Holland IS Searching for a Free Agent!

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

here is a list of some of the grity forwards still available

jermey reich

andrew peters

tom kostopolud

mithc fritz

mike sillinger

mark bell

blair betts

brad isbister

wade brookbank

david koci

matt pettinger

brad may

kris newbury

ben ondrus

donald brasher

todd bertuzi

warren peters

andre roy

steve begin

derek armstrong

scott nichol

brian mcgratton

mike grier

travis moen

jeff cowan

so there is still alot of gritty guys available, just a matter of finding the right one i suppose. Some good guys on this list that would be great addition to the wings.

Holland will sign McGrattan, Brookbank and Koci, sending half of LGW into cardiac arrest.

[redwingfan19 293]

It's going to be Todd Bertuzzi or someone like him. Wow I wish they would have done this on the 1st like all the other teams did.

I mean look at it this way we lose #37,#81,#29,24,#25,and a few others on our team and it looks like we were going to do nothing but now we are what the H?

my gut says bertuzzi too.

as the OP quote says "hooland is looking for a rugged forward with offensive touch"

bertuzzi is really the only guy on my list that fits that bill. maybe mike grier?, moen, or possibly mark bell

its going to be one of these guys, and i'd be happy with anyone of them as long as its for a good price

[redwingfan19 293]

Holland will sign McGrattan, Brookbank and Koci, sending half of LGW into cardiac arrest.

I would love for one of those guys to be the extra forward when we play teams like the ducks (regular season obviously)

[stevkrause 1,247]

Holland will sign McGrattan, Brookbank and Koci, sending half of LGW into cardiac arrest.

Koci isn't available... he signed with Col, plus he's one dimensional...

edit - Brashear isn't available either, he signed w/NY

Edited July 5, 2009 by stevkrause

[Norm_Maracle For Vezina 0]

Seems like there's a lot of Travis Moen hype for no reason. The board is probably going to crash similar to years past when the Wings lost out on marquee players like Brad Winchester, Adam Hall, Brendan Witt, etc.

Moen would be a solid addition but he's not that great.

lol.. finally someone who realizes this. I would even go as far as saying that Moen isnt even good.

[uk_redwing 495]

lol.. finally someone who realizes this. I would even go as far as saying that Moen isnt even good.

Maybe you should compare Moens stats to those of our 4th line last season, and his 07-08 playoff stats. He is a solid hockey player.

[Guest lnvincible]

lol.. finally someone who realizes this. I would even go as far as saying that Moen isnt even good.

Big BERT! Make it happen!

[Zetsthebest 0]

Big BERT! Make it happen!

I second that !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Number19 159]

lol.. finally someone who realizes this. I would even go as far as saying that Moen isnt even good.

dude had one decent season (21 points I believe) that's about it. also his career +/- is around -50... pretty poor even for a 4th liner especially on solid defensive teams like the Ducks and Sharks.

[WalleyeHockey09 0]

Begin has also been signed already..

[Number19 159]

brad may

scott nichol

mike grier

It'd be cool to sign one of these guys (mostly nichol and grier).

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Koci isn't available... he signed with Col, plus he's one dimensional...

edit - Brashear isn't available either, he signed w/NY

Too bad. That's the one dimension that we need right now.

[Number19 159]

Too bad. That's the one dimension that we need right now.

He can play either wing position and defense too.

[VM1138 1,921]

I'm really torn on Bertuzzi. When he was with us I felt he contributed even though he was injured and out of shape, and felt that if he stuck around another year he could've been really good for us. Then he went on to other teams and just sucked (from what I hear). So I'm really not sure, to be honest, what he has left in the tank. I won't be upset if we sign him, but I'm not sure if he really has any value left, just because I haven't followed him since he left.

[REDHASEK 0]

If we could sign the Bertuzzi before the Moore incident I'd say hell yes.

Now...not so much. Considering we already tried him out in 07.

He had a Back Injury and wasn't a 100% at all in 2007 and you forget he also was just a rental player...

Edited July 5, 2009 by REDHASEK

[Zetsthebest 0]

I'm really torn on Bertuzzi. When he was with us I felt he contributed even though he was injured and out of shape, and felt that if he stuck around another year he could've been really good for us. Then he went on to other teams and just sucked (from what I hear). So I'm really not sure, to be honest, what he has left in the tank. I won't be upset if we sign him, but I'm not sure if he really has any value left, just because I haven't followed him since he left.

Bertuzzi 08/09 stats 66 gmes 15 goals 29 assisits 44 points 74 PM

just imagine how much he could do on Dats line

[Cern 0]

He had a Back Injury and wasn't a 100% at all in 2007 and you forget he also was just a rental player...

He's been a perpetual rental player ever since he left Vancouver, that's not likely to change if he signs here. Heck, he's never been at 100% since he left Vancouver either, same story.

[LeftWinger 4,958]

Bertuzzi can't skate fast enough to play on one of the top 2 lines in Detroit...

...am I the only one on here that hate's seeing and reading the word Gritty when describing a hockey player. Can't we change it to hard working two way player? I know thats a lot to type rather than type one word, but man Gritty is just so.... YECH!

How about we use Abrasive instead, means the same but at least it's different...

