2008 nhl free agents

[Kp-Wings 3]

How did I miss Ryan Malone? He's my type of player. Gritty winger who's not afraid to drop the gloves, and can put up decent points on the 2nd line. Make it happen Kenny.

On defense, since the Wings have an affection with offensive defenseman, I'd like to see them sign Ron Hainsey. He's a decent player on the backend. He's got good size at 6'3, 211 pounds, still young at age 26, skates good, and is an offensive defenseman, which is what the Wings love. He'd be a huge upgrade over Lebda, since he's bigger, and can put up more points.

Also, I'd like to see the Wings bring back Aaron Ward to add some badly needed grit on the blueline. I know it's per club policy to not sign gritty, hard nosed players, but he is a former Red Wing, which should work somewhat in his favor. Kenny seems to value that quality a lot.

This may seem like an off-beat name to bring up, but I'd love it if the Wings signed Bryzgalov. A Bryzgalov/Osgood tandem would be great. I really don't like Howard, and he's playing like s*** this year in the AHL. Mind you the whole Griffins team is playing bad, but still. Two expierenced goaltenders with the capability to be a #1 sounds a lot more appealing than one starting goalie and one rookie who has yet to put up even decent numbers at the AHL level, and even be a consistant backup.

The best thing about having a Bryzgalov/Osgood tandem is if one falls to injury, you have a suitable replacement. If it's a Osgood/Howard tandem, and Osgood get's hurt, what do you do? Throw Howard into the fire? Sorry, but I don't think he could handle it.

But, that's looking too far ahead at this point. We'll see how the season plays out first.

[58Miles2Joe 12]

Avery

Fedorov

[irishtemper14+25 11]

Avery

Fedorov

Avery

Fedorov

Any goaltender over Dom

i really think avery is possible mostly because he and the rangers had that feud thing last yr

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Of anyone on that list the Wings should be looking for a 2nd liner with a scoring touch.

Not to beat a dead horse, but we're 23 games in and it's becoming more and more obvious that they're a one line team.

After ZDH, Dan Cleary has the most goals of any forward with 7. Hudler, Filp, Sammy start to show promise, but are streaky at best. We need a consistent threat.

Edited November 26, 2007 by haroldsnepsts

[Louisville 112]

For the love of God sign the hell out of Brian Rolston!!!

[VM1138 1,921]

I guess rumors say that Rolston is a high possibility for Detroit.

I really don't think the Wings could get Ovechkin. I mean, how much is that guy going to cost?

What would be ideal is if we could get two forwards. One person won't make the bottom three lines start producing.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

I guess rumors say that Rolston is a high possibility for Detroit.

I really don't think the Wings could get Ovechkin. I mean, how much is that guy going to cost?

What would be ideal is if we could get two forwards. One person won't make the bottom three lines start producing.

The Wings dont have the space, money, or assets to get 2 legit top 6 forwards by the trade deadline.

If you sign Rolston, then youve got 3 guys capable of 30-35+ goals (Rolston, Hank, Homer), and 3 guys capable of 20+ goals (Cleary, Sammy, Datsyuk), and then 3 guys capable of 15+ goals (Franzen, Hudler, Flip).

Ideally, I would like to see Detroit get 1 top 2nd guy and 1 #4/5 Dman thats a stay at home guy. Or a guy like Avery would be awesome in addition to Rolston.

EDIT: Sorry, I see you meant for next year..

Edited November 26, 2007 by YoungGuns1340

[FinRedWing 172]

Re-sign everybody who isn't going to retire and then look at the payroll & UFA's.

I don't want to see another Lang / Williams thingy next season.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Id like to see Detroit NOT re-sign Kopecky, Ellis, Lilja, Drake, Hasek, or Chelios, unless he really wants to keep playing and is willing to split games with a guy like Quincey, Meech, Ericsson, etc.

