Red Wings

[FCRhodes]

It's a team sport. I wanted Suter, but time to move on.

[DanO]

Holland made a good offer. He lost. I commend him for not overspending and putting the team in future cap hell. As I said, he has a plan and he sticks to it. The Wings may take a step back this year but they'll be back shortly if that does happen. Who knows what lurks in the depths of the Wings minor leagues.................

[jaadam4]

Who knows what lurks in the depths of the Wings minor leagues.................

I do and it's nothing good.

The last time we had a changing of the guard we had Dats and Z ready to make the step. We just don't have any IMO.

[DanO]

You said the same thing about the Tigers before the season started...................

[jaadam4]

The sad thing is the Tigers have more than the Wings. At least the Tigs have Turner and Nick C.

The Wings are hurting

Not to mention the Tigers aren't strapped by the salary cap era. Mr. I can spend and bring in the FA's while the Wings just got turned down by 2 for greener pastures in Minny. We can't restock on the fly if there's no one to restock with.

As I said before I love Doan but I doubt he'll leave. Semin could be good or a complete shit sandwich but there's no one out there to man the D.

It's time to try and take on someone else's salary cap woes.

[DanO]

Is the macaroni cooking?

[lions&tigers&wings...yea]

Some good news finally being reported for the wings, they hired Tom Renney to fill the assistant coaching vacancy left by Blashill being named the new Griffins head coach.

He's a very good X's and O's coach and is most of all experienced at the NHL level...he coached the Rangers to 3 straight 40 win seasons and playoffs, and most recently coached the oilers for the last two years (youngest team in the league). He has worked with Babs at the international level too, so this must be a guy Babcock really wanted.

The oilers had one of the best PPs last year so maybe this guy can help our anemic one, his experience with youth should also help Smith and Gus this year in their first full years.

As to the tigers having more than the wings, well whats to be expected when the contract limit you can have is ridiculously slanted towards one end...so the tigers should have more guys to work with. However, having said that I really don't think the tigers farm system has overall better quality players than the wings does. The wings have a top 10 prospect pool in the NHL, which is an amazing accomplishment when you are a perennial contender...it's just that the players are not ready this season because the ones that should have been developed and on the team by now to help facilitate the loss of Lidstrom were dealt away in the early 00's for players like Schneider, Calder, and Lang. I honestly don't really foresee the playoff streak coming to an end anytime soon...next year granted I don't think we will be contenders but you just have to get in and have a hot goalie to win it all.

[lions&tigers&wings...yea]

Here's our new assistant coach:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d8ZJgRcnfg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d8ZJgRcnfg[/ame]

[chemiclord]

Holland made a good offer. He lost. I commend him for not overspending and putting the team in future cap hell. As I said, he has a plan and he sticks to it. The Wings may take a step back this year but they'll be back shortly if that does happen. Who knows what lurks in the depths of the Wings minor leagues.................

I do.

Griffins play right in my backyard. There's talent in GR right now to supplement a Zetterberg or a Datsyuk... but the next Zetterberg or Datsyuk right now isn't there.

They've got Jurco over in Canada still... but from what I've seen of him, he's not the scorer the Wings need. Smith is never going to make anyone forget Lidstrom. Hell, he's not going to make them forget Stuart.

The Wings window with this current core of players is closing fast. My only issue is if Holland thinks they can still win the Cup with that core... they HAVE to make the moves to do it... because right now, what they have isn't going to cut it. There's too many question marks on defense and they need some more power scoring.

If not, then Holland needs to temper expectations and begin the rebuild now. But so far, Holland's been saying the former. He keeps saying, "this team can win now..." then sends out the same squad that has been getting bounced earlier and earlier. Then again, maybe that tune'll chance now that he's lost out on Suter. We'll see.

[froot loops]

Holland has been trying to make the moves, but to get real difference makers you need to a bunch of top prospects to deal and they just don't have that. The rebuild will begin soon enough, there is no need to start it premature. They've kept it going for a long time with low draft positions, eventually its going to catch up to them. They'll get some players, they have some money. This is going to be a big season, the people who thought losing Lidstrom wouldn't be a big deal are going to see it is a BFD. For all the talk about the Red WIngs and they money they spent over the years, most of it was on homegrown players or players they traded homegrown players for. Going out and striking gold in free agency happened one time, in 2002.

