Changes in the offseason

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

If we could somehow land Bieksa I would consider this offseason a huge success

[Red Wings Addict 787]

One down year for Franzen and everyone wants him gone now eh.

Not everyone. Not even a conservative estimate of 1/10th of all Wings fans want him gone. It seems like it's just the Hudler circle jerk that wants him gone.

[Majsheppard 203]

This is my wild dream based on some flimsy contract proposals floating around the web.

Don't think it would happen, but it would make me the most happy, and three right handers added is a good thing.

CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR

FORWARDS

Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m)

Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Brad Richards ($6.000m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)

Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($1.000m)

Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Cory Emmerton ($0.533m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m)

Drew Miller ($0.650m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m)

DEFENSEMEN

Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.000m) / Kevin Bieksa ($4.500m)

Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / James Wisniewski ($3.750m)

Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m)

GOALTENDERS

Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Chris Osgood ($0.750m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)

(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)

SALARY CAP: $62,500,000; CAP PAYROLL: $61,667,044; BONUSES: $0

CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $832,956

[Datsyerberger 279]

This is my wild dream based on some flimsy contract proposals floating around the web.

Don't think it would happen, but it would make me the most happy, and three right handers added is a good thing.

CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR

FORWARDS

Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m)

Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Brad Richards ($6.000m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)

Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($1.000m)

Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Cory Emmerton ($0.533m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m)

Drew Miller ($0.650m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m)

DEFENSEMEN

Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.000m) / Kevin Bieksa ($4.500m)

Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / James Wisniewski ($3.750m)

Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m)

GOALTENDERS

Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Chris Osgood ($0.750m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)

(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)

SALARY CAP: $62,500,000; CAP PAYROLL: $61,667,044; BONUSES: $0

CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $832,956

Some of those cap numbers...

[Wings_Toledo 233]

I don't get why everyone wants Bieksa here. He didn't look all that great in the Finals and would want more than he's worth. It will be interesting to see what Holland ends up doing.

[eva unit zero 271]

...because even Eva knows that Franzen has more trade value than Hudler.

I understand the knocks on Franzen, but why would we trade him to a team that needs playoff scoring when that's exactly what we need him for?

Also, and don't want to slight the guy, but I think he'll retire due to age or injury before his production doesn't meet his cap hit.

As for the trade options:

Enstrom. Sure, I'd take him. Bogo is still a big question mark for me.

Lundqvist. Hmmm. Didn't know the Rangers were looking to move him. Didn't know we were unhappy with Howard. Besides, neither Howard nor Franzen are marquee players... the kind that the Rags tend to drool over the prospect of overpaying.

I don't agree necessarily that Franzen's production will stay at or below the value of his cap hit. As it stands right now he's not really much of a bargain. Had he played the second half last year the way he played the first, that's an excellent deal. But he didn't. Cleary was a better deal than Franzen last year. Mule has probably peaked, and I don't see the cap increasing 5% every year for the rest of time. He'll be overpaid in probably about two or three seasons, and retire a year or two after that. A good deal overall, but still has a couple of (what I expect to be) overpaid years.

Bogosian would be looking towards the future, with a UFA winger brought in to help offset the loss of scoring. Lundqvist and Enstrom are not on the market to my knowledge, rather pipedream ideas of what could be acquired. Much more realistic than Weber or Doughty, certainly.

Not everyone. Not even a conservative estimate of 1/10th of all Wings fans want him gone. It seems like it's just the Hudler circle jerk that wants him gone.

I can't speak for other Hudler fans, but as the board-anointed "World's Biggest Hudler Fan" I don't "want" Franzen gone. I certainly don't think he's as good as he's credited with, and I think Now is the time to trade him for the best value. But he's a valuable asset if he can stay healthy and play his game the way he did in the first half of last season. The lineup I've posted before that has a third line of Franzen/Filppula/Bertuzzi I think would completely destroy the league.

