Next Year's Roster

[redwinger4747 6]

I have to say I like a lot of the guys on the Wings and think we should resign Hasek, Schneider, Markov, Calder, Cleary, Dats of course, and even Maltby (for the right price) and Bert if he does well. We could drop Lang and use his salary to make room for everyone else. That would make next year's roster and projected salaries (in $millions) look like:

Forwards:

Zetterberg 2.65

Datsyuk 5.5 (hopefully not too much higher, but would be worth 6-6.5)

Bertuzzi 3

Holmstrom 2.1

Calder 2

Cleary 0.7

Draper 2.1

Franzen 0.9

Samuelsson 1.2

Hudler 0.52

Filppula 0.7

Kopecky 0.45

Maltby 1

Defense:

Lidstrom 7.6

Schneider 3.3

Lebda 0.55

Lilja 1

Markov 2.5

Kronwall 1.5

Chelios 0.85

Goalies:

Hasek 0.75

Osgoon 0.85

Total salary 41.72 - This is a good lineup for this salary - we have skill, grit, great defense, good goaltending, with youth and verteran leadership. Since the cap I heard will be more like 45 mil, we definately can still afford Dats at 6-6.5 and Bert and Calder if they want a little more or will have room come deadline time.

What do you guys think?

[zata40 3]

i like it. plus if we really needed to ( if an injury happened )we could still afford another good player

[Drake_Marcus 890]

I really don't see Cleary going for 0.7 next year, unless he's locking in a contact already. He'll likely end up with 25 goals with the potential to have been 30+ had he not been injured. After his run early in the season and his continued play even in his goal scoring slump (when he was still a damn good forward, just not putting up points) he's definitely worth 1.5. No?

Also I don't see Hasek returning for a minimum like that after his play this season. That assumes he does great in the playoffs. If we see vintage playoff Hasek (and when I say vintage I mean 2002 and hell- even how he's played in his best games this season) we'll see a higher price next year, no?

I'm not an expert on hockey payrolls so correct me if I'm off track here.

[Kp-Wings 3]

I really don't see Cleary going for 0.7 next year, unless he's locking in a contact already. He'll likely end up with 25 goals with the potential to have been 30+ had he not been injured. After his run early in the season and his continued play even in his goal scoring slump (when he was still a damn good forward, just not putting up points) he's definitely worth 1.5. No?

Cleary won't be back in time to hit 25.

He's not worth much more than he makes now. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy and all, but he had his 15 minutes of fame with his sudden hot streak in November/December. I don't think we'll see anything like that again. Energy line players shouldn't break the bank for a team. We already have one guy that does that now (Draper).

[redwinger4747 6]

Cleary is locked up for next season I think. Also I think Hasek might sign again for a low base salary with bonues.

[Lou_Siffer 1]

Cleary signed a 2 year deal this season.

You know, threads like this are silly. You're bringing back basically the entire team, and well, thats fine and dandy IF the Wings were to do very well in the playoffs. But what if they lose in the 1st round again? I would certainly hope you'd be against the notion of making little change. Why dont we wait till the end of the season to start threads like this! Its completely pointless to discuss it now.

[gbdet 0]

kronwall's cap hit will be 3million next year,

Homer is 2.25 I believe,

I really doubt Bertuzzi will sign for under 4million,

Calder is making 2.9mil this seaon and although he hopefully will take a pay cut I don't think it will be down to 2mill.

Other than that I like your list except I'm hoping we can trade Maltby for Grigs, and Markov for a more physical stay at home D-man, and the bonus is that with your roster we are under the cap quite a bit so we could afford to get a better quality younger d-man.

Here are my lines...

Huds-Dats-Bert

Flip-Zetts-Homer

Calder-Franz-Sammy

Grigs-Drapes-Cleary

ext-kopecky

[Flip-check 6]

Cleary won't be back in time to hit 25.

