What should be done with Filppula?

[Mike 0]

Now that Filppula has been relegated to the lower lines, his level of play has dropped off considerably. Is this a product of playing on the lower lines or has Filppula peaked? If Hossa departs after this season, which is expected, Filppula will most likely regain his position on the second line with Cleary and Franzen while Zetterberg moves back to the first line with Datsyuk and Homer. I myself think that Filppula is not producing because being on the lower lines gets him about 15 minutes a night, if he is lucky. Filppula had a strong showing on the second line last season and I think his numbers would improve dramatically if put back on that second line. Just wondered what everyone else thought.

[TheOwl 77]

Give him until the trade deadline, if he gets better, keep him, if he gets worse, trade him. The Wings need to get some rookies going late this season and next season, can't keep all these guys. Might as well trade him to get something at least. The money could be put to much much better uses, like a goalie, or keeping 2 of the 3 big UFA's, or just give the money to Hudler and Sammy.

I would cry if we lost Leino, getting rid of Flipulla and his big salary and replacing him with Leino on the 3rd/4th line straight up would be a great experiment. He's basically a cheap, and free 1st round draft pick. Don't waste it!!

[Reds4Life 51]

I'd trade him and keep Franzen and Hudler.

[FinRedWing 172]

"I'm sure expectations were raised when he signed that five year, $15 million deal, but it's hard to pile up a lot of points when you're the third-line checking center and don't log any power-play minutes. He's been good defensively and the club isn't disappointed in him or concerned about him"

-Ansar Khan-

[betterREDthandead 58]

"I'm sure expectations were raised when he signed that five year, $15 million deal, but it's hard to pile up a lot of points when you're the third-line checking center and don't log any power-play minutes. He's been good defensively and the club isn't disappointed in him or concerned about him"

-Ansar Khan-

And with good reason. Trade him? Y'all must be crazy. Lost your minds.

[thedisappearer 291]

"I'm sure expectations were raised when he signed that five year, $15 million deal, but it's hard to pile up a lot of points when you're the third-line checking center and don't log any power-play minutes. He's been good defensively and the club isn't disappointed in him or concerned about him"

-Ansar Khan-

This. A million times, this. He was signed to second line money, but then we got Hossa so he slide down. Not his fault, and Kenny knows it. Besides, based upon how much we ***** about him and his contract, is it reasonable to assume other teams are lined up to eat said contract?

[b.shanafan14 733]

Filppula was spectacular on the second line last playoffs, but this season he has looked unconfident. I think Filppula needs to shoot a lot more, he has a really good shot, but for the most part would rather pass it off to the Samuelsson's of the world than take it himself. This was a problem with Pavel until last season. Filppula needs wingers who can finish and some PP time to gain back some confidence. Unfortunately, he won't see that until next season, and even more unfortunate with his cap hit and lack of production, that may be too late.

[Reds4Life 51]

And with good reason. Trade him? Y'all must be crazy. Lost your minds.

Really?

So please tell me how can you keep Franzen, Hudler, Zetterberg, Samuelsson and get no.2 goalie without trading Filppula?

I tried to make an optimistic prediction:

Howard might be there instead of Larsson, but that doesn't help at all (only 100k) and please note that Franzen for 3.5, Hank for 6.7, Huds 2.25 and Sammy for 1.5 are all bargains.

Edited January 22, 2009 by Reds4Life

[GMRwings1983 8,804]

It all depends on what happens with Hossa and Franzen. If they don't re-sign, then he might become valuable.

However, the way he's playing now may mitigate his chances of being that 2nd line forward even if those guys don't come back.

[DatsMyWings13 4]

People always have to trash someone and this year it's Filppula. I was happy when he signed his extension so I'm going to take a wait and see attitude. However if it comes down to Franzen or Flip, I'll take Franzen.

[egroen 384]

I personally do not think Franzen will be back... but if it is even remotely possible to keep both Franzen and Hudler by trading Filppula, you have to do it. That is the only way you can see both those guys back, and I think both of them are more important than Filppula.

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

Shop him. If you get a quality return pull the trigger on a deal, if not then keep him around. I personally don't think that we are at a point were he needs to be moved no matter what.