[cjm502 165]

CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR

FORWARDS

Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Radim Vrbata ($3.000m)

Johan Franzen ($3.954m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)

Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m)

Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Patrick Eaves ($1.000m)

Drew Miller ($0.750m) / Cory Emmerton ($0.533m)

DEFENSEMEN

Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m)

Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / James Wisniewski ($4.000m)

Jim Vandermeer ($2.300m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m)

GOALTENDERS

Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Ty Conklin ($1.300m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)

(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)

SALARY CAP: $62,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $57,567,044; BONUSES: $0

CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $4,432,956

I traded Hudler for a bag of pucks than signed Conks, Vandermeer, Wisniewski, and Vrbata. I could use a 7th D, and there is still a lot of cap room to play with.

Edited June 19, 2011 by cjm502

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

lol at some of those projections

[cjm502 165]

lol at some of those projections

Okay, so whats wrong with that roster than? Its called constructive criticism.

[Majsheppard 203]

My short list of UFA defensemen, not counting ours. I'd like Nick back of course, and let Ericsson and Salei walk. That leaves three spots.

Name	        Age	Ht 	Wt 	S 	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	H	B	EST	SHT	PPT	TOI	Cap
Alberts 	29	77	218	L	42	1	6	7	0	41	113	49	13.48	1.55	0.1	15.15	$1,050,000
Babchuk 	27	77	212	R	82	11	24	35	14	32	19	156	13.26	0.5	2.56	16.34	$1,400,000
Bieksa  	30	73	198	R	66	6	16	22	32	73	104	93	18.07	2.67	1.72	22.47	$3,750,000
Brewer  	32	75	220	L	76	9	7	16	6	81	145	120	18.31	3.12	0.59	22.04	$4,250,000
Ehrhoff 	28	74	203	L	79	14	36	50	19	52	54	108	18.28	2.13	3.55	23.98	$3,100,000
Eminger 	27	74	203	R	65	2	4	6	-5	22	143	103	14.2	1.33	0.3	15.85	$1,125,000
Greene  	28	71	190	L	82	4	19	23	-23	22	49	157	18.75	2.32	1.27	22.35	$737,500
Hejda   	33	76	237	L	77	5	15	20	-6	28	152	158	18.12	2.83	0.13	21.12	$2,000,000
Mara    	31	76	211	L	53	1	5	6	1	88	88	85	15.01	2.36	0.88	18.27	$750,000
Montador 	31	72	207	R	73	5	21	26	16	83	86	138	17.27	2.07	0.37	19.72	$1,550,000
O'Brien 	27	75	230	L	80	2	7	9	1	83	164	80	14.2	2.83	0.07	17.10	$1,600,000
Pitkanen 	27	75	210	L	72	5	30	35	-2	60	66	130	19.73	1.15	4.12	25.02	$4,000,000
Vandermeer 	31	73	214	L	62	2	12	14	-15	74	122	78	15.65	2.07	0.45	18.20	$2,300,000
White   	27	70	200	R	78	4	22	26	3	26	59	144	16.73	1.08	2.16	19.98	$2,999,995
Wisniewski 	27	71	208	R	75	10	41	51	-14	38	108	119	17.47	0.99	4.46	22.93	$3,250,000

I'd like two preferably RH shots that can play the PP, and at least one solid PKer who can block shots and hit. I'd want Kindl to at least have a shot at a regular spot in the lineup. For future considerations, I'd like to see deals that leave room to add Smith next year, while also keeping Kronwall and Stuart, and go after someone like Burns or Suter if Nick retires. Few, if any, of these guys would be interested in one year deals, but we could always look for a trade later.

Wisniewski and Bieksa would fill our needs perfectly, and we could fill the third spot with anyone. Might not fit the cap though, and I have doubts that Bieksa will make it to July 1st. I think Hejda would be a great addition too, and maybe better value than some of the more popular guys.

Anyways, figured some might like the stats for handy comparison. I can add other players to it, if requested.

I am a fan of Greene.

Some of those cap numbers...

I could link you where I get all those numbers from, as they are not mine. However I don't really care to, especially because I don't think it will happen. Just as I said in my posts this is based off of other peoples numbers. That would be my best case scenario of just UFA's.

[redwingfan19 293]

lebrun says holland will explore trades this week and at the draft to improve the defense, target is teams looking to shed cap.

