Drake_Marcus

No idea until we get the 12th man, but rest assured Eaves will be expected to play a 3rd/4th line role. Zetterberg Datsyuk Cleary Franzen Filppula Leino Eaves Helm ? Maltby Draper Holmstrom

This is the type of player the Wings just might be able to turn around and salvage (see: Cleary, Samuelsson). Now, since Eaves is clearly a project player he better have come cheap. Sounds like a good depth signing anyway, the Wings just need to get him to actually play up to his potential.

I dunno... none of them in that scenario took a 20 min coffee break before sealing the envelope

Duh. That's how the Red Wings roll. I dream it and Holland does it.

Kane over Rafalski? Kane didn't exactly have an amazing year last year. Sure he's a budding superstar, but the key word there is budding. Rafalski was one of the top scorers in the entire league last year.

If we could get Niskanen I'd be shocked and very, very happy. I bet it'd take quite a bit to pry Niskanen away from the Stars... they seem to see him as their #1 d-man of the future. If Holland could swing it I'd be pumped. Stuart might not be down with it, though given his NTC. Now, if we offered Kindl as well I could see the Stars taking the offer. Kindl is still considered a blue chip prospect, but in the Red Wings' eyes I'd say Niskanen has the same future potential. The bonus here is that Kindl will need some time and seasoning to be a top four d-man, while Niskanen is already there. I guess the big question is when Holland anticipates the post-Lidstrom era will begin in earnest... If it's in the next two years than Kindl's not going to be ready to make an impact yet (baring a surprisingly consistent, turn-over free year for Kindl this season). Obviously Niskanen is. So you're going to pay a premium for that. So it all depends on when Holland thinks that transition will begin. Like you said, Zherdev provides exactly what we've lost in Hudler. Similar style of play and they'd likely have a similar offensive output next year. The good part is that it appears Zherdev wants to be a Wing (based on a recent interview), so he might be willing to take a bit less to come here.

Hand Zherdev the same offer they made Hudler: 3 million a year for 3, 4 or 5 years (his choice). If he balks at it wait for a counteroffer or let him walk. Can't hurt to make the offer. If NY is walking away from the Arbiter's decisison Zherdev should know it's high. He probably wouldn't sign for 3, but you never know... the Red Wings were his favourite team growing up and players have been known to sign for less if they can get better term (5 years being great term).

Here's the thing: Hudler--> Small, not physical. Grier--> Big, physical. He likes the big, physical style of player and thus he'll make any comments or argument to justify his type of player, logic and hockey watching be damned. If Hudler was 5" taller and just as physical as he is now (ie. no less tough than Franzen) 90% of the people who are applauding his departure would be in a state of panic.

Before last season I'd agree with you. But +11 on a lottery pick team is no easy feat. This kid might have promise, I don't know enough about him to say. I'd definitely ask the scouts to take a look at him if I were Holland, though. Prospal is still my favourite choice right now.

