ozone923

Only if he signs before the new CBA folks. And even then, signing a front-loaded contract could get Pitts in trouble like Jersey did with Kovalchuk, especially being so close to the new CBA.

This makes me giggle... seriously. Crosby is NOT taking a paycut to do the league or his team a favour. The kid will make 9 million a year. LOL. 9 MILLION! A paycut is Hank taking 6.08 a year instead of 8. Crosby should be taking 8 or less if he wants to 'give his team a chance'. It disgusts me how greedy some of these players are.

I think that you're being a bit rash. Lets face it, if Parise wanted to stay a Devil THAT bad, why would they be pushed to July 1st of free agency even with financial troubles? ITS ZACH PARISE. That's like Detroit and Zetterberg pushing right till free agency... but Zetterberg never thought twice. I don't doubt that Parise would prefer to stay a Devil, its probably easier that way in terms of lifestyle because you don't have to give up everything for a new city and team. But on the other hand, its pretty evident to me that he's at least curious as to what's out there, and I guarantee you he wants to see what kind of offer Detroit and Pittsburgh can throw at him to at least tickle that curiousity. Once its tickled... who knows then? I really don't think its time to give up all hope and throw Plan A out the window. Plan A is still Plan A. B can be Semin. Parise obviously wants to see whats out there, so don't give up yet!

I'm pretty sure what he's trying to say is that defense is the more glaring need, so stock up on D with Suter and Garrison, and go with a small signing in Brunner and improve the offense internally by giving guys like Nyquist a big shot. I see this route as completely fine as well. Not very complex stuff, I agree. Nothing matters anymore, its the two elite organizations battling for the future, and all of it rests on Suter and Parise's feelings and not money.

I said this in the Parise thread but I see Parise and Suter as class-act guys. The garbage Pittsburgh displayed in the first round makes us far more desirable on a basis of maturity. Why sign on to a team where even James Neal acted like a 16 year old kid not getting what he wants? This team has shown year in and year out that when Crosby loses his cool, they lose. And Crosby loses his cool A LOT. He kept it together earlier on in his career but now he's getting bad at handling the bullseye on his back and its showing through the whole organization. NOBODY intimidates the Red Wings. Ever. Nobody gets our heads spinning. When we get beat, its because they played better than us. Now THATS a place I want to play. Class.

100% agree ^^^ And LeftWinger, I really don't think dangling a C is something we should or would do. Theres a system of beliefs that goes with being a part of the Red Wing organization and it means you work your ass of and you reap the rewards. Dangling a C is a sickening (IMO) disrespect to Zetterberg first of all, and second... I really truly don't believe Parise and Suter are the types of guys that would see dangling a C as a good pitch. Put yourself in Parise's shoes for example. Epic dynasty Detroit dangles a C at you to get you to sign... I see that as desperate and unlike the organization they have been for the past 21 years. Just my 2 cents on that.

The thing is guys... that the rest of the team (Pittsburgh) suffers for the next 10-15 years. As we have begun to see over the past few years, cup-winners are well-balanced. Even if Pits signs both to long-term deals, that means their bottom six and bottom defence will be 500k cap-hit newbies. Balanced teams will continue to win I believe, so it just doesn't make sense if I'm Parise and Suter. They can only play the top two lines so much. With 14 mil in space, Pitts literally has zero cash for re-ups of current players like Letang (who is clearly worth more than what he's being paid now) and has zero cash for elite grinders (like our 2mil a year Helm signing). The only way I see them getting both is if they dump Martin somehow. Otherwise I see this purely as a pitch to either Parise or Suter and not both. I honestly don't believe Shero is that greedy and stupid to go after both. P.S. does it factor in at all that Pittsburgh's team of kids is exactly that? KIDS? We all saw how childish and ridiculous they looked in the first round against equally childish Philly. That stains their reputation. The wings are known as a CLASS ACT organization regardless of how many years are between Datsyuk and Crosby. Parise and Suter seem like the type of guys who want class, not a talented circus.

source?

He will be remembered for two decades of awesomeness. A bad offseason this year would result in minor blemishing, a good offseason would keep him held as the league's best.

Even though Fil didn't play as a center... wonder what place he'd be as a winger.

Zetterberg (a step above Datsyuk in the playoffs) Datsyuk Helm Howard Filppula

Why the f would we guarantee a kid from college who has never played an NHL game a spot on the roster instead of a proven, consistent, all-round D-man like White? Pure silliness.

