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Post by jonwings on Jun 10, 2008 21:40:43 GMT -5
With the NHL Draft only 10 days away and the free agent signing period beginning July 1st, I thought I would start this thread so we can discuss how we think the 2008/2009 Red Wings should look. With the players currently under contract the Wings total salary is at around $40 million and the cap is expected to by at around $54 million for next season.
Players Currently Under Contract for Next Season
Forwards
Pavel Datsyuk Hank Zetterberg Tomas Holmstrom Kirk Maltby Kris Draper Mikael Samuelsson Jiri Hudler Johan Franzen Dan Cleary Tomas Kopecky Darren Helm Mattias Rittola Ville Leino Justin Abdelkader Marian Hossa Val Filpula Darren Haydar Aaron Downey Darren McCarty Defensemen
Nick Listrom Brian Rafalski Nik Kronwall Brett Lebda Derek Meech Brad Stuart Andres Lilja Jonathan Ericsson Chris Chelios Kyle Quincy Goalie
Chris Osgood Ty Conklin Jimmy Howard
Restricted Free Agents
Unrestricted Free Agents
Dallas Drake (retired)
Mark Hartigan (signed with Russian Club)
Garret Stafford (signed 2 way deal with the Stars)
Dominic Hasek (Retired)
Who stays? Who goes? Who makes the big club? Who goes plays in Grand Rapids? Anyone you would like to see the Wings add?
I?ll follow up this post with my thoughts.
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Post by jonwings on Jun 10, 2008 21:42:35 GMT -5
I think the Wings two top priorities are going to be resigning Flip and Stuart. I could see a team trying to poach Flip with an offer sheet so it would be better if they can get that done sooner rather than later. Stuart is another guy that I think might be able to get more money on another team, but from everything that has been said it sounds like he enjoys playing for the Wings and that he finally found a team where he fits in. The thing with Stuart is that he might have a tough time convincing his wife to leave the West coast and that Ken Holland has pretty much said that he will not give Stuart more money than Kronwall. I think Kenny needs to give Tim Allen a call have him record a couple special “Pure Michigan” commercials to help convince Stuart’s wife that Detroit is the place to be.
If the Wings resign Stuart, I think Lilja is gone. Lilja might be gone anyway, since it sounds like Holland will not over pay for his services, and he should not have to with the depth the Wings have at in D in their system. Ericsson will get resigned, but it would not surprise me if one of Lebda/Meech/Quincey are traded or not resigned. I think Chelios will be back as well, but unless there are a bunch of injuries, I do not see him playing more than 30 – 40 games in the regular season. His role is more as a depth defenseman and as a coach on the ice for the Wings group of young D-men. If they lose out on both Stuart and Lilja, I think the Wings then go after another big veteran stay at home defenseman, since I do not know if they are ready plug any of the young players in at 4-spot. I am still of the opinion that is Ericsson is only going to get 5 – 10 mins a game 30 – 40 games this season, he is better off playing 25-30 minutes in Grand Rapids and then maybe being the 1st Defenseman we call up.
In terms of forwards, they need to resign Flip, but other than that it seems like the only lock to make it back to the big club might be McCarty. My sense is that Drake will retire over the summer. I read an article at the beginning of the playoffs where he said that he almost retired in the middle of the season because he was having a hard time being away from his family, but ultimately did not because the Wings were winning and had a good chance at capturing the Cup. I would love to see Downey be brought back, but I have a feeling he is going to be pushed out with some of the young forwards we have. They had an interview with him after they won the cup on the CBC website and he just sounds like the perfect teammate/character guy that you cannot have too many of on your team. I do not think Hartigan will be back unless he is willing to go back to Grand Rapids. I think Leino, Abdelkader, and Rittola will start the season Grand Rapids but will probably see time with the big club during the season. At sometime I would love to see a line of Abdelkader/ Helm/ Kopecky, I think those guys would be a good high energy, quick, hard hitting group, almost a new grind line with a little more scoring ability. And so some reason, it would not surprise me is Sammy got traded. I appreciate what he brings to the team, but I do not think he will be back when his contract is up. I think him and Maltby are both holding roster spots that will soon be occupied by some of the Wings’ young guns.
Forward lines going into the season:
Zetterberg – Datysuk – Holmstrom Franzen – Filpula – Samuelsson/Cleary Maltby – Draper – Cleary/Sammy Hudler – Helm – Kopecky Reserves: McCarty, Downey
In Grand Rapids : Leino, Abdelkader, Rittola
Defense going into the season:
Lidstrom – Rafalski Kronwall – Stuart Lebda – Quincey/Meech
Reserves: Chelios, Meech/Quincey
In Grand Rapids: Kindl, Ericsson
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Post by Deejhanaze on Jun 11, 2008 14:19:13 GMT -5
As for what is actually going to happen, who knows. This is the lineup I would like to see even though I know Samuelson will probably be back.
