Zetts

That's a lot of money for somebody that's never broken 40 points and probably never will.

Taken by NJ in the sixth round.

So big, but slow and not physical. What's the upside? Decent skill with the puck?

I've heard the rumors about him moving but haven't heard the justification...why did the Wild want to move him?

Additionally, the one season that he's really getting the attention for (2011-2012), his +/- was -8. That was 1 away from being tied for the worst on the team. This season he was -6, 2 away from the worst on the team. And, just for fun, in 2010-2011, he was -20 (6 better than Kovalchuk's -26, but still awful). Plus/minus isn't a great stat, but if someone consistently is towards the bottom of his team, it definitely does say something.

I also don't mind him, but he's clearly paid too much. Obviously that's not his fault, but it's a valid reason to buy him out. Paying 1.9M for someone that barely plays is a waste.

Elliotte Friedman just reported that the Wings, Stars and Leafs are in on talks for Weiss. I'll post a link as soon as one is available. Could be a nice pickup. Edit: Also, recall that he's about to become a UFA.

I believe that the main criticism of him was that he could be lazy at times.

I don't really like this. I mean, I'd be happy to have him on the team, but getting into a bidding war with the Flyers? Not going to go well. We'd have to drastically overpay. And if somehow he does end up becoming another Franzen as people here suggest, I don't want to think about the state that LGW would be in with both on the team.

The skill part, or overall? I hadn't heard that Ferraro could be a pest, but if so that would be a nice element.

I don't know, I think the finals will be pretty good this year. You might not want to completely tune out.

I hate the Pens as much as anyone else, but we have to be a little bit objective. I would be livid if this happened against the Wings and there wasn't a call. Even if there was a dive, it should clearly be coincidental minors.

You think that Sheahan could come in, play an offensive role, and be second on the team in playoff scoring? If Cleary's gone, we're losing a lot more than you seem to think.

There is no way we can afford (talent-wise) to buy him out. I mean, we clearly need more scoring. If we bought him out, we'd struggle to find pieces that could allow us just to break even with this year offensively. And don't pretend like Tatar would come close. Trading him, as others have mentioned, might be feasible if we get back decent offense in return. I'd still be against it, but it's an option. But buying him out? It's embarrassing that there are so many people that actually voted for that. Many people around here will never acknowledge this, but I'll just throw it out there: Losing Jiri Hudler hurt. Obviously he didn't have a lot of the intangibles (and wanted too much money). But we lost a 50 point scorer. It does hurt, regardless of his other shortcomings. Notice how we needed more scoring this year? And now some people want to lose a 30 goal scorer as well by buying him out? I get being pissed off with some things, but sometimes you have to acknowledge that you can't get a perfect player and that 30 goal players are valuable.

From TSN.

The thing is, we're paying him nearly 2 million/yr. I enjoy having a presence like him around, but that might be a little much to pay if he can't play regularly in the playoffs. I guess it's not an issue until we get closer to the cap, but it's something to keep in mind.

Both the type of hit and the end result are different.

Just one thing I wanted to add: this, to me, entirely depends on how much he asks for. I like the guy ok, but the 5M+ he's asking for is a massive overpayment. I'd be ok with 4M / yr for maybe 3 years. And no NTC. I'd bet he'll be offered a better deal though. So if he stays, I for one will probably be unhappy with it. Hopefully he either asks for less or walks.

He has been in the past, but hasn't been used as one for the overwhelming majority of the year. I think it's more than safe to assume he'd be put back on the same line he was on when he was suspended. Why would he suddenly be used as a third or fourth line center when he's been a winger on the number 1 line nearly all year?

Who are your proposed centers?

Given that Abdelkader is a winger, I don't see us sitting Emmerton, a center. Besides, that would mean that we'd need to split up Z and Dats. I'm guessing Sammy sits.

Sammy is staying on the top line as per Mlive.

The part that depresses me is that we struggle so much to find someone for our top line when Justin freaking Abdelkader is suspended.

I don't think that it should have been a suspension, but the amount of vitriol around here is a little over the top. I mean, while we might disagree with his call, it is at least a defensible call. I get the frustration, but I'm not understanding the level of hate. Also, the Weber call (or lack thereof), while infuriating at the time, is completely irrelevant with regards to this. That's in the past. And a completely different play.

Nyquist and Tatar, while good, are probably closer to "the next Hudler and Filppula" than "the next Zetterberg and Datsyuk". I do think they'll be better than Hudler and Filppula, but it's still the more appropriate comparison (as far as quality of talent, not necessarily playing style). That's just my impression, hopefully I'm wrong and they become superstars. I don't mean this as an insult to them by any means - those are valuable players. Just not superstars.