Is Kenny done?

[Andy Pred 48 337]

Well its looking more than likely that the roster is almost complete, and we'll head into camp with what we have.

Or is it? Looking at the signings and the departures we seem to have lost a whole line, Schneider, Markov?, Calder

Lang and Bertuzzi. Replaced Schneider and Calder with Rafalski and Drake. Now the general feeling is that Grigorenko will have to play himself off the roster at camp,so he should replace Bertuzzi and even if Markov does go we look set on D with Quincey or possably Ference filling the 7th D spot. So who fill's Langs spot? Filppula is being lined up to be the 2nd line C, so are we after a 3rd line C or a 2nd line winger? I'm not so sure there is a sure fire 2nd line scoring winger out there who could do the job for us. So will it be a 3/4 line C we go after? Now there are a few guys who

could be had at a reasonable price but do we really need anyone? Have we enough depth to get into the playoffs and

then use the saved cap $ and make a move then, I think we have but then I'm not Kenny.

Holmstrom Zetterberg Samuelsson

Franzen Datsyuk Cleary

Grigorenko Filppula Hudler

Maltby Draper Drake

Kopecky call ups Ellis Hartigan and Cullen

Lidstrom Kronvall

Rafalski Lilja

Chelios Lebda

Quincey call ups Ference Meech Ericsson Kindl.

Hasek Osgood Howard

That dosen't look to bad, should get us to the post season.

Of course there is also the possability that someone may have a great camp and give the coaching staff a headache

as well.

Edited July 13, 2007 by Andy Pred 48

[kindlwillbegreat 0]

i think hes done unless he adds someone at the trade deadline , i like the way our team is i would of liked a guy like simon but thats impossible now

on a sidenote i was checking something on detnews and they were talking about zetterberg and his new deal in 2 yrs ...

If Red Wings GM Ken Holland can get him signed to a 5-year deal at $8 million a season (8 x 5 = 40), that's a steal compared to the money "Hank" could earn as an unrestricted free agent in two years, when the salary cap should be pushing the mid-$50's

8 million a year ???????? i love zetterberg but that sounds ridiculous to me he hasnt even gotten a 100 pt season hes more or less been a 1 pt a game player , if crosby got 8.7 does zetterberg deserve 8 ?? i was hoping we'd convince him to take a similar deal as datsyuk so they both get the same money if not then 7 million a year , maybe 7.2 MAX is what he should and i hope will get ...........any thoughts

[rick zombo 3,739]

They are one big gun away from being a top 4 contender.

They are two or three key injuries away from missing the playoffs.

There is some uncertainty, but that 5M in cap space, some good tradeable prospects, and draft picks should help them fill any major holes that surface.

[BeeRYCE 2]

Having no other option but putting Samuelsson and Franzen on the first and second line respectively, I feel is a problem. I think the only way Datsyuk and Zetterberg should be split up is if we got maybe a Peter Forsberg to play with Zetterberg.

[Yzerfan75 0]

He's done. And, once again....like with weathermen (who seem right only 10% of the time), I'm amazed that he's keeping his job.

Of course this will be followed up with many folks bolstering the guy and saying how great he is...and that's fine...but I find it sadly pathetic that he boasted that he'd resign each of the four big free agents...and, well, he resigned one and added, um...Dallas Drake.

[DreamsofHope 2]

He's done. And, once again....like with weathermen (who seem right only 10% of the time), I'm amazed that he's keeping his job.

Of course this will be followed up with many folks bolstering the guy and saying how great he is...and that's fine...but I find it sadly pathetic that he boasted that he'd resign each of the four big free agents...and, well, he resigned one and added, um...Dallas Drake.

Rafalski anyone?! Sheesh why does everyone forget about that?

[HuntsVegas Baby 0]

Go get Jeff O'neil from Toronto!

And Z will sign for seven years 7.5m

[BeeRYCE 2]

He's done. And, once again....like with weathermen (who seem right only 10% of the time), I'm amazed that he's keeping his job.

Of course this will be followed up with many folks bolstering the guy and saying how great he is...and that's fine...but I find it sadly pathetic that he boasted that he'd resign each of the four big free agents...and, well, he resigned one and added, um...Dallas Drake.

