Massive overpay. He's a 4th liner who wants to be a 2nd liner, and his major skill (speed) isn't going to hold up for 5 more years.
Tamp and Florida are definitely better than us. Montreal with Price healthy all year is better than us. Buffalo could take a jump but they are probably neck and neck with us. We are going to struggle competing for a WC spot. I would tend to think we are going to pick around 10 or 11
Holland is proving that he was simply a stooge for Scotty who was good at spending Mr. I's dough and the beneficiary of the scouting of Nill and Andersson.
If this means Mantha has no legit shot to make the club out of camp I will lose my mind. You have to think someone wants Tatar or Gus.
Mantha and AA will start the season in GR. Ken Holland can go fuck himself. Ilitch can go die already. Piece of shit enabler. Don't buy his shitty pizzas. Don't buy tickets or merch for the Wings or Tigers. Burn it all down.
Change the title to Fuck Holland. He hasn't done shit since they had the salary cap. How he is still around is beyond me. He got fed up with Dombrowski, and he did a better job than Kenny.
Steve Ott can fight people for us now, so there is absolutely no reason to have Brendan Smith on the team. Holland paid Nyquist, Tatar is odd man out. TRADE: Brendan Smith, Tatar, Pulkinnen for a D and a prospect or pick next draft. I think Trouba is probably the most likely Gives room for AA and Mantha right? Moves Big E down to third pairing on D DDK - NEW GUY Kronwall - Green Ericson - Marchenko/Oullete Marchenko/Oullete ???
Pulkkinen had shoulder surgery and will be out 4-6 months. My guess is he won't even sign his RFA deal with us and just end up playing in Finland.
Because the Wings will probably only offer the min for one year and there is a decent chance he gets buried in GR in the process.
I guess my question is whether a Finnish team sign him now for a best case of him being ready to go around December.
I feel like he would get more security in Finland. Plus I can't imagine he is too happy with the Wings organization so he may just want to be anywhere but here.
DeKeyser resigned at 6 years, 30 mil. Mrazek has his arbitration hearing tomorrow. He wants 5 mil a year and the Wings are apparently around 3. He requested a two year deal but my guess is the arbitrator splits the difference if nothing is signed today. We basically have to trade someone now though, or use a buyout.
Love the DK deal, but I am getting really nervous about how we're going to handle this cap situation and overload at forward...unless Kenny has quietly been working phones (which I doubt as there has been nothing in the rumor mill,) I feel like we're going to end up stuck making a bad trade. If you look at any of the potential defensemen we've looked at (unless we move players for picks) they all either have or will need a big ticket contract. The expansion draft might solve that, but I feel like a lot of fans assume Vegas will conveniently take Big E and Howard off of our hands, when in actuality I don't think either get taken. TL;DR - we're fucked.
It would have to be Ericsson or Howard. If Mrazek gets his 5 mil you gotta probably do Howie. That is so much money in goalies.
But they'd have to sign a backup goalie if they chop Howard. They can replace E with one of the handful of young D who should be ready.
you realize that wouldn't really solve any problems? we probably need to buy him out. Also, I've heard a lot of talk that the Helm contract was one given to entice Vegas in taking him at the draft - they get a veteran guy with term and dollar amount to ensure they're over the cap floor. Solid 3C who can PK for a team trying to find its identity...would be nice if true.
Ericsson isn't so bad that he can't be a #4-#6 D for us. It's just that he's expensive and we have younger guys that can fill those roles and he's often forced to play a greater role than that
He's very bad. Soft as fuck now. And makes dumber DZ mistakes than Smith. His hip and wrist issues are only gonna get worse.
From the little I've seen this pre season (supplemented with the large amount I have read) it will be a crime for Mantha and AA to not make the team out of camp. Based on everything Blash and Holland keep saying, I would expect felonies to be committed when the roster is decided.
Also I don't expect us to be particularly good or particularly entertaining to watch this year. It is the main reason I detest the idea of moving our first for a guy like Fowler. We could definitely be around the tenth pick in the draft come the end of the season.
Yeah no way I want to move picks. This is the most likely year in the last 26 that we miss the playoffs finally. And I'm okay with that. It's been a hell of a run. We have a ton of young talent. A couple top 5-10 picks that pan out and we are legit contenders again for another chunk of years.
God damn, I love the way you think DeToxRox - Mantha sounds zoned in and AA is picking up where he left off. That being said, our glut of forwards and bottom pair d-men makes me cringe. We can keep one of Frk, Pulky and Jurco w/o adding redundancy or wasting a roster spot. That still leaves Hank - Nielsen - Tatar/Nyquist/Vanek (please God no - I hope he flames early and we cut him) Abby (muscle for Larkin) - Larkin - Mantha Sheahan - Helm - AA Ott - Glenndening - Miller that leaves one of those 3 fringe guys and some defenseive specialist (Cally, Tangradi?, Nosek? Aubry? - shocked he is still up) DK - Green Marchenko - Smith Kronner - Big E (I wish we burry/protect them) or Big E gets benched for Sproul (I know everyone loves Oullet but I wouldn't mind putting him in a trade) Even with that there guys that will push in the next year: Little Bert, Russo, Hicketts, Coreau in net. I'm expecting, and sort of hoping, for a painful season with growing pains. Edit: two more things, that's 13 of 15 players with 1-way contracts and at least 5 of them are suspect as NHL players. Does anyone else see them using Abby like the Oilers teams used Semenko and McSorley?)
So the guy we could have drafted before we traded the 1st round pick to Phoenix is in the running to make their roster. Nice job Kenny
Yea I saw that...I was excited Chychrun dropped to us - trade needed to happen to have any sort of space with the cap, but fuck me did that hurt. One of those weird, somewhat indirect, ways mismanaging the cap fucks a team.