They were close to getting Bogosian before and Bieska is likely gone as they can't keep Ernhoff and him with salary cap issues. Would be strong upgrade on our defensive issues and we would be a lot younger and faster with some good offensive firepower adding Zherdev and the young guns of Tatar and Mursak. Kindl and/or Brendan Smith will be coming up next year as well. We need to get younger and the added speed at the forward spot, not to mention blue line will make us lethal. What do you think about getting Varlamov as backup goaltender?
A lot of posters have mentioned Bogo, Bieksa, Ehrhloff, but nobody in this thread (as far as I can read) has brought up James Wizniewski as a possible defensive free agent. Currently makes $3.25M, and is a UFA.
He sees the ice well and provides good blue line offense including plenty of PP time, heck he was the Islanders leading scorer until they traded him to MTL this year. Plus, he's got a bit of a mean streak and can punish with hits and will also fight.
Reports out of Montreal are that he's gone. Somebody is going to offer him good money. As a sentimental plus, he's from metro Detroit and might take a half mil discount to come home. I'd offer him $4M for 4 years, easy.
I honestly believe this could get us back to WCF. Take a gander and reply please.
I know a 23 man roster is large but there is also $1.4 mill or so in available space, and let's not pretend that we will be healthy for 82 games. We need HEALTHY depth. If Draper comes back for $800,000 (generous IMO) we still have some wiggle room. I really like the hudler-bogo trade considering we might package a first rounder or a prospect to sweeten the deal. Laich is great two-way center and proved his worth when bumped up in Cap's lineup. I still don't like Filppula in the 2nd center spot which is why i think we go for jokinen (who's a finn just like val). Asham and O'Donnell are mean, cup-hungry vets. I think it's pretty obvious that we need more grit and better DEFENSIVE DEFENSEMEN!!! Kaberle is NOT the player we need! Another reason I like this roster is it leaves plenty of room for Babs to juggle lines like we know he loves to do.
CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR
FORWARDS
Jussi Jokinen ($2.300m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m)
Brooks Laich ($3.200m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m)
Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)
Arron Asham ($0.850m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.800m)
/ Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Jan Mursak ($0.550m)
DEFENSEMEN
Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m)
Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / Zach Bogosian ($3.375m)
Sean O'Donnell ($1.000m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m)
/ Brendan Smith ($0.875m)
GOALTENDERS
Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Brian Boucher ($0.900m)
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $59,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $57,983,711; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $1,416,289
I don't here many people on here mention Ville Leino. Hes a UFA and would love to see this guy back in red and white. What do you guys think and what kind of contract would be command?
I don't here many people on here mention Ville Leino. Hes a UFA and would love to see this guy back in red and white. What do you guys think and what kind of contract would be command?
Thanks, I'm still trying to forget. He makes me ill, he is not what we need. We need more grit not waaay less.
I don't here many people on here mention Ville Leino. Hes a UFA and would love to see this guy back in red and white. What do you guys think and what kind of contract would be command?
I don't here many people on here mention Ville Leino. Hes a UFA and would love to see this guy back in red and white. What do you guys think and what kind of contract would be command?
Babcock and Holland did not like him the first time. Why would they like him now? Hudler part two,
And yeah, why would he want to come back? Didn't leave on good terms...
i'm guessing that our new-found cap room means that Hudler isn't quite the pinch on our cap he was expected to be, and he sticks around for the year... (unfortunately?)
wouldn't surprise me if the same were true for Drapes & Ozzie...
FORWARDS
Jussi Jokinen ($2.300m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m)
Brooks Laich ($3.200m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m)
Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)
Arron Asham ($0.850m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.800m)
/ Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Jan Mursak ($0.550m)
DEFENSEMEN
Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m)
Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / Zach Bogosian ($3.375m)
Sean O'Donnell ($1.000m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m)
/ Brendan Smith ($0.875m)
GOALTENDERS
Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Brian Boucher ($0.900m)
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $59,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $57,983,711; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $1,416,289
too much turnover, highly doubt anything like this happens. and everybody penciling in Smith for 7th d-man, not happening. he either makes the team as #4-6, or he goes to GR.
