Drake_Marcus

Thanks. I'm hoping we'll see Holland trade for Yandle. He's welcome to trade almost anyone for him. Yandle's going to be a stud for another decade.

It was just luck on my part.

“We like our team, but we’re ready to make another move or two—whether it’s a signing or a trade—to make our team better this summer,” Holland said. http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/tmr/comments/ken_holland_focuses_efforts_on_finding_a_new_back-up_goaltender/ He's not going to say "Damn we're in need of a top-tier d-man that I hope to get via trade." You know... because he doesn't want to get rail-roaded by the team he wants to trade with.

Poor Heatly couldn't get a trade to the East where scoring is easier.

If Smith made the team out of camp he'd have to be at least the 6th d-man, potentially the 5th. Holland won't let him rot in the press box as the 7th man. It's much better for Smith's development for him to be the #1 guy in Grand Rapids than the #7 guy in Detroit. The good thing about Commodore's contract is that they can carry him as the 7th guy without it being a financial burden. Someone on RedWingsCentral forums was at a BBQ in Western Canada with a friend who's a prospect and Fischer was there as well. He said that Fischer thought Smith was about a year away from being where the Wings want him to be when he enters the NHL but that they think Smith could play in the NHL this year if they wanted him to. Apparently the Wings want Smith to get another year of seasoning in the AHL but are willing to let him play himself onto the team if he can. Edit: Here's the thread where they talked about the Fischer BBQ thing: http://www.redwingscentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15203&hilit=fischer

You have no clue what Holland was asking for Hudler. He could have been asking for a 1st or a 2nd. He could have been asking for a 2nd and a 3rd-- we have no idea. Anyone who thinks a team wouldn't give a 7th for Hudler is nuts. Sure he had a down season last year (37pts) but his last NHL season before that was 57pts with two 40+ pt seasons before that. Hudler's stock is certainly lower than it was 2 years ago but it's foolish to think he's literally worthless. Lots of teams want a PP specialist with a history of putting respectable numbers up. I mean hell-- Hudler's only 27. He clearly struggled to transition from the KHL to NHL but after about 30 games he was putting up his usual points/game. It's reasonable to assume that the initial struggles he had was related to the KHL to NHL transition and that type of stuff. It's interesting that people assume that since Holland is shopping him and he hasn't traded him yet that Hudler must not be worth anything. Who said Holland didn't have a minimum return in mind when he tried to trade him? It's not like he was telling other gms: "please take this player, I'll take anything for him I just need him gone asap!". Holland has 3 months to work something out.

You can't think of established players like Filppula and Helm as 3rd and 5th round picks. Val is comparable to Mike Fisher. Fisher's a more productive offensively during the regular season but he's also 4 years older. Looking at their respective playoff numbers gives Val the advantage with 49pts in 75 games (0.65pts/game) compared to Fisher's 35pts in 87 games (0.40pts/game). Fisher got Ottawa a 1st round pick from Nashville so Val's definitely worth a 1st as well. A package centred around Filppula, Smith and a 1st would certainly be the starting point. I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted a second prospect (mid ranged) and a 2nd to 4th round pick as well. Don't forget that SJ got Burns and a 2nd rounder for Seto, a top prospect and a 1st. Since a low first is worth approximately 2nd round picks you could say that SJ had to trade Seto, a top prospect and a 2nd for Burns. That has to be the comparable deal when it comes to Yandle. Burns isn't worth as much as Yandle but they're close enough that you could start the talks with a similar package and move on from there.

Is Langenbrunner really top six right now? He seems more of a "Drake" type of guy you get solely for their impact in the playoffs.

Bogosian put nearly the same numbers up as Ericsson last season and was just as much of a pain in the ass for Thrasher fans. Trading for Bogo is trading for a project player with potential.

White's perfect insurance if he doesn't get Yandle. The White signing doesn't tell us anything about Yandle. If he signs Yandle, Kindl is gone and Commie is a 1 mil 7th d-man (which is very reasonable).

For nine years at a 6.5 mil cap hit? You crazy. Hudler's a UFA in less than a year. Richards will be 40 when his contract is up. f*** no.

Getting a 24 year old kid like Yandle is just the kind of thing Holland will push hard for. Yandle could be a cornerstone in Detroit for another 10 years.

This signing is what the French would call "Le Insurance". If Kenny can't land a legit top 2 offensive d-man via trade he can sit tight for a bit longer and wait for an opportunity.

