On another note Wings invite 16 FA's to Development Camp. Don't know a lot of them but who knows maybe something good will come of this. ◾Ildar Telykov stands out mainly because he is a 6'9 bean pole at 216 pounds. ◾Alex Gudbranson is interesting.


http://www.theleftwingloc...e-14-to-development-camp/

I really like the idea of Grabovski in a Wings uniform. Underrated player (in my opinion), good skater, was probably mishandled in Toronto last year (I'm not really surprised he was upset). Same age as Val with fewer miles and more offensive ability; Val might be better in his own end but I've often felt that Filppula's ability as a two-way player has been overstated.

It goes without saying I'd like Brunner back at the right price. Obviously there's still a lot of uncertainty with him but he could be a consistent 20-25 goal threat from the third line who can fill in on the top six. Definitely worth keeping around.

Cleary can walk if he thinks he thinks a 34-year-old injury-prone forward with sharply declining production deserves a 7% salary raise on a 3-year deal in a year where the cap is going down. Which he seems to.

Val can walk if he thinks he deserves 1st-line center minutes and money, which he doesn't, at least not on a team with any hope of winning more than one playoff round. You get what you see with him, which is to say a 20-goal, 30-assist guy who has never had especially good possession numbers. And since forwards tend to peak in their late 20s, he's probably never going to be better than he is right now.

Ryane Clowe intrigues me and I haven't heard much about him this offseason, but if the Wings were skittish about Lecavalier's foot speed they probably aren't going to have much interest in Clowe either.

I really like the idea of Grabovski in a Wings uniform. Underrated player (in my opinion), good skater, was probably mishandled in Toronto last year (I'm not really surprised he was upset). Same age as Val with fewer miles and more offensive ability; Val might be better in his own end but I've often felt that Filppula's ability as a two-way player has been overstated.

It goes without saying I'd like Brunner back at the right price. Obviously there's still a lot of uncertainty with him but he could be a consistent 20-25 goal threat from the third line who can fill in on the top six. Definitely worth keeping around.

Cleary can walk if he thinks he thinks a 34-year-old injury-prone forward with sharply declining production deserves a 7% salary raise on a 3-year deal in a year where the cap is going down. Which he seems to.

Val can walk if he thinks he deserves 1st-line center minutes and money, which he doesn't, at least not on a team with any hope of winning more than one playoff round. You get what you see with him, which is to say a 20-goal, 30-assist guy who has never had especially good possession numbers. And since forwards tend to peak in their late 20s, he's probably never going to be better than he is right now.

Ryane Clowe intrigues me and I haven't heard much about him this offseason, but if the Wings were skittish about Lecavalier's foot speed they probably aren't going to have much interest in Clowe either.
- Sven22

Grabovski is a good fit and will be a Leafs-killer as the Red Wings are entering the Northeast division as rivals. He's always been a thorn in the Habs ass.

Plus, Grabovski to Detroit makes sense. Grabo centred Datstyuk on CSKA Moscow during the lockout. That would possibly move Datsyuk to the wing on one line with Zetterberg centering Franzen on another. Helm coming back healthy as your 3rd line centre.

Fackin Red Wings lol

TSN saying Alfie told the Sens he's leaving last night...

TSN saying Alfie told the Sens he's leaving last night...
- noffsin6

1-year incentive-laded deal for Daniel Alfredsson? I'm totally down. Always loved that guy, even if he's a 50-point player at best these days.

Okay, let's make some calculations and assumptions.

Not including Alfredsson's performance bonuses (which can be slagged onto next year's cap if necessary) and rough-guessing that Nike, Andersson and Smith re-up at a combined $4 million, that puts Detroit in the neighborhood of $2.7 million over the cap with 16 forwards, 7 defenders, and 2 goalies on the roster.

Which is to say, a net total of 2 forwards and $2.7 million needs to get shifted out via trades, waivers, IR, or some other process by the start of next season.

They might have enough guys on IR to start the season that they can stay over the cap for a while but that's really just delaying the inevitable, perhaps until a time where you have even less control over the outcome.

