Free Agent Frenzy - Friday 10/9

[Ricelund]

Brian Burke on Yzerman's offseason:

"He's MacGyver," Burke said of Yzerman, who signed free-agent forwards Bobby Ryan and Vladislav Namestnikov, defensemen Jon Merrill and Troy Stecher and goalie Thomas Greiss last week. The week before, he acquired defenseman Marc Staal and a 2021 second-round draft pick for future considerations.

"He's overhauled that team completely all on short-term deals," Burke continued. "No headlines, just solid signings. Bobby Ryan, who I drafted. Jon Merrill, who we tried to draft but he hit the gap on us. Stecher is a really good right-shot defenseman. Bringing back (Sam) Gagner, Namestnikov who I love. Greiss, Staal. In my mind, they are dramatically better than a year ago. It's sheer genius."

Burke said fans will also like first-round draft pick Lucas Raymond, a "can't-miss" forward with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League.

He still feels the NHL lottery which saw Detroit drop to fourth was "a disgrace" and would've liked to see Yzerman have a shot at one of the top three players (Alexis Lafreniere, Quinton Byfield, Tim Stutzle) instead of Raymond.

"This is not a small error by the league," Burke said. "It's a big mistake that a team can leapfrog over 11 other teams, 10 other teams, nine other teams and take a better player. The scouts I talked to said Raymond was a safe pick and he's going to be a player. But they should've had a shot at one of those players on the top ledge."

 

[FabricDetails]

Things that make you go hmm...

If Bernier had (theoretically) played all 71 games last year, maintaining his same performance, even with ZERO other changes or improvements to anybody on the roster...

Detroit would have been almost 20 points better, and only 3-4 points away from Ottawa as the worst team.

Crazy as this sounds, if Greiss and Bernier are even a semi-respectable tandem, I don't know if it's a lock that the Wings finish dead last this year. (Now granted, that's assuming 100 percent of the blame went to Howard in the losses where he started.) But between the goaltending improvement and the new plugs at defense and forward, there could be a decent bump in the point totals.

What are you hoping for the team to be in the end? I'm kind of feeling like I just want them to be better enough so that they have a better chance of getting a #1-#3 pick. Even though there's no tangible way to really hope for that. Like we can't watch them be the 2nd/3rd worst team and feel like, "#1 pick is ours!"

 

[FabricDetails]

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

Brian Burke on Yzerman's offseason:

Funny how Burke likes Stecher now, but during the playoffs @ intermission/after game he was vehemently against VAN resigning him & didn't speak highly of him at all, in fact spoke the opposite. (maybe he was trying to drive down the new contract price for his old club?)...wouldn't be unheard of.

 

[Bench]

Brian Burke on Yzerman's offseason:

I don't like Burke the human, even a little, but I've generally thought his hockey mind was sound.

And I agree with him, the moves Yzerman made are under the radar but this roster is less " absolute tire fire" and far more "not a playoff team."

That feels pretty good.

 

[FabricDetails]

I don't like Burke the human, even a little

Heh? Where is that coming from? The whole "It's not Chris Pronger's fault he's 6'6"?

 

[jkutswings]

What are you hoping for the team to be in the end?

And I agree with him, the moves Yzerman made are under the radar but this roster is less " absolute tire fire" and far more "not a playoff team."

That feels pretty good.

Pretty much this. They will still be a bottom 3 team at minimum, but there's nothing wrong with eeking out that last place finish while not getting annihilated in every game along the way.

 

[Bench]

Heh? Where is that coming from? The whole "It's not Chris Pronger's fault he's 6'6"?

He's a blowhard, obviously. His spats with other GMs always seemed so silly.

But he also literally sued posters on this very forum for posting rumors about him having an affair.

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/brian-burke-sues-online-commenters-claims-defamation-1.1400105

Which ironically brought more attention to this rumor than it ever would have got otherwise. I'm typically not a fan of people who use their clout and legal connections to upend the lives of random people on the internet.

Yes, it sucks people spread random rumors about your personal life. Welcome to celebrity. Just ignore it and move on, don't bury them with lawsuits.

Imagine all the lawsuits any celebrity could file daily about the rumors posted online.

 

[Ricelund]

He's a blowhard, obviously. His spats with other GMs always seemed so silly.

Yeah, I've never liked him. The undone tie thing is a try-hard move like Patricia's pencil.

 

[Bench]

Yeah, I've never liked him. The undone tie thing is a try-hard move like Patricia's pencil.

I didn't even think of that but you're sooooo right.

What's with these guys and showing off, via common film visual cues, that they are "hard workers."

 

[FabricDetails]

He's a blowhard, obviously. His spats with other GMs always seemed so silly.

But he also literally sued posters on this very forum for posting rumors about him having an affair.

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/brian-burke-sues-online-commenters-claims-defamation-1.1400105

Which ironically brought more attention to this rumor than it ever would have got otherwise. I'm typically not a fan of people who use their clout and legal connections to upend the lives of random people on the internet.

Yes, it sucks people spread random rumors about your personal life. Welcome to celebrity. Just ignore it and move on, don't bury them with lawsuits.

Imagine all the lawsuits any celebrity could file daily about the rumors posted online.

Ah, yeah. So I was aware of all that stuff but it just didn't really come to mind for me. I've just always thought of him as your typical hockey executive (including the spats) only he in particular just loves his shit to be in the public eye and he himself loves being in front of the camera. Not my cup of tea personally but is what it is.

 

[Bench]

Ah, yeah. So I was aware of all that stuff but it just didn't really come to mind for me. I've just always thought of him as your typical hockey executive (including the spats) only he in particular just loves his shit to be in the public eye and he himself loves being in front of the camera. Not my cup of tea personally but is what it is.