#1 Realistic forward: Brian Rolston

Others: Legwand, Malone, Dumont, Ryder, Satan, Fedorov, Brunette, Prospal

#1 Realistic Dman: Mike freaking Commodore

Others: Foote, Smith, Stuart, Jackman

#1 Grinder: Sean Avery

Others: Kelley, Lapointe, Hagman, Hunter

[Guest wingswillwincup]

Id like to see Detroit NOT re-sign Kopecky, Ellis, Lilja, Drake, Hasek, or Chelios, unless he really wants to keep playing and is willing to split games with a guy like Quincey, Meech, Ericsson, etc.

#1 Realistic forward: Brian Rolston

Others: Legwand, Malone, Dumont, Ryder, Satan, Fedorov, Brunette, Prospal

#1 Realistic Dman: Mike freaking Commodore

Others: Foote, Smith, Stuart, Jackman

#1 Grinder: Sean Avery

Others: Kelley, Lapointe, Hagman, Hunter

i agree with what you said about chelios , i agree with dumping all those other players except kopecky , hes young and a big body he can be a nice cheap 4th liner plus i do believe he is tied up for next season as well

i think brian rolston can be a nice fit here , he can get 30 goals and is not young anymore so i dont think he would cost us too much , dont forget we got zetterberg to tie up and we gotta see how much lidstrom gets , you think rolston would be willing to come back to his hometown for a one year deal ?? ... id probably bet against it

i also like adam foote even though hes getting older , hes a tough sob and i think has been completely lost and forgotten about having played with columbus for a while now

[Turkey 0]

Commodore - big red mop in a Red Wings jersey, I'd love to see that. I don't think he'd be too pricey either.

I'd love to see us get Rolston. Fedorov would be interesting but only if he brings something reliable. At this point perhaps he's the reliable secondary scorer that we need?

The goalie situation makes me nervous, frankly.

Fedoruk would be an insane waste of money. He's one good punch away from having his whole face fall off.

[Guest wingswillwincup]

I don't know why only two people have said Phaneuf. I realize we'd have to give up some sort of royalties since he's a rfa. Still though.... That guy is a force on defense. I'd rather have him than any other D guy on there.

defence

kronwall 3 million

rafalski 6 million

lidstrom 5-7 million

14-16 mill total

datsyuk 6.7 million

zetterberg gonna get 7-8 a year in 2 seasons

13 -15 total

=27-31 million total spent on 5 players

phaneuf will have to get 5-6 a yr to try and take him from the flames and wouldnt even guarantee it , thats why we cant get phaneuf , we cant afford it

[Spongewingredpants 75]

come home Feds

[Guest wingswillwincup]

first of all naslund will cost a ridiculous amount. second, i want fedorov

hes been playing like crap for years he wont cost us much and can potentially get some sort of ressurection here , not 100+ pts again but something good , he's 34 so considering guys like sakic who are older can still perform i still think hes got a few yrs id might consider a 2 yr 3.5 to 4 million per year deal

this is what id like to see

sign naslund 2 yrs 4 mill per

sign rolston 3.5 1 yr

sign ozzie 2 yrs 1.8 per

sign lidstrom 1 yr 7.5 million with an agreement not on paper that he'd be willing to take a lesser deal in 2 yrs to help out signing zetterberg to a long deal , maybe 5 million in 2 yrs so it averages at 6.25 per but saves 2.5 in cap space in 2 yrs

let cleary walk so we save 1.5 cap for when zetterberg needs to resign

i added numbers to the new deals next to the certain players

naslund 4 zetterberg holmstrom

rolston 3.5 datsyuk franzen

hudler filppula 1.5 samuelsson

kopecky 500 k draper maltby

downey or ellis 500 k

lidstrom 7.5 rafalski

kronwall lebda

ericsson 600k chelios 850k

meech

ozzie 1.8

howard 800k

total = 48.905

any thoughts

[vangvace 12]

I really don't think the Wings could get Ovechkin. I mean, how much is that guy going to cost?

I'm willing to bet that he'll get cap max offer... and that he will be out of DC.

