Rolston or Sundin.

[babygorilla 1]

I would rather go after Rolston than Sundin. Mats is a hell of a player, but the money he would eat up with this young would scare me in the long run. I would rather the Wings stick with the younger guys, and maybe pickup a cheaper UFA. Yet, if it came down to Mats or Rolston, I like Rolston. Thoughts?

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Sundin gives us a right handed shot that we don't have (with all disrespect intended at Sammy), and he's motivated to win his first Cup, which will rub off on the rest of the team.

Plus, he's Swedish, which will mold well with the rest of the team.

Oh and don't forget. He's better than Rolston is.

[Barrie 900]

I think our first priorities are to sign Zetterberg and Franzen long term before we think of Free Agents. After signing Z and Franzen, we'll know who we can afford to add to the team.

[rick zombo 3,739]

Sundin would perhaps be willing to sign a 1 year deal. Which would be perfect.

Both players would fit in well in Detroit's system.

[Barrie 900]

Sundin would perhaps be willing to sign a 1 year deal. Which would be perfect.

Both players would fit in well in Detroit's system.

If Sundin wants a one year deal, I'd sign him. More than that, pass, we probably can't keep his, Zetterberg's, and Franzen's contracts under the cap.

[PaVel DaTsYuK fan13 0]

No. No big aquisitions, don't mess with the chemistry. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[egroen 384]

Rolston would be great if Stuart walks...

Otherwise, I would love to have Sundin for one year.

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

if stuart walks than. in my book holland would HAVE to go after one of these guys. I think sundin would fit in well with the swedes of course so a 1 year deal would be awesome. as much as I want to see him win a cup, I would hate to see him leave toronto. but if he is going to leave than id much rather have him on our team than on the opponents team. with that said I think rolston is a little better fit. if drake retires we have an open slot for forward on our 3rd or 4th line. if we sign rolston we can move sammy down to the 3rd or 4th line where he belongs. rolston can play any 3 of the forward positions, and quite effectively at that! he can also replace sammy on the point during a pp. he's got a shot twicw as powerful and is much more accurate. plus he won't aim for the logo on the goiles chest!plus if stuart does walk it weakens our defense a bit. rolston is a great 2 way forward and would help out in our own zone. he plays great defense while still posting above avereage offensive numbers. he has had three great seasons with the wild who are a dump and chase team without a lot of offensive force. I think if you put rolston on our 2nd line and allow him to play our puck posession style he could have some high scoring years here in detroit. plus he's a flint native. gotta love that. if stuart walks, than we need one. I love sundin, but rolston would fit the mold better for us in my opinion.

[LeftWinger 4,967]

...listen, I've been one of the biggest Holland bashers on here, and if I can turn the coin over, then anyone can. IF Stuart walks, if he stays, doesn't matter, Holland will find the right people to do the job. About half of us were upset when Scneider walked and even when Holland signed Rafalski some of us were saying how he wasn't as good. How did that work out? Heck, for most for most of the year Lids and Rafi were #1 and 2 in defensive scoring. If Rafi has another season like the last, he just may challenge Lidstrom for a Norris. How good does Holland look. It's not the star you sign, it's the type of player (at least in Detroit.) We have our stars, we have a great goaltender (we'll see if he can keep that up next year) what do we need? We need someone who will compliment our team. Rolston or Sundin, which one would. Well Rolston has won a Cup, he has the experience and veteren leadership and is still pretty young. Sundin is Swedish, he knows these guys preety good. There's no doubt that he would fit in the system with the rest of his National Team.

...the following sounds like a good plan to me. Probably won't happen but unlike past years, I will not bash Holland:

...you want to save as much money as possible for Zetterberg/Franzen, but, you also would like to ice a similar team to the one that played so well together as a unit and increase your chances of repeating. Here are some options. #1 Brad Stuart wants to stay, but not sure about a long term contract because of his family, that's fine, even for me Family comes first, so offer him a 1 year deal worth $4 to $4.5 million to stay on a try to repeat. If it works, then Stuart can go home with two Stanley Cups under his belt and play out his carrer in LA. If it doesn't work, then at least you don't have Stuart long term and you still have all your cap money for Zetterberg in '09. #2. Mats Sundin wants a Cup, badly! He wants to go somewhere he has the best chance, not many better chances than here, plus he would get 2nd line icetime, plus powerplay and maybe even 1st line with Zetterberg and Holmstrom. Offer him a 1 year deal at 6-7 million to come in and get his Cup, if it does't work out than he returns to Toronto or stays on here (for a lot less money) to try again. If it does work out (ala Dallas Drake) then he can retire and go back to Toronto to live out his days. Still plenty of money for Zetterberg. #3 Sign Rolston to a 3 year deal worth about 3-3.5 million. Why 3 years? He's a hometown guy, may take discount to come here for longer years and what's better than winning a championship while playing for your childhood team? Plus he is still young enough to keep around for a few years and he'll probably stay on after the 3 year contract to finish his career. Much like Rafalski will more than likely do. (both at a discount)

...sure this would happen in a perfect world, but hey I did say it was a plan, not an action set in stone...

