Babcock and Holland want to keep Homer.

[Dabura 12,207]

This isn't just about being loyal to Homer, nor is it just about trying to get Lidstrom to re-sign. Parise and Suter (who came out and said the next team he plays for ideally will be his last) will be following this news if they're looking to see how they'll be treated at the end of their careers. If I'm Holland, Homer is getting a contract offer this year, because I want Parise and Suter, and any other potential long-term signing to see that we take care of our players. This is a trump card the Wings' brass has built up for years. This very well could be the year that we reap the benefits.

Homer stays.

On the other hand, they're each gonna be looking for a team that's seriously committed to winning....

Really, though, I don't think Holmer's situation is going to factor much into their decisions re: the Wings.

[LeftWinger 4,953]

Wow, lots of Homer love still I guess. At least by all the negs. Of course no one man enough to debate it....

Let me ask the negger, do you like the team you had last season? Sure they were 1st overall in February, but that was because of an anomaly. Think about this, they won an NHL record 23 straight home wins, yet still could not bury the rest of the league...why? Because they stunk on the road, their PP and PK stunk. Look how early the 2001-02 Wings put away the rest of the league and they didn't even sniff a 23 game win streak...If you can honestly tell us that this team, exactly like it was last season, is a Stanley Cup caliber team, then please, explain it to us, don't just neg and run. Of course, just like usual, you won't...

edit: I did what I could to bring everyone back to plus. It's asinine to neg someone just because they think Homer should retire...

Edited May 14, 2012 by LeftWinger

[SouthernWingsFan 854]

All for it.

For one, he's my favorite player so that's a captain obvious answer as to why I'm for it (yes I get his time is almost up).

And two, anything to bring Lidstrom back. If this is a reason to, then do it.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Wow, lots of Homer love still I guess. At least by all the negs. Of course no one man enough to debate it....

Let me ask the negger, do you like the team you had last season? Sure they were 1st overall in February, but that was because of an anomaly. Think about this, they won an NHL record 23 straight home wins, yet still could not bury the rest of the league...why? Because they stunk on the road, their PP and PK stunk. Look how early the 2001-02 Wings put away the rest of the league and they didn't even sniff a 23 game win streak...If you can honestly tell us that this team, exactly like it was last season, is a Stanley Cup caliber team, then please, explain it to us, don't just neg and run. Of course, just like usual, you won't...

edit: I did what I could to bring everyone back to plus. It's asinine to neg someone just because they think Homer should retire...

I plussed you for having a pornstar in your avatar.

As for Homer, he probably should retire. He's accomplished a tremendous amount in his career and his given this team a lot. At this point, he has nothing to prove and this team needs to get younger and hungrier. I don't want this to turn into Draper and Maltby all over again.

[LeftWinger 4,953]

I plussed you for having a pornstar in your avatar.

As for Homer, he probably should retire. He's accomplished a tremendous amount in his career and his given this team a lot. At this point, he has nothing to prove and this team needs to get younger and hungrier. I don't want this to turn into Draper and Maltby all over again.

Ya! Thanks for noticing! Anyhow, someone is just going thru and negging everything I say now. It's not because they disagree with me, I know this because someone gets pluses for list the top 10 things Holland will say and I simply reply, nice to meet you Mr. Holland and it gets a neg. No biggie. When their son grows up swallowing a sword, they at least will know why...

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Ya! Thanks for noticing! Anyhow, someone is just going thru and negging everything I say now. It's not because they disagree with me, I know this because someone gets pluses for list the top 10 things Holland will say and I simply reply, nice to meet you Mr. Holland and it gets a neg. No biggie. When their son grows up swallowing a sword, they at least will know why...

Well, I was just guessing it was a pornstar. I wouldn't really know of course.

And I wouldn't worry about being negged or not. Hopefully this forum will eventually get rid of the plus/minus crap, but I'd just keep posting what's on my mind if I were you. There are many posters here who have a homerish love (no pun intended) for some of the players on the team.

[Probie 7]

I don't want homer back. We need to get bigger faster and younger.

Edited May 14, 2012 by Probie

[St. Michael (the Red Wing) 422]

Homer needs to give it up.

[SaCkaveli20 275]

I agree with most of you..he needs to hang em up. We need speed.

We need guys like Mikkel Bødker...all over the ice, love it,

[Drake_Marcus 890]

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=sv&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.expressen.se%2Fsport%2Fhockey%2Fnhl%2Fdetroit-fem-kilo-latt-for-en-toppforward%2F

"And Holmstrom?

- It's a difficult question. Much depends on what he is prepared to accept himself, says Detroit's general manager.

What do you mean?

- He would then probably have a different role. Less ice time. Do not play in any of the top chains. And given age is probably also a lower wage.

Holland continues:

- Right now I do not know how Thomas's reaction to it.

Detoitcoachen Mike Babcock has his theory clear.