I know Bert and Sammy are popular names to get rid of but I don't see it happening. Both are 35+ contracts, there's really no way to get those cap hits off the books unless you trade them, and I don't see anyone realistically willing to take either off Detroit's hands.

Personally I'd love to see Emmerton kicked to the curb but he's so damn cheap that getting rid of him almost does you no good.

I'm thinking Tootoo and Eaves are not long for the red and white. Would love to see Detroit still find a way to bring Brunner back but I just don't see how they could at this point.

Okay, let's make some calculations and assumptions.

Not including Alfredsson's performance bonuses (which can be slagged onto next year's cap if necessary) and rough-guessing that Nike, Andersson and Smith re-up at a combined $4 million, that puts Detroit in the neighborhood of $2.7 million over the cap with 16 forwards, 7 defenders, and 2 goalies on the roster.

Which is to say, a net total of 2 forwards and $2.7 million needs to get shifted out via trades, waivers, IR, or some other process by the start of next season.

They might have enough guys on IR to start the season that they can stay over the cap for a while but that's really just delaying the inevitable, perhaps until a time where you have even less control over the outcome.

I know Bert and Sammy are popular names to get rid of but I don't see it happening. Both are 35+ contracts, there's really no way to get those cap hits off the books unless you trade them, and I don't see anyone realistically willing to take either off Detroit's hands.

Personally I'd love to see Emmerton kicked to the curb but he's so damn cheap that getting rid of him almost does you no good.

I'm thinking Tootoo and Eaves are not long for the red and white. Would love to see Detroit still find a way to bring Brunner back but I just don't see how they could at this point.
- Sven22

If the Wings slide Alfie's bonus cap hits to next season they should be fine as is I think. They could also slide DeKeyser's bonuses and with Alfie that would give them 5.3 million in cap space to re-sign their RFAs. I think Bert ends up on LTIR for the entire season because his back is shot so that could also add another 2 million in cap flexibility. Best thing would be to find someone to take Sammy for nothing...he does have a NTC and could block any trades but that wouldn't stop the Wings from putting him on waivers and hoping that a team that missed out on UFA's pick him up for nothing. If they got rid of Sammy they maybe could bring back Brunner which would be sweet but they still would have to clear out a roster spot which would mean Emmerton would likely go.

Weiss and Alfie, pretty decent job by Holland today.

If the Wings slide Alfie's bonus cap hits to next season they should be fine as is I think. They could also slide DeKeyser's bonuses and with Alfie that would give them 5.3 million in cap space to re-sign their RFAs. I think Bert ends up on LTIR for the entire season because his back is shot so that could also add another 2 million in cap flexibility. Best thing would be to find someone to take Sammy for nothing...he does have a NTC and could block any trades but that wouldn't stop the Wings from putting him on waivers and hoping that a team that missed out on UFA's pick him up for nothing. If they got rid of Sammy they maybe could bring back Brunner which would be sweet but they still would have to clear out a roster spot which would mean Emmerton would likely go.
- dcz28

Okay, I rechecked the numbers. Basically if you ignore all bonuses (Alfredsson, DeKeyser, Tatar) Detroit has $2.3 million to play with RIGHT NOW, with Smith, Nyquist, and Andersson left to sign and -- once that's over -- two roster spots and however much $$ they go over to cut or shelf.

I don't know if Bert's gonna be out all year; he was supposedly healthy by playoff time. I'm more worried about Helm being out for another year (and possibly done for good). I mean, Helm on LTIR fixes the cap issue but not in a particularly ideal way.

EDIT: Although Helm is going to the summer development camp and is supposedly feeling better, so who knows. Sure hope he doesn't re-aggravate anything.

Okay, I rechecked the numbers. Basically if you ignore all bonuses (Alfredsson, DeKeyser, Tatar) Detroit has $2.3 million to play with RIGHT NOW, with Smith, Nyquist, and Andersson left to sign and -- once that's over -- two roster spots and however much $$ they go over to cut or shelf.