Bertuzzi for 4M? NO.

Lang for 4M? NO.

Calder for 2.75M (More than Holmstrom)? NO.

Schneider for Rafalski? Hell yes.

Drake for 850K? Hell yes.

Holland has done nothing but good things so far to be honest. Some for better, some for the worse, but his intentions have been good, and he himself said that he wants to do more.

[Yzerfan75 0]

Rafalski anyone?! Sheesh why does everyone forget about that?

Ah yes...sorry about that. I forgot about the offensive dynamics that will result from that one.

Bertuzzi for 4M? NO.

Lang for 4M? NO.

Calder for 2.75M (More than Holmstrom)? NO.

Schneider for Rafalski? Hell yes.

Drake for 850K? Hell yes.

Holland has done nothing but good things so far to be honest. Some for better, some for the worse, but his intentions have been good, and he himself said that he wants to do more.

I agree with the numbers being high for Bert, Lang (like he's worth much), Calder, and Schneids...but why even bother alluding to resigning them? Did he really think he'd swiing the "Hockeytown Tradition Charm" in fronf of their eyes and dazzle them to signing sub-million dollar contracts...or is he so out of touch with reality that he doesn't have a clue what greedy players want these days?

And that's great that he "wants to do more"....well, now's probably a good time to do that, don't you think?

[WingsZR2 1]

Of course this will be followed up with many folks bolstering the guy and saying how great he is...and that's fine...but I find it sadly pathetic that he boasted that he'd resign each of the four big free agents...and, well, he resigned one and added, um...Dallas Drake.

You forgot to mention Rafalski and he is an upgrade over Schneider. Would you be willing to pay a guy 8 million when he is coming off a major back injury?

[BeeRYCE 2]

Ah yes...sorry about that. I forgot about the offensive dynamics that will result from that one.

I agree with the numbers being high for Bert, Lang (like he's worth much), Calder, and Schneids...but why even bother alluding to resigning them? Did he really think he'd swiing the "Hockeytown Tradition Charm" in fronf of their eyes and dazzle them to signing sub-million dollar contracts...or is he so out of touch with reality that he doesn't have a clue what greedy players want these days?

And that's great that he "wants to do more"....well, now's probably a good time to do that, don't you think?

It's never too late to rule out the possibility of a trade (maybe during the first half of the season), or even a Peter Forsberg signing.

[regwinguofmfan 0]

As most people on here know I think Kenny is not good at all in the off season under the new cap. To me this year the team moved sideways in the off season. We didnt get better and we didnt get worse from the team we had before the trade deadline.

However I feel that Holland is the BEST GM in the entire league at the deadline, especially under the new cap.

For what its worth Holland knows we will be in the playoffs again this year if for no other reason than our division is HORRIBLE, so he will do what he can to pull of a monster trade to make a run for the cup again.

This will also give him some time to evaluate Grigs and Kroner again and see what changes need to be made at the deadline.

I do however give him an F for this offseason for only accomplished one of his four goals. To be honest Im tired of hearing the same old crap outta his mouth about toughness and next year being the year to sign all the UFAs.

meh...

[LeftWinger 4,973]

Bertuzzi for 4M? NO.

Lang for 4M? NO.

Calder for 2.75M (More than Holmstrom)? NO.

Schneider for Rafalski? Hell yes.

Drake for 850K? Hell yes.

Holland has done nothing but good things so far to be honest. Some for better, some for the worse, but his intentions have been good, and he himself said that he wants to do more.

...first off, Drake is $550k, so he is even a better deal. Just bustin ya a lil bit!

...Holland is not done. Adam Hall, Peter Forsberg & Feds at the deadline...

Holmstrom Zetterberg Samuelsson

Franzen Datsyuk Cleary

Grigorenko Filppula Hudler

Maltby Draper Drake

Kopecky call ups Ellis Hartigan and Cullen

Lidstrom Kronvall

Rafalski Lilja

Chelios Lebda

Quincey call ups Ference Meech Ericsson Kindl.

