jroc86

J.Thornton-Crosby-Kesler Burrows-Malkin- Kunitz Pavelski-Couture-Setoguchi Ribeiro-Lapierre-Cooke -Talbot/Eager Pronger-Bieksa Suter-Quincey (lol) Orpik-Jackman

Retool. Keep the core, bring in a few kids this year, a few kids next year, and try and pick up a stud free agent and a few "Stop-gaps". Brunner, Nyquist, Smith this year. If injuries become a concern or a slump happens Tatar and Anderson and Sheahan should also be given opportunties to get games. Sing Danny Dekeyser this summer. If Edler becomes available jump on him ... if Getz/Perry/Iginla are up for UFA I could see Babs and Kenny having some pull with them after their 10' Olympic experience together. Of course a move like that would neccesitate unloading cap-space or losing a guy like Filpula which I wouldnt want to see. If it evident we really need some size/toughness/stay-home presence on defense Regehr or D Murray should be available for pretty cheap next summer as well. Hopefully Pukkinen, Jarnkrok, Sproul, and Oulette all mature quickly and 2-3 of them are on the team in 2 years.

Minnesota wont drop Heatley. Cullen and Bouchard will be axed first.

Bert. Being a BC guy when I was a kid he was like a superhero for a few yrs when I was in highschool ... fact that he got traded to my favorite team just made it that much cooler. Bert looks like one of the quiet insightful guys who's probably down to earth and cool as hell - plus I throw down the beers like nobodys business and Bert can probably handle his pops pretty effectively as well.

*my lineup should have had a disclaimer - I was assuming Brunner and Nyquist adjust to the NHL level quickly and can play top 6 roles. They are small, skilled, euros with top6 upside and we have a team that needs to get younger. We need to start giving guys a chance so that when Bert/Sammy/Cleary/Pav (f*** I hope not) are gone in 2 years we arent throwing a bunch of kids into the fire without having as many capable vets playing with them and showing them the ropes. 1) Babcock has stated Brunner will be given a shot at a top 6 role to startthe season. Hes 26 yr old rookie finesse player ... its sink or swim and yes, he will be playing with Dats or Z a fair bit until he proves he isnt up to the task. 2) Nyquist is similar ... small, fast, skilled forward who by most indications looks like he'll be an effective offensive player at the NHL level. No point burying him on the 4th line if he cant cut it yet. 3) Filpula as the 3rd line center isnt a demotion by any means and its just an idea to spread the offense out over 3 lines (assuming Nyquist and Brunner are producing and we have enough weapons to do so). Sammy is still effective and it seems everyones forgotten how good Cleary can be when he has 2 good legs. Im just saying that that having 3 centers that are offensive threats instead of 2 gives us more looks and makes us harder to defend against. I like Helm ALLOT and hes a great 3rd line center and have no issue if he fills that spot again this year especially after the proven chemistry established last year with Filp and Z. Adbelkader ... I have always preferred as a winger. His hockey IQ isnt that great and the simpler position where hes free to run rampant on defensemen on the forecheck more IMO suits his skillset better at the NHL level. Helm flanked with Tootoo and Adbelakder would be an total nightmare to play against and could be one of the better shutdown lines in the league I think.

If we could reset the career of a current Red Wing id have it be Franzen to pre-ACL tear to restore his speed/compete/intensity. Watching the 2009 WCF games vs Chi these last few days and he just doesn't have that extra gear anymore or just doesnt play with that wreckless pursuit of the puck. That injury can take allot out of a player in any sport ... he's still good, but that "edge" hasnt been consistently present in a long time.

