Red Wings expect changes for 2014 - 2015

[rrasco 1,312]

If we picked up a shooter, I always liked Vrbata.

[kipwinger 8,492]

His 5 previous seasons are unimpressive ... Not worth the price he's gonna demand if you ask me , wouldn't wanna be handcuffed with him especially with guys like ouellet marchenko sproul backman coming up real soon

Guess well have to agree to disagree

Helm is a great 3rd line center ...unless he gets extra ice time somehow don't know about him being on the 4th .... Anyway he or sheahan goes to wing?(probably not) ... Don't know how there gonna fix that

I'd personally like to see shawn Thornton here on the 4th line if possible ... Not a big fan of Drew miller

Well you definitely don't break up the kid line, so Sheahan stays where he's at. But I don't think there's any reason why Helm couldn't get quality ice time on the fourth line. The grinders did it for years.

You don't have to like Drew Miller. Babs does, so he's not going anywhere. If we were to sign a guy like Thornton (which we won't) he'd likely be the 13 forward and be in the press box most nights. That's just the truth of the matter.

As for Niskanen...26 pts. as a rookie is not unremarkable, it's pretty impressive (especially since Dallas was horrible back then). He then improved to 35 pts., which is good by any objective measure. His numbers then dipped as his ice time did, and went back up as he earned the ice time back, culminating in a 48 pts breakout season which happens to coincide with his being at an age where defensemen typically have breakout seasons. If Brendan Smith put up 26 pts. in his rookie season people around here would devolve into wild throes of ecstasy considering they're ready to lick his balls after the 19 he managed this season.

Again, Niskanen's for read dude.

Edited April 30, 2014 by kipwinger

[Salviaman 104]

Sign Eric Lindros!!!

[cnot19 191]

I'd like to replace miller with a bigger tough checking forwqed

[martinezsvsu 240]

I'd like to replace miller with a bigger tough checking forwqed

callahan

[beachwing 426]

Being as big a Tootoo fan as I am and regardless of the reasons for him not getting nhl time here in the D. This quote from Holland makes you feel pretty good about the people in charge of our RW.

After mentioning most likly Jordin will be bought out.

Ive got to figure out a way to get Jordin Tootoo back to the National Hockey League, Holland said.

[GMRwings1983 8,793]

Nyquist - Zetterberg - Franzen

Zaripov - Datsyuk - Mozjakin

Helm - Sheahan - Jurco

Miller - Glendening - Aby

Kronwall - Giordano

DeKeyser - Ericsson

Smith - Ouellet

I like my Euros really soft.

No.

No.

No.

No.

This team has 9 bottom 6 forwards and a lot of players that are either out of options in GR, or should be getting their chance soon. A 35 year old goon who can't make the NHL and whose team is losing to the Griffins in the Calder cup playoffs is not the answer.

I want Trevor Gillies on this team. He can use McGrattan as his bigger, tougher backup. Anyway, here's my lineup. Whoops, forgot Nyquist.

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - real top line winger

good winger - Weiss - Nyquist

Abdelkader - Helm - Tatar

McGrattan - Sheahan - Jurco

Kronwall - real #1 defenseman

Smith - Ericsson

Dekeyser - Sproul

Good playoff goalie

Howard

Edited April 30, 2014 by GMRwings1983

[cnot19 191]

I like my Euros really soft.

I want Trevor Gillies on this team. He can use McGrattan as his bigger, tougher backup.

Yes please! We need a tough "****** bag" on this team. Hockey embraces these guys and we need to as well, I really do not understand this notion of class and respect, it's never been in hockey and will not be in hockey. It's way to tough and physical a sport. Sign me up for the mcgratton jersey!!

[GMRwings1983 8,793]

Yes please! We need a tough "****** bag" on this team. Hockey embraces these guys and we need to as well, I really do not understand this notion of class and respect, it's never been in hockey and will not be in hockey. It's way to tough and physical a sport. Sign me up for the mcgratton jersey!!

