I disagree with that statement, because I think while it doesn't take a roster spot away from that D-man, it could take some of the money he could use to get a higher quality Dman than he otherwise might. How much is that 6th Dman going to cost, assuming it's not Lillypads? A tough stay at home guy who can kill penalties and mentor E. Those are all great qualities in a defenseman.
And while I agree Miller is replaceable, if we're swapping him with Modano, then the Wings lose their number 3 PK guy, because Modano doesn't do that anymore. If Maltby's gone too, he was right behind Miller in PK minutes. So now you're looking at Cleary, Flip, Dats or Z picking up more PK minutes, when we want them to be scoring. Abby may pick up some minutes eventually, but I dont' think it'll be soon.
As for the guy who can fight and play the game a little, that's a broader wish I have in terms of Holland's priorities. Once again, it's basically an afterthought with him so all the Wings can afford is someone off the scrap heap who will play half a season and limited minutes. If it were a priority, he could find that player and fit him into the Wings lineup, and I would believe it would make the Wings a better team.
I respect your opinion and the way you go about discussing it, unlike some on these boards...
Anyway, as far as our PK goes, you are missing a few names: Helm, Eaves, Draper (when he plays). So that makes the list of PK guys as follows: Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Filppula, Cleary, Eaves, Helm, possibly Abdelkader (like you said)... That is plenty to roll given how responsible a team we are when it comes to penalties.
As far as a 6th defensemen goes, if we are spending more than 1 million on him, then we are spending too much. Especially when we roll with 7 d-men. So signing Modano to a million doesn't hurt our chances when you consider we won't sign Miller, in this case, and will more than likely trade one other forward, depending on how Holland wants to roll things.
It all works out cap-wise. And with Miller out, we still have approximately 500K like Holland said for injuries and the like.
Again, it's just my opinion, I'm not caught up in the "romanticism" of having a future hall of famer and a hometown boy here, I just think he could do good for our team and help in an area we were seriously lacking in last season: secondary scoring.
Edited by SwedeLundin77, 05 July 2010 - 11:46 PM.