What do we need this off-season?

[Guest The Axe]

Is there... is there another Suter laying around?

Yup. His name is Brendan Smith. Just wait 3 or 4 years. He will be Suter, but with an edge.

[kickazz 5,459]

The reality of it is, if they don't resign Filpula, we're stuck with Zetterberg being a center for the 2nd line which is no good. Z has been terrible as a center these past few years, his faceoff percent is dwindling. Z is a natural winger and should stay as one. Another option is for Mule to center the second line if we didn't resign Filpula, but would Babs really go through with that? Probably not. He's tried mule as center and mule's actually a good center but not sure if Babs wants it to be a permanent thing.

Hopefully Helm can be 100% by next season and center the second line. Can you imagine that? Our second line would be sooo fast and dominant against opposing teams. You would have a lot of finesse and shooting with Pav and Z on first line and a lot of speed on the second line. That's a great combo for a team if you ask me.

[RedWingCraig 32]

Is Mrazek ready?

No

Holland has these things to do:

1) extend Days thru 18/19 = 7 mil per.

2) sign Flip = 7 years, 4.5 per.

3) Get rid of Cleary, White, Colo, Bert, Sammy, Miller, Eaves, Gustavsson, and Tootoo one way or the other.

Zetterbrrg-Datsyuk-Franzen

Filppula-Helm-Tatar

Nyquist-Andersson-Brunner

Sheahan+Emmerton-Frk

Nestrosil

Ericsson-Kronwall

DeKeyser-Kindl

Quincey-Smith

Lashoff, Almquist

Howard

Mrazek

Keep the youth movement trucking!

If he signs Fil at 4.5 for 7 years he needs to be fired on the spot...and Almquist won't be on this team next season and neither will Frk

The reality of it is, if they don't resign Filpula, we're stuck with Zetterberg being a center for the 2nd line which is no good. Z has been terrible as a center these past few years, his faceoff percent is dwindling. Z is a natural winger and should stay as one. Another option is for Mule to center the second line if we didn't resign Filpula, but would Babs really go through with that? Probably not. He's tried mule as center and mule's actually a good center but not sure if Babs wants it to be a permanent thing.

Hopefully Helm can be 100% by next season and center the second line. Can you imagine that? Our second line would be sooo fast and dominant against opposing teams. You would have a lot of finesse and shooting with Pav and Z on first line and a lot of speed on the second line. That's a great combo for a team if you ask me.

Andersson could easily be a 2nd line center

[Guest The Axe]

The reality of it is, if they don't resign Filpula, we're stuck with Zetterberg being a center for the 2nd line which is no good. Z has been terrible as a center these past few years, his faceoff percent is dwindling. Z is a natural winger and should stay as one. Another option is for Mule to center the second line if we didn't resign Filpula, but would Babs really go through with that? Probably not. He's tried mule as center and mule's actually a good center but not sure if Babs wants it to be a permanent thing.

Hopefully Helm can be 100% by next season and center the second line. Can you imagine that? Our second line would be sooo fast and dominant against opposing teams. You would have a lot of finesse and shooting with Pav and Z on first line and a lot of speed on the second line. That's a great combo for a team if you ask me.

I really like the idea of:

Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Horton

Filppula-Helm-Franzen

Brunner-Andersson-Nyquist

Abdelkader-Emmerton-Tatar

I think its going to be difficult for Kenny to get Horton, but I think we are one top line forward away from being legit. We have to throw away our garbage this offseason, though.

[Yzerfan1999 81]

Here is my mock-up. Its a dream, and I know I will get s*** for the Heatley thing but I bet he could be had for pretty cheap from Minnesota due to his high cap hit and only 1 year remaining. The guy can still score and needs a bit of a push to get his game back on track. I think Detroit could easily turn him into a 35+ goal scorer again on a line with Dats or Zetter. Don't really know who we'd have to give up...

My Custom Lineup
FORWARDS
Johan Franzen ($3.955m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Dany Heatley ($7.500m)
Gustav Nyquist ($0.788m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Damien Brunner ($1.350m)
Valtteri Filppula ($3.737m) / Darren Helm ($2.125m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($2.075m)
Justin Abdelkader ($1.800m) / Cory Emmerton ($0.533m) / Joakim Andersson ($0.605m)
Patrick Eaves ($1.200m) / Jordin Tootoo ($1.900m) / Tomas Tatar ($0.840m)
DEFENSEMEN
Niklas Kronwall ($4.750m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($3.250m)
Danny DeKeyser ($1.350m) / Jakub Kindl ($1.050m)
Kyle Quincey ($3.775m) / Brendan Smith ($0.827m)
Brian Lashoff ($0.725m)
GOALTENDERS
Jimmy Howard ($5.292m)
Jonas Gustavsson ($1.500m)
OTHER
Buyout: Mikael Samuelsson ($1.000m)
Buyout: Carlo Colaiacovo ($0.600m)
------
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $65,309,254; BONUSES: $1,010,000
CAP SPACE (24-man roster): $746

[Nev 1,085]

Buyout Sammy and Colo. Let White and Cleary walk. Flip will probly price himself out of a Wings sweater.

