Who would the front office trade?

[Andy Pred 48 337]

To try and make some space to play with in the cap era, would the front office ever contemplate trading the likes of Homer, Drapes or Malts? I say this purely as an option to get some cap leeway. At the end of the day both Malts and Homer are 36 and Drapes is 38, so to me their better days are behind them. Homer has had good stats the past couple of years but has also been prone to injury. Maybe his net front pest days are catching up with him. His 77 pts and a +27 is great, but he has missed 52 games in that period too. Both Malts and Drapes seem to be in decline in their play. Kris has got 34pts but is a - 15 the past

2 seasons and Kirk is a -17 with 21pts.

The 3 of them have a cap hit of $4.7m combined. I don't think for one minute that the front office will trade any of them, but if it were down to you would you pull the trigger?

We seem to have players ready to step in and also bring the ave age down a few years!

Helm for Draper

Abdelkader for Maltby

Homer is a different proposition. Leino is ready but not as a direct replacement for Tomas.

Ville could play 3rd or even 2nd line, and I think that Homer will be 3rd line next season.

A 4th line of Kopecky Helm and Abdelkader could work, size speed and a scoring threat.

[Echolalia 2,961]

Where did you get 77pts and a +27 for Homer, while missing 52 games nonetheless? Are you talking about a period greater than a year?

Edited June 17, 2009 by Echolalia

[CenterIce 83]

Doesn't Draper have a no trade clause?

[PROBIE4PREZ 58]

All three are here till they retire. Holmstrom is still a + player and any team would snag him up in a minute. There's no doubt he'll rebound from a poor finals.

Draper is still speedy and his faceoff % is always at the top of the league. His ability to go out and get the job done with little to no mistakes is another reason he isn't going anywhere. Abdelkador is still a green horn and it was already said in the press barring an outrageous training camp hell be in Grand Rapids.

Maltby's mouth doesnt get as much attention as it used to so his role of "agitator" doesnt quite fit anymore. His salary is modest and he does what is expected of a 4th liner.

It will be a sad end the season next year as Lids Homer and Malts contracts are all up.

Lids is the only one pry coming back .. if he doesnt go to sweden .. dunt dunt dunt duhhhh ..

[Drake_Marcus 890]

There's no way Holland trades Holmstrom, Maltby or Draper. It goes against the team commitment atmosphere the Wings are so careful to cultivate. The only chance we won't see them in October is if they decide to retire. I'm pretty sure Draper and Maltby would still count against the cap because they signed after 35. I could be wrong there, though.

Before the playoffs I figured they'd trade Filppula if they had to create more cap room for Hossa (due to his lack of an NTC and his disappointing play in the regular season). But Val's fantastic play this post-season cemented his (already solid) position in Detroit.

I'm willing to bet that Holmstrom, Maltby and Draper all retire when their contracts are up, with Holmstrom possibly retiring before then if he continues to struggle with injuries.

[Barrie 900]

At the end of the day both Malts and Homer are 36 and Drapes is 38, so to me their better days are behind them. Homer has had good stats the past couple of years but has also been prone to injury. Maybe his net front pest days are catching up with him. His 77 pts and a +27 is great, but he has missed 52 games in that period too. Both Malts and Drapes seem to be in decline in their play. Kris has got 34pts but is a - 15 the past

2 seasons and Kirk is a -17 with 21pts.

I think from what you've mentioned, it would be hard to trade them because of their salaries, age, and decline in stats.

The 3 of them still bring excellent leadership, and deserve to retire as Red Wings.

[Wombat 26]

The only scenario I see any of those 3 not being on the team is if they retire. Under retirement, both Draper and Holmstrom would have some or all of their cap hit count against the cap, with Maltby would not. However, there is a way around this. IF Draper or Homer retire, the Wings can trade their retired contracts to another team.

Let's say Phoenix, being in flux right now, has a hard time signing players to make it to the salary floor. The Red Wings could trade the cap hits to Phoenix. Phoenix doesn't have to pay them anything, but they can use the numbers to hit the cap floor. the Wings get cap relief, and maybe the two teams trade draft picks in the deal as well.