He's not worth much more than he makes now. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy and all, but he had his 15 minutes of fame with his sudden hot streak in November/December. I don't think we'll see anything like that again. Energy line players shouldn't break the bank for a team. We already have one guy that does that now (Draper).

Same here, I think. Sorry Marcus... but we'll have to see Cleary tear it up a few more times consistently for a salary up. But Dom's definitely going to call for more, so long as he still doesn't get injured this year.

It's vaguely ridiculous to me to see Dats trumping Z on the rollcall... but he's already got a few years left locked in at that number, but it'll be good to see if #13 can earn a new contract with the Wings.

[redwinger4747 6]

kronwall's cap hit will be 3million next year,

Homer is 2.25 I believe,

I really doubt Bertuzzi will sign for under 4million,

Calder is making 2.9mil this seaon and although he hopefully will take a pay cut I don't think it will be down to 2mill.

Other than that I like your list except I'm hoping we can trade Maltby for Grigs, and Markov for a more physical stay at home D-man, and the bonus is that with your roster we are under the cap quite a bit so we could afford to get a better quality younger d-man.

Here are my lines...

Huds-Dats-Bert

Flip-Zetts-Homer

Calder-Franz-Sammy

Grigs-Drapes-Cleary

ext-kopecky

No, Kronwall will be 1.5 next season

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2674554

Homer may be 2.25 I'm not sure

Calder had a bad season in Phili and Bert was injured all year. I really don't think they will command that much value as UFA. I'd definately see Calder down to 2 and Bert might be 3.5-4, but I'd be surprised if it was higher than that.

As for the playoffs, I'd say get those guys signed now and prepare for next season. Waiting until after the playoffs is lose-lose. If player play well, like Dats and Bert, their value may go way up, If they do poorly, I'd be afraid that Holland might panic and let them go. Even if we lose in the first round, I'd keep this team, It should have a sucessful regular season next year and will have a chance at playoff success as always.

I think people need to realize that playoff success is very hard to achieve and just because we get a winning team that loses in the first round to a team that goes all they way to game 7 of the finals (the last 3 teams that knocked us out all did this), doesn't mean we should break the team up.

People say, "but we've only won one series in the last 3 years!" Yeah, playoffs are hard, name me the team that goes to the conference finals every year. Truth is no team in the NHL can expect to have regular playoff success (if you define success as conference finals) every year because only FOUR out of THIRTY teams get there.

So oh well, we havnt been to the conference finals in a few years, we don't panic, we don't break up a team that wins in the regular season every year, we keep making small adjustments and keep trying.

Edited March 12, 2007 by redwinger4747

[wingslogo19 281]

I would love to see Calder come back next year, and markov.. If Bert plays well when he comes back i want him on our team next year

[Lou_Siffer 1]

Calder had a bad season in Phili and Bert was injured all year. I really don't think they will command that much value as UFA. I'd definately see Calder down to 2 and Bert might be 3.5-4, but I'd be surprised if it was higher than that.

As for the playoffs, I'd say get those guys signed now and prepare for next season. Waiting until after the playoffs is lose-lose. If player play well, like Dats and Bert, their value may go way up, If they do poorly, I'd be afraid that Holland might panic and let them go. Even if we lose in the first round, I'd keep this team, It should have a sucessful regular season next year and will have a chance at playoff success as always.

I think people need to realize that playoff success is very hard to achieve and just because we get a winning team that loses in the first round to a team that goes all they way to game 7 of the finals (the last 3 teams that knocked us out all did this), doesn't mean we should break the team up.

People say, "but we've only won one series in the last 3 years!" Yeah, playoffs are hard, name me the team that goes to the conference finals every year. Truth is no team in the NHL can expect to have regular playoff success (if you define success as conference finals) every year because only FOUR out of THIRTY teams get there.

So oh well, we havnt been to the conference finals in a few years, we don't panic, we don't break up a team that wins in the regular season every year, we keep making small adjustments and keep trying.