Only problem with that is it exacerbates our 2 biggest problems - lack of size up front and lack of puck moving skill on the rear end.

Thing is, there are going to be a lot of buyouts and salary dumps this off-season, we just don't know who they will be yet. We have a logjam of small, skilled forwards available for salary dumps and there will be some good but overpaid players who get bought out.

[LeftWinger 4,949]

Here is my mock-up. Its a dream, and I know I will get s*** for the Heatley thing but I bet he could be had for pretty cheap from Minnesota due to his high cap hit and only 1 year remaining. The guy can still score and needs a bit of a push to get his game back on track. I think Detroit could easily turn him into a 35+ goal scorer again on a line with Dats or Zetter. Don't really know who we'd have to give up...

My Custom Lineup

FORWARDS

Johan Franzen ($3.955m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Dany Heatley ($7.500m)

Gustav Nyquist ($0.788m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Damien Brunner ($1.350m)

Valtteri Filppula ($3.737m) / Darren Helm ($2.125m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($2.075m)

Justin Abdelkader ($1.800m) / Cory Emmerton ($0.533m) / Joakim Andersson ($0.605m)

Patrick Eaves ($1.200m) / Jordin Tootoo ($1.900m) / Tomas Tatar ($0.840m)

DEFENSEMEN

Niklas Kronwall ($4.750m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($3.250m)

Danny DeKeyser ($1.350m) / Jakub Kindl ($1.050m)

Kyle Quincey ($3.775m) / Brendan Smith ($0.827m)

Brian Lashoff ($0.725m)

GOALTENDERS

Jimmy Howard ($5.292m)

Jonas Gustavsson ($1.500m)

OTHER

Buyout: Mikael Samuelsson ($1.000m)

Buyout: Carlo Colaiacovo ($0.600m)

------

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)

(these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion)

SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $65,309,254; BONUSES: $1,010,000

CAP SPACE (24-man roster): $746

With the injury experience Detroit had this year, if they into the season with only $746 available Cap space, they are screwed...

[Euro_Twins 4,475]

we need to dump the garbage on this site that is holding it back, you know the ones that every three or four days start a new thread saying the same thing as their last thread...

[redwings15 47]

You guys really think Holland will get rid of Flip, Bertuzzi, Sammy, Cleary, Miller, White, and Colo? This would be clearing house for Holland, and Holland just doesn't do that to players with whom he's had a relationship--even if they're UFAs.

[Richdg 267]

If all of our UFA's left, would we really miss any of them? Maybe brunner, but even he has issues-but still young enough to make improvements. But really, Miller, Cleary, White, Filppula? What did these guys really give us this year? Not much. Combined they make around 9 million. Do they even have 9 goals between them? JK on that point. But let them all walk. Maybe even Brunner if it means we can sign a Clarkson and Horton.

[MasterPavel 115]

I don't know why people think Holland won't use his buyouts. Colo is gone, especially since there isn't a long term relationship with him. Sammy could be axed as well, more unlikely but still possible.

[Richdg 267]

I don't know why people think Holland won't use his buyouts. Colo is gone, especially since there isn't a long term relationship with him. Sammy could be axed as well, more unlikely but still possible.

using a buyout on sammy-1 year left on his contract is a waste of a buyout. use those on guys that are signed and hitting our cap untill they are 40. wasting 3 million in cap space for 1 season is not that big of a deal. wasting 4+ million on a guy for 3, 4, 5 years after he is retired is a HUGE deal. Ref: Kronwall 32 w/ 6 more seasons of cap hit, Franzen 34 with 7 more seasons of cap hit, and Zetterberg 33 with 8 more seasons of cap hit. ages as of dec 31, 2013.

[LeftWinger 4,949]

using a buyout on sammy-1 year left on his contract is a waste of a buyout. use those on guys that are signed and hitting our cap untill they are 40. wasting 3 million in cap space for 1 season is not that big of a deal. wasting 4+ million on a guy for 3, 4, 5 years after he is retired is a HUGE deal. Ref: Kronwall 32 w/ 6 more seasons of cap hit, Franzen 34 with 7 more seasons of cap hit, and Zetterberg 33 with 8 more seasons of cap hit. ages as of dec 31, 2013.

IF you think that Holland will buy any of those three, then whew! That is some big changes!

