Wings_Toledo

I've seen this on several rumor sites, but nothing from known credible sources yet. It's another case of "oh, this guy was once known for his offense and the Red Wings need a puckmover so... 1 + 1 =" kind of situation. He might be able to find his game again in this system but I'd rather let one of the kids play unless MDZ comes as a 7th d-man and we trade Kindl.

Seattle already have the Sounders, Seahawks and Mariners, plus the proximity to Vancouver so I'm not sure an NHL team would do very well there. Would be interesting to have another team in that area, though.

Okay, I'm going to try to think of the positives: We get to see what the kids can do. We'll have ample cap space at the trade deadline if we're still in the playoff mix.

That's about what I had for the RFAs except I gave DeKeyser $3m. That might be too high, but I figure if he signs a longer term then he'll want more than $1.5m a season. So, I could be very wrong there. Also, I gave Niskanen $6.5m just to go on the high end of his possible deal and gave Gilbert $2m. After that, I traded Kindl and retained 25% of his salary. With all of that done, we still had roughly $3m in cap space. So, signing Alfredsson wouldn't be impossible but he would have to sign for less than last season. Also, I'm not sure how comfortable Kenny feels being up that close to the cap ceiling.

Actually, I'd be okay with that. Except, I'd rather sign a veteran D-man as the 7th and let the kids get one more year of top minutes in the AHL before bringing them up. They'll probably come up because of injuries at some point anyway, though.

I was messing around on CapGeek and if the Wings re-sign all of their RFAs to reasonable cap hits and get one of Niskanen or Ehrhoff then I just don't see how Alfie could return unless he takes a significant pay-cut from what he made last year. It would be nice to have him back for some extra offense but if he decides to continue playing then it will probably have to be elsewhere (unless this team fails to upgrade the D). Edit: And that was even after I put in a trade to get rid of Kindl's salary.

Would be great if the Wings can sign him. I don't know why anyone thinks we would also get Niskanen. There just isn't cap space and I'm sure one or the other will take an offer that isn't reasonable for the Wings.

I like the fact that the Wings drafted a bunch of bigger centers in a year where everything beyond the first round is a total crapshoot (which it normally is anyway, but still...). You would think that kids who play center are groomed to play defensively sound so the thought here is probably that at least 1-2 of these guys will be with GR in a year or two and can work on their offense. Seems like management really wants to build the future of this team around Mantha. If he pans out, that sounds like a solid plan.

I would rather see Holland go after one of the upcoming UFAs. I like Alfie, but he has 1 more year, at best. Why not go after someone who can potentially help the team long-term?

Umberger isn't very useful anymore, but Hartnell seems like he would fit in pretty well for Columbus. Columbus wins this trade by far.

My guess is the he gets hurt sometime around December and Mrazek steals his spot for good. Not a bad insurance policy, but like others have said; he didn't look very good going down the stretch...

If I'm not mistaken, Holland did offer Hossa a contract before he re-signed Franzen but Hossa opted for more money and left for Chicago. It's not like Franzen ruined the opportunity to keep Hossa. Buying out Tootoo doesn't really make a whole lot of sense to fans, but it's the last time Holland can use a compliance buyout and Tootoo certainly won't be playing with the Wings under Babcock, so why waste $1.9 mil in space and a roster spot in GR?

I originally voted for 5 games, but now I'm thinking the Kings will sweep. They seem to have luck on their side and Quick has been better than Lundquist so far. Plus, they just have the ability to turn it on and win games.

I saw one mock draft that had us taking Sonny Milano with the 15th pick. Seems like the type of player Holland would go after: small, but very skilled and fast. I have to say, I'm not very excited about this year's class. Next year will be something to watch, though.

Don't want to jinx them, but the Kings just look like a team destined for The Cup ever since they came back against the Sharks in the first round. Chicago has been saying they need to play better since Game 3 and they haven't been able to get it done. They might pull out a win in Game 5, but I don't see them coming all the way back from down 3 - 1.

Ideally, if the Wings' target players are gone by the 15th pick, I'd like to see Holland trade that pick in a package for a RH D-man. I don't know who would be available, but it would be a great opportunity to get that piece without giving up much. We know that next year's draft is the deep one so either trade that pick for a D-man or trade down for 2nd/3rd round picks for next year.

To go with the discussion about having a puck-moving offensive defenseman: just look at the L.A. Kings in this year's playoffs. They have Doughty, Voynov and Martinez, who I would consider all to be offensive type defensemen (Doughty being an elite, two-way guy). It's no wonder they're the top scoring team in the playoffs right now with their D guys jumping into the play and making very quick passes up to their forwards who then use their speed to burn the other team. The Wings can play like that if they have guys on the back end who can make those quick passes. Unfortunately, Kronwall and Smith (sort of) are the only guys who regularly show those kind of skills. Boyle would help in this area but I would rather see Holland go after someone who will be a part of the team for longer than 1-2 seasons.

I understand trading potential but before even seeing what he can do at the AHL level? Not to mention that getting the type of player you're talking about would cost much more than just Mantha. Who knows, Mantha could end up being a bust but I'd like to see him get a chance first before considering trading him away. And with Holland's track record lately, I'm not so sure the return would be that great...

So you'd trade Mantha before he even gets a shot at the professional level? That's just ridiculous.

Congrats to Mantha. I hope to see him with the Wings next season but I fully expect that he'll spend the year in Grand Rapids. Those Junior numbers are very impressive.

If ever there were a year that I'd be okay with the Wings tanking, it would be 2014-2015. Imagine McDavid with Mantha for the next 18 years.

True, and while I think he is/was a goaltender capable of carrying a team, I don't think the revolving door of goaltenders for the Islanders has been due to the goalies themselves. I will give them credit for finally locking down a solid goaltender, but they have a lot of other pieces missing now.

Unless the Isles somehow upgrade on D, Halak's numbers aren't going to be what they're expecting.

L.A. in 7. Why not make it three series in a row?

Bylsma strikes me as the kind of guy who would be better as an assistant coach. Not ure if he'd be willing to take anything but a head coaching gig but I wouldn't mind having him as someone who could handle the young players until Blashill takes over.