Team next season?

[frankgrimes 1,836]

Weiss and Smith aren't getting you Phaneuf. At least one - if not both - of Jurco/Pulkinen will have to be included in a deal like that, yeah Phaneuf is a bit overpaid but so what ? The Leafs will offer to retain some salary and then ask for better pieces. But yeah something needs to be done to fix the defense and given the fact that Franson might be the best option I'm still shocked on what UFA day has become in this league.

Edited March 22, 2015 by frankgrimes

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Phaneuf is a lot overpaid and unless they change their minds they won't retain salary. They also want Mantha or Larkin, which is a deal killer.

Smith is the most likely defenseman to be moved. Dekeyser could go if a legit top pair guy not on a moronic contract is coming back. Quincey will be back then will be let go to make room for a rookie next summer.

[chaps80 1,591]

Why move Smith? Isn't Kindl still kicking around somewhere?

[rick zombo 3,739]

Phaneuf is a lot overpaid and unless they change their minds they won't retain salary. They also want Mantha or Larkin, which is a deal killer.

Smith is the most likely defenseman to be moved. Dekeyser could go if a legit top pair guy not on a moronic contract is coming back. Quincey will be back then will be let go to make room for a rookie next summer.

They'd never trade Dekeyser after he chose Detroit over 29 other teams. He's Captain Michigan.

[WingsallTheway 383]

Why move Smith? Isn't Kindl still kicking around somewhere?

With reason. Nobody in their right mind takes Kindl in a trade.

Smith has slight value, I'd be shocked if we got Phanuef for Smith/Weiss. Absolutely shocked. Leafs replace theyre top Dman for Smith (arguably our worst) and lose 2M in total salary when the deal is done.... Not exactly a great play on Nonis' part. Also Weiss doesn't help them out now or in the rebuild.

Jurco/Pulk is definatley going the other way.

Think about it, say we were trading FOR Weiss/Kindl. What would you possibly want to give up for that? I'd want to receive high picks and not give them anyone else in return.

Edited March 24, 2015 by WingsallTheway

[DSM 114]

^I don't understand why would have no value. Teams have traded for other dog housed Dmen (Meszaros comes to mind). You also have the Oilers who have to vastly overpay mediocre Dmen (Nikitin and Fayne) on the UFA market. Is Holland expecting some sort of Andrew McDonald kings ransom in return?

If Kindl has no value, but warrants nearly $10M over 4 years after 41 decent games, I'm really going to bite my nails over what Holland might offer Smith this summer...

In other news, John Scott has scored 150% more goals this season than his career total before this year. He's going to be a UFA this summer.

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Kindl had value when he signed his deal then never improved.

[WingsallTheway 383]

Kindl had value when he signed his deal then never improved.

exactly, he was coming off a great season. Hes not a bad player which is too bad. Hes probably the softest guy ive ever seen play and it destroys him in every facet of the game

[LeftWinger 5,130]

I wouldn't mind Holland going after Paul Martin as a UFA instead of re-visiting the Phanuef deal. Weiss and Kindl will probably be traded anyway, but why pay the higher price of Phanuef? Especially the $7M, Martin would fit the bill nicely.

[Andy Pred 48 337]

Marchenko will be up here next year period.

[jimmyemeryhunter 2,747]

Marchenko will be up here next year period.

I think he'd be a better option over zidlicky now.

Marchenko is just more defensively responsible and covers for smith well.

Zid has the experience and puts up the points, but his defensive lapses are not a good thing to have next to Brendan smith.

[WingsallTheway 383]

I hope the defence looks something like this:

Kronwall -

Dekeyser - Quincey

- -

[PavelValerievichDatsyuk 1,935]

I hope the defence looks something like this:

Kronwall -

Dekeyser - Quincey

- -

It would be interesting to see if Ericsson and Smith (maybe with 1 more piece) could get us that elusive RH offensive Dman. I like Quincey now - maybe more than big E.

K- RH stud

DD-Q

Ouelette-Marchenko

Kindl

2 rookie together wouldn't be the best. maybe switch Q and Marchenko or cycle in Kindl.

I agree with Jimmy that the Smith-Z pairing isn't a good thing. I do really like Zidlicky, though. If we kept him around with my hypothetical trade, the 2nd and 3rd pair could be:

DD-Marchenko

Quincey-Zidlicky

Edited April 8, 2015 by PavelValerievichDatsyuk

[wings7 62]

I think he'd be a better option over zidlicky now.

