Kopitar to Detroit after next year?

[eva unit zero 271]

For another Center?

Filppula is going the other way in my proposal. Dats and Z on the first line, Kopitar and Franzen on the second. It would be great.

And the roster could easily work out as follows:

Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Holmstrom

Franzen/Kopitar/Hudler

Cleary/Abdelkader/Bertuzzi

Maltby/Helm/Draper/Eaves

Lidstrom/Rafalski

Kronwall/Ericsson

Kindl/Lilja (or other similar stay-at-home defenseman)

Meech

Osgood

Larsson

If the Kings would make that deal, I would definitely go for it. Especially if the Wings could get Hudler back on the roster. Z, Kopitar, and Franzen are all locked up for a while. Kronwall in 2012, Hudler in 2012 or 2013 if he comes back as soon as possible, Cleary in 2013, and Dats in 2014 are the only major upcoming raises. That's offset by, among other things, Rafalski's deal being over in 2012, meaning a significant pay decrease, plus Lidstrom making much less than he does now.

So long as the Kings bite, the Wings can take it and run with it.

[Winged_Wheeler 3]

Filppula is going the other way in my proposal. Dats and Z on the first line, Kopitar and Franzen on the second. It would be great.

And the roster could easily work out as follows:

Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Holmstrom

Franzen/Kopitar/Hudler

Cleary/Abdelkader/Bertuzzi

Maltby/Helm/Draper/Eaves

Lidstrom/Rafalski

Kronwall/Ericsson

Kindl/Lilja (or other similar stay-at-home defenseman)

Meech

Osgood

Larsson

If the Kings would make that deal, I would definitely go for it. Especially if the Wings could get Hudler back on the roster. Z, Kopitar, and Franzen are all locked up for a while. Kronwall in 2012, Hudler in 2012 or 2013 if he comes back as soon as possible, Cleary in 2013, and Dats in 2014 are the only major upcoming raises. That's offset by, among other things, Rafalski's deal being over in 2012, meaning a significant pay decrease, plus Lidstrom making much less than he does now.

So long as the Kings bite, the Wings can take it and run with it.

Filppula isn't going anywhere and Hudler is NEVER coming back.

[rage 24]

Filppula is going the other way in my proposal. Dats and Z on the first line, Kopitar and Franzen on the second. It would be great.

And the roster could easily work out as follows:

Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Holmstrom

Franzen/Kopitar/Hudler

Cleary/Abdelkader/Bertuzzi

Maltby/Helm/Draper/Eaves

Lidstrom/Rafalski

Kronwall/Ericsson

Kindl/Lilja (or other similar stay-at-home defenseman)

Meech

Osgood

Larsson

If the Kings would make that deal, I would definitely go for it. Especially if the Wings could get Hudler back on the roster. Z, Kopitar, and Franzen are all locked up for a while. Kronwall in 2012, Hudler in 2012 or 2013 if he comes back as soon as possible, Cleary in 2013, and Dats in 2014 are the only major upcoming raises. That's offset by, among other things, Rafalski's deal being over in 2012, meaning a significant pay decrease, plus Lidstrom making much less than he does now.

So long as the Kings bite, the Wings can take it and run with it.

So what happened to Stuart?

It's a pipe dream anyway. They'll never trade him, especially for Flip.

[eva unit zero 271]

So what happened to Stuart?

It's a pipe dream anyway. They'll never trade him, especially for Flip.

Stuart was part of the hypothetical trade for Kopitar, along with Leino, Flip, and picks (most likely 1sts).

And no, the Kings will not trade Kopitar unless they get huge return. The Leino/Flip/Stuart plus multiple 1st picks was a hypothesis as to what the Kings might go for; two young, skilled forwards who have established chemistry, a veteran top-three defenseman who plays well both ways, and two or three first-round picks.

[Finnish Wing 110]

Stuart was part of the hypothetical trade for Kopitar, along with Leino, Flip, and picks (most likely 1sts).

