We are 1/3rd of the Way Through The Season

[Cursed Lemon]

Trading Datsyuk would be the stupidest thing Holland could ever do.

Datsyuk dominated a good Predators squad at the age of 34, by himself, and did it by being physical - while not even 100%.

You don't trade Datsyuk for a base - he IS the base.

 

[CloneHakanPlease*]

Trading Datsyuk would be the stupidest thing Holland could ever do.

Datsyuk dominated a good Predators squad at the age of 34, by himself, and did it by being physical - while not even 100%.

You don't trade Datsyuk for a base - he IS the base.

And he also wont be on this team in 2 years, neither of which we will be a true contender. Nobody thinks Datsyuk deserves to be traded, they just want the trade based on asset managment.

Trading Datsyuk for a massive return helps this team become a contender again in 5 years. Losing him to the KHL for nothing does not.

It honestly baffles me at how people still think we have a legitimate shot at the cup. News flash, even if our team is fully healthy (something that is almost guaranteed to never happen), there are at least 10 if not more teams just as good as us, and unlike the Wings, their best players aren't aging rapidly.

 

[crashman]

Trading Datsyuk would be the stupidest thing Holland could ever do.

Datsyuk dominated a good Predators squad at the age of 34, by himself, and did it by being physical - while not even 100%.

You don't trade Datsyuk for a base - he IS the base.

That's not the point. Some (not me) Wings fans want to trade him because they think he's going back to Russia once his contract expires.

 

[Run the Jewels]

Given a choice however, taking into account our current roster, prospect pool and the cap system I would rather take the Chicago route than the Calgary one.

Exactly. The Hawks have a very good young nucleus of elite talent and even when they have gotten themselves into salary cap hell they've been able to make trades and acquired good young players while maintaining that very talented core. We've got plenty of good young talent that will provide depth, however we need a few more elite players to make us very competitive. I'm not freaked out at all, but I do want to see us be aggressive in retooling and acquiring elite talent. It ain't coming via trade, free agency is much more difficult with the hard salary cap, that pretty much leaves you the draft to acquire elite talent.

 

[Ennui]

Honestly, the biggest problem at the moment for the Wings isn't that no talent is available, it's that Ken Holland and Babcock seem to have "favorites" that they wouldn't move to save the world, much less this team.

Cleary, Abdelkader, Quincey and Samuelsson among others come to mind. One isn't with the team at the moment, but I'm sure he's making his way back to the good graces of Ken Holland and Mike Babcock as I write this.

 

[TatarTangle]

One isn't with the team at the moment, but I'm sure he's making his way back to the good graces of Ken Holland and Mike Babcock as I write this.

Has to be Lebda. Or Hudler. 1st + prospect for Hudler?

 

[Ennui]

Has to be Lebda

Perhaps, but a certain comes to mind.

By , of course I mean Andreas Lilja

 

[icKx]

Trading Datsyuk would be the stupidest thing Holland could ever do.

Datsyuk dominated a good Predators squad at the age of 34, by himself, and did it by being physical - while not even 100%.

You don't trade Datsyuk for a base - he IS the base.

Well, for one more year at least.

I'm in the trade Datsyuk camp, but that's only if he has clearly stated his intention to return to Russia. Which he hasn't.

Maybe a contender like Boston would be interested in putting all that excess cap space to good use for one last stacked run at the Cup with Chara still around. We get some picks or prospects in return.

I'd rather watch Datsyuk go four rounds deep with another team than see him face ignominious defeat in the first round or miss the playoffs altogether.

 

[CloneHakanPlease*]

Well, for one more year at least.

I'm in the trade Datsyuk camp, but that's only if he has clearly stated his intention to return to Russia. Which he hasn't.

Maybe a contender like Boston would be interested in putting all that excess cap space to good use for one last stacked run at the Cup with Chara still around. We get some picks or prospects in return.

I'd rather watch Datsyuk go four rounds deep with another team than see him face ignominious defeat in the first round or miss the playoffs altogether.

Exactly. Send him to Jersey. It's almost as cold and rundown as Detroit and Russia so he'll feel at home and he can work magic with Kovy

 

[Cursed Lemon]

Where in the world has Datsyuk even hinted that he's going back to Russia at the end of his contract?

 

[CloneHakanPlease*]

Where in the world has Datsyuk even hinted that he's going back to Russia at the end of his contract?

As recent in this offseason when he lamented about much he missed it and said in the Russian press he preferred it to the NHL?

Through repeated interviews where he has stated he wants to finish his career there?

