SuperCalaFilppulastic!

Thanks for the heads up! Also, I found that they are showing the Toronto game in HD on channel 1750.

I know this will be considered hearsay, but from a very connected friend - I know that Fil was offered 5 years, then 7 years at around 4.5 because he wanted longer term. He was hoping to negotiate 5 or more mil per also and wanted to use FA as leverage. He had no intentions of leaving Detroit, but got solid offers from Dallas and Tampa Bay and Detroit basically stopped negotiating when he turned down the 7 year offer. He wasn't thrilled to be leaving at the time.

Looks like he might be headed to NJ. http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/fireice/devils_pursuing_red_wings_damien_brunner/

Were there 4 rookies and Kindl out there for the OT win? God, the youth movement we all asked for has arrived.

If we couldn't put THAT in. God help us for the OT.

I'm sick of the d-men always turning back and bringing the puck behind the net. It always ends up with us being double teamed and stripped of the puck. Chip it out at this stage.

Just took a quick look at the team stats. I think we give Jimmy and the D too much guff sometimes. We are top 5 in GAA.... insane.

Thanks for the penalty Smitty! Haha!

Hey Vladdy... if it is still available, I'd like a crack at your code. The brothers and I have been talking about going and this could obviously help! Thanks either way!

LMAO. He literally looked like he was saying "My team is bulls***" and walked away. It reminded me of an online game of NHL 13.

Hahahaha. I mean, WTF? This is insane.

Nyquist looks like the only one who cares.

Zetterberg has clearly been teaching everyone the art of protecting the puck along the boards and down low... Now can we get someone to teach Zetterberg and co. what to do next? We sure love our passes. If I were the coach, I'd put someone directly behind their net... like literally touching it and have him call for a pass. Then we might actually score accidentally.

Yes, but with Lidstrom, Holmstrom, and Rafalski included. You're misunderstanding what I meant. We're not letting the next crop of players get any significant playing time with these guys outside of injuries happening and forcing us to. Instead, we're signing players like Sammy, Cleary, Cola, Huskins, etc. This is silly if we're trying to rebuild on the fly. We can't wait for Z and D to be gone before we start playing guys like Tatar and Nyquist full-time. Because if they don't pan out, we're royally screwed. Especially if we continue to not take chances or pay the high prices of the players that do come available.

I'm sick of the logic that because of the success in the past, then we should never be happy to see Holland go. Are you kidding me? I suppose Gretzky and Howe should keep going because of their history. Perhaps Lidstrom could keep playing and playing despite his decline and age because of all of his Norris trophies. Canucks should have never got rid of Burke, etc. Holland, like everyone else in the organization, needs to be re-evaluated on yearly basis or else you risk falling to complacency with past accomplishments and fail to adapt to the new league. He needs to earn and keep his job. If you're satisfied with this team and the direction Holland is going (aka half-assed plan B rebuild), then you'll be in for quite the surprise when the Wings become the CBJ and NYI of recent past, especially if Datsyuk leaves. Yes, we have great prospects - but we have absolutely zero transition from old guard to new in the works. Just like how we lost Lidstrom, Rafalski, and Stuart and had to throw together a D corps. If it weren't for injuries forcing our hand... the next wave would have been in the AHL all year.

Bingo. Our management needs to realize that we're no longer the premiere location we once were.

Right, I'm sure Holland had a competitive offer like a conditional 6th round pick that becomes a 5th if he scores 60 goals. With all the reports in the last 2 hours saying Holland looks to be staying pat - my guess is he didn't make any sustained efforts.

Will there ever be a time from now when the price isn't high to get star players? I mean, we can't just always wait and see and hold on to cap space forever. The reason we have too many depth guys right now is because we refuse to trade them or package them with mid-tier players and picks in order to take a chance on a more proven commodity. Oftentimes potential is valued more than actual performance, which is why sometimes you have to trade potential for a good return. Instead, most of our prospects overripe, gain some NHL experience and lose their potential value and now have tangible 3rd, 4th line value which can't be traded for quality. Their value essentially decreases.

In short... no. He couldn't possibly overpay Fil, Cleary, and Miller this summer if he took on a high-priced impact player, duh! Besides, he'd rather hold on to every prospect and extra cap room so that in 2017-2018 he can lowball some top shelf FA's. Expect at most a minor trade for a 6th round pick.

Do you really believe that the Wings have been competing at the highest level the last 2-3 years? I guess I don't equate making the playoffs as competing at the "highest level". And, I'm not sure why everyone thinks there are going to be a bunch of FA players next summer. Teams aren't going to get rid of their best players in a cap crunch. Most of the decent UFAs will certainly be re-signed before free agency. It's a pretty weak year especially with Getzlaf and Perry already signed.

I'm not sure there has ever been a post I more agreed with here on LGW. This sums up my feelings pretty well and I was certainly one of those anti-Core people years ago. But, your last paragraph is EXACTLY what I feel is a case of Holland and Co. not adapting. Young players getting a chance to become the next Bert, Sammy, Cola, and Cleary (or better) while spending that cash on a bonafide Top-6er or D, even if we slightly overpay, seems to be what is working these days. Unfortunately, "potential" seems to be valued way more than actual production to us. One day we have to come to terms with the fact that Datsyuk and Zetterberg are anomalies of drafting and not a strategy for success. We can't make all of our prospects untouchable in hopes that we produce another one.

Just to be clear - my posts had nothing to do with the Hossa vs. Franzen debate. I was only speaking on the first signing.

Whatever lets you sleep at night. I forgot about all those star players throwing themselves at us the year before and following because of the Holland factor - it was like fish jumping out of the water into Holland's boat - what a great fisherman he was! The Hossa signing happens whether Popeye is the GM at the time, or my fat cat Bubba is on the phones.

We're going to play the semantics game? C'mon. You know exactly what I am saying. Not all players/agents are going to be proactive to sign a one year deal like that - in fact I think it is safe to say that is pretty rare. Holland was lucky that the stars aligned that day and they decided to call him while he was pumping gas. So, we're just going to hope Holland continues to construct a Stanley Cup team by waiting for star players to approach him? That sounds like a fantastic approach. Also, I stand by what I said - he literally did nothing to make it happen. He didn't construct the team in order to sign a player like Hossa.