Not that this would ever happen...but the sheer fact that it is possible is fun to think about. XD
FORWARDS
Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m)
Johan Franzen ($3.954m) / Brooks Laich ($3.200m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)
Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m)
Patrick Eaves ($1.000m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Zenon Konopka ($1.000m)
Jan Mursak ($0.550m)
DEFENSEMEN Shea Weber ($7.300m) / Drew Doughty ($7.300m)
Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m)
Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($2.000m)
Brendan Smith ($0.875m)
GOALTENDERS
Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Evgeni Nabokov ($0.570m)
SALARY CAP: $62,500,000; CAP PAYROLL: $61,728,711; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $771,289
Do people actually believe Holland is going to sign Laich, Jokinen, Asham, Boucher, and O'Donnell and trade for Bogosian in one off season? The most moves Holland has made in an off season since the lockout is signing Eaves, Bertuzzi, and Williams (after losing Hossa, Samuelsson, and Hudler) in '09. He's not going to bring in five UFA's and make a big trade in one summer.
__________________
From a GM, "Detroit is the best team we've played this year. It's not even close. Their puck control is incredible...You have to hope your goalie has a great night to give you a chance."
Do people actually believe Holland is going to sign Laich, Jokinen, Asham, Boucher, and O'Donnell and trade for Bogosian in one off season? The most moves Holland has made in an off season since the lockout is signing Eaves, Bertuzzi, and Williams (after losing Hossa, Samuelsson, and Hudler) in '09. He's not going to bring in five UFA's and make a big trade in one summer.
They have tons of capspace with rafalski gone, if they let go of most UFA's and if the cap goes up to 62-63M, this is something unusual, it's pretty lame with the "ken holland is never going to blabla" last time wings had lots of cap space they signed Marian Hossa for example.
Do people actually believe Holland is going to sign Laich, Jokinen, Asham, Boucher, and O'Donnell and trade for Bogosian in one off season? The most moves Holland has made in an off season since the lockout is signing Eaves, Bertuzzi, and Williams (after losing Hossa, Samuelsson, and Hudler) in '09. He's not going to bring in five UFA's and make a big trade in one summer.
You know this because you are Ken Holland right? At any point in time, Holand CAN decide to make a gigantic splash this postseason. Will he? Maybe. History might not show, but being so negative with all of your postseason posts does not really get you anywhere.
In '07 when they lost Schneider, Bertuzzi, Markov, and Lang, all Holland did was sign Drake and Rafalski and they won the Cup.
If you're waiting for 5+ relatively big UFA's, you're going to be disappointed.
I think too many people are assuming Hudler is 100% gone. I'll believe Hudler is gone when he is actually traded.
Even if Lids comes back, Ericsson and Salei both re-sign(which I doubt, I think both are gone) we still need at least 2 defensemen. And I could see them signing 1 of Jokinen or Laich but not both and maybe a bottom sixer IF we don't re-sign Eaves and/or Miller and/or Draper.
There's a good chance we sign 5+ UFAs, especially if Ericsson and Eaves both leave, but I agree with you that acquiring 5 relatively big ones is unlikely.
may have been mentioned in another thread, but one more interesting thing w/ Raffy retiring, his contract is no longer the bar for the "Lidstrom needs to be the highest paid d-man on the team" edict...
so, $6M is no longer the 'minimum' for Liddy; won't surprise or upset me if he still makes that much still.
I think too many people are assuming Hudler is 100% gone. I'll believe Hudler is gone when he is actually traded.
Even if Lids comes back, Ericsson and Salei both re-sign(which I doubt, I think both are gone) we still need at least 2 defensemen. And I could see them signing 1 of Jokinen or Laich but not both and maybe a bottom sixer IF we don't re-sign Eaves and/or Miller and/or Draper.
There's a good chance we sign 5+ UFAs, especially if Ericsson and Eaves both leave, but I agree with you that acquiring 5 relatively big ones is unlikely.
I personally thought Laich was a pipe dream but now with Rafalski retiring it's definitely feasible. I can't see Eaves not being back as he's grown each year, he's filled his role and more. Ericsson is a toss up at this point as he may or may not return. I think they like Miller but they face the same issue as last summer with him - he's a little bit redundant on this team.
In '07 when they lost Schneider, Bertuzzi, Markov, and Lang, all Holland did was sign Drake and Rafalski and they won the Cup.