- I think it will be a package deal. Continuing one of them will be the second to catch on. And of course I really want to either run for another year"

You realize that Babcock spells it out in this translated article (I'll assume it's valid for the sake of argument). They'd be signing Holmstrom to keep Lidstom on and would be doing it at a stupidly low price. If last year's Holmstrom's your 12th best forward I suppose it isn't the end of the world. *shrug* He can still be effective on the 2nd PP unit. If signing him cheaply is what it takes to keep Lidstrom so be it.

[thegerkin 189]

I'm all for it. He's a role player. We need role players (yeah, yeah, yeah, I know we need a defenseman and a sniper too) but you can't have too many role players. I know Cleary and Bertuzzi could take Homer's spot, but I'd rather have Bert and Clears fighting for the puck in the corner or going up ice for scoring chances. Oh, and he is THE BEST goalie screener in the entire NHL.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

On the other hand, they're each gonna be looking for a team that's seriously committed to winning....

Really, though, I don't think Holmer's situation is going to factor much into their decisions re: the Wings.

Exactly. I definitely agree. The precedent for the Red Wings treating veteran players in a very favorable fashion has long been established. Everyone in the league knows this and I highly doubt Parise and/or Suter are going to base their decisions on what happens with Tomas Holmstrom. It's not like the Red Wings organization is running Holmstrom off -- he's a mostly ineffective player with very minimal impact at even strength. Hockey is a business; you don't keep guys around if they can't play the game anymore. You can be loyal and still have limits. Draper, Maltby and Ozzie all knew their time was over and the front office treated all of them in a respectable manner following the conclusion of their playing days.

Parise and/or Suter know what they are getting if they come to Detroit. Like you mentioned, the biggest looming question surrounding the Red Wings if if they can retool from three straight early playoff exits. One of the most glaring flaws in the Nashville series was the team's complete lack of anything from the bottom-six. Holmstrom on the 4th line is just a complete misfit. Need more speed, size and energy -- none of which Holmstrom provides.

[Guest Hatethedrake!]

Can someone please explain to me why Paul Gaustad is so highly though of around here? He doesn't score (7 goals, 14 assists), he doesn't fight (4 fights, 2 wins, 2 loses), he's not that big (6'5, 212 lbs), he's not fast, and he makes 2.5 million dollars. Presumably everyone wants him because he's a defensive forward who's good in the faceoff circle. We definitely don't have anybody like that...er...Justin Abdelkader: (8 goals, 14 assists), (6 fights, 2 wins, 4 loses), (6'1, 215 lbs.), is faster, makes 1.7 million less, and is a defensive forward who's respectable in the faceoff circle.

Generally speaking, any player which the Wings do not acquire is usually viewed as an NHL all star.

[dat's sick 1,002]

If we need to sign Homer one more year to get Lids one more year as well.. then yeah, sure, I can accept Homer in a 13th/14th-forward role.

Honestly though, he's done in the NHL. He's been a warrior, an awesome guy, and a key part of the team the past 15 years, but in the new NHL and at his age, he simply is not effective anymore.

With hopefully atleast one or two key signings by Holland, and young guys coming up fighting for roster spots, it's really, really hard to see a place for Homer anymore.

[Ally 448]

Can someone please explain to me why Paul Gaustad is so highly though of around here? He doesn't score (7 goals, 14 assists), he doesn't fight (4 fights, 2 wins, 2 loses), he's not that big (6'5, 212 lbs), he's not fast, and he makes 2.5 million dollars. Presumably everyone wants him because he's a defensive forward who's good in the faceoff circle. We definitely don't have anybody like that...er...Justin Abdelkader: (8 goals, 14 assists), (6 fights, 2 wins, 4 loses), (6'1, 215 lbs.), is faster, makes 1.7 million less, and is a defensive forward who's respectable in the faceoff circle.

6'5 and 212 lbs isn't big?

[Doc Holliday 1,888]

Ya! Thanks for noticing! Anyhow, someone is just going thru and negging everything I say now. It's not because they disagree with me, I know this because someone gets pluses for list the top 10 things Holland will say and I simply reply, nice to meet you Mr. Holland and it gets a neg. No biggie. When their son grows up swallowing a sword, they at least will know why...

Sounds enough of a biggie for you to whine and complain about getting negs and thinking karma applies.

It's an arbitrary indicator. People on this board need to nut up and get over it.

[centcougar07 216]

Well, I was just guessing it was a pornstar. I wouldn't really know of course.

And I wouldn't worry about being negged or not. Hopefully this forum will eventually get rid of the plus/minus crap, but I'd just keep posting what's on my mind if I were you. There are many posters here who have a homerish love (no pun intended) for some of the players on the team.

