Dylan McIlrath re-signed 2 years $1.3M $650 AAV

[LeftWinger 5,129]

CRL will be happy!

Also, not sure if this was talked about in any of the other threads.

 

2 years $1.3M Total, as per capfriendly.com

https://capfriendly.com/players/dylan-mcilrath

[frankgrimes 1,836]

YESSSD! my favorite wing

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

13 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

CRL will be happy!

Also, not sure if this was talked about in any of the other threads.

 

2 years $1.3M Total, as per capfriendly.com

https://capfriendly.com/players/dylan-mcilrath

It was, but having an official thread for it pleases me mightily

This kid is gonna get a call up, I can feel it. Glad Mckee was signed too.

[LeftWinger 5,129]

Oh! Didn't know about McKee! That's great news too! Now, will either of them get any kind of real shot here though? I certainly hope so!

[krsmith17 7,191]

I say we switch McIlrath to wing and form a 4th line of McKee - Tangradi - McIlrath...

[DickieDunn 2,571]

I'd rather have McIlrath on the wing. I don't like D who can't do much more than punch

Sent from my LGLS676 using Tapatalk

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

And I'd rather have a Maserati, but my Chevy will do

[Keep Your Stick On the Ice 67]

cool

[GMRwings1983 8,803]

Figures.  Five years after the NHL basically extinguished enforcers, Kenny now wants to goon it up.    

[BadgerBob 297]

35 minutes ago, GMRwings1983 said:

Figures.  Five years after the NHL basically extinguished enforcers, Kenny now wants to goon it up.    

So Holland is basically the slow poke pokemon meme.

[kickazz 5,459]

On 7/6/2017 at 1:14 PM, GMRwings1983 said:

Figures.  Five years after the NHL basically extinguished enforcers, Kenny now wants to goon it up.    

Matt Martin

[Wingnut1989 165]

He played pretty well against syracuse crunch in the finals and their a pretty fast team. He earned this.

[SwedeLundin77 460]

On 7/6/2017 at 1:14 PM, GMRwings1983 said:

Figures.  Five years after the NHL basically extinguished enforcers, Kenny now wants to goon it up.    

Pretty sure, if anything, his season and playoffs with Grand Rapids show that he is not a goon.  Dude can play hockey, just not sure if he can play NHL hockey.

[Jacksoni 418]

To me this signing is a backup if defensive pairings "up top" goes haywire due to injuries. He could probably fill in a few games. We are on thin ice with Kronwall's fate unclear and a somewhat strange mix of young-old defenders, some with nagging injuries.

So a Griffin that could fill in as a stay at home defender if some of our 'core' defenders drop out due to unexpected injuries. Decent enough signing for me.

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

I remember when we recieved this guy in the Vanek trade most everyones initial reaction, including my own, was confusion as to why. Over the last month I think those motives have become a lot more clear. The draft saw a heavy lean towards size. We signed Mckee despite mosts expectations. We signed Witowski out of the blue. And we re-signed Mcilrath despite many thinking we wouldn't. It's quite obvious the organizition is looking to load up on, and insert size and physicality into the lineup. Not sure if its the best angle, but it's a fresh angle. I think we may really see this kid suit up for us when 2 of our roster Dmen go down. In my mind, after the praises sung about him in the AHL playoffs, hes the #1 D callup. Maybe Russo is ahead of him, but also remember that Greens spot will need to likely be filled by a kid around the deadline. He's only 24, and if we can argue that Smith had room to grow at 26 around here, i think it's fair to say he has room to grow too. 

It was coached into me as a kid, that sometimes youre gonna go up against a guy better than you. And sometimes that guy is gonna beat you. It's your job at that point to make that guy pay for it every step of the way. Get in his face. Get in his ear. Line him up everytime you get a chance. If I was GM i would have the same philosophy, which is why I'm pleased with Holland so far in this short rebuild. Its easy to say the power play is your enforcer when you have Datsyuk, Zberg, Lidstrom, healthy Franzen, and Rafalski on the roster. But when you dont have that, and your not good, at least be tough to play against. Mcilrath, Rasmussen, Mckee, Witowski, and other assorted draft picks, overwhelming adds to that. Its a quite large addition of muscle in a short period of time when one thinks about it.

