OT- Red Wings and the ever-dwindling Free Agent market.
So hopefully we're all over not landing Suter. Minnesota is more than welcome to jack their salary cap up for the next 13 fiscal calendars.
Who will the Red Wings sign? It was painfully apparent to everyone from Ken Holland all the way down to my six year old cousin in Detroit that after this last year, we REALLY needed some retooling. I honestly don't see a back up goalie and three 3rd/4th line forwards as retooling.
The defense is an area of concern as well, something the Wings have done close to NADA to remedy as of yet. The only point of consolation I can find is that noone else in our division has made a big splash. There have been a few signings and re-signings but nothing major.
So, who do we land?
Semin? Doan? Langenbrunner? Knuble? Roszival? Hannan?
Nash and Ryan are both still out there.
What does the board think? Are we going to move on any of these guys? How upset will you feel if we literally just bite it and don't make any other major moves?
I have to say this week was pretty anticlimatica and frustrating. How does it get better for us Wing Nuts?
I would save the $ for next year. All available trades would hurt as much as help IMO.
And then wait until next year when Shea Weber becomes a UFA and sign him long-term. Save the cap money another year and make a big splash. I can see us signing Semin cause we need a goal scorer to compliment Datsyuk or trade for Ryan or Nash. After two disappointing playoff performances, we need to be persistent and I like the first day acquisitions. We need to be a grittier, cockier team.
I might be in the minority, but I don't see this offseason as a problem. The only team that has really upgraded is Minny. But even with those two, they are short of being contenders and they are going to be relatively stuck for several years. If this doesn't get them to the promised land, they will have little room to tweek. (same spot detroit would have found themselves, but we had more peices to put around them.
Numbers wise, we have enough forwards, and we are one D man short. So I figure we need to sign a D. I don't see the need to trade for a forward, because we will only create new holes that wil need filling. So you sign one of the D left in the UFA pool and move on to finishing middle of the West and in the playoffs. At the Deadline you look to make some moves.
I am looking forward to seeing Smith and Kindl with solid minutes for a full year. Nyquist too. And seeing what Tatar can do, and Mursak when he doesn't start hurt.
LA proved last year all you have to do is make the playoffs and we are still more talented than most of the teams in the league. An influx of youth might do us some good. Here's to hoping.
I agree. One problem with constantly bringing in free agents or making trades to fill those holes is that it never lets your developed talent prove itself. It might make for a rough year, but it'll be cheaper and better in the long run.
As much as I'd love to see Rick Nash wearing the wheel, I just can't wrap my head around trading almost all of our young players for him---especially to a team within the division. If we could lure Shane Doan out of Phoenix I would do it...otherwise, try to plug the leaks with what is available on the FA market and look for a mid-season trade as we did when we acquired Brad Stuart.
They will have a decent season and make the playoffs. I am not saying they are going to magically turn into the 70s Red Wings...still too much talent on the roster to be that bad. However, they lost way to much on the back end and still lack the scoring depth needed to win a Cup. Maybe if guys like Nyquist and Mursak can get more than 3 minutes of ice time per game, they might show something...but I just don't see that happening (in regards to ice time, I still think Nyquist will be very good).
I think Holland makes a deal for a defenseman (Yandle perhaps?) and signs a free agent forward (Semin or Doan).
Am I the only one that thinks Weber won't go to free agency next year? If he signs a one-year deal with Nashville, I can't imagine that they won't trade him next year, especially after the sting of losing Suter for nothing. And, if they trade him, it won't be to Detroit.
The past few years, Detroit has had a fairly hierarchal model for their defense, where Lidstrom and his partner (especially when it was Rafalski) were the first pairing, Kronwall and Suter were the second pairing, and whoever was left over made the third pairing. I think it's time to move to more of a Vancouver model, where you have a bunch of guys that you are comfortable playing for 22+ minutes a night. (By my count, they have 5 of those guys, but, with the exception of Edler, they're all getting paid about the same: ~$4MM AAV.)
So, right now, the Wings have 1 guy that is for sure in the category: Kronwall. Smith might be ready to eat those sort of minutes. Quincey is a possibility, depending on how you feel about him. I think he'll settle in and have a good year. Either way, best case scenario, Detroit still needs at least 1, and maybe 2 or 3 guys that you would call a top-4 defenseman. That's very concerning.
You are right - the Wings will not get Weber this season. But even if he is traded, he may very well become UFA and the Wings can go hard after him next summer. Obviously there will be a huge line to sign him. BTW, I assume you meant Stuart and not Suter.
While a trade sounds great (I would be interested in Yandle, Ryan, Nash and maybe Jack Johnson from CBJ but that's unlikely), I don't think the Wings have enough depth/picks to make a great offer for most of the players that would be interesting. They would hurt the team as much as help it. And they don't need any more depth forwards. I think picking up one of Doan or Semin plus a one or two year deal for a depth defenseman will get the Wings by. Then they NEED to make a splash in next year's free agency.
Under the current CBA, if a team signs one of their own RFAs, they can't trade him the following year. That's what makes this such a dilemma for Nashville. If a team like Detroit could get him to agree to a 1 year offer sheet, Nashville could match, but he still would become a UFA at the end of next season. Therefore, they would again be stuck with a guy who could leave in the offseason but they couldn't deal him. However, they really can't let him leave seeing as they already lost a top 2 D-man. They would get picks in return, but that wouldn't help now.
I would love to see Detroit sign him to an offer sheet and force Nashville's hand
Remember all the people who said that Nick needed to retire?
No, actually i dont remember anyone saying that
I just vomited in my mouth....
