Official 2016 Detroit Red Wings Offseason Thread

[kickazz 5,459]

Link? I don't have a Facebook account

Change professions bro its not worth it.

[NerveDamage 4,176]

Link? I don't have a Facebook account

same here...

[Echolalia 2,961]

You have to have a Facebook account and like their page to be able to see it.

theres nothing about that I "like"

[Dabura 12,207]

Knowing that Holland won't get That Defenseman (prove me wrong, Ken. No, seriously. Please. I need this), all I want for Christmas is Larkin, Mantha, Athanasiou, and Svechnikov all on the Wings roster by January at the latest.

[LeftWinger 4,951]

If Holland doesn't get a defenseman then he will lose players to waivers. He has 16 forwards signed, Pulk to yet sign and Frk out of exemptions along with the others that were out of them last season. Also those 16 signed forwards does not include AA, he makes 17, Pulk and Frk make 19. Sure AA and Mantha have exemptions, so I guess we will 17 once Pulk signs, but it's still too many...he must trade 2 forwards and 1 D to acquire a better dman. Maybe another forward for conditional pick. Howard must go as well, I can't believe he is being so loyal when his cap is suffering. Or will be soon once DD and Mrazek get their contracts.

Edited July 9, 2016 by LeftWinger

[krsmith17 7,191]

Scrimmage

Team Lindsay: 6 - Team Howe: 3

Lindsay: Pearson, Sadowy (3), Ehn, Kirwan

Howe: Borkowski, Globke, Bertuzzi

Shootout

Team Howe: 2 - Lindsay: 1

Howe: Svechnikov, Borkowski

Lindsay: Cholowski

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Sadowy hype, hat trick in a scrimmage don't mean much but it's a nice first impression. He can play in GR this year right? I look forward to seeing his game develop.

[krsmith17 7,191]

Yup, Sadowy will be in Grand Rapids this season. Hopefully we have another Bertuzzi type player on our hands. Both seem to love going to the hard areas and score dirty goals...

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Yup, Sadowy will be in Grand Rapids this season. Hopefully we have another Bertuzzi type player on our hands. Both seem to love going to the hard areas and score dirty goals...

GR are gonna be fun to watch with both of them suiting up. Well, I guess the way things are shaping up AA, Mantha, Bert and Sadowy will all be in GR I'll have to get an AHL season pass if that's the case.

[krsmith17 7,191]

Don't forget Svechnikov and Frk (assuming he clears waivers).

[Datsyukian-Deke 722]

GR are gonna be fun to watch with both of them suiting up. Well, I guess the way things are shaping up AA, Mantha, Bert and Sadowy will all be in GR I'll have to get an AHL season pass if that's the case.

Yea I bet GR was happy we signed 4 forwards in free agency. They should be stacked this year for sure.

[krsmith17 7,191]

Don't take those 'boxscores' to the bank... Khan reported Svechnikov scored in the shootout, but I just watched the highlights and it was Saarijarvi, not Svech.

Khan also reported that Smith scored a goal and added an assist in the scrimmage, but he wasn't listed as scoring in the boxscore. Who knows...

[MrazekFanBoy 223]

Lets s*** on holland if he doesn't make a trade until then I say we relax enjoy the summer.

[Dabura 12,207]

https://twitter.com/NicholsOnHockey/status/751076882993385472

“We did not do the interview process. We never talked to [steven Stamkos] or his camp. That’s about all I can say.”

COOL STORY BRO

[Jesusberg 1,256]

I don't completely hate what the team did on July 1st, but seeing stuff like this is head-scratching:

Blashill said he has other concerns (was discussing trading for a defenseman).

"I think one thing we didn't talk about is how important I believe the internal growth of our players is," Blashill said. "That, to me, is more important than anything in free agency is that our young guys continue to take steps, really all our players, continue to take steps forward and guys take steps towards becoming that elite, gifted difference-maker type player that you need to have."

Kind of tough for these guys to "grow" when they're facing such an uphill battle just to make the roster. I don't believe in placing some of the skilled guys in roles that aren't a good fit. However, if you've got this mentality, then why are you creating such a logjam up front? I don't get it.

[LeftWinger 4,951]

https://twitter.com/NicholsOnHockey/status/751076882993385472

COOL STORY BRO

Ya, pretty much means Stamkos told him to jump off a cliff. Holland has ruined this franchise with his stupid contracts to players who aren't worth it:

Ericsson, Kronwall, Howard, Franzen, Helm.

