KrazyGangsta 79 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 I've been seeing a lot in the forums that people want Rafalski to be traded. I personally think that would be move. He is playing pretty decently, he has 3-4 pts less then the leading defensemen in the league. He could possibly win the Norris this year, why would you want him traded? Lidstrom is getting older each day he will eventually retire and if he doesn't I'm sure he will take a pay cut of course depending on his ice time / peformance. In the scenario of Lidstrom retiring in 2 years, if Rafalski we're to be traded who would be are best defensemen left? Kronwall? Stuart? Lilja? Yes there pretty good at there current positions but none of them could probably be a Norris candidate, probably only Kronwall but he will need much more ice time and to perform a couple of levels of how his performing now. Rafalski is much needed for this team, specially after Lidstrom retires which will eventually happen. No need to trade him on top of that his not even playing bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevkrause 1,247 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 The only reason I could see making this move, is that Rafalski isn't exactly a young buck himself either and we have a logjam at D... if we trade him and it allows us to keep Hossa and Franzen, then I'm ALL for it... if we can't make that kind of step, then no... I also say we deal Lebda for anything.... think about it, even if we let him go... next year: Lidstrom-Lilja Kronwall-Stuart Meech-Ericsson Chelios (if he comes back) or another free agent vetern who's willing to take a reduced role I have no prob with that if our O looks like this after the deal next year... (also in my perfect scenario, Maltby retires and we let Samuelsson walk) Hossa-Zetterberg-Cleary Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Franzen Leino-Helm-Hudler Kopecky-Draper-Abdelkader Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ms_Hockey 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 (edited) One minor complication. Rafalski has a no-trade clause in his contract. Datsyuk, Draper, Lidstrom, Stuart, Cleary & Rafalski all have them. Edited January 22, 2009 by Ms_Hockey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
egroen 384 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 You don't have to worry about Refalski being traded as he has a no-trade clause. He is a great defenseman, who unfortunately on this team is constantly compared to one of the top 5 defensemen of all time in Lidstrom. Rafalski makes mistakes, but he is more than capable defensively, superb on the power play and capable of logging solid PK time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nogood 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 Rather have Bouwmeester.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PROBIE4PREZ 58 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 his 6 million dollar contract is why i want him moved. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mjlegend 155 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 Rather have Bouwmeester.. I'd rather have a proven winner. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Datsyerberger 279 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 One minor complication. Rafalski has a no-trade clause in his contract. Datsyuk, Draper, Lidstrom & Rafalski all have them. Don't forget Cleary and Stuart. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Konnan511 1,736 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 (edited) his 6 million dollar contract is why i want him moved. What about in a year or two when Lids retires and the cap is down another half dozen million? 6 million for your number 1 D-Man sounds pretty good. So if Lids and Rafs are gone, who is your number 1 D-man? Kronners, lol no? Stuart, lol no? Where are we going to find an extra 60 points from a d-man, or an extra 70 points from a lidstrom? hard to make up 130 points from your top pairing D-men when you replace them with 30 point and 15 point Kronners and Stu. Not too mention, Kronners is our only top-6 D-Man in the negatives in regards to +/-. Edited January 22, 2009 by Konnan511 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ms_Hockey 0 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 Don't forget Cleary and Stuart. Edited as you have, once again, proven me wrong. I'm such a hockey noob compared to you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 Rather have Bouwmeester.. And I'd rather have Pronger and Phaneuf for a combined 6 million, but we have what we have. Rafalski does a great job, and is secrutenized much to much, but what are you gonna do being on the top team in the league playing next to a hall of famer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blueliner 69 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 The only reason I could see making this move, is that Rafalski isn't exactly a young buck himself either and we have a logjam at D... if we trade him and it allows us to keep Hossa and Franzen, then I'm ALL for it... if we can't make that kind of step, then no... I also say we deal Lebda for anything.... think about it, even if we let him go... next year: Lidstrom-Lilja Kronwall-Stuart Meech-Ericsson Chelios (if he comes back) or another free agent vetern who's willing to take a reduced role I have no prob with that if our O looks like this after the deal next year... (also in my perfect scenario, Maltby retires and we let Samuelsson walk) Hossa-Zetterberg-Cleary Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Franzen Leino-Helm-Hudler Kopecky-Draper-Abdelkader If we got this lineup by trading Rafalski I'm all for it. The only down side to it is nobody on the team (except Chelios, not sure about Abdelkader) has a right handed shot. They would need a right handed shot. That's why Lidstrom is better with Rafalski than he was with Schneider. Having a right handed shot is very important on the powerplay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VM1138 1,921 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 Until now, I hadn't seen anyone recommend Rafalski for a trade. He's been arguably our best defenseman next to Lidstrom. