February 28th, 2017 at 1:37 PM ^
That's been obvious for years but Holland waited until both of their stocks have taken a nose dives.
We need a new, GM, coach and complete different defense.
February 28th, 2017 at 2:36 PM ^
I believe that Franzen's cap doesn't have any effect on the team salary because he is on a physically unable to play list. Drew Miller is in the AHL right now so he's not stealing anynes ice. Nick Jensen is a talented defensmen, moves well, handles the puck well, knows where hes going with it before he gets it, and to me already looks better than Oullet and Sproul. Lastly, Vanek most likely will not go to a shit team because shit teams don't make trades to upgrade or grab a 2-month rental player for playoffs.
February 28th, 2017 at 1:31 PM ^
That's a really nice trade. The Wings are sitting on 3 3rd rounders in this draft allowing us flexibility to either start stacking more prospects in the system and see who pans out or trade back up into the 2nd or 1st round.
Then having another 2nd rounder for 2018 when the draft should be much deeper is icing on the cake.
Now please fire Blashit and get it over with. We need to make a move on Gallant before someone else does.
February 28th, 2017 at 1:37 PM ^
Blashit? Yikes.
February 28th, 2017 at 1:33 PM ^
Or, is that just Red Wing myopia/fantasy talking?
February 28th, 2017 at 1:36 PM ^
He's not coming.
Fair or unfair, if he bombs out with the organization the fans will sour on his overall legacy. It's already happened to Joe D.
And if I were him, I wouldn't come back to be some hometown savior. Those expectations would crush his soul. He's got a perfect spot in TB where the fans are passionate but not like northern cities.
February 28th, 2017 at 1:46 PM ^
February 28th, 2017 at 1:50 PM ^
But what's if the dude left in a couple years for the NFL? We would bury him alive for doing us dirty like that.
I just don't see any reason for Stevie to return. He's already set up a pretty solid foundation there.
February 28th, 2017 at 1:51 PM ^
Huge difference! Stevie Y is a former standout player and leader who has left and had success elsewhere after retiring. Now the fans of the Wings demand immediate and sustained success that the current coach and program leadership have been unable to provide.
Oh wait, yeah it's exactly the same!
February 28th, 2017 at 1:50 PM ^
I think I would use the term apathetic over passionate when describing hockey fans in Florida. Or maybe just Florida sports fans in general.
February 28th, 2017 at 1:51 PM ^
Decent hockey base, mostly during the playoffs.
Baseball and the other pro sports, yeah.
February 28th, 2017 at 9:14 PM ^
Joe Dumars was basically a god in this area from 2004-2009ish. There's no place like home, and I was at the '96-97 reunion against the Sabres this year. Stevie got by far the second loudest applause behind Vladimir Konstantinov.
It's a job, not a legacy consideration. And it's a job that from all accounts and apperances that he is very good at.
I don't know if he's coming, if he wants to come, or we want him to come. He left because the job he he wanted didn't look to be available in the foreseeable future. Maybe thngs would/could change if it is or looks to be available now.
I would doubt he is concerned about his legacy as a player. That will never fade, just like Joe D's never really did. He got stale as a GM after being annointed as another genius, but he was, and will always be, money as a competitor on the court.
February 28th, 2017 at 1:51 PM ^
I wish him or Jimmy Nill would have stayed while Holland road out of town with a beautiful legacy but that didn't happen. I'd love Stevie Y to come back but even if he did it would take him years to rebuild this dumpster fire.
February 28th, 2017 at 1:58 PM ^
He will be back. I haven't bought a Wings jersey since 1998, and I sure as hell don't plan on doing so any time soon. I want my Captain back.
February 28th, 2017 at 1:57 PM ^
Nick Jensen is a similar offensive type player with 3 more points than Smith in six fewers and for ~$3M per year less. I'm definitely not a Holland fan at all anymore, but I'm impressed with our return.
February 28th, 2017 at 2:09 PM ^
Jensen definitely has some skating ability. Keep clearing house on the worst D corps in the NHL and let the young guys see what they can do (Jensen & Sproul).
February 28th, 2017 at 3:27 PM ^
One thing about Holland is that he's never really been accused of making shit trades. They don't all work out, but he's one of the league's best dealers.
Unfortunately, he blows at cap management and self-scouting.
February 28th, 2017 at 6:33 PM ^
February 28th, 2017 at 7:24 PM ^
How about shedding Pavel Datsyuk's contract when basically nobody expected him to be able to?
February 28th, 2017 at 8:12 PM ^
Everyone knew Pav wasn't coming back to the NHL, but Arizona needed to make the cap floor. Everybody got what they wanted in that scenario.
