Hossa and ?

[Wingaling 0]

Alright first off I just wanna say we have got to sign Hossa, he is a great fit with this team and no one could argue this. Im not to sure how he really feels(as he always claimed to love it in "Pittsburgh" as well) so I guess we'll see that when/if he gets an extension...but after that who are or can we sign? We should keep Hudler, he shows up every night and generates from what ever line hes on, it doesnt matter who's with him (though him and Hossa look pretty good!!) or Franzen who when he is there is a great addition, can we lose Holmer for him (though I dont know if thats even an option) ? I dont know all the #'s and different loop hole with the cap and players contracts on this team, maybe some one could shed some light on who we might/can keep and or lose.

[kylee 727]

well you bring up a good point reminding me of how Hossa said how much he liked pittsburgh and wanted to stay there (id suspect thats the real reason why he was booed in pittsburgh - he said he loved the team and city and jumped ship to the Wings)

but with that in mind,

i truly believe him when he says he will take less money to be here. players dont just come out and say that. as for deciding who to keep and who to let go, Homer isnt really an option to get rid of, he just signed a new contract with the Wings and besides being an irreplaceable piece to the Wings offense, he has played here his entire career - i would think loyalty from the organization would play a bigger factor in him staying before any cap room being freed up.

as for keeping Hudler or Franzen, i dont even know what id think personally if it came down to the two of them. All i know is that Holland is working on a deal to keep Hossa and go after Franzen.. with Hudler (and in a sense, Franzen too) we'll just have to wait and see and speculate some. thats the fun of it all.

[j.hoop 64]

littering and..... littering and..... littering and......... smoking the reefer

[Herr Hockey 0]

I have to be honest, I've been leaning towards keeping Hossa/Hudler over Hossa/Franzen if it comes down to it, but after giving it some more thought, I have changed my mind. Think of it this way...If we lose Franzen, we lose him for nothing, but if we lose Hudler, we can get some damn good picks. So the choice really comes down to Hossa/Franzen/Picks vs. Hossa/Hudler. I'll take the former.

[TheOwl 77]

I have to be honest, I've been leaning towards keeping Hossa/Hudler over Hossa/Franzen if it comes down to it, but after giving it some more thought, I have changed my mind. Think of it this way...If we lose Franzen, we lose him for nothing, but if we lose Hudler, we can get some damn good picks. So the choice really comes down to Hossa/Franzen/Picks vs. Hossa/Hudler. I'll take the former.

Yes I completely agree. Hudler could get us a 1,2,3 round picks if someone offers enough, and if they don't, we get Hudler for around 2.5 million or something. Room could easily be cleared for him. But if we lose Franzen, we basically lose a 35-40 goal scorer for nothing. I think Holland should look deep into this team, and whether he thinks it can actually win the cup this year. I don't think they will, simply because of goaltending. In a 7 game series, you know Kipper, or Mason, or even someone like Turko will steal a few games.

Look at last years series with Nashville. It's not that difficult to shut down the scoring to 1-2 goals a game. The question becomes do you think Osgood and Conklin will let in less then 2-3 goals each game? If at any point it becomes obvious that Hossa will re-sign for Zetterberg's salary, it would be nearly impossible to get Franzen as well. Why not trade Franzen and some other guy for a goaltender? Detroit has enough scoring, and Detroit will never lose a high scoring series with Hossa, Z, Dats and the host of other secondary guys. If a decent goalie can be traded for Flipulla, or Franzen, then Holland should do it.

[Shaman 713]

I think there is some differences between Pittsburgh and Detroit, First that the Wings dont depend on 2 players for all their offense, balanced scoring leads to cups, why? how easy is it to silence 2 guys? Compare that to the Wings, who you have to watch out for Z, D, Homer, Franzen, Hudler, Flip, etc... We are better built to win in the playoffs than the Pens are season in and out. Reason 2, Cindy... This is a huge reason why he would want to leave, I mean wonder why no one wants to play his wing? All pens fans will tell you he needs a person on the team who can score, but not malkin cause for some reason that doesnt work (well he can score, but fore SOME reason he just cant be on the same line as that primadonna) well its becoming clear no one can stand playing with him unless they are lower tier players... Reason 3 The Wings are the classiest organization in all of sports, you may have to take less to play here, but, the Wings will always take care of you, and that counts just as much as money.

