2014 Offseason League Signings and Trades

[BigWinston 15]

And this, in a nutshell, is the problem.

"We made pitches to a number of defensemen," general manager Ken Holland said. "For a variety of reasons, they opted to go elsewhere. I don't know why they're not coming here."

No Ken. They opted to go elsewhere for one reason. Detroit is not realistically competing for a Stanley Cup any time soon. We've barely made the playoffs lately. A variety of reasons have contributed to that fact. Largely, that you're a miserly, penny pinching, son of a ***** who is utterly befuddled by the player acquisition part of your job.

I won't pretend to know why. But its more than likely for a combination of reasons. Chances of winning the cup, how they see themselves fitting in to the team and area, ownership/management, and of course, money.

Before yesterday, I don't think the Capitals, TBL, Cannucks or Wild had a better chance of winning the cup than the Wings (if they do, its negligible), but managed to sign some big name FA's. so I doubt its just that. Also, KH may be tight fisted, but supposedly did offer good money to players we were genuinely interested in.

If I was a FA thinking about coming here, one of the things that might put me off is the (for want of a better term) "homerism" for home grown talent - if you weren't drafted here, you're almost like a second-class citizen. Also, what FA's have come here and excelled since Hossa? FA's don't seem to gel or perform here for some reason - be it the system, quality of talent we have acquired recently, etc.

Finally, any decent company to work for identifies the need to hire and keep key talent. They all run investigations and programs to ensure they are successfully doing this. If I were KH I'd be investigating why players are choosing elsewhere, not just throwing my hands up in the air and lamenting that I don't understand their reasoning.

Edited July 2, 2014 by BigWinston

[sjr2012 439]

I don't think any big name talent wants to take a backseat to names like cleary and bert

[Jersey Wing 1,521]

Good read from Lyle Richardson that the Caps, Hawks and Flyers are in deep when it comes to cap room:

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/rumor-roundup-how-will-the-blackhawks-flyers-and-capitals-deal-with-their-cap-crunch/

[_SP_ 129]

Remember, we went into last season with the same issues. And there were obvious ways around it. I wholeheartedly believe that all three of those teams will find a way to keep their core together without cap issues. Heck, look at what Brad Richards did to sign there-- that was a "I want a championship" move! Other guys get bought out and still sign ridiculously high deals (Lecavalier, anyone?). He considered the buyout as part of his current salary... Could you imagine our cap flexibility if Lecavalier signed here last year for $2-3M per year instead of Weiss at $4.9M? The team could have paid Vanek or Stastny big dollars and been more than well off. At some point, these guys need to stop being greedy and think about their chances of a Cup, like Richards did.

[Datsyukian-Deke 722]

Toronto def shopping Cody Franson. He his a name the Wings have been linked to before. What do you guys think?

[Datsyukian-Deke 722]

Steve Downey signed a one year deal with Pitt per Mckenzie.

[Internet.Unknown 422]

Toronto def shopping Cody Franson. He his a name the Wings have been linked to before. What do you guys think?

Only if we get rid of Franzen. I don't want to listen to Ozzie mispronounce Franzen AND Franson.

[sjr2012 439]

im still up for getting 1 of heatly or verbata I think some scoring improvement would be decent

[anthonyn66 89]

http://msn.foxsports.com/detroit/story/holland-after-tough-day-we-ll-keep-kicking-tires-070214

loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!!

[kipwinger 8,518]

http://msn.foxsports.com/detroit/story/holland-after-tough-day-we-ll-keep-kicking-tires-070214

loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!!

In Ken Holland speak, "last year we got the players we wanted" roughly translates to "last year we got one free agent and Daniel Alfredsson fell into our laps".

[xtrememachine1 795]

http://msn.foxsports.com/detroit/story/holland-after-tough-day-we-ll-keep-kicking-tires-070214

loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!!

Lol He's said this so many times that I'm starting to believe he might actually be kicking real tires because he thinks its lucky or something. Stop kicking tires damn it! Kicking tires brought in Tootoo, Bertuzzi, Ian White, Sammy and Weiss. Whatever tire kicking he's doing, it doesn't seem to be working.

[Andy Pred 48 337]

Downie for a $1m thats a pretty good deal for the Pens.

[Andy Pred 48 337]

wonder if we can get Andrej Sustr out of Tampa and then trade Quincey to Buffalo for Myers in a deal?

would make the bottom pairing huge

Edited July 2, 2014 by Andy Pred 48

[Datsyukian-Deke 722]

wonder if we can get Andrej Sustr out of Tampa and then trade Quincey to Buffalo for Myers in a deal?

would make the bottom pairing huge

You gotta stop playing NHL 14

[BottleOfSmoke 5,965]

@commie22: Red Wings fans!! How goes free agency?

What a douchebag. Sour grapes, Commie?

Gotta admit, as disappointing as it was not getting better yesterday, it's a lot harder to swallow the apparent fact that we're now a joke.