[2probert4 8]

Now that Filppula has been relegated to the lower lines, his level of play has dropped off considerably. Is this a product of playing on the lower lines or has Filppula peaked? If Hossa departs after this season, which is expected, Filppula will most likely regain his position on the second line with Cleary and Franzen while Zetterberg moves back to the first line with Datsyuk and Homer. I myself think that Filppula is not producing because being on the lower lines gets him about 15 minutes a night, if he is lucky. Filppula had a strong showing on the second line last season and I think his numbers would improve dramatically if put back on that second line. Just wondered what everyone else thought.

They signed Hossa, so his time was cut. He doesn't get PP time due to that also, so lets think about it before we get on here bashing the guy....

[VM1138 1,921]

They signed Hossa, so his time was cut. He doesn't get PP time due to that also, so lets think about it before we get on here bashing the guy....

I'm usually not too hard on players who are developing, but I think it's pretty clear Flip hasn't developed or made any step forward ever since he signed his contract. He was good for us in the playoffs last year, but not as great as expected.

To me, at least, he's a good player, but a tradeable player and someone we can't hang our future on.

[2probert4 8]

Really?

So please tell me how can you keep Franzen, Hudler, Zetterberg, Samuelsson and get no.2 goalie without trading Filppula?

I tried to make an optimistic prediction:

Howard might be there instead of Larsson, but that doesn't help at all (only 100k) and please note that Franzen for 3.5, Hank for 6.7, Huds 2.25 and Sammy for 1.5 are all bargains.

Hank wont be 6.7, Franzen wont be 3.5, Hudler wont be 2.25, Sammy will be gone......

[Datsyerberger 279]

Try Hank 7, an average of Franz + Hudlers contracts at average $3m each (even if its 3.5 one 2.5 the other.. ) which is being very optimistic. Sammy will be gone and replaced by a cheap player, and we lose at least one of Flip, Franzen, and Hudler, and very possibly 2 (the 2 most likely to go, imo, are Flip and/or Hudler.. Flip because he can land us picks/prospects, Hudler because we get picks if we lose him to RFA.. we get nothing for losing Franzen and he's our only big body top 6).

Furthermore, in response to the spreadsheet (admirable effort, by the way), we're more likely to keep Lebda or bring up another d-man then Ritola, so we have 4 defensive pairings on the roster (3 on the ice), which seems to be how the Wings like to practice. Remember Meech is both our 13th forward and our 7th d-man, so we don't need to have a 13th forward (in this case, Ritola) on roster. I also don't think we're going to see Abdelkader full time, yet. If we have an extra forward slot, I think it's more likely we'll see rotated prospects to see who does well in the NHL.

Helm and Leino are almost guaranteed, though. Babs loves both of them.

Anyhow, pardon me for ragging on your contracts, I know you stated they were all bargains and are using that spreadsheet to point out how hard its going to be to keep just ONE of Flip, Hudler, Franzen, Sammy, much less 2 or more. I've made the same numbers argument over and over as of late, as have a few others, and it seems to get promptly ignored.

[Datsyerberger 279]

To me, Flip's biggest strength right now isn't his scoring touch (obviously), but rather, his defensive and PK abilities. Do we really need to burn $3m/yr when we have Dats, Z, Franzen, and Cleary all on the PK who put up better offensive numbers as well, plus veterans Draper and Maltby, plus maybe even Helm? That's 6, maybe 7 reliable PKing forwards, 4 of which put up better offensive numbers, and (after the new contracts are done) 4 of which are cheaper. Unless he really starts lighting the lamp or kicks ass in the playoffs, I see Flip as a tradeable asset.

Even on the 3rd line, Flip is playing with any 2 of Cleary, Hudler, and Sammy.. all of who are putting up better even strength points than he is.