I dont get this AT ALL. Theres quite a few guys who should not be back if the team doesnt do well again. What the hell is the purpose of recycling the same squad back out there? Playoffs is what matters.

[Guest Crymson]

kronwall's cap hit will be 3million next year,

Homer is 2.25 I believe,

I really doubt Bertuzzi will sign for under 4million,

Calder is making 2.9mil this seaon and although he hopefully will take a pay cut I don't think it will be down to 2mill.

Other than that I like your list except I'm hoping we can trade Maltby for Grigs, and Markov for a more physical stay at home D-man, and the bonus is that with your roster we are under the cap quite a bit so we could afford to get a better quality younger d-man.

Here are my lines...

Huds-Dats-Bert

Flip-Zetts-Homer

Calder-Franz-Sammy

Grigs-Drapes-Cleary

ext-kopecky

I am constantly befuddled as to why people would ever want to break up what was, before injury, the hottest line in the NHL, simply because a shiny new name has come along. Please explain.

Lines like Dats-Zetts-Homer do not come along often. Chemistry is key. Slapping 3 good players on one line will not necessarily make for a hugely productive trio. Lines such as this have emergent properties; the whole cannot be explained by the sum of the individual parts. Break it up, and all three players will not do as well.

In any event, I feel disrupting such a productive line would require utter insanity.

I would love to see Calder come back next year, and markov.. If Bert plays well when he comes back i want him on our team next year

Markov will be gone next year. I can virtually guarantee this. He was useful to us, but he was signed because we needed a 6th defenseman, and he was only signed for one year because of that fact. He's pricey, he's injury prone, and--though Danny is largely solid-- we've got better guys coming up and he doesn't really fit into the team.

Edited March 12, 2007 by Crymson

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Same here, I think. Sorry Marcus... but we'll have to see Cleary tear it up a few more times consistently for a salary up.

Except isn't that exactly what happened with J-willy last year? An isolated hotstreak?

[Kp-Wings 3]

Except isn't that exactly what happened with J-willy last year? An isolated hotstreak?

Williams had it spaced out over the entire season last year. Clearys point production this year has been in a 2 month time span, and basically nothing sense then.

That being said though, Cleary is still much better than Williams.

[Guest Crymson]

I have to say I like a lot of the guys on the Wings and think we should resign Hasek, Schneider, Markov, Calder, Cleary, Dats of course, and even Maltby (for the right price) and Bert if he does well. We could drop Lang and use his salary to make room for everyone else. That would make next year's roster and projected salaries (in $millions) look like:

Forwards:

Zetterberg 2.65

Datsyuk 5.5 (hopefully not too much higher, but would be worth 6-6.5)

Bertuzzi 3

Holmstrom 2.1

Calder 2

Cleary 0.7

Draper 2.1

Franzen 0.9

Samuelsson 1.2

Hudler 0.52

Filppula 0.7

Kopecky 0.45

Maltby 1

Defense:

Lidstrom 7.6

Schneider 3.3

Lebda 0.55

Lilja 1

Markov 2.5

Kronwall 1.5

Chelios 0.85

Goalies:

Hasek 0.75

Osgoon 0.85

Total salary 41.72 - This is a good lineup for this salary - we have skill, grit, great defense, good goaltending, with youth and verteran leadership. Since the cap I heard will be more like 45 mil, we definately can still afford Dats at 6-6.5 and Bert and Calder if they want a little more or will have room come deadline time.

What do you guys think?

Barring a terrible playoff year, Calder will get a contract next year. Datsyuk will be the #1 priority for Holland, and Holland never gives up on these issues (barring negotiations with utter dickheads, which Dats is not). Maltby? He's got a fair chance of getting a contract, but I don't know why. He just doesn't bring much to the table that others can't bring, for cheaper, and better.