No s*** haha

[BigWillieStyle 662]

Maybe it's me, but he seemed like one of the only guys out their trying on a lot of nights late in the season, and in the playoffs. He played with more gusto than the whole 3rd and 4th line combined versus Nashville. If any of the young kids played with a heart like his we'd be discussing games in the GDT still. If the price isn't too high, I don't see why he can't be signed for one final year with expectations of maybe 40-60 games this year. I don't think a 12-14 forward is going to ruin our chances of winning anything next year. It's our 3-11 forwards that are a bigger concern, at least to myself.

[matemate 34]

Mursak - Emmerton - Homer

Nice checkingline.

[LeftWinger 4,953]

Mursak - Emmerton - Homer

Nice checkingline.

Ok, so, where do Miller-Abby-Eaves end up? Emmerton and Mursak are already your 13th and 14th forwards, So which two guys are going when Homer gets re-signed? Miller, Abby, Eaves, Mursak or Emmerton? Oh wait, lets just not sign Parise and sign Homer instead...all set, book the parade!

Edited May 14, 2012 by LeftWinger

[Dabura 12,207]

Can someone please explain to me why Paul Gaustad is so highly though of around here? He doesn't score (7 goals, 14 assists), he doesn't fight (4 fights, 2 wins, 2 loses), he's not that big (6'5, 212 lbs), he's not fast, and he makes 2.5 million dollars. Presumably everyone wants him because he's a defensive forward who's good in the faceoff circle. We definitely don't have anybody like that...er...Justin Abdelkader: (8 goals, 14 assists), (6 fights, 2 wins, 4 loses), (6'1, 215 lbs.), is faster, makes 1.7 million less, and is a defensive forward who's respectable in the faceoff circle.

I'll take any one of Jason Arnott, Paul Guastad, Chris Kelly, Zenon Konopka, and maybe Lennart Petrell (who'd probably play second-fiddle to Abdelkader, but it'd give us a little depth there).

I like Gaustad because he's 6'5, he's totally dreamy, and he was a thorn in our side in the Nashville series. Moreover, of the players just mentioned, he stands out as possibly the only one Kenny would even consider. Arnott's old, kind of lazy, and a bit too pricey for a fourth-liner (the third-line pivot position being Helm's to lose). Chris Kelly - Holland would probably want to see a full season of solid play from him before considering him, which is fair enough. (Objectively I don't think he's leaps and bounds more valuable than Abdelkader, at least not in the context of our team at large). Konopka is the Anti-Wing. Petrell's just my "Look at me, I found a gritty guy under that rock over there! (And you said they couldn't be had for cheap!)" guy.

Ideally, we ink Prust and one of the aforementioned PNNBINSOAs ("probably-not-necessary-but-I'm-not-sold-on-Abdelkader"), and we trade up for Lucic.

[Dabura 12,207]

Exactly. I definitely agree. The precedent for the Red Wings treating veteran players in a very favorable fashion has long been established. Everyone in the league knows this and I highly doubt Parise and/or Suter are going to base their decisions on what happens with Tomas Holmstrom. It's not like the Red Wings organization is running Holmstrom off -- he's a mostly ineffective player with very minimal impact at even strength. Hockey is a business; you don't keep guys around if they can't play the game anymore. You can be loyal and still have limits. Draper, Maltby and Ozzie all knew their time was over and the front office treated all of them in a respectable manner following the conclusion of their playing days.

Parise and/or Suter know what they are getting if they come to Detroit. Like you mentioned, the biggest looming question surrounding the Red Wings if if they can retool from three straight early playoff exits. One of the most glaring flaws in the Nashville series was the team's complete lack of anything from the bottom-six. Holmstrom on the 4th line is just a complete misfit. Need more speed, size and energy -- none of which Holmstrom provides.

Biznasically.

I think we're all over-analyzing this. I mean, what are they gonna say? "We'd rather he not return. Too old and slow"?

[Rivalred 630]

Marketing stand point, Homer for the Holidays ticket package

[55fan 5,133]

Gaustad's dreamy?

Homer was 2nd place in the Hottest Wing poll of 2008.

I've said it before- I'll take Homer and his experience as a 13-14 guy so that if we're calling up more than one for IR purposes, we have one with experience in the mix. Plus the whole following him around for the Winter Classic thing.

As far as him being a package deal with Nick- seriously? If that's all it takes to twist Nick's arm, bring Homer back! I don't care if they have to promise them executive parking permits, Nick is a creature of habit, and getting picked up by Homer is his habit. Therefore, bring back both of them.

[Andy Pred 48 337]

The signing of a player to get another is wrong. It actually is a form of blackmail if it has come from the

players standpoint first of.

a) Nic signs and Homer gets offered a contract because of it,is Homer gunna feel really wanted by the club?

b) I doubt for one minute that Nic would want that sort of scenario to pan out, not good ethics.

c) Homer signs his extension and Nic decides to hang them up anyway !! Kenny and co egg on face and so forth.

Solution;

Offer Homer a 2way deal, not against him teaching the kids his trade in GR and it keeps him in the 'family'.