[egroen 384]

Holmstrom has already hinted next year might be his last.

Maltby I could see wanting to play more -- but next year needs to be his last year as well, at least in Detroit.

Draper, Holland's worst signing post-lockout, we are stuck with for two more years -- then, god-willing, he will retire.

Hopefully these guys all have Dallas Drake type years in their final seasons!

[elriqo28 2]

Where did you get 77pts and a +27 for Homer, while missing 52 games nonetheless? Are you talking about a period greater than a year?

do you read??? or do you have selective vision?

[C-TownWing 0]

Lids is the only one pry coming back .. if he doesnt go to sweden .. dunt dunt dunt duhhhh ..

It must be contract time for Lids if the "back to Sweden" thing is being floated.

Keeping these guys around is what makes us such a desirable place to play for just about everyone out there. We know this and won't trade them. Gotta take the bad with the good. But it's not even that bad--IMO Draper still has value, Maltby barely registers against the cap and we probably only have one more year of Homer. Even if he plays longer, there's no doubt he's taking a huge cut, he looks broken down to me.

[VM1138 1,921]

They might pressure them to retire, but they'd never trade anyone. I see them all getting office jobs, but Holmstrom would probably get a mailroom job or something considering he speaks hardly any English.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Draper, Maltby, and Holmstrom aren't going anywhere. Why is that so hard for people to understand? Not dumping veteran players who are past their prime is one of the reasons Detroit has been able to attract so many great veterans to the organization year after year. Not to mention, the media would be all over Detroit if they were to dump one of these guys - the last thing Detroit needs right now.

[Dimaline312000 51]

I'm going to answer this the way I handled it when I was playing NHL 09 for PS3. I would indeed trade Draper and Malts but I'm not sure that I would try to get another player. I believe since it's been a few seasons in my Dynasty mode what I did was wait until the 09/10 season in my game and I did trade them but it was for a 4th round draft pick (mind you there is only 5 rounds in the game NHL 09).

The thing is with the way the NHL is today and with teams choosing a lot of youth over experience I don't think we'd be able to get any draft pick for them. I guess if someone actually wanted them and was willing to make the Wings a handsome offer that I wouldn't think twice about trading them. I don't see Holland doing that becasue he is very loyal to his players. Personally I wouldn't trade Homer, I would let him retire with us. He's a great player and can be sent down a line or two but I think after the 09/10 season he'll be done. Unless he shocks me and retires this season.

We need to bring up our younger players and give them a Full season to see what all they can do and than see if changes need to be made from there. I like Malts and Drapes but I'd sit them for Abs and Helm or even Leino if I had the chance.

[Blood On The Ice 15]

Lets just assume that Illitch would trade them if the opportunity arises. Now lets pretend your the GM for another team. Based on their age, the cap hit they would require, the recent history for injuries, and decline in stats. Are you really going to trade for any one or a combination. I think not. You can acquire the same type player from the FA list, probably for a lot less and certainly a lot younger. The only way they get traded would be at the trade dead line, when a team is looking for one specific thing, net presence, face offs or antagonizer. At that time their cap hit would be very minimal and Illitch would probably get a bag of lollipops in return. Face it, they are here till they retire, or the contract is up and they are not resigned. Yes a trade could happen this year, but certainly not for those you mentioned.

[Echolalia 2,961]

do you read??? or do you have selective vision?

If you are referring to the "couple" that's ambiguously thrown in there a couple sentences earlier, I would hardly consider that the premises for the time period that he is referring to, especially in the context that it's used. I'm simply asking for clarification on the timepoints that he used to gather his statistics. Instead of volunteering to jump in as a third person and pointlessly attacking me, your time would have been more productive with just giving me an answer, but being an ass is an option too, I guess.

[C-TownWing 0]

Lets just assume that Illitch would trade them if the opportunity arises. Now lets pretend your the GM for another team. Based on their age, the cap hit they would require, the recent history for injuries, and decline in stats. Are you really going to trade for any one or a combination. I think not. You can acquire the same type player from the FA list, probably for a lot less and certainly a lot younger. The only way they get traded would be at the trade dead line, when a team is looking for one specific thing, net presence, face offs or antagonizer. At that time their cap hit would be very minimal and Illitch would probably get a bag of lollipops in return. Face it, they are here till they retire, or the contract is up and they are not resigned. Yes a trade could happen this year, but certainly not for those you mentioned.