And no, the Kings will not trade Kopitar unless they get huge return. The Leino/Flip/Stuart plus multiple 1st picks was a hypothesis as to what the Kings might go for; two young, skilled forwards who have established chemistry, a veteran top-three defenseman who plays well both ways, and two or three first-round picks.

You really hate us Finns do you? Kipper was so bad last night against Rangers. He should go to KHL.

[eva unit zero 271]

You really hate us Finns do you? Kipper was so bad last night against Rangers. He should go to KHL.

No. I had to pick players who were good enough and young enough to provide the Kings with something they would be willing to bite on to give up Kopitar for NOW without having to give up Z or Dats. Stuart is pretty much a throw-in to solidify their top-four and even the cap hit, and the picks are there to seal the deal.

Pretty sure Kings wouldn't bite if you replace Flip/Leino with Helm/Franzen, but they might on the two young Finns. As good as Franzen is, he's also 30 years old and he's just like Kessel in the sense that he's scores a ton of goals, but he has yet to show that can happen without a great playmaker on his line. Kopitar needs improvement defensively, but other than that he is the total package. He would score a great deal playing with Dats/Z or May/Maltby. Doesn't matter.

Regarding Kipper...he has good nights, but he is NOT an elite goaltender. He had a good year or two, but that was it. He is, at best, an average starter. With the number of skilled young goaltenders coming in, he might not even be a "starter" if you simply say the top 30 goaltenders in the league are "starter" caliber and nobody else is, but with such a small sample size from these kids it's difficult to judge. Take Steve Mason as an example. He had a hot first half last year, then tapered off considerably but the Mason hype still got him awards he didn't deserve. He was solid in the playoffs, but so far this year he has been outright brutal.

Brian Boucher, Pascal LeClaire, Jim Carey, Andrew Raycroft, Kiprusoff - these guys are all examples of guys who made great first impressions and suddenly after a year or two dropped off considerably from their previous level. Some of them obviously had a greater decline than others, such as Carey dropping from Vezina winner to can't-get-a-contract.

[JasonNewEra 84]

Kopitar isn't coming here. I think what this all is, is him realizing that he is on a team that isn't going anywhere. He wants to play for a contender, and in the end most hockey players want that. He'll get traded or will go to FA where he'll end up on a team that wants to win.

Simple as that.

Zetterberg probably giggled when he heard about this.

[useyourillusion 0]

no way do i want kopitar anywhere near detroit.. he should stay all the way west in LA.

and i definitely don't want any trades involving filppula.. he's a good player plus i just

bought his jersey : P but really, i don't think detroit is going to trade anyone soon...

i hope.

[rage 24]

On October 11, 2008, Kopitar signed a seven-year, $47.6 million contract extension with the Kings.[

[Kwame_Kilpatrick 0]

we can afford a new superstar easily when lidstrom retires which is probably when his current contract is up (end of the year). its good that we dont overpay mediocre players so maybe we can get two good players or one great one, i would like nicklas backstrom or even ryan kesler on the wings

[useyourillusion 0]

thank god for his 7 year contract.. have fun with the kings, ha!

[Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

You really hate us Finns do you? Kipper was so bad last night against Rangers. He should go to KHL.

Who else do you suggest?

Anyways though I know this is a pipe dream, if LA did take the offer Eva suggested i'd be the happiest person alive. We would then have 3 legitment top 15 maybe even top 10 forwards and Franzen as our top 4

[Guest zackmorris]

No new forwards. We have more than enough of them when Franzen, Flip and Williams get back.

What we need to worry about is Lidstrom retiring because unless we're prepared, we'll be proper f***ed when he leaves. We'll have a ton of cash to spend, so we need to work on getting someone like Chara or a big name proven goalie.

[Guest ZetterbergFourty]

I would think after playing in L.A. since he started in the NHL, he might like to stay within the United States. Signing in Detroit rather than Calgary.