Edit: he got called out pretty hard, commence epic backpedaling over multiple tweets...

@commie22: Ok Wings fans..only halfway through day 2. Lots of time. Lots going for you. City=great. Fans=Great. Rink=great. Players=great Tradition=A+

Edited July 2, 2014 by BottleOfSmoke

[Echolalia 2,961]

I don't really see it that way. He's getting over-paid, for sure. But Washington is getting a hard hitting, defense first (god knows they need defense), Stanley Cup winner, two time Olympian, and team leader, to anchor Trotz' defense first system.

More importantly, mildly overpaying for Orpik may well have helped Washington win out on Niskanen, and the combination of both signings puts Washington back on the map after a couple lackluster years.

One thing that nobody is talking about (and I admit this is purely speculation), is that both Niskanen and Orpik went to Washington together. They played together all season in Pittsburgh, and they both went to the same team. One which nobody had predicted prior to yesterday.

I'm not saying they did the Suter-Parise buddies thing. But I'd be surprised if the two weren't influenced by each others' willingness to sign with the Caps.

Actually I read that Orpik and Niskanen kind of DID do what Suter and Parise did. Orpik pitched to Niskanen about the city and the team and he's not saying he convinced Niskanen to sign there, too, but....welll ... (also their defensive coach used to work in Pittsburgh, with both Orpik and Niskanen)

"

Because of his nuptials, he didn’t get a chance to visit the Capitals in Washington. So he depended on the scouting report from someone who did: Brooks Orpik, who traveled to D.C. on Saturday.

“When I met with Barry [Trotz] and saw what his vision was, it was kind of a no-brainer,” said Orpik.

So he relayed that information to Niskanen in two phone calls on Monday night and Tuesday morning. Even if he didn’t really see it as a recruiting call.

“I think we were both just a little overwhelmed at the time. It was good just to vent,” said Orpik.

“I don’t want to take the credit for [his signing]. But it hopefully provided some good information.”

Niskanen said it helped influence him. “I woke up this morning, and I didn’t know where I was going. I was leaning towards Washington,” he said.

"

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/niskanen--orpik-determined-to-prove-contract-critics-wrong-for-caps-004656947.html

[Jesusberg 1,256]

I'm surprised Commodore could find a strong enough Wi-Fi signal to post those Tweets.

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

@commie22: Red Wings fans!! How goes free agency?

What a douchebag. Sour grapes, Commie?

Gotta admit, as disappointing as it was not getting better yesterday, it's a lot harder to swallow the apparent fact that we're now a joke.

Edit: he got called out pretty hard, commence epic backpedaling over multiple tweets...

@commie22: Ok Wings fans..only halfway through day 2. Lots of time. Lots going for you. City=great. Fans=Great. Rink=great. Players=great Tradition=A+

If Commodore was being facetious, his opinion doesn't matter; he lost in a fight to Ben Eager.

[T.Low 1,011]

Seems Alfredsson is the only UFA with a strong allure to play with Datsyuk and Zetterberg. No one else seems to find it a compelling enough reason to take the higher dollar offer by Kenny.

[WingsallTheway 383]

I really hope Quincey doesn't lurk the internet. Guy would probably enter Legace territory

[BadgerBob 297]

http://msn.foxsports.com/detroit/story/holland-after-tough-day-we-ll-keep-kicking-tires-070214

loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool!!

"The game has changed, players can go wherever they want," Holland said. "We all have the same money. We made some pitches. Those players chose to go elsewhere.

The cap was put in place almost 10 years ago. Stop using it as an excuse Kenny.

[Datsyukian-Deke 722]

"The game has changed, players can go wherever they want," Holland said. "We all have the same money. We made some pitches. Those players chose to go elsewhere.

The cap was put in place almost 10 years ago. Stop using it as an excuse Kenny.

He refuses to take the blame and always uses "the market" or "the salary cap era" as an excuse. He will never change because he will never see it as his fault.

[Ekmanc 586]

Only if we get rid of Franzen. I don't want to listen to Ozzie mispronounce Franzen AND Franson.

But to be fair everyone mispronounces Franzén.

[T.Low 1,011]

"Alfredsson has indicated that if he plays next season it will only be for Detroit.

They're going to wait until August to see how his troublesome back feels before deciding whether to offer the 41-year-old right wing a one-year extension to return for his 19th NHL season, general manager Ken Holland said.

If they sign Alfredsson, mostly likely it'll be a relatively low base salary (possibly in the $2 million range) with a games played bonus that can be applied to the following season's cap."

http://www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2014/06/red_wings_will_wait_until_augu.html#incart_related_stories

Edited July 2, 2014 by T.Low

[Internet.Unknown 422]

But to be fair everyone mispronounces Franzén.

But his former teammate? Sheesh. I dated a girl named Naomi years ago, pronounced NAY-oh-mee. Some of her friends nevertheless called her NIGH-oh-mee. Some people just don't look outside themselves enough, I guess. Or something.