63 replies to this topic

[VM1138]

Paul Woods had an interesting comment last night during the game. When asked about the trade rumors he didn't seem to think the Wings would sign Parise through trade or through free agency in the summer, but he thought Kovalchuk might be an option. What does everyone think about this option? I think I'd rather have Parise, he seems to work harder. But there's no doubt about Kovalchuk's offensive ability.

[St. Michael (the Red Wing)]

Paul Woods had an interesting comment last night during the game. When asked about the trade rumors he didn't seem to think the Wings would sign Parise through trade or through free agency in the summer, but he thought Kovalchuk might be an option. What does everyone think about this option? I think I'd rather have Parise, he seems to work harder. But there's no doubt about Kovalchuk's offensive ability.

Kovalchuk and his contract? No thank you.

[unsaddleddonald]

Paul Woods had an interesting comment last night during the game. When asked about the trade rumors he didn't seem to think the Wings would sign Parise through trade or through free agency in the summer, but he thought Kovalchuk might be an option. What does everyone think about this option? I think I'd rather have Parise, he seems to work harder. But there's no doubt about Kovalchuk's offensive ability.

Although his skill is undeniable, that contract (as was stated above) is just way too messy. It has future problems written all over it....

[GMRwings1983]

It's also basically the same team that won it 4 years ago. The difference being players who have retired like Maltby, Drapes, McCarty, Drake, Ozzie, Dom, etc. I think we're in a good, if not better, position with Howard in net (although Ozzie and Dom were truly elite players over their careers, but Howard is still young and looking like he could potentially better them), but just need some bottom line people to sure it up like the aforementioned players did. Miller is good, but is not really much more than a PK man, much like Eaves (although he does have slightly more offensive talent). We wont win in the playoffs if our entire bottom 6 forwards are PK men rather than more rounded players. Yeah it's good for a PK situation, but we need someone with a bit more bite during even strength.

For some reason then I thought of Chelios putting his foot on an opposition players stick when he was sitting on the bench. Can't remember who that was though As for who I'd actually like, I don't know. Maybe there's someone in Anaheim that could be brought in cheap, as a rental, just to throw the body around on the bottom line and add a bit of zip.

We've also been unlucky at certain times. Just imagine if we went into last years playoffs with a healthy Modano who had played an entire season, centering one of our bottom two lines. THAT would have been fun to watch but alas, never happened unfortunately.

Not really.

Other than Filppula and maybe Datsyuk, all the other skaters were better players 4 years ago than they are now.

[redwingfan19]

"The Red Wings are in the market for a goal-scoring winger and/or an abrasive third- or fourth-line forward."

http://www.mlive.com...plore_opti.html

[Doc Holliday]

An abrasive forward?

Is this an Eklund rumor?

[GMRwings1983]

An abrasive forward?

Is this an Eklund rumor?

Avery is abrasive.

We won the Cup with him in 2002. Coincidence? I think not.

[Nev]

http://www.mlive.com...plore_opti.html

I was thinking about this earlier watching some old youtube vids of young Pavel when he had Hull on his wing, and thinking what would todays Pavel do with an elite goalscorer, one who could find space and had the shot to use it? Then I got to thinking of Datsyuk's breakout year, when he had a slow, aging Shanahan on his wing, who with Pavel's help had "the quietest 40 goal season in NHL history".

A top 6 goalscorer and a bottom 6 grinder isn't too much to ask is it?

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros]

A top 6 goalscorer and a bottom 6 grinder isn't too much to ask is it?

Given our cap space, no it definitely isn't too much to ask.

[MulesWillFly93]

I don't know...if we trade, we better be damn sure we're getting a good deal. I don't want to see all of Hudler's improvement (for example) go to waste for somebody who's got their own set of problems (I mean, this is someone another team was willing to give up, after all), and who doesn't have any experience playing with our guys, to boot. I'm not convinced the Ducks are actually considering getting rid of their top players, anyway...I still think that was just a wake-up call. Parise would be nice, but if he's just going to sign somewhere else next season, I don't want to give up a bunch of guys just so he can play here for a half a season. As for the big, abrasive 4th-liner, we could definitely use one of those, but I don't want to lose a guy like Nyquist just for some throwaway player.

Since we actually have some cap space for a change, I'd rather keep our prospects and spend the money this summer. I know it's possibly Lidstrom's last season, and I'd love to make one last Cup run with him, but not so much that I'd want to sacrifice the future of the team. I'd like some fresh blood, sure, but l want to wait until we get a nice, juicy FA pool to choose from.

[LeftWinger]

http://www.mlive.com...plore_opti.html

Well, since we aren't getting anybody of top level without ditching Franzen, I look for our "scoring" winger to be Ales Hemsky and the "abrasive" forward to be Travis Moen. They will cost a lot less than Franzen. Possibly just prospects or draft picks. The issue is the roster space. We already have 14 forwards, so who would go to make room? Not gonna name names, but it would have to be someone to Edmonton who has "potential" to score 70+ points and Montreal may take a French-Canadian born prospect. I would still love to see a blockbuster bringing someone like Perry or Ryan here, but that would cost us Franzen, which I would welcome, but not many of you guys would as proven by how many negs folks get around here just by mentioning trading Franzen.