...Drake, Lilja and McCarty would have to go. Kopecky and Downey would split the 13th role and Chelios/Quincy/Meech can split the 7th defensman role. Maybe Chelios just steps in as Asst. Coach...

1. Sundin Zetterberg Holmstrom

2. Rolston Datsyuk Franzen

3. Cleary Filpulla Hudler

4. Sammy Draper Helm

13. Kopecky/Downey/Maltby

1. Lidstrom Rafalski

2. Kronwall Stuart

3. Ericsson Lebda

7. Chelios/Quincey/Meech

...or if you wanted to keep Lilja, you could trade Quincey or Meech for some draft picks. Same with Kopecky if you wanted to give Abdelkader a spot, but I think he will tear up GRR this season, so let him get the playing time down there instead of riding the pine here...

...now if the Wings go out and sign a goaler, like Kolzig, then you would have Osgood and Kolzig wth Howard seeing some games here and there. He needs to play though, so either keep him in GRR again to keep getting experience of leave Kolzig alone and let Howard and Osgood play half and half....

...ok, sorry for the long post, but salary cap wise, that scenario should work and we gain BOTH Rolston and Sundin. As well as retaining Stuart...

...interesting times for the Wings, either way, they get better!

...and if you cannot retain Stuart or sign Sundin or Rolston. You always have Quincey/Abdelkader/Meech etc... oh, and yo can just bring Fedorov back home for a year to finish his career... Pretty good back-up plans if you ask me...

Edited June 19, 2008 by LeftWinger

[Glubki 17]

Here is an updated article on Rolston which says he is believed to be looking for 4-5 million annually and he indicates this will be his last contract. I don't see how the Wings can sign him to a 3-4 year deal for that amount. They have some cap space but Holland has already indicated a #4 defenseman will be his top priority whether it be Stuart or another UFA. That leaves 2.5 to 3 million tops for a forward in any long term deal with Z's and Franzen's deals expiring next year.

Sundin for 1 year is the more likely deal here and Kenny may just sit pat on a forward until the trade deadline to see how things develop...

Rolston Article: http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/205...hlightModules:3

[superdeluxe 0]

Need a veteran that needs a cup, Its always to have some motivation!

[Guest mindfly]

If we got Sundin i would bet my balls we would win back-to-back cups... i just hope he doesnt care about the money and he got real hungry for the cup.. sundin is a true leader and an excellent player (only swedish 1st overall draft-pick too)

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

Here is an updated article on Rolston which says he is believed to be looking for 4-5 million annually and he indicates this will be his last contract. I don't see how the Wings can sign him to a 3-4 year deal for that amount. They have some cap space but Holland has already indicated a #4 defenseman will be his top priority whether it be Stuart or another UFA. That leaves 2.5 to 3 million tops for a forward in any long term deal with Z's and Franzen's deals expiring next year.

Sundin for 1 year is the more likely deal here and Kenny may just sit pat on a forward until the trade deadline to see how things develop...

Rolston Article: http://www.startribune.com/sports/wild/205...hlightModules:3

Well ifi the Wild continue to low ball Rolston, knowing that hes not going to take a discount to play for the wild, than i dont see any reason that he wouldnt come to detroit if holland threw him a decent contract for 3-4 years or so i think he would take it. Am i saying hes going to take a contract for 4 years at 2.5 mil? No prob not. But if you threw 3.5-4 mil with some bonuses i think he would jump on board. I like him and i hope he shows up in a wings Uniform for next year.

[Dabura 12,207]

if stuart walks than. in my book holland would HAVE to go after one of these guys.

Stuart walking would, if anything, make it even less likely that either of these guys will be with the Wings this season. Stuart would leave a significant hole in the roster, one that wouldn't be filled by Sundin or Rolston, and one that might ultimately cost a pretty good sum of $ to patch up.

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

Stuart walking would, if anything, make it even less likely that either of these guys will be with the Wings this season. Stuart would leave a significant hole in the roster, one that wouldn't be filled by Sundin or Rolston, and one that might ultimately cost a pretty good sum of $ to patch up.

We have a huge overload on defense right now, i dont think that if we lose Stuart it will leave a HUGE hole. I think we can let our young guys who need the expereince play, however if signing a defensmen would please you for our #4 hole, than we should go do it. I think Stuart is a great player, but if he wants 1st or 2nd Dman Money, to me its not worth it, plus he doesnt want to be here anyways more than likely. So if you want to g out and get a 4th Dman than by all means do it, but even if we do i think we would still have enough money to sign Sundin to a one year contract or sign Rolston for a long term at 4 mil a year. The cap will go up enough, and i think we would be ok. I dont think losing Stuart would weaken any chances of getting a Defenseive forward who can score like rolston. It would free up 2.5 mil of cap which in my book would strengthen a signing of Rolston or Sundin.

[ethier_marc 1]

forget sundin i want naslund

[Dabura 12,207]

I think we can let our young guys who need the expereince play, however if signing a defensmen would please you for our #4 hole, than we should go do it.

It's not about "pleasing" me.