[MasterPavel 115]

IF you think that Holland will buy any of those three, then whew! That is some big changes!

This, and I thought that as long as the contracts were signed under the old cba when said player retires it doesn't effect the current cap.

[Yzerfan1999 81]

With the injury experience Detroit had this year, if they into the season with only $746 available Cap space, they are screwed...

That is very true. I've got 5 full lines on the board there though, I didn't send anything back to the Wild in return for Heatley, I was just going on the assumption that a million or two in players would be sent back. Either way, just a mock-up. I'd love to see a pure goal scorer on each of the top two lines. I think Franzen and a guy like Heatley would work.

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

I would like to see the following changes (without naming any UFA names to acquire, we all know we need some more scoring and a possibly via trade a #1 Defender.)

I know I will get flamed for mentioning Franzen, but I think Holland should try to find a team that would take on that long contract. I still think Vancouver is the logical place and considering there horrific dump thus far in the playoffs, they will be looking for some changes as well. So after the season, possibly at the draft I trade Franzen. For this scenario, I am trading Franzen for Burrows. (just hypothetical)

If Filppula also will not come down from his $5M demand, I also trade his rights at the draft or at least before he becomes a UFA. Not sure what he would bring being a pending UFA, but the prices have been pretty high around the league for pending UFA's, so he may bring more than expected... for this scenario I am trading him to Dallas for Erik Cole. (hypothetical)

Ok, flame on with those two, but I think the rest of what I think we need to do will garner more support from you guys.

Ian White - leaves as a UFA. Obviuosly there is no room for him and Babcock has no intention of playing him anyhow...

Drew Miller - leaves as a UFA. He would be missed, but roster spots are scarce and Patrick Eaves is already signed for another year, so unless there is a trade that involves Eaves, I think Miller will not be here next season...

Daniel Cleary - leaves as a UFA. Thank you Dan for the years and heart, but again, roster spots are scarce and its time to move on to youth.

Todd Bertuzzi - Either an amnesty buyout or LTIR. Either way, his roster spot and cap hit is needed. Again, it's obviously Babcock has no interest in playing him, or he just isn't healthy enough.

Mikael Samuelsson - Amnesty Buyout. Period. He has no place on this team, no matter what he does in the remaining playoff games, his spot is needed and so is his cap hit.

Carlo Coliaicovo - Either amnesty buyout or sent to the minors (if buyouts are used on Bert and Sammy) and if he happens to clear waivers his "buried" cap hit will only be $1.575M instead of his full $2.5M. Sure its valuable cap space, but with the emergence of Jakub Kindl and the sign of Danny Dekeyser, there just is no room for him, unless the Wings want to carry 8 defensemen, but that $925K in cap relief could come in handy. If we are lucky someone claims him and we lose the entire $2.5M.

We obviously re-sign Damien Brunner, Joakim Andersson, Gustav Nyquist, Brenden Smith & Jakub Kindl. Then all season long you work on getting Danny D re-signed long term and try to convince Datsyuk to re-sign for a couple more seasons...

So that leaves me with a roster like this:

Burrows - Datsyuk - Tatar

Cole - Zetterberg - Brunner

Andersson - Helm - Nyquist

Tootoo - Emmerton - Abdelkader

Eaves

Kronwall - Ericsson

Dekeyser - Kindl

Quincey - Smith

Lashoff

Howard

Monster

...this is just me, I really don't see Holland trading Franzen, but if any team calls about him, it'll be Vancouver and it's my opinion that Burrows is a much more consistent player, and a completely different type of player than Franzen. It is likely that Filppula is not a Red Wing next year if he doesn't come down from $5M, to more like $4M. But still, its time to change and Val just doesn't add up to what we need in the East.

Like I said, I don't even want to drop any UFA names because I too think the UFA crop this year will get WAY overpaid... I do like the idea of Clowe and/or Penner on this team for size. The possibilities are endless. I just hope Holland doesn't "like this team" and keep it the same for his virgin voyage in to the Eastern Conference...changes are needed.

$4.5M too much for Val...and no way Frk, Sheahan or Nestrosil are ready for the NHL, especially the East. They may get some time, but they need to get gradual time...Tootoo also needs to stay for our journey East.

I agree with all but 2 things. I hate Burrows, though I like your idea of Cole. He has value even when not scoring, which is a good start. And the other thing is minor, Nestrasil is terrible, and judging by his WJ hissy fit way back when, he'd be a good fit for Vancouver or Montreal. They can have him for free. Frk needs at least the tweener season in GR. He's got a boomer of a shot and he's smart, but just like Jarnkrok, he needs to trasition his game before taking that huge leap to the NHL. DeKeyser is our future #1. Kid's a stud to say the least. Apparently the announcers were drooling over Sproul in GR, so he's looking good moving forward and Ouellet will no doubt be awesome. I wouldn't want Kenny to spend too much time on D, rather him go after a guy like Cole as you mentioned to beef up our top 6/3rd line and add some more much needed toughness.