Well end rant... To sum it up, I really believe Hossa will be back

[TheOwl 77]

Because you don't dismantle your team (especially your top playoff goal scorer) before the playoffs. That's just... irrational

Yes, but we have a lot of people who can score, and if we lose this season, it'll come down to goaltending. If you actually think Osgood will turn his season around, then sure, you're right. But if you think rationally and look at our GAA, Osgood's overall stats, you should be a lot more worried about shaky goaltending (Oh, Osgood lets one in 16 seconds into the game) then losing one scorer. It's a better long term solution to trade one of the UFA's, instead of getting nothing.

The team is built to win a cup this season, and I have no doubt that they will lose with these 2 goalies. Trade Franzen, get a top 10 goalie, and the team is set for D, scoring and goaltending for the next few seasons. Our, keep Franzen, then lose him to UFA, then you still don't have a goaltender, and lost a top 3 Detroit goal scorer. You lose a lot more by not trading him, especially if Detroit doesn't win the cup.

Edited February 15, 2009 by TheOwl

[Dano33 41]

Yes, but we have a lot of people who can score, and if we lose this season, it'll come down to goaltending. If you actually think Osgood will turn his season around, then sure, you're right. But if you think rationally and look at our GAA, Osgood's overall stats, you should be a lot more worried about shaky goaltending (Oh, Osgood lets one in 16 seconds into the game) then losing one scorer. It's a better long term solution to trade one of the UFA's, instead of getting nothing.

The team is built to win a cup this season, and I have no doubt that they will lose with these 2 goalies. Trade Franzen, get a top 10 goalie, and the team is set for D, scoring and goaltending for the next few seasons. Our, keep Franzen, then lose him to UFA, then you still don't have a goaltender, and lost a top 3 Detroit goal scorer. You lose a lot more by not trading him, especially if Detroit doesn't win the cup.

We can't get a top 10 Goalie for Franzen. He makes 1.15 Mil. We would have to dump other guys for NOTHING if we want to do that, we then have no depth and NO CHANCE to win the cup.

Our best option this season is to stick with what we have. One of our goalies will be capable to take us into a deep playoff run, and possibly another cup.

Edited February 15, 2009 by Dano33

[TheOwl 77]

We can't get a top 10 Goalie for Franzen. He makes 1.15 Mil. We would have to dump other guys for NOTHING if we want to do that, we then have no depth and NO CHANCE to win the cup.

Well, since 5 of the top 10 goalies in Save% make less then Franzen (one making 1.3, a little more), it would be easily possible. Or trade Flipulla instead. The top 10 goalies in this league aren't the goalies making the most money. The traditional top goalies like Nabokov, Lundquest, Luongo, Guigere, Flurry, are all playing incredibly mediocre. A top 10 goalie in this league can be bought for under 1.5 million a season, that means a few draft picks, maybe one of our forwards, or even a prospect.

If Osgood is playing, we have zero chance of winning a cup anyways. If a goalie can be got, like Anderson, or Rinne for Flipulla, or draft picks, or whatever, it should be done. Conklin needs a real back-up.

Edited February 15, 2009 by TheOwl

[Dano33 41]

Well, since 5 of the top 10 goalies in Save% make less then Franzen (one making 1.3, a little more), it would be easily possible. Or trade Flipulla instead. The top 10 goalies in this league aren't the goalies making the most money. The traditional top goalies like Nabokov, Lundquest, Luongo, Guigere, Flurry, are all playing incredibly mediocre. A top 10 goalie in this league can be bought for under 1.5 million a season, that means a few draft picks, maybe one of our forwards, or even a prospect.

If Osgood is playing, we have zero chance of winning a cup anyways. If a goalie can be got, like Anderson, or Rinne for Flipulla, or draft picks, or whatever, it should be done. Conklin needs a real back-up.

Do you think that Hiller or Anderson can lead this team farther thatn Osgood or Conklin? I certainly dont. And there is no way we will be getting Mason or Thomas for Franzen.

Edited February 15, 2009 by Dano33

[TheOwl 77]

Do you think that Hiller or Anderson can lead this team farther thatn Osgood or Conklin?

Yes, after watching todays game against the worst team in the West. Osgood can't stop a basketball.

[Dano33 41]

Yes, after watching todays game against the worst team in the West. Osgood can't stop a basketball.

So you would be willing to give up our top goal scorer from the playoffs last year for a guy who has never been an everyday starter or played a single minute of playoff hockey? You are crazy. I'll take my chances with Ozzie and Conklin AND a damn good goal scorer.

Edited February 16, 2009 by Dano33

[TheOwl 77]

So you would be willing to give up our top goal scorer from the playoffs last year for a guy who has never been an everyday starter or played a single minute of playoff hockey? You are crazy. I'll take my chances with Ozzie and Conklin AND a damn good goal scorer.

