53 replies to this topic

[Heroes of Hockeytown]

I don't envision Hudler making a difference in a series like this. Much like he didn't in the second half of the playoffs last year.

And unlike when he scored the key game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup Finals the year before that helped give the Wings the advantage they needed to close out the series.

[DatsyukianDeke13]

Just imagine this as our top two for next year:

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Franzen-Filppula-Hudler

Pretty good if you ask me. For some reason, I'm liking that more than what we have now, although, I do know a lot of people like Cleary up on the second or first.

[RedLightGoesOn]

A lot of changes need to be made. Hudler is good for this team. I would like to see a few players go, but we will see what happens.

[Hossa4Life]

A lot of changes need to be made. Hudler is good for this team. I would like to see a few players go, but we will see what happens.

UMMM hmmmm lets think... maybe... williams.

[wingsownnhl43]

Just imagine this as our top two for next year:

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Franzen-Filppula-Hudler

Pretty good if you ask me. For some reason, I'm liking that more than what we have now, although, I do know a lot of people like Cleary up on the second or first.

This. This. This

In my mind, you have to get Z and D back together for a full season. They make up one of the top lines in hockey and that second line is more than capable of holding its own.

As for Hudler, he is not the answer, but is definitely part of the solution. We need secondary scoring in the worst way. We really miss not having three potent lines anymore. I feel as though we have played with two fourth lines the entire year. Keep Helm, Abdelkader, Eaves, Draper, and Ritola rotating as your fourth line. Miller has been good, but we have enough players like him so good riddance. I think Cleary can stay on the third line. He is still good for 40 points. We should have enough cap room to pick up two third line guys that can put the puck in the net. As I mentioned in another thread, maybe Kozzie will come back here to finish his career on the cheap.

If Lidstrom retires you obviously cant replace him, but If we go out and sign a physical stay at home defenseman, we really wont lose that much defensively. We would however, lose a lot of offensive output from our defensive core, and our powerplay would regress.

Edited by wingsownnhl43, 05 May 2010 - 12:19 AM.

[Third Man In]

Just imagine this as our top two for next year:

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Franzen-Filppula-Hudler

Pretty good if you ask me. For some reason, I'm liking that more than what we have now, although, I do know a lot of people like Cleary up on the second or first.

ZDH is all well in good in the regular season, but it becomes a problem when you go up against a team in the playoffs with two legitimate scoring lines.

Right now the Wings have two good scoring lines and a collection of players (Helm, Abdelkader, Draper, Maltby, Miller, Eaves) that would do best on a checking line. Add Hudler back in the mix and you've got something like this:

Franzen-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Cleary-Zetterberg-anyone but Bert or Willy
Eaves-Filppula-Hudler
Abdelkader-Helm-Draper/Miller

The Wings are one good free agent from having three good scoring lines again. Now about that defence...

[wingsownnhl43]

ZDH is all well in good in the regular season, but it becomes a problem when you go up against a team in the playoffs with two legitimate scoring lines.

Right now the Wings have two good scoring lines and a collection of players (Helm, Abdelkader, Draper, Maltby, Miller, Eaves) that would do best on a checking line. Add Hudler back in the mix and you've got something like this:

Franzen-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Cleary-Zetterberg-anyone but Bert or Willy
Eaves-Filppula-Hudler
Abdelkader-Helm-Draper/Miller

The Wings are one good free agent from having three good scoring lines again. Now about that defence...

I honestly think Franzen and Holmstrom together is flawed. Just saying. And Filppula has clearly shown that he's deserving of being on the top two lines. Bert and Williams as far as I'm concerned are gone. Im looking for Kenny to go out and get another scoring forward (40-50) point player to round out the top 3 lines.

[king_malice]

Franzen-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
Zetterberg-Filppula-Hudler
Cleary-Abdelkader-Bertuzzi
Eaves-Helm-Miller
Draper

i think if we could do this line-up next season we should be in good shape,I know alot of ppl hate on Bertuzzi, but there was alot of pressure on him to perform this season, which i think he didnt do to bad considering all the injuries and what not 44pts isnt to bad, He hasnt done really anything in the playoffs but unless we can replace him with a big power forward i think he would still be good on our 3rd line.

PP1

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Holmstrom

PP2

Franzen-Filppula-Hudler

[Drake_Marcus]

Maybe Ericcsson can get an 'A' in Grand Rapids!!!!!!

Says the Howard fan. Howard has 800 times more to do with our being down 0-3 than Ericsson.

Hows about he limits his soft goals to one a game? He's got a GAA of 4 this series. Not. Good. Enough.

[wingsownnhl43]

If Lidstrom retires, heres my dream scenerio. Its a bit dreamy, but plausable. I dont think I undervalued Kozlov, Volchenkov, or Armstrongs cap hits. If Nick decides to stay, just put him in Volchenkovs spot. I think Kozzie would be a nice, cheap pick up to replace Williams. He could really work well with Datsyuk. Back in the day, the Kozlov/Fedorov/Homer line worked well, this could have a similar effect, however at this stage of the game Id look for Kozlov to be a Larionov type.

