Changes in the offseason

[stevkrause 1,247]

Sniper for which line?

Yes.

[dirtydangles 1,328]

I'm not so sure a big move is needed because "we don't have ability to compete with larger and younger teams". A big move this offseason will be necessary if Lidstrom retires, but aside from that I don't think we are required to make a HUGE move. IMO, if we win Game 7, we're playing in the Finals right now. Let's face it, the Wings were on a hot streak and the Sharks finished their season losing 7 of their last 9 games. I don't feel like major moves are necessary, but having said that I would like to see them make some moves that address some flaws, like PK, back up goaltending, powerplay QB and a top 6 forward. While Richards would solve the last two issues and *I* would try to sign him, I don't expect it to happen and those problems can be addressed without making big moves.

so ur cool with getting physically dominated by the sharks? We were manhandled by them during the regular season and the first 3 games of the series. we need size and youth. Its possible to get a guy with size and youth that can be a: top 6 forward and pker, so theres 2 of your criteria covered. I see guys on other teams sacrificing their bodies (pavelski) by going to ice block shots all over the place (especially sj and vancouver) and we don't often. Stuff like that bothers me. We need some youth and size. id be willing to trade for that, not pick up unwanted scraps from other teams. you gotta give up quality to get quality.

[kipwinger 8,524]

Since when does adding a top 4 d-man and a top 6 forward not count as making a big move? Those are HUGE additions to any team. No, we're not going to go out and pick up a superstar, but adding someone like Wiz or Bieksa, and adding a forward like Laich (or anybody is this caliber), definitely count as big moves.

[dirtydangles 1,328]

Since when does adding a top 4 d-man and a top 6 forward not count as making a big move? Those are HUGE additions to any team. No, we're not going to go out and pick up a superstar, but adding someone like Wiz or Bieksa, and adding a forward like Laich (or anybody is this caliber), definitely count as big moves.

agreed, but i think if we want to really make this team a contender we may have to make a trade.

[kipwinger 8,524]

agreed, but i think if we want to really make this team a contender we may have to make a trade.

Yeah, I'm open to a trade. I'm not saying you have to sign free agents, but we really need to fill at least those two glaring holes in the lineup, either by trade or by free agency. In either case, those are going to be huge additions to the team. Hell, even adding a fourth line grinder can be a huge addition if that's what you're missing. Anyone remember Dallas Drake?

[Konnan511 1,736]

agreed, but i think if we want to really make this team a contender we may have to make a trade.

Why? It's smarter to pick up a UFA and not lose any assets than to make trades and lose assets.

[xtrememachine1 795]

so ur cool with getting physically dominated by the sharks? We were manhandled by them during the regular season and the first 3 games of the series. we need size and youth.

All of the games we lost to SJ in the playoffs were very close and could have easily gone the other way, not to mention by the end of the series we were the better team. Unfortunately we were also the more injured team too. A healthy Franzen may have made all the difference.

Since when does adding a top 4 d-man and a top 6 forward not count as making a big move? Those are HUGE additions to any team. No, we're not going to go out and pick up a superstar, but adding someone like Wiz or Bieksa, and adding a forward like Laich (or anybody is this caliber), definitely count as big moves.

I guess it depends on your definition of "big move". Richards, Weber, Doughty, Parise guys like that are big moves IMO. Signing a guy like Laich would be a good move. He would make an impact on the team, but he's not an all star, won't cost a ton of money, he won't put up the big numbers.

Edited June 10, 2011 by xtrememachine1

[kipwinger 8,524]

All of the games we lost to SJ in the playoffs were very close and could have easily gone the other way, not to mention by the end of the series we were the better team. Unfortunately we were also the more injured team too. A healthy Franzen may have made all the difference.

I guess it depends on your definition of "big move". Richards, Weber, Doughty, Parise guys like that are big moves IMO. Signing a guy like Laich would be a good move. He would make an impact on the team, but he's not an all star, won't cost a ton of money, he won't put up the big numbers.

