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Andy Pred 48

Next Seasons Needs/Team Future

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Ahhh. Are we still not over the Bruins?

Last I checked they got beat by a skilled team from Montreal.

I'd love the Wings to be "harder" to play against. They'll have to do that through the draft (because top six guys who can score are almost impossible to acquire as UFAs). Holland has obviously started drafting bigger guys recently.

For now, I'll take a team that can:

a) score

b) score on the PP

c) score

Right. Because that's totally what I said.

For the second time. We can improve the team AND make it harder to play against, but only if Holland is aggressive in the offseason and doesn't sit back and sign guys like Boyle, Vrbata, Callahan, Zidlicky, etc. just because it's easier to chase UFAs than it is to trade.

Also, keep in mind that Holland "doesn't get into bidding wars". So of the guys you mentioned he'd likely get the worst in each category. Yeehaw!

Edited by kipwinger

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Kronwall Smith

DeKeyser Byfuglien

Ericsson Sproul

I like that. Not perfect, but a s***-ton better than what we had this season.

That's a lot of defensive mistakes just waiting to happen on the right side there.

And compared to Sproul, Ouellet and Marchenko are certainly more reliable and NHL-ready at this point.

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That's a lot of defensive mistakes just waiting to happen on the right side there.

And compared to Sproul, Ouellet and Marchenko are certainly more reliable and NHL-ready at this point.

We know what we're getting with Kronwall. Smith showed well against the Bruins, is a good fit with Kronwall, and should be put in a position to succeed (i.e. paired with our best defenseman). He has better shutdown potential than we give him credit for.

DeKeyser's arguably our best defensive defenseman. Byfuglien's done well enough for himself as a top-pairing defenseman on some pretty awful teams (he currently plays in front of worst-starter-in-the-league Ondrej Pavelec), so playing with DeKeyser on the second pairing of a Mike Babcock team would, I think, be good for him and for the team.

Ericsson's our big shutdown guy. He'd help cover for Sproul's shortcomings in the d-zone. Ouellet, Marchenko, and probably Backman are all more NHL-ready in terms of steadiness and responsibility, but he'd be our sixth defenseman, and he'd be on the team for puck movement, offensive prowess, point production - especially on the power play.

I've beaten this point to death in recent weeks, but the best top three we've ever had was Lidstrom-Rafalski-Kronwall. Lidstrom was a generational two-way defenseman, but, on the whole, that trio screams offense, not defense. We need less defense (i.e. defending in our zone), more offense. That's what I was going for here. Byfuglien is a big producer and a major weapon on the power play. Sproul is a big producer and a major weapon on the power play. They can both move the puck. Smith is one of our better puck-movers and will, hopefully, become a big producer and a major weapon on the power play. Kronwall, DeKeyser, and Ericsson are plenty responsible defensively.

Great defense is never having to play defense. That's how the Kings are dominating, that's how we used to dominate. I want us to get back to that.

I posted this in the Dan Boyle thread, but I'll post it here (it's a pretty famous quote now anyway):

BoG7csAIcAA3SWP.jpg

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Guest DeGraa55

Eh, I don't really blame Kenny for it. They seem be a prerequisite for deals these days.

Eh idk. A guy like Weiss who we over paid didn't need one. At least like kronwall for example grew up in the organization and earned one with us. Sammy? He should've been happy just by getting a friggen two years deal...

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Isn't Byfuglien starting next season at forward? Either way, I wouldn't mind him here.

I'm not sure if Wayne Simmonds is available, but we should make a huge push for him if he is. Screw Kesler. Don't want him here.

I still think we should give Steve Downie a short contract and place him on the 3rd or 4th line. He's shown that he can put up decent offensive numbers and raise some hell.

Kindl needs to go. Lashoff, as well. Matt Greene should be a target in the off-season.

Edited by Bring Back The Bruise Bros

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Isn't Byfuglien starting next season at forward? Either way, I wouldn't mind him here.

I'm not sure if Wayne Simmonds is available, but we should make a huge push for him if he is. Screw Kesler. Don't want him here.

I still think we should give Steve Downie a short contract and place him on the 3rd or 4th line. He's shown that he can put up decent offensive numbers and raise some hell.