[bonan78 1]

I think it's way too early to give up on him. Sure, expectations went up based on his playoff performance and the new contract, but I agree that getting bumped down to the 3rd line and no PP time are to blame for his numbers. But, it's not all about the numbers. Babcock and Holland have had nothing but positive things to say about him all season, even when he was getting 10 minutes or less in some games. Also, look at his wingers: Samuelsson and Cleary (most of the time), who are shoot-happy, which also explains why he only has 65 SOG in 46 games. If there was concern about his performance, he definitely wouldn't be in the ice at the beginning of every short-handed situation. I understand that this is a business, and if they get an offer that will help the team, I can't fault them for making a deal, but to talk about shopping for trades, or sitting him or sending him down to GR is nuts. He's an important part of the future of this team, and to say he's already peaked is also crazy. He's got the potential to be a Jere Lehtinen-type player for a long time, and I think letting him go at this point will come back to bite us later.

[Datsyerberger 279]

I think it's way too early to give up on him. Sure, expectations went up based on his playoff performance and the new contract, but I agree that getting bumped down to the 3rd line and no PP time are to blame for his numbers. But, it's not all about the numbers. Babcock and Holland have had nothing but positive things to say about him all season, even when he was getting 10 minutes or less in some games. Also, look at his wingers: Samuelsson and Cleary (most of the time), who are shoot-happy, which also explains why he only has 65 SOG in 46 games. If there was concern about his performance, he definitely wouldn't be in the ice at the beginning of every short-handed situation. I understand that this is a business, and if they get an offer that will help the team, I can't fault them for making a deal, but to talk about shopping for trades, or sitting him or sending him down to GR is nuts. He's an important part of the future of this team, and to say he's already peaked is also crazy. He's got the potential to be a Jere Lehtinen-type player for a long time, and I think letting him go at this point will come back to bite us later.

So we keep Flip and Sammy and lose Hudler and Franzen?

Franzen + Flip will be too expensive.

Hudler + Flip will be too expensive.

Sammy is our only option if we keep Flip.

[Z and D for the C 712]

I love flip, he's one of my favorites. I think if he was given a chance he'd do well. He's always impressing me with how he holds the puck in the zone and makes good plays. There is no way he, or anyone on this team, is traded until the playoffs are over.

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

"I'm sure expectations were raised when he signed that five year, $15 million deal, but it's hard to pile up a lot of points when you're the third-line checking center and don't log any power-play minutes. He's been good defensively and the club isn't disappointed in him or concerned about him"

-Ansar Khan-

^ This.

Other teams would kill for the Wings depth right now on offense.

[bonan78 1]

So we keep Flip and Sammy and lose Hudler and Franzen?

Franzen + Flip will be too expensive.

Hudler + Flip will be too expensive.

Sammy is our only option if we keep Flip.

No, I think Sammy is gone, Franzen and Hudler will sign for what they deserve, and Hossa takes his big payday that he put on hold for the sake of winning the Cup. When we win this year, Hossa will go to the highest bidder. Not that I wouldn't mind keeping him long-term, but I can't see it happening, unless by some cruel cosmic joke Zetterberg signs elsewhere (keeping all my fingers and toes crossed that doesn't happen). Hudler and Franzen will get their big contracts, Zetterberg will get what he deserves, and everyone will be happy and keep on winning. You can't really look at this in terms of either-or, especially with Kenny Holland pulling the strings. He'll find a way to keep a winning team together, and he'll reward hard work, loyalty, and success. Bottom line, it's better to have too much depth than not enough.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

I like Flip, but it just seems as if it'd be easier to rotate guys in and out, and maybe even re-sign the more important players with his cap space. It wont happen, so it's a moot point.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

I've always maintained that Flip is simply one of those guys that is more valuable to another team than he is to the Wings. Hes superfluous. Hes offers us nothing that we don't already have in spades. Does that make him unvaluable? Not at all. Who wouldn't want a skilled, fast, two-way center who isn't particularly soft or small? A TON of teams. But to the Wings at this point, there are other players who give us a more balanced, powerful, dynamic presence up front, and they need to be kept before we make accommodations for Flip.

[eva unit zero 271]

Really?

So please tell me how can you keep Franzen, Hudler, Zetterberg, Samuelsson and get no.2 goalie without trading Filppula?

I tried to make an optimistic prediction:

Howard might be there instead of Larsson, but that doesn't help at all (only 100k) and please note that Franzen for 3.5, Hank for 6.7, Huds 2.25 and Sammy for 1.5 are all bargains.

Larsson's cap hit next season is only $635k.