WingNut722

So, let's pretend you're Ken Holland and you're interested in a trade for Rick Nash. You're jaded because you lost out on the Suter/Parise sweepstakes and you're looking to make a big splash before the season starts. You've just lost two of your top four defensemen, and have made a couple signings on the offensive side, along with a nifty backup goaltender. You're looking to put together a team that will do better than they did last year. A Western Conference Quarterfinals exit will be considered a failure. Consider your current roster, draft schedule, prospects, and the impact a key forward like Rick Nash would do to your upcoming salary cap and your image to the rest of the league. Assume only known, signed contracts (i.e. Tomas Holmstrom is a free agent, not a Red Wing; also assume Kyle Quincey is on the team for the same salary he made last year) and the known salary cap requirements. Put on your GM hat and come up with an offer for Scott Howson.

I think he needs to see the writing on the wall.....

@yave1964 Good plan, Yave. Nice setup! In my humble opinion, though, I wouldn't go after Semin. If you're at all concerned about Valtteri Filppula's performance, signing Alexander Semin will not remedy that. Semin, if anything, is just as unpredictable as FIlppula, only much more expensive, plus the learning curve that will be required for Semin to learn to play the Wings' style. I am of the firm belief that if your drafted and given a home in an organization, it's best that you be kept in that organization if you show promise. I've always seen Filppula as a Red Wing "lifer" and I can't imagine him playing elsewhere. I know the rest of you would have my head for this but I say sign Carlo Coliacovo. Yes he's injury prone, but he's a good puck-moving defensemen. I don't think our defense is set up to be super competitive as it is, so Coliacovo would only be an improvement, even for the 30 or so games he would play while not in the hospital. I'm also not closing the door on Rick Nash just yet. I know he comes with a high price, but I'd like to see just what that price is (this week). It might sting a little in getting him to Detroit, but I think the dividends would more than pay for themselves. Imagine a player as good as Rick Nash is, with a much rejuvenated attitude and enthusiasm because he's playing with a successful team. I dare say, the man could hit the 50 goal mark.

@yave1964 I don't know where you heard that, but I doubt there's any truth in it. Franzen would not be traded after only one lousy season. He's too good a player and the contract is just too big. The problem is that Homer hasn't said anything about his plans. At this point in previous seasons, Niklas Lidstrom had announced his plans, Brian Rafalski announced his retirement, and Kris Draper and Chris Osgood were not offered contracts. So it appears that Homer has been offered a spot by Ken Holland, but he's dragging his feet in deciding. Look for Homer to be in front of the net next season...

In addition to Jonas Gustavsson, the Red Wings picked up forwards Mikael Samuelsson and Jordin Tootoo as free agency opened yesterday afternoon. I haven't figured out how I feel about this yet (except I totally agree with signing Gustavsson). Samuelsson played with the Wings before, but he was hot and cold at times. I feel he played better in Vancouver than he did in Detroit. Signing Jordin Tootoo though is completely out of left field. Tootoo has spend his entire career with Nashville, and picked up 30 points last season. He's a gritty third liner, which is something Detroit needs, but nobody saw it coming. At first, these signings appear a bit oddball which made me wonder if the Wings were simply putting together a nice package to trade for Rick Nash, but since these are multi-year contracts, it looks like they're here to stay. One goaltender and two forwards... It appears that Ken Holland feels Zach Parise will not be wearing the Winged Wheel, either because Parise will stay in New Jersey as he has alluded to, or some other team will make a better pitch. Either way, the Powers That Be aren't putting much stock in it. Although, no defense signings suggest a fair potential to pick up Ryan Suter. We should know in the next few days..

@jammer2 Great post Jammer! Thanks for the updates! Looking forward to seeing what these kids can do (that is, after they've spent the requisite minimum 3-4 years in Grand Rapids!)