Marchenko is just more defensively responsible and covers for smith well.

Zid has the experience and puts up the points, but his defensive lapses are not a good thing to have next to Brendan smith.

I don't know if you watch closely, but Zid is playing with Smith to cover FOR Smith...

[wings7 62]

I'd honestly put Pulk and Tatar and Smith and Weiss into a package and go after 1 or 2 studs.

Pulk couldn't look more lost and less ready for the NHL if he tried.

And Smith is a disaster most nights.

Maybe trade them for a Reilly Smith and someone?

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Reilly Smith has been hot garbage since he got his extension and wasn't as good as his point total suggested before that.

[frankgrimes 1,836]

No matter what happens, the defense does need some serious help.

Package Jurco - Pulkinnen - 2nd for defensive help and then get a big bodied winger (yes center would be nice but they aren't available).

Bottom 6 also needs some changes

[atodaso 279]

The Maple Leafs plan on revisiting talks with the Detroit Red Wings over captain Dion Phaneuf, once Detroit's season is over. The Red Wings remain in the playoff picture.

Toronto and Detroit held serious discussions about Phaneuf leading up to the trade deadline, but weren't able to come to terms on a trade.

http://www.thefourthperiod.com/news/tor150406.html

[frankgrimes 1,836]

http://www.thefourthperiod.com/news/tor150406.html

Thanks for this link but is the source reliable ? Would be nice for the right price (no Mantha, Larkin, DannyD) of course.

[atodaso 279]

Thanks for this link but is the source reliable ? Would be nice for the right price (no Mantha, Larkin, DannyD) of course.

Not sure where they are getting their info from. It's the first I've heard of them.

[Nightfall 871]

No Phaneuf please. Lets bring the kids up and keep promoting our prospects. Phaneuf isn't worth 7 million a season. You pay 7 million a season for an elite defenseman.

[VM1138 1,921]

One thing is certain: there will be some kind of shakeup. How often have we tried to put together good lines only to have one or two players make one line totally garbage. We can have two-and-a-half or three good lines and the other one is always terrible because of some random player who doesn't quite fit somewhere. If Babcock returns, we'll need to move Weiss because he's usually the odd man who can't play in the bottom two lines. If he leaves, Weiss should stay and be used as the 2C where his skills benefit the team the most.

Zetterberg-Datysuk-Abdelkader

Nyquist-Weiss-Cole

Tatar-Sheahan-Pulkinnen

Glendening-Helm-Miller

Some players are going to have leave, even if we don't want them to. Not really any room for the kids unless they are bottom six talents. I'd hate to see Mantha or someone play on the fourth line and go nowhere.

Weiss is a big question mark. He puts up points, but can he be a 2C like we need? If not, he needs to be moved for a bonafide 2C. Sheahan and Helm don't cut it. We've got so many freakin' centers.

On defense I'd love to see:

Kronwall- New Guy

Dekeyser-Marchenko

Quincey-Zidlicky

I think that'd be a hell of a setup, if the New Guy is a bonafide top 2 defenseman.

[LeftWinger 5,130]

Wonder if Minny falls out of the playoffs if they'd entertain any offers for Mary Kate?

Seriously though, here is what I would like to see...and keep in mind, I do like Brenden Smith and would opt to re-sign him over keeping Q or E, but something tells me Q nor E will be traded. Hell, Smith probably will not be traded, but still, I would entertain the idea of trading him.

Ok, so, I am not going to get into trading players for certain players, because who knows what the market will be come summer and as much as I think Phaneuf would help our D, I think he would cost TOO much in trade, plus his $7M is a ton of cap hit. So, here we go:

On D, trade rights to Smith and trade Kindl. Re-sign Zidz. On O, let Cleary go, trade Weiss, "suggest" that Franzen LTIR retire, or trade him. Resign Nyquist, Jurco, Cole, Pulk and Andersson. That gives us:

Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Abdelkader, Helm, Sheahan, Cole, Tatar, Nyquist, Jurco, Miller, Glendening, Pulkkinen, Andersson as the top 13. Could always pursue another UFA top end forward and make Andy and Jurco the 13th/14th guys. Our offense is not the pressing need, but a UFA could always help,

Some O names that Holland could go after:

Chris Stewart, Drew Stafford, Justin Williams, Carl Soderberg

Obviously Williams will be a TOP UFA available and would get a ton of higher end offers that Holland may not want to out do. Soderberg obviously for the Swedish connection, plus he is pretty good. The other two guys mentioned could be middle of the road guys that could help solidify the forwards. There are plenty of names available UFA, but I think that Holland will most likely re-sign his RFA's and offer Cole another year.

