Echolalia

I suspect that Holland and co are quite interested. In the situation our organization is in (and the type of person Holland is in leaving no stone unturned) it makes zero sense that the Wings won't look into what Semin could bring. Because of Semin's very public criticisms of his lack of heart, work ethic, etc, and him coming off a poor year statistically, I imagine that Holland (and several other GMs) are playing the "not interested" card to low-ball the offer. Work ethic aside, Semin is a rare talent, and even when he doesn't give 100%, he's still producing more than most. I expect there are quite a few teams out there that would love him on their team, Wings included.

I'm really having difficulty wrapping my head around why (or how) so many posters are buying into Scotty running the show from his advisor position, and assuming Holland is actually some sort of dunce who somehow is capable of driving a team into the ground in three years.

It really sucks to not have Suter and Parise here, not just because of our current holes, but because we're due to look for new faces to lead our team. Lidstrom already left, Datsyuk is almost officially "old", Zetterberg is right behind him, and despite the high that everyone seems to have of our prospects, we don't have anyone that is capable of leading our team and carrying us after Dats and Z hang them up. Parise and Suter would have bought us at least five more years and provided a smooth transition between eras. As for this upcoming year, I'm optimistic the Wings can still field a better team than they did last year provided Holland gets the breaks he's looking for. Semin is certainly a question mark due to his work ethic and attitude, but his case certainly wasn't helped from being on a team captained by Ovechkin and coached by Haagendaas. I'm willing to see what he can do in a Red Wings environment, and frankly even with the days off he's still out scoring anyone on our current roster. Acquiring Doan would be a wet dream just for what he can bring in the playoffs. And like most I'm willing to trade a great deal to get Yandle over here.

If at all possible we cannot trade any defensman. Without Quincey signed we have 5, which includes Kindl, and Smith (who played less games than I have fingers and toes).

I agree that we need to target Yandle and trade with our forward depth to acquire him, then try to collect Doan and Semin to replentish our forwards. One of Franzen or Filppula will be the centerpiece of the trade, Joey MacDonald might be able to fit into a backup role there, but I'm not sure whether they have space for him. Either a good prospect with a low pick or a less promising prospect with a high pick should be plenty for Yandle. If need be we can also trade a bottom six forward seeing as how we have 9 of them, but with Columbus driving up the cost of Nash, who knows what the asking price for defensman are right now.

Abby is quickly becoming the most under appreciated player on the team ala Ericsson. I can't say for sure but im guessing a lot of it is coming from the notion that he doesn't dominate in any traditional bottom six role, but has the skill to be effective in all of them (which folks don't seem to notice). The guy fights when he has to, but doesn't drop the gloves every other night, so the fighting slapped get pissed. He lays big hits every now and then but doesn't focus solely on destroying people, so the traditional grinders get pissed. He scores and assists goals but not every night, so the bottom-six finesse guys get pissed. He's a jack-of-all trades in the bottom six who's defensive responsibility is vastly underrated. He's very dynamic and I think that's a good skill to have. I hope he stays with the club.

We have a surplus of bodies on forward, and only 5 defenseman signed, with talent pretty thin. It would be nice to acquire Nash, but we need to use our trading pieces to grab a top defensman. I think the realistic option is to try to sign Semin and Doan, then drop off a few forwards, Joey Mac, and/or prospects or picks for a top defensman.

Where did you hear is was Doan's camp that was contacting us?

Must be their deep prospect pool

As of July 2nd, 4:00PM we currently have the following players signed (in no particular order) Filppula, Datsyuk, Bertuzzi Franzen, Zetterberg, Brunner Cleary, Helm, Sammuelson Miller, Eaves, Tootoo Nyqvist Emmerton, Mursak (Abdelkader is still RFA) Kronwall, White Ericsson, Kindl Smith (Quincey is still RFA) Howard Gustafson Capgeek claims we still have 16.8M in cap space to work with. That is plenty to sign Quincey, Abby, and either Suter or Parise. Both is not out of the question assuming some creativity. But there are some questions I have that perhaps other people are asking as well, and I know there are members here who can easily answer them. Question 1: Are the contracts of Brunner, Mursak, Emmerton, Smith, and/or Nyqvist built so they can be assigned to Grand Rapids without clearing waivers this year? Who is capable of what? Question 2: Has anyone heard any updates on Patrick Eaves' health? Is he expected to participate in training camp? Question 3: What is the roster limit for players assigned to the Red Wings for the regular season? Question 4: What is the status of MacDonald's contract? Capgeek has him as a non-Wings' roster player. What does that mean in terms of cap hit and waiver exemption status? These are questions that can help allude to potential trades. If enough player can be sent down to avoid losing them to waivers, an upcoming trade may be less likely. Holland and Babs are big advocates of depth, and I would like to shed some light on whether we're being built deep, or if Holland is looking to sacrifice depth for power. Also, if Eaves is expected to be on LTIR next year, it may also explain the surplus of forwards we have. Perhaps if anyone else has any questions we can use this thread to answer them, to keep from crowding the forum. Thanks again friends!