I understand what you're saying, and I agree to an extent. But if you look across the league, on every team, you'll notice that each (competitive team) has a couple of superstars and a lot of mid tier and lower tier guys. Superstars across the board play at a consistently superstar-like level. Stanley Cup winners are the ones who get that play from the stars, and get A LOT of additional solid play out of everyone else. We've already got our super stars, and they are going to continue to play the way they can (for a few more years). Now it's a matter of making sure that they have the right supporting cast. Very few teams have a Sedin/Sedin/Kessler or St. Louis/Stamkos/Lecavalier situation going on, but plenty of teams win cups without it.

Additionally, we haven't lost the last couple of years because we didn't have enough goal scoring. Adding a Richards or Parise up front isn't necessarily going to solve our problems. Sure they'll score a ton more points, and give us offensive depth (which we need), but if they can't match up defensively, and play a physical and defensively responsible game against quality opposing forwards, they really haven't helped with our problem. We are always near the top of the league in "goals for", we've got to get that "goals against" down to beat the really good teams. Obviously Weber would help in that regard, but that's more and more a pipe dream everyday.

[dirtydangles 1,328]

what would it take to get Brent Burns? I think it would be ideal that he would be up for a new contract in a year so we can use lidstrom's salary to resign him and kronner and stewie for a long time. Then if we signed wisniewski for a real killer top 4. That would be two great Right shooting dmen for the future.

Next Season:

Kronwall-Burns

Lidstrom-Wisniewski

Someone-Stuart

Year After:

Kronwall-Burns

Smith-Wisniewski

Someone-Stuart

I think we can agree that looks like an awesome plan. But what would it take to get Burns in a wings uniform? I'm thinking Kindl would have to go, 1st rounder, future pick, and one top 6 forward (they won't touch Hudler) im thinking Fil maybe even Franzen (might want to get rid of that lifetime contract). P.S. don't come back saying Burns won't be resigned and we can wait a year, the wild WILL trade him for something if he refuses to resign.

[LeftWinger 4,963]

I understand what you're saying, and I agree to an extent. But if you look across the league, on every team, you'll notice that each (competitive team) has a couple of superstars and a lot of mid tier and lower tier guys. Superstars across the board play at a consistently superstar-like level. Stanley Cup winners are the ones who get that play from the stars, and get A LOT of additional solid play out of everyone else. We've already got our super stars, and they are going to continue to play the way they can (for a few more years). Now it's a matter of making sure that they have the right supporting cast. Very few teams have a Sedin/Sedin/Kessler or St. Louis/Stamkos/Lecavalier situation going on, but plenty of teams win cups without it.

Additionally, we haven't lost the last couple of years because we didn't have enough goal scoring. Adding a Richards or Parise up front isn't necessarily going to solve our problems. Sure they'll score a ton more points, and give us offensive depth (which we need), but if they can't match up defensively, and play a physical and defensively responsible game against quality opposing forwards, they really haven't helped with our problem. We are always near the top of the league in "goals for", we've got to get that "goals against" down to beat the really good teams. Obviously Weber would help in that regard, but that's more and more a pipe dream everyday.

If Richards or Parise were two options, I would opt for Parise since I believe he is the better PURE GOAL scorer. But Parise is an RFA, he would have to be traded to us...

[dirtydangles 1,328]

With Trade of Franzen, Kindl, 1st rounder, 2012 2nd rounder for Brent Burns:

CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR

FORWARDS

Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)

Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Brad Richards ($7.000m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m)

Jussi Jokinen ($2.800m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.850m)

Drew Miller ($0.750m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Jan Mursak ($0.550m)

Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m)

DEFENSEMEN

Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Brent Burns ($3.550m)

Nicklas Lidstrom ($5.800m) / James Wisniewski ($4.500m)

Jonathan Ericsson ($1.700m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m)

GOALTENDERS

Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Joey MacDonald ($0.550m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)

(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)

SALARY CAP: $62,200,000; CAP PAYROLL: $61,145,833; BONUSES: $0

CAP SPACE (21-man roster): $1,054,167

This lineup has Cup winner all over it. Maybe just use some of that extra cap space to sign a better backup goalie, I'm not sure who. I'd rather Filppula go over Franzen, but I think Franzen is somebody the Wild would want more than Flip. Plus Flip plays great D.