My only worry comes from looking back at the 80s and early 90s Wings. Holland learned the trade from Devalleno who built those teams, and Jimmy Dev is still advising him as well. Develano built those teams on toughness and young talent. Then phased a lot of that toughness out, replacing it with all of the talent that comes to one when one is a huge contender. My worry is that Holland is doing a 1980s early 90s rebuild on a 2017 team. Fighting and toughness was heavily favored back then, but now its speed and cheap cap hits thats in style. 

I know some of you welcome the rebuild but i hate this. 

[sputman 1,268]

4 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

I remember when we recieved this guy in the Vanek trade most everyones initial reaction, including my own, was confusion as to why. Over the last month I think those motives have become a lot more clear. The draft saw a heavy lean towards size. We signed Mckee despite mosts expectations. We signed Witowski out of the blue. And we re-signed Mcilrath despite many thinking we wouldn't. It's quite obvious the organizition is looking to load up on, and insert size and physicality into the lineup. Not sure if its the best angle, but it's a fresh angle. I think we may really see this kid suit up for us when 2 of our roster Dmen go down. In my mind, after the praises sung about him in the AHL playoffs, hes the #1 D callup. Maybe Russo is ahead of him, but also remember that Greens spot will need to likely be filled by a kid around the deadline. He's only 24, and if we can argue that Smith had room to grow at 26 around here, i think it's fair to say he has room to grow too. 

It was coached into me as a kid, that sometimes youre gonna go up against a guy better than you. And sometimes that guy is gonna beat you. It's your job at that point to make that guy pay for it every step of the way. Get in his face. Get in his ear. Line him up everytime you get a chance. If I was GM i would have the same philosophy, which is why I'm pleased with Holland so far in this short rebuild. Its easy to say the power play is your enforcer when you have Datsyuk, Zberg, Lidstrom, healthy Franzen, and Rafalski on the roster. But when you dont have that, and your not good, at least be tough to play against. Mcilrath, Rasmussen, Mckee, Witowski, and other assorted draft picks, overwhelming adds to that. Its a quite large addition of muscle in a short period of time when one thinks about it.

My only worry comes from looking back at the 80s and early 90s Wings. Holland learned the trade from Devalleno who built those teams, and Jimmy Dev is still advising him as well. Develano built those teams on toughness and young talent. Then phased a lot of that toughness out, replacing it with all of the talent that comes to one when one is a huge contender. My worry is that Holland is doing a 1980s early 90s rebuild on a 2017 team. Fighting and toughness was heavily favored back then, but now its speed and cheap cap hits thats in style. 

I know some of you welcome the rebuild but i hate this. 

I think the Witkowski signing in particular was so Mantha and AA won't have to fight as often. I like that they stand up for themselves, but better to have them out of the penalty box for for 5 minutes. Funny how they signed the guy that broke Mantha's finger in order to protect Mantha from injury from players like the guy. 

 

[Juklitz 85]

44 minutes ago, sputman said:

Funny how they signed the guy that broke Mantha's finger in order to protect Mantha from injury from players like the guy. 

Gotta catch ´em all! 

[Juklitz 85]

5 hours ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

My worry is that Holland is doing a 1980s early 90s rebuild on a 2017 team.

While he´s not able to get some generation talents like Pens&comp., it´s his only other option. 

[Juklitz 85]

Yes, I believe he´s trying to build the team comparable to Ducks or LA.

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

3 hours ago, F.Michael said:

I have never, nor will I ever have a disliking a team with toughness.

I'm all for having a handful of guys willing, and able to play a physical game, and when needed to drop the gloves.

