Speculation: What do you want to see this off-season?

[Vladdy84]

Tootoo doesn't fit our playing style, and didn't play in the Playoffs. Why keep him?

We're moving to the East in a rough and tumble division. We'll need him. And what's our style moving forward? It'll have to change in the East a bit. Toots should've played a bit more in the playoffs IMO. He's a good 4th line player that brings energy, physicality and a touch of offensive ability.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

We're moving to the East in a rough and tumble division. We'll need him. And what's our style moving forward? It'll have to change in the East a bit. Toots should've played a bit more in the playoffs IMO. He's a good 4th line player that brings energy, physicality and a touch of offensive ability.

The toughness of the East is vastly overrated. Teams are going to find out pretty quickly that playing the Wings "tough" doesn't even work.

 

[TatarTangle]

Don't make a lateral or backwards move, which is what I think we'll see anyways. That would be giving Cleary a new contract and stating Bertuzzi, Samuelsson and Cleary will have every opportunity in the world to take away meaningful ice time to players that need it and have a better opportunity to impact the game as opposed to those three. Which Holland kind of did already, hopefully that chalks up to him just saying the right thing to the paper.

 

[Vladdy84]

The toughness of the East is vastly overrated. Teams are going to find out pretty quickly that playing the Wings "tough" doesn't even work.

The "toughness" of the East is a bit overrated. The Wings don't have the skill they used to. Teams in the East and especially in our new division will take way more liberties on our stars. We need some more bangers to distract em. Just MHO. It's a different game in the East. Toots will be even more valuable. Heck, the Wings could probably use another tough guy that can mix it up but can also skate and contribute offensively.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

The toughness of the East is vastly overrated. Teams are going to find out pretty quickly that playing the Wings "tough" doesn't even work.

Agreed, I'd say the west is the tougher conference except for teams like Boston.

 

[Peter Tosh]

Trade Filppula's and White's negotiating rights for whatever is offered. One thread mentioned White for Omark. That's a deal I like. Send Dick Axelsson as well.

Buy out Samuelsson, waive Bertuzzi in hope of him retiering. Offer him a coaching job.

I've changed my mind on Cleary, though. Give him a 1,5 M deal. Also re-sign Miller and Brunner (if he comes at a reasonable price).

Abdelkader - Datsyuk - Franzén
(Helm)Omark - Zetterberg - Brunner
Tatar - Andersson - Nyquist
Miller - Emmerton (or anyone else) - Cleary
Tootoo

Kronwall - Ericsson
Kindl - Quincey
Smith - DeKayser
Cola/Lashoff

Howard
Gustavsson

 

[Henkka]

Babcock is wanting size and you guys want to bring Omark in the shoes of Bertuzzi?

 

[mindfly]

What I hope don't really matter since i'm just a dude on a internet board, but oh well...

Buy out: Samuelsson, Bertuzzi
Sign UFA: Nathan Horton/David Clarkson/Ryane Clowe
Re-sign RFA: Nyquist, Smith, Kindl
Let go of RFA&UFA: Andersson, Cleary, Miller, Filppula, White, Brunner (Minor leagers like McCollum, Raedeke etc I couldn't care less about, just get rid of them somehow)
Bring up: Tatar full time, let Jurco, Mrazek and Sheahan battle for spots in camp (GIVE THEM AN HONEST CHANCE not just tease them)
Waive/Trade: Emmerton, Eaves, Gustavsson
Maybe Sign: Veteran sandpaper/Veteran Back-up goalie


The love/overrating of Andersson on these boards are absurd, that guy doesn't have a future with the wings, definition of a scrub basically.

Abdelkader-Datsyuk-Horton
Nyquist-Zetterberg-Franzén
Tatar-Helm-Tootoo/Jurco
Sheahan/Callahan/Ferraro/Tootoo/Jurco/Veteran Sandpaper

Kronwall-Dekeyser
Ericsson-Quincey
Smith-Kindl
Cola

Howard
Mrazek/Veteran back-up

 

[Peter Tosh]

Babcock is wanting size and you guys want to bring Omark in the shoes of Bertuzzi?

Well, I'm not Babcock and i prefer skill over size

 

[Peter Tosh]

deleted

 

[ricky0034]

What I hope don't really matter since i'm just a dude on a internet board, but oh well...

Buy out: Samuelsson, Bertuzzi
Sign UFA: Nathan Horton/David Clarkson/Ryane Clowe
Re-sign RFA: Nyquist, Smith, Kindl
Let go of RFA&UFA: Andersson, Cleary, Miller, Filppula, White, Brunner (Minor leagers like McCollum, Raedeke etc I couldn't care less about, just get rid of them somehow)
Bring up: Tatar full time, let Jurco, Mrazek and Sheahan battle for spots in camp (GIVE THEM AN HONEST CHANCE not just tease them)
Waive/Trade: Emmerton, Eaves, Gustavsson
Maybe Sign: Veteran sandpaper/Veteran Back-up goalie


The love/overrating of Andersson on these boards are absurd, that guy doesn't have a future with the wings, definition of a scrub basically.