If you're waiting for 5+ relatively big UFA's, you're going to be disappointed.
Well this is 2011, not 2007. There are a lot of different directions this team can go with the players. People are excited and just wanna speculate possible roster changes. Welcome to HF boards.
In '07 when they lost Schneider, Bertuzzi, Markov, and Lang, all Holland did was sign Drake and Rafalski and they won the Cup.
If you're waiting for 5+ relatively big UFA's, you're going to be disappointed.
And then the boards are going to implode for a bit as people freak out.
While I've enjoyed speculating about Richards and everyone else as much as anyone, I'm with you in tempered expectations. One, maybe two, small signings up front to fill out the roster depth. One or two good blueliners. And some promoting from within.
We're so accustomed to spending to the cap, but I'll be a bit surprised if we do this summer. There just aren't the players available to dictate it, nor is there the roster space available for it.
Everyone seems to forget the Wings weren't spending to the cap in '08.
That buffer gave them the flexibility to add Stuart at the deadline.
I'm hoping they leave a mil or two in cap room (at least) so they can make a similar move at the 2012 deadline, if need be. When you are capped out in October, you're basically stuck with that roster until the following July.
I honestly believe this could get us back to WCF. Take a gander and reply please.
I know a 23 man roster is large but there is also $1.4 mill or so in available space, and let's not pretend that we will be healthy for 82 games. We need HEALTHY depth. If Draper comes back for $800,000 (generous IMO) we still have some wiggle room. I really like the hudler-bogo trade considering we might package a first rounder or a prospect to sweeten the deal. Laich is great two-way center and proved his worth when bumped up in Cap's lineup. I still don't like Filppula in the 2nd center spot which is why i think we go for jokinen (who's a finn just like val). Asham and O'Donnell are mean, cup-hungry vets. I think it's pretty obvious that we need more grit and better DEFENSIVE DEFENSEMEN!!! Kaberle is NOT the player we need! Another reason I like this roster is it leaves plenty of room for Babs to juggle lines like we know he loves to do.
CAPGEEK.COM CAP CALCULATOR
FORWARDS
Jussi Jokinen ($2.300m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m)
Brooks Laich ($3.200m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m)
Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)
Arron Asham ($0.850m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.800m)
/ Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m) / Jan Mursak ($0.550m)
DEFENSEMEN
Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m)
Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / Zach Bogosian ($3.375m)
Sean O'Donnell ($1.000m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m)
/ Brendan Smith ($0.875m)
GOALTENDERS
Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Brian Boucher ($0.900m)
CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled without the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $59,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $57,983,711; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (23-man roster): $1,416,289
the cap is gonna be at least 2mil higher than this for one thing.
don't want smith as no7. either top6 or grand rapids for him
i wouldn't mind jokinen and/or laich, but i'm hopeful that mursak will be given a proper chance and not used as the 2nd backup forward.
i'm not overly keen on o'donnell, and i think hudler for bogosian is probably a pipe dream, even with a pick or two thrown in.
Not that this would ever happen...but the sheer fact that it is possible is fun to think about. XD
FORWARDS
Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m)
Johan Franzen ($3.954m) / Brooks Laich ($3.200m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)
Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.787m)
Patrick Eaves ($1.000m) / Darren Helm ($0.912m) / Zenon Konopka ($1.000m)
Jan Mursak ($0.550m)
DEFENSEMEN Shea Weber ($7.300m) / Drew Doughty ($7.300m)
Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) / Brad Stuart ($3.750m)
Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($2.000m)
Brendan Smith ($0.875m)
GOALTENDERS
Jimmy Howard ($2.250m) / Evgeni Nabokov ($0.570m)
SALARY CAP: $62,500,000; CAP PAYROLL: $61,728,711; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (22-man roster): $771,289
This isn't possible, unless you're trading for one of Weber or Doughty (but we seem to have kept all our roster players). We wouldn't have the compensatory picks for both, otherwise.
This isn't possible, unless you're trading for one of Weber or Doughty (but we seem to have kept all our roster players). We wouldn't have the compensatory picks for both, otherwise.
would have to be both... either team matches a $7.3mil offer sheet.
in any event, not happening.
