We don't need to retool that much

[evan_a2 0]

Hopefully if Chelios retires, that will gives us that spot on defense to work with, but otherwise, I dont think we need to do much. We were one game away from winning the cup. Thats still better than 29 other teams, and I think most of you agree with me that we are still a better team then Pittsburgh.

What are your thoughts?

[10 Minute Misconduct 104]

people think were gonna make the finals 3 years in a row?

[Wingfan191 2]

I wrote this on another forum, but it applies here

The following players are free agents this summer

UFA's:

Hossa, Samuelsson, Kopecky, McCarty, Downey, Chelios, Conklin

RFA's:

Hudler, Leino

Obviously McCarty and Chelios are gone, but what about everyone else?

Our cap hit next season is 51.255

I'm guessing the cap will come down from the 57.806 that it's at now to about 56 mil.

That only leaves the Wings with like 5.7 mil to spend to resign quite a few players.

They're going into next year with 10 forwards, 8 D, and technically 2 goalies under contract.

Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Franzen, Cleary, Holmstrom, Draper, Maltby, Filppula, Helm, and Abdelkader

Lidstrom, Rafalski, Stuart, Kronwall, Lebda, Lilja, Ericsson, Meech

Osgood, Howard

My guess is that in a perfect world the Wings would like to keep Hossa, Hudler, Leino, and Conklin first. But I have a feeling Hudler will command at least 3 mil, Leino is making .875, so he probably goes up to 1 mil a year, Conklin was making .750 and he can probably get at least 1 mil somewhere else as a backup, and of course Hossa alone is easily at least 5 mil.

I see no value in keeping Kopecky since he's nothing special in the least. He doesn't use his size, he's not a scorer, and his D game is lacking. He's also injured quite a bit. But we need bodies on the roster and he only made .525 last season.

Downey I'd like to keep just cause the Wings need at least one tough guy who can fight and Downey has been pretty reliable when called upon. Only making .575, can't seem him making any more than that.

And of course everyone knows how I feel about Samuelsson. My only fear is that Babcock seems to love him so damn much for that 2nd unit point on the pp. He made 1.2 mil last season, and because he had a near 20 goal season this year, I could see him getting a bit more than that.

My gut is that we're gonna field the same team as last year, minus Hudler and Hossa. If they give Sammy 1.5, Leino 1 mil, Downey .575, Conklin 1 mil, and Kopecky .700 that's 4.775 mil, which leaves us 1 mil in wiggle room which Holland likes to keep.

[blues_demitra38 11]

What makes this loss so tough is knowing how unlikely it is that the Wings get back next year, especially with how competitive the Western Conference is.

[Manoir 70]

My biggest complaint with the Wings is with their relucatance to put youngsters into the lineup. It was obvious to many that guys like Holmstrom/Maltby/etc were all but done but the team refused to bench them for guys like AbdelKader. Contrast that with Pittsburgh and how they threw guys like Talbot/Scuderi into pressure packed situations. Also, they benched Sykora for a good month or so, their philosophy seems to be that if you don't play well you won't be in the lineup reagrdless of how much experience you have. I think the Wings need to get over their obsession with experience.

[TheUkrainian 49]

What makes this loss so tough is knowing how unlikely it is that the Wings get back next year, especially with how competitive the Western Conference is.

I think it's possible to make it back to the Finals (of course we're going to have to step up the effort and not coast like the Wings tend to do), but this offseason could be an interesting one. I'm saving my predictions until the start of the season.

[Casey 145]

I think it's possible to make it back to the Finals (of course we're going to have to step up the effort and not coast like the Wings tend to do), but this offseason could be an interesting one. I'm saving my predictions until the start of the season.

I agree. This loss could be the best thing that could have happened. Now they all know what it's like to lose the Cup, something only some of the older veterans know.

[Red Crazy 201]

I wish that Maltby, Draper, and Homer would be promoted to the video room for next season allowing the Wings to use some of the rookies that are showing alot of promise. Maltby and Draper have both lost a step this last year and have become replacable. Fourth lines need to be fast, hard checking, and have the ability to get the team going. We didn't get this from them this season. Due to loyalty, the Red Wings will never trade these guys. I just hope they know when to hang them up.

[hurtingwingsfan 0]

The fact is that we cannot overeact, I am as upset as any wing fan but we made it to the seveth game of the stanley cup finals. We needed some luck, less injuries for one. The difference between this team and last years team was not very much other than having to go through tougher teams in Anahiem and Chicago.

[DSM 114]

What this is now, is the cap catching up with the Red Wings. We will now be penalized for paying players for their contributions 11/12 years ago. I'm not saying that Maltby and Draper aren't useful players, but they would be making half of what they make here on any other team. It was also pretty pathetic to only be able to carry 22 players and not be able to call anyone up on short notice so we could keep a geriatric defensemen. I won't mention that the sacrifice we made for that became one of LA's top Dmen.... oh wait... I just did.

