Cap Space after this season

[Gnredwing 10]

I read an article somewhere online that was saying how after this season the Wings will have a lot of cap space, I am not exactly sure which players contracts are up but they said they will have a lot of room to add new players.

My question is do you guys think next summer the Wings will add any priemier players via free agency? And any names set to be free agents after this year. Thoughts?

[Echolalia 2,961]

We most likely wont have "a lot" of cap space to sign someone big; especially with so many holes to fill (look at all the free agents this year). Holland is a magician with numbers, though, so any changes will most likely be for the better. Just don't expect Kovalchuk to be wearing a Winged Wheel.

[ben_usmc 253]

We most likely wont have "a lot" of cap space to sign someone big; especially with so many holes to fill (look at all the free agents this year). Holland is a magician with numbers, though, so any changes will most likely be for the better. Just don't expect Kovalchuk to be wearing a Winged Wheel.

I'm not positive but I'm pretty sure most of the money is coming from players who will retire and Lidstrom (who we hope signs for less)

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Depending on Kindl's season in the AHL, Kronwall's season defensively and who's availible, expect them to possibly make a run at a first tier defenseman if they do have the money. This scenario would involve using a certain player's newly expired NTC. I won't name that person because it immediately causes a knee jerk reaction around here.

[gcom007 1,465]

I think it's very likely that we'll land one of the bigger names next summer. It won't be a "biggest name" type of guy, but a legitimate star. Rafalski-ish+ perhaps? A lot would have to go wrong for us to land a couple big names or a BIGGGGGG name.

So who and what depends on how this season goes. I think it's easier to speculate on who the Wings would potentially move to make room and why...

If our defense still struggles, you know the group's going to get shaken up. But other than Lidstrom, Rafalski and likely Ericsson, I don't think anyone's spot is set in stone after next season. Lilja's probably safe if he recovers and returns to form. He's been far more solid in recent years at a great price.

Lebda and/or Meech could be gone before summer. Either Stuart or Kronwall would likely be shipped out if they have rough years or the defense struggles in general.

I've got a sneaking suspicion though that our defense will be better this year. Both Stuart and Kronwall can definitely play far better than they did last year.

So if our defense is set, looking to forwards...

Dats, Z and Franzen obviously are going nowhere. Cleary is really on this level as well at this point even if he didn't have the NTC. Add Leino, Helm and Abs to that list by default as they're rookie-ish guys with a lot of upside.

Obviously if the offense struggles to get going this year, especially in the playoffs, we likely won't see any of the three 1-year wonders we just signed returning unless one really stands out. Williams may just make a case for himself hanging around especially if he has a solid post-season...for once.

Maltby and Holmstrom will likely finally go and they'll likely explore any ways to get out of Drapers contract as well. Not sure how much cap relief if any a buyout could give given that he signed his deal after 35. Perhaps a team way under the cap would do a Draper+draft-pick for a lower draft pick swap. Like Draper+3rd or 4th for a 6th, he's instantly bought out and throws a presser at JLA to announce his retirement. I have no idea if that's possible or legal or whatever, but if the offense really struggles and Draper continues to struggle as well, I think all parties will want out of the deal and Draper will retire with buddy Maltby.

Flip needs to really step up this year. If he is meandering around at a 40-point pace again, I wouldn't be surprised if he was moved at the deadline to fill a hole and open up $3 million in post-season cap space. None of our forwards that would be traded make as much as him or stand to bring as nice of a return as Flip. Sure, everyone likes the guy, but make no mistake, the writing was on the fall early this summer. If Hossa had signed with the Wings, Flip would be gone for this very reason. We don't have anyone else with a sizable enough salary to move that's worth moving at all. He needs to have the breakout year he was supposed to have last year and the offense on whole needs to be strong or Flip could very well be on his way out as a Wing. There's no guarantee one way or another at this point, but if it goes down, don't be shocked...

But then again, if the offense is fine all year and into the playoffs, we very well could see Maltby and Holmstrom sign up for one more year and retire with Draper. We could also see 1-2 of our new guys sticking around. I think there's a good chance Bert will retire a Wing, but if this season goes alright, it won't be next summer. Flip's likely safe even without a breakout if the rest of the offense flourishes. Someone will be gone to make room for Abdelkader full time though.

It'll be an interesting year for our offensive boys...

In goal, Osgood's fine starting for awhile. I think he may even sign another 1-2 year deal after this one even. Howard will write his own fate. Either way, at most we'll just see another sub-million dollar backup come in.

So.......it'll be interesting next summer in any event. We'll likely see some new faces, but I think it's entirely possible that we see little change and have some old faces stick around for one more year even. I honestly kinda hope it ends like that, because that likely means that we had a solid season; maybe not a Cup winning season, but a long, worthy run.

