Drake_Marcus

So, here's how their situation actually looks like now: $7,135,330 - $4,000,000 (bonuses) - $1,150,000 (Reasoner) = $1,985,330 in cap space Roster size: 14 Remaining cap space per player needed: $283,618.57 Thus, Chicago is only half way to freeing enough cap space up to add exactly 7 minimum contract scrubs to their rosters just to have the minimum number of players needed to play. Here's what they look like right now (minimum salary scrubs are in bold): Kane-Toews-Bolland Hossa-Sharp-Versteeg Kopecky-Brouwer-Reasoner Scrub-Scrub-Scrub Scrub Keith-Seabrook Campbell-Scrub Scrub-Scrub Huet Scrub Roster: 21 Cap Room: -$1,514,670 Gross mismanagement continues to cripple them even after they traded away their best net-front player. Edit: forgot to add Reasoner in the roster list. Maybe it has to do with how the players leaving for Atlanta feel about the trade.

That does not include the $4,000,000 in bonuses they owe (which has to be included on the 10-11 cap) and is also missing Reasoner. Eklund is Hockeybuzz... he created it as a venue for his retarded rumours.

A 24th overall pick is an underpayment for Buff based on how important he was to their Cup win. We can consider the 2nd round pick the payment for Eager (which is a fair trade). I'm still surprised Chicago gave up Buff... he wasn't a small piece of their win. This is the equivalent of the Wings trading Holmstrom before he hit his prime.

Huh? It was clearly stated that they recieved the 24th overall pick (Atlanta had New Jersey's 1st and 2nd round picks as part of the Kovy trade).

This. Although you could swap that 2nd rounder for a fringe prospect like Emmerton and move up as well. Emmerton had a great OHL career but hasn't found his consistency in GR yet. He's still young and talented enough that teams with a need for forward depth in their farm system would take a flier on him. How far you could move up the board would really depend on who's still on the board and who the trading partner has on their wish list. Holland's not the only guy who trades down a few spots when he sees that multiple players he wants are left on the board. For every team that trades up there's a team trading down. The Devils seem to like trading up if my memory serves me.

So to summarize: Sutter: Hey Wilson, why do other teams rest their goalies so much? Wilson: Like when they let their starters play 50 or 60 games max a year? Sutter: Yeah man. Wilson: ¯\(°_o)/¯

Fair enough. Spezza could end up being fantastic or average in any season, but he definitely gives the Blue Jackets a top flight centre for a change.

Nice find Hockeytown0001. That's an interesting deal if true.

Agreed. Picking up a cheap veteran like Ellis seems like a given based on Wilson's comments.

I swear Eklund is legally retarded.

That jersey better be coming home!

There's no way Philly would give Carter up for a 36 year old, $5,000,000 Thomas. The Bruins need to dump his salary and everyone knows it. ¯\(°_o)/¯

That was disappointing last season. I watched the coverage on TSN excited to hear what we would pick and boom-- traded off that day's board. Still, that's shaping up to look like a great draft year for the Wings so I can't complain in retrospect.

Lazy and unwilling to back-check. Turn-over machine.

Who lead the ENTIRE NHL in points per game this playoff season? Come on... guess. Pro tip: he wasn't named Nathan.

I think they should stick with what works*. *Bright orange, long hair and questionable ethics.

I think that's a good argument to make for him then. If the talent level really is that light, drafting for a 2nd pairing tough guy who can shut players down and frustrate them is smart. Look at what the Canadians D did to Crawwwwsby this year-- he was a non-factor in most of the games in that series. Didn't someone say that Holland had McIlrath on his list of names to scout at the start of this year? I'm positive I read something along those lines earlier in the year. So Kenny seems to like that kids' game well enough. If the argument that the talent level is light this year is valid (and I don't really know for sure since I'm pretty new to reading into these drafts so in depth) then I can definitely live with taking McIlrath. Pronger spent less than 80 mins in the box? Where's the calf-stompin', spearing, knee-on-knee Pronger of old?

I can't wait to see how the Wings honour these two for their acomplishments. Obviously there will be a themed game of some sort and a sweet merchandise giveaway.

I'd kill to see Weber in a Wings jersey. No question there. I just long for a guy with more offensive upside. I'm not saying I'd be disappointed to see the Wings pick McIlrath but I'd much rather they go after a kid like Kabanov who has top 5 talent but has slipped for reasons a team like Detroit can fix (well we'll see how they deal with Smith before I go that far...). If we did get McIlrath he could step right into the line-up now but that would leave 3 of the 7 d-men as sophomores or rookies. When I said more offensive upside I meant then McIlrath, not Weber-- he's a Norris quality d-man right now.

Dude-- your scouting reports said it right there-- he doesn't have top pairing offensive acumen. People also compare kids to Yzerman left and right but that doesn't mean they're Hall of Fame talent. The comparison is a loose way of talking about style and skill sets. If you're huge enough to have a massive slapshot and physically dominate opposing players but a scouting report mentions that you don't have top pairing offensive potential that's a pretty clear statement. You can't teach talent. Many kids don't put big numbers up but have the talent to do so and struggle because they haven't grown into their frames. McIlrath has an NHL physique right now-- he should be able to dominate kids in a junior league. He's done that defensively and that gives scouts the confidence to project his NHL talent in that department. But if you have the tools to push past your opponents and knock them on their asses and you've got a monster slapshot but you can't put up significant numbers it's a bit worrying when you try to project the player's NHL (offensive) potential. If he had significant offensive upside you can bet the scouting reports would herald him as a 1st pairing player. I just don't believe in trying to draft kids that are already in adult bodies if you have to sacrifice talent. You can grow into your body and train in the gym like a nut but you can't make yourself more talented.

Honestly, if you look at McIlrath's WHL numbers they aren't impressive. If you can't put up impressive numbers with his size and strength in a league like the WHL what hope does he realistically have in the NHL? Sure he has potential to grow, just like any other 18 year old does, but this guy dominated physically at the combine. He wasn't just a man playing in a junior league he was a dominant man playing in a junior league. He should have just had his way with opposing players. Still, your mention of 3/4 guy is right on the money. He definitely projects as a second pairing defenseman. If I'm picking in the top 20 of the NHL draft I'm aiming for 1st line and 1st pairing talent. His skating isn't going to blow you away but he has an insanely large wingspan and is very competent in terms of positioning and defensive decision making. From what he's shown so far his lack of top end skating can be compensated for with brute power, good positioning and smart decision making.

Finally our very own Hall Gill! Yeah! Time to draft size before talent. I'm sick of winning all the time.

Yeah, Kovy is too rich for their blood because Parise is a restricted free agent next summer. They won't miss out on signing Parise for Kovy.

And 5 RFA's with qualifying offers that will yield salaries around $700,000-$800,000. Just kidding-- Meech can go climb a tree. Of course, if Holland plans on picking a fighter up for the 4th line AND keeping all of the RFA forwards that will give us 15 forwards (including Ritola who won't be let go without a good trade offer). Add on the 7 defensemen (assuming they keep Meech and are happy with an all kid bottom 3) and 2 goalies and that gives the Wings 24 people on the roster. You can't carry that many players on the active roster so something will have to give.

Definitely. But I'm a Hudler fan so maybe I overrate him. I can't wait to see what numbers he puts up this season-- I'm confident he'll crack 60pts by a decent amount. 65pts would be ideal.