Speculation: UFA targets

[jkutswings]

ya know, the one thing that really pisses me off w holland and co is their lack of trying to get top free agents. If Danny D was born elsewhere in the US, he doesnt pick Detroit.

At least get your name into the mix, be in on the fun. Don't just sit around with a thumb up your ass.... so annoying.

The reason Detroit used to land big free agents is the same reason those players are now going to teams like Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Washington. (They're teams with a shot to win it all.)

Once the Wings actually manage to rebuild a decent team (largely through the draft), they'll be back in the mix to add a worthwhile piece or two in free agency.

 

[Frk It]

They were in on Aston-Reese. They were in on Vesey. They were in on Schultz.

For UFAs, they were in on every D-man but Stralman a couple years ago. They were in on Nielsen, Matt Martin, etc.

They're in on guys all the time... but now, they're facing a rebuild so they don't land those guys anymore.

And that's what happens when you put parity in the league. Make it so 20 teams got a shot at a guy like Aston-Reese instead of three or four as it would have been in the early 2000s (Detroit, NY, Toronto, etc.) and the chances of one team landing him nosedive.

Cost isn't really prohibitive for college UFA's, so there likely would have been the same # of teams chasing those guys in the early 2000's if this was a thing back then.

Big time UFA's like Suter or Stamkos are a different story.

 

[Bench]

For UFAs, they were in on every D-man but Stralman a couple years ago. They were in on Nielsen, Matt Martin, etc.

They're in on guys all the time... but now, they're facing a rebuild so they don't land those guys anymore.

There was absolutely a period of time the Wings were cheapskates in free agency. They expected players to take discounts to play for the legendary franchise and Cup contender. And to a degree, that worked out OK. To a degree.

When the Wings lost their shine, Holland found he had to pay players more than he wanted if he had any hope to sign free agents. And to Holland's credit, he has attempted to do that. Most notably he offered Niskanen more than Washington did. Guy put up a legitimate bid, but Washington was a more appealing team.

When Holland had an appealing destination team, he was a lot less active in the market. And that makes sense, he had a good team. These days he'll need to find players that want to come here (Green, for example, was friends with Helm and heard great things) or you'll need to put up big offers. It's not going to be easy, particularly with all the long deals on the books already.

 

[Winger98]

Lol this is ridiculous. AA is overpaid making over $1 million. He's second on the team in goals with 4th line minutes and garbage linemates. There's no justifying your logic.

Our leading goal scorer is 94th in the league. This is what you want to hang your hat on as a goal scorer? And if we're paying guys strictly on how they compare to other guys on the team then Tatar is looking at a massive raise this summer.

 

[PelagicJoe]

The reason Detroit used to land big free agents is the same reason those players are now going to teams like Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Washington. (They're teams with a shot to win it all.)

Once the Wings actually manage to rebuild a decent team (largely through the draft), they'll be back in the mix to add a worthwhile piece or two in free agency.

We also didn't have a salary cap obstructing us during our heyday.