Yzerman: --> Without question, one of the top 10 forwards to ever play the game. --> Certainly one of the top 3 of his era (overshadowed by Lemieux and Gretzky). --> Arguably the greatest leader in hockey history. Some assholes would say Messier, my counter is to force them to watch him skate around in 02 on a knee that was experimentally sawn in half. I'd make them look at Yzerman's face as he struggled to through unbelievable pain. Oh, and he was damn good on one leg too-- he was the best Canadian on the ice in the 02 Olympics. --> Lead the Detroit Red Wings organization out of the dark-ages of the Dead Wing era. --> One of the classiest guys to lace up a pair of skates. A man who suffered, bleed, lost and most often-- Won all in the name of his adopted town-- Detroit. --> Sits 6th overall in points. --> Numerous awards including the 1998 Conn Smythe. --> Out played at times by Fedorov, but certainly the best forward on his team over the span of his career. Lidstrom: --> Without question, one of the top 3 defensemen of all time. Considered the 2nd greatest by most. --> The greatest defenseman of his era. Dominated his position for more than a decade. --> First European to win the Conn Smythe. --> First European to captain his team to a Stanley Cup. --> One of the classiest guys to lace up a pair of skates (seeing a theme with recent Red Wing greats?) --> The corner stone of 4 Stanley Cup teams and the only modern dynasty (97-02) --> 6 Norris Trophies (3rd all time, needs to win one this season to really knock our socks off ) --> Winner of the 02 Conn Smythe. --> Best positional D-man of all time, possibly the best hockey mind in the history of the game (his game is 90% cerebral) --> One of the most under-appreciated superstars of all time due to his subtle, flawless but not-so-flashy style of play. --> Few players have dominated their era as completely as Lidstrom. --> Best European player in the history of hockey according to The Hockey News. Hmmm... so who is the more important NHL player from a historical perspective? Lidstrom. He's mentioned right beside Orr when people talk about the best defensemen in hockey history. Who's more important to the Detroit Red Wings franchise? Yzerman, but only by a hair. Yzerman's importance is so far reaching it's hard to overstate it. Without Stevie it's arguable that the 08 Cup win wouldn't have happened. Yzerman was the role model for nearly every player in that locker room and his quiet dedication and self-sacrifice molded players like Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Datsyuk and Osgood. On the ice I'd argue that Lidstrom was more important. Off the ice it's definitely Yzerman. This is a tough call.

This is a great deal, by the way. All things considered we knew Jiri was going to Russia. No two ways about it. But now we'll have his services if and when he returns for the bargain basement price of 2.85 million a season. That's stupidly cheap for a kid who just put up 57 pts. Holland seems to think Hudler's contract has an out clause after the first year, so we just might see him back sooner than later. Look at the track record of the KHL... they're not exactly necessarily the best at keeping their players happy. The Dynamo doesn't have the cash flow issues that some of the other KHL teams do, but the fact remains that the KHL isn't a better place to play hockey than the NHL. I've got a feeling Hudler will get his big payday and split from the KHL. If he intended on staying in the KHL indefinitely he wouldn't have gone through the hoopla of this arbitration hearing. We all knew Hudler was going to be really tough to fit under the cap. Now we get to keep his NHL rights instead of trading him to another GM who knew he could low-ball Kenny because of the situation. Also, we get a price that will be an absolute steal for a 26 or 27 year old Hudler. All in all, this isn't as bad as it might seem.

Quote of the day.

First things first-- I apologize for another speculative player thread. It's real slow in here and I'm bored. Plus there seems to be some general interest in this guy on the boards as well as from the Wings, if recent articles discussing who they're targeting are to be believed. No idea how much the Wings like him, but he's definitely going to be someone they at least look at. So... Vaclav Prospal was bought out by the Lightning. He had 3 years remaining on his contract and was making 3.5 million a season. That means he'll be getting 1.17 million a year for the next 6 years. They stated the reason for the buy out was cap related. That and we all know he had a drop in his production last year, but take a look below for an idea of what kind of numbers this guy puts up. Anyway, that means that the Wings can offer him something low and he'd still be making reasonable money. Say the offer him 1.5 million a season for two seasons. He'd be making 2.67 million a year for the next two years. A pay cut, but certainly not terrible all things considered (we was just bought out by his team, so it's not like his stock is real high right now). He's a streaky scorer and he's 34 years old, but he's still good for 20 goals a season. Here are the last 9 seasons of his career: 08/09: 82 games / 19 G / 26 A / 45 pts / Tampa Bay 07/08: 80 games / 33 G / 38 A / 71 pts / Tampa Bay & Philadelphia 06/07: 82 games / 14 G / 41 A / 55 pts / Tampa Bay 05/06: 81 games / 25 G / 55 A / 80 pts / Tampa Bay 03/04: 82 games / 19 G / 35 A / 54 pts / Anaheim 02/03: 82 games / 22 G / 57 A / 79 pts / Tampa Bay 01/02: 81 games / 18 G / 37 A / 55 pts / Tampa Bay 00/01: 79 games / 5 G / 24 A / 29 pts / Ottawa & Florida 99/00: 79 games / 22 G / 33 A / 55 pts / Ottawa The handful of seasons earlier than these he was still figuring out the game. As you can see, he's had a steady output of about 20 goals a season for quite some time. He's 34, but I don't think his productive years have completely passed. He's only one year removed from a 71 pt season. His off years seem to be 50 pts with his on years at 80 pts. What do you think?

