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Suter Parise Garrison Gaustad (Harding?) I'm guessing this is roundabout Kenny's best-case wishlist, in approximate order. I think Suter is a near-lock to come here. Parise, not so much - but not so far from it, really. The big difference, I feel (and, granted, I could be way off-base here), is that Suter wants out of Nashville, whereas Parise is perhaps not quite so keen on leaving NJ. If he can pry himself away from the Devils, I think he's ours. Now, watch them both go to Minnesota. [/jinx]

Haha that is awesome! In the words of Kelso from that 70's show:

So one would think... sadly enough 1-2 million extra on top of the crazy amounts they already get sometimes overpowers a players choice. Perfect example was in the NBA; Ben Wallace left the Pistons to go to the Bulls said he needed to provide for his family. I forget the lengh of his contract but it was something like 42 million offered by the Pistons and 48 from the Bulls. At the time the 'stones still had their key pieces and could of went back to the finals. My point is you need that extra few million to provide for your family? Really? LOL. Its like some of the players just don't care about that ultimate prize. Side note<<<<<<< BASKETBALL SUCKS

We still love ya Vladdie.

Gee Mr, Russo, seems like that is a cookie cutter headline if I ever read one! <insert team and $$$$$ under the cap here> The difference is Mr. Russo of the Star Tribune, the Red Wings are looking to get back to the Cup final and Parise will help them do that. You have no one to help Parise get to the final on the Wild... BTW, where has centcougartown been? Maybe he is getting more love for his expertise on callofthewildprospectpool.com...

I remember that day well. I spent all night watching ESPN and searching the few sites on the internet that were out there, trying to find any news updates I could. A terribly dark day, and so completely senseless. Had that jackass Richard Gnida not been driving, on a suspended license no less, then Konstantinov would have gone on to have a fulfilling career and a normal life afterwards. Konstantinov was an absolute BEAST of a defenseman. His big hit in game 3 of the '97 Finals always springs to mind. I can't find confirmation of this, but if I recall correctly, this hit effectively ended Hawerchuk's career. I seem to remember that he didn't play another shift in the game, and I know he didn't play in game 4. Hawerchuk announced his retirement following that season. 528 total GP, 52 total G, 142 total A, 194 total P, 945 total PIM. Norris Trophy finalist in ’97, NHL Plus/Minus award in ’95-96 at an incredible +60 (which hadn’t been done since a guy named Gretzky did it in ’86-’87, and hasn’t been done since).

Message to Ken Holland from the fans… We want a strong defense! Ryan Suter (NAS) http://youtu.be/clHjcEyiKOI Jason Garrison (FLA) http://youtu.be/62VnVHLberA Shea Weber (NAS) Whatever it takes ethically…

Wouldn't the Champions League be toughest trophy to win? Since you're competing with all of Europe and not just one league. Also, the average NHL team has a better chance of winning the Cup than the average European soccer club has of winning the CL. Simply because only the rich clubs can take a real stab at the trophy. There's more parity in the NHL where anyone can take a stab at the Cup in a season or two.

You don't find it a bit curious that the OP is asking Ken Holland to do something anyone in their right mind already knows he's gonna do? The thing that frustrates me is why does this OP believe that Holland would do anything but his proven recipe in this offseason, which just so happens to be the most devastating one he's had to deal with. While it may be a tough-love post, the fact of the matter is that we continue to hear from members that state Holland is an idiot, Holland sucks, I could run this team better....and they get downright annoying, especially when the OP is stating the obvious.

Message to MrBest7........... Dear MrBest7, Thank you so much for your incredibly thoughtful and insightful message. In all my years of being the Wings' GM I've never once not made the focal point of my team its defense. I've always over-invested in goaltending and offense first, because so many other teams have won the amount of Cups the Wings have solely based on that recipe. Now this off-season one of the greatest defenseman of all time has retired and we inevitably lost another of our top 4. On top of that, I've got $20+ million to spend, and you figured this was the moment in time I would pick to stop putting every single effort into our defense first??? Due to your message, I'm now awake. I won't try to sign every single offensive UFA first. Thank you for stopping me from making the biggest mistake of my career. I couldn't have done it without you. Yours Truly, Ken Holland

Thanks for pointing out the obvious! I think you deserve an award! Would you like a cookie or a clown sticker?

