Confirmed with Link: Brunner hits the open market, signs with Devils

[Vladdy84]

Fil says he's a #1 center and thus wants #1 center money. Adios.

Babcock believes Dan Cleary is a 1st line winger

 

[Kronwalled55]

Imagine if he signs with Pittsburgh and they put him with Neal and Malkin

 

[Yzerberg]

No biggie. Some sucker is going to regret paying him 16 million

 

[Chance on Chance]

Can't blame him. Needs to make money

 

[Wolverine Wings]

Brunner is okay player. He is good for a few goals, has some speed, but is super soft and is more of a complimentary player like Hudler. He is also pretty bad on the PP and I wouldn't trust him on the PK either.

 

[RedWinger10]

I really want Brunner back

 

[we like our team*]

aww i liked brunner

 

[Detroit Sports*]

Rather have Brunner than Alfie.

 

[sully6one]

I really want Brunner. Third line of Tatar, Andersson and him sound awesome.

 

[Detroit Sports*]

Holland should have gave Brunner a 3 year deal last summer when he wasn't a hot commodity

 

[cupforwings09]

It would have been nice if Brunner would have signed. But, at the same time, he is really small and weak on the puck. I really think Tatar > Brunner, younger, faster, stronger. Having both would have been repetitive.

 

[Unfriendly Ghost]

I think from a Wings' perspective, they weren't willing to commit long term to an undersized, unproven guy. Brunner didn't want a ton of money, but he wanted a pretty long term.

 

[MrTaterSalad]

Holland should have gave Brunner a 3 year deal last summer when he wasn't a hot commodity

Then you'd have been screaming what an idiot Holland was if Brunner came in and got like, 5pts. the entire season.

 

[crashman]

You guys that are bummed about the possibility of Brunner leaving, you need to understand that Tatar and Nyquist will be with the Red Wings full-time next year. They are both going to make you forget about Brunner quick.

 

[Retire91]

If he hasn't signed by now it means he wanted too much money. He might end up taking his game to a new level but from what I saw he was too soft for NHL hockey. Slick hands great shoot first ask questions later mentality but knocked off the puck by a sneeze.

 

[wingnut22]

He was a bit soft, but the guy scored some timely goals for us. I liked Brunner, and I'm sad to see him go, but it's not the end of the world.

 

[JPE123]

Fil says he's a #1 center and thus wants #1 center money. Adios.

But he's not

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

I wanted Brunner back but the Wings must feel he's going to get overpaid.

I wanna see what he signs for before I rage at Holland.

 

[joe89]

Gonna be disappointed if he signs around $3M. If it's $4M or close with a lot of term it's not worth it, too much risk/not enough upside.

 

[RedWinger10]

If he gets five million for 3-4 years from another team, i can't blame Holland.

If he gets 3.5 million for three years from another team...Holland should be fired.

Agreed! He just didn't play consistent enough to earn 4-5 from the wings. And he is a 1 way-player who does not play a very physical game and doesn't go into dirty areas and grind. If his playing style were different he would be much more valuable than he is as just a 1-way sniper. That being said I still like the kid ALOT and hope Detroit can hold on to him for the right price.

 

[DRWCountryClub]

It would have been nice if Brunner would have signed. But, at the same time, he is really small and weak on the puck. I really think Tatar > Brunner, younger, faster, stronger. Having both would have been repetitive.

I think Tatar is better as well.

 

[Flowah]

1. Brunner is still pretty young.

2. He *just* played the NA style last year. It's not the easiest adjustment.

3. He's never played that many games before. Hell, he's used to seasons HALF as long, and then he goes and doubles it. That's not easy to do. It's no surprise he started strong and got tired. It's a grueling pace. More physical game too. Smaller rink, faster, bigger, harder guys.

4. IMO, he will only improve for the next few years. He's a hard working kid looking to improve his game all the time. I thought that was evident from watching him.

5. He was still on pace for 20+ goals. That's pretty damn good. He wasn't bad in the playoffs either, on that third line. It gave us pretty good scoring depth. I would expect that as he got used to the NA style he'd be good for at least 20, but maybe more 25-30. For 2.5M - 3.5M a year? That's a steal. Plus we desperately need RH shots. And people with that shoot first mentality.

So yeah, if he gets more than 3.5M a year, I won't be upset that Kenny let him go. If it's under 3.5M, I will be. It's a gamble of course, we don't know if it's an anomaly, this past half season. But one that isn't too costly if it goes sour. It would only have been for a few years, and not a huge hit. Plus he's just not a terrible player. It might have ended up being an overpayment by 1-2M, but that's not much.

 

[CK17]

I don't know why we couldn't have both. I still think there's a hole on the 3rd line RW.

I'm not a fan of any of our current options - Sammy, Bert or Abby.

Tatar-Helm-Brunner sounds way better than any of those 3.

 

[ProPAIN]

Good luck to Brunner, Flip and Cleary. Would've liked Brunner back, but I guess Detroit wanted to go down a different path.

 

[7r4n]

Helene St. James ‏@HeleneStJames 1m

Count these two out of #RedWings picture: Valtteri Filppula and Damien Brunner.

I guess no Brunner