I seriously doubt we will get/go after Schultz. Our history isn't really littered with signings like that. We went after Brunnstrom, but once the sweepstakes were on we ducked out early. Kids like that get hyped so much and then the risk becomes greater the further they get hyped. I would prefer to go after Suter (obs) and then Wideman as another right-handed shot. That way the D-corps would look like: Kronwall - Suter Ericsson - Wideman Smith - White Kindl I don't see us paying over 7mil for Suter (that would go against the Red Wing Way) and that earns the respect of the league, which is partly why we are able to attract big names. That leaves room for 4mil for Wideman. Dropping Quincey is 'quinceyssential' (Ha, get it?) to this plan, so I agree with that notion.

PLAN B: Semin, Carle/Wideman. DO NOT re-sign Hudler, leave that option for youth ice-time. 25 Goals easily replaced even by a lazy Semin (Huds doesn't do much else anyways, so who cares). Leave that money for a grinder and/or another defensive signing. I don't trust in Kindl. Final team would look something like this: Semin - Datsyuk - Franzen Nyquist - Zetterberg - Filppula Abby - Helm - Cleary Miller - Emmerton - Eaves Kronwall - Ericsson Carle - White Smith - Quincey Howard, VetBackup Still a disgusting forward setup that can compete with any in the league as long as the bottom six stay healthy (yes I said bottom six). Defensively not the best, but a real team effort can keep us up with a lot of teams, but Kronner and Ericsson will need to step up their game right away (Kronner attempting to fill a bit of the void left by Lidstrom, and Ericsson doing the same for Stuart's absence) and Smith needs to prove to the NHL why we love him.

Couldn't post this in prospects, and I'm new, so if this is out of context let me know. Regardless, thought this poll would be a lot of fun. "Big" means elite. I personally believe Nyquist, Jurco, Jarnkrok and Smith. Anyone seen any of these guys play as a side question?

In certain aspects of the game yes, but in the end the evidence is obvious. How can players like St Louis and Cammalleri play in the NHL if it mattered THAT much?

Without a doubt Zetterberg. Pasha is a leader by example, but lets face it, hes not the greatest talker. Zetterberg has all the tools to take the next captaincy.

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Agreed. Our near future is certain... elite talent willing to give it their all to retain their status as 'top-dog' after two 2nd round and one 1st round exit. Long-term future, lots of you seem to doubt our organization. We have been going strong for 20 years now, and yes every good thing comes to an end, but why would you think now? There's no real concrete evidence IMO. We went from 02 to 08 with nothing, and I bet the same crap was being spewed about Detroit's dynasty 'about to fall' then!

I tried to take in what you just said here but I totally got sidetracked by the aliens. Aliens. aliens...

Gonna be honest I hate how he says "It's never about the money" and he still hasn't gone down to4-5 million. Or even 3. One of my favourite players ever, but for FCKS sakes, what the organization has done for you... take much less and win one more.

Thanks for the feedback everybody, great to join an awesome RW community. Will be enjoying the offseason with you all! Now that that is said... Lol not true at all... and he had more than one good postseason. Look at his totals ya goofs. Don't include 07 or 12 because 07 was his first season ever and 12 was brutal for everyone, not just him. That adds up to 62 points in 59 games. The last two playoffs haven't been great for any of our boys in all fairness. I think its easy to target a player or two for our woes, but I do NOT think Franzen is useless by any means. For the money we pay him, I'd take a thousand of him.

Im sure its at least 50% because of my bias, but I just don't see it happening. 1. What would you rather do? Put on a jersey that screams world-class, or put on a jersey that screams we try but never make it? It means more to push a dynasty to its limits than attempt to start a team that doesn't have a proven management and organization (regardless of up-and-comers, its all about how you keep it running. There are a bunch of teams out there now that sucked so bad they got good) 2. Minnesota will offer big money to the pair of Parise and Suter, but will sacrifice the teams future if they end up paying it... (with Heatley making 7.5 mil for the next few years, and Koivu making 6.75) as they will have to pay their future up-and-comers a good amount of coin after their entry-level contracts. That also includes the fact that Parise and Suter would want long-term contracts. Detroit's name demands salary drops because of the tradition, thus making it the more likely landing spot salary wise. I do not believe either Parise or Suter would want a million or two more per year to take a risk greater than the one they would be taking going to Detroit. 3. Dany Heatley. Nuff said. This guy brings down teams morales single-handedly. Pure garbage teammate, pure garbage work ethic. P.S. It was actually Radulov who was called the best outside of the NHL, and we saw his amazing work ethic in round 2 against Phoenix... lulz. Not to say anything directly about Granlund though. To conclude: I see the possibility only because of the hometown relevance and 'hot-wife-3-point-night-back-in-Minnesota-about-to-become-4-point-night-argument' only.

I'd take another Franzen a thousand times over. You can throw away that pretty piece of metal from '08 if he's not there.

Put yourself in his shoes. Do you want to join the likes of amazing talent like Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi? Sarcasm intended. Especially if he doesn't win the cup, he will want to go somewhere that has a chance in the next 459827 years.