I completely agree man. When Malts retires after this season (at gunpoint if that's what it takes) I hope Holland takes a run at this kid.

I still like ya Eva.

Anyone else checking their news sites far too frequently in anticipation of the "48 hour arbitration decision"? We should know by now!

I hope you're right. But either way I'm happy with how Filppula projects in the future.

This guy gets it. Any chance I can convince you to switch your avatar for one that's got a cartoon uniform drawn on whoever Holland signs to replace Hudler? It could be a free agent theme kind of thing. Plus it's cool, and given the guys who are left in the pool of UFAs... well it'd probably the most attention any of them have had on the net.

I think we're in the same place man. I can see Filppula being a Morrison type guy on this team. And I think that's exciting. Who wouldn't want a solid, two-way player who can play on the PK, in the last minute of the game and even on the PP if you're in a pinch? A 50-60pt 2-way centre who excels on face-offs and the PK? Why do people think that's me selling Filppula short? That sounds pretty f***in' good to me.

The rumour and news guys on Twitter have him linked to a few teams in the east including the Leafs and Islanders. Apparently the Islanders are the surer bet. (Makes sense given the fact that they have like $50.36 in payroll)

Interesting move by the Sabres... does this signal a move away from small, fast, skilled forwards towards a more balanced blend of players? I guess they've had tough guys before, but you know what I mean.

Thanks for the Nill quote backing me up. I mean Nill seemed to think Filppula projected as a complete player without the high end offensive potential of Z or Dats, but Z and D for the C seems to think that the Red Wings front office sees Filppula as a 70pt guy (which would make him one of the top 30 players in the league and officially a star player, by the way).

ahhh no he didn't Filppula's highest total was 40pts. The season he put up 19 goals he played with Datsyuk the entire time Zetterberg was injured and spent the majority of the season as the 2nd line centre. Last season he was 6th in average time on ice for forwards. That's top 6, as in not a minimal defensive roll. It's interesting that you interperate realism as character assassination of some sort. Ohhh I said he's a second line centre who has a career potential of somewhere around 55pts. I'm such a ******* horrible Wings fan. How dare I expect reasonable things from players instead of assuming they're all destined for the first line. Christ. This is ridiculous. Next you're going to tell me that Help projects as a 25 goal man, right? Because you can't possibly value and appreciate a player when you dare say what you think his maximum potential is.

Yes he is.... and that's just one of many reasons why he'll likely retire a Wing.

Actually the scouting reports on Sportsnet, TSN and the ones from the 06-07 season (that you've conveniently ignored) are pretty reliable considering they've been right on the money. Filppula's already played long stretches as a 2nd line centre, first in the 07-08 season when Babcock started using him as the 2nd line centre while Datsyuk and Zetterberg were on the same line. Who played centre on the second line that season when Z and Dats were together? Did Filppula explode offensively in that case? He got almost 2 mins of PP time that season too and couldn't hack it so they gave the time to Hudler who did score when given the PP time. Sorry man- Filppula's yet to show himself as being good enough to hit that first tier of offensive players (the guys who put 60+ points). And he's been given plenty of opportunities. He's increased his production by a whole 10% over last two seasons. Do you really think he'll manage to jump by 25+% and hit the 50pt level? I hope he can man, but that's a big jump for any player. Guess what man- I'm much more likely to be correct here than you. Filppula's hands aren't those of a 1st line centre but they are those of a 2nd line centre. All evidence backs me up. You're just getting upset over nothing. And apparently the inclusion of a magic 8-ball found on a bus alongside my own name in that list wasn't a hint that I was being facetious. I think you're overestimating his potential, you think I'm underestimating his potential. We'll never agree. I'd suggest a duel but I don't own a gun.