His now forgotten contract dispute when he tried to pull a Hudler?

Or when his now ex-wife took his daughter to Russia? Easily the biggest factor.

Being stuck on a line with Justin "I ****ing suck at Hockey' Abdelkader and DFC?

Him repeatedly mentioning to Holland he'd like a Russian teammate, as there is an obvious language barrier. Im sure he is a well liked guy, but he must be frustrated trying to express himself. I'd imagine he's quite lonely. I'd honestly be astonished if he re-signed given how this team is trending and Babcock and Holland's inability to even grant him one ****ing Russian since Danny Markov

 

[Laser Rayzor]

Where in the world has Datsyuk even hinted that he's going back to Russia at the end of his contract?

He's stated multiple times he wants to end his career in Russia and people are jumping to the conclusion that he means at the end of this contract.
I think the more likely answer is he will sign another extension with the Wings and jump to Russia after that.

 

[CloneHakanPlease*]

He's stated multiple times he wants to end his career in Russia and people are jumping to the conclusion that he means at the end of this contract.
I think the more likely answer is he will sign another extension with the Wings and jump to Russia after that.

Maybe if his kids weren't back in Russia. This pretty much trumps everything.

 

[icKx]

As recent in this offseason when he lamented about much he missed it and said in the Russian press he preferred it to the NHL?

Through repeated interviews where he has stated he wants to finish his career there?

His now forgotten contract dispute when he tried to pull a Hudler?

Or when his now ex-wife took his daughter to Russia? Easily the biggest factor.

Being stuck on a line with Justin "I ****ing suck at Hockey' Abdelkader and DFC?

Him repeatedly mentioning to Holland he'd like a Russian teammate, as there is an obvious language barrier. Im sure he is a well liked guy, but he must be frustrated trying to express himself. I'd imagine he's quite lonely. I'd honestly be astonished if he re-signed given how this team is trending and Babcock and Holland's inability to even grant him one ****ing Russian since Danny Markov

Nicely sums it up.

Does anyone really think Lidstrom would have re-signed if the team sucked and his family were in Vasteras?

 

[Cursed Lemon]

As recent in this offseason when he lamented about much he missed it and said in the Russian press he preferred it to the NHL?

Through repeated interviews where he has stated he wants to finish his career there?

His now forgotten contract dispute when he tried to pull a Hudler?

Or when his now ex-wife took his daughter to Russia? Easily the biggest factor.

Being stuck on a line with Justin "I ****ing suck at Hockey' Abdelkader and DFC?

Him repeatedly mentioning to Holland he'd like a Russian teammate, as there is an obvious language barrier. Im sure he is a well liked guy, but he must be frustrated trying to express himself. I'd imagine he's quite lonely. I'd honestly be astonished if he re-signed given how this team is trending and Babcock and Holland's inability to even grant him one ****ing Russian since Danny Markov

He's stated multiple times he wants to end his career in Russia and people are jumping to the conclusion that he means at the end of this contract.
I think the more likely answer is he will sign another extension with the Wings and jump to Russia after that.

This.

Datsyuk conceivably has 10 years left on his hockey life. Five more years here and five more years in Russia is easily doable.

 

[Laser Rayzor]

This.

Datsyuk conceivably has 10 years left on his hockey life. Five more years here and five more years in Russia is easily doable.

10 years is a stretch, 5-6 at most

The family thing is a huge issue though, if he leaves for Russia, it's perfectly understandable, it'd be hard to be mad at the guy with his family issues and with how much he's given us over the years.
That said I'm still holding out hope that he signs a 1-2 year extension

 

[Cursed Lemon]

10 years is a stretch, 5-6 at most

The family thing is a huge issue though, if he leaves for Russia, it's perfectly understandable, it'd be hard to be mad at the guy with his family issues and with how much he's given us over the years.
That said I'm still holding out hope that he signs a 1-2 year extension

Fedorov played until he was 43 in Russia.

 

[aar000n]

Nicely sums it up.

Does anyone really think Lidstrom would have re-signed if the team sucked and his family were in Vasteras?

yeah we should trade everyone get draft picks for dats. get a draft pick for zetterberg. according to the forms those the only 2 real good players we have a team anyway. So from there we tank the next 2 years get the high draft pick and have a entire class of young guys who have just as much chance of tanking because in the end hockey is just as much of a crap shoot the draft picks as baseball.
or we could see it's a buyers market and get a top 6 fwd and d man. And contend for a cup

 

[icKx]

yeah we should trade everyone get draft picks for dats. get a draft pick for zetterberg. according to the forms those the only 2 real good players we have a team anyway. So from there we tank the next 2 years get the high draft pick and have a entire class of young guys who have just as much chance of tanking because in the end hockey is just as much of a crap shoot the draft picks as baseball.