Bottom line: the Wings won the Cup because of the strength of their top-4 more than anything else. You take away Stuart (who, for the record, I don't think is worth retaining at the price he's rumored to be asking for), and the top-4 is likely going to be weakened -- unless someone is brought in from the outside.

People keep saying, "We have a logjam on the back end!" To that I say, "Sure, maybe in the regular season." Point being, it's nice to talk about a youth movement, but come the playoffs, is Meech or Quincey or any of the other guys on the lower end of the depth chart going to be able to hold down that #3/#4 spot en route to another Cup this coming season? Who knows, maybe a guy like Meech will pull a Franzen and step up big. My original point was merely this: should Stuart leave, Kenny -- who has been extremely cautious in this new cap world -- is probably going to set aside some reserve cash for a potential D signing so that if a regular season youth movement on the blue line doesn't put our top 4/5 where it should be by the trade deadline, he can then go out and get a quality guy ($$$) for the job.

Signing Sundin or Rolston would make this a difficult task. As much as I'd like to see Sundin in the Winged Wheel this coming season, Stuart leaving would leave a legitimate hole in the roster. Doing what it takes to get that hole adequately filled by the trade deadline would be more important than going out and getting a high-priced forward, imo.

[VM1138 1,921]

I would rather go after Rolston than Sundin. Mats is a hell of a player, but the money he would eat up with this young would scare me in the long run. I would rather the Wings stick with the younger guys, and maybe pickup a cheaper UFA. Yet, if it came down to Mats or Rolston, I like Rolston. Thoughts?

Rolston would fit well here. Sundin would, too, but I'm not sure if he's really a good player anymore. I'm not saying he's not, just that Ih ave no idea how his last two seasons have gone. And he'd be expensive.

[Dabura 12,207]

Sundin is playing some of the best hockey of his career -- and on a spectacularly awful team, at that. He's still very much an elite forward.

[ethier_marc 1]

naslund naslund naslund

[VM1138 1,921]

We've got depth on D, but I don't know why people are so hell bent on dismantling our defense and trusting our season to a bunch of Griffins. The idea is to bring one up at a time, not the entire defensive squad. Stuart would be a huge hole, he was crucial for us and he'll need to be replaced somehow.

[Anomalously 0]

Rolston would fit well here. Sundin would, too, but I'm not sure if he's really a good player anymore. I'm not saying he's not, just that Ih ave no idea how his last two seasons have gone. And he'd be expensive.

I didn't see any Maple Leafs games this year, so this is what I'm going by: 32 goals, 46 assists, 78 points, 74 games. +17 on a team that was -29 overall (GA minus GF) and -4 (even strength). Still plays 20 minutes/game.

[Anomalously 0]

Also want to add on another topic: Stuart was a rental. Rental players can be had every deadline. And they're usually fairly cheap. Not saying we could get that player, but they're usually commodities to be had.

It's a gamble, but we did have that significant hole in our D all season last go-around with quite a bit of success. We were first overall when Stuart got here. It's not like we have to have this guy all year long.

[mad dingo 6]

What are peoples thoughts on Paul Mara?

Hes only 27.

[Hank Dats 'N Homer 81]

It's not about "pleasing" me.

Bottom line: the Wings won the Cup because of the strength of their top-4 more than anything else. You take away Stuart (who, for the record, I don't think is worth retaining at the price he's rumored to be asking for), and the top-4 is likely going to be weakened -- unless someone is brought in from the outside.

People keep saying, "We have a logjam on the back end!" To that I say, "Sure, maybe in the regular season." Point being, it's nice to talk about a youth movement, but come the playoffs, is Meech or Quincey or any of the other guys on the lower end of the depth chart going to be able to hold down that #3/#4 spot en route to another Cup this coming season? Who knows, maybe a guy like Meech will pull a Franzen and step up big. My original point was merely this: should Stuart leave, Kenny -- who has been extremely cautious in this new cap world -- is probably going to set aside some reserve cash for a potential D signing so that if a regular season youth movement on the blue line doesn't put our top 4/5 where it should be by the trade deadline, he can then go out and get a quality guy ($$$) for the job.

Signing Sundin or Rolston would make this a difficult task. As much as I'd like to see Sundin in the Winged Wheel this coming season, Stuart leaving would leave a legitimate hole in the roster. Doing what it takes to get that hole adequately filled by the trade deadline would be more important than going out and getting a high-priced forward, imo.

I didnt mean that so dont take it that way. When i said "if it would please you" i just meant that i understood where you were coming from, i wasnt trying to be a smart ass. haha just so we got that straight.

Anyways, the way i look at it is we didnt have Stuart all the first half of the season, and he went down with injury pretty quickly once he got here, so we practically played the whole season with him as our #4 Dman. Even without stuart we still finished with the best record in the NHL. He did well in playoffs, and i hate making bold assumptions like this, but i think we would have been ok without him in the playoffs. Like i said i HATE making those assumptions but i think we were good enough before him and he just pushed us completely over the top. I still like the idea of signing a defensive forward like rolston or a veteran guy like sundin, and let our young guys play a bit in the back, but i think it would be smart to save some cash incase we need a better Dman at the deadline. But thats just me. holland is a very reasonable guy which means he probably wont be looking to me for any advice haha.