Would you be happy/mad at making the playoffs next season?

[MBH]

Taken seriously? By whom?
Who cares?
The goal this season should be an improvement. The Wings need to improve as much as they can without taking terrible contracts.

Ah going the mid 00s-mid 10s Leaf's route and spending big on dudes that will never replicate the production on your team route. We will draft Auston Matthews for sure this way.

That's a really poor comprehension of what I wrote.

We've got caproom in a market that's still economically depressed.
We've got serious flaws in the roster
Now is the year to spend, before the market loosens up

Inflation is gonna blow the doors off the the salary cap soon.

 

[iDangleDangle]

Depends on the performance leading up to it.

If it were on the shoulders of our core players and prospects taking steps, sure.

If it's by squeaking in with UFA stop gags and unsustainable peak years by some players, then no.

 

[FMichael]

Stop with the defeatist attitude..
The Rangers didn't get some "hometown discount."
He makes $11.6M a year. Panarin is very well paid. The second highest paid player in the league.

He wanted to go to NYR even though they sucked.
Fox wanted to go to NYR even though they sucked.

They found a way to get better.
LA went out and got Danault and Arvidsson and they got better.

If you want to waste your offseason acquiring the Suters and Filppulas and Staals of the world while acquiring top 10 picksm get prepared for a Buffalo Sabres existence.

Agreed.

Nothing wrong with building thru the draft - however look at Holland's track record of drafting - that set us back a handful of years.

UFA and smart trades can certainly help with the rebuild and making the playoffs.

 

[MBH]

Agreed.

Nothing wrong with building thru the draft - however look at Holland's track record of drafting - that set us back a handful of years.

UFA and smart trades can certainly help with the rebuild and making the playoffs.

People seem to think there's a binary state.
0 - trade away picks and prospects for veterans
1 - Trade away veterans for picks and prospects

But it's not that black and white. Nowhere near it.
You can try to make the playoffs and compete without throwing away young assets.

Let's also be a bit real.
We're starting to get pretty youth heavy.
As it is - next year, there's not enough room for Berggren and Soderblom, most likely. Not while you've got Bert, Vrana, Raymond and Fabbri, etc.

Realistically, between Detroit and GR, there's not enough room for McIsaac, Sebrango, Wallinder, Edvinsson, Johansson, Viro...
not to mention any of the other LD we've drafted.

Gradually, some prospects are going to clock out. But you still want to have a development program that allows you to slot in players where they can best develop.