February 28th, 2017 at 2:16 PM ^
February 28th, 2017 at 2:43 PM ^
You've gotta be mad that for the first time in forever there are zero Russians on the team.
February 28th, 2017 at 2:57 PM ^
February 28th, 2017 at 2:21 PM ^
Howard has always been frustrating. So of course this year he was playing out of his head and of course got injured. And Mrazek was the hope for this year and he's been horrendous (better last few games). So we have no real number 1 goalie. That sucks.
I had high hopes for Smith. And for a lot of these young guys. Seems like a lot of underachievement. Z is still playing pretty well. Our D has always underperformed without Lidstrom. We really need some studs coming out of the next few drafts.
Hold me Stevie Y.
February 28th, 2017 at 2:29 PM ^
Speaking of Howard, is it still his original injury? Seems like he has been out for forever now.
February 28th, 2017 at 2:33 PM ^
People forget we also lost Brad Stuart. I could be wrong, but we haven't drafted a stud D-man since Kronwall or Jiri Fischer and injuries/health derailed both careers. We relied on free agency to fill out the defense corp which is tough when you can't just outspend the competition anymore.
February 28th, 2017 at 2:38 PM ^
A lot, but now that Lidstrom is gone and he was asked to be the main D guy, I don't think he was as good as we initially hoped.
February 28th, 2017 at 2:40 PM ^
In retrospect, it would have been nicer to have Jakob Chychrun instead Nielson and Ott and just ride out Datsyuk's remaining year. But 20/20 and such
February 28th, 2017 at 2:43 PM ^
Unfortunately, I think most GMs expected him to re-sign with TB. I'm not sure why Holland thought he had a chance. He should've learned after getting spurned in previous offseasons that Detroit was not the #1 or #2 FA destination in the salary cap era.
February 28th, 2017 at 6:37 PM ^
February 28th, 2017 at 5:16 PM ^
Chychrun is not a 1st or even a 2nd pairing guy. His ceiling was always a very good 3rd pairing d-man (which is why he fell in the draft), basically another DeKeyser. There are plenty of those guys to be found. Until the Wings find a true #1, they have zero shot at the Cup.
February 28th, 2017 at 7:32 PM ^
February 28th, 2017 at 2:56 PM ^
IIRC, the Wings waived Marchenko because Smith was coming off of IR. Marchenko wasn't flashy, but he was younger than Smith and had a positive +/-. Seems like Holland could have moved Smith and kept Marchenko -- instead both are gone.
Time for another dose of Brian Lashoff??
February 28th, 2017 at 3:23 PM ^
Extending Franzen over Hossa was dumb when it happened and looks even worse 8 years later.
Hindsightt is 20/20. Hossa was absolutely amazing with Dats but Franzen was on a record setting pace for goals in the playoffs. Franzen was straight up domenent in that playoffs. That was a really tough choice for Holland but it wasn't cut and dry.
February 28th, 2017 at 3:25 PM ^
Sell as many pieces as you can. Vanek, Sheahan, Ott are the next easiest names to probably agree on. I'll be extremely upset if Vanek is still on this team after tomorrow, the potential return is just too good. We are LAST place in the eastern conference and his contract is up. Trade him, get at least a first rounder (probably more), and move on. We can still offer him a contract in the off-season.
February 28th, 2017 at 9:10 PM ^
and we still haven't traded Vanek...
The last I heard was that things are hinging on where Vrbata goes. Once he comes off the board so should Vanek. I believe Vanek was probably heading to FL or LA depending on the other dominos.
We actually got a pick from Montreal for Steve Ott! And an OT winner thanks to another beautiful feed from Z.
Tomorrow will be interesting on the Vanek front...
I have no idea how we got any value from Steve Ott. I guess NHL GMs value grit, toughness, and an above average ability to win faceoffs a lot.
I wish that he was still a productive player, since we were his childhood team, but he's simply not that good anymore.
Roughly 6 hours until the trade deadline. If Vanek is still a Wing at 3:01pm, I will not attend one game next year at LCA.
Let's hope he's gone by 3 pm today, but back in the Winged Wheel when we play at LCA?
I'd be okay with that depending on the terms. Hopefully it would be a 2-3 year deal though... Giving these 30+ year old guys 5+ year deals is really painful. We will see that in a few years with Nielsen.
Vanek looks great in the Winged Wheel. I totally bring him back next year to a multi year contract if it were reasonable.
According to Elliotte Friedman's twitter... for a 3rd rounder..
If we only get a 3rd rounder out of this deal it is a complete joke.
Vanek's gone to Florida