[eva unit zero 271]

With Trade of Franzen, Kindl, 1st rounder, 2012 2nd rounder for Brent Burns:

CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR

FORWARDS

Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)

Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Brad Richards ($7.000m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m)

Jussi Jokinen ($2.800m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.850m)

Drew Miller ($0.750m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Jan Mursak ($0.550m)

Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m)

DEFENSEMEN

Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Brent Burns ($3.550m)

Nicklas Lidstrom ($5.800m) / James Wisniewski ($4.500m)

Jonathan Ericsson ($1.700m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m)

GOALTENDERS

Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Joey MacDonald ($0.550m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)

(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)

SALARY CAP: $62,200,000; CAP PAYROLL: $61,145,833; BONUSES: $0

CAP SPACE (21-man roster): $1,054,167

This lineup has Cup winner all over it. Maybe just use some of that extra cap space to sign a better backup goalie, I'm not sure who. I'd rather Filppula go over Franzen, but I think Franzen is somebody the Wild would want more than Flip. Plus Flip plays great D.

1) Richards will probably get more than $7m.

2) You have no seventh defenseman (I'll assume Doug Janik, as he is signed and fits within the remaining cap space)

3) Joey MacDonald will almost certainly NOT be the backup.

4) The chances of the Wings trading Franzen and Kindl and replacing them with Richards and Burns, and signing Jokinen to replace Hudler (who I assume you traded for picks) while scratching Tomas Holmstrom and dressing all three of Mursak, Miller, and Abdelkader? If the Wings trade Franzen/Kindl for Burns and then sign Jokinen and Wisniewski, and trade Hudler for picks, and decide to go with a 22-man roster? The 13th forward would be Cory Emmerton, and Drew Miller would be playing elsewhere.

But the chances of the Wings dumping that kind of deal on Richards is low. It would only happen if we'd already made a deal with Franzen, but the Franzen deal wouldn't be agreed to officially until the Richards deal was signed. The Wings need to have that cap space available for defensemen to replace Lidstrom and Rafalski, and potentially next year Kronwall and Stuart.

[Guest Crymson]

With Trade of Franzen, Kindl, 1st rounder, 2012 2nd rounder for Brent Burns:

Yet another brilliant (sarc) trade idea by dirtydangles.

[Buppy 1,720]

With Trade of Franzen, Kindl, 1st rounder, 2012 2nd rounder for Brent Burns:

CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR

FORWARDS

Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)

Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Brad Richards ($7.000m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m)

Jussi Jokinen ($2.800m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.850m)

Drew Miller ($0.750m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Jan Mursak ($0.550m)

Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m)

DEFENSEMEN

Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Brent Burns ($3.550m)

Nicklas Lidstrom ($5.800m) / James Wisniewski ($4.500m)

Jonathan Ericsson ($1.700m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m)

GOALTENDERS

Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Joey MacDonald ($0.550m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)

(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)

SALARY CAP: $62,200,000; CAP PAYROLL: $61,145,833; BONUSES: $0

CAP SPACE (21-man roster): $1,054,167

This lineup has Cup winner all over it. Maybe just use some of that extra cap space to sign a better backup goalie, I'm not sure who. I'd rather Filppula go over Franzen, but I think Franzen is somebody the Wild would want more than Flip. Plus Flip plays great D.

The lack of goal scorers would be a concern. We should be trying to add a potential 40g scorer, not trade one.

Burns would be a great pickup but not at that price. A better option would be to aim for him at the deadline, when the cost would likely be cosiderably lower. Maybe if he already had new deal, but you're risking losing Mule and two high picks plus Kindl for a one year rental.

[dirtydangles 1,328]

Yet another brilliant (sarc) trade idea by dirtydangles.

do you have any ideas of your own or do you just hang around ripping on other people's? This is "changes this offseason if you were Holland". This isn't "whats most likely to happen due to the fact that Holland doesn't make big changes."