I hope Bertuzzi is not signed, there is a reason Anaheim (other than salary dump) got rid of him and Calgary isn't re-signing him, besides he isn't going to pay for $1.5M or less...

We're gonna have to look more towards a Grier, Moen, Nichol...

[HudlerFanatic 4]

http://www.topix.com/nhl/detroit-red-wings

5 hrs ago | Detroit Free Press

Hudler talks continue; Holland digging for potential free-agent gems

As the Red Wings continue to negotiate with restricted free agent Jiri Hudler, management is combing the remnants of the unrestricted free-agent market in hopes of finding another gem.

and from the original article this post was about.....

http://blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2009/07/re...ing_for_th.html

Aside from re-signing Ville Leino and Jiri Hudler, the Red Wings have one free agent task to accomplish. As the Free Press's Helene St. James notes, the Red Wings want to find a depth forward who can contribute grit, snarl, and hopefully a little offense:

so don't get all excited yet to those that don't want Hudler, he's not counted out just yet........

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch...."

I think we will all be surprised as to what happens....I am inbetween optimistic & pessimistic, I can't tell whether my cup is half full or half empty.....it's driving me nuts!

[Icesurfer 75]

How do these guys fit the gritty forward bill.... besides travis moen... for about 1.5 mil or less????

Most with scoring touch and most with size.... although not necessary in being gritty: (Detroit has lost some size)

Tom Kostopoulos.... yes

Jason Ward ...yes

Taylor Pyatt.....yes

Marcus Nilson...yes

Chris Gratton ,,, yes

Pat Rissmiller... no

Manny Malhotra.... yes

Radek Bonk... no

Derek Armstrong...no

Jiri Novotny...no

Marcel Goc.. no

Stephane Yelle ..... no...age

Stephane Veilleux --- I remember Mickey Redmond liking this guy

Jeff Cowan... no

Brad Isbister ..... yes

How about a couple of youngsters.... Lukas Kaspar & Mathieu Darche? Anybody know anything about these 2?

Edited July 5, 2009 by Icesurfer

[Icesurfer 75]

quote

"Back in Calgary, Sutter has made it clear that gritty centreman Stephane Yelle won’t be back in the Fall. Saying he was sure he would work with 34 year-old Sandbox again, he added the move came down to a matter of age. Yelle, an indispensable checker, has made a great impact on the team’s defensive mentality, and will easily find another position elsewhere. Able to work forward or even drop back to defence, he is a versatile role player in any game situation. He will be missed on the third-line forecheck, as old Yeller has left some big skates to fill."

[HudlerFanatic 4]

I don't remember seeing this post on LGW....from this person....but stated in here that you posted it....would like to hear more feed back on this if this is correct because I don't think Hudler would want to jepordize the Wing's team just for a bigger pay raise......Not on Hudler skills vs other players etc....there are plaenty of threads for that....

HFBoards : http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?p=20277921

Here is a problem with Huds going to arbitration...he wants more then 2.5M...say he ges 3million. There is a rule already mentioned in this thread that when a player goes to abritration, the team cannot trade him for one year if they end honoring the arbitration value, unless they decline to pay the arbitrated amount, and in this case he becomes a UFA. The link to the article posted earlier on in this thread, regarding Hudler being traded if they dont like what the Arbiter awards him, is wrong. I posted an article on letsgowings a couple weeks ago, showing with nhl rules (unless i read it wrong) that he cannot be traded for one year after the wings choose to sign him to the abritration amount. Now here is the problem I was getting at earlier in the post...If we have to pay him 3m and keep him on the roster for a year, it puts us well over the cap(1Million) for a 22man roster, and well cause we cant trade him, and we are over the cap we have to move someone else already on the roster and replace them with a cheaper player. Not good. Hudler is going to hurt the team by doing this. The only guys that can really provide the extra salary is if Homer retires or we trade flip or Kronwall or homer and replace with a cheap player. We can just fit Hudler in with a 2M salary with a 22 man roster, leaving us with 225K in cap space, with Lilja on the LTIR Meech taking the role as a 7th Dman, and Rittola taking a forward spot which I'm not sure hes ready. Crunching the numbers doesnt paint a pretty picture if Huds gets a big raise to 3M or above.

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Last edited by Probie: Yesterday at 08:57 PM.

Even if Hudler does not stay.....then that leaves 2 spots with Leino signing right.....can we get a skilled forward and a grit guy for that cap??? I get more lost about this topic every time I read something.....someone is going to be traded.....but WHO?! That is the only way I see them keeping point setters on the team instead of "grit-quick skaters".....

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

I honestly wouldnt mind Bertuzzi now. Holland was interested him last year according to mlive, until Hossa phoned him up, and only Mike Milbury would sign Bert over Hossa.

But if there was a cheap, role player that could play in Detroit, it'd be Travis Moen or Mark Bell. We'll see what Kenny does, but I hope to god it's not someone like Grier.

[hossa8181 0]

If said you would take one of the other available free agents over Bertuzzi (at similar price) you have no idea what you're talking about. Thats all.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

We don't need Bertuzzi.

Instead, we need someone who's willing to pay pack for hits to his teammates, and isn't afraid of hurting someone in the process.