But I want a trilogy-style Finals against the Penguins, and I want to win. Like, Hans Solo may be frozen in carbonite now, but the Ewoks are going to be singing and dancing in Detroit next June...

[FunkedUp 29]

Just don't expect Kovalchuk to be wearing a Winged Wheel.

Oh man...could you imagine? Kov and Pav on the same line together

[ben_usmc 253]

If we do get money I hope we go after some d studs, and then some nice 2 way grinders. Defense wins championships

[StevieY9802 6]

Maybe they will be able to sign maybe bigger names than this year but I don't see much happening. They have 13 forwards on the NHL roster for next year and $40mil in payroll. The cap will likely go down, at least a little bit, so 10 players to sign or bring up and under 16mil to do it will be tough even with Lidstrom taking less. Helm, Eaves and Abby will all get raises probably, at least Abby and Helm will. Let's say the cap only goes down 2mil and Lidstrom takes $4.5mil, which might be low I dunno what he would be willing to do, and no one here does either. Maybe he gets paid more than that for all I know. So now you need to sign or bring up 9 players with just over 10mil. Abby and Helm will get 1mil each at least probably, Helm probably a little more. So even at 1mil each now you have to bring in 7 players for 8mil. Kindl coming up is just under 1mil so now you have just over 7mil for 6 players.

I no that's a lot of if's but I don't see the Wings being able to do too much next summer.

[C-TownWing 0]

Maybe they will be able to sign maybe bigger names than this year but I don't see much happening. They have 13 forwards on the NHL roster for next year and $40mil in payroll. The cap will likely go down, at least a little bit, so 10 players to sign or bring up and under 16mil to do it will be tough even with Lidstrom taking less. Helm, Eaves and Abby will all get raises probably, at least Abby and Helm will. Let's say the cap only goes down 2mil and Lidstrom takes $4.5mil, which might be low I dunno what he would be willing to do, and no one here does either. Maybe he gets paid more than that for all I know. So now you need to sign or bring up 9 players with just over 10mil. Abby and Helm will get 1mil each at least probably, Helm probably a little more. So even at 1mil each now you have to bring in 7 players for 8mil. Kindl coming up is just under 1mil so now you have just over 7mil for 6 players.

I no that's a lot of if's but I don't see the Wings being able to do too much next summer.

I tend to agree with this. There's a lot of variables out there. What's the cap going to do? I remember hearing all last year that this would be the year the recession would really be reflected in the cap. It could go down, and by more than slightly. What's Lidstrom getting? My guess: you're going to be disappointed if you expect his number to be lopped in half or something like that. Helm and Abs are RFA and get a bump if they play well this year. You can tell Maltby and Holmstrom to take a hike if you want, but you still have to fill their spots.

Basically, our off-season purge got us in a great position. We have some flexibility, we're not screwed if the cap goes down, etc. But I think a big, big name (without also dumping a large salary) is unrealistic. Think about how screwed we'd be if we had signed Hossa.

[toby91_ca 620]

I don't think one can assume that there will be significant cap space considering the fact that the cap may go down, who knows by how much, but the Cdn dollar has been strong recently, so that will help. Assuming the cap doesn't go down by much, they may appear to have a lot of room available, but you also have to consider that they need to fill up a roster as well and they will be starting with 7 forwards and 4 defenseman who are currently on this year's roster, so they'd need another 6 forwards and 3 defensemen likely. This also doesn't factor in Lidstrom coming back. I'm assuming he'll be back, but there's no guarantee and if he comes back, I'm sure he'll sign for much less than the current salary, but it will still be fairly hefty (not in the $2 million range), so you may be left with $1 and less per player to fill those holes.

[Rivalred 630]

Putting the cart before the horse. Putting on pants before underwear.

The 09/10 Season has not even started yet, let us focus on this years cap, injuries, and lines. Projected cap is set to drop. All speculation at this point.

Edited September 30, 2009 by Rivalred

[StevieY9802 6]

I tend to agree with this. There's a lot of variables out there. What's the cap going to do? I remember hearing all last year that this would be the year the recession would really be reflected in the cap. It could go down, and by more than slightly. What's Lidstrom getting? My guess: you're going to be disappointed if you expect his number to be lopped in half or something like that. Helm and Abs are RFA and get a bump if they play well this year. You can tell Maltby and Holmstrom to take a hike if you want, but you still have to fill their spots.

Basically, our off-season purge got us in a great position. We have some flexibility, we're not screwed if the cap goes down, etc. But I think a big, big name (without also dumping a large salary) is unrealistic. Think about how screwed we'd be if we had signed Hossa.