Brendan Smith would certainly get the chance, even if he was the seventh defenseman rotated on and off. I don't think the Wings would pursue both Suter and Carle. Suter should be the goal, but if the doesn't work (I think he'll sign with Nashville again) then Carle would be another option. I think they need to only pursue one experienced blueliner Might be a good reason for Carle to stay. The Wings would probably offer him an trial-basis contract, only 1 or 2 years. The salary would be a big issue though, since Kronwall and White only make $3MM or less

No problem at all Pods. I appreciate the insight. It would be interesting to see if the Wings actually express interest in Carle. As you say though, a lot of fans may not like him for one reason or another, but how does management feel? You think they'd offer a deal to Carle? @JackStraw thinks he'll re-sign, but for how much?

@Podein25 Alright alright, so maybe he only had 4 goals this season. But 34 assists isn't bad at all...!

Interesting points @yave1964. A couple comments... Agreed on Suter. However, I don't think he is as critical as you say. It'll be tough to get him, but otherwise, there are other options. Matt Carle from PHI is up for contract this summer too and I think he would fit in nicely - a tough defender who isn't afraid to shoot and can score! Agreed that Homer should retire. There's no place in a competitive roster for a slow, aging 4th-liner. He is the best at deflecting shots in front of the net, but now most of the teams have adopted a more aggressive style of blocking shots before they get to the net anyway. He can't deflect it if it never gets to him. I don't like the idea of trading Jimmy Howard at all. I disagree that he is not as good as he appears. I think the team in front of him does make him better. Luongo would come in with something to prove, and maybe a chip on his shoulder that he hasn't achieved immortality yet. Howard is home, happy as hell where he is, and as dedicated as anyone else on that team. The Wings need to give him time to develop into the outstanding goaltender he can be. The better option would be to add a top-flight backup. Joey MacDonald could be the one, but I think the Wings need to give him the chance. They should rotate Howard and JoeyMac more often during the season. Keeps Howard fresh and Mac gets more confident in the NHL arena. Good idea to sign Parenteau, but he is well loved on the Island so it might be tough to pry him free. The Islanders are in the midst of a rebuilding campaign, and they've been developing a number of young faces to center the team around. Parenteau could be one of those faces, behind Tavares and Moulson. Same thing goes with Zack Parise. I have my doubts that he'll leave Jersey. I saved my judgement until after the Cup finals, but had the Devils won, or lost after a long series (like they did) Parise would be interested in staying and having another go at it. If the Devils had been bounced early, or swept in the Finals, I think he would have been more inclined to pursue other options. Still, it would be worth making him an offer. They key point to remember is this...rumors abound that Parise doesn't like New Jersey because he is no longer in the spotlight and has taken a P.R. backseat to Ilya Kovalchuk and Adam Henrique. His limelight wouldn't be any brighter in Detroit.

http://www.freep.com/article/20120611/SPORTS05/206110372/Red-Wings-Ken-Holland-made-last-ditch-attempt-to-keep-workhorse-defenseman-Brad-Stuart The Detroit Free Press reports that the Red Wings have traded Brad Stuart's rights to San Jose, where they have been returned with a conditional 2014 seventh round pick and forward Andrew Murray. The Sharks, or course, need to decide if they even want him, but Stuart's made no effort to keep quiet about his desire to play on the Left Coast, closer to his family. The article also indicates that the Wings are unsure about re-signing Kyle Quincey. They have five blueliners under contract for the season, and are looking to make a big push for Ryan Suter. They may look elsewhere to stock up on another quality defenseman and utilize Brendan Smith as the two-way spare with their AHL-affiliate, Grand Rapids. This is a good thing for the Wings. Stuart hasn't been playing as well as he was in 2008. Being separated from his growing family even longer will only hinder his performance even more, as the psychological toll deepens. The Wings have no interest in Andrew Murray and he'll certainly be used as trade bait for any potential deals they'll be after this summer. An additional draft pick can't hurt either. Still, the deal is contingent upon Stuart signing with the Sharks. The deal was initially brokered by Ken Holland as a favor to Stuart to get his foot in the door with the Sharks.