I like what Bert did this season, but I look to get someone younger that wants to play a little bit more physical in Armstrong. We would have 3 solid lines again. And I dont think we lose much, if anything defensively by replacing Volchenkov with Nick.

FORWARDS
* Slava Kozlov ($1.500m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / * Tomas Holmstrom ($1.500m)
Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.955m)
Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / * Darren Helm ($0.750m) / * Colby Armstrong ($2.000m)
Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / * Justin Abdelkader ($0.850m) / * Patrick Eaves ($0.600m)
Kris Draper ($1.583m) / * Mattias Ritola ($0.511m)

DEFENSEMEN
Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) / * Anton Volchenkov ($4.500m)
Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m)
Jonathan Ericsson ($0.900m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m)
* Doug Janik ($0.500m)

GOALTENDERS
Chris Osgood ($1.417m) / Jimmy Howard ($0.717m)
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS
ROSTER: 23; PAYROLL: $56.374m; CAP ROOM: $0.426m BONUSES: $0.000m

[king_malice]

If Lidstrom retires, heres my dream scenerio. Its a bit dreamy, but plausable. I dont think I undervalued Kozlov, Volchenkov, or Armstrongs cap hits. If Nick decides to stay, just put him in Volchenkovs spot. I think Kozzie would be a nice, cheap pick up to replace Williams. He could really work well with Datsyuk. Back in the day, the Kozlov/Fedorov/Homer line worked well, this could have a similar effect, however at this stage of the game Id look for Kozlov to be a Larionov type.

I like what Bert did this season, but I look to get someone younger that wants to play a little bit more physical in Armstrong. We would have 3 solid lines again. And I dont think we lose much, if anything defensively by replacing Volchenkov with Nick.

FORWARDS
* Slava Kozlov ($1.500m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / * Tomas Holmstrom ($1.500m)
Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.955m)
Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / * Darren Helm ($0.750m) / * Colby Armstrong ($2.000m)
Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / * Justin Abdelkader ($0.850m) / * Patrick Eaves ($0.600m)
Kris Draper ($1.583m) / * Mattias Ritola ($0.511m)

DEFENSEMEN
Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) / * Anton Volchenkov ($4.500m)
Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m)
Jonathan Ericsson ($0.900m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m)
* Doug Janik ($0.500m)

GOALTENDERS
Chris Osgood ($1.417m) / Jimmy Howard ($0.717m)
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS
ROSTER: 23; PAYROLL: $56.374m; CAP ROOM: $0.426m BONUSES: $0.000m

i like the idea of Armstrong in for Bert,but Kozlov for Williams i dont think i like to much how about.I also like the idea of bringing in Ritola i think the Wings are the only team that lets there players develope this long still in the AHL, I do like that they give them time but i also think we need to slowly start bringing them up and let them play with the big boys.

Franzen-Datsyuk-Hudler
Zetterberg-Fippula-Holmstrom
Cleary-Helm-Armstrong
Eaves-Abdelkader-Ritola
Draper

I like the D you have also, I wouldnt mind Willie Mitchell either if Lids goes.

[asmith18]

I'm happy we are getting Hudler back. My only thing I'm questioning is in the playoffs last year he got hurt by Columbus, yes he still played on, but wasn't scoring as much. I know its been a season so hopefully he back to 100%. The whole team had some mysterious injuries they didn't reveal until after the finals were up. Rafalski with the back, Lidstrom, and a few others.

Wings need speed and I think Hudler will be good to have back.

[DatsyukianDeke13]

Says the Howard fan. Howard has 800 times more to do with our being down 0-3 than Ericsson.

Hows about he limits his soft goals to one a game? He's got a GAA of 4 this series. Not. Good. Enough.

Exactly. Ericsson is not the reason for this team losing. It is Howard. I don't care if he is a rookie or not. Giving up 4 goals a game is, like you said, simply not good enough. There is a reason why Detroit is called Hockeytown. The fans of our beloved Red Wings hold the players to higher standards than those of any other team. I respect what he has done so far, but like I said, this is Hockeytown. Losing is unacceptable.

If Lidstrom retires, heres my dream scenerio. Its a bit dreamy, but plausable. I dont think I undervalued Kozlov, Volchenkov, or Armstrongs cap hits. If Nick decides to stay, just put him in Volchenkovs spot. I think Kozzie would be a nice, cheap pick up to replace Williams. He could really work well with Datsyuk. Back in the day, the Kozlov/Fedorov/Homer line worked well, this could have a similar effect, however at this stage of the game Id look for Kozlov to be a Larionov type.

I like what Bert did this season, but I look to get someone younger that wants to play a little bit more physical in Armstrong. We would have 3 solid lines again. And I dont think we lose much, if anything defensively by replacing Volchenkov with Nick.