Suddenly the Sammy signing looks desirable!

Understandable. He has shown himself to be a solid backup when healthy. I'm sure there will be some interest. Maybe we can assemble a good package for a high end player

The twitter source says that Parise has narrowed his choice down to two teams. The Star Tribune says he is down to a small group of teams and the Wild are one of those teams. I'm interpreting "small group" to be more than two teams, which means its entirely possible that the Wild aren't in the top two, assuming Parise has even narrowed it down that far. In any event, my hopes of Parise being a Wing are dwindling.

This one was hard to stomach at first, but after sleeping on it I think it was a safe move on Holland's part. Given how aggressive this free agency shaped up to be, not to mention the limited amount of goods to acquire this year, striking fast is turning out to be essential. With Hudler pursuing better offers elsewhere, and other teams making claims right out of the gate, Holland's hands were tied. I would have rather acquired Doan or some other higher profile player, but these guys are going to wait out the storm to increase their value, and when the time comes that these higher free agents sign, there won't be any decent options left to pick up. Signing Sammy today was a safe move in that regard, and made safer because he is familiar with our system and we know he does well here. It's also more comforting when looking at it as a replacement for Hudler. Sammy isn't one-dimensional, and is just fine mucking it up in the corners and in front of the net. I doubt he'll out up Hudler's 50 points, but I'm confident he'll be more valuable to the Wings in the playoffs where it's somewhat important to play in rough areas. The terms of the contract I can only sum up to Holland making sure he got his man. Perhaps we were in a bidding war? In any event, we have the cap space. An extra 1M likely won't break our offseason, especially pending any trades that may occur still.

I am shocked at how many people dont like this signing. Tootoo is definitely one of the most notorious agitators in the league, and has a reputation of going over the line, but when you consider all the toughness vs skill debates our forums have had when discussing the bottom six, well here is a guy who provides the best of both worlds. Take a step back and look at what Tootoo is capable of objectively. He is an all heart player who gives it his absolute all every shift. He creates chaos, he hits, he fights, and last year he scored 30 points in 77 games. Physicality aside, those are impressive numbers for a grinder. Since the 2008 season he has also been much more level-headed, amassing 40, 61, and 92 PIM respectively. He isn't going to be a liability for us the way that many other bottom line forwards are. This guy is everything that Detroit needs in the bottom six, and considering his blue-collar, give-it-your-all attitude, I expect it won't be long until he's a fan favorite here. Just no whistles please...

Columbus had been horribly run, but over the past year the follies have really been scrutinized at a national and public level. The pressure is really on for their management to do something, which I suspect will lower the Nash price somewhat. Regardless he will be costly to acquire.

Was this guy a healthy scratch for the playoffs last year? I can't remember.

Worked out for Luc Robatille Edit: whoops Didn't realize he had a brief stint early in his career outside of LA!

This is where the forum breaks down. Shame that Matt just upgraded too...

Good god. I read the title as Wings have acquired Nash and almost fainted

I hope then for his sake and Pittsburgh's that the concussions are just a temporary issue and not a recurring thing.

It's definitely possible he stays with the Devils, but the fact that he's even making it to July 1st is a good sign for us.

Could you imagine the hunger and intensity a team consisting of Doan, Parise, and Helm would possess? Hell I would love to see those three on a line together just to witness the chaos.

It's hearsay but apparently Shanny wasnt buying into the team system and didn't get along with the coach at the time.

Is this a promotion or demotion or lateral move? I'm not sure what the hierarchy is for coaching. Asst coach for the main league, or main coach for the asst league... In any event, I'm interested to see who fills the void.