I'm surprised KFQ isn't getting a 5 yr deal because he knows our system. Helm will get a NMC and KFQ will be signed before summer is over. That's Holland, search those feelings.

Edited July 9, 2016 by LeftWinger

[Jesusberg 1,256]

Ya, pretty much means Stamkos told him to jump off a cliff. Holland has ruined this franchise with his stupid contracts to players who aren't worth it:

Ericsson, Kronwall, Howard, Franzen, Helm.

I'm surprised KFQ isn't getting a 5 yr deal because he knows our system. Helm will get a NMC and KFQ will be signed before summer is over. That's Holland, search those feelings.

I wouldn't go this far - it could just be that Stamkos was considering leaving for a handful of teams, or staying put. After all, the Wings missed out on Parise and Suter because they wanted to stick together. Sure, maybe they would have changed this team, and the situation might be different had they chosen to come to Detroit. As it stands, they haven't exactly flourished in Minny, and the Wild have both guys on the books until they're 39 & 40-years-old.

That said, I hope Kenny and co. can work on this team's reputation in the next few years. The new arena is a selling point, but I think they need to prove they can contend before we can label Detroit as a "destination spot" for free agents again. Not sure how long that's going to take, but I wish Kenny would look to expedite the process a little. Even if it costs them, I'd rather see him get a little aggressive on the trade market.

In retrospect, I'm not overly upset about most of the prospects he's moved (except for Janmark), but shilling the "B" and "C" prospects within the organization for washed-up vets isn't cutting in. They have depth at forward - swing big trying to bring in a blue-chip defender. Obviously, that's easier said than done, but he needs to remodel the core of this team.

[Dabura 12,207]

Kind of tough for these guys to "grow" when they're facing such an uphill battle just to make the roster. I don't believe in placing some of the skilled guys in roles that aren't a good fit. However, if you've got this mentality, then why are you creating such a logjam up front? I don't get it.

Shoveling s*** builds character!

srsly tho...I think all of the Wings' problems come down to one problem: a faulty conception of time. Specifically, they think everyone on Earth is 3-5 years younger than everyone on Earth actually is.

[kickazz 5,459]

I don't get what the point of discussion here is.

Stamkos wasn't coming here regardless. He didn't even show interest to us or anyone else. The guy wants a Stanley cup not money. He could have easily made more in Toronto with endorsement deals.

Best shot of a cup for him is Tampa. Truthfully I think we can all agree he made the smartest decision.

Edited July 9, 2016 by kickazz

[joesuffP 1,746]

Deal was made with Tampa before he had a chance to meet with Detroit simple as that. It's not because Holland sux if he was going to leave Tampa we would have been able to make a pitch

[Jacksoni 418]

The morale of the story is that we need to get the Captain back somehow. He's just as skilled in his GM role as he was a captain. Hardly possible right now but the Ilitch family should start massaging him slowly, who knows in a year or two.

[Bring Back The Bruise Bros 1,029]

I'm not super opposed to what has happened so far this offseason, but we're toast if we start the season with what we've got right now. We've got to make a move or two to build the defense.

[Dabura 12,207]

Red Wings' forward depth means young guys must earn their spots

1. Helene is a glorified sock puppet.
2. "Young guys must earn their spots" is the real reason why we're carrying extra forwards. It has nothing to do with a trade. Holland just wants to make sure all the kids have extremely limited upward mobility on the organizational depth chart. It's sort of like building (and, every year, rebuilding/fortifying) a giant wall to keep barbarians out of your kingdom.

[Dabura 12,207]

“Our goal is to have depth,” Holland told the Free Press while he watched over the team’s prospects this past week in Traverse City. “The young players have to make the team because they earned the job, because they take the job and make us better. They can't just make it because they are young and we think they will be good one day.”

I officially want this man to be out of a job.

[Dabura 12,207]

Deal was made with Tampa before he had a chance to meet with Detroit

The vibe I'm getting is that he never expressed the slightest bit of interest in Detroit. I'd thought maybe he'd planned on meeting with the Wings and ultimately decided his heart was in Tampa and so the meeting "was canceled." But, more and more, I'm thinking the Wings were never actually in the picture in the first place.

Is that surprising? No.

Does it reflect well on the organization? No.

Would it be nice if the Wings legitimately tried to improve and got back to being a team that top players want to play for? Yes. (This can be done without tanking. But you need a special kind of GM at the helm.)