Fixing this mess....

[Richdg 267]

Larkin, AA, and Sheahan are natural C's. So is Helm and Glendening. That makes 5 C's. For them to develop at the position they need to play the position, not play wing. Now Helm could be gone so that means we have 4 C's left. Not to mention Z who also can play C. There is zero reason to bring him back. He is expensive and we are not going to win a SC with him here. If he wants to play in the NHL-no one knows what he wants, let him play somewhere else.

[krsmith17 7,191]

I didn't say Holland hasn't done anything. I'm saying he's not going to make any huge impact moves that most of the fan base is clamoring for... Those 6 guys I mentioned in the previous post... no way any of them are Red Wings next season. I'd also go as far as to say, there won't be a single impact player (I'm talking top line / top pair) from outside the organization acquired, be it via trade or free agency... We need a top pair defenseman more than anything right now, but unfortunately they just aren't easily available...

You should really make a poll on whether or not Red Wings fans would want Datsyuk to return after his current deal... I would have to think you're very alone on wanting him gone after next season...

[kickazz 5,459]

Datsyuk is twice the center any of our young guns are and likely will be. His vision is ridiculous. I would not he opposed to having him somewhere on top 9 even at age 38.

Why would you want a team with a bunch of 19 and 20 something year olds who have never made past round 1of the playoffs or even seen a playoff game when you could potentially keep one of the most experienced and skilled centerman to guide them? I highly doubt Dats will ask for as much as you think he will.

If he wants to stay for "cheap" he will. There's no reason not to sign him if we can.

Anyways we all know the Wings would re-sign him in a heart beat so this topic of Datsyuk is useless regardless. So say what you gotta say.

Edited March 18, 2016 by kickazz

[DatsyukianDekes 2,428]

Datdyuk is twoce the center any of our young guns are and likely will be. His vision is ridiculous. I would not he opposed to having him somewhere on top 9 even at age 38.

Why would you want a team with a bunch of 19 and 20 something year olds who have never made past round 1 or 2 of the playoffs or seen more than 4 games in some peoples cases when you could potentially keep one of the most experienced and skilled centerman to guide them? I highly doubt Dats will ask for as much as you think he will.

If he wants to stay for cheap he will. There's no reason not to sign him if we can.

Anyways we all know the Wings would re-sign him in a heart beat so this topic of Datsyuk is useless regardless. So say what you gotta say.

Who is this Datdyuk you speak of ?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited March 18, 2016 by DatsyukianDekes

[kickazz 5,459]

Who is this Datdyuk you speak of ?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hah fixed! Hah I see your edit Edited March 18, 2016 by kickazz

[sjr2012 439]

i agree i feel like dats is another lidstrom you would want him as long as you could get him and if he played till he was 40 id be excited especially with AA Mantha and Larkin and Z playing together

[Richdg 267]

i agree i feel like dats is another lidstrom you would want him as long as you could get him and if he played till he was 40 id be excited especially with AA Mantha and Larkin and Z playing together

He is 39 next summer when his contract expires. Larkin and AA should both be playing 17-18 mins a game by then. Sheahan with another 15 as the checking line C only leaves 9-10 mins left to play for the 4th C. Datsyuk at 7 mil per year for 9-10 mins a game? or do you take the time from your future?

Besides, its not like he is a superstar anymore. Good, yes. But not a super star. In the past 5 seasons he has had 20+ goals once, 50+ points twice, and played over 60 games twice. The O isn't there and he can't stay healthy. I would bet he retires next summer.

[NerveDamage 4,176]

I know Blash... I know

[kickazz 5,459]

He is 39 next summer when his contract expires. Larkin and AA should both be playing 17-18 mins a game by then. Sheahan with another 15 as the checking line C only leaves 9-10 mins left to play for the 4th C. Datsyuk at 7 mil per year for 9-10 mins a game? or do you take the time from your future?

Besides, its not like he is a superstar anymore. Good, yes. But not a super star. In the past 5 seasons he has had 20+ goals once, 50+ points twice, and played over 60 games twice. The O isn't there and he can't stay healthy. I would bet he retires next summer.