I believe Hasek will retire after this season. He played this one so as to not tarnish his legacy by ending his career with two groin-injury-shortened seasons, in which he was roundly panned for his work ethic and primadonnaism. In any event, recall that he was seen as a huge gamble at the start of the season. His skills were never in doubt; his groin was the center of anxiety. He was picked up because there was nobody available who was better. Granted, I love the guy, and he's having a great season, but do you think--provided that he decides not to retire in the first place--that the front office will take that risk again? The one-year contract existed for a reason. In any event, Howard will likely be given his chance, and I wouldn't be surprised if a proven goaltender is signed as well. Osgoon? Is that Osgood's nasty alter-ego?

Hehe.

Oh, and I wouldn't be surprised to see Schneider gone. Lang is almost a sure out.

In conclusion, recall that this team was not slated to do much at the start of the season. We've done well, but the reason we didn't have more scorers is that they just weren't available to sign. Things will be different this summer. I expect the core of the team to remain, but a lot will happen on the periphery.

Williams had it spaced out over the entire season last year. Clearys point production this year has been in a 2 month time span, and basically nothing sense then.

That being said though, Cleary is still much better than Williams.

Recall that Cleary was once highly-touted. His problem was work ethic. His main change this year has been work ethic. He has shown that he has the speed, the shot, and the hockey sense he was once lauded for.

His point slump? Point your finger at Robert Lang. Cleary, like many wingers, can accomplish almost precisely jack s*** without a quality center.

[redwinger4747 6]

I dont get this AT ALL. Theres quite a few guys who should not be back if the team doesnt do well again. What the hell is the purpose of recycling the same squad back out there? Playoffs is what matters.

I agree that playoffs are what matter, but if we don't do well what would you do? Who should not be back? Datsyuk? Yeah so we lose in the first round, let Datsyuk go as the scapegoat, break up the Z-Dats-Homer line and we......are a better team then??? Or get rid of Schneider because a 50-pt defenseman with a good shot on the PP is easy to find? We all know that playoffs are what matters but how can you justify just getting rid of good players because we go out early? How would the team become better from letting Dats go? Unless we sign Ryan Smyth, im pretty sure Dats is a great player who is hard to replace and yeah has struggled in the playoffs. Don't break up a winning team to make it worse just b/c we got out early again.

[Kp-Wings 3]

His point slump? Point your finger at Robert Lang. Cleary, like many wingers, can accomplish almost precisely jack s*** without a quality center.

Wasn't it with Lang earlier in the season that he was scoring all those points? I don't remember who he actually played with when he was scoring. I just remember the famous Cleary-Lang-Williams line that made me want to cry whenever they stepped on the ice.

[gbdet 0]

No, Kronwall will be 1.5 next season

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2674554

Homer may be 2.25 I'm not sure

Calder had a bad season in Phili and Bert was injured all year. I really don't think they will command that much value as UFA. I'd definately see Calder down to 2 and Bert might be 3.5-4, but I'd be surprised if it was higher than that.

As for the playoffs, I'd say get those guys signed now and prepare for next season. Waiting until after the playoffs is lose-lose. If player play well, like Dats and Bert, their value may go way up, If they do poorly, I'd be afraid that Holland might panic and let them go. Even if we lose in the first round, I'd keep this team, It should have a sucessful regular season next year and will have a chance at playoff success as always.

I think people need to realize that playoff success is very hard to achieve and just because we get a winning team that loses in the first round to a team that goes all they way to game 7 of the finals (the last 3 teams that knocked us out all did this), doesn't mean we should break the team up.

People say, "but we've only won one series in the last 3 years!" Yeah, playoffs are hard, name me the team that goes to the conference finals every year. Truth is no team in the NHL can expect to have regular playoff success (if you define success as conference finals) every year because only FOUR out of THIRTY teams get there.

So oh well, we havnt been to the conference finals in a few years, we don't panic, we don't break up a team that wins in the regular season every year, we keep making small adjustments and keep trying.

Yes he will be making 1.5mil next year, but his cap hit will be 3mil next year. If a player signs a 5 year 15 mil contract, they average it out to 3mil per year cap hit. even if he got paid 14mil in the first year and 1 mil the rest... his cap hit will still be 3 mil.