[Bryguy 103]

hes been playing like crap for years he wont cost us much and can potentially get some sort of ressurection here , not 100+ pts again but something good , he's 34 so considering guys like sakic who are older can still perform i still think hes got a few yrs id might consider a 2 yr 3.5 to 4 million per year deal

this is what id like to see

sign naslund 2 yrs 4 mill per

sign rolston 3.5 1 yr

sign ozzie 2 yrs 1.8 per

sign lidstrom 1 yr 7.5 million with an agreement not on paper that he'd be willing to take a lesser deal in 2 yrs to help out signing zetterberg to a long deal , maybe 5 million in 2 yrs so it averages at 6.25 per but saves 2.5 in cap space in 2 yrs

let cleary walk so we save 1.5 cap for when zetterberg needs to resign

i added numbers to the new deals next to the certain players

naslund 4 zetterberg holmstrom

rolston 3.5 datsyuk franzen

hudler filppula 1.5 samuelsson

kopecky 500 k draper maltby

downey or ellis 500 k

lidstrom 7.5 rafalski

kronwall lebda

ericsson 600k chelios 850k

meech

ozzie 1.8

howard 800k

total = 48.905

any thoughts

No way does Rolston sign a 1 year deal for 3.5mil, its gonna cost more then that for 30+ Goals. And I still dont know why people keep talking anything about Howard, the guy hasnt shown anything at all and looks like a bust to me. Time to get Bryz next season with Ozz.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

hes been playing like crap for years he wont cost us much and can potentially get some sort of ressurection here , not 100+ pts again but something good , he's 34 so considering guys like sakic who are older can still perform i still think hes got a few yrs id might consider a 2 yr 3.5 to 4 million per year deal

this is what id like to see

sign naslund 2 yrs 4 mill per

sign rolston 3.5 1 yr

sign ozzie 2 yrs 1.8 per

sign lidstrom 1 yr 7.5 million with an agreement not on paper that he'd be willing to take a lesser deal in 2 yrs to help out signing zetterberg to a long deal , maybe 5 million in 2 yrs so it averages at 6.25 per but saves 2.5 in cap space in 2 yrs

let cleary walk so we save 1.5 cap for when zetterberg needs to resign

i added numbers to the new deals next to the certain players

naslund 4 zetterberg holmstrom

rolston 3.5 datsyuk franzen

hudler filppula 1.5 samuelsson

kopecky 500 k draper maltby

downey or ellis 500 k

lidstrom 7.5 rafalski

kronwall lebda

ericsson 600k chelios 850k

meech

ozzie 1.8

howard 800k

total = 48.905

any thoughts

just out of curiousity, why let cleary walk?

I don't see getting naslund, especially at 4 mill. but i'd be happy with Rolston, who's currently making 2.43 mill.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

i just found a site with the list , thought some of you might be curious ..... http://hockeyworld.wordpress.com/2008-nhl-free-agents

here are some names with any significance

ilya bryzgalov

marian hossa

bobby holik

aaron ward

brian campbell

craig conroy

daymond langkow

cory stillman

martin lapointe

joe sakic,

andrew brunette

john-michael liles

sergei fedorov

adam foote

ron hainsey

rob blake

ladislav nagy

brad stuart

pavol demitra

brian rolston

michael ryder

cristobal huet

jean-pierre dumont,

mike comrie

ruslan fedotenko

sean avery

wade redden

gary roberts

ryan malone

dan boyle

vaclav prospal

chris gratton

mats sundin

markus naslund

olaf kolzig

restricted free agents

cory perry

kari lehtonen

dion phaneuf

tuomo ruutu

brent seabrook

marek svatos

wojtek wolski

pascal leclaire

jay bouwmeester

antoine vermette,

andrej meszaros

jeff carter

mike richards

marc-andre fleury

kyle wellwood,

alexander semin,

alexander ovechkin

depending on our goaltending situationid like to see kolzig he still plays well on a crappy caps team , imagine him here ...... and no i didnt forget about ozzie and i think bryzgalov would cost us a nice amount

adam foote

brian rolston

markus naslund ( wouldnt cost much and still has talent )

david legwand

those are the ones im interested in, who u guys like

Here's the ones I would look at:

Bryzgalov: Probably going to re sign. He's got a chance to shine now and he will.