LOL complete bogus and bologna.

How many 39/40 year old FORWARDS make 7 million in this league exactly? Seriously tell me?

Datsyuk will re-sign a deal worth his value. I can see him accepting $5 million for 1-2 more years given his drop in production due to his inability to play the full 82 game schedule.

Additionally he's making $5 mill this year (not including his bonus) and $ 5.5 million next year (no bonuses) on a $7.5 million cap hit due to his previous years $10 million salary.

Edited March 19, 2016 by kickazz

[Richdg 267]

Cap hit is what matters and that is 7 IIRC. Even if it drops to 5 mill that is still to much for the 4th C. But lets get back to the point. This isn't a thread about Datsyuk. This is a thread about improving the RW's. Now if you think that a 38/39 year old player is key to improvement then this fits.

[kickazz 5,459]

I don't think getting rid of (or letting him walk) a 38/39 year old who happens to be the best player on ice every night will improve the Wings. Unless we can find a suitable replacement who is young I think we should keep him if it's a fair deal.

Which goes back to the point of trying to sign Stamkos. He could be our replacement 1C. Hence why I think we push for him.

I think assuming that AA, Svech and Larkin will be able to carry this team to the cup is no different than the folks who assumed Nyquist and Tatar were the next Datsyuk and Zetterberg 2 years ago. And 2 years later we have a Nyquist and Tatar showing some issues in their expected production.

My point is we simply cannot rely on "THE FUTURE" - we need a balance of proven players on this team. Take your pick. Got a bunch of UFAs this season and next on the radar.

Edited March 18, 2016 by kickazz

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Hopefully AA or Larkin take over the 1C role by then

[VM1138 1,921]

Love your first statement. Datsyuk is not going to just drop off and suck. His style of game will enable him to play past forty, and he's going to be able to take over games. Is he scoring less than before? I believe he's still close to a point per game, isn't he? On a team that offense has just given up on. He's going to be effective, not some broken down mule who can't contribute. You sign him.

[GoalieManPat 1,007]

Larkin, AA, and Sheahan are natural C's. So is Helm and Glendening. That makes 5 C's. For them to develop at the position they need to play the position, not play wing. Now Helm could be gone so that means we have 4 C's left. Not to mention Z who also can play C. There is zero reason to bring him back. He is expensive and we are not going to win a SC with him here. If he wants to play in the NHL-no one knows what he wants, let him play somewhere else.

If those are the centers you want to see on this team then its in real trouble. Larkin looks to be a sure fire top guy but thats it. Helm is on the decline, Glendening is a 4th line guy at best. Sheahan hasnt shown he can produce points in the NHL, AA will probably top out as a strong third line guy that could fill in on the 2nd line but you wouldn't want him there all the time. There is nobody to be legitimate #2 C. Across the whole ice Pav is by far the teams best player. Hes well worth 5 mill a year for what he does.

[kickazz 5,459]

Love your first statement. Datsyuk is not going to just drop off and suck. His style of game will enable him to play past forty, and he's going to be able to take over games. Is he scoring less than before? I believe he's still close to a point per game, isn't he? On a team that offense has just given up on. He's going to be effective, not some broken down mule who can't contribute. You sign him.

26 goals last year and OVER a ppg player. (Nyquist had 27 goals and Tatar had 29)

Surgery this year WITHOUT summer conditioning OR training camp and still top 3 in team points in signficantly less games played.

Just wait till Pav has true conditioning this summer and a real training camp- he will still produce at close to a PPG. His style of play is way too unique for him to drop off the way we're making it out to be.

Future kids on first and second line. Pav and Z on third line in a couple years with a good cap hit won't be a problem. Z already has a very good cap hit.

If possible try to get Stamkos and a 1A D man and we are a guaranteed cup contender for years to come. We'll have to shed some players obviously. Just throwing some thoughts out. If Stamkos doesn't workout (probably won't) go for Okposo. If not him then perhaps Backes?

I know our cap is tight going into next year. But as we've discussed ad nauseam we'd have to rid guys like Howard, Ericsson, Quincey walks, Green (?), Nyquist (?).