I don't know if Bert's gonna be out all year; he was supposedly healthy by playoff time. I'm more worried about Helm being out for another year (and possibly done for good). I mean, Helm on LTIR fixes the cap issue but not in a particularly ideal way.

EDIT: Although Helm is going to the summer development camp and is supposedly feeling better, so who knows. Sure hope he doesn't re-aggravate anything.
- Sven22

Get rid of Sammy and it fixes a lot of things...Wings proved this year they can live without him. 3 million for him is a big waste of money for the Wings. I don't get why he would challenge being injured to not be bought out...he gets 2 million over 2 years to go sign another deal with another team...if he signs for anything over 1 million he makes more than he would have made playing this year for the Wings.

Get rid of Sammy and it fixes a lot of things...Wings proved this year they can live without him. 3 million for him is a big waste of money for the Wings. I don't get why he would challenge being injured to not be bought out...he gets 2 million over 2 years to go sign another deal with another team...if he signs for anything over 1 million he makes more than he would have made playing this year for the Wings.
- dcz28

I totally agree, Sammy at $3 million definitely looks like the biggest albatross on the team's cap right now. It could be, I guess, that the Wings still think a healthy Samuelsson (ha!) can put up 40-50 points over a full NHL season, which I find unlikely but not necessarily impossible.

I also don't know if health is really the full reason that the Red Wings declined to buy him out. It might simply be the case that Holland decided that he couldn't risk buying out Sammy just to see all his free agents bolt (which likely will happen) and then strike out on his other FA targets. I suspect that if Ken Holland KNEW three days ago that Stephen Weiss and Daniel Alfredsson would be Red Wings on July 5 he would have cut Sammy's ass loose in a heartbeat.

So realistically Wings fans, what do YOU personally think Filppula will bring to my Bolts? I know what the numbers and analysts say, but I wanna know from fans who watch the Red Wings every game. Thanks for your insight!

So realistically Wings fans, what do YOU personally think Filppula will bring to my Bolts? I know what the numbers and analysts say, but I wanna know from fans who watch the Red Wings every game. Thanks for your insight!
- BoltsFan4Life

Anger, frustration, general malaise. Ok, maybe not THAT bad, but you guys will probably wonder why a $5 mill/year player is only putting up about 30 points. He's a good guy; great in the locker room. No drama. Decent skater and is good defensively too. You'll see *flashes* that make you think he's on the cusp of breaking out, or that he's *poised* for a breakout year. Sadly, after 7-8(?) years of perpetually waiting for him to "breakout", I think Wings fans were just done. I used to love him, back when he was young and seemed to have a lot of promise. But I think he is what is at this point. Great playmaker, but don't look for him to shoot much. I think most of us here would have been happy to have him back, but probably at HALF of what the Bolts were willing to pay. I'd pay up to $3 mill/year, $3.5 if I was really hammered. Wish him the best, and maybe a change of scenery will do him good. Guess we'll find out.

Anger, frustration, general malaise. Ok, maybe not THAT bad, but you guys will probably wonder why a $5 mill/year player is only putting up about 30 points. He's a good guy; great in the locker room. No drama. Decent skater and is good defensively too. You'll see *flashes* that make you think he's on the cusp of breaking out, or that he's *poised* for a breakout year. Sadly, after 7-8(?) years of perpetually waiting for him to "breakout", I think Wings fans were just done. I used to love him, back when he was young and seemed to have a lot of promise. But I think he is what is at this point. Great playmaker, but don't look for him to shoot much. I think most of us here would have been happy to have him back, but probably at HALF of what the Bolts were willing to pay. I'd pay up to $3 mill/year, $3.5 if I was really hammered. Wish him the best, and maybe a change of scenery will do him good. Guess we'll find out.
- drice97

Great insight man I appreciate it! god, just what we need! another playmaker who never shoots the puck. we already have Purcell (who will be playing with him on the same line most likely), so somebody will have to shoot on that line. They think maybe Drouin, if he plays well, will be on that line with those guys. (who is also a playmaker). oh the woes of being a Lightning fan. Maybe he will break out, but like you said, you were always waiting for that to happen so...