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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...#ixzz1zr1CbbgW
Best bet for the Red Wings: Play waiting game
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- Gregg Krupa
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...#ixzz1zr1CbbgW
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