[Guest Crymson]

Wasn't it with Lang earlier in the season that he was scoring all those points? I don't remember who he actually played with when he was scoring. I just remember the famous Cleary-Lang-Williams line that made me want to cry whenever they stepped on the ice.

Indeed, as proves my point. He played well when Lang centered him capably. However, Lang entered a slump of utterly epic proportions, and dragged down Cleary with him. Of course, Williams helped nobody.

[redwinger4747 6]

Yes he will be making 1.5mil next year, but his cap hit will be 3mil next year. If a player signs a 5 year 15 mil contract, they average it out to 3mil per year cap hit. even if he got paid 14mil in the first year and 1 mil the rest... his cap hit will still be 3 mil.

Really? I didn't know they averaged contracts like this for the salary cap. My bad. Why the increasing salary then? Why not just pay him 3 mil a year?

[Lou_Siffer 1]

I agree that playoffs are what matter, but if we don't do well what would you do? Who should not be back? Datsyuk? Yeah so we lose in the first round, let Datsyuk go as the scapegoat, break up the Z-Dats-Homer line and we......are a better team then??? Or get rid of Schneider because a 50-pt defenseman with a good shot on the PP is easy to find? We all know that playoffs are what matters but how can you justify just getting rid of good players because we go out early? How would the team become better from letting Dats go? Unless we sign Ryan Smyth, im pretty sure Dats is a great player who is hard to replace and yeah has struggled in the playoffs. Don't break up a winning team to make it worse just b/c we got out early again.

Datsyuk will cost too much, if he's a playoff no show again...he goes. Schneider can score all he wants in the regular season, if he's having defensive gaffs and showing his age in the playoffs like i expect will happen he goes as well. Use that money on a FA defenseman who's younger.Maltby obviously should go no matter what, and Samuelsson is another guy who should not be brought back if he does nothing in the playoffs. Just to name a few. See, this is why i said theres really no point in having threads like this now. Because we dont know whats gonna happen! We dont know who's gonna play well, or who's gonna stink it up. Opinions now can be completely different in another couple months.

[redwinger4747 6]

Datsyuk will cost too much, if he's a playoff no show again...he goes. Schneider can score all he wants in the regular season, if he's having defensive gaffs and showing his age in the playoffs like i expect will happen he goes as well. Use that money on a FA defenseman who's younger.Maltby obviously should go no matter what, and Samuelsson is another guy who should not be brought back if he does nothing in the playoffs. Just to name a few. See, this is why i said theres really no point in having threads like this now. Because we dont know whats gonna happen! We dont know who's gonna play well, or who's gonna stink it up. Opinions now can be completely different in another couple months.

[/quote

For the record, I think you should change your picture labled "Grit" to one of Bertuzzi not breaking Moore's neck.

[Lou_Siffer 1]

Nah, im gonna keep this for a while.

[arin 0]

Datsyuk(5) - Z(2.7) - Holm(2.2)

Filp(.8) - Hudler(.8) -Bert(4)

Kopecky(.8)-Draper(2.1) - Franzen(.9)

Calder(1.8) - Cleary(.6) - Sam(1.2)

Grigs(.9)

Lid(7.6) - Kron(1.5)

( ) - Cheli(.8)

Lebda(.5) - Lilja(1)

Hasek(1.2)

Osgood(.8)

(Howard(.5))

Total = 37.7(or 36.5 if Howard/Osgood tandem starts)

This could leave a 3.5mill(considered cap goes to 40) cushion for another D-man and Bertuzzi/Datsyuk signing. The signing of Dats/Bert depends on playoffs, though.

Edited March 12, 2007 by arin

[redwinger4747 6]

Nah, im gonna keep this for a while.

Suite yourself but I don't think "Grit" is synonymous with savage violence. I'm glad Bert is on our team, but that isn't the kind of "grit" I want from him.