Abdelkader-Datsyuk-Horton
Nyquist-Zetterberg-Franzén
Tatar-Helm-Tootoo/Jurco
Sheahan/Callahan/Ferraro/Tootoo/Jurco/Veteran Sandpaper

Kronwall-Dekeyser
Ericsson-Quincey
Smith-Kindl
Cola

Howard
Mrazek/Veteran back-up

people love/overrate Andersson? the most I ever see other than the occasional person wanting to give a Nyquist-Andersson-Tatar line a shot for chemistry reasons is people thinking he's better than Emmerton and a solid 4th line Center that could fill in on the 3rd line if Helm's injured again

edit:

buy out Samuelsson/Bertuzzi(if possible? I remember hearing on here somewhere only $3m+ contracts can be bought out?)

re-sign Andersson/Nyquist/Brunner/Miller

try to sign Horton/Stalberg

bring up Tatar

waive Lashoff

waive Emmerton if Helm is healthy

give Ferraro/Sheahan an actual shot at making the team out of camp,don't be afraid to waive Eaves or Miller to make room for them if they have a good camp

 

[Wayne Crosby]

Boy it seems like there are a lot of off-season related threads, maybe some of these should be consolidated a bit...??

I'd like them to show Cleary the door, first and foremost.

What I would like to see (my personal preference)

Nyquist-Datsyuk-Horton/Ryder
Franzen-Zettberg-Brunner
Tatar-Helm-Abdelkader
Miller-Andersson-Eaves
Tootoo

Kronwall-Ericsson
Smith-Dekeyser
Kindl-Jensen
CC
Lashoff

Howard
Gustavsson

This is the lineup I have saved in wordpad..

Nyquist - Datsyuk - Horton
Brunner - Zetterberg - Franzen
Tatar - Helm - Abdelkader
Miller - Andersson - Eaves

Kronwall - Ericsson
DeKeyser - Smith
Colaiacovo - Kindl

Howard
Gustavsson

Crazy how similar ours is haha, I think we'll hold on to Cola as a 6th though

 

[1st Line Interloper]

Alright, there are a few different situations presented here.

If Helm doesn't not come back from injury soon, we need to go after and sign Weiss. I'm a huge Andersson fan but I don't want him near the 3rd line unless of injury and Emmerton doesn't even know what the 3rd line is supposed to do. The Red Wings would then have easily the best collection of 2 way centers in the league, and two way center play is one of the biggest factors in winning the Cup.

I would like for the Red Wings to go after a large, power forward that has enough offense to play in the top 6 (*cough*Horton*cough*). This would come at a high cost, but it's worth it. I would hope that with the dropping cap, his number comes in at somewhere between 5 and 5.5 mil. I'm willing to pay him that much because I don't have that presence with scoring ability in the top 6. It is obvious that Babcock wants a space clearer for Datsyuk's line. Abby doesn't have the offensive ability to optimize that line and Franzen is a wannabe sniper in a power forward's body.

Whatever happens in the bottom 6 should have a large dependency on getting the best two way play out of it. Sammy needs to go because he's an injury liability and he is paid way too much to sit out 40+ games in a 48 game season. Tatar will be promoted and likely will be on the 3rd line. Ideally I would love to pair Tatar with Helm and Abby but that will likely not happen. I could see Tatar and Weiss being a great set of 3rd liners and I would hope that they do not get dragged down by Cleary or Miller.

I'm not against resigning Cleary. He's a good playoff performer, works his ass off every night and could be a good 4th liner + powerplay net front. I would prefer the net front to be Abby on the 2nd PP unit but I understand if Babcock wants to put Cleary there even though I think that promotes diminished returns.

Resign Brunner, it needs to happen at this point. I would pay him similar to what Samuelsson got the previous season (2.5-3 mil range) because his numbers were what Samuelsson was supposed to bring. He can be that 2nd/3rd line tweener (swap with Abby). He's one of the only RH shots on this team.

Ideally we would roll with this lineup into the first game of 2013:

Nyquist - Datsyuk - Horton
Brunner - Zetterberg - Franzen
Tatar - Helm - Abdelkader (Weiss centers if Helm is still injured)
Miller - Andersson - Tootoo
Emmerton? (Bert either bought out or LTIR)

There is not much that can be done on the defensive front. The dominoes will begin to fall if Quincey is bought out but otherwise the defensive corps will stay stagnant in terms of change. I understand the want to sign a defensive defenseman but there is no space for it right now.

