Z down. Who is next for extension?

[FLWINGSFAN4013 5]

Now that Z is down and with a loyalty discount per year. Frazen and Hudler, you are now on the clock.

[KronwallCRUNCH 5]

Ken Holland. 20 year deal.

[Matt 1,049]

Snap judgment* after seeing Zetterberg's deal: He's going to make a very strong pitch to retain Hossa.

(* I'll have to take a good look at the cap page after some sleep and coffee before a I cement that.)

[Broken 16 381]

Snap judgment* after seeing Zetterberg's deal: He's going to make a very strong pitch to retain Hossa.

(* I'll have to take a good look at the cap page after some sleep and coffee before a I cement that.)

I agree...

[Rivalred 630]

Snap judgment* after seeing Zetterberg's deal: He's going to make a very strong pitch to retain Hossa.

(* I'll have to take a good look at the cap page after some sleep and coffee before a I cement that.)

You think Franzen and Hudler are gone?

[Broken 16 381]

You think Franzen and Hudler are gone?

I would say that's entirely up to them. It'll be alot easier to get them to accept lesser salaries given that Z is only making 6 a year. If they REALLY want a payday, they leave. If they want to play on the Red Wings long(ish) term, they may have to accept much lower than market value. I know what I would do...

As far as Hossa goes, he may be in for quite a dilema. On one hand, make ridiculous coin on a team that may not be a serious contender for a long time. Or, make decent coin and spend the next few years playing on a line with Pavel Datsyuk. Sometimes happiness > money. And lets face it... he won't be struggling financially in either scenario.

Of course, there's always the Gaborik factor. I'm not sure how much stock I put in that though.

Edited January 28, 2009 by Broken 16

[FLWINGSFAN4013 5]

You think Franzen and Hudler are gone?

No I meant that it is now time for them to decide on money or winning. Seeing that Z took about a 2 mil less than what he could of gotten on the market.

[NEpats1028 1]

Franzen is a keeper for sure. He's had 2+ good seasons with the team.

Hudler on the other hand is having a career year. Who knows if he'll be this good next year. I think it's too much of a risk to have a 3 mil+ cap hit on Hudler. As much as i love him as a player, i think the Wings can use him to get either a goalie or a defenseman. His value is at the highest it probably will ever get. I think he needs alot of help from his linemates to succeed and i doubt he'll find guys like Sammy and Val anywhere else.

[Majsheppard 203]

3.350 million more on our cap for next year. When you consider that Hossa will not be back because he IS going to play with Gabs next year, that means that we have an extra 3.79 million to work with in dealing with everyone else.

Franzen makes $941,667 and should get near the same deal filpula gets which is 3 flat. That means all that money is gone there. Franzen gets signed and Zetter gets signed for the cost of Zetter and Hossa this year.

I think Hudler will be back somehow, but it will require a little more magic. I think the Filppula for 3 million was a bad deal in hind sight just because he doesn't provide what Jiri or Franzen does so to try and ask for them to take any less then 3 million just doesn't work.

However, I didn't think they would get Zetter to take less then Pavel.

Grab the popcorn.

[Mike 0]

Snap judgment* after seeing Zetterberg's deal: He's going to make a very strong pitch to retain Hossa.

(* I'll have to take a good look at the cap page after some sleep and coffee before a I cement that.)

I'd also have to agree with this. I think Hossa would be willing to take another one year deal for less than he is worth if the Wings make a nice push into the playoffs. Once you get a taste of playoff success, it sticks in your mouth for a long time. Hossa has many years left in the NHL and can make his fortune after having a career year in Detroit next season. I think you can get Franzen to take less, same with Hudler, but I don't think you can keep them both. Maybe dishing Filpula would be able to make that a reality, but I don't know about that. I'd take Hossa over Franzen, if he shows up in the playoffs that is.

[Matt 1,049]

You think Franzen and Hudler are gone?

Don't know. I'd have to look over the cap situation again, but Zetterberg's cap hit is a good $1-2 million what a lot of pundits were predicting he'd get. I think you would've seen shorter term and higher salary if Holland was resigned to losing Hossa, but I don't think he is.

