Mantha Poodoo
Playoff Beard
- Jun 5, 2008
- 4,109
- 0
Lots of fresh blood making an impact right now. Who gets lost in the shuffle?
Dats, Z, Flip, Brunner, and Mule are obvious keepers for the top 6. Hopefully Flip and Brunner both get acceptable new contracts. It's likely Nyquist will be in there full time next year as well. That leaves us with these current players under contract to fill out the bottom 6 + spare parts:
Helm
Abdelkader
Tootoo
Eaves
Miller (UFA)
Samuelsson
Bertuzzi
Cleary (UFA)
Tatar
Andersson
Mursak
Emmerton
At most, we need 6 of those + 2 spares on the roster. Regarding the UFAs, I think Cleary's time is up with the Wings; he no longer brings anything that a number of other players don't. Likewise, I think Miller is gone too. I like Miller's contribution, but again, he's replaceable. I imagine he may be shopped to a team looking for a reliable 3rd/4th line winger this season, once Kenny figures out who he wants, but we'll see.
Once the UFAs are gone, that still leaves the Wings with 10/8 potential forwards.
Helm is an obvious lock.
Abdelkader brings a lot of physical play to the bottom 6 and has also been good for around 20p a season thus far, so I'm pretty sure he'll stay.
At this point, I think Emmerton might have forged himself a spot a bottom 6 center on a healthy roster--otherwise, I think he's a tradeable asset for a low pick.
Sammy--As long as Sammy gets healthy again, I think he has the ability to contribute scoring to the bottom 6 and potentially the power play.
Bert has been a solid contributor to the team. If he doesn't retire I think he keeps a roster spot. Also, shootouts.
Tootoo--Brings a crazy amount of physical play. He doesn't need to be an every game guy (though he has the ability to be), but I definitely want him around for certain teams. I think we all know who.
Eaves--Affordable and effective.. and hopefully healthy. If healthy, he'll be finishing out his contract here if nothing else.
Tatar needs to be up here. He brings too much speed and skill for the Wings to ignore at this point.
Andersson--I don't remember if he's waiver eligible after this year. If so, we either see him next year, or he's traded or waived. I'd like to give him a chance as we could use a forward with size.
Mursak--Has not been able to stay healthy and has not made a significant impact when he has been so. Unless the Wings really like his upside, I suspect he's an odd man out one way or another.
Ultimately, I think there's a chance that 1 of Sammy or Bert may not be around (retirement/injuries or what have you), but it's unlikely that both are gone. I'll do my projection based off of both:
Filppula - Zetterberg - Brunner
Franzen - Datsyuk - Bertuzzi
Tatar - Nyquist - Samuelsson
Abdelkader - Helm - Eaves/Tootoo
(A righty shot on every line! Gasp. Also, that 4th line makes me warm and fuzzy inside.)
Spares: Tootoo/Eaves, Emmerton/Andersson
Who do you think stays/goes?
Dats, Z, Flip, Brunner, and Mule are obvious keepers for the top 6. Hopefully Flip and Brunner both get acceptable new contracts. It's likely Nyquist will be in there full time next year as well. That leaves us with these current players under contract to fill out the bottom 6 + spare parts:
Helm
Abdelkader
Tootoo
Eaves
Miller (UFA)
Samuelsson
Bertuzzi
Cleary (UFA)
Tatar
Andersson
Mursak
Emmerton
At most, we need 6 of those + 2 spares on the roster. Regarding the UFAs, I think Cleary's time is up with the Wings; he no longer brings anything that a number of other players don't. Likewise, I think Miller is gone too. I like Miller's contribution, but again, he's replaceable. I imagine he may be shopped to a team looking for a reliable 3rd/4th line winger this season, once Kenny figures out who he wants, but we'll see.
Once the UFAs are gone, that still leaves the Wings with 10/8 potential forwards.
Helm is an obvious lock.
Abdelkader brings a lot of physical play to the bottom 6 and has also been good for around 20p a season thus far, so I'm pretty sure he'll stay.
At this point, I think Emmerton might have forged himself a spot a bottom 6 center on a healthy roster--otherwise, I think he's a tradeable asset for a low pick.
Sammy--As long as Sammy gets healthy again, I think he has the ability to contribute scoring to the bottom 6 and potentially the power play.
Bert has been a solid contributor to the team. If he doesn't retire I think he keeps a roster spot. Also, shootouts.
Tootoo--Brings a crazy amount of physical play. He doesn't need to be an every game guy (though he has the ability to be), but I definitely want him around for certain teams. I think we all know who.
Eaves--Affordable and effective.. and hopefully healthy. If healthy, he'll be finishing out his contract here if nothing else.
Tatar needs to be up here. He brings too much speed and skill for the Wings to ignore at this point.
Andersson--I don't remember if he's waiver eligible after this year. If so, we either see him next year, or he's traded or waived. I'd like to give him a chance as we could use a forward with size.
Mursak--Has not been able to stay healthy and has not made a significant impact when he has been so. Unless the Wings really like his upside, I suspect he's an odd man out one way or another.
Ultimately, I think there's a chance that 1 of Sammy or Bert may not be around (retirement/injuries or what have you), but it's unlikely that both are gone. I'll do my projection based off of both:
Filppula - Zetterberg - Brunner
Franzen - Datsyuk - Bertuzzi
Tatar - Nyquist - Samuelsson
Abdelkader - Helm - Eaves/Tootoo
(A righty shot on every line! Gasp. Also, that 4th line makes me warm and fuzzy inside.)
Spares: Tootoo/Eaves, Emmerton/Andersson
Who do you think stays/goes?