Kronwall - Ericsson
Smith - DeKeyser
Quincey - Kindl
(Cola? Defensive specialist? Cola possible buy out)

Nothing needs to change about the goalies. We have a good one. Monster doesn't need to be bought out, his contract isn't that much of a cap trouble.

Howard
Gustavsson

 

[YostisHome]

I don't know what I want... I do know I don't want to Cleary or Sammy back.

 

[JimLaheyprobert]

Sign David Clarkson, i have no clue why people are saying stay away from this guy, he is a proven goal scorer and will go in the dirty areas to score them. He will go in front of the net and he will be a great player either beside datsyuk or zetterberg. He also can hit and fight, which i dont care what anyone says we desperately need.

Draft - Kerby Rychle, that 6-5 center from the Q, or if Bo Horvat drops then 100 percent him.

 

[Henkka]

1. Datsyuk extension
2. Brunner extension
3. RFA extensions
4. Sammy buyout
5. Healthy Helm

All other is pretty irrelevant.

 

[sureWhyNot]

Well, I'm not Babcock and i prefer skill over size

You're not a Stanley cup, gold medal, and world junior winning hockey couch either.

Ill side with Babcock.

 

[ricky0034]

You're not a Stanley cup, gold medal, and world junior winning hockey couch either.

Ill side with Babcock.

damn that couch has been through almost as much as the one from the simpsons!

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

You're not a Stanley cup, gold medal, and world junior winning hockey couch either.

Ill side with Babcock.

hahaha zing

 

[Zetterberg4Captain]

1. sammy bought out the day after the cup is won
2. all RFA's extended
3. brunner extended
4. one of miller or cleary brought back
5. wait and see who else is bought out(i suspect a rash of players will be right away so teams know where they stand come the drafta nd free agency)
6. if nobody good is bought out, go after clarkson

thats all

 

[Boomhower]

I thought Quincey really came around at the end of the season and into the playoffs. Happy to have him back next year if he plays like that.

I would like to see buy outs on Coliacovo and Samuelsson.

Want Tatar to get a regular look.

Don't want Brunner back unless its a reasonable deal. Guys got Ville Leino written all over him.

I want Holland to finally find that top 4 d man he has been looking for.

Don't want Kindl in the top 6... Him and his lead feet are painful to watch at the NHL level.

Edit: If were going fishing for long shots... Would love to bring UFA Weiss on board this off season!

 

[Frk It]

Don't want Brunner back unless its a reasonable deal. Guys got Ville Leino written all over him.

Ville Leino's not fast.

Ville Leino's not right handed.

Ville Leino is not a sniper.

We had a lot of players like Ville Leino on our team already. We have no one else like Brunner.

Not a great comparison...

 

[Boomhower]

I don't believe Brunner is a sniper at all. Not from a traditional big shooter standpoint.

In 44 games he scored 12 goals and didn't have a feared shot by any means.

Brunner is obviously a lot faster. They are both skilled players who really shy away from contract, but I was more comparing their career paths... they are very similar.

Big years as veteran players in decent European leagues. Got to the NHL and showed some scoring moxie. Now people are projecting big things.... I'm very skeptical and wouldn't break the bank on Brunner being any better than he was this season.

 

[Frk It]

I don't believe Brunner is a sniper at all. Not from a traditional big shooter standpoint.

In 44 games he scored 12 goals and didn't have a feared shot by any means.

Brunner is obviously a lot faster. They are both skilled players who really shy away from contract, but I was more comparing their career paths... they are very similar.

Big years as veteran players in decent European leagues. Got to the NHL and showed some scoring moxie. Now people are projecting big things.... I'm very skeptical and wouldn't break the bank on Brunner being any better than he was this season.

He was 3rd on the team in regular season scoring, and 3rd on the team in playoff scoring.

How many forwards that we have would you say have a better wrist shot?

He's not a high-end sniper like Ovechkin or Stamkos, but he easily has one of the best shots on our team.

Like I said Leino didn't fit in because he was on a team of left-handed playmakers. Brunner is a right-handed sniper. I don't know what you would call him, but he is a shoot-first player and a scorer. I typically consider those snipers.

 

[Boomhower]

He was 3rd on the team in regular season scoring, and 3rd on the team in playoff scoring.

How many forwards that we have would you say have a better wrist shot?

He's not a high-end sniper like Ovechkin or Stamkos, but he easily has one of the best shots on our team.

Like I said Leino didn't fit in because he was on a team of left-handed playmakers. Brunner is a right-handed sniper. I don't know what you would call him, but he is a shoot-first player and a scorer. I typically consider those snipers.

He has a decent shot, I think he creates a lot of chances with his feet more so than a dangerous shot, but based on a projected 22.5 goal season.... a sniper he is not.

... Atleast he hasn't shown enough to be paid like one yet IMO/