FORWARDS
* Slava Kozlov ($1.500m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / * Tomas Holmstrom ($1.500m)
Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.955m)
Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / * Darren Helm ($0.750m) / * Colby Armstrong ($2.000m)
Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / * Justin Abdelkader ($0.850m) / * Patrick Eaves ($0.600m)
Kris Draper ($1.583m) / * Mattias Ritola ($0.511m)

DEFENSEMEN
Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) / * Anton Volchenkov ($4.500m)
Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m)
Jonathan Ericsson ($0.900m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m)
* Doug Janik ($0.500m)

GOALTENDERS
Chris Osgood ($1.417m) / Jimmy Howard ($0.717m)
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS
ROSTER: 23; PAYROLL: $56.374m; CAP ROOM: $0.426m BONUSES: $0.000m

Interesting picks. I don't know if I necessarily like Kozlov though. Armstrong and Volchenkov could actually be pretty good pickups though. I think I would rather have Kronwall on the first line with Rafalski then Volchenkov with Stuart---okay, who am I kidding, I would rather have #5 in the number one spot, but if Nick does retire, I would have no qualms with those additions.

[Flip-check]

The title of this topic, basically, says it all.

Sorry kids. Hudler is a holy man, walking on (frozen) water. You can't replace that.. especially not this year.

[EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

I don't envision Hudler making a difference in a series like this. Much like he didn't in the second half of the playoffs last year.

Much like Filppula didn't make a difference in a series like this.

Marleau will be a free agent and if Lidstrom retires, we will certainly have the cap space....


(NICK, NOOOOOOOOOO)

Yes, replacing one of the best if not the best D-men of all time and certainly the Era with a forward will surely be good use of the cap money.

you guys DO realize Huds will be making 3.5 mil a year right? Thats a lot of mullah for an already cap tight team. Is he really worth it? I personally dont see him making any difference. I'd honestly rather trade his rights away, and use that 3.5 mil for some better assets.

LGW: Where people make up numbers and then emphasis DO REALIZE.

Says the Howard fan. Howard has 800 times more to do with our being down 0-3 than Ericsson.

Hows about he limits his soft goals to one a game? He's got a GAA of 4 this series. Not. Good. Enough.

Drake normally I agree with you, but that argument is entirely unfair. A goalie will almost always have more of an impact on winning or losing a game then a 5th D-man, no one is arguing that, however when you compare each of their level of play compared to what is capable/expected, Ericcsson played comparatively worse. Howard could have been better, but he is NOT the reason we are down 3-0, as he has outplayed Nabokov overall. Oh, and please spare us by misquoting Bob Mckeanzie on how could Ericcsson be a Norris contender.

[DatsyukianDeke13]

Much like Filppula didn't make a difference in a series like this.


Yes, replacing one of the best if not the best D-men of all time and certainly the Era with a forward will surely be good use of the cap money.



LGW: Where people make up numbers and then emphasis DO REALIZE.


Drake normally I agree with you, but that argument is entirely unfair. A goalie will almost always have more of an impact on winning or losing a game then a 5th D-man, no one is arguing that, however when you compare each of their level of play compared to what is capable/expected, Ericcsson played comparatively worse. Howard could have been better, but he is NOT the reason we are down 3-0, as he has outplayed Nabokov overall. Oh, and please spare us by misquoting Bob Mckeanzie on how could Ericcsson be a Norris contender.

You obviously didn't read the original posts, so let me break it down for you. The OP was wondering what free agents were available. He was looking for a goal scorer. Kovalchuk was already thrown out there, so I suggested Marleau.

Brought up to speed now bud?

[EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

You obviously didn't read the original posts, so let me break it down for you. The OP was wondering what free agents were available. He was looking for a goal scorer. Kovalchuk was already thrown out there, so I suggested Marleau.

Brought up to speed now bud?

The mere fact that you would even entertain his idea of adding a forward is enough for me. In addition, your tone and word selection would, too most people anyway, show that you have at least moderate interest in the signing, as you do point out that we have Cap Space. And I'm not your bud.

Edited by EZBAKETHAGANGSTA, 05 May 2010 - 02:27 AM.

[DatsyukianDeke13]

The mere fact that you would even entertain his idea of adding a forward is enough for me. In addition, your tone and word selection would, too most people anyway, show that you have at least moderate interest in the signing, as you do point out that we have Cap Space. And I'm not your bud.

Okay guy. Actually I have no interest in signing Marleau. Just answering his question of available goal scorers.

[Flip-check]

LGW: Where people make up numbers and then emphasis DO REALIZE.

The Internets: Where people make up facts, and then support them with anything they so desire to qualify the statement with.

But don't go tellin' me that Hudler ain't a saint, 'cos I seen that man bring the dead back to life. Twice. On a Tuesday.

[wingsownnhl43]

Okay guy. Actually I have no interest in signing Marleau. Just answering his question of available goal scorers.

Does anyone know if the "poison pill" loophole is prohibbited in the NHL CBA? I know this loophole has been exploited in the NFL a few times...

For those of you that dont know what this is, it applies to restricted free agents. Here is an example...

Detroit Signs Nicklas Backstrom to an offer sheet... say 10 years, 60 million. Under normal circumstances Washington would match this offer in seconds. However, part of the contract negotiated with the Wings would award a bonus of $40 million to Backstrom if he plays 30 games in the Verizon Center, making it next to impossible for the Caps to match...