How dare you look at potential trades from the other team's perspective

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

To try and make some space to play with in the cap era, would the front office ever contemplate trading the likes of Homer, Drapes or Malts? I say this purely as an option to get some cap leeway. At the end of the day both Malts and Homer are 36 and Drapes is 38, so to me their better days are behind them. Homer has had good stats the past couple of years but has also been prone to injury. Maybe his net front pest days are catching up with him. His 77 pts and a +27 is great, but he has missed 52 games in that period too. Both Malts and Drapes seem to be in decline in their play. Kris has got 34pts but is a - 15 the past

2 seasons and Kirk is a -17 with 21pts.

The 3 of them have a cap hit of $4.7m combined. I don't think for one minute that the front office will trade any of them, but if it were down to you would you pull the trigger?

We seem to have players ready to step in and also bring the ave age down a few years!

Helm for Draper

Abdelkader for Maltby

Homer is a different proposition. Leino is ready but not as a direct replacement for Tomas.

Ville could play 3rd or even 2nd line, and I think that Homer will be 3rd line next season.

A 4th line of Kopecky Helm and Abdelkader could work, size speed and a scoring threat.

i would size them for suits and put them all in an office suite together.

cleary and franzen stand in front of the net to almost the same degree as homer. go at the net with a different approach with the other 2 lines. and generally you have 2 pp lines anyways, so mule and newfy do homers job there.

if i was in the front office, the following guys would be retiring:

chelios, homer, draper, malts and d-mac.

helm and leino are already assured spots on the wings.

i would re-sign hossa at franzen money.

if abby spends 1 more season in GR (likely), look at lappy or john madden for some added grit.

don't sign huds or kopecky. sign sammy for 1.5 max or simply replace with abby.

[FunkedUp 29]

Flip, Rafalski, Draper, Maltby, Stuart, and Holmstrom aren't going anywhere. It's amazing that people think this.

Drapes, Maltby, and Homer all want #5 and they won't retire until their contracts are up, and Holland isn't going to trade them.

As for the others...

Chelios, Sammy, Hudler are all gone for sure.

Kopy is likely to not be back

Conk, Lebda (good playoffs and depends on Lilja) Leino (If he accepts a similar salary), and Hossa (take Mule money) are likely to stay

Abby will stay in GR for another year and will be the first call up, but could crack the roster if the cap is tight

Helm and Easy E are locks for the roster

Howard is gone (him and conkblock have roughly the same cap hit and conklin is a lot better)

My Predictions....

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Cleary

Mule-Flip-Hossa

Leino-Helm-Abby/Kopy

Maltby-Draper-Holmstrom

Lids-Raf

Kron-Stu

Lilja/Lebda-Easy E

Ozzie

Conk

Edited June 17, 2009 by FunkedUp

[WorkingOvertime 536]

The 3 of them still bring excellent leadership, and deserve to retire as Red Wings.

While I would like to see some youth on the team, these guys have given their heart for the team and they deserve to retire as Red Wings.

[Stiffy 0]

Draper, Maltby, and Holmstrom aren't going anywhere. Why is that so hard for people to understand? Not dumping veteran players who are past their prime is one of the reasons Detroit has been able to attract so many great veterans to the organization year after year. Not to mention, the media would be all over Detroit if they were to dump one of these guys - the last thing Detroit needs right now.

I think you are right, that they won't move on these guys, but they did dump McCarty for playing like crap. The guy was probably the most perfect example of the Detroit working class Epic hero of Hockey Town lore. Turtling Lemeiux, March 26 OT goal, SCF winning goal in 1997, hat trick on Roy in 2002 WCF Game 1... And yet despite all that, it was rather quiet when he was let go and went off to Calgary.

