Shaman464

I know this will probably be moved, but I hope in the time it stays on the front page it will get to as many people as possible, This is about Detroit Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer and his brothers untimely death. It is one of the most touching stories I have ever read.

 

Max Scherzer: A brother's passage

 

Pretty awesome stuff.

As it stands today Detroit is 10th in the West, and could fall if any of a few teams with games at hand win. They have an inability to hold leads, and haven't been healthy since the first game of the season. All this being said, with the short season, the number of teams that are buying for the last couple spots. And the fact Detroit doesn't seem to have the special teams, goaltending, defense or durability for a long playoff run, should Detroit buy or sell in a month when at the deadline?

 

Pros of being buyers:

• They could find a Brad Stuart steal, and bolster the defense.
• If you make the show there's always a chance you make the finals
• This trade deadline could see big names move, and Detroit does have assets in the farm that others teams want

Cons of being buyers:

• With a lot of potential buyers, and good defensemen being a premium price could be high
• Anyone moved to Detroit isn't guaranteed to stay after the season
• While Detroit's farm is in good shape, aside from a few players, a lot of the prospects are boom/bust.

 

Pros of being sellers:

• With a very deep draft this season, any first or second round picks could turn into impact players in the next few seasons.
• With a deep free agency coming up in the off season, any salary cleared now will allow Holland more room to pick up a high profile FA
• Good chance of an over-payment for a player with a lot of teams looking to buy.

 

Cons of being a seller: 

• Good chance they will either miss the playoffs or be bounced early with the subtraction of any NHL level talent
• If they trade Abdelkader or Cleary who will we scapegoat? 

 

So, I'd really like to see what others have to say, since this is just around the corner (5 weeks from now).

 

The Montreal #Canadiens have agreed to a sign and trade involving PK Subban. Subban will be dealt to the #RedWings for Filppula and Tatar.

Rumor Per Insiders (possibly Dreger), What do you think?

This was meant to be in the rumor section, I apologize for misposting it in the main section.

With the departure of 3 of the 4 top defensemen on the team in the past two season there has been a real void left on the back end. Add to the aging forwards in the top 6 (Bert, Zetterberg, Datsyuk, Sammy, Franzen all over 30 years old), the team has few options going forward. The first option is via trade and free agency acquire the pieces the wings are currently lacking (being a top 6 scoring winger and 2 top 4 d-men). The second option is the option I believe is the better way to address the systemic problems the wings have, and that's a short term rebuild.

The process of rebuilding is not a fun one to watch, but, is one that has a lot of upside that trades and free agents don't bring. The first would be with the current CBA having good young players is rewarded because of how the Entry Level Contracts (ELCs) are step up to work, they are very friendly to the cap, as opposed to how free agency is today where any player that isn't locked up long term and hits the market is grossly overpaid for their services. Next would be that the process of rebuilding would mean that the prospects that haven't had a chance to cut their teeth in the NHL would get a chance to come up and play at the top level and gain valuable experience, in past years this has not been the cause and some players have not survived the trail by fire of coming up without waiver exemptions (Quiency, Ericsson, Kindl). Third it there is a benefit because the Wings do have a very good (and underrated) farm system, they have a lot of great talent on forward, and a lot of intriguing young D-men. Other teams are aware of this, and any trade would cost the wings some of this hard won prospect depth. Finally, if the wings don't make the playoffs in this rebuilding mode they have two other benefits, first a top ten draft pick, which they haven't had in over a decade, and the ability to trade players like Cleary or Bertuzzi to a contender for more draft picks or prospects. The first part, the top ten draft pick in most drafts (and looking to be true in the 2013 draft) as well are usually players that either are able to come into the NHL the following season and compete at a high level or are only 1-2 years of AHL play away from that. This would be perfect for the wings because they have a youth movement coming that would be supplemented by being able to add more youth to it. The second part, being sellers at the deadline... well I am sure everyone can remember the last 3 season and the gross overpayments made for players at the end of February, imagine a draft where the Wings have 1, 2 or even 3 top 40 picks? This not only gives them an even better prospect pool, but also gives them pieces to trade for NHL ready talent without having to do as much damage to the prospect depth.

I know this is not what a lot of fans will want, and I really would love the wings to be a top contender for the cup next season, but, if I had to choose between one more run in the next 5 years, or taking a year or two where they rebuild and have another 20 years of success, well I'll take the latter everyday.