Yeah the point about Malts and Homer is a good one. They might be gone and you are saving about 3.3mil but you still have to replace them.

As for Hossa I'm very happy they didn't sign him. While I would have loved to have him back the cap hit, even with trading away whatever was still gonna hurt them in the long run. This team is better prepared for the longer term now, imo.

[Buppy 1,720]

Putting the cart before the horse. Putting on pants before underwear.

The 09/10 Season has not even started yet, let us focus on this years cap, injuries, and lines. Projected cap is set to drop. All speculation at this point.

Nothing we can say here has any effect on what happens on the ice, so whether speculating about next summer, this season, or 35 years from now isn't any different. It's just entertainment, so...

As others have said, we really don't have a ton of cap room, even if the cap doesn't go down. Nor are there many big ticket UFAs. Kovalchuk and Savard are the biggest, and probably unlikely that either makes it to free agency. There's a few RFAs, but unlikely we'd go after any of them.

I think it mostly depends on Lidstrom. If he decides to retire I'd expect some kind of move to help offset that loss. If he comes back, then I'd expect something similar to this year.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

The Wings currently have slightly over $16 million in cap space next year *using this years' cap number (which won't be accurate next year)* and they only have 13 players (7 Offensemen, 4 Defensemen, 2 Goalies) under contract. Given the cap is likely to drop a fair amount, that's not exactly a ton of cap space at all.

As other have mentioned, Lids' pay will play a significant role in what Kenny can and can't do.

[Chunkylover 26]

But I want a trilogy-style Finals against the Penguins, and I want to win. Like, Hans Solo may be frozen in carbonite now, but the Ewoks are going to be singing and dancing in Detroit next June...

Nicely done.

I'm happy with the young player the Wings already have. Guys like Kindl and Abdelkader have great attitudes, if their games still need a little refinement, and that will be a net benefit to the team. I don't want to indulge too much hyperbole, but one of our goalie prospects may turn out to be a good Lidstrom-retirement contingency plan.

The forward core of Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, and Cleary already has a winning tradition and attitude, we don't really need to add anyone else at the top to achieve success. If Rafalski, Stuart, and Kronwall can get back to playing like they were two post-seasons ago we'll be alright on defense. The real turnaround will take place on the bottom of the defense and forward corps and so long as they have the right attitude, which I've already posited that they do, we should see the tradition continue.

Edited September 30, 2009 by Chunkylover

[eva unit zero 271]

The idea of picking up a top-tier defenseman via free agency in 2010 is an unrealistic option. Some of the options at D to replace Lidstrom who go UFA in the summer of 2010 are:

-The Old Men

Scott Niedermayer

Sergei Gonchar

Rob Blake

-The Skilled Youth

Paul Martin

Rostislav Klesla

Dan Hamhuis

Jordan Leopold

Niedermayer is the only guy on this list who could really make the loss of Lidstrom anything less than devastating in the short-term. Getting Niedermayer in Detroit would be nearly impossible, though. Gonchar and Blake provide experience, offensive ability, and are not defensive liabilities so they would be acceptable signings. But the chance of signing either would be slim as Gonchar is likely to stay in Pittsburgh and Blake has said he plans to retire a Shark.

The 'kids' on the list are good young players in their mid-late 20s who have solid upside and improvement ahead of them, and are top-four type guys now. None would be mistaken for a Norris candidate right now, but all could be or are a strong first-pairing defenseman.

2011 is a better year to pick up a top-flight defenseman via UFA. Chara, Markov, Kaberle, Pitkanen are all UFAs. So, however, is Jonathan Ericsson.

[Yzerfan1999 81]

I don't think they get a BIG name. Lots of UFAs for the Wings after this year...RFAs they will need to re-sign Helm, Adbelkader, and possibly Eaves. If they did, the Wings F's would be Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Filppula, Cleary, Draper, Leino, Abdelkader, Helm and Eaves. Holmstrom, Maltby, Bertuzzi, and Williams will all be UFA's - who knows which of those will get a contract, but I bet Holmstrom gets a 1 year - 1 million dollar deal or something like that, unless he retires. It seems like the Wings could potentially need a whole 4th line next season. Lilja and Lebda will be UFA, both of which I dont see coming back.

My guess is that Lids re-signs for 1 year at a time, maybe around 4 or 5 Mill? Does that seem reasonable? are there any Cap crunchers around? how much does that potential leave us with if you resign Eaves, Helm and Abdelkader, possibly Holmstrom, and Lids at 5 mill?

like 3 or 4 million in cap space for a D man and two forwards? or am i totally off. ??

