GDT: Free Agent Frenzy - Free Agency Starts at 11am CDT!

[Dr Jan Itor]

I highly doubt anything gets done though. In all cases their agents are going to advise waiting to see how this season plays out, a breakout year for any of them could mean a lot more cash.

True, I guess I wouldn't expect it.

I just want us to get our current RFAs done.

 

[TaLoN]

Fletcher will be on KFAN at 5:30, Vanek at 6:30

 

[Northland Wild Man]

Reading the Detroit free agent thread is sort of amusing. They seriously don't understand why players don't want to go there.

For one, start with your dump of a building. Then move to the dump of your city and start to piece it together. Ya, the second part may generalize the entirety of Detroit but that's the perception and when these players have multiple offers, no real sense of the area outside of being a visitor to Detroit, and family concerns, Detroit isn't going to be high on their list.

The suburbs of Detroit are not bad in some areas, but what's left of Detroit proper is just a nightmare. There is no money to turn on streetlights, people can't pay water bills, abandoned buildings everywhere, etc.

It's actually an interesting thing to study if you're into urban planing or a related field. What happens to a city when it loses the majority of it's manufacturing sector?

 

[Sportsfan1]

I'd like to add a defenseman, but I'm also okay if we go into next year with Ballard, Olofsson, Dumba and Folin fighting it out for 5-6 pairing. I think let's add maybe another top dman in trades later on this summer or even next spring.

Fletcher is smart to not go crazy signing a guy like Volchenkov to a crazy deal right now.

 

[LordFletcher]

Did any of the Dumba haters watch him in Portland this year, especially the playoffs? He took some pretty good strides. Thou, Portland is a team on another level in the CHL, he still played very solid.

Give the kid one year in Iowa and he'll make Wild by 2015/16

 

[Avder]

The suburbs of Detroit are not bad in some areas, but what's left of Detroit proper is just a nightmare. There is no money to turn on streetlights, people can't pay water bills, abandoned buildings everywhere, etc.

It's actually an interesting thing to study if you're into urban planing or a related field. What happens to a city when it loses the majority of it's manufacturing sector?

What Detroit needs is a mammoth federal grant to knock everything abandoned down and plant a crap ton of grass. Green the place up a bit.

 

[Avder]

Bob McKenzie
@TSNBobMcKenzie
Brian Boyle to TB. Three years, $2.3M AAV.

 

[LordFletcher]

I'd like to add a defenseman, but I'm also okay if we go into next year with Ballard, Olofsson, Dumba and Folin fighting it out for 5-6 pairing. I think let's add maybe another top dman in trades later on this summer or even next spring.

Fletcher is smart to not go crazy signing a guy like Volchenkov to a crazy deal right now.

AGREED!

and the only thing to add is to see where a few teams leave off in their cap situation... a couple D men could open up

 

[this providence]

The suburbs of Detroit are not bad in some areas, but what's left of Detroit proper is just a nightmare. There is no money to turn on streetlights, people can't pay water bills, abandoned buildings everywhere, etc.

It's actually an interesting thing to study if you're into urban planing or a related field. What happens to a city when it loses the majority of it's manufacturing sector?

While I'm sure the suburban area is nice (most all should be, anyway), what they're dealing with is attempting to bring in players who have a limited view of what Detroit provides. What the majority of these players see of NHL cities is what they are exposed to as visiting players. When you come into town and have to avoid certain areas around where they are to play or just see the general decay, I'd imagine it's a hardly a ringing endorsement.

 

[Avder]

So, this is the way I currently see the NHL with the free agent movements so far:

Atlantic division: Big ****ing bar room brawl.
Metropolitan division: A bunch of kids playing Magic the Gathering and pretending it's serious
Pacific Division: War on the order of England vs France vs Spain back in the age of sail
Murder Division: Nuclear. ****ing. War.

 

[ThatGuy22]

So looking at the available guys, I think their are 4 defensemen available for a bottom pairing role, that wouldn't be complete blackholes. All have a few holes in their games, but thats why they are third pairing guys.

Anton Volchenkov-Slow as heck and zero offense, but hits like a truck and fairly solid positionally. Good on the PK.
Jaime McBaine-Was terrible last year, but had 3 or 4 solid years before that in Carolina. I think the carolina years were he was a solid 2nd/3rd pairing guy is more indicitive of his skill than one year on a Dumpster fire team.
Paul Ranger- Head Case that may never want to move out of Toronto, but scores 5v5 points at an extremely good rate. Played rediculous minutes last year(40% o zone starts).
Rapheal Diaz- Had great numbers playing for NYR and Vancouver, but always been a bit up and down.

I'd look into those 4 guys, and see if they can be had cheap and short term. If none bite, stand pat.