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMRwings1983 8,803 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 As of last week he was in the top 3 in scoring amongst defensemen. That means he was above Lidstrom in production this year. No reason to trade him, despite the occasional defensive lapses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frozen-Man 144 Report post Posted January 22, 2009 Until now, I hadn't seen anyone recommend Rafalski for a trade. He's been arguably our best defenseman next to Lidstrom. I don't think we should trade him but for $6M and $2.25M more than his next competition he should be the best next to Lidstrom. In fact he should be head and shoulders above the rest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VM1138 1,921 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 I don't think we should trade him but for $6M and $2.25M more than his next competition he should be the best next to Lidstrom. In fact he should be head and shoulders above the rest. So what's the problem? Statistically, he is. ALso, if you combine all the mistakes he's made this season, I'd bet that the big plays he's made more than make up for them. Raffy is, whether we like it or not, one of the elite defensemen in the league. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DatsyukianDeak 0 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 He is from Dearborn, always great to see people from the hometown, PLAY on the hometown team Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norrisnick 1 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 I've been seeing a lot in the forums that people want Rafalski to be traded. I personally think that would be move. He is playing pretty decently, he has 3-4 pts less then the leading defensemen in the league. He could possibly win the Norris this year, why would you want him traded? Lidstrom is getting older each day he will eventually retire and if he doesn't I'm sure he will take a pay cut of course depending on his ice time / peformance. In the scenario of Lidstrom retiring in 2 years, if Rafalski we're to be traded who would be are best defensemen left? Kronwall? Stuart? Lilja? Yes there pretty good at there current positions but none of them could probably be a Norris candidate, probably only Kronwall but he will need much more ice time and to perform a couple of levels of how his performing now. Rafalski is much needed for this team, specially after Lidstrom retires which will eventually happen. No need to trade him on top of that his not even playing bad. No he couldn't. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yzersyukstromberg 0 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 I've been seeing a lot in the forums that people want Rafalski to be traded. I personally think that would be move. He is playing pretty decently, he has 3-4 pts less then the leading defensemen in the league. He could possibly win the Norris this year, why would you want him traded? Lidstrom is getting older each day he will eventually retire and if he doesn't I'm sure he will take a pay cut of course depending on his ice time / peformance. In the scenario of Lidstrom retiring in 2 years, if Rafalski we're to be traded who would be are best defensemen left? Kronwall? Stuart? Lilja? Yes there pretty good at there current positions but none of them could probably be a Norris candidate, probably only Kronwall but he will need much more ice time and to perform a couple of levels of how his performing now. Rafalski is much needed for this team, specially after Lidstrom retires which will eventually happen. No need to trade him on top of that his not even playing bad. There's no way he wins Norris this year....points alone doesn't win the Norris trophy. There are too many strong candidates, includes Lidstrom (obviously), Weber, Chara and several others. He's just not a big enough name to be in the Norris conversation. However, I don't think trading him is a good idea. If you look at the length of his contract, I think it was specifically set up to give the Wings a solid, experienced D-man left in the lineup when Nick does retire.....which could be after the '09-'10 season if he chooses to retire after his current contract (God help us if he does). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Crazy 201 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 I agree the Raffi needs to stay. What about moving Kronner? It would free up 3m in cap space and allow us to bring up a young D man like Meech or Ericsson. If you take .5m to replace Kronner and use the 2.5m to help sign one of our FA this year. I like Kronner but he is playing like hell this year and he is injury prone, I just don't see him as top 2 on this team. I think that with time Meech will be a much better puck moving defenceman although would be giving up a bit of size but 3m is 3m Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VM1138 1,921 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 I agree the Raffi needs to stay. What about moving Kronner? It would free up 3m in cap space and allow us to bring up a young D man like Meech or Ericsson. If you take .5m to replace Kronner and use the 2.5m to help sign one of our FA this year. I like Kronner but he is playing like hell this year and he is injury prone, I just don't see him as top 2 on this team. I think that with time Meech will be a much better puck moving defenceman although would be giving up a bit of size but 3m is 3m Why are we talking about moving our D, which was the best in the world last year? Bringing up AHLers, no matter how great they were last year, will not do anything. We need to keep our Top 4 on D, all else is expendable, but not the top 4. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WingNut 25 5 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 Rafalski is too valuable to move. Dumb thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red Crazy 201 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 Why are we talking about moving our D, which was the best in the world last year? Bringing up AHLers, no matter how great they were last year, will not do anything. We need to keep our Top 4 on D, all else is expendable, but not the top 4. Just looking at it from a cap point of view. Lilja or Lebda being moved will do nothing for the cap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thedisappearer 291 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 Just looking at it from a cap point of view. Lilja or Lebda being moved will do nothing for the cap. DING! For his price and his production, he is an asset. Now, at the end of the contract... well, I think he'll get bought out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KrazyGangsta 79 Report post Posted January 23, 2009 On most nights Rafalski is our 2nd best Dman...Nothing against either Kronwall, or Stuart, but those 2 make a solid #3/#4 pairing, but neither is exactly quite #1/#2 material - yet. My point exactly !!! Rafalski is too valuable to move. Dumb thread. I never stated I'm in favor or want to trade Rafalski, I was just wondering why people want him to trade him. Guess the main reason is his contract ... which I don't think his overpaid knowing how much other GM pay over rated players. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
