Drake_Marcus

After the loss today I got thinking... we've been a lucky bunch for 20 years or so. We've scarcely had to watch failure (during the regular season at least!). So it got me to thinking... what if we don't have the next Lidstrom, Yzerman, Datsyuk, Zetterberg or even Hudler/Filppula/Franzen in the system right now? What if the Wings really need an injection of cheap but star quality talent. Now I've carefully observed how most GMs deal with this: they burn the house down and hope a big fat insurance cheque comes in the mail. Sure the family (fans) have to sleep in a motel for a while, but sometimes the new house is ever better! Look at what happened in Washington, Pittsburgh and Chicago. Their GM's were pretty sad sacks. Emotionally distraught, unloved, those teams got thrown over the barrel every trade deadline and taken for all they were worth. Hell, they got passed around like a beautiful but emotionally needy college girl at an all male dorm during freshmen week. The Caps, Pens and Hawks bravely said "here are my good players take what you want and throw me your draft picks!" for a decade or more. And for the most part they cashed in. The Captials drafted an offensive god named Ovechkin. The Penguins drafted Malkin who won them a Cup on the back of his Conn Smythe ( ) and the Hawks have already been awarded the Hockey Writers Association Memorial Sure-To-Win-The-Cup Award (stolen from the previous media darlings in San Jose). Even the Lightning have gotten back into the act after their brief flirtation with extended greatness. Stamkos and Hedmen are both studs (even if Hedmen's season is terrible, you expect that from a rookie D-man) and I have a hard time counting LeCalvary out at his age. Sure, the Maple Leafs have shown GM's how to piss away draft picks but they were stupid enough to float on the line of mediocrity for 40+ years instead of boldly daring to suck balls and tank for a decade like the Penguins and Hawks did. What do Wings fans have to show for it? 4 measly cups and the longest postseason streak in modern sports. But where is the super young, dynamic talent that gets hockey forums hot under the hood? Does Ken Holland have the courage to take his hands off the wheel and close his eyes when his card drifts towards the ditch? Hopefully everyone inside will be ok and maybe there's a new mustang on sale on Kijiji for an outrageously low price! I mean he knows a guy who had that same thing happen to him! Surely it can happen again? Does Ken Holland have the balls to dump gasoline in the back office and leave a lit cigarette on his desk? If he walks out and a fire starts he can build a new, better factory that's not struggling financially this month. ________________________________________________________________________________ _________________ No. Many people are starting to invoke the hated "Dead Things" name this proud franchise wore in the 70's and 80's. Shame on you. Do you know what the difference is between the Dead Things and Red Wings is? Excellence, class and Little Ceasers Pizza. Mike and Marian Ilitch bought the Wings from Lidstrom's ***** (Mr. Norris) in '82. They took season tickets owners to dinner personally to convince them to stick around. They remodeled the entire front office and taught the franchise and fans to be proud again. Tanking this team for draft picks spits in the face of what Mr. and Mrs Ilitch did in Detroit. This team should not and will not spit in the faces of their fans by burning the team down and pissing on the ashes so they can have a shot at a lottery pick. If we go down we go down fighting. Mr. Ilitch was a US Marine for 4 years so I have a hard time imagining him bending over for Mr. Bettman like weaker owners have. He won't burn this franchise down and start over so we can giggle about a "youth movement" and dream of rainbows and puppies. The Wings will build on success while striving to deliver the best product on the ice every year. They won't just say that like every other GM does they'll do it like only a handful of GMs do. I'm all for youth but I don't want to watch my beloved Red Wings get slapped around like a rented Mule (sorry Johan) for a decade just for the privilege of getting a chance to draft an 18 year old impact player.

Meh. He played, what, like 10 games? Daniel Cleary is the least of our concerns. It's comical to even get worked up about what amounts to a manager living up to a promise he made because ethically he feels compelled to if the result is so miniscule.