Indeed.

All of that said, I think he got a bad rap for his more publicized moves/trades and thought usually he was on the right track. Good hockey mind, in my opinion.

 

[Frk It]

Agree with what Burke said on the lottery and the draft.

I thought our free agency was “meh” at best, although not sure if the more impactful guys had any interest whatsoever in us.

 

[FabricDetails]

Agree with what Burke said on the lottery and the draft.

I thought our free agency was “meh” at best, although not sure if the more impactful guys had any interest whatsoever in us.

It's not "sheer genius" for sure. Not sure wtf kind of BS he's on there.

 

[Bench]

Agree with what Burke said on the lottery and the draft.

I thought our free agency was “meh” at best, although not sure if the more impactful guys had any interest whatsoever in us.

Once the kids like Raymond start driving the bus, the free agents will follow. Until you're competing, you're not getting any vets on discounts.

 

[Winger98]

Agree with what Burke said on the lottery and the draft.

I thought our free agency was “meh” at best, although not sure if the more impactful guys had any interest whatsoever in us.

If the article about Yzerman having moves nixed by ownership is at all accurate then they had some who were interested.

 

[Gniwder]

Once the kids like Raymond start driving the bus, the free agents will follow. Until you're competing, you're not getting any vets on discounts.

The other big issue is that there aren't any players signed long term, and neither are the coaches. So player would be signing into a situation where he would have no clue who's going to be coaching or who's he's going to be playing with in 2 years. That's not very enticing even if the Wings were the high bidder.

Every rebuilding team built a foundation with the draft and then added UFA pieces. We don't even have the foundation built yet, need a top pair LHD and #1C.

 

[ricky0034]

Once the kids like Raymond start driving the bus, the free agents will follow. Until you're competing, you're not getting any vets on discounts.

yeah even aside from winning in general who's gonna look at a team like the Wings and think "signing there will help me get a better next contract"?

and it shows in who Yzerman signed,a bunch of guys Yzerman can credibly offer decent minutes to with how bad this roster is and yeah there's incentive for them to come here for a year or two and get some playtime in,maybe some minutes in important situations here and there

but guys that can get those minutes elsewhere? not so much incentive there right now if they aren't getting offered stupid money to do it

 

[FabricDetails]

If the article about Yzerman having moves nixed by ownership is at all accurate then they had some who were interested.

This is quite important to know.

 

[Bench]

If the article about Yzerman having moves nixed by ownership is at all accurate then they had some who were interested.

I still think that's Tyler Johnson.

 

[Winger98]

I still think that's Tyler Johnson.

I think he was the trade that got nixed. It wouldn't surprise me if Yzerman also had a right D lined up that got eightballed. A Tanev or Gudas level guy. Or maybe that's just blind hope on my part.

This is quite important to know.

Yeah, it makes me feel better that Yzerman wasn't in line with the whole "be as awful as possible" line of thinking. Makes me feel worse that Ilitch was cheap.

 

[FabricDetails]

Yeah, it makes me feel better that Yzerman wasn't in line with the whole "be as awful as possible" line of thinking. Makes me feel worse that Ilitch was cheap.

Is it mitigating at all for you to consider the times/uncertainty that we're in? For me it's one of those things where I might feel more understanding of it depending on the day. "Well I guess we are looking at a 48 game season for 2021," etc.

 

[Winger98]

Is it mitigating at all for you to consider the times/uncertainty that we're in? For me it's one of those things where I might feel more understanding of it depending on the day. "Well I guess we are looking at a 48 game season for 2021," etc.

Honestly, it makes it worse because the covid mess has forced teams to make moves they wouldn't otherwise make (like TB trying to give Johnson away), and have pushed UFAs to either take less money, less term, or to consider teams they wouldn't have otherwise considered. I'd bet that an open wallet offering a "pre-covid" type deal would have been really hard for some guys to turn down who folks are adamant wouldn't sign here.

Maybe his finances are such a mess he really couldn't okay a move like adding Johnson. But I doubt it. Maybe they'll still take advantage of this mess some how, but I think the Wings are missing an opportunity this summer, and I think that given a season and another summer to get their ducks in a row that other GMs are not going to be in as tight of a position next off-season to be pushed into moves.

 

[Ghost of Ethan Hunt]

Honestly, it makes it worse because the covid mess has forced teams to make moves they wouldn't otherwise make (like TB trying to give Johnson away), and have pushed UFAs to either take less money, less term, or to consider teams they wouldn't have otherwise considered. I'd bet that an open wallet offering a "pre-covid" type deal would have been really hard for some guys to turn down who folks are adamant wouldn't sign here.

Maybe his finances are such a mess he really couldn't okay a move like adding Johnson. But I doubt it. Maybe they'll still take advantage of this mess some how, but I think the Wings are missing an opportunity this summer, and I think that given a season and another summer to get their ducks in a row that other GMs are not going to be in as tight of a position next off-season to be pushed into moves.

Conversely, next summer could be just as bad or worse though. If offseason #1 is any indication, offseason #2 means even more players added to the NHL chopping block or cost-cutting contracts. I think it gets worse before it gets better. I could understand Chris I. not wanting a $20m bill for only $12.5m value/4yrs...he likely doesn't want another soon to be Flip/Frans after paying Abby the last 4 yrs & buyout. Maybe the sweetener(s) weren't enough in Chris' eyes either. In all likelihood we weren't getting offered (2) 1sts + a good C/D prospect, so I'm glad we didn't end up with TJ, though I see his worth.

 

[Oddbob]

If the article about Yzerman having moves nixed by ownership is at all accurate then they had some who were interested.

Where is this article?