[MGreenberg 105]

CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR

FORWARDS

Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m)

Alex Tanguay ($2.500m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)

Patrick Eaves ($0.750m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m)

Drew Miller ($0.650m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m)

Jan Mursak ($0.550m) / Kris Draper ($1.500m)

DEFENSEMEN

Kevin Bieksa ($5.000m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m)

James Wisniewski ($4.250m) / Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m)

Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m)

GOALTENDERS

Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Johan Hedberg ($1.500m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)

(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)

SALARY CAP: $64,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $61,250,411; BONUSES: $0

CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $2,749,589

Would be nice to get both Bieksa and Wis on D.

Edited June 20, 2011 by MGreenberg

[hockey23 79]

From Khan...

The club is counting on top prospect Brendan Smith to make the team next season after one year with the Grand Rapids Griffins. And veteran Doug Janik, who has a one-way contract for 2011-12, could make the roster as the seventh or eighth defenseman.

Holland said they're considering carrying 13 forwards and eight defensemen instead of the usual 14 forwards and seven defensemen.

This is surprising to me because we're short on defensemen and have plenty of forwards. The only way this makes sense is if Holland trades a forward to get a d-man.

[Majsheppard 203]

From Khan...

This is surprising to me because we're short on defensemen and have plenty of forwards. The only way this makes sense is if Holland trades a forward to get a d-man.

It makes zero sense to have Smith as a 7th guy. If he is going to be a spare part, have him be that in GR. This however should mean we keep 815k in cap so we can call him up to play.

Kindl could be number six and Janik I wouldn't mind as number 7 which would mean savings to spend on someone else. With how little there are in terms of options, I wouldn't expect us to go such a route either. Unless we are going to make a trade.

Burns is feeling like a possible scenario. I also would not be surprised if we made a move at the draft.

Our season comes down to Hudler and what he can do for us.

[dirtydangles 1,328]

with the cap going up to 64 mill and barring a trade for Burns involving Flip, Kindl, and whatever else and im trading hudler for whatever.

Note: although im not a Jagr in detroit fan, u could substitute him for zherdev. I think Helm is ready to be a 3rd line center and i do like that 3rd line a lot. 4th line has lots of options for the younger guys and Homer, obvs Homer would get some time on the top line. I think Stuart is the perfect guy for Smith to grow alongside as stewie is solid and won't put smith in awkward situations often. This year may be lids' last one, so i'd actually like Smith up witht the big team to be mentored by Lids. but hey, thats just me. theres some wiggle room there of 1mill to toss around between wis and richards. ideally we'd reserve 0.5mill. This is also sustainable to next year with lids' contract likely going to re-sign burns, kronner, stuart. and helm and abby getting raises from the retirement of bert, homer likely.

CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR

FORWARDS

Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Nikolai Zherdev ($2.500m)

Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Brad Richards ($7.200m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m)

Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.900m)

Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Jan Mursak ($0.550m)

Drew Miller ($0.700m) / Cory Emmerton ($0.533m)

DEFENSEMEN

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

Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / James Wisniewski ($4.500m)

Brendan Smith ($0.875m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m)

Doug Janik ($0.512m)

GOALTENDERS

Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Brian Boucher ($0.925m)

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)

(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)

SALARY CAP: $64,000,000; CAP PAYROLL: $62,996,211; BONUSES: $0

CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $1,003,789

Edited June 20, 2011 by dirtydangles

[egroen 384]

I'm really rooting for Laich, Jagr, Wiz and Brewer. Seems like everything Detroit needs as a priority is right there. All 4 would make me a very happy boy, but even two will go a long way, IMO.

[Off the Post 11]

I cant even explain the excitement im gonna have this year, feel like a kid in the candy shoppe for the first time in awhile for Detroit aha

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

I'm really rooting for Laich, Jagr, Wiz and Brewer. Seems like everything Detroit needs as a priority is right there. All 4 would make me a very happy boy, but even two will go a long way, IMO.