If Smith makes the team out of camp Holland will make a trade of some sort. There's zero chance they keep Smith on the roster unless he's secured the 6th defensive spot. You don't let an asset like that rot in the pressbox when he could be playing 25 mins a night in Grand Rapids. Holland obviously made a concerted effort to get meaner on the back end. The Wings D is bigger and tougher than it's been in a long time.

According to Cap Geek the Wings have $7,045,455 left. That includes 22 players on the roster: --14 Forwards (including Mursak and Emmerton, noting that the Wings are rumoured to be looking for a trade involving Hudler) --7 Defense (including Kindl as the 7th man) --1 Goaltender If they do end up moving Hudler the cap space will jump back up to $9,920,455. If Holland is able to get one of the as-of-yet unsigned RFA defencemen (Yandle please) he'll move Kindl and use Commie as an affordable 7th d-man.

This is some expert trolling.

Dude-- no one in their right mind thinks Ericsson is Rafi's replacement. If Rafalski hadn't retired Ericsson would've been shown the door when he asked for that price. The problem is that losing Ericsson would've represented a 50% turn over of the defensive core. That lack of continuity is very risky and not Holland's style. Once Rafi retired Holland's hand were almost tied. Replacing half your defence with unknowns who are completely unfamiliar with the team/system is very risky. The other factor here was how foolish the market's been. The cap comparables really tied Holland's hands as well. It would've been more expensive to bring a guy in at E's age, size and skill-set. Youngish, big puck-moving d-men are a coveted commodity right now. This whole situation sucks balls but people need to remember how much cap room and time is left to sort the defence out.

LA's reported to have offered a 9 year front-loaded contract worth more than 60 million (I heard 64 mil). A team looking for long-term success would be insane to match that. Also-- Hossa was known as a two-way player loooonnngggg before he came to Detroit.

You have to make a deal that you'd say yes to if you were in their shoes. If I'm the GM in Phoenix and I know Yandle wants out a package of Filppula, Smith and a 1st would be my starting point. A second prospect or pick would likely have to be included. Filppula's a legitimate two-way centre in the league who's thought of pretty highly. He's the kind of guy a GM wants because he can do everything well and has experience playing real minutes on a Stanley Cup winning team. Smith is considered a blue-chip blue-line prospect and would be coveted by every GM in the league based on his skating, offensive skill and success at every level of hockey. But he starting point has to be a solid young roster player and a blue-chip prospect. Probably but for me the age, offensive and injury difference is the deal breaker.

Yandle please!

Burns is definitely not better than Yandle. He's two years older and scored 46pts to Yandle's 59. Burns also has concussion issues and a crappy playoff history (0 goals and 3 helpers in 11 games). Yandle's put 10pts up in 11 playoff games. Holland's already stated he's still looking around at trades and UFA possibilities for the D, so we have to hope he makes a strong pitch for Yandle. Right now the Wings, Blackhawks and Bruins are the only contenders with the cap room to pay Yandle the money he'll demand. Tampa and LA don't count because they both have significant RFA issues to deal with right now and holes left to fill besides that. I really hope Holland goes hard after Yandle.

Pyett still has a year of AHL eligibility that he'll certainly use. And an NTC is worthless in the waive and stash in the AHL era. The Campbell trade to Florida also showed us just how worthless an NTC is. What was the spacing between the time we heard he rejected a move and the time we heard he went to Florida? Couldn't have been much longer than a couple of weeks. An NTC is only really an issue with guys like Heatly who you can't waive due to their obvious trade value. If Ericsson plays his way out of Detroit there won't be a bunch of trade offers for him-- he'll be waived and stashed in the AHL if no one will take him. And nearly 100 days until opening night. WE'RE DOOMED!

Which would be a horrible, horrible trade. I'd make that trade for Yandle but not Bogo. Right now Smith could step in and put comparable numbers up to Bogo's from last season.

What about Marc-Andre Gragnani? The Sabres should have signed him by now... he's a blue-chip defensive prospect who scored at a point per game in the AHL. If we're fantasizing about RFA possibilities he's another good one.

Oh Yandle's undoubtedly going to be hard to get but at least the Wings have one advantage in that case: Yandle hasn't signed with the Yotes and he appears to want out. That means they'll have to move him to someone. I think he'll cost the Wings some very real assets (and more so than Bogo likely would) but at least the Yotes don't have all the leverage in the deal since everyone knows he wants out.