Better than most are giving us credit for. D is pretty weak - but a stopgap UFA addition should give us a good enough Dcore to keep us competitive back there. If where that awful Kenny will make a deadline deal if were in the PO picture. Forwards are good - if Brunner and Nyquist elevate and produce we could have the deepest offensive corps since 2009 IMO. Watching the WCF today on NHL network - Cleary was so bad this year on one leg it was too easy to forget how good he is when healthy. If he has another few good years left now that hes healthy and he can return to that level Ill be thrilled. Heres what Id like. Nyquist Datsyuk Bertuzzi Franzen Zetterberg Brunner Cleary Filpula Samulsen Adbelkader Helm Tootoo *Brunner, Bert, and Sammy all can go up and down those top 3 right Wings as Babs sees fit and I think theres decent chemistry throughout. I liked when we could roll 3 scoring lines and 1 horrendously fast tenacious checking line (Abs, Drapes, Helm) ... this would be a pretty comprable methodology.

Yeah - hell have a great season in europe after he gets waived and nobody claims him. Hardworking little player and a good guy ... unfortunatley he has bottom 6 skill and is small, light, doesnt have Helm/Draper speed, and isnt abraisive. His only purpose on this team might be as the 14th forward to step in when a center goes down with an injury. Guys a slower and less talented Jeff Tambellini.

Ericsson gets ragged on for poor play because he has the raw physical tools and (in flashes) the talent to be a bonified top 4 NHL defenseman. Kindl gets ragged on because he doesnt posses the skillset physically or technically as Ericsson and is smaller, a poor skater, less physical, and cant fight (something E gets no credit for despite being pretty decent at). I'd like to see Kindl as part of a Jbo trade then sign a 7th dman off the scrap heap who has some size and grit to their game.

If a reasonable trade is available Id be all for getting Boumeester - but even if we do get him, our defence is still defensivley weak and pretty easy to play against. I feel a Volchenkov/Regehr type guy is more important to us now - especially if we can anchor them with Smith to give him more freedom to get into the play.

I see where your coming from - but what Im saying is unless the laws of probability completely screw us and 2-3 main guys up front sustain serious injuries we have the bodies to ice a competitive top 6 that stacks up well with most teams in the league. If everything goes right and Brunner and Nyquist end up being productive well then we have significant scoring depth and Kennys often mocked theory of "production by commitee" will once again hold true. Yeah - we dont have any bonified 40 goals scorers ... how any of those are there? Daniel Sedin, Stamkos, Crosby, Giroux, Malkin, Rick Nash if he has chemistry with Richards? We havent had a 40 goal scorer since 2009 and have remained amongst the highest scoring teams each year since. Our downfall since then hasnt been the absence of a sniper - but a lack of depth scoring in the playoffs and a defence group thats far to easy to play against. I dont expect to see this team competing for a conference title this year, but barring serious injuries or gross under performance theres no reason for the fanabse to throw in the towel and consider this team Calgary 2.0.

Our depth and skill up front is being HEAVILY under-rated by so many people on this board (and elsewhere). If a young gun (or two) has a solid rookie campaign (Nyquist, Brunner, or maybe Tatar I could see contributing) we or more will probably once again be among the leagues top producing teams. Even with a few injuries we have allot more attractive options to fill in as top-6 stopgaps. Beyond Hank and Pav we have Cleary, Sammy, Bert, Filp, Zetterberg, Franzen are all guys that should put up 20 goals and if healthy are serviceable top 6 players anywhere in the league. If Brunner and Nyquist adapt to the league quickly then we should be able to roll out 3 offensively threatening lines on a nightly basis. Defence is another story - but the longer we go without making a big move the more comfortable I am becoming with just signing a solid veteran dman as "Kindl insurance" ... Cant wait for this season to start just to end these endless downfall speculation threads.

Id love that - or something similar. Lets not kid ouselves, Girardi isn't going anywhere. I think Regehr would waive to come to Detroit and would likely resign next summer at a very affordable price and provide a Brad Stuart type blend of grit and defensive ability with a 225 lbs body.

I havent seen much of this guy - and hes still relatively new to the league. "apparently" Holland is kicking the tires. Does he help our dcore? whats his style? his stats arent anything to get excited over - does he have certain intangibles or untapped upside that our management thinks we can mature here? Thanks

HockeyyInsiderr has broken the news of almost every big signing or trade before the mainstream guys 9/10 times. He blew it with Suter and Parise but otherwise hes been on point.