 

As a fan I can't complain, fighting is one of the aspects that made me fall in love with this sport.

I'm just not positive it's the right move... yet. However, I am happy they are taking a fresh approach. All the blah blah blah complaints that Holland is just going to do the same old same old and will never change, I think are demonstrably false. He sold off Vanek, Smith, Ott, and is quickly revamping the team to be more aggressive in the size and physicality departments. This team is not doing the same old typical stuff. I like that.

 

[krsmith17 7,191]

15 minutes ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

As a fan I can't complain, fighting is one of the aspects that made me fall in love with this sport.

I'm just not positive it's the right move... yet. However, I am happy they are taking a fresh approach. All the blah blah blah complaints that Holland is just going to do the same old same old and will never change, I think are demonstrably false. He sold off Vanek, Smith, Ott, and is quickly revamping the team to be more aggressive in the size and physicality departments. This team is not doing the same old typical stuff. I like that.

Now if he can just prove that he's capable of pulling off an impactful trade in the cap era...

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

1 minute ago, krsmith17 said:

Now if he can just prove that he's capable of pulling off an impactful trade in the cap era...

I don't think that's going to change. It seems his philosophy of how to build a team (through the draft) is as strong as ever. He's just changed the style of team he wants to build.

[krsmith17 7,191]

9 minutes ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

I don't think that's going to change. It seems his philosophy of how to build a team (through the draft) is as strong as ever. He's just changed the style of team he wants to build.

To build a contender, I believe you need to be willing and able to make trades. I don't think it's possible to build a team strictly through the draft / free agency. We are still a few years away from contention, so there is time. I'm just not confident that when the time comes, Holland will be capable of pulling off the trade that puts us over the top...

[ChristopherReevesLegs 7,022]

 

4 minutes ago, krsmith17 said:

To build a contender, I believe you need to be willing and able to make trades. I don't think it's possible to build a team strictly through the draft / free agency. We are still a few years away from contention, so there is time. I'm just not confident that when the time comes, Holland will be capable of pulling off the trade that puts us over the top...

He's not unwilling to trade, he makes trades, I just wouldn't expect any blockbusters like it seems many are hoping for. 

[Buppy 1,720]

48 minutes ago, ChristopherReevesLegs said:

As a fan I can't complain, fighting is one of the aspects that made me fall in love with this sport.

I'm just not positive it's the right move... yet. However, I am happy they are taking a fresh approach. All the blah blah blah complaints that Holland is just going to do the same old same old and will never change, I think are demonstrably false. He sold off Vanek, Smith, Ott, and is quickly revamping the team to be more aggressive in the size and physicality departments. This team is not doing the same old typical stuff. I like that.

While it's obvious the Wings are trying to add some size, I don't think it represents a philosophical change. It's just addressing a weakness that stems from most of our past big/gritty players not panning out. Things would be different if Ryno, Andersson, Ferraro, and Aubry had worked out better, or even if Sheahan and Abdelkader were better, and Franzen was still healthy.

Rasmussen isn't just big. He was also one of the best players available and his skillset addresses a major weakness in our roster and prospect pool. And we have drafted bigger players pretty much every year even during our peak years...most of those players just didn't work out.

Witkowski is certainly a nod to toughness, but no more so than Ott, or Tootoo, or May, or Downey... in other words it's not something out of the ordinary for the Wings, despite what people think.

McIlrath is pretty irrelevant. It's a GR signing more than anything. He could see some games if we have a lot of injuries, but that's about it. Maybe still has a little potential to be better, and at one time was thought to be a potential shut-down defenseman. His play in GR showed he isn't just some goon at the AHL level, so it makes sense for them. He's better than many of our defense prospects right now, and fits in well considering most of our prospects lean more toward offense.

Despite that one report, I don't believe McKee was signed by the Wings. None of the cap sites show him having an NHL contract, and I couldn't even find anything to suggest he even has a deal with GR. I'm fairly certain that the contract he signed is only with Toledo.