Hossa.....WOW

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

Hossa continues to remind of me of Sergei Fedorov in his prime. He has a huge burst of speed, a missile shot, is great at moving the puck, and pretty solid in his own zone (though not quite on Feds level).

I hope we see him stay, but I really don't want to get rid of Franzen. Mule is the kind of guy that wins you championships, as much as any superstar.

[ZETTERBERGPWN 2]

The question is, would you rather see Hossa, Franzen, or Zetterberg walk?

i like franzen but id choose hossa and z over him =/

[Guest lnvincible]

i like franzen but id choose hossa and z over him =/

You see to me , this is very hard. Franzen or Hossa? But from my point of view i much raither have Hossa. He brings people TO the joe, but Franzen is very gifted and great player for Detroit but you gotta go with scoring over grit and power. We still have ALOT of young gunners that im excitied to see in the future. We'll see what happens, maybe the salary cap will rise and they keep him? Time will tell.

[RedWingsRox 614]

As much as I like Hossa and the fact that he is unreal, I like the Red Wings culture - loyalty, groom from within, winning over $$. Ideally, it would be great to keep everyone but since we can't, I'd like to think we will keep Z, Franzen, Datsyuk, and Holmstrom ... afterall, we won the Cup without Hossa.

[VM1138 1,921]

...Always been a Hossa fan, but now that he is a Wing, even more. Sadly, unless he takes a very minimal payday, he will not be around. And sadly for Franzen, if Hossa does take that minimal salary, HE won't be around. You have the SO-CALLED cap to thank for that! Here you have marginal players singing around the league for 5 million dollars, so if he sniffs 30 goals, he could easily get more than that elsewhere. Would ALL three sign on for a discount? I could see Zetterberg and Franzen doing so, but unless they win the Cup, Hossa is the tricky one. Here's to hoping we re-sign all three, but reality says...

...all depends on what Franzen and Hossa are looking for. Franzen for Filpulla money and Hossa for less than Zetterberg...

Couldn't we dump Filpulla, Hudler, Sammy, etc.? Those players are good, but they're replaceable, and probably for cheaper salaries if we do our "dumpster hunt" for hidden talent again.

I've never been good at udnerstanding the business side, but why would we HAVE to get rid of Franzen or Hossa, and not be able to keep both?

[96Homer 0]

As much as I love having Hossa, I would rather see him go. Guys like franzen are hard to come by and we have two of the best in Franzen and Homer. Maybe Hossa will be so hungry to win that he'll take a lesser amount of $$ to be with the wings.

I totally agree with this! I mean if Hossa REALLY wants to win, just maybe he will take a pay cut like so many other wings before him have.

Edited November 15, 2008 by 96Homer

[shannyfan1414 0]

Hossa is the man this year and he is becoming one of my favorite players on the team quickly. It sucks because he probably wont be here and frankly i hope he is gone. Z can never wear another NHL jersey other then the winged wheel. The Mule is a guy that we need to keep around because he is so good in front of the net and once Homer is done we will really want to make sure we have a guy to fill his shoes. Mule is number two on that list so we might as well hold on to the second best crease player.

Would love to hear on July 1 2009 that Kenny made a deal that allowed us to keep all three of them. My fingers are crossed.

[The Mule 0]

Hoss continues to impress me more and more every game.

[shoe 165]

Franzen is kinda injury prone I wonder if that will have anything to do with managements decisions. Franzen has been scoring when he is playing it looks like he will have a good year and if he has another playoff like last year wow he sure will make things difficult for management the decision is already hard enough.

I really like Franzen he is Detroits own they drafted him molded him taught him coached him and watched him develop sure would be hard to let him go to free agency. Hossa is doing a lot of good things and really filling up the net here I say we enjoy this while we have it and worry about this stuff after the playoffs.

[The Mule 0]

Franzen is kinda injury prone I wonder if that will have anything to do with managements decisions. Franzen has been scoring when he is playing it looks like he will have a good year and if he has another playoff like last year wow he sure will make things difficult for management the decision is already hard enough.

I really like Franzen he is Detroits own they drafted him molded him taught him coached him and watched him develop sure would be hard to let him go to free agency. Hossa is doing a lot of good things and really filling up the net here I say we enjoy this while we have it and worry about this stuff after the playoffs.

Franzen is not "injury prone." From what I recall, all of his injuries have been freak accidents that could happen to any player at any time.