Dats-Hank-Homer Franzen-Filpulla-Cleary Maltby-Draper-Kopecky Hudler-Helm-Mac
Lids-Rafalski Kronwell-Stuart Meech-Ericsson
Ozzie Jimmy Howard
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Post by jonwings on Jun 11, 2008 16:22:03 GMT -5
While I would not be surprised to see Ericsson on with the big club all season, there are two reasons why I think he might not.
1) He has only played Defense for 3 or 4 years, before that he was played center his whole carreer. That makes me think he would really benefit from playing 25 mins a night in GR vs 5 - 10 minutes on the 3rd pair in Detroit.
2) He still has a year left were he can be called up/sent down without clearing waivers. Both Meech and Quincey are out of options and will be in the NHL, whether they are in Detroit or not.
Assuming they are going to resign Chelios and Stuart, they are going to have to trade or lose outright two out of three from either Meech, Quincey, or Lebda for Ericsson to get a regular spot, assuming they are going to carry 7 D on the roster. Losing two of those guys would kill our depth at Defense.
I have a feeling they are stuck with Sammy for another year, since I do not think he has much trade value. I like what he brings to the team because he fits in well with the puck possesion style the Wings play. He is hard to knock off the puck and does have a tendancy to keep the play alive. I do wish his shot would actually hit the net once and a while, but no one is perfect.
And about Kopecky, I would like to see him on a line with a players who can score. He was really coming on at the end of the season before he got hurt. He was playing on the 4th line barrelling through guys and still scoring, if I remember correctly he even got a few shifts with Z and did not look out of place. I do not think he is quite as talented as Franzen, but I think the two players come from the same mold.
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Post by jonwings on Jun 24, 2008 11:55:34 GMT -5
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Post by jonwings on Jun 30, 2008 20:56:36 GMT -5
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Post by jonwings on Jul 1, 2008 11:23:22 GMT -5
YEEESSSSS!!!! I was beginning to think this might not get done. www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080701/SPORTS0103/807010413/1361But why Liljas, why!!!! So if Chelios becomes the 8th D, you have 2 spots open for Lebda, Meech, Quincey, and Ericcson. I think this guarantees that Big E is in GRand Rapids next season and we are probably going to lose either Meech or Quincey (my guess is Quincey).
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Post by jonwings on Jul 1, 2008 14:18:41 GMT -5
Looks like the Wings signed goalie Ty Conklin to a 1 year deal for $750,000 as insurance for Howard.
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Post by jonwings on Jul 2, 2008 13:50:07 GMT -5
Marian freaking Hossa, baby!!!!! I cannot believe he signed with the Wings considering he was offered 9 million over the course of 8 years from other teams. www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2008/07/report_wings_sign_hossa_to_sho.htmlIt looks like the Wings have a little over 4 million of cap space left and they still need to sign Flip, Chelios, and Quincey. I have a feeling there is going to be a trade or 2 to free up some more space.
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Post by Wil on Jul 3, 2008 7:45:32 GMT -5
Seriously do you put him on the line with Big Z and Dats? Holy 1-2-3 punch batman. And you would have to move Holms to the 2 line with say...Franzen and Flips? Seriously...wow.
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Post by jonwings on Jul 3, 2008 12:15:26 GMT -5
I think they might actually break up Pav and Hank, like they wanted to do at the begining of last year.
Hossa - Dats - Homer Franzen - Flip - Hank Maltby - Draper - Sammy Cleary - Kopecky - Hudler
Hank - Dats - Hossa on the 1st powerplay unit would be awesome.
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Post by Wil on Jul 3, 2008 15:53:17 GMT -5
Power Play we add Lidstrom and Stuart on it and that would be one of the best PP lines in all of the NHL. So siked for 08-09.
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Post by jonwings on Jul 16, 2008 6:23:55 GMT -5
While it comes as no surprise, Dallas Drake retired yesterday. www.mlive.com/redwings/index.ssf/2008/07/drake_expected_to_make_retirem.htmlI liked it when they brought him back to the Wings last summer, but by the time the playoffs started I was not sure he still had it. I was totally wrong about that because Dallas Drake was a huge part of the Cup run. You always knew when he was on the ice because he was always making a big hit or just getting in someone's way. It was very nice to see him skate with the Cup. He was the type of gritty player you need to win the playoffs. Happy retirement.
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Post by jonwings on Jul 21, 2008 11:08:52 GMT -5
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Post by jonwings on Jul 21, 2008 15:03:58 GMT -5
The Wings have a new assistant coach, Brad Mcrimmon. This guy might have been one of the names of old Wings players that everyone was throwing around a few months ago. He should be a good hire. He was inline for the Thrashers job, but it seems they could not agree on money. blog.mlive.com/snapshots/2008/07/wings_hire_brad_mccrimmon_as_a.html
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