Regardless of who Holland sees as his No. 2 target I think Franzen is going to be a ***** to re-sign and would be shocked if he did so before July 1. Just can't see him doing it -- especially based on his playoff performance last year. Considering the Wings don't negotiate after the regular season I'd be willing to say it's a forgone conclusion he'll wait to July 1st.

I think that legitimately opens the door for Hossa, but alas... the numbers have to make sense. Getting Datsyuk and Zetterberg, two premiere two-way stars, locked up together over the next several years at the bargain rate of $12.7M total should be good incentive to make some concessions to stay, right Marian?

[MacK_Attack 108]

I still think Franzen is heading for UFA. He's never made the huge dollars and needs to cash in while the sun still shines.

You might be able to get Hossa, but that looming cap drop in two years is an issue. Heard one estimation the other day that it could drop below $50 million for 2010/11. There's going to be a lot of empty private boxes come next October.

Some of the guys who hit UFA status this summer are in for a rude awakening.

Edited January 28, 2009 by MacK_Attack

[WingNut 25 5]

Franzen is a keeper for sure. He's had 2+ good seasons with the team.

Hudler on the other hand is having a career year. Who knows if he'll be this good next year. I think it's too much of a risk to have a 3 mil+ cap hit on Hudler. As much as i love him as a player, i think the Wings can use him to get either a goalie or a defenseman. His value is at the highest it probably will ever get. I think he needs alot of help from his linemates to succeed and i doubt he'll find guys like Sammy and Val anywhere else.

God I hate stupid posts. Seriously, why in God's name would the Wings need to trade for a Dman or goalie? Please educate us on this. I'm guessing you have no idea what the farm system looks like for us.

[Matt 1,049]

I still think Franzen is heading for UFA. He's never made the huge dollars and needs to cash in while the sun still shines.

Agreed.

[titanium2 867]

He's probably not next but I think they are definitely going to want Sammy back. Apparently a player who is responsible enough defensively to play the point on the PP and shoot right-handed is rare in the NHL. If they do, he might get a 1mil raise per year.

[bonan78 1]

Franzen is a keeper for sure. He's had 2+ good seasons with the team.

Hudler on the other hand is having a career year. Who knows if he'll be this good next year. I think it's too much of a risk to have a 3 mil+ cap hit on Hudler. As much as i love him as a player, i think the Wings can use him to get either a goalie or a defenseman. His value is at the highest it probably will ever get. I think he needs alot of help from his linemates to succeed and i doubt he'll find guys like Sammy and Val anywhere else.

Agreed. If you're trying to bait the hook for a trade, Hudler will be a lot more enticing based on his explosion this year. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to keep them all, but if you're trying to trade to help the team, one of the bubble teams in the East would much rather get their hands on a RFA whose cap hit is just a hair over 1 mil, who is creative and has looked good on the PP this year, as opposed to a player who's already on a long contract who hasn't put up the numbers he's capable of (granted I think Val could easily have numbers like Huds if it was him getting the PP time). If Hossa decides he wants to stay in Hockeytown, I really think Hudler could be sent packing at the deadline for a pick and a couple of prospects. Get them all together with Kenny, no agents, and let him talk them into deals that fit our cap. If anyone can do it, Holland can.

[gcom007 1,465]

Franzen's been one of my favorites for awhile now and I was calling his stardom well before it hit. He was a ton of fun to watch in the Playoffs last year. It's all grand.

But as soon as we won that Cup and he scored as many goals as he did, I knew he had 1 year left with the team. Again, I'm hopeful that Ken will be Ken and pull a miracle or three from the sky, but I just have a feeling that Franzen's gone. And who could blame him?

[gcom007 1,465]

He's probably not next but I think they are definitely going to want Sammy back. Apparently a player who is responsible enough defensively to play the point on the PP and shoot right-handed is rare in the NHL. If they do, he might get a 1mil raise per year.