Hossa: Why wouldn't you want this guy. Money the only issue here

Forget the RFA's. I don't think Holland would do that to another GM

As for the rest, there aren't many players I would like due to their style. For instance, Ryder would look pretty good but he's not dirty enough, same with JP Dumont.

Most of the other forwards are passed their prime or we don't have much chance of signing like a Sakic.

Truly, and this guy isn't on the list but somebody just like Gary Roberts only 10 years younger would be my first choice.

[Flip-check 6]

just out of curiousity, why let cleary walk?

I don't see getting naslund, especially at 4 mill. but i'd be happy with Rolston, who's currently making 2.43 mill.

I don't understand the Cleary pick either. Did you just happen to pick him or is he a purposeful selection? I think he's one of the more consistent players out there.

I'd sooner let Samuelsson go (his contract is up after next season and Cleary will probably get a similar figure, $1.2).

And I agree with GST on Bryz. The guy has a chance and also, you don't go to Detroit if you want to solidify your rep. He has a good thing with Phoenix.

[Learn2LuvIt 252]

Prospal---All day long. Maybe the most underrated player in the entire league.

[rick zombo 3,739]

Re-sign Lidstrom 7M, Filpulla 1.5M, Cleary 2M, Osgood 1.5M, Chelios (0.8) Lilja (1M) in that order.

Time to upgrade the 2nd line. And improve the defense.

Say goodbye to Sammy, Lebda, Hudler and Meech.

Go out and get:

-Brian Rolston (PERFECT FIT!!! good shot, good speed, defensively reliable, stays healthy, Flint boy) 3.5M

- Bryzgalov 3M

-ONE of Vandermeer 2.5M, Carney 2.5M, or Commodore 1.8M.

- Arron Asham 0.7M

Zetterberg(2.9) - Datsyuk(6.7) - Homer(2.25)

Rolston(3.5) - Filpulla(1.5) - Cleary(2)

Maltby(.95) - Draper(1.85) - Franzen (1.15)

Ellis (.475) - Kopecky(0.525) - Asham(.7)

Downey (.475)

Lidstrom(7) - Rafalski(6.5)

Kronwall(3) - Vandermeer(2.5)

Lilja(1) - Chelios(.8)

Quincey (.5)

Brzgalov(3)

Osgood (1.5)

approx 50M

[Turkey 0]

I wouldn't be thrilled w/ Carney. He's getting up there and, as I understand it, has basically been a non-presence in Minnesota this year.

[Guest wingswillwincup]

just out of curiousity, why let cleary walk?

I don't see getting naslund, especially at 4 mill. but i'd be happy with Rolston, who's currently making 2.43 mill.

cleary is good get me wrong if the cap went up yet again and we can keep him im all up for it , im just tryin to look ahead , zetterberg is due for a big raise , we dont know what lidstrom will command yet and how long he will play.... lets not forget we got datsyuk, rafalski,kronwall already tied up to 3+ million , we dont know how howard will play and might need cash to actually get a goalie

Also we have to resign franzen and filppula, so im sure samuelsson will be gone in 2 yrs cause we wont be able to afford him , and to me anyways its the same as cleary , id personally rather keep filppula and franzen out of those 4 guys and cleary can easily get 2-3 million a yr and were likely gonna have to be really tight with the cash especially with the off season signing of rafalski

id be happy with rolston as well he'd be a nice fit and dont think he'd cost too much , hes from michigan so it might be to our benefit, and naslund i just dont see him getting 5+ a yr anymore he hasnt been impressive last 2-3 seasons but i do still think hes got some tools so 4 million i dont think is to much of a stretch , he might get 4.5 from a team but a chance to play with zetterberg might be a good move for him and us , we can have 2 solid lines

Here's the ones I would look at:

Bryzgalov: Probably going to re sign. He's got a chance to shine now and he will.

Hossa: Why wouldn't you want this guy. Money the only issue here

Forget the RFA's. I don't think Holland would do that to another GM

As for the rest, there aren't many players I would like due to their style. For instance, Ryder would look pretty good but he's not dirty enough, same with JP Dumont.

Most of the other forwards are passed their prime or we don't have much chance of signing like a Sakic.