[Guest Crymson]

do you have any ideas of your own or do you just hang around ripping on other people's? This is "changes this offseason if you were Holland". This isn't "whats most likely to happen due to the fact that Holland doesn't make big changes."

Let's go over your idea:

We give away: Our only pure goal-scorer, a big power forward capable of 30-40 goals yearly and on a very fair contract, in a year when there are virtually zero pure goal-scorers available in the FA pool; a young offensive defenseman with a lot of potential; and two high draft picks at a time when we need to be continuously developing new players.

We receive: A defenseman who is on the last year of his contract and could thus bolt at the end of the season for any of numerous reasons, such as: because he doesn't like the team; because he wants to play elsewhere; because he gets a better offer elsewhere; because he doesn't like the city; etc.

Do you not see why that's an awful idea?

Edit: I think you're dreaming if you think that someone won't offer Brad Richards significantly more than $7m per year.

Edited June 11, 2011 by Crymson

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

And how exactly are we getting screwed by Rafalski? and what does it have to do with long term deals???? If anything, he bowed out with dignity and gave us cap relief, since he was not worth what he was making anymore...part of the advantage of signing players long term before they're 35...

Because, as a GM you base a lot of your signings based on your current roster and most good GMs have a game plan with how they piece together a team. Rafalski suddenly retiring definitely throws a wrench into things that forces the Wings into a position that they were not expecting and forces them to change their initial plan.

Did someone just tune in? We've got it all figured out, just waiting for Holland to call us back....

??????

[dirtydangles 1,328]

Let's go over your idea:

We give away: Our only pure goal-scorer, a big power forward capable of 30-40 goals yearly and on a very fair contract, in a year when there are virtually zero pure goal-scorers available in the FA pool; a young offensive defenseman with a lot of potential; and two high draft picks at a time when we need to be continuously developing new players.

We receive: A defenseman who is on the last year of his contract and could thus bolt at the end of the season for any of numerous reasons, such as: because he doesn't like the team; because he wants to play elsewhere; because he gets a better offer elsewhere; because he doesn't like the city; etc.

Do you not see why that's an awful idea?

Edit: I think you're dreaming if you think that someone won't offer Brad Richards significantly more than $7m per year.

Alright thats fair. But the opposite stands that Richards may take a slight cut in pay to come to Detroit. I dont see him getting 8mil from anyone worth going to. 7mil cap hit is pretty decent coin considering Crosby is at 8.7mil and Dat is at 6.7mil and I'd obviously go with a front loaded contract for around 5-6 years. The other thing is I set the Cap at 62.2 mill which is modest, and there was 1 mill left over. Some sources have the cap going up even 1 mill more than that. There may be more money to go around, i have no idea what Richards is thinking.

Second, I don't see why Burns would dislike Detroit, and the whole idea was that when Lids retired we could offer him that big contract for long term with Lids salary. I am proposing that Burns would replace Lids' salary the next season. I don't see why he would want to test free agency. There is that risk, but I think he'd probably stick around as we can promise him a great salary and we have a great group of guys and a lot of players want to play here due to our treatment of players.

Finally, we do have some goal scorers on that roster. Franzen only put up 28 this year i believe and 5 were in one game. I'm just saying that he spends a lot of time injured and he's just young enough that if we wanted to move him we still could. And with signing other guys like Burns, Kronner, Stewie, Richards to longish contracts it might be a decent idea to move him. There are guys that can put the puck in the net on that roster. Z,Dats,Richards,Cleary,Jokinen,Fil can all put up 20 at least. I also think Helm will surprise us and pot 15+ this season and Bert will chip in too. The problem is when we rely on Franzen to score all the goals and then he gets injured for a month. I get that its nice to have a guy that can do that, but with less pressure on guys like Z and Flip to center lines they could score more goals. I had Homer listed last not because I thought he should sit, just because I wanted to slot guys into their places (LW,C,RW) yes he can play RW but the lines looked more impressive the way i had it. Just think we need to experiment with somebody other than homer on the top line.