He might be back, but no chance in hell he's getting a million dollar raise. Come on...he's been more solid this year, but he'll walk in a heartbeat before he gets a million more.

[redwings1914 18]

I hope Conklin re-ups as well. He is potential trade bait (or Howard) if Howard is ready to play in the bigs next year, and is very much looking like a 1A/1B type goalie at this point in his career.

[gcom007 1,465]

I hope Conklin re-ups as well. He is potential trade bait (or Howard) if Howard is ready to play in the bigs next year, and is very much looking like a 1A/1B type goalie at this point in his career.

I think Howards a lost cause. He can't even seem to play well in the AHL with any consistency. When he didn't make the team this year, I think it became pretty clear what the score is. I'm fine if Conklin re-signs for similar money, but we'll see how the playoffs go and who gets the start, the wins and the losses. If Osgood proves himself again with a strong run when it counts, it won't make much sense to pay Conklin much more money then he's making now to be a backup again. If Osgood fumbles and Conklin comes in and plays well, he'll probably get a raise and a contract if he wants to stay. If they both fumble, bye bye Conklin.

[TheOwl 77]

For arguments sake, Hudler and Franzen for a combined 7 million (that's pushing it), or Hossa for 7 million? You could probably throw Conklin in their with Hudler/Franzen as well. Look at the cap! Just look at it! With Z signing for 7 million, the Wings have about 7 million of space left. That's 7 million for a back-up goalie, and 5!! forwards. The Wings are going to find it nearly impossible to even sign the second big UFA for a decent number.

It becomes perfectly obvious Flipulla and some currently signed player must go. Flipulla's salary could easily just be used to sign 3 rookie's contracts. Flipulla must go for the Wings to even have a chance to sign Franzen or Hossa.

[Yzerman191 37]

Actually, it leaves us with about 9M (and some change). With 9M, we could probably manage to sign Hudler (2), Sammy (1.5), Franzen (4), Conklin (750k), Leino (850k), and Helm (550k). Agreed though, that retaining Hossa (who stands to make at least 6, but 7 is more realistic) is a stretch. If we didn't keep Franzen or Flip, though, it's a possibility.

Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Zetterberg

Franzen-Hudler-Sammy

Cleary-Flippula-Leino

Maltby-Draper-Helm

And Meech could serve as 13th forward and 7th D.

And just to be clear, I used the LGW salary chart and added in Z for 6M a year, leaving us with about 9M.

Edited January 28, 2009 by Yzerman191

[Mike 0]

Actually, it leaves us with about 9M (and some change). With 9M, we could probably manage to sign Hudler (2), Sammy (1.5), Franzen (4), Conklin (750k), Leino (850k), and Helm (550k). Agreed though, that retaining Hossa (who stands to make at least 6, but 7 is more realistic) is a stretch. If we didn't keep Franzen or Flip, though, it's a possibility.

Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Zetterberg

Franzen-Hudler-Sammy

Cleary-Flippula-Leino

Maltby-Draper-Helm

And Meech could serve as 13th forward and 7th D.

What about Kopecky?

[Yzerman191 37]

Maybe it's just me, but I just haven't ever been too impressed with Kopecky's play. He's a 4th liner, doesn't use his body as well as he could, doesn't add much energy to the line, and doesn't have much of an offensive upside. That, coupled with the fact that Leino is getting antsy in the minors and Helm has always impressed me led me to exclude Kopecky from my (fantasy) line-up.

[SwedeLundin77 460]

I think they need to address the goaltending. Do we want to try and sign Conklin to an extension? Will he ask for more now that he has proven he can play at a top level? Will he want to stay here in a backup role or will there be some demand for him to start somewhere else? Is Howard ready? Is Larsson more ready than Howard? These are all questions that need answers.

Beyond goaltending, I feel we need to move on to re-signing Hossa first, gauge where he's at now and how much he'd like to make with this team. Would he be willing to follow Zetterberg and take a discount to play with a consistent contender? If we can sign Hossa to a 6 mil cap hit, I will literally announce Ken Holland as my Lord and Savior.