Kindl needs to go. Lashoff, as well. Matt Greene should be a target in the off-season.

Yes on Kindl, no on Lashoff-as the 7th Dman he is fine. Struggles vs speed teams does ok vs big teams and is cheap, yes on Greene to be the RHed defensive Dman to pair with Smith. Now just find someone to pair with Dekeyser and we have 3 good pairs.

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We know what we're getting with Kronwall. Smith showed well against the Bruins, is a good fit with Kronwall, and should be put in a position to succeed (i.e. paired with our best defenseman). He has better shutdown potential than we give him credit for.

DeKeyser's arguably our best defensive defenseman. Byfuglien's done well enough for himself as a top-pairing defenseman on some pretty awful teams (he currently plays in front of worst-starter-in-the-league Ondrej Pavelec), so playing with DeKeyser on the second pairing of a Mike Babcock team would, I think, be good for him and for the team.

Ericsson's our big shutdown guy. He'd help cover for Sproul's shortcomings in the d-zone. Ouellet, Marchenko, and probably Backman are all more NHL-ready in terms of steadiness and responsibility, but he'd be our sixth defenseman, and he'd be on the team for puck movement, offensive prowess, point production - especially on the power play.

I've beaten this point to death in recent weeks, but the best top three we've ever had was Lidstrom-Rafalski-Kronwall. Lidstrom was a generational two-way defenseman, but, on the whole, that trio screams offense, not defense. We need less defense (i.e. defending in our zone), more offense. That's what I was going for here. Byfuglien is a big producer and a major weapon on the power play. Sproul is a big producer and a major weapon on the power play. They can both move the puck. Smith is one of our better puck-movers and will, hopefully, become a big producer and a major weapon on the power play. Kronwall, DeKeyser, and Ericsson are plenty responsible defensively.

Great defense is never having to play defense. That's how the Kings are dominating, that's how we used to dominate. I want us to get back to that.

I posted this in the Dan Boyle thread, but I'll post it here (it's a pretty famous quote now anyway):

BoG7csAIcAA3SWP.jpg

Not even close. Our top 3/4 in the late 90's was much better. Vladdy, Nick, Pappa Bear, then Murp, etc.... later add Chelios. They were all very good to great 2 way players. Raffi and Kronwall are average defensively at best.

Edited by Richdg

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Not sure why people want Greene. Guy just played 17 minutes in a 2ot game. Looks like his feet got stuck in molasses if you ask me. I get that he's big but he doesn't solve any real needs. Just make our back end bigger. I'd much rather take Willie Mitchell.

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Not sure why people want Greene. Guy just played 17 minutes in a 2ot game. Looks like his feet got stuck in molasses if you ask me. I get that he's big but he doesn't solve any real needs. Just make our back end bigger. I'd much rather take Willie Mitchell.

Simple: 6-3/230, RHed, 31, UFA, from Michigan, solid defensive Dman. perfect guy to pair with Smith. Mitchell is also good sized, LHed, 37, and a UFA. No one is claiming that Greene is an AS. He is a 2 or 3 year guy to fill in while Sproul, Marchenko, and Jensen-all RHers develop.

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Simple: 6-3/230, RHed, 31, UFA, from Michigan, solid defensive Dman. perfect guy to pair with Smith. Mitchell is also good sized, LHed, 37, and a UFA. No one is claiming that Greene is an AS. He is a 2 or 3 year guy to fill in while Sproul, Marchenko, and Jensen-all RHers develop.

Exactly. Same as Boyle. 2 year deals for Greene and Boyle would help stabalize the D until the young guys are ready.

If Holland goes the FA route, I would much rather he do this than sign Niskanen to a long term deal. We need to have roster felxibility. Marchenko, Backman, Ouellet, and Sproul could all be legit NHLers in 2 years.

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So a 2 year guy in Mitchell would be worse? Mitchell is better than Greene and is also a solid defensive dman. Not to mention the kids might learn something from him, where they won't learn anything from Greene. There's a reason Greene is playing less than 5 minutes a period. Not to mention we don't need another 3rd pairing defenseman.