(they are both great players, I just loathe them)
My only hope now is that Detroit grabs Semin for a 4 or 5 year deal at 5 or 6 mill per, takes Doan for 3 years at 5 mill per and grabs a depth defender with Quincey resigning at a reasonable cost at 3 mill per year.
This will be the year of our young players stepping up an taking a more important role on the team. I'm actually fairly pumped to see that Brunner play (sp?) from Europe who was signed this offseason. After this season they can make a splash with a long term deal on a top forward or a top defenseman.
Babcock has said that Brunner is a top 6 forward for this team, so it isn't like we signed a bunch of 3/4 liners. If I'm Holland, which I am obviously not, I'd look into Bobby Ryan. Nash is a nice piece, but Columbus is going to fleece whoever they trade with. Ryan is younger, arguably as talented, and putting a right-handed goal poacher on a line with Datsyuk sounds like a recipe for success. We'd probably have to trade Filp in a deal, whom I like, but is not irreplaceable.
The biggest problem is the hole on D. It looks like our strategy going forward is "Play the young guys and hope Jimmy plays like God."
The thing about Brunner is that Babcock said the same thing about Fabian Brunnstrom.
And Fred Jackson says the same thing about all of our runningbacks.
There has been some talk about Tobias Enstrom. Rumor is that Winnipeg is not confident about there ability to resign him after he becomes an UFA next year. he'd be a pretty good puck moving D-man and the wings might be able to get him without having to gut their roster (like Yandle, whom i would prefer all other things being equal). That being said, with a healthy Helm (and, of course, Z and Dats) i still like this team. Everyone thinks Smith is going to be good. They have some good near NHL (Murasak, Tatar, Riley Sheehan) ready assets to move in a trade and of course a ton of cap space.
best case scenario they can grab Enstrom/Yandle for not much in assets. swap bobby ryan for someone (not Filp, apparently he is nearly untouchable) and picks or grab shane doan. and hope Shea Weber hits the free agent market or Nashville decides they have to move him at the trade deadline cause he isnt going to re-sign. that would be a really strong team.
i think they will make a move for a defensemen before the season starts. as of right now though they seem to be a 6-8 seed playoff team. Younger though, with assets and a ton of cap space.
Is it as hard for everyone else as it is for me to write or read "Tobias" without thinking of everyone's favorite buy-curious/Blueman/analrapist Tobias Funke? Might be a bigger reason than any to trade for Enstrom.
While it's frustrating that it appears they have not improved through free agency, I understand Holland's approach. He does not want to overspend on a free agent or mortgage their future in a trade. Obviously, I would have loved Suter for 13 years/ $90 mil, but I'm not sure he is worth any more than that (same with Parise). That's a lot of cash for 2 players in a contact sport. I'm glad he's not going out and panicking like the fans are and just throwing money at the problem by signing someone like Semin long term.
At this point, I would look into trades for Weber/Nash/Ryan, but if its going to cost some combo of Filpula, Franzen, Smith and Nyquist, that's just too much for one player. If you can get Semin for one year as kind of a try out, fine. If you can get Doan, that would be a great pick up, but if the Coyotes aren't leaving the desert, neither is he. At this point the only thing I'd say they have to do is pick up some sort of second pair level d-man (like White last year).
We've heard for years how guys like Nyquist and Smith are the future, let's see what they can do. There's enough talent to make the playoffs (as long as Z and Datsyuk stay healthy). Keep most of your money available for the trade deadline or next year's free agents.
ufa's next season?
Brunner, Cleary, Filppula, Howard, MacDonald, Miller, White.
http://www.spotrac.com/free-agents/nhl/2013/detroit-red-wings/
would try to sign Shane Doan, Alexander Semin and Peter Mueller...sign Doan to a 3 year deal, Semin to a 5 year deal and Mueller to a 1 year deal. Then on defense I would sign Carlo Colaiacovo to a 1 year deal...Semin and Doan should get about 5 mill (if they want more then forget it, or choose one, preferably Doan), Mueller and Colaiacovo will come cheap. Then I would kick the tires on Jay Bouwmeester. His cap hit is horrible, but he only has two years left on the deal and he is 28. Keep in mind if they want anything more than Cleary, a 2nd rounder and a prospect, I say forget it. The Wings should be able to get under the cap with these moves, and they should all contribute. With the extra abundance of fowards they would now have...I would start trying to put things in motion to move Filppula, Abdelkader and Ericsson to upgrade on defense...perhaps Keith Yandle. There is no way this team gets Rick Nash with the Lollipop King running the Columbus Blue Jackets...I swear that dude is on crack.
But that's just me...I trust Ken Holland to make well thought out calculated decisions and not reactionary ones. As Wings fans, we could be in for a very rough season.
Honestly, you just blew my mind. For some reason (probably all those years he spent in Florida) I thought Bouwmeester was 32 or 33, not younger than I am. I like Bouwmeester, but only because I think the Calgary cap situation means that the will come at a smaller price than Yandle or Enstrom.
The Wings lack a glut of NHL-ready talent. They have Smith and Nyquist (who they likely won't trade, as they are counting on these guys to step up this year) and maybe Mursak and Tatar (who may not be scorers in the NHL, hard to say).
They do, however, have some talent that is 2-3 years away. I think if they trade with Winnepeg, that is the group that comes into play. Guys like Sproul and Tvrdon and maybe Jurco. I'm assuming that they won't trade Jarnkrok, just because his ceiling is much higher than his current value.
Columbus seems to want NHL-ready prospects, but would Calgary or Phoenix jump at guys on the second list? It's hard to say because right now, virtually all the teams in the NHL see themselves as able to make the playoffs. I also think a lot of teams are deluding themselves into thinking that if NJ and LA can make the finals, anyone can.