You sound like a leafs fan Also, 15 forwards and fil on the third line? wow

I would trade Parise for Girardi straight-up. I also enjoy fruit smoothies and long walks on the beach. (Call me.)

That's not what you originally posted about, Garrison isn't even in your D lines.

That's pretty sweet we can buyout Kindl for $8,000

I'm officially enlightened, I had no idea we needed defense. Thanks for the clarification OP!

*obligatory Girardi mention*

No way!!!! Red wings fans want these guys?!?! Since when? I am just so baffled right now; absolutely speechless!

Are you sure you aren't Richdg?

Weber isn't worth it this offseason

$6m would be an absurd salary for Kane. Apparently you have inside knowledge of the Jets' finances such that you may make qualified judgments about their ability to spend this summer. No, you don't.

1. Well all the evidence suggests you are wrong. Plus, I was under the impression that the league very much regretted moving out of Winnipeg the first time around. 2. I thought he did pretty good. He provided more evidence than your opinion and article did. Doesn't that article kind of hurt your case? Not to hate on the writer of it, but that wasn't a bombshell....And Winnipeg may be a small market but Canadian markets always do wayyyy better than American ones, I'd throw my hat in Winnipeg's ring before most of the southern U.S. teams. have a good night.

But the RW would never ever do anything illegal or underhanded. We have to much class for that after all.......... sorry, just couldn't help myself......

This is what I'm talking about.... This is a Stanley Cup lineup with the best defense and rolling out 4 solid lines. FORWARDS Zach Parise ($7.000m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Johan Franzen ($3.955m) Dustin Penner ($4.250m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Danny Cleary ($2.800m) Justin Abdelkader ($1.200m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Todd Bertuzzi ($2.075m) Gustav Nyquist ($0.875m) / Darren Helm ($1.200m) / Patrick Eaves ($1.200m) Drew Miller ($0.838m) / Cory Emmerton ($0.533m) / Jan Mursak ($0.550m) DEFENSEMEN Shea Weber ($8.500m) / Ryan Suter ($6.000m) Niklas Kronwall ($4.750m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($3.250m) Brendan Smith ($0.875m) / Ian White ($2.875m) GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) Joey MacDonald ($0.550m) BUYOUTS Jakub Kindl ($0.008m)

I think we all know Holland won't do the offer sheet. That being said is Weber worth 4 first round picks? We can look at what the Wings drafted in the past for an idea on how much it would cost the Wings but even that would not be exact as nobody knows what young players will be available in the next 4 drafts in that draft position. Plus would Nashville pick the same players the Wings would pick?...not likely. Then those players would likely take 3 to 5 years to make it to the NHL (if they even make it). 4 players that are unknown for 1 that you know is not only an NHL player but arguably the best d-man in the world.. Here are some stats on NHL drafting in the 1st round: Success rate of first-round draft picks To define whether a player "makes it," let's set the threshold at 200 NHL games. We'll call them "career players." •Of the 494 career players drafted in the 1990s, 160 were selected in the first round. •Of those 160 career players, over half have played more than 500 NHL games. •Among the older players (those drafted from 1990 to 1994), six first-round picks have made it to 1,000 games. Another couple of dozen are still active and within reach of 1,000. •Based on the 1990s sample, a first-round draft pick has a 63 percent chance of being a career player. Results can vary widely from year to year: •The 1993 NHL Draft produced 22 career players from 26 first-round picks. •In 1999, less than half of the first-round selections went on to become career players (12 out of 28). So 63% chance of being an NHL player but a lot less of being a star or super star player and those stats are for all first round picks (including top 10's) and not just late first rounders which is where the Wings would likely pick. With all that being said, i think it would be worth the picks if the Wings got him long term. A bird in hand is worth 4 in the bush If we were to get Weber this year and with Smith a tough customer himself whose goal is to add some muscle over the summer), add Iginla either at the trade deadline or next year as a UFA and add Svitov (considered one of the best defensive forwards in the KHL who is great on faceoffs and even meaner and nastier than Weber) we would go from being THE smallest, least physical team in the league to being one of the biggest, THE toughest and hardest to play against while adding to our already impressive skill level. (Beauchemin is the guy that knocked out Kopecky for the rest of the season with one punch)