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I'm not sure if Wayne Simmonds is available, but we should make a huge push for him if he is.

ahh, I wish!! Wayne has been on my wishlist for a while now.. don't really see philly giving him up for anything we'd be willing to pay though.

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So a 2 year guy in Mitchell would be worse? Mitchell is better than Greene and is also a solid defensive dman. Not to mention the kids might learn something from him, where they won't learn anything from Greene. There's a reason Greene is playing less than 5 minutes a period. Not to mention we don't need another 3rd pairing defenseman.

yes we do. Only DD and big E are even close to playing quality D. Smith is an offensive guy, Kronwall is an offensive guy, Kindl just sucks, and Lashoff is a 7th. So yes we need a good 3rd pair guy.

Mitchell doesn't fit being LHed-we have 6 of those, and the LAK have been rumored to want to keep him. Greene not so much.

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I disagree with the notion that we need a 2 year filler on the back end because we'll end up with a scenario similar to this season - kids stuck in the minors who need to play in the NHL because there's some cagey veteran who's actually breaking down and holding up his spot. Not to say that signing the likes of Boyle or Mitchell would be a bad thing, I'd happily take either on a 1 year deal, but 2 years? Meh.

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Exactly. Same as Boyle. 2 year deals for Greene and Boyle would help stabalize the D until the young guys are ready.

If Holland goes the FA route, I would much rather he do this than sign Niskanen to a long term deal. We need to have roster felxibility. Marchenko, Backman, Ouellet, and Sproul could all be legit NHLers in 2 years.

I agree. I want to see 1 year stop gap contracts instead of 2 like Colo and Sammy. The only long term contract I would like to see in the offseason would be Moulson for 5 years max.

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I agree. I want to see 1 year stop gap contracts instead of 2 like Colo and Sammy. The only long term contract I would like to see in the offseason would be Moulson for 5 years max.

If we're only willing to offer a 1-year deal to a UFA defenceman than we better not expect anyone better than a Corvo or Komisarek.

No defenceman with value is going to sign a 1-year deal unless they're rebounding from a horrendous season and all the aging guys will sacrifice salary for term.

We will add a veteran defenceman but it will be for more than a year.

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If we're only willing to offer a 1-year deal to a UFA defenceman than we better not expect anyone better than a Corvo or Komisarek.

No defenceman with value is going to sign a 1-year deal unless they're rebounding from a horrendous season and all the aging guys will sacrifice salary for term.

We will add a veteran defenceman but it will be for more than a year.

Bingo.

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FWIW, Malik has some bullet points based on Holland's interview with Detroit Sports 105.1 FM today. Some of you are going to hate #4.

http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/red-wings-afternoon-news-ken-holland-on-detroit-sports-105.1-fm-mantha-talk

Amongst Holland's points of emphasis (the draft, Anthony Mantha, Mike Babcock's contract extension and free agency chit-chat):

1. He plans on taking a "skater" with the 15th overall draft pick (i.e. not a goaltender), though the Wings may move up or down a few spots depending on where players rank on the team's post-scouting-meetings draft list. He does feel that the combine's interview process can change the team's master list, but he also pointed out that players are much more mature thanks to under-18, under-17 and under-16 programs, so when the Wings' ten scouts have a chat with said players, they speak to more finished prospects;

2. Holland was more enthusiastic about Anthony Mantha's chances of making the team than he was a month ago. He duly noted that Mantha didn't back-check very regularly because he was taking 90-second shifts at the Memorial Cup, but after Babcock scouted Mantha during the QMJHL final and the Wings watched him at the Memorial Cup, Holland feels that he's going to need to sit down with Mantha and explain that he will be given the opportunity to earn a top-six spot with the team.

Holland doesn't want Mantha to be utilized as a checker, so if Manthaa doesn't steal somebody's job, he's going to Grand Rapids, but Holland readily admitted that Mantha's size and scoring potential have him rethinking his desire to "over-ripen" prospects in the AHL in this case;

3. Regarding Mike Babcock, Holland simply stated that Babcock had both scouted Mantha in Quebec and that the coach went back to Saskatchewan to kick off his summer vacation, so the pair hadn't been in the same area for a while. Holland said that he'd speak with Babcock during the team's organizational meetings from June 2nd to June 4th at the Joe, that he'd have time with Babcock during the draft and free agency, and that he expects to talk contract extension turkey with Babcock at this time.