 

[Minnewildsota]

In the Main Thread:

Vanek to Minnesota - 208 posts
Pouliot to Edmonton - 520 posts

Gotta love being in Minnesota.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

So barring a trade, our top 4 is locked in with Suter/Brodin/Spurgeon/Scandella. I think we could get away with that and have a Ballard/Folin 3rd pairing playing ~12 minutes per game.

 

[Northland Wild Man]

While I'm sure the suburban area is nice (most all should be, anyway), what they're dealing with is attempting to bring in players who have a limited view of what Detroit provides. What the majority of these players see of NHL cities is what they are exposed to as visiting players. When you come into town and have to avoid certain areas around where they are to play or just see the general decay, I'd imagine it's a hardly a ringing endorsement.

Yep. All major cities have areas that visitors are told to avoid, but with Detroit the areas are unfortunately unavoidable. You can't help but see stuff when you get there.

 

[Avder]

So barring a trade, our top 4 is locked in with Suter/Brodin/Spurgeon/Scandella. I think we could get away with that and have a Ballard/Folin 3rd pairing playing ~12 minutes per game.

Ballard needs to get better at actually defending. Then we can talk regular minutes.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

So looking at the available guys, I think their are 4 defensemen available for a bottom pairing role, that wouldn't be complete blackholes. All have a few holes in their games, but thats why they are third pairing guys.

Anton Volchenkov-Slow as heck and zero offense, but hits like a truck and fairly solid positionally. Good on the PK.
Jaime McBaine-Was terrible last year, but had 3 or 4 solid years before that in Carolina. I think the carolina years were he was a solid 2nd/3rd pairing guy is more indicitive of his skill than one year on a Dumpster fire team.
Paul Ranger- Head Case that may never want to move out of Toronto, but scores 5v5 points at an extremely good rate. Played rediculous minutes last year(40% o zone starts).
Rapheal Diaz- Had great numbers playing for NYR and Vancouver, but always been a bit up and down.

I'd look into those 4 guys, and see if they can be had cheap and short term. If none bite, stand pat.

Maybe add a Chris Butler or Brookbank to this list? Brookbank played some playoff minutes for Chicago when Seabrook was out.

 

[TaLoN]

In the Main Thread:

Vanek to Minnesota - 208 posts
Pouliot to Edmonton - 520 posts

Gotta love being in Minnesota.

Vanek was the worst kept secret, only thing left to discuss is the great contract. Pouliot was an epic bad contract!

Makes complete sense that one has more legs for discussion.

 

[DANOZ28]

i kinda hope hawks need to dump leddy and would send him our way cheap. vanek should add upto 10G to his roster spot. if that helps us climb in the standings we win! fix goalie & add a tuff guy next.

 

[roon]

In the Main Thread:

Vanek to Minnesota - 208 posts
Pouliot to Edmonton - 520 posts

Gotta love being in Minnesota.

Everyone knew Vanek was coming here. Not much of a story.


EDM way over paying Pouliot is much more of a story.

 

[Avder]

Vanek was the worst kept secret, only thing left to discuss is the great contract. Pouliot was an epic bad contract!

Makes complete sense that one has more legs for discussion.

Edmonton is just so mockable too.

 

[tomthestone*]

Some Caps fans seem to think Mike Green's value is severely low at this point with just one year left on his deal. They also badly need center depth. Maybe Brodziak wouldn't help them at all, but swapping him and picks for Green would give them a capable NHL center and open up over $2M in cap space.

I'm not saying I'm just saying...

 

[Avder]

i kinda hope hawks need to dump leddy and would send him our way cheap. vanek should add upto 10G to his roster spot. if that helps us climb in the standings we win! fix goalie & add a tuff guy next.

No way in hell the Hawks make a deal with anyone in this division except perhaps Winnipeg.

Everyone is just too damn good.

 

[ThatGuy22]

Maybe add a Chris Butler or Brookbank to this list? Brookbank played some playoff minutes for Chicago when Seabrook was out.

I could be talked into Chris Butler. He was playing up a line, in tough minutes for a crap team. Probably do a bit better playing 3rd pairing on a good team.

I would want nothing to do with Brookbank. Played sheltered minutes, on an elite team and still barely held water possession wise. He's not a very good hockeyplayer, and Prosser could do what he did given those minutes.

 

[youvegotit]

In the Main Thread:

Vanek to Minnesota - 208 posts
Pouliot to Edmonton - 520 posts

Gotta love being in Minnesota.

IMO part of it has to be most people think the Vanek singing was a great signing so there's not much to talk about, whereas everyone is telling the Oilers fans how bad that contract is and they are trying their best to convince themselves its a good signing...

 

[Avder]

IMO part of it has to be most people think the Vanek singing was a great signing so there's not much to talk about, whereas everyone is telling the Oilers fans how bad that contract is and they are trying their best to convince themselves its a good signing...

Actually it seems like they hate it too.