If you would think past this season, you wouldn't think it was such a bad idea. 6-5 with Osgood in net against the worst team in the west surely makes you think we need more then just Conklin. And as I clarified, we could get one of those over-achieving back-ups from Nashville or Florida for someone like Flipulla, or picks, froget the whole Franzen thing. If we don't win the cup this year, we have no goalie for next year anyways. Osgood has to be bought out, since he's un-tradeable.

[Dano33 41]

If you would think past this season, you wouldn't think it was such a bad idea. 6-5 with Osgood in net against the worst team in the west surely makes you think we need more then just Conklin. And as I clarified, we could get one of those over-achieving back-ups from Nashville or Florida for someone like Flipulla, or picks, froget the whole Franzen thing. If we don't win the cup this year, we have no goalie for next year anyways. Osgood has to be bought out, since he's un-tradeable.

I am thinking about the entire season. Yes, Osgood has been bad, but he's the only one with playoff experience. There is no possible way you can say you would be more confident with Anderson in net rather than Conklin anyway. Conklin has played really well this year. If there is an unproven goalie I want in the playoffs, it is Conklin. That way we wont have to give up players for someone who won't improve our team. It doesn't make sense to trade a productive forward for an unproven goalie. We can't trade picks because we dont have room for extra salary. We have goalies we can bring up and try out next year if we dont want to stick with Osgood/Conklin. Why draft goalies if we are just going to go after other teams' backups?

Edited February 16, 2009 by Dano33

[This Is Bida 0]

I'm sorry but you guys all say that Hossa always said he loved Pittsburgh and how he wanted to stay...

I just wanna clear something up really quick:

First off, of COURSE he's gonna say he likes it in Pittsburgh. When have you ever heard a player say anything like "Oh, I hate this damn city. May it burn to ashes while I'm in another city". Just because he said he liked the city doesn't mean he is saying "I wanna come back and play for the Pittsburgh Penguins next year".

Secondly, Hossa never ever EVER said anything about wanting to stay, or wanting to even PLAY in Pittsburgh. Hossa told the media that he much more prefers playing on a Cup contending team and if that means taking less money, he'd rather take less money. Now the idiots in Pittsburgh all thought this meant "I'd rather play for a great team like Pittsburgh and I'll gladly take less money to play here in Pittsburgh".

Again, no player is gonna say he absolutely hates the town he is playing in. Now with that in mind. There is a huge huge difference between him saying he liked Pittsburgh (where he was FORCED to play through a trade) and saying how much he LOVES to play here in Detroit when he took a one year contract for a few million less than he could have had.

Truthfully, he probably did like playing in Pittsburgh, but I can guarantee you he absolutely loves playing in a Wings jersey 10X more.

You wanna read a good article, click on the link in my post! It's well worth it.

As for who Hossa should stay with, truthfully I'm definitely in the minority here but I loved him and Datsyuk together. Too many people like the Euro Twins much better tho. So if it couldn't be Dats, all I know is I'd love to see Hossa (if he... scratch that.. WHEN he stays) stay with Hudler on a line. As long as you have a center who can dish it to him in the high slot, it's not that big of a deal.

Him and Hudler though were very fun to watch play together the other night... I think it was the game before Columbus. Those two definitely feed well off each other.

[Dabura 12,232]

I'm sorry but you guys all say that Hossa always said he loved Pittsburgh and how he wanted to stay...

I just wanna clear something up really quick:

First off, of COURSE he's gonna say he likes it in Pittsburgh. When have you ever heard a player say anything like "Oh, I hate this damn city. May it burn to ashes while I'm in another city". Just because he said he liked the city doesn't mean he is saying "I wanna come back and play for the Pittsburgh Penguins next year".

Secondly, Hossa never ever EVER said anything about wanting to stay, or wanting to even PLAY in Pittsburgh. Hossa told the media that he much more prefers playing on a Cup contending team and if that means taking less money, he'd rather take less money. Now the idiots in Pittsburgh all thought this meant "I'd rather play for a great team like Pittsburgh and I'll gladly take less money to play here in Pittsburgh".

Again, no player is gonna say he absolutely hates the town he is playing in. Now with that in mind. There is a huge huge difference between him saying he liked Pittsburgh (where he was FORCED to play through a trade) and saying how much he LOVES to play here in Detroit when he took a one year contract for a few million less than he could have had.

Truthfully, he probably did like playing in Pittsburgh, but I can guarantee you he absolutely loves playing in a Wings jersey 10X more.

Bang-on.

Believe Hossa when he says he loves it here and wants to stay.