I'm sure Ken Holland would love to bring back all 3 of his top FA forwards, but he has now reached a point where he has to choose. Pretty much, choose one: Hossa, Samuelsson, or Hudler.

If it were me, Samuelsson will be the cheapest option. That will allow us to bring in maybe 1 or 2 quality 2nd/3rd liners to fill the other spots. Obviously our offense will suffer a bit, but it will allow us to bring in some more muscle which is something we lacked up front unless Helm was in the line-up. Hossa is going to be expensive, and Hudler will end up getting a Scott Penneresque offer sheet that will be unrealistically matchable.

Our Offense would look like this:

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Holmstrom

Franzen - Filppula - Cleary

? - Leino - ?

? - Draper - Maltby/?

Those ? could be filled by resigning Kopecky, other UFA's or Helm and Abdelkader. However, knowing how the Red Wings are with youngsters, Helm and Abdelkader will most likely be sent down again... Atleast to start the season. Leino has to be on the time next year. Kopecky will probably be cheap.

Our D is mostly unchanged:

Lidstrom - Rafalski

Kronwall - Stuart

Ericsson - Lebda/Lilja

Meech

Only difference is that Chelios is FINALLY GONE and Ericsson will be a regular.

In Goal:

Osgood

Howard/?

Conklin will get a decent offer and Howard can't go back to the minors.

[LIDDYGIBBY5 1]

I wish that Maltby, Draper, and Homer would be promoted to the video room for next season allowing the Wings to use some of the rookies that are showing alot of promise. Maltby and Draper have both lost a step this last year and have become replacable. Fourth lines need to be fast, hard checking, and have the ability to get the team going. We didn't get this from them this season. Due to loyalty, the Red Wings will never trade these guys. I just hope they know when to hang them up.

If Draper retires, his cap hit still counts. He is in the lineup regardless.

[Holmstrom96 347]

Hopefully if Chelios retires, that will gives us that spot on defense to work with, but otherwise, I dont think we need to do much. We were one game away from winning the cup. Thats still better than 29 other teams, and I think most of you agree with me that we are still a better team then Pittsburgh.

What are your thoughts?

Better than 28 other teams, not 29.

I agree that we've obviously got a great core. Let's let Hossa gossa, that'll free up some cap for someone who wants to bring it.

[NGKEIB 32]

What this is now, is the cap catching up with the Red Wings. We will now be penalized for paying players for their contributions 11/12 years ago. I'm not saying that Maltby and Draper aren't useful players, but they would be making half of what they make here on any other team. It was also pretty pathetic to only be able to carry 22 players and not be able to call anyone up on short notice so we could keep a geriatric defensemen. I won't mention that the sacrifice we made for that became one of LA's top Dmen.... oh wait... I just did.

I'm sure Ken Holland would love to bring back all 3 of his top FA forwards, but he has now reached a point where he has to choose. Pretty much, choose one: Hossa, Samuelsson, or Hudler.

If it were me, Samuelsson will be the cheapest option. That will allow us to bring in maybe 1 or 2 quality 2nd/3rd liners to fill the other spots. Obviously our offense will suffer a bit, but it will allow us to bring in some more muscle which is something we lacked up front unless Helm was in the line-up. Hossa is going to be expensive, and Hudler will end up getting a Scott Penneresque offer sheet that will be unrealistically matchable.

Our Offense would look like this:

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Holmstrom

Franzen - Filppula - Cleary

? - Leino - ?

? - Draper - Maltby/?

Those ? could be filled by resigning Kopecky, other UFA's or Helm and Abdelkader. However, knowing how the Red Wings are with youngsters, Helm and Abdelkader will most likely be sent down again... Atleast to start the season. Leino has to be on the time next year. Kopecky will probably be cheap.

Our D is mostly unchanged:

Lidstrom - Rafalski

Kronwall - Stuart

Ericsson - Lebda/Lilja

Meech

Only difference is that Chelios is FINALLY GONE and Ericsson will be a regular.

In Goal:

Osgood

Howard/?

Conklin will get a decent offer and Howard can't go back to the minors.

Dustin Penner, you mean. Helm will be up, for sure. Abdelkader will spend another year in GR, and I'm fine with that. I want him playing 15 minutes a night for another year, not 4. And if I had to choose between Hossa, Hudler and Samuelsson, I would choose Samuelsson. I don't think that he's the best of them, but still. I like Hossa, and am not one of the people who accuses him of losing the Cup. He had a great season, and helped us get to the Finals. Hudler is good, and is great to have on a lower line where he can match up against pylon-goons and put up good points. However, he deserves more money, and will probably get us a good pick. Lets talk about Micke... No one takes out our opposition's shins as well as he does, and he does have a nice one timer from right next to the net. He can be resigned for not much money, and while he isn't too consistent, he did have some huge goals for us this post-season.

[NHLrules? 32]

I dont agree with the title of this post.

We need a major retool on the blue line.

Our D was TERRIBLE this year and in the end it cost us the cup.

Im not sure if it was the coaching change or what, but things need to be changed in a big way here.