Nightfall

he is a 36 year old depth player with 2 points in 28 games, with a 2.5 million cap hit. why would we want more of that?

Its easier to just type "We like our team". 

Not making room for Bouwmeester I hope 

Bouwmeester is not the missing piece this team needs.  People keep yelling for Holland to play the kids, so I say lets do it.

I am cautiously optimistic that Dan is going to make a good impact with the Wings.  Maybe not this season, but probably next season.  Still, at this point, its great to have a top prospect on the team. 

I am not afraid to call out a GM for sitting on his hands. Holland has done a lot for the Wings there is no doubt but he has not done much lately. We have a log jam of mediocre players that he refuses to get rid of. If Brad Stuart was the last trade you can remember then maybe that is a problem. Other teams are getting better we are standing pat. Make a list of the players that have left in the last 5 years then make a list of the ones that have came. you will see his track record.

I would rather stand pat and build through the draft than make a run at a cup while mortgaging our future.  In the past, without the salary cap, you could get away with losing draft picks.  Today, you cannot do that.

I don't buy the "making the team worse" argument, nor the cap argument. First of all, especially last year, when all was said and done, we still had $4.5 million in cap space. But even in years before last, guys that likely would've been moved to make a trade happen would have balanced out most of the cap issues. And while I don't think you could say that making a trade that ships out talent for talent would make the team better immediately, I don't think it'd make them so much worse either. It probably would have been even then, with a stronger defense but somewhat weaker offense. But it'd make the blow of losing your top three defensemen over the course of one year much easier to swallow. Again, I'm not talking about just replacing Lidstrom, but also Rafalski and Stuart. Holland didn't even find a way to bring in a Stuart-level guy. I don't wholly disagree with some of what you're saying, and I'm not trying to suggest that perfection is the only option, but I absolutely am saying that if Holland was a truly great cap-era GM, I don't think he would've had the number and the magnitude of gaffs that he's had since really running up against the cap crunch. And don't take it from me, take it from him! He blatantly admitted that he was shocked and unprepared for what happened in the off-season in the summer of 2009. It's been much of the same drill each off-season since then, only getting worse in some ways as the seasons go by.

 

And to be clear, I'm fine with having a year or two or even more of struggle to get things right. If we have to field a weaker team in order to sign better guys for awhile as we sort out this transition and evolve, so be it. What bothers me most about Holland's approach is that he's seemed content to change as little as possible because the team with the core of Dats, Z and Lidstrom was generally going to be good enough to at least make the playoffs. But now Lidstrom's gone, and while the core is still strong, it hardly makes the team infallible. If heaven forbid we do lose Datsyuk in 15 months, and three months later we start the season having not addressed yet another hole in any meaningful way, will it still be excusable?

 

Pittsburgh landed Iginla tonight. Doesn't guarantee them anything, but we weren't even on Iginla's list according to most. No matter what you think of the deal or the other teams or how it might play out, that we weren't even a real part of the conversation is very telling of the status of our team. And again, I'd be fine with that status if it actually felt like we were building to something. But it doesn't, at all. We're just getting old and tired. As opposed to paying dues, we're just eeking by. 

In the new cap era, the playoffs are not guaranteed to any team.  It will come down less to money and more to chemistry.  I too worry about this team when Dats and Z are gone, as any team should be worried when they lose their horses.  If Chicago lost Toews and Kane, they would be screwed.  If Pittsburgh lost Malkin and Crosby, they would also be screwed.  The premier players are just that, premier players.

As for Iginla, I am glad we didn't get him as a rental.  We have given up enough picks in the last 20 years, and as has been said before, you have to build up your team through the draft now.  If there is anything the Wings have been good with, it is has been getting good deals with late round picks.

If there's no difference on the money, how exactly can Kenny "fumble" this?  Some peope want to be near home and family.  Some young people want to get as far away as possible.  Perhaps he'd feel more pressure to play with the Wings?  If the Wings get him, fine.  If not, no big deal.  I think most people here really don't know that much about him, they just want to "win" the DeKeyser sweepstakes. 

I cannot like this enough.  People need to stop with the "Holland better get this done or its his fault" mentality.  Holland has done everything he can do.  Danny has to make up his mind and sign.  Holland can't make him sign.

Yes indeedy. The downside, of course, is...he's been set up on a silver platter for the Wings. So: if Holland fumbles this, the fans cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war. And all that.

I don't see how Holland can do much more than he already has.

The money is the same.  Holland has promised the kid to start in the NHL.  Its not like Holland has something he can offer the kid that 15 other clubs aren't offering.  His favorite team is the Red Wings so that factors into his favor.

The point is that it isn't on Hollands shoulders at all.  He has done his due diligence.  If the kid signs elsewhere, that his choice.  Not Holland's fault for not being Obi Wan Kenobi.  "Sign here Danny (waves his hand)." 

Thus begineth the over-ripening.

I would rather see a player of his caliber play a full season in the AHL getting top line minutes than play in the NHL getting 9-12 minutes a game on the 3rd and 4th lines.  Plus, playing in the AHL will help him with his development and confidence.

Considering this team passes like a Kia on the Autobahn this year, I’d say our standards here are pretty low. Hence “great pass by Franzen”. 

This.  There are 5 people on the team that could deliver a pass like that and only 3-4 of them could actually catch the pass and put it in.  Franzen + Dats = Goal!

BTW, Dats played with Franzen today and finally broke out of his slumber.  Everyone here wanted to see Dats with someone besides Cleary and Abdelkader.  He was with Franzen for probably half of his shifts.

POWERPLAY GOAL

Well, we couldn't score on the power play, so Edmonton helped us out with it.

If we can make the playoffs anything can happen.

I agree with this.  The parity in the NHL is just insane.  First step is make the playoffs.  After that, anything can happen.

You might, but your agent won't.  He can't take a 10% cut of a Stanley Cup ring.

Agents don't get paid 10% of any contract..  Even if they did, they can take 10% of my 6.5 million dollar salary.

Other teams don't undervalue their stars like the Red Wings do.

 

We're lucky guys like Datsyuk and Kronwall are willing to play for Detroit at such crappy prices for their skill level and comparative rates.  

Yea, Dats has 2 Stanley Cup rings to show for it and Kronwall has 1 Stanley Cup ring.  Why take $8 million from a team when you can take $6.5 from another team and have a legit shot to win a cup.  Hell, I would rather take less in that situation.

Franzen may have played lazy earlier today, but man he has had some great chances.