@SpikeDDS That's true, Spike, and in the last 20 years with the Winged Wheel, you can certainly expect that Lidstrom's pride and work ethic have rubbed off on the rest of the team. Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, all of them will now be leading by example in replacement of ol' Number 5. If Detroit lands Suter, it is he who will be following, not leading. @JackStraw I hope not. Back in the regular season when it was discussed that Semin might be traded, I decided that it would not be a good play for the Wings. I wrote a post about it a long time ago. He can be a particularly dangerous scorer, but this has not been the case the last few years. Maybe it's because he's unhappy in Washington, but he'd be asking for an awful lot of money. For a player as shaky as that, the Wings might as well offer Jiri Hudler another deal with a significant raise. Hudler had a great season after a very dull one last year, and if he's offered a huge raise to keep him in Detroit, it still would be much less than what Semin would get.

Well said, @flyercanuck. I certianly agree! There will be a rather large hole in the first defense pairing for a long time.

@hf101 Hopefully we'll get Suter. Matt Carle would be a good acquisition as well, if the Flyers will let him go. Henrik Zetterberg is the favorite to get the C. He gets my vote too.

Niklas Lidstrom has decided to hang 'em up! Press conference tomorrow morning at Joe Louis Arena!

@Vanflyer Oh that's right. I forgot about the extension earlier. Oops!

@Podein25 I think he's coming into a contract year. Now may be the time for Homer to put together an offer package. I'll give him your recommendation.

@Podein25 Hey Pods, keep your ire to yourself, yeah? It's not likeI hit Voracek? :-)

@hf101 Thanks for vids. I remember that Havlat hit. HUGE! This has been marketed in the Detroit area ever since. I have a print myself, framed.

At the risk of drawing the ire of all the Flyers fans here, do you suppose he was channeling Jakub Voracek for this hit? It's exactly the same but with different colored shirts...

Radulov played the same lazy style against Detroit. Glad to see we're not the only team he feels is "inferior" of his talents.

@yave1964 I seriously doubt Babcock would be fired. He has done too good for too long. Even the best coaches are allowed to have a lousy season, and this is not the first time the Wings have been shown the door in the first round of the playoffs. Mike will still be around. There's no reason to fire 20 players, they just need a few key personnel changes. If, however, Holland brings on some big names in the offseason, and they STILL bow out early, then a case can be made for a coaching change. This was not a horrible year, they were the best in the NHL for a while and still made the Playoffs with a 5th place finish. They had a lot of injuries but just couldn't get the motor running again. Ken Holland would be real screwy if he decided to move Babcock...

True thoughts will come in the next few days as i collect them, however, these are just a few immediate musings after tonight's game. I used to think Henrik Lundquist was a shoe-in for the Vezina trophy....not anymore Anybody think Lidstrom is done? note how the camera found him after the game was over, staring into the distance, contemplating if he can go through that one more time.... I honestly didn't think that the Red Wings could beat the Predators in this series. I did figure on at least 6 games, not 5. Remember that just a couple months ago, the Red Wings were number 1 in the NHL, riding a 23-game home winning streak and, at times, a 6 game overall winning streak. This is clearly not the same team as in February. So how did they all come unglued......? Definitely looking at some key personnel changes over the summer. Think that several guys will retire or will not be offered a contract. This will leave what some estimates say upwards of $25 million to go shopping! Tough to see these Wings knocked out of the Playoffs, however, I don't know how much longer they could have gone. They limped into the post-season and barely held serve against Nashville. What would they have done had they advanced? More to come....

@SpikeDDS Put a helmet on tomorrow night...Rinne is going to see AT LEAST 50 shots in regulation.

@SpikeDDS True. Timing was horrible for a bad game. Still, though, if the Wings had scored first in the third period, after two straight periods of heavy pressure, I think they would have blown the scoring wide open and the game would have been 4-0. There's nothing like the anticipation of that first goal....