If anyone knows the limits of Helm's body it's Helm. And she doesn't exactly look like much of a load for someone who lifts as much as a hockey player

“Like Chicago, the Red Wings have done a good job drafting without the benefit of lottery picks" *lol* Because the Blackhawks didn't benefit from lottery pick charity... Let's pretend their last two Cups weren't won on the backs of their back-to-back 3rd overall and 1st overall draft picks (Toews/Kane).

lol Do you really think Holland plans on burying Nyquist in the minors for very long? He's just making room so he can get a trade done for one of the veterans. This is 100% about asset management. Holland of all people wants Nyquist to play as much time in Detroit as possible. Think of it this way-- it'll be easier to find a trade partner once Bert and Sammy have a chance to show that they can still play and other teams find the need to add a veteran due to injuries. At this point in the season every organization is busy evaluating their young talent going into the pre-season. It's in Holland's best interests to make sure the Wings' young talent has the optimal environment to thrive.

I think he's got the right idea. He's just taking the pictures out of the dressing room... if he feels that he needs to make a statement to his young players about looking forward instead of backward this is a pretty simple way to do it. It's not like the Oilers are taking banners down or changing anything other than the home dressing room.

It's worth noting that the act of changing goalie gear isn't as simple as it sounds. To do it right you can't reduce the protection offered by current gear. Composite sticks and elite athletic training aren't going anywhere so goalie gear can't become less protective. I've ranted about this on LGW before but it's worth saying again: Next time someone mentions Kevlar vests stopping bullets in a goalie gear discussion be sure to tell them to ask a police officer just what happens when a Kevlar vest stops a bullet. Broken ribs, extreme pain and deep bruising is infinitely better than being shot unprotected but it's hardly a worthwhile trade-off for a goalie looking to reduce gear size.

I think it'd be interesting to have a private panel consisting of the following: --Current NHL goaltenders (a mix of stars and back-ups/young guys) --Former NHL goaltenders (who played in the last 10 years) --Engineers --Persons who previously worked on product development/strategy for big hockey gear manufacturers --Persons who previously or currently work on product development/strategy for big manufacturers of protective gear for other sports (American football in particular, don't take companies with a hockey division) Have the final recommendations made available to the public *but* all names of contributing members are kept secret from the NHL, NHLPA and everyone else. As an engineer I'd be really interested to read what a group like that came up with in terms of recommendations for rules/gear changes and even ideas for new gear innovations.

Holland's said a few times that Nyquist *will* be re-signed. Don't worry about that. I'd rather not take Cleary again because there's no roster space and it'd negatively impact the development of Tatar/Nyquist by pushing them back in the depth chart. Unload Eaves (bummer but there's no room) and Tootoo right off the bat. Emmerton will have to stick around until they know for sure that Helm's back is fine. For the record-- I think it sucks that they'd have to say goodbye to Eaves because Sammy can't be unloaded. I'd rather have Eaves for his versatility, aptitude at playing on the checking line and comparatively young age. Bert is worth keeping around for another year because the Wings need the size and he's helpful in the shoot-out if nothing else

Wow... that Bogosian contract is absurd. He's done *nothing* to earn that cap hit or term. Honestly, Bogosian didn't deserve more than a 4mil cap hit over 5 years. If he wanted 7 years he shouldn't have gotten much more than 3.5mil per. These last two contracts by Winnipeg could imbalance the market for RFAs the way the Drury/Briere NY/Philly contracts did for UFAs way back.

Old meme is old. Weiss and Alfredsson both signed for market price. 9 of TSN's top 30 UFAs are yet to be signed: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=95306

Rookie Smith reminds me of rookie Kronwall. Don't forget how many moronic defensive plays and ill-advised pinches Kroner made as a young d-man.

Wow... players used to have to accept smaller cap hit numbers to get massive deals. 8 years at 7 mil per for a goalie is a HUGE deal. I understand why they'd be willing to take a risk on Rask but this shouldn't be thought of as anything other than a calculated risk. 7 mil for a goalie in today's NHL is a real risk.