[thedisappearer 291]

Lets just assume that Illitch would trade them if the opportunity arises. Now lets pretend your the GM for another team. Based on their age, the cap hit they would require, the recent history for injuries, and decline in stats. Are you really going to trade for any one or a combination. I think not. You can acquire the same type player from the FA list, probably for a lot less and certainly a lot younger. The only way they get traded would be at the trade dead line, when a team is looking for one specific thing, net presence, face offs or antagonizer. At that time their cap hit would be very minimal and Illitch would probably get a bag of lollipops in return. Face it, they are here till they retire, or the contract is up and they are not resigned. Yes a trade could happen this year, but certainly not for those you mentioned.

There's always a 8 seed who needs veteran leadership. Those guys would get phone calls on teams other than Detroit.

[Probie 7]

Lets just assume that Illitch would trade them if the opportunity arises. Now lets pretend your the GM for another team. Based on their age, the cap hit they would require, the recent history for injuries, and decline in stats. Are you really going to trade for any one or a combination. I think not. You can acquire the same type player from the FA list, probably for a lot less and certainly a lot younger. The only way they get traded would be at the trade dead line, when a team is looking for one specific thing, net presence, face offs or antagonizer. At that time their cap hit would be very minimal and Illitch would probably get a bag of lollipops in return. Face it, they are here till they retire, or the contract is up and they are not resigned. Yes a trade could happen this year, but certainly not for those you mentioned.

Or you can almost pay someone to take them for you. You trade a maltby plus a low pick for a another minor leaguer of little importance and disgiuse the fact that you are giving the team a low pick to take him off your hands or another trade with a similar pick.

[gcom007 1,465]

I still am not convinced Flip has a future here. He always has been the one guy who would draw interest that's under contract that I could see going. When his deal was announced last year, I thought to myself, "Hmmm, well, we'll see if he finishes that deal up in Detroit..." He's the only player with a significant cap hit that's somewhat expendable if you want to focus your money on other areas. And again, he's one of the only players other teams would pony up draft picks for.

Aside from that, Lilja, Lebda or Meech could go, but that's slim pickings. Moving all 3 would only net you an extra $2.6 million whereas one Flip nets you $3 million. We'll see how it goes.

Aside from the cap issues, I'm thinking Kenny will do something to freshen things up around here that's not huge but not small either. Could be in the off-season, could be at the deadline. Time will tell.

[Probie 7]

I still am not convinced Flip has a future here. He always has been the one guy who would draw interest that's under contract that I could see going. When his deal was announced last year, I thought to myself, "Hmmm, well, we'll see if he finishes that deal up in Detroit..." He's the only player with a significant cap hit that's somewhat expendable if you want to focus your money on other areas. And again, he's one of the only players other teams would pony up draft picks for.

Aside from that, Lilja, Lebda or Meech could go, but that's slim pickings. Moving all 3 would only net you an extra $2.6 million whereas one Flip nets you $3 million. We'll see how it goes.

Aside from the cap issues, I'm thinking Kenny will do something to freshen things up around here that's not huge but not small either. Could be in the off-season, could be at the deadline. Time will tell.

Are you thinking that Flip gets traded to help get Hossa's new contract in place or are you thinking they just might move him anyways?

The reason I ask this question is, if Flip does get traded to Keep Hossa, who is going to center Hossa? Flip is the only centerman that worked ok with him he was no good with Dats or Z! Oh this cap is a pain in the ass.

[FunkedUp 29]

I still am not convinced Flip has a future here. He always has been the one guy who would draw interest that's under contract that I could see going. When his deal was announced last year, I thought to myself, "Hmmm, well, we'll see if he finishes that deal up in Detroit..." He's the only player with a significant cap hit that's somewhat expendable if you want to focus your money on other areas. And again, he's one of the only players other teams would pony up draft picks for.

Nonsense. Flip led the Wings in assists these playoffs and is looking good. Everyone in the orginization has confidence in him and he won't be traded. I willing to bet that he will remain a Wing for his whole career. People said the same thing about Datsyuk, and Fil reminds me of a younger Pavel. Call me crazy, but I'd even say that Fil is a bit better defensively than Pav was at 24....