Hasek Osgood Howard

[96Homer 0]

Actually on yahoo rumors it states Holland is still talking to Markov. Markov

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Holmstrom Zetterberg Samuelsson

Franzen Datsyuk Cleary

Grigorenko Filppula Hudler

Maltby Draper Drake

Kopecky call ups Ellis Hartigan and Cullen

Lidstrom Kronvall

Rafalski Lilja

Chelios Lebda

Quincey call ups Ference Meech Ericsson Kindl.

Hasek Osgood Howard

That dosen't look to bad, should get us to the post season.

Of course there is also the possability that someone may have a great camp and give the coaching staff a headache

as well.

Gross! No Samuelsson on the top two lines!

Here's what I'd do:

Holmstrom Zetterberg Cleary

Franzen Datsyuk Filppula

Grigorenko Hudler Samuelsson

Maltby Draper Drake

Kopecky call ups Ellis Hartigan and Cullen

Lidstrom Lilja

Rafalski Kronvall

Chelios Lebda

Quincey call ups Ference Meech Ericsson Kindl.

Cleary and Holmer are gritty as hell- if the other team focuses on Z they'll cause havoc, but if they focus on Cleary and Holmstrom, Z will embarass their goalie.

Filppula played really well with Datsyuk and could use the one-on-one experience with Dats, plus centres like Dats and Z just make the players around them even better- which is a great thing for Franzen, Filppula and Cleary.

Hudler's centred before, so that's no problem, plus it gives him some more responsibility, which is a good thing in my mind. Grigs is often put on the second line when people on LGW speculate, but I'd rather see him earn it and Babs likely will too.

Lillypads played really well with Lids in the playoffs and is the minimum risk when paired up with Lids- it's not like Lids even needs a partner anyway

Rafalski should help influence Kronvall and hopefully tell him not to hurt himself.

Of course none of this matters- it's all about chemistry anyway, who know's how Grigs will fit in.

[Winged Scooter 0]

IMHO I think Holland is done with Free Agency, this year's trade deadline however, I expect yet another Holland gem. Unlike last year the lack of acquisitions isn't upsetting at all, I think this team can more than compete as is, and I can't remember if it was Devellano or Holland that said it, but picking up a player just for the sake of getting a player is stupid.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

or is he so out of touch with reality that he doesn't have a clue what greedy players want these days?

When was the last time you turned down a raise? How about got a job offer for twice as much money and didn't even feel compelled to go to that job because you're all about loyalty?

Be fair- hockey players want money, but so do us normal folks. Add to that the fact that the average hockey player has an immense amount of uncertainty when it comes to future employment and future pay.

[GiantRobot 0]

8 million a year ???????? i love zetterberg but that sounds ridiculous to me he hasnt even gotten a 100 pt season hes more or less been a 1 pt a game player , if crosby got 8.7 does zetterberg deserve 8 ?? i was hoping we'd convince him to take a similar deal as datsyuk so they both get the same money if not then 7 million a year , maybe 7.2 MAX is what he should and i hope will get ...........any thoughts

Crosby deserves 10+, and would have gotten that had he left pitt...He took a discount to stay witht them. Sure it's only 1.7 million $ discount, bu the knows that the cap would have gone up in a few years again.

A ppg player is like gold in the nhl. Look at elias making 7+ in NJ....Hank isl beyond a PPG, and he would get paid more than 8+ on the market, especially with the way he plays defense and scores combined.

He wants to stay here, so I dont see him breaking the bank, but with the silly deals Brier and Gomez got this year, he certainly would deserve 7-8 million.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Holmstrom-Zetterberg-Cleary

Franzen-Datsyuk-Flipula

Grigerenko-Kopecky-Samuleson

Maltby-Draper-Drake

Hudler

Lidstrom-Chelios

Rafalski-Lilja

Kronwall-Lebda

Quincey

Hasek

Would be my ideal line-up.

[Guest Crymson]

He's done. And, once again....like with weathermen (who seem right only 10% of the time), I'm amazed that he's keeping his job.

Of course this will be followed up with many folks bolstering the guy and saying how great he is...and that's fine...but I find it sadly pathetic that he boasted that he'd resign each of the four big free agents...and, well, he resigned one and added, um...Dallas Drake.