Vancouver is so dumb... so very dumb. *lol*

Well the Avalanche rejected Calgary's offer of their 6th, 22nd and 28th overall picks for the 1st overall and the top 3 players are all pretty damn close to each other in terms of potential so I'd say that's the kind of deal you'd have to offer as a starting point for one of those 3 picks. I do think the 4th overall pick could be a home-run too... Bob McKenzie said Aleksander Barkov (the consensus #4) was rated by some NHL teams as being no lower than 2nd overall. While I don't doubt that MacKinnon and Drouin are incredible players I have a hard time decoupling them their personal performance from each other (and their line-mate Frk) on an absolutely stacked Mooseheads team. There's no doubt that those three performed incredibly on a line together but the big question is-- what would their individual numbers look like with crappier line mates? Drouin has a sample of play without MacKinnon due to the latter's injury at the start of the QMJHL season, but it's still hard to gauge just how much the three players impacted each other statistically, and that's really what makes me uncomfortable (and I'm sure it's factored into some scouts' minds as well). One thing I'm not entirely sold on is the offensive potential of some of the big d-men available in the late lottery (Ristolainen and Nurse). How much of their ranking is owed to their size and strength vs pure hockey IQ/talent? Big and strong is great, but it's also something that can happen post-draft as a player physically matures. This is something teams are pretty good at estimated based on examination at the combine but I think it's worth mentioning. Oh for sure. The biggest issue in my mind right now is the quantity of players the Wings have in their system who are AHL ready. There will be guys who don't make the Griffins in October who really should get a shot to play AHL hockey. It'd be nice if the Wings could loan some players to other AHL teams rather than have them relegated to the ECHL but it doesn't seem like that type of thing happens much anymore (at one point AHL teams were mixed groups from different NHL franchise prospect pools).

Holland is willing to play the 'quality NHL team' market price, not the Minnesota Wild inflated joke price. There's a reason why those joke, overpayment contracts are attached to joke teams.

Don't forget that Kruger and Leddy are both RFAs who will command a decent raise and Chicago will be very hesitant to sacrifice. Furthermore, next summer Chicago has 43 million in cap taken up by 10 players. That leaves them 21 million dollars to fill the roster out with 12 more players. They really have to be careful about signing any big contracts at this point.

Pretty crazy considering this kid was a nearly 300pim player in the USHL. I think it was bold of him to sign with a college team. He's saying fighting isn't his all he has to offer and he wants to work on his playing skills elusively. When you fight as much as he has it's really got to be come part of your hockey identity. It's pretty cool that we got the toughest player in that draft year and he's willing to put that aside for the time being to focus on the rest of his game. That shows that he's a focus, committed player who wants to be a pro.

The organizational depth is such that the Wings can likely afford to actually trade up right now. They could really use a home run scoring forward right now.

Tatar and Nyquist are very different players, as is Brunner. Brunner's defensive play is the poorest of the three and he happens to be the oldest by a large margin. Tatar is most similar to Brunner of the two young guys, although he's a much more 'heart and soul' player. Tatar appears to be similar to Zetterberg in terms of his drive train, passion and ability to elevate his game in the playoffs. Nyquist reminds me more of Datsyuk in terms of the way he plays the game. You can argue all you want about 'small euros' but the fact remains that there are 29 other teams who would kill to get Datsyuk or Zetterberg. I honestly think Nyquist and Tatar can be the next iteration of the euro-twins, albeit without as much top-end skill (although how many of us really knew Dats or Z would be MVP quality players when they were 22 years old?). I think it's reasonable to estimate that Tatar and Nyquist can be players who put numbers up like Hudler and Filppula did in Detroit. We have many reasons to be enthusiastic about the future guys, no need to even consider trading that away before we have a chance to see it all out.