[Tony G]

Jeff Seidel: Red Wings seem to be losing luster as a free-agent destination

8:25 PM, July 4, 2012


At the start of free agency, Red Wings GM Ken Holland acknowledged there is frustration among Red Wings fans. / William Archie / DFP

By Jeff Seidel

Detroit Free Press Columnist

Ryan Suter turned down Hockeytown for a bunch of lakes. He turned down the Red Wings. Worse of all, he turned down Mike Ilitch and $90 million.
And few can turn down Mr. Ilitch. Pudge Rodriguez couldn’t do it. Neither could Prince Fielder or Chris Chelios or countless other players who are now living in beautiful homes and driving around in nice cars thanks to Mr. Ilitch’s deep pockets, not to mention his burning desire to bring in stars.
Suter and his buddy, Zach Parise, have decided to play for the Minnesota Wild.
Seriously? Minnesota? I lived in Minnesota for two years, and I’ll tell you one thing: it’s freakin’ cold.
So why couldn’t this package have come to Detroit?
The Red Wings extended contract offers to both of them, although Suter was clearly the main focus. What does Minnesota have that we don’t have? Other than, you know, a lot of frostbite?
Red Wings general manager Ken Holland told the Free Press that Suter’s “wife is from Minny, grandparents are nearby. We lost out to family. Can’t beat family.”
To which I say, aw heck, I’ve lived close to my family, and it’s overrated. Whoops. Kidding, Mom and Dad.
Anyhow, the more I think about this, the more I get a sinking feeling. What does this mean in the big picture? Does Suter think the Red Wings are not close to contending? Does he think the luster is coming off the Red Wings?
Losing out on one player in free agency is not alarming or surprising. But two of them at the same time? Is that a trend of something worse to come?
Or rather, was it just a plan that Suter and Parise had all along?
There was a time when future Hall of Famers tripped over themselves to play in Hockeytown. Players like Suter and Parise sprinted to Detroit.
But now, it’s just bad news after bad news.
First, the Red Wings lost in the first round of the playoffs. Then, Nicklas Lidstrom retired. Then Brad Stuart left, followed by Jiri Hudler.
At the start of free agency, Holland acknowledged there is growing frustration among Red Wings fans.
“The mood out there seems to be we are slipping, which we are slipping a little bit, with the loss of Lidstrom,” Holland said last week.
You have to give him credit for his honesty. But more than anything, you have to acknowledge that he tried to change it.
Holland has a solid, patient vision on how to build a contender in the age of free agency: Build the core through the draft, develop homegrown talent and top it off with free agency or trades.
The Red Wings went after the top two free agents on the market. The Wings had about $17 million in salary-cap space to remake their team on the fly. It is the most money the Red Wings have ever had during the salary-cap era. They were set up perfectly to make a big splash. But it turned into a nasty belly flop, and right now it stings like crazy.
Yep, that’s gonna leave a mark.
If there is any solace, it is this: Holland has built champions before and after free agency. He is one of the best GMs in the business, and there is no way he is done. The Red Wings have a solid core with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. And they have several young players and a great owner. “We are trying to evolve,” Holland said last week.
But what if you can’t land anybody that you want in free agency?
Will they burn through their money and have to overpay just to bring in a second choice?
Are we at the start of a horrible downward spiral?
Maybe they can sign another defenseman. Maybe they will trade for more scoring.
But right now, they are moving on to a second choice.
And in the old days, the Red Wings were the Red Wings, and they were the first choice.
Contact Jeff Seidel: 313-223-4558 or jseidel@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.

[chemiclord]

The only problem I have with this article is that the "solid core" of this team is getting old. The window isn't going to be open much longer.

Holland has to decide, and soon, if he's going to all-in with one more push with the core he has, or get ready to rebuild. The Wings simply don't have the talent in the lower levels to sustain what they have done for close to 20 years. The rebuild is coming. Standing pat is just delaying the inevitable.

The "plan" needs some revision.

[Tony G]

July 6, 2012 at 1:00 am
Best bet for the Red Wings: Play waiting game

Accustomed to a bumper crop almost every season, it may be difficult for fans of the Red Wings to get used to a fallow field.
But, having lost in the grand scheme to secure the two players who would have instantly restored an increasingly depleted roster, the wisest thing for the Red Wings might well be standing pat.
It could be the most direct path to the partial reconstruction they require.

After a third consecutive early-round exit from the playoffs, the Red Wings lost veteran superstar Nicklas Lidstrom to retirement and Brad Stuart to the Sharks — their top two defensive defensemen — and one of their four 20-goal scorers, Jiri Hudler. The packaged, free-agent acquisition of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter would have fixed things in a hurry, supplying the scoring punch and physicality the Red Wings sometimes lack from their current crop of forwards, and shoring up the back end.
What the Red Wings could have accomplished in one move may now take a couple of seasons or more to realize: Assembling a bona fide contender for the Stanley Cup.
With Parise and Suter going to the Wild for more money than the Red Wings offered, Detroit is unlikely to rank as prime contenders, regardless of what it does this summer. The players likely are not available now, even through a few trades.
Worth the wait

