Alec Martinez

[Ed Ned and Leddy]

No offence, but why does adding a 34 year old (July) make sense for us? Not saying he isn't good, but we should aim for younger defenders.

I'd love to bring in younger defensemen, but young players (21-26) rarely hit UFA. If you want young blueliners, you either have to make a trade or watch the waiver list.

Martinez would be a stopgap signing, similar to Nemeth two summers ago. I think Martinez is a better player than Nemeth though.

 

[ManwithNoIdentity]

Nah

He’s 33 and nowhere near as good as some are claiming

 

[SpookyTsuki]

He would be our best dman potentially. I say do it and pair him with Seider

 

[Lil Sebastian Cossa]

Nah

He’s 33 and nowhere near as good as some are claiming

People saying he'd be Detroit's #1 are ragging on Detroit's roster not saying Alec Martinez is any good. He's a mediocre 2nd pair guy. So of course in Detroit he'd be tasked to play on the top pairing.

 

[Reddwit]

I’ve been a big Martinez fan for like a decade now. But I don’t think this is the right move. Even when Martinez played on bad LA teams, he still played with talent. He’s never really had to elevate his teammates. Bring him here and he’s under the microscope at 34+ on a poorly constructed roster. I don’t know. I think it’s a recipe for disaster.

And I doubt he even wants to come here.

 

[Oddbob]

I'd love to bring in younger defensemen, but young players (21-26) rarely hit UFA. If you want young blueliners, you either have to make a trade or watch the waiver list.

Martinez would be a stopgap signing, similar to Nemeth two summers ago. I think Martinez is a better player than Nemeth though.

I meant younger UFA's in the 27-31 range, not 34 year olds or RFA's!

 

[grewalwings]

It'd be nice to have someone half decent to play alongside Seider

 

[Ed Ned and Leddy]

I meant younger UFA's in the 27-31 range, not 34 year olds or RFA's!

Fair. This is the list of pending UFA defensemen.

2021 NHL Free Agents Tracker

Not a super inspiring list of LHD. In the 27-31 range, as you mentioned, I'd say Oleksiak, Ian Cole, and Ryan Murray would be three potential candidates.

Keep in mind that players in the 27-31 year old range are usually looking for a 4+ year deal. That's their big payday. I think I'd prefer an expensive-ish 2 year deal for Martinez than a 4+ year deal for one of those guys personally, although maybe Yzerman can work out something better.

 

[datsyukfan]

No. Either sign a stud or let a guy like Cholowski who has talent get a full time chance

 

[Ed Ned and Leddy]

No. Either sign a stud or let a guy like Cholowski who has talent get a full time chance

There are no studs to sign unfortunately. Even if there were, would they sign in Detroit this summer? Not likely imo.

I agree that Cholowski should be playing full time, but Yzerman and Blashill don't seem to agree.

Even if Cholowski plays 80+ games next year (which I simply don't see happening), I think we need a stopgap like Martinez. Dekeyser is washed. Neither Staal nor Nemeth look very good this year, and I'm not sure either are interested in re-signing here. Merrill seems more likely to stick around, but that's just one LHD, and ideally a 3rd pairing one.

I'm not here saying that Alec Martinez is some elite defenseman. I just think he's a legitimate top 4D who may be willing to sign here on short term, and that's something I think we need.

 

[Winger98]

There are no studs to sign unfortunately. Even if there were, would they sign in Detroit this summer? Not likely imo.

I agree that Cholowski should be playing full time, but Yzerman and Blashill don't seem to agree.

Even if Cholowski plays 80+ games next year (which I simply don't see happening), I think we need a stopgap like Martinez. Dekeyser is washed. Neither Staal nor Nemeth look very good this year, and I'm not sure either are interested in re-signing here. Merrill seems more likely to stick around, but that's just one LHD, and ideally a 3rd pairing one.

I'm not here saying that Alec Martinez is some elite defenseman. I just think he's a legitimate top 4D who may be willing to sign here on short term, and that's something I think we need.

Also, we could sign Martinez, keep playing Dekeyser, and there is still a spot for Cholowski to play next year. It's not like it's an either/or proposition here. Seider comes in next year the Wings are going to ask him to do a lot of heavy lifting on that blueline. Getting him a good partner to help shoulder that load and ease his transition to the NHL wouldn't be the worst thing.

 

[YpsiWings]

Voted yes, and besides the couple free agents worth overpaying to Detroit(RNH, Hamilton) you could substitute Martinez’s name with anyone (as long as the contract makes sense) that helps the Wings and I would approve. They have missed the playoffs 5 years in a row, and I’m pretty confident that will be 6 next year, they are getting absolutely hammered. It is a tough environment to develop young talent, please get these kids some help.

 

[Squirrel in the Hole]

I don't love the idea of tossing Mo Seider into this roster and saying, "figure it out kid"

Why not? That's exactly what we do with everyone, and then complain when they don't that they don't have talent.

 

[Ed Ned and Leddy]

Why not? That's exactly what we do with everyone, and then complain when they don't that they don't have talent.

Lol, exactly. I don't want to see us trot out Mo Seider next to Christian Djoos or Danny Dekyser and listen to the usual cast of geniuses declare Seider a third pairing defenseman when he fails to impress.

 

[PullHard]

Martinez is extremely underrated and I would love to bring him home

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

Martinez is extremely underrated and I would love to bring him home

Sheesh, at least take the guy out to dinner 1st. What kind of a dude do you think he is? /s or \s

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

It would all depend on the price but yes definitely interested. He's a good skater, good offensive instincts. But he is getting long in the tooth.

I mean, take a look at our blueline right now. The only players even locked up for another year are Stecher and Dekeyser, assuming DK doesn't LTIRetire. Hronek is an RFA so that will get worked out. Djoos too but I don't know that he's an NHL player.

 

[ShippinItDaily]

I like the idea of kicking tires on a 2 year deal. Our left side is just, woof. And there isn't much in the way of pending UFA's for the left side. Barring someone being available via trade, Martinez is about as good of an options as there is gonna be this summer.