Edited March 18, 2016 by kickazz

[WingsallTheway 383]

Not entirely sure Stamkos is worth the 8.5-10M hes going to get next season. He's a great fit for our team and where we currently stand, but that is a contract that will handcuff us in 5 years, especilly combined with Zetterberg's.

I'm all for adding him at say, 7M X 7...but anything more and were looking at a bad contract in the future on a player who's goal scoring won't be around for the whole contract.

Besides, when is the last time a goal scorer/point getter came to detroit and kept that pace? Stamkos probably gets anywhere between 60-75 points a season for us.

Having said that, I'd be thrilled if the Wings signed him at all lol

[Bannedforlife 403]

Does Datsyuk have more playoff experience than any active NHL player? I bet he does.

[DickieDunn 2,571]

Does Datsyuk have more playoff experience than any active NHL player? I bet he does.

Jagr

[kliq 3,755]

Does Datsyuk have more playoff experience than any active NHL player? I bet he does.

He's ranked 4th in GP out of all active players

1) Jagr - 202 GP

2) Hossa - 194 GP

3) Elias - 162 GP

4) Datsyuk - 152 GP

http://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/records/nhl-players-all-time-playoff-games-played-leaders.html

[kickazz 5,459]

We should sign Jagr in the offseason. Guaranteed to score more goals than everyone on our team.

Edited March 19, 2016 by kickazz

[kickazz 5,459]

If Ladd doesn't re-sign with Chicago I'd hope Holland heavily pursues him in the summer.

[Buppy 1,720]

I don't think getting rid of (or letting him walk) a 38/39 year old who happens to be the best player on ice every night will improve the Wings. Unless we can find a suitable replacement who is young I think we should keep him if it's a fair deal.

Which goes back to the point of trying to sign Stamkos. He could be our replacement 1C. Hence why I think we push for him.

I think assuming that AA, Svech and Larkin will be able to carry this team to the cup is no different than the folks who assumed Nyquist and Tatar were the next Datsyuk and Zetterberg 2 years ago. And 2 years later we have a Nyquist and Tatar showing some issues in their expected production.

My point is we simply cannot rely on "THE FUTURE" - we need a balance of proven players on this team. Take your pick. Got a bunch of UFAs this season and next on the radar.

It's all just speculation in regards to what kind of player Datsyuk will be in two years. It's not to unreasonable to think we may want to move on by that time. If we do want to pursue some of the better UFAs, we may have little choice. It's not so much assuming that Larkin and the other kids will be able to lead us to a Cup. It's assuming Datsyuk and Zetterberg won't be able to.

In the next two years, there are two potential UFAs that could be real difference-makers. And I'd bet Benn will re-sign before then. I'm still not even convinced Stamkos will be available. Beyond that, there are only a small handful of secondary players that are as good or better than what we already have. You're not going to get any of them, and keep what we have, and keep D & Z. Something will have to give.

[Richdg 267]

How much was Nicky paid his last couple of years? About 6 million each. To think there is going to be a dramatic pay cut is naive. This is Holland and the RW's we are talking about. Over pay for loyalty-which we have done for years. Which is part of the reasons we are where we are.

Over the past 5 seasons-this one is not finished yet Datsyuk has played 280 out of a possible 365. In those 280 games he has 258 points which is very good. But he doesn't play full seasons anymore. Paying a guy 5 million per year to play 60 games and produce 55 points is not a smart use of your money/cap. Keeping guys around to long is what kills dynasties.

Datsyuk has been a great RW for a long time. I expect him to retire next summer. He has plenty of money, has won cups, and his family lives in Russia. It is time for all to say thanks for the memories and move on.

[LeftWinger 4,961]

You let Datsyuk make the decision. You tell him you want him back then let him decide. I fully believe he will play at least one season at Cadillac Centre ©.

[kickazz 5,459]

How much was Nicky paid his last couple of years? About 6 million each. on.

Lidstrom was a defenseman. They make good money even in their later years due to their longevity on ice. How many forwards in the league who are 39/40 make 6-7 million?

Seriously can someone answer this?

Edited March 19, 2016 by kickazz