But next summer will bring another crop of free agents, who — like Parise and Suter — could provide a couple of essential ingredients to create, once again, a big-time contender.
When team-changing free agents like Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Shea Weber and Jarome Iginla become available, perhaps a year from now, the Red Wings need to position themselves precisely as they did this summer: With ample cash available for shopping and owner Mike Ilitch's plane idling at the airport.
It took tons of money to sign Parise and Suter, and the Red Wings fell a bit short. For all of the talk about their desire to play at home and play for a perennial winner, Parise and Suter also took the best money.
Considered as a package, which they were, Parise and Suter reportedly landed a total of $196 million. The Red Wings likely offered something in the neighborhood of about $170 million-$180 million.
Regardless, the Wild outbid the Red Wings.
Did the additional money seal the deal? It is unclear.
But, by Tuesday evening, it appeared Parise took the Red Wings off his list.
And if the Red Wings were not going to get Parise, the likelihood of signing Suter decreased, drastically. In fact, it probably vanished.
The point? If the Red Wings want the shortest path to their next Cup, they must have ample money available next summer and be willing to patiently play the bidding and courting game — and, yes, risking losing, again — in the hope of signing two players who are among the cream of the crop.
Hoarding cash, continuing to develop their younger players and hoping the veterans step up is probably the best to which the Red Wings can aspire in 2012-13.
Pickings slim, price high

It is spare solace, especially for fans so used to perennially having the Red Wings among the few prime contenders for the Stanley Cup.
But there are only four potential difference makers out there right now:
Keith Yandle of the Coyotes, who rivals Suter, Weber and Drew Doughty as the best, complete young defenseman in the game.
Weber, whom the Predators might trade eventually if they cannot sign him to a long-term deal.
Rick Nash, for whom the Blue Jackets are asking the sun and sky.
Bobby Ryan, the sniper-of-a-forward with whom the Ducks will not part easily.
Shane Doan, the admirable captain of the Coyotes, who is showing signs of growing tired with the instability in Arizona, but may realize in the next several days ownership has, at long last, stabilized.
Doan is the only free agent in the group. Yandle, Weber, Nash and Ryan are available only through trade, and any of the deals could cost the Red Wings a lot.
Right now, the Red Wings are not among the NHL franchises that can part with one or two of its big pieces, along with some smaller ones, to acquire the last part of a puzzle. I do not perceive a good reason, for example, to lose Valtteri Filppula, a top-four defenseman, a legitimate prospect and a draft choice or two for Nash, when they clearly need more than just Nash.
Time to practice patience

The blame for these circumstances does not lie with the Red Wings brain trust. Viewed objectively, the prime cause is, in fact, all of the success the Red Wings have enjoyed for so long that, if only by course of nature, the team now requires refurbishing.
The partial reconstruction must be done under a salary cap, amid a trend of at least two years of players often garnering more money than their worth and the prospect of a new collective bargaining agreement.
Like it or not, the Red Wings must patiently play that game.
Does it mean they will not win the Stanley Cup in 2013? Having just observed the Kings and the Devils play in the Finals, never say never. But it is likely to be a longer shot than it has been in at least 17 seasons.
Regardless, it all argues for Detroit lying fallow, for now.
There may be some slack nights for attendance and television viewers this season, while $17 million in cap space is unspent. But the discerning fan base must come to understand it is a means to an end.
And then, the best front office in the game must again prove its worth, amid some of the most strained circumstances for the Red Wings in two decades.

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/2...#ixzz1zptB2rZf

[WingsFan]

Kind of a bummer, would have to agree with that one. Parise (wasn't coming to Detroit anyway) and Suter just want to be BFFs in Minnesota. I trust Ken Holland will not make a knee jerk reaction and sounds like Columbus wants the Sun and Moon for Rick Nash. Doan has been a beast, but do we really want another 35+ guy?

Might be the end of a 20 year playoff run, but who knows what this team will look like next spring? And what it takes to win in the long haul these days ?? Seems like more than talent. Holland always seems to find a way to surprise me when it looks like the Red Wings might be slipping.

[froot loops]

Holland has to decide, and soon, if he's going to all-in with one more push with the core he has, or get ready to rebuild.

False. Extreme overraction to not getting these two free agents. This is stuff of Mike Valenti, grand sweeping gestures. All in like its a poker event. Please, the core is getting older, but they do have some young players. And trading everything you might have left might not get you much anyway. Its kind of like people are ignoring that Holland has tried desperately to trade for players and the GMs look at whats left in the farm system and come to the same conclusion you do. They don't think its that good. Its like if the result isn't right, its the the result of some patient plan, instead of the result of them not having enough to trade.

Plus every other big money team is left holding the bag. Those two went to the Wild. They have money, they will find some players eventually. In some cases