EDIT: I still have that weird feeling that Penner is coming our way. But I also wouldn't mind Kovalchuk (contract sucks though) to play along side Datsyuk. The magic these two could have together may almost be worth that long cotract. At least he wouldn't be a rental...

Edited by LeftWinger, 18 January 2012 - 03:47 PM.

[Tim Cheveldae's Ghost]

Kenny has already stated that he doesn't want to expel any current roster players, so I doubt you'll see anything major unless its an offer he can't refuse. I mid-level forward and depth guy are probably your best bets, as I'm sure the thought of Emmerton or Mursak playing in the playoffs is something the organization isn't 100% on. No way that Franzen or Filppula get moved considering the impact they've had this season, sometimes it hurts more to subtract a player than it does when you gain one.

[Wing Across The Pond]

Not really.

Other than Filppula and maybe Datsyuk, all the other skaters were better players 4 years ago than they are now.

Understandable, but my point is still valid. Shopping around for another top 6 player isn't necessarily going to change this team. There's obviously something other causing them to play to a lesser standard, as they're still the same players (apart from being older).

[Drake_Marcus]

Given the average age of our star players (Howard excluded) we really can't afford to deal our first round pick. The Wings' minor and junior talent pool is looking better than it's been in a long time and that's all due to Holland's decision not to trade many picks.

The one thing we really need is a superstar in the pipeline. Nyquist and Tatar look like they can be players of Filppula or Hudler's calibre but probably not of Datsyuk and Zetterberg's calibre. Tatar's season in GR hasn't been significantly better than last (in large part because of his extremely slow start). Nyquist's been brilliant in GR but he still needs to get stronger before he can be an impact in the NHL (and really, without seeing him play with NHL strength it's hard to say how good he'll be when he gets here). I think Nyquist and Tatar have very good shots at being top six players, though. Don't forget that in Kopecky's last season with GR he posted 32goals and 72pts in 77 games (although by then he'd spent four seasons in GR).

Smith looks like a stud but he's slowed down quite a bit in GR over the last few months and may not post better numbers this year than he did last.

Sheahan's having an excellent season in ND. He looks like he'll nearly double his points from last season. Still, we've yet to see him perform in an 80 game, pro environment. I doubt he'll fail to make the NHL but he may end up a defensive specialist (at worst).

Plukkinen has the top end skill to be a superstar if he can put everything else together (although his numbers in the SM-liiga are down a bit compared to last season he recently broke out of a scoring slump with a hattie). Jarnkrok could be a Zetterberg type of guy if we're lucky. Calle's one assist short of matching his total from last season in 11 fewer games. Both these guys need to get there physically before they're sure bets for the NHL. The good news is people said the same thing about Dats and Z before they came to NA.

Jurco looks like he could be a star in the NHL and Tvrdon appears to have the chops to do it too as long as they both stay on track in their development.

I've left a lot of guys out but the point is that the Wings have a lot of talent in the cupboard that needs to mature. What we don't have is a kid who looks like he can walk in at 18 or 19 and be an impact player. That's the kind of player we need right now and that's only going to come from the draft.

[mmamolo]

An abrasive forward?

Is this an Eklund rumor?

At least the word truculence wasn't used

What we don't have is a kid who looks like he can walk in at 18 or 19 and be an impact player. That's the kind of player we need right now and that's only going to come from the draft.

The Wings haven't had a guy like that in over a decade. The biggest issue with drafting where the Wings do is that all their prospects need a lot of time to develop. You're not going to see the Wings with an 18 or 19 year old in their line up any time soon. Tatar was 20 last year when he got some games in but that doesnt even count because that's not the situation I think you were describing anyway

[Nev]

What we don't have is a kid who looks like he can walk in at 18 or 19 and be an impact player. That's the kind of player we need right now and that's only going to come from the draft.

I believe that is known colloquially as a "lottery pick"

[GMRwings1983]

Understandable, but my point is still valid. Shopping around for another top 6 player isn't necessarily going to change this team. There's obviously something other causing them to play to a lesser standard, as they're still the same players (apart from being older).

Sometimes, a change is needed to spark the team. The same lineup is getting stale come playoff time.

We're not the Canadiens of the late 70's exactly.

[LeftWinger]

I believe that is known colloquially as a "lottery pick"

Yep, and we all know what has to happen for us to get a lottery pick....ugh, can't stand the thought!

Sometimes, a change is needed to spark the team. The same lineup is getting stale come playoff time.

We're not the Canadiens of the late 70's exactly.

YA! We aren't even the Red Wings of the late 90's to early 00's!

[nyqvististhefuture]

kovalchuk??? no way man ! id love moen to come here as i remember his days in anaheim and how good he was and babcock coached him ... im sure the wings will go for a veteran defensemen and im sure theres probably better but one that comes close to mind that i know that will probably be shopped is hall gill , hes good at blocking shots and killing penalities could be usefull in the playoffs and might help nick be refreshed and play a few minutes less a night

[KrazyGangsta]

If we get Geztlaf we become invincible, simple as that!