[vangvace 12]

With the cap expected to go down, I'm not sure if Detroit won't be bumping the ceiling to fill the roster with Williams/Bert money type players. Iirc the forecasted cap next year was supposed to be around $55 or $56 mil range with a few saying it could drop to $50mil... Now say Lidstrom resigns for $5 mil even as a favor to the Wings. That'll leave 5 forwards and a defenseman that need to be signed for ~$10 mil just to fill out the roster.

I really hope the cap doesn't drop and tickets prices don't rise.

[topsideplaya 0]

Z. Michalek is the guy I really want to see in a Wings uniform. He will be a UFA at the end of the year and maybe a Stuart type deal can get the job done

[AD2044 0]

I vote Marcus Drake for the next wings GM

[hockey23 79]

Using this years cap, which I doubt will chage very much because the NHLPA can add a 5% inflator if it does go down.

AUTO-GENERATED CAPGEEK.COM LINES

FORWARDS

Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.955m)

Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Kris Draper ($1.583m)

* FA ($1.500m) / * Darren Helm ($1.000m) / * Justin Abdelkader ($1.000m)

Ville Leino ($0.800m) / * FA ($0.500m)

DEFENSEMEN

Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m)

Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($0.900m)

* Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) / * FA ($0.750m)

GOALTENDERS

Chris Osgood ($1.417m) / Jimmy Howard ($0.717m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS

ROSTER: 19; PAYROLL: $46.338m; CAP ROOM: $10.462m BONUSES: $0.000m

This leaves $10 mil for Lidstrom and a top 6 forward. Give me Lidstrom for $5 mil and Kovalchuk on a 14 yr $70 mil deal. I'm just exaggerating here, but would Kenny be up for another 10+ yr deal for a Kovalchuk level player?

[deetroit dario 27]

I vote Marcus Drake for the next wings GM

i second...all in favor?

[Buppy 1,720]

The idea of picking up a top-tier defenseman via free agency in 2010 is an unrealistic option. Some of the options at D to replace Lidstrom ....

Free agency isn't the only way to add players. If Nick retires, I'd bet Kenny would try to work out a trade, Kaberle maybe the most likely suspect.

[gcom007 1,465]

Free agency isn't the only way to add players. If Nick retires, I'd bet Kenny would try to work out a trade, Kaberle maybe the most likely suspect.

Yep...what many are forgetting is that trades still exist and if we need to make a splash, it means something isn't working on our end and it's going to be bigger than a guy like Maltby retiring. Like I said, if we NEED to make big moves, it'll be because our middle-tier guys are dropping balls, as in Flip, Stuart, Kronwall...if they don't make it happen, someone will go bye-bye...maybe at the deadline, maybe in the summer. It all depends on what we need and that all depends on how those guys play. They needs more than 40 points from Flip and dramatically improved performances from Kronwall and Stuart this year. Again, if those guys play well, we'll see nothing big because besides not being able to afford it, we simply won't need to. Only way it'll get interesting is if the cap takes a major dive and we need to start cutting people.

[dropkickshanahans 463]

Using this years cap, which I doubt will chage very much because the NHLPA can add a 5% inflator if it does go down.

AUTO-GENERATED CAPGEEK.COM LINES

FORWARDS

Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.955m)

Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Kris Draper ($1.583m)

* FA ($1.500m) / * Darren Helm ($1.000m) / * Justin Abdelkader ($1.000m)

Ville Leino ($0.800m) / * FA ($0.500m)

DEFENSEMEN

Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m)

Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($0.900m)

* Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) / * FA ($0.750m)

GOALTENDERS

Chris Osgood ($1.417m) / Jimmy Howard ($0.717m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS

ROSTER: 19; PAYROLL: $46.338m; CAP ROOM: $10.462m BONUSES: $0.000m

This leaves $10 mil for Lidstrom and a top 6 forward. Give me Lidstrom for $5 mil and Kovalchuk on a 14 yr $70 mil deal. I'm just exaggerating here, but would Kenny be up for another 10+ yr deal for a Kovalchuk level player?

I thought Kovalchuk resigned with the Thrashers? I coulda swore he got a 5-6 year extension at some point this year. Either way, I wouldn't risk it, so no I don't think he would go for another long term deal with a top tier player. Kinda too late for me to think about it (plus I don't have a full grasp of how contracts work per year to how it would affect the future roster, too lazy to even care) but it seems to me that doing that would drastically affect our future roster, or at least it would be up in the air instead of being prepared. After next season we gotta worry about Lidstrom of course, but if he don't return then I'd like that money to be used accordingly with our defensive needs depending on production as well as our 3rd and 4th lines as well as think ahead of how some players will turn out once others are FA, like Leino for example. But no worries, I know Holland already has this figured out and will sign/trade/resign to make us competitive year in and year out. Gotta love our system.