Holland told Dery that he'd "have to be living under a rock" to not hear the rumors about Babcock going elsewhere, and Holland understands why Babcock's record and charisma make him an intriguing candidate for coaching jobs, but he feels that Babcock wants to remain in Detroit, and he believes that Babcock wants to get an extension deal hammered out, too.

Cue the Tweets!

4. Regarding free agents and possible summer moves, Holland really emphasized the need for the team to get healthy, mentioning Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk and Stephen Weiss by name, and he suggested that this summer's free agent class is a bit weaker than usual (that's very accurate given the forwards, defensemen and goalies out there). Ye olde, "We'll explore" (i.e. prepare for tire-kicking) seemed to take a backseat to his and the team's desire to "improve from within."

Edited by rick zombo

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Guest DeGraa55

FWIW, Malik has some bullet points based on Holland's interview with Detroit Sports 105.1 FM today. Some of you are going to hate #4.

http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/red-wings-afternoon-news-ken-holland-on-detroit-sports-105.1-fm-mantha-talk

I agree with 1-3.

But the 4th....SMFH. At least make an offer to guys like Callahan or vanek. Just don't overpay and when/if we get outbid so be it. But at least make an effort.

I think we need three free agents or trades this off season...maybe four if we don't resign monster.

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This team isn't going anywhere next season if we "rebuild from within" this off-season. Sure, we've got some prospects that are projected to make the roster in the future, but we've got to make a few moves and get NHL players on this roster now. How many more years are Datsyuk and Zetterberg going to be leaned on to be our top scorers?

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I agree with 1-3.

But the 4th....SMFH. At least make an offer to guys like Callahan or vanek. Just don't overpay and when/if we get outbid so be it. But at least make an effort.

I think we need three free agents or trades this off season...maybe four if we don't resign monster.

Why waste time making an offer that's less than their reported salary demands? Callahan wants $6 mil per, Vanek wants $50 mil over 7 years. Neither are worth close to that.

I don't go to Captain Cut and Paste's blog, I just go to milve and the Detroit paper sites directly, but I'm assuming Holland said they weren't going to get into a bidding war or something, unless the above post was it. In that case, it doesn't say he wouldn't give their agents a call.

On Defense, I'd be happy to let Smith move into the top 4 and bring in a rookie for the third pair, and let Kindl and Lashoff fight it out for the 6 spot. People always say they want to give kids a chance, then demand that they go out and get vets to fill holes. Smith has 120+ NHL games in plus two playoff runs, and showed improvement. He deserves the shot.

Edited by DickieDunn

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I agree with 1-3.

But the 4th....SMFH. At least make an offer to guys like Callahan or vanek. Just don't overpay and when/if we get outbid so be it. But at least make an effort.

I think we need three free agents or trades this off season...maybe four if we don't resign monster.

I believe you could call that exploring.

As for FAs. There's only room for 3 even with a goalie: 1D, 1F (depending on whether Alfie retires and Mantha/Jurco sent down), and 1G if Mrazek isn't backup. We need to leave 1 spot on D where a prospect can take away a spot (probably Kindl's).

My ideal:

Sign Nabokov for 1 year (I want Mrazek, but people say another year in the AHL is better for him)

SIgn Gaborik: if not let Mantha/Jurco play (don't want Moulson/Vanek/Callahan at their prices)

Sign Markov for 1 year: would mean that Sproul/Marchenko get the call to supply a righty and Kindl/Lashoff need to move to make room. If not: Let the kids play!

Tootoo traded to give him a chance to play

(Miller traded for Eaves, haha)

Z-D-Alfie/Mantha

Franzen-Weiss-Gaborik

Tatar-Sheahan-Nyquist

Miller-Helm-Abby

Glendening

Kronwall-Dekeyser

Markov-Smith

Ericsson-Kindl/Sproul/Marchenko

Lashoff

Howard

Nabokov

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