Yeah, we could use some size and grit.

Then again, we could use a lot of things. The lineup I posted above is what we realistically need to be a contender again.

[FireCaptain 563]

That Zetterberg guy is double shifting every game! He's a BEAST!!

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - real top line winger

good winger - Zetterberg - Nyquist

Abdelkader - Helm - Tatar

McGrattan - Sheahan - Jurco

Kronwall - real #1 defenseman

Smith - Ericsson

Dekeyser - Sproul

Good playoff goalie

Howard

[GMRwings1983 8,793]

That Zetterberg guy is double shifting every game! He's a BEAST!!

Yeah, I just noticed that. I put Weiss in, but that still looks bad.

Shows you how limited our talent pool is. You think real #2 center is pushing it?

Edited April 30, 2014 by GMRwings1983

[cnot19 191]

Yeah, we could use some size and grit.

Then again, we could use a lot of things. The lineup I posted above is what we realistically need to be a contender again.

I would agree what we are really lacking is a Torrey krug or another power play dman. He has an absolute cannon yes we seem to ignore having a howitzer from the point

[LeftWinger 4,934]

I like Niskanen too, but he is currently on a team that has a better shot at winning a Cup than Detroit does. He is a UFA and there is a chance he may leave for a bigger pay day (especially with his 46 points this season) unless he chooses the infamous discount to stay. I would offer him Kronwall money, but I think he may get upwards of $5M on the market. Funny thing about PIT, they only have 7 forwards, 5 defensemen and 2 goalies signed next season and they are only projected to have $15M in cap space...wow! This is their make or break year for sure!

I still like the idea of a Derek Morris coming in to be that vet D-man. He is 35, RIGHT handed, averages about 20 minutes a game, and is a stay at home guy. He has lost some offensive prowess of course, but he could be a great 3rd pairing guy. Willie Mitchell also intrigues me, but again, he is on a team that has better chances to win than Detroit, same can be said of Boyle. I think the only way these guys don't re-sign with their teams (Niskanen included) is if the team hasn't the cap space or want to change things up. Which COULD be the case for Morris and Boyle, Phoenix for obvious reasons to change and in San Jose once again falls short of at least the Cup finals, Boyle could be asked to move on, in not so many words.

I think Holland is going to do something outside of the obvious this time around and take us all for a loop! He just make that draft day deal that he is always talking about doing. It's no secret that Alex Edler would like to be a Red Wing and Holland would love him here. I can imagine the blockbuster return to Vancouver if we acquired Edler and Kesler...yikes! Could you imagine our team then? Who would you be willing to give up?

The players that I feel are tradable at this time (doesn't mean they will get traded) are as follows:

Johan Franzen, Darren Helm, Brendan Smith, Jakub Kindl, Brian Lashoff, Justin Abdelkader, Joakim Andersson, Adam Almqvist, Landon Ferraro, Mitchell Callahan and also Jimmy Howard. Throw in our 1st round pick and what would it take to get Kesler and Edler here? Then sign a Morris or Niskanen or Boyle. Of course if Howard were traded, that would mean you are betting you can lure Miller here, and that is no guarantee, so may as well stay with Howard, improve our D and get him a better, more healthy backup.

I would trade Franzen, Helm, Smith, Almqvist and our 1st for Kesler, Edler, Booth and their 2nd today. Not unless Weiss would waive his NTC to go to Vancouver, then I would swap him for Helm and leave Booth and maybe take another pick, if not Burrows.

Edited April 30, 2014 by LeftWinger

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

Well you definitely don't break up the kid line, so Sheahan stays where he's at. But I don't think there's any reason why Helm couldn't get quality ice time on the fourth line. The grinders did it for years.

You don't have to like Drew Miller. Babs does, so he's not going anywhere. If we were to sign a guy like Thornton (which we won't) he'd likely be the 13 forward and be in the press box most nights. That's just the truth of the matter.