[Z and D for the C 712]

It's hard to think anything other than "wow" in complete awe when it comes to Hossa. He's incredible.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Couldn't we dump Filpulla, Hudler, Sammy, etc.? Those players are good, but they're replaceable, and probably for cheaper salaries if we do our "dumpster hunt" for hidden talent again.

I've never been good at udnerstanding the business side, but why would we HAVE to get rid of Franzen or Hossa, and not be able to keep both?

The problem is that front loading a team with 3 uber high price forwards and maintaining 2 5million+ d-men leaves a barebones roster and handcuffs you in terms of retaining home grown talent.

Franzen does bring a completely different element than Hoss or Z. And we all know Holmer can't play forever, so we need a big, strong net presence. Franzen is that player. He excelled at it during the end of last season, he excelled at it in the playoffs and he still excels at it.

Like another poster mentioned- Hossa is the same player as Dats and Z. I just don't see how the Wings can have Dats, Z and Hossa on this team while Lids is still here and still have a great team surrounding them.

That being said- Filppula's being grossly overpaid right now (although the Wings management sees this as a Kronwall situation- pay lots early and have a great player at a discount for the other half of the contract) and Cleary is very much the odd man out in terms of replaceable players with salaries large enough to make a difference if replaced with a league max salaried rookie.

The "trade Lebda, trade Sammy, trade Hudler, trade Lilja" calls don't make sense. These guys make almost nothing- you're not going to get relief by dumping them because someone has to come in and take their place. Putting aside the difference in talent, ability, chemistry, etc, you're still only saving a few hundred grand at the most and you're probably not going to make the team worse. The Wings need to find 8-9 million just to keep Franzen and Z. Plus they have to magically give Hudler a similar contract to Filppula (and trust me- they do need the offensive depth he provides- offensive prospects that translate to 50+pts a season aren't a dime a dozen).

[glasgowcelticwing 18]

I've always been a huge fan of Hossa myself since his days as a Sen and always wanted him as a Wing now he's with us he's putting himself on show and proving he's one of the premier players in the NHL right now. Here's hoping that Kenny can pull off a miracle and get him tied up to a longer term deal without sacrificing any of our key players.

[KrazyGangsta 79]

Like someone else said, you can't invest big money for 4 - 5 star players ... some of them you just got to let go unless they want to stay ... If we sign hossa zetterber franzen and trade flips ... hudz samy ... will be looking alot more like ottawa rolling with one line ...

I can tell you this tho... If the wings win the cup this year which I Really hope they do I would assume the chances of lidstrom retiring would be very possible, leaving a champion ... which would leave us more then enough room to sign hossa zetterber franzen ... etc ...

[Bannedforlife 403]

The "trade Lebda, trade Sammy, trade Hudler, trade Lilja" calls don't make sense. These guys make almost nothing- you're not going to get relief by dumping them because someone has to come in and take their place. Putting aside the difference in talent, ability, chemistry, etc, you're still only saving a few hundred grand at the most and you're probably not going to make the team worse. The Wings need to find 8-9 million just to keep Franzen and Z. Plus they have to magically give Hudler a similar contract to Filppula (and trust me- they do need the offensive depth he provides- offensive prospects that translate to 50+pts a season aren't a dime a dozen).

Not exactly accurate. You trade Lebda because he is being paid 650k and making the team worse. We've already replaced him with Meech (483k) and we're carrying both of their salaries anyway. Trade Lilja and his 1.25 million dollar salary because you have a cheaper defenceman with more upside and cheaper salary in Ericsson waiting in the wings and out of waiver options after this year (I believe). Let Sammy (1.2 mil or more) and Hudler (2-2.5 mil) walk via free agency because they will be due for raises next year and are replaceable with cheaper guys with more upside, Leino (875K) and Helm (599k). Let Conklin go for Howard, let Chelios go for obvious reasons. The only hard decision is trading Filppula, but if its a decision between Filppula and this

Holmstrom - Datsyuk - Hossa

Franzen - Zetterberg - Leino

Cleary - Draper - Maltby

Abdelkader - Helm - McCarty

Kopecky

Lidstrom - Rafalski

Kronwall - Stuart

Ericsson - Meech

Osgood

Howard

for the next 4 or 5 years, I'd pack Filppula's bags for him...

[pjgj13 30]

If Hossa keeps up the scoring like he has so far, he wil win the MVP. So far he has been unstoppable. Has 3 or 4 2-goal games.