He said he'd 'try' to re-sign our four big free-agents.

Bertuzzi--$4m per year? Forget that.

Schneider--$5.5m per year? Doubly forget that.

Markov--Greedy. Would you like us to massively overpay?

Also, let's not forget:

Datsyuk: genius contract.

Homer: three more years.

As a further note, I imagine you went over this exact same s*** last year when we didn't replace Yzerman or Shanahan. You're amazed that he's keeping his job? Uhm, well.. I'm sure that you could go tell this to the league's 29 other general managers and you'd hear yourself called a moron by every single one.

Ah yes...sorry about that. I forgot about the offensive dynamics that will result from that one.

I agree with the numbers being high for Bert, Lang (like he's worth much), Calder, and Schneids...but why even bother alluding to resigning them? Did he really think he'd swiing the "Hockeytown Tradition Charm" in fronf of their eyes and dazzle them to signing sub-million dollar contracts...or is he so out of touch with reality that he doesn't have a clue what greedy players want these days?

And that's great that he "wants to do more"....well, now's probably a good time to do that, don't you think?

What's this about? You're angry at him for having 'false' hopes?

He wants to do more, yes--as does EVERY OTHER general manager. Whom would you suggest?

We get the same old junk around here: "Holland needs to sign a top-six winger!" People often forget that reality often imposes itself between ourselves and what we want. Unless Holland is Mr. Fantastic's long-lost second-born, I don't think he has the power to warp reality.

[Kp-Wings 3]

There is a rumor on MLive of the Wings reportadly going after Brent Sopel on defense. Just a rumor though, so don't count on it yet though.

Although I've given on the flaws of Jeff O'Neill in the past, as I look at it, he could be a decent signing for the Wings, for the right price that is. He still scored 20 goals and a crappy Leafs team, and is a former 40 goal scorer. I mean, what's the harm in it if he lowers his price and signs a cheap contract?

Note that it still is a big "if", but still. I think he would work out here, with the exception of his fear of flying. Something would have to be done about that, but I really don't know what at this point.

Also: here's the link on MLive if anyone hasn't seen it yet.

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2007/07/ts...st_suggest.html

[tony 3]

He's done. And, once again....like with weathermen (who seem right only 10% of the time), I'm amazed that he's keeping his job.

Of course this will be followed up with many folks bolstering the guy and saying how great he is...and that's fine...but I find it sadly pathetic that he boasted that he'd resign each of the four big free agents...and, well, he resigned one and added, um...Dallas Drake.

hummm your right we need a GM like ferguson of the leafs hes the greatest i mean lets try and take him from the leafs screw holland

[Blood On The Ice 15]

Actually, I hope he is done for now. Give the young guys, Fipula, Grigs, Kopecky, Hudler, Quincy the ice time. Allow them to develope, see what they can do. With the group they have they still will make the playoffs. Come trade deadline, they will know if they need more and can pull the trigger somewhere if need be. Save the cap space for a late season trade or two.

[Yzerfan75 0]

I do however give him an F for this offseason for only accomplished one of his four goals. To be honest Im tired of hearing the same old crap outta his mouth about toughness and next year being the year to sign all the UFAs.

meh...

And that's exactly what I was getting at.

I'll slip my firesuit on and climb back into my hole...good lord.

[Wings_Fan_In_Exile 3]

With how much players have been signing for I am glad Holland didn't get caught up in it too. Besides, realistically we couldn't afford to do a helluva lot more than the Rafalski deal anyway without handcuffing ourselves for the future.

On paper looking at our top two lines I do admit it feels incomplete. Part of that stems from being used to having a Stacked, Pre-Cap roster and those days are gone. But I do like the idea of giving Flip, Grigs, Hudler, Kopecky, Franzen etc a chance to rise to the occaision. Out of our young core I'm sure a few of them will prove they deserve ice time.

Plus the regular season doesn't start for a few more months and the trade deadline is far far away. So Holland has plenty of time to make moves, or adjust as the season gets going.

Plus, who knows who will be buyers and who will be sellers come trade deadline time. Maybe we end up with a rental like Marleau or Heatly... or somebody more likely from a crappier team, but you get the idea.