Good calls there. I keep forgetting Brewer because I assume Tampa will re-sign him, but if he hits FA and we get him what a signing that'd be. He logged heavy minutes for Tampa in the playoffs and looked great. Bring it on

[SwedeLundin77 460]

I could live with Laich, Jagr, Wiz, and Brewer.... I really think Brewer will re-sign with Tampa Bay though. Yzerman is too smart to let him walk and it seems like Brewer had a good time playing there.

I'd really like to get Montador here. He wouldn't cost a ton and he is capable of putting up 30+ points. I believe he logged some decent PP time last season with Buffalo. Oh, and he'd give us another right handed shot back on the blue line.

I'd say we go with this D:

Kronwall - Stuart

Wizniewski - Lidstrom

Montador - Smith or Kindl

Janik

Oh and Smith will NOT be up here if he's not in the top 6. Mark my words.

[Guest Crymson]

Good calls there. I keep forgetting Brewer because I assume Tampa will re-sign him, but if he hits FA and we get him what a signing that'd be. He logged heavy minutes for Tampa in the playoffs and looked great. Bring it on

He looked decent in the playoffs, yes. He was atrocious for the Blues for years. No thanks.

[SwedeLundin77 460]

He looked decent in the playoffs, yes. He was atrocious for the Blues for years. No thanks.

I think he fits in well with the Lightning and knowing Yzerman, he'll want to retain his services for at least one more season.

I say we go for Montador as our 5th d-man.

[eva unit zero 271]

I think he fits in well with the Lightning and knowing Yzerman, he'll want to retain his services for at least one more season.

I say we go for Montador as our 5th d-man.

I say Montador as our 6th d-man, with Stuart in the 5 slot.

[Majsheppard 203]

I am starting to think that Fil and Hudler will be traded this weekend for a defenseman and Brad Richards will be our number one target.

Holland is talking about skill far too much and we have the money now.

BTW now we are looking at about four players to sign (one forward, two d, one goalie) at just under 4.7 million per if they all took the same salary to max out the cap without having any extra pieces. That is pretty healthy cap wise. (assuming we move Hudler)

I expect four signings two of which will be in the first 24 hours, then who knows.

My gut is that one of the defensemen will be the second tier guys Holland likes to go at, Andy Greene fits the bill the most.

Tanguay might be available, and if they were to move both Val and Filpulla. I would try to make him a target. 3.5 is what I am hearing he would demand. We can handle that.

Edited June 22, 2011 by Majsheppard

[SwedeLundin77 460]

I say Montador as our 6th d-man, with Stuart in the 5 slot.

Brad Stuart is a Top 4 d-man. He will more than likely be in the top two pairings. They will probably pair him with either Lidstrom or Kronwall. Montador as the number 5 guy makes sense, he's a shut-down defensemen who won't break the bank, and will fit in nicely here. We can also sign him long-term if he'd like to. 2 million cap hit per season. The guy is also a right handed shot and can put up 30+ points.

[eva unit zero 271]

Brad Stuart is a Top 4 d-man. He will more than likely be in the top two pairings. They will probably pair him with either Lidstrom or Kronwall. Montador as the number 5 guy makes sense, he's a shut-down defensemen who won't break the bank, and will fit in nicely here. We can also sign him long-term if he'd like to. 2 million cap hit per season. The guy is also a right handed shot and can put up 30+ points.

If the Wings sign two of Pitkanen/Wisniewski/Ehrhoff/Bieksa, that puts Stuart in the #5 spot. My ideal "realistic" outcome for this offseason is Tim Connolly, Joni Pitkanen, James Wisniewski, and Steve Montador replacing Mike Modano, Jonathan Ericsson, Brian Rafalski, and Ruslan Salei. Mursak and Emmerton take over for Draper and Miller.

As for Montador, he won't put up 30 points on the 3rd pairing with no PP time. He would be closer to 20 points. Also, you say he "can put up 30+ points." yet last season's 26 was a career high. Is this where I get to talk about how Jiri Hudler "can" score 80+ points? There's a difference between having shown the ability to possibly do it, and having done it recently. When you say "he can _____" it implies the latter. If it were the former, I could say "I can run a four minute mile, throw a 90 mph fastball, AND land a 900° on a skateboard ramp."

But back to real life now.