But heck, thats my two cents. Holland said he'd be open to making a trade to replace Rafalski. I think Burns, who shoots right and is young, big, and physical is a great option. Its not like im saying lets get Weber or Doughty, I'm proposing something that has at least some potential.

Edited June 11, 2011 by dirtydangles

[stevkrause 1,247]

Because, as a GM you base a lot of your signings based on your current roster and most good GMs have a game plan with how they piece together a team. Rafalski suddenly retiring definitely throws a wrench into things that forces the Wings into a position that they were not expecting and forces them to change their initial plan.

??????

Really, that's what you do as a GM? I wasn't aware you had experience in an NHL front office... are you interviewing anywhere, or currently employed?

The writing was on the wall about Raffi since last year and although unexpected at this exact time, this would have been the last year of his deal anyway, his body was breaking down and he actually did the Wings a favor, as he was not worth his contract anymore... also, a good GM's "plan" is not set until the end of camp and even then its never fully set, if a GM stops looking at different possible scenarios, he's stopped doing his job. There is zero chance that the Wings front office is unprepared for this...

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

Really, that's what you do as a GM? I wasn't aware you had experience in an NHL front office... are you interviewing anywhere, or currently employed?

The writing was on the wall about Raffi since last year and although unexpected at this exact time, this would have been the last year of his deal anyway, his body was breaking down and he actually did the Wings a favor, as he was not worth his contract anymore... also, a good GM's "plan" is not set until the end of camp and even then its never fully set, if a GM stops looking at different possible scenarios, he's stopped doing his job. There is zero chance that the Wings front office is unprepared for this...

Seriously? You don't think a GM bases contracts based on who is signed for how long, by position, age, etc.?

Actually I do have some experience in managing hockey (Clearly not NHL but Junior) and ya, you are right. A GM never stops looking at possible scenarios and in some respects they are prepared for things like injuries/retirements/trade requests that affect their personnel but to say that these do not affect the direction of a team is short-sighted. I don't think it's that big of a deal because Raffi wasn't worth his contract but it puts the Wings in a tough position in the short term having to fill that void and reshape their D corps based on his retirement. It's not like it's easy to just ****** up FAs or slot in players from the farm system. It's not like Holland is sitting there thinking... "Thank god Raffi retired, now we can just go sign Shea Weber to replace him!"

Who knows, long term this could be a beneficial thing to happen but now having to go out and fill another roster spot is not an ideal situation.

Clearly, I should've indicated that when I said "kinda screwed" that I meant it made the offseason decisions tougher not that him retiring hurts the team.

[dirtydangles 1,328]

Seriously? You don't think a GM bases contracts based on who is signed for how long, by position, age, etc.?

Actually I do have some experience in managing hockey (Clearly not NHL but Junior) and ya, you are right. A GM never stops looking at possible scenarios and in some respects they are prepared for things like injuries/retirements/trade requests that affect their personnel but to say that these do not affect the direction of a team is short-sighted. I don't think it's that big of a deal because Raffi wasn't worth his contract but it puts the Wings in a tough position in the short term having to fill that void and reshape their D corps based on his retirement. It's not like it's easy to just ****** up FAs or slot in players from the farm system. It's not like Holland is sitting there thinking... "Thank god Raffi retired, now we can just go sign Shea Weber to replace him!"

Who knows, long term this could be a beneficial thing to happen but now having to go out and fill another roster spot is not an ideal situation.

Clearly, I should've indicated that when I said "kinda screwed" that I meant it made the offseason decisions tougher not that him retiring hurts the team.

I agree with this. Of course a GM has plans for when certain guys will be replaced and the contract length reflects that. Rafi retiring really put a dent in us. I hate the fact that we have so much wiggle room. Its fun to dream, but its going to end up being disappointing when Holland doesn't make any big splashes. I was happy with the extra cap we had plus the cap going up, i didn't really want 6 mill from rafi. Thats way too much to play with, so too many options. I think Holland wanted to make one or two changes this offseason to make next years easier. Now he has to be careful making rash decisions, decisions which I think would be exciting but kinda stupid in the long run (all the trades i propose are pretty rash). The more changes you make the more unpredictable the result will be. The timelines for guys moving on are kinda screwed by this a bit, Kenny prolly had some sort of plan worked out that now has to be completely rethought. Lids not knowing yet if he is gonna return makes it a little harder too.