Here's my shot at it: FORWARDS Johan Franzen ($3.955m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Justin Abdelkader ($1.800m) Tomas Tatar ($0.840m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Nathan Horton ($5.000m) Gustav Nyquist ($1.788m) / Joakim Andersson ($1.605m) / Damien Brunner ($3.050m) Drew Miller ($1.350m) / Darren Helm ($2.125m) / Patrick Eaves ($1.200m) Cory Emmerton ($0.533m) / DEFENSEMEN Niklas Kronwall ($4.750m) / Danny DeKeyser ($1.350m) Jonathan Ericsson ($3.250m) / Brendan Smith ($1.827m) Jakub Kindl ($2.050m) / Kyle Quincey ($3.775m) Brian Lashoff ($0.725m) / GOALTENDERS Jimmy Howard ($5.292m) Jonas Gustavsson ($1.500m) OTHER Buyout: Mikael Samuelsson ($0.000m) Buyout: Todd Bertuzzi ($0.000m) ------ Trade: Carlo Colaiacovo Trade: Jordin Tootoo CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter) (these totals are compiled with the bonus cushion) SALARY CAP: $64,300,000; CAP PAYROLL: $60,547,254; BONUSES: $1,010,000 CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $4,762,746 Notes: Blue font denotes transactions/re-signings I made, red font denotes UFA signings from outside the organization. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That's a nice, young roster (only 4 people that are 30 years of age or older and 4 players aged 29). I assigned large costs to re-signing UFA and RFA players just to be safe. Holland can likely get better numbers than the ones I assigned. Ideally I'd like to ditch Quincey and pick a true top pairing offensive defenseman up somewhere but the pickings are very, very slim. I'd avoid the UFA pool of offensive defensemen all together and look at RFA players. Alex Pietrangelo is an RFA who is sure to be coveted by the entire league. St Louis has 20million in cap space to re-sign their RFA and UFA players. They'll have to get deals done for Chris Stewart, Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo, though, so that money is definitely needed (all three players would command significant salaries). Pietrangelo is easily the best player on that team in my opinion and you can bet it'd be virtually impossible to pry him away from them... but hey it's worth making a note of it. David Rundblad is an RFA in Phoenix who might be of interest. He's big (6'2", 190lbs), young (22yrs) and a right hand shot. Phoenix acquired him from Ottawa in 2011 as part of the Turris trade. Zach Bogosian is an RFA in Winnipeg who is also big (6'3", 215lbs), young (22yrs) and a right handed shooter. Nick Leddy is an RFA in Chicago who isn't exactly big (5'11, 180lbs), but is young (22yrs), although he has a lefty shot. Chicago is going to struggle to sign their RFA/UFA players and may be forced to let some juicey ones go. I doubt they'd let Leddy go but hey, it's possible. With the move to the East it will be easier than ever to make a deal with Chicago. Travis Hamonic is an RFA on the NY Islanders who fits the desirable profile: big (6'2", 206lbs), young (22yrs) and a right hand shot. His offensive numbers are mind-boggling (10g, 60pts in 183 NHL games) but he's a very solid two-way player.

That'll never happen. Full cages impact a player's ability to see the puck at their feet. A high quality visor shouldn't negatively impact your vision. If anything, we may one day see a full mask that is clear. "Glass-like" ceramics already exist (for example Aluminum Oxynitride), so once the machining methods, costs and designs are sufficiently advanced to allow for a better solution we might see that type of mask. The main problem aside from strength and cost is probably related to the fine optical properties of the material (players want to be able to see just like they do without the mask in front of their face) and likely condensation build-up on the inside of the mask.

Oh it's the player's choice. No one is forcing them to play. If they have a strong dislike of visors (despite having had to wear them in Jr/College/EuroLeagues they're welcome to step aside and try a new career. No one is forcing anybody to do anything. If I want to walk onto a construction site to review a piece of work I have to wear a helmet; the option of actually entering the construction site (and thus put on the helmet) is 100% voluntary. None of this should be a problem. These guys are all making at more than half a million dollars a year. Given all that money I think it's fair to expect them to follow some minimum safety standards designed to protect them and the investment they represent to the people paying their salaries. Female players wear genital protection as well (a "Jill" rather than "Jock"). That area of the body is vulnerable to damage from a slapshot for any gender.

I like it. They simplified the jerseys without losing the look they're known for. Overall I think this is a definite upgrade for the 'Canes.