Oh brother.

Look, I don't want to trade Datsyuk. Ideally he plays out this contract, signs a new 3 year deal and retires a Red Wing.

But if -- and only if -- he is hellbent on leaving for Russia after next year it might help soften the landing if we move him over the summer or at the deadline to acquire assets for the future. Because a rebuild will be coming, big time.

or we could see it's a buyers market and get a top 6 fwd and d man. And contend for a cup

When is it ever a buyers market?

We see it season after season: 26 buyers and a handful of sellers.

 

[CloneHakanPlease*]

This.

Datsyuk conceivably has 10 years left on his hockey life. Five more years here and five more years in Russia is easily doable.

Datsyuk has never struck me as having a huge ego, overly money hungry, or having a huge desire for records, especially if they come at the expense of his personal life. While he is a cerebral player and probably has a lot more shelf life, I have always had the feeling he will retire from hockey or at least the NHL earlier than most people expect.

His wife getting custody and taking his Daughter back to Russia essentially sealed the deal in making me think he is gone. His daughter is quickly entering some important years for memories and personality development and I am sure Pavel will want to be with her.

You can just ignore all the evidence leading to this again though and reference Fedorov who had a completely different personality than Datsyuk.

 

[icKx]

Fedorov also lost like $60 million in an investment scam; so early retirement wasn't really an option if he wanted to keep his homes and cars.

 

[The Zetterberg Era]

There is a big difference between I want the trade and we should listen to offers. If Datsyuk isn't coming back it would be foolish not to listen, somebody might just blow us out of the water and he might be interested in one last run in another jersey if we cannot provide a strong enough team.

 

[Ennui]

I don't know what the HFB site policy is on linking to other websites or whether it is a non issue, but Malik at The Malik Report blog on Kuklas korner posted a fairly pertinent interview with Ken Holland and some sports radio crew where he talks around the state of the team in Hollandian fashion.

I don't know if it has been posted previously or elsewhere on the forum; I thought that it might illuminate a bit more of Ken Holland to the posters here, perhaps help the posters here decide if he is still "in charge" of his Wings team.

http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/red-wings-gm-ken-holland-discusses-just-about-everything-he-can-in-fan-590

In terms of seeking to make moves to improve the roster, it really sounds as if he is in a stand pat sort of mentality; another case of "we've been kicking tires, we need to find a deal that makes sense for our team" and a little bit of "we like our team, we just need to get healthy bodies back."

 

[BinCookin]

And he also wont be on this team in 2 years, neither of which we will be a true contender. Nobody thinks Datsyuk deserves to be traded, they just want the trade based on asset managment.

Trading Datsyuk for a massive return helps this team become a contender again in 5 years. Losing him to the KHL for nothing does not.

It honestly baffles me at how people still think we have a legitimate shot at the cup. News flash, even if our team is fully healthy (something that is almost guaranteed to never happen), there are at least 10 if not more teams just as good as us, and unlike the Wings, their best players aren't aging rapidly.

You mention him moving to Russia, and so do alot of others. Is there any source for this???

If he is planning on only playing 2 more years... what could we get for Datsyuk???

No matter what we trade for him it wont be enough. 2 1sts and a second pick? From Vancouver lets say? Is it worth it? Or from Boston?

It is highly likely we get 2 players like SHEAHAN for that... its not that good.
BUT if we trade Datsyuk... you also have to trade Zetterberg. I can't see one going and the other staying.

I honestly can't remember a team LITERALLY trading away TWO superstars to rebuild instantly while there team was still decent.... Mmmmm wait a minute... Philly did. I honestly wonder if they are better for it.

 

[icKx]

http://kuklaskorner.com/tmr/comments/red-wings-gm-ken-holland-discusses-just-about-everything-he-can-in-fan-590

In terms of seeking to make moves to improve the roster, it really sounds as if he is in a stand pat sort of mentality; another case of "we've been kicking tires, we need to find a deal that makes sense for our team" and a little bit of "we like our team, we just need to get healthy bodies back."

That interview was depressing. Basically the plan is get healthy and hope for a miracle run to the playoffs a la 2010.

Holland was really pumping Lashoff's tires and I don't know why. Guy has been nothing special.

Not a single mention of Tatar or Nyquist.