[Guest Crymson]

Second, I don't see why Burns would dislike Detroit, and the whole idea was that when Lids retired we could offer him that big contract for long term with Lids salary. I am proposing that Burns would replace Lids' salary the next season. I don't see why he would want to test free agency. There is that risk, but I think he'd probably stick around as we can promise him a great salary and we have a great group of guys and a lot of players want to play here due to our treatment of players.

There is absolutely no way to be confident of this to the extent sufficient to give up so many assets for Burns-- especially since we could simply nab him off the FA list a year later. Hell, I wouldn't even trade those assets for him if we could be sure.

[number9 3,297]

I agree with this. Of course a GM has plans for when certain guys will be replaced and the contract length reflects that. Rafi retiring really put a dent in us. I hate the fact that we have so much wiggle room. Its fun to dream, but its going to end up being disappointing when Holland doesn't make any big splashes. I was happy with the extra cap we had plus the cap going up, i didn't really want 6 mill from rafi. Thats way too much to play with, so too many options. I think Holland wanted to make one or two changes this offseason to make next years easier. Now he has to be careful making rash decisions, decisions which I think would be exciting but kinda stupid in the long run (all the trades i propose are pretty rash). The more changes you make the more unpredictable the result will be. The timelines for guys moving on are kinda screwed by this a bit, Kenny prolly had some sort of plan worked out that now has to be completely rethought. Lids not knowing yet if he is gonna return makes it a little harder too.

i agree. i think holland will be very careful of the decisions he makes. especially with this particular FA class, as it is not the best class ever. at this point hes got to rethink his plan and make some small but masterful moves.

personally, id replace raffi with wisniewski and give kindl (or maybe even smith) saleis spot. then id wait to add a forward and another defensemen till next year..... although i am partial to wolski trying his luck here. if wolski turns out to be a dud and wisniewski a fluke, theres always next year. patience is key. i dont think theyll be a a cup in detroit next year as some have already predicted, but retooling for coming seasons is what needs to be done. patience.

[Konnan511 1,736]

If the player is young or hitting their prime, the Wings won't trade or sign them because it'd cost too much to get them and Holland doesn't mortgage the future.

Think of projects like Cleary or Miller or guys like Rafalski who came here. Burns, Doughty etc won't be coming here until they get their big big payday and finish those contracts and come looking for a cup after they already got their money.

[eva unit zero 271]

Seriously? You don't think a GM bases contracts based on who is signed for how long, by position, age, etc.?

Actually I do have some experience in managing hockey (Clearly not NHL but Junior) and ya, you are right. A GM never stops looking at possible scenarios and in some respects they are prepared for things like injuries/retirements/trade requests that affect their personnel but to say that these do not affect the direction of a team is short-sighted. I don't think it's that big of a deal because Raffi wasn't worth his contract but it puts the Wings in a tough position in the short term having to fill that void and reshape their D corps based on his retirement. It's not like it's easy to just ****** up FAs or slot in players from the farm system. It's not like Holland is sitting there thinking... "Thank god Raffi retired, now we can just go sign Shea Weber to replace him!"

Who knows, long term this could be a beneficial thing to happen but now having to go out and fill another roster spot is not an ideal situation.

Clearly, I should've indicated that when I said "kinda screwed" that I meant it made the offseason decisions tougher not that him retiring hurts the team.

Rafalski's decision didn't screw the Wings other than to throw a wrench into their roster for next season, and make the FA season more important. But his retirement means they should have a defenseman of similar skill level signed past next season going INTO next season. Previously, Lidstrom (if retained), Rafalski, Kronwall, and Stuart would all have turned UFA next summer. That's potential for complete turnover and possibly serious destruction of the defensive unit. Rafalski's retirement plus significant cap space now means the Wings can easily avoid that scenario.