[LeftWinger 4,949]

I am with you! This team needs a pure goal scorer for sure. Except I still Franzen is still too inconsistent. I would love to see Burrows here in his place as I think Vancouver would take Franzen from us considering their playoff poop out this year...they need change as do we. Franzen would be marvelous with the Sedins....

Franzen for Burrows...

Filppula for Cole

Minny buysout Heatley and Wings sign him at a barain!

How is that for a fantasy mock up!

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

using a buyout on sammy-1 year left on his contract is a waste of a buyout. use those on guys that are signed and hitting our cap untill they are 40. wasting 3 million in cap space for 1 season is not that big of a deal. wasting 4+ million on a guy for 3, 4, 5 years after he is retired is a HUGE deal. Ref: Kronwall 32 w/ 6 more seasons of cap hit, Franzen 34 with 7 more seasons of cap hit, and Zetterberg 33 with 8 more seasons of cap hit. ages as of dec 31, 2013.

Those signings are all under 35 and if they retire before their contracts are up, they come off the books.

And a side note, we don't need to re-sign Miller, Cleary, Eaves...any of those type guys, even though I still like Eaves, when we have guys like Callahan, Ferraro and Sheahan to name a few coming up when their contracts are up. No more time for bridge contracts for guys that are easily replaceable.

[Guest Crymson]

We can teach Dustin Penner to be the next Tomas holmstrom

Sure, if he weren't soft, lazy, and so fragile that pancakes can injure him.

[Richdg 267]

Those signings are all under 35 and if they retire before their contracts are up, they come off the books.

And a side note, we don't need to re-sign Miller, Cleary, Eaves...any of those type guys, even though I still like Eaves, when we have guys like Callahan, Ferraro and Sheahan to name a few coming up when their contracts are up. No more time for bridge contracts for guys that are easily replaceable.

I don't think that is correct anymore, that is why the buyouts were added as an option to the new CBA. So you could remove guys from your cap.

[kipwinger 8,518]

Smith and Tatar for Yandle. Sign Horton or Clarkson, or potentially Christ Stewart (he might be an RFA though, I'm too lazy to look) and we're all set.

[Z Winged Dangler 2,082]

I don't think that is correct anymore, that is why the buyouts were added as an option to the new CBA. So you could remove guys from your cap.

Even though they were signed under the old CBA? I think we need a rule book thrown at us on this one. A direct quote can settle this up. One would think that contracts like Z, Mule and Kronner would fall under the old CBA cause that's what's written in the actual contract themselves, but I could be wrong.

[puckbags 863]

I forgot Abby, too. Remove Sheahan and put Abby there. I just don't like the crop of UFA's this year.

I don't know how many times this year i've seen you post a roster and completely miss a player who will clearly be on the team..it makes whatever credibility you have around here even less.

[ogreslayer 1,069]

Even though they were signed under the old CBA? I think we need a rule book thrown at us on this one. A direct quote can settle this up. One would think that contracts like Z, Mule and Kronner would fall under the old CBA cause that's what's written in the actual contract themselves, but I could be wrong.

It's referred to as the Roberto Luongo Rule:

http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/08/explaining-the-luongo-rule-in-the-new-cba/

If a player who signed a back diving contract retires before the end of it, the cap advantage (salary above the cap hit in the early years of the contract) are recovered in the remaining, post retirement years until the original contract is up.

Edit: It should go without saying that since it's nicknamed the Roberto Luongo Rule that it applies to contacts signed before the new CBA, but I'll say it anyway so there's zero debate.

Couple of other thoughts on some things mentioned earlier:

• I would be highly surprised if Kenny bought out any of the Wings' existing long term contracts i.e. Hank, Mule, or Kronner. Those mentioning that, you do realize that means they're gone right? No re-signing them after a contract buy out.
• On trading for Heatley. Doubt Kenny will have to give up assets if he wants him. Minny only has 17 players on contract next year & a little over $9m to build out their roster. Heatley is pretty much guaranteed to be bought out.

Edited May 8, 2013 by ogreslayer

[LeftWinger 4,949]

If Heatley gets bought out, I wouldn't mind inking the All-Star up to play with Dats. Still ironic if it happens since he was the one who Suter called to get the guarantee that they have a good enough team to win it all. Nothing personal Mary Kate, just business... With the buyout, Heatley would be WAY less expensive to sign, so we wouldn't have to worry about his cap hit being $7M+. Not telling how much he would cost, but he could give a team a HUGE discount for a year to come in and earn his next big contract...