Truly, and this guy isn't on the list but somebody just like Gary Roberts only 10 years younger would be my first choice.

hossa and brysgalov arent an option as well as big stars unless we do some crazy trade or lidstrom takes a nice paycut , phoenix has nothing theyll easily offer bryzgalov 5 - 6 per

I don't understand the Cleary pick either. Did you just happen to pick him or is he a purposeful selection? I think he's one of the more consistent players out there.

I'd sooner let Samuelsson go (his contract is up after next season and Cleary will probably get a similar figure, $1.2).

And I agree with GST on Bryz. The guy has a chance and also, you don't go to Detroit if you want to solidify your rep. He has a good thing with Phoenix.

well like i said just before i like the guy and if the cap goes up then why not , but id rather keep franzen and filppula then cleary who can command 2+ a season .... and samuelsson i think is as good as gone in 2 seasons as well , no way we'd keep him or can keep him anyways for 2-3 million he can get from some team

Re-sign Lidstrom 7M, Filpulla 1.5M, Cleary 2M, Osgood 1.5M, Chelios (0.8) Lilja (1M) in that order.

Time to upgrade the 2nd line. And improve the defense.

Say goodbye to Sammy, Lebda, Hudler and Meech.

Go out and get:

-Brian Rolston (PERFECT FIT!!! good shot, good speed, defensively reliable, stays healthy, Flint boy) 3.5M

- Bryzgalov 3M

-ONE of Vandermeer 2.5M, Carney 2.5M, or Commodore 1.8M.

- Arron Asham 0.7M

Zetterberg(2.9) - Datsyuk(6.7) - Homer(2.25)

Rolston(3.5) - Filpulla(1.5) - Cleary(2)

Maltby(.95) - Draper(1.85) - Franzen (1.15)

Ellis (.475) - Kopecky(0.525) - Asham(.7)

Downey (.475)

Lidstrom(7) - Rafalski(6.5)

Kronwall(3) - Vandermeer(2.5)

Lilja(1) - Chelios(.8)

Quincey (.5)

Brzgalov(3)

Osgood (1.5)

approx 50M

bryzgalov 3 million??? thats a dream , it'll never happen , zetterberg is making 2.650 and rafalski 6 mill , dont know why you boosted their salaries , 2.5 for vandermeer ?? ill pass id rather bring in a cheaper ericsson whos a big body and got some nice potential , and why get rid of hudler ??

hes been really impressive this season , to me anyways and im really impressed with how he improved his skating , hes only gonna get better

Edited November 26, 2007 by wingswillwincup

[Flip-check 6]

id personally rather keep filppula and franzen out of those 4 guys and cleary can easily get 2-3 million a yr and were likely gonna have to be really tight with the cash especially with the off season signing of rafalski

hossa and brysgalov arent an option as well as big stars unless we do some crazy trade or lidstrom takes a nice paycut , phoenix has nothing theyll easily offer bryzgalov 5 - 6 per

I think $3 is a little on the high side. Draper's cap hit this year is like 2.1 and next year he'll be 1.8 or something.

I'd say somewhere around a high 1 max. And I'm not sure what it'd take to get Hossa, but considering he'd be a rental... he's probably a lot more attainable than some would think.

It just depends what kind of deal the Thrashers want in return, picks/players or a combination of both.

Edited November 26, 2007 by Flip-check

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Here's the ones I would look at:

Bryzgalov: Probably going to re sign. He's got a chance to shine now and he will.

Hossa: Why wouldn't you want this guy. Money the only issue here

Forget the RFA's. I don't think Holland would do that to another GM

As for the rest, there aren't many players I would like due to their style. For instance, Ryder would look pretty good but he's not dirty enough, same with JP Dumont.

Most of the other forwards are passed their prime or we don't have much chance of signing like a Sakic.

Truly, and this guy isn't on the list but somebody just like Gary Roberts only 10 years younger would be my first choice.

Hossa would be great, but man would the Wings have to clear house to fit his salary in, especially when you factor in Zetterberg re-signing after the 09 season.

They'd have at least 20 mill in salary tied up in Z, Dats and Hossa. And I'm guessing Lids will still get a decent chunk.