As far as next season goes, no one will make more than Lidstrom. I think Hossa and Z will take 7 mil each and Franzen will get 3 or 4. That being said, I think (and sad to say) that DMac, Draper, Maltby, Sammy, Lilja, Kopecky, Lebda and Chelli are gone. That will free up quite a bit of cap space and with the young guys in Grand Rapids moving up and not making the big bucks, we will be fine.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

If Hossa keeps up on this pace it's hard to see how he won't price himself off the Wings' roster. Which is a shame, since he and Pavel have clicked marvelously, and he can easily do it on his own when he's in a zone like right now.

[adamic 0]

You can thank the socialist NHL caps for this. Hossa is great but we won the Stanley Cup without him. And against him. I'm thankful to have him here this year. I think that decision would be up to him and Z and Fran. Z deserves to be paid. Period. So does Fran.

[Reilly 24]

No, I'll take Zetterberbg, Franzen, and Hudler over Hossa anyday. You need depth to win in this league.

The Wings can keep Hossa, but they'd need to get rid of Stuart, Cleary, and Filppula, and I just don't see that happening

[stevie for president 42]

Do you think its possible for Franzen, Hossa, and Zetterberg to take a really big discount to stay here? Hossa turned down over 70 million! Zetterberg is being ripped off like none other though. he should get a-rod money!

I just thought of something...what if Zetterberg signs a 20 year deal worth $100 million. Thats a $5 million cap hit. Well front load the hell out of it like lecaveliers contract so 10-15 years from now he retires and he comes off the books.

The only risk is if he isnt worth a $5 million cap hit 10-15 years from now.

[RedWingNut378 0]

The question is, would you rather see Hossa, Franzen, or Zetterberg walk?

I would say Franzen... but everyone needs to remember what he did for us last season." Thanks for putting a huge effort towards us winning the cup, but were gonna have to cut you... ".. I'd have to say cut hossa.

[rage 24]

here is a crazy idea that will never happen...

assuming Lidstrom retires after next season, Hossa, Zetterberg, and Franzen each sign 1 yr, $5 mill deals. This fits under the cap (hopefully), and then they can get the raises they deserve after Lidstrom's salary is off the books. Just my way to hope that we can keep all 3.

Yeah, it will never happen. Know why? Because you don't ask your franchise player to agree to retire a year after you make 1 year contracts with other key players on the team.

This team with or without Hossa/Dats/Zetts/Franzen/Homer would be s*** without Lidstrom. Bottom Line.

Not exactly accurate. You trade Lebda because he is being paid 650k and making the team worse. We've already replaced him with Meech (483k) and we're carrying both of their salaries anyway. Trade Lilja and his 1.25 million dollar salary because you have a cheaper defenceman with more upside and cheaper salary in Ericsson waiting in the wings and out of waiver options after this year (I believe). Let Sammy (1.2 mil or more) and Hudler (2-2.5 mil) walk via free agency because they will be due for raises next year and are replaceable with cheaper guys with more upside, Leino (875K) and Helm (599k). Let Conklin go for Howard, let Chelios go for obvious reasons. The only hard decision is trading Filppula, but if its a decision between Filppula and this

Holmstrom - Datsyuk - Hossa

Franzen - Zetterberg - Leino

Cleary - Draper - Maltby

Abdelkader - Helm - McCarty

Kopecky

Lidstrom - Rafalski

Kronwall - Stuart

Ericsson - Meech

Osgood

Howard

for the next 4 or 5 years, I'd pack Filppula's bags for him...

Problem with this is your last sentence.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

OMG we got Hossa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, got nothing better to say other than what other than the tagline other members said about him in the offseason.

[donfishmaster 62]

Thank you. Finaly somebody pointed that out. Franzen is a big guy that crashes the net and has great hands. A lot like Homer. Hossa plays a similar game as Pav and Z.

Homer is 36. Franzen has to be his replacement. We have 3 similar guys in Hoss, Z and Pav.

So logically, Hoss goes.

And NO I don't think Mule is more talented than Hoss, but he brings something that we only have in Homer.

Well said and my thoughts exactly.

PLUS, we're keeping on players out of pure loyalty who are perhaps not at maximal function (although kudos to Malts for his recent efforts.) I think Franzen has earned some loyalty, which is a long-term investment...if players around the league see the Wing's loyalty (which they do) it will be easier in the future to get quality guys to come here.

Still, Hossa is a monster.

[JoeBuddy 10]

Maybe the government will bail us out.

I died laughing!!