he played in, it appeared he was great at maintaining control with people dragging on his back. Overall my opinion is that we right now are about in the same boat as late last season. Right now we will make the playoffs, but get dropped in the 1st. Keep the cash until we see what we have and what's available, as long as we can just tread water while others start sinking then there is no point in throwing fist fulls of cash towards players just because it's what's popular (Suter/Parise) or trade away depth for (Ryan/Nash).

f*** it lets just put Datsyuk as Defense!

THEY TOOK HIS JOB!!!

exactly! oh think of the hitting!! Him and Tootoo would lay on others, with the subtraction of Hudler, entrance of Sammy again, and a full time Smith, really would make our team much more physical.

I haven't watched a TON of Parise, but from what I saw he looked very good but not worth $7-8 million good. I'd rather get Doan for $4.5 and then roll out what we have and wait for the deadline.

Obviously!

fantastic, he can start some s*** and the rest of the NHL can beat up on our ***** roster

f*** you Ken Holland, seriously f*** you

Bulls***!

50% Holland for bring back most of this trash, year after year, and not trying to upgrade the team, which may help in the long run getting Lids back. Because he can make many improvements saying, look this is our plan for you to go out on top. If they brought in one more hardcore vet like Iggy, Doan, Morrow, there would be even more motivation to win 1 last cup for Lids and a first cup for them. 30% Babcock, for refusing to make players be held responsible for there s***ty play and his refusal to make changes whether regular season or playoffs. Hudler at the point on the PP, ya that was a good idea.... Lets try it a good 15-20x before we finally ******* realize that. Also letting f***s like Franzen and them play most of the series on the top line when that useless ***** refuses to cut to the center of the ice, or bitching about lack of physicality yet letting them all play with out it is his own damn fault. His late line combos, bert/dats/mule line didn't do s***, Nyquist/Homer/Emmerton line... WTF? But game 5 last 15min yeah lets finally put lines that looked good at certain points in the season or series back together, because what we did for majority of the time was oh so successful. 20% players, f*** most of you, excluding: Dats/Lids/Z/Nyquist/Helm Because teams are allowed to make moves before the season starts and even up to the point of the trade deadline

Smith 6'2 Jurco 6'2 Sheahan 6'2 Andersoon 6'2 Aubry 6'4 Nicastro 6'2 Tvrdon 6'2 All seem like very good chances of playing for the wings in the future, so they aren't that undersized. Granted we won't see any of those until Homer is pushing 60, Cleary in his 50's and Hudler in his late 40s' Regardless though all this talk of bringing in grit, I'm telling you expect to see Sammy and probably Kopecky back in a Wings uniform. Holland doesn't have the balls to actually do something to dramatically upgrade the team

I'd love to say yes (retire), but i highly doubt he will

I'd probably cut off a pinky or something if we could Doan, Iggy, and Stewart this off season. You want hitting, fighting, leadership and intensity!!!!

I see him pushing the Wings brass into really doing something this year and making a final push. Seems to me that his defeat was to much of dead weight and an injury that eventually will be healed. Not Stevie Y who was basically just trying to keep his body together enough for the team. It would really help if he took a real discount instead of just a mill, like one more year at 3/4mill.

it's a business, we waited to long with Maltby, then Draper, and now Homer, who will we put on waivers for him? Seriously we appreciate and loyalty goes as far as giving him a job even after hockey. Are they supposed to wait until his ass is being pulled around in a wheel chair before they cut ties? He obviously doesn't have it anymore, thanks for the memories but it's a business.

Wasn't Chris Stewart benched by Hitchcock, granted not Dman, but still a message was sent

I would have said Stuart, Kronwall and sometimes Quincey. Quincey at least had a few agmes of playing decent, I thought Ericsson has looked a lot better since coming back from injury. However Kronwall was bad and Stuart was just ******* pathetic. White was average if being generious. I think babcock really was WAY to slow in line juggling and sending messages, he should have sat that useless f*** Mule, and Bert/Abby played good when together same as Dats/Nyquist, yet he waits until 5 min left in the final game, WTF is that?

f*** stuart, he's played like he checked out a few months ago

nope you are not the only one. However the only postive I heard in any of his interviews was that he enjoyed the fighting and seems like he wants a more physical team.

at least he did say yes when asked if he wished they had more physical of a presence on the ice right now. Regardless this interview really isn't worth listening to, he just kinda strokes the history of us, and blah blah blah parity... I can't say I expect him to have a melt down or just come out and say s***, so hopefully his actions speak for themselves in a positive way.

This maybe the dumbest thing I have ever seen posted. Perhaps we should trade away everyone and even our entire prospect pool, I mean s*** if we are going to blow it up lets legit start from scratch. Franzen sure, but you want to get rid of Z who has been the only player worth a s***, and Datsyuk who up until 3 months ago was argued as the best player in the league. Yes this team sucks, but you do something like that for one you put yourself in a whole you will probably never dig yourself out of, and pretty much destroy any rep. this team has.. NOW this is overreacting

Chris ******* Stewart, Ryan Malone, Carnker (just so he could do the same s*** to Weber that he did to Boyle), would be a huge step foward in the toughness dept. expect everyone to be back, with the addition of Kopecky and Sammy, that will be the grit and size we add

Wait, Stuart hasn't been playing for a west coast team since the trade deadline?

Mr Illitch is much more concerned with getting the Tigers a World Series then the Wings a cup, he has even said this. Pull another Yzerman, hell maybe we could even convince Yzerman to Mule while we are at it