Some D guys that I feel Holland may pursue:

Christian Ehrhoff, Mike Green, Cody Franson, Jeff Petry, Paul Martin

He's always liked Ehrhoff and Green. He was in on the Franson and Petry trades in March. For me, if he cannot land Franson, who I don't see having a reason not to re-sign in Nashville, I'd like to see Martin before Green or Ehrhoff. Again, our scoring is not the issue as much as the defensive side of the D corps and Martin is a really good defensive guy. If Pit falls out of the playoffs, he may seek other opportunity or they may want to go in a different direction, so he may not re-sign.

Now, when it comes to our prized "kids" in GR. If we can avoid trading any of them (which unless we make a deal for Phanuef or another higher end player, we should be able to do so) I would be ok with leaving the top 3 (Marchenko, Ouellet, Sproul) in GR for another full season and promote Jensen to be the #7 guy. Lashoff can stay in GR, if he was wanted here, he would still be here. I only say Jensen because of the 4 kids, he is probably the least likely to be a top 4 guy in the NHL, or at least in Detroit. He can though, easily be that #7 guy who steps in when needed. I'd hate to waste the talent of any of the other three as a #7 guy, BUT I'd also hate to promote any of them too soon into a top 3 spot as our savior on the D. That is why I believe re-signing Zidz and picking Martin would immediately transform this D into a better all around corps without putting a rookie in the pressure cooker.

I'll say it again, that I prefer trading either Q or E over Smith, but who wants either of them? If we are getting a player or even draft picks back, Smith would be more valuable. Don't get me wrong, I'd gladly take a 5th round pick for Q or E over a higher one for Smith, but I don't see Q or E being traded or wanted. I honestly don't see Smith being traded either because of Holland's reluctance to let go of his drafted talent. But anyhow here is how my D looks:

Kronwall - Martin

Dekeyser - Zidlicky

Ericsson - Quincey

Jensen

The O doesn't change too much (minus Cleary and Weiss) except if Holland makes a deal for a sniper (which I think we most likely already have in Nyquist and Tatar and soon Pulk) or signs someone to change the makeup a little bit. If they signed Soderberg to pretty much replace the roster spot of Franzen, that would be a nice exchange. Of course that would probably keep Jurco out of the lineup most of next season, unless they opt not to re-sign Andersson or trade Jurco outright. Lets just make a lineup WITH Soderberg and see what it looks like:

Zetterberg - Datsyuk - Abdelkader

Nyquist - Soderberg - Cole

Tatar - Sheahan - Pulkkinen

Miller- Helm - Glendening

Andersson/Jurco

There's no doubt that Mrazek will be up in Monsters vacated spot. So if we can solid up our D the goaltending SHOULD get better, hopefully that is the bigger issue than just average goalies. Both have proven that they can play big AND give up the bad goal, so hopefully a better D means less shots and less chances for the bad goal. For the record, I am still in the Mrazek or #1 court though.

Edited April 8, 2015 by LeftWinger

[nyqvististhefuture 1,002]

I'd consider Phaneuf if they take a nice part of his salary and don't expect any mantha type prospects ... And if we do trade for him I'd consider doing a package deal and try and include van riemsdyk

That being said I think smith doent have a longterm future here so I can see him being gone along with kindl if we find a taker ... Zidlicky has played well enough he should be brought back for a year

Option a

Kronwall Phaneuf

Dekeyser Ericsson

Quincey (for one more year) zidlicky

Marchenko/ouellet

Option b

Kronwall Ericsson

Dekeyser Quincey

Zidlicky marchenko /ouellet

With the kids coming up (marchenko,ouellet,sproul,jensen) Quincey zidlicky smith kindl have no future in detroit

[mvanpop 98]

If we did end up getting an offensive RH defenseman I'd much rather have him with DK or Kronwall with DK. Then we could have our offensive guys complimented with a defensively sound partner. Having a shutdown defensive line is nice and all but only works for teams like the devils