As for Niskanen...26 pts. as a rookie is not unremarkable, it's pretty impressive (especially since Dallas was horrible back then). He then improved to 35 pts., which is good by any objective measure. His numbers then dipped as his ice time did, and went back up as he earned the ice time back, culminating in a 48 pts breakout season which happens to coincide with his being at an age where defensemen typically have breakout seasons. If Brendan Smith put up 26 pts. in his rookie season people around here would devolve into wild throes of ecstasy considering they're ready to lick his balls after the 19 he managed this season.

Again, Niskanen's for read dude.

As I said niskanens stats really dipped for 5 prior seasons before this one ... I think it also helps playing with Crosby and the other guys on the team ... Wouldn't wanna risk signing him to 5-6 yrs at 5 + per for having one +40 pt season

Thankfully though I suspect he resigns with Pittsburgh and saves us from making a huge mistake in my opinion

I like Niskanen too, but he is currently on a team that has a better shot at winning a Cup than Detroit does. He is a UFA and there is a chance he may leave for a bigger pay day (especially with his 46 points this season) unless he chooses the infamous discount to stay. I would offer him Kronwall money, but I think he may get upwards of $5M on the market. Funny thing about PIT, they only have 7 forwards, 5 defensemen and 2 goalies signed next season and they are only projected to have $15M in cap space...wow! This is their make or break year for sure!

I still like the idea of a Derek Morris coming in to be that vet D-man. He is 35, RIGHT handed, averages about 20 minutes a game, and is a stay at home guy. He has lost some offensive prowess of course, but he could be a great 3rd pairing guy. Willie Mitchell also intrigues me, but again, he is on a team that has better chances to win than Detroit, same can be said of Boyle. I think the only way these guys don't re-sign with their teams (Niskanen included) is if the team hasn't the cap space or want to change things up. Which COULD be the case for Morris and Boyle, Phoenix for obvious reasons to change and in San Jose once again falls short of at least the Cup finals, Boyle could be asked to move on, in not so many words.

I think Holland is going to do something outside of the obvious this time around and take us all for a loop! He just make that draft day deal that he is always talking about doing. It's no secret that Alex Edler would like to be a Red Wing and Holland would love him here. I can imagine the blockbuster return to Vancouver if we acquired Edler and Kesler...yikes! Could you imagine our team then? Who would you be willing to give up?

The players that I feel are tradable at this time (doesn't mean they will get traded) are as follows:

Johan Franzen, Darren Helm, Brendan Smith, Jakub Kindl, Brian Lashoff, Justin Abdelkader, Joakim Andersson, Adam Almqvist, Landon Ferraro, Mitchell Callahan and also Jimmy Howard. Throw in our 1st round pick and what would it take to get Kesler and Edler here? Then sign a Morris or Niskanen or Boyle. Of course if Howard were traded, that would mean you are betting you can lure Miller here, and that is no guarantee, so may as well stay with Howard, improve our D and get him a better, more healthy backup.

I would trade Franzen, Helm, Smith, Almqvist and our 1st for Kesler, Edler, Booth and their 2nd today. Not unless Weiss would waive his NTC to go to Vancouver, then I would swap him for Helm and leave Booth and maybe take another pick, if not Burrows.

Where did you hear edler wants to come to detroit??

I'd pass on him as well .... Unless we can get something like a shea weber type d in a trade I wouldn't give up significant prospects for an edler .... I'd try and maybe sign a Boyle or Markov to 2 yrs if they somehow managed to be free agents which I doubt

Or maybe a tallinder for one year? Veteran dman who's 6'4

I really think ouellet will be our vlasic and crack the lineup and be good and I got real hopes for marchenko who I also think has a good chance of cracking the team if anything else he will get significant games this year with a call up later on

[LeftWinger 4,934]

I don't think PIT will be able to afford him. Like I said before, they only have 7 forwards, 5 d and 2 G signed for next season only a projected $15M cap space. Would they throw $5M+ of that to Matt and only have $9M-$10M to sign 5-6 more forwards and another D? Those would be some cheap signings for sure!