It's the second half of the season -- the "stretch run." That will possibly become the most overused phrase on this blog and others in the coming months, as this half of the season hasn't been so important for Detroit in years.

While the prerogative is to actually make the playoffs, and play well for a change, something that's already popped up and is definitely good to keep at least in the back of your mind is contract talk. Detroit's scratching their way towards the playoffs now, but it seems a hot topic of discussion with several players lately has been their future in Detroit -- have they done enough where they deserve another contract?

Detroit didn't commit to any long contracts in the offseason, so they'll pretty much be exactly where they were last offseason. Because of how long it took to get their own free agents picked out, they only had the bargain bin to pick through in August. Ken Holland is likely going to start re-negotiating with some players relatively soon, and I would expect a signing or two before the playoffs -- which is when Holland shuts down negotiations for a few months to not distract any players.

So while Detroit's off today, and I have some major free time, I wanted to open up the discussion among fans as to who deserves to come back.

Forwards

(cap hit, until when in parentheses)

Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083, '21) | Pavel Datsyuk ($6.7, '14) | Johan Franzen ($3.954, '20)
Danny Cleary ($2.8, '13) | Valtteri Filppula ($3.0, '13) | Kris Draper ($1.583, '11)
empty | empty | empty
empty | empty | empty
empty, sorta.

As you can see -- the core is under contract, and under contract for a while. This leaves Detroit a lot of flexibility because if worst comes to worst, they can basically blow this team up and start over. Those six give you a good base and a good balance of talent and leadership, to where the parts around it are largely interchangeable, depending on cap space. Before we look at our impending free agents, let's look at the two wild cards.

Jiri Hudler: Hudler signed a two-year contract in the KHL, so he's not expected back. However, the winds of change are upon us, and the Hudler rumors are starting to get moving early. The hot rumor out there is that Hudler called Ken Holland to wish him a happy New Year. Gasp, how scandalous, right? Well, that gets people talking and many are wondering if that was really the only thing they talked about. The real reason I take stock into believing something like this is because the KHL has been an absolute circus this season.

From game cancellations due to 619 penalty minutes in the first five minutes of a game to the continuing politics of the KHL trying to keep players from going to the NHL, the "rival league" isn't looking so fierce anymore. Hudler is all but blacklisted from international play (no Olympics) and doesn't have much securing him into staying for next season. His contract there is worth $5 million a season, which is equivalent to somewhere between $7-$9 in NHL money million when you consider that's tax and escrow free, and consider that KHL clubs pay living (food, shelter, even transportation) expenses for their players. It's essentially all Hudler's to spend on rich guy stuff like yachts and rare minerals. He may determine that he's had enough and come back to Detroit. And if he ever comes back, he's locked into Detroit for two years at a cap hit of $2.875 -- a lot for Happy "The Rock" Hudler, but decent value for a talented player who was demanding nearly $4 million.

Ville Leino: If you read that lineup up top and know anything about Detroit's contracts, you'll know that Leino is actually under contract for next season. However, if things keep going the way they are, Leino may find himself in a new city for next season. Leino's rookie season has been nothing short of disastrous. Unlike most rookies, you can't just chalk it up to inexperience because Leino will actually turn 27 in October. His play from here to game 82 should answer this question. If Leino continues to disappoint, Detroit would likely looking in to trading him to a weaker club for anything while they still have a chance. They may not even get that opportunity to, because if he feels he's going to be in and out of the press box all season again, he may prefer to bolt back to Finland. I'm sure that'll upset the contingent of fans who take terrible offense to the notion that a player does not want to play for the Red Wings (see Axelsson, Richard), but sometimes it just doesn't work out. I can't personally blame him, or say that I'd be at all upset by it. If he does return next season, he's locked into one more year at $800,000.

Now, let's briefly look at Detroit's impending unrestricted free agents at the forward position. They're listed with their cap hit from this season.

Tomas Holmstrom, $2.25 -- Many, including myself, were curious just when the shelf life for a player like Holmstrom expires. Detroit's had a handful of players play into their 40s, but none even come close to taking the punishment that Homer takes every night. He was productive until he got hurt, but his injury isn't too concerning, because a foot injury isn't concluded on the long list of things that have hampered Homer every year (particularly, groin, back, and knee). No doubt that Holmstrom is back if he chooses not to retire, I'll pencil in a one-year deal at $1.5 million. Significant discount, still a bargain for a 20-goal scorer.

Todd Bertuzzi, $1.5 -- Todd is possibly the reason I started writing this post, as there's been quite a bit of talk (including the podcast) about Bertuzzi finishing his career in Detroit. As an unabashed Protuzzi fan, you probably think you know what I'm going to say. However, you'd be wrong. I cringe at the idea of Bertuzzi getting a deal to finish his career in Detroit, because the guy is a walking time bomb. I'm a big fan of his play, but I don't have enough faith in his durability to see him get a 3-4 year deal. He's spent the last few years with a nagging back injury, which has prevented him from staying in top form. Supposedly he feels better, and I think that's very apparent from his play on the ice. I hope he does come back, but I'd prefer one-year deals until he inevitably breaks. At best, I'd give him two years at $2.0 million. Enough of a raise to keep him a big part of the team, but cheap enough where it's not going to destroy Detroit if he's only 80% the next few years, unable to backcheck, play along the boards, and score the way he has this season.

Jason Williams, $1.5 -- You might recall I was also a fan of bringing Williams back in the fold, but it's important to remember that was only because I believed he was the best fit of the free agents left in August. Overall, I'm not a huge fan of his play. He's in a tough spot as Detroit was playing like trash before he got hurt, and he's since seen a lot of young players put up as good or better numbers than he was putting up in his 4th line role. I don't think he was bad, but I'd prefer letting him walk this summer and trying to focus free cap space on a player of bigger impact.

Kirk Maltby, $0.883 -- Sadly, if Maltby wants to come back Detroit will re-sign him. That's just the way it works -- he's one of the Wings where the loyalty factor comes into play for. Ideally, he's going to see the bigger picture. When Detroit's healthy, I don't anticipate he'll see much regular ice time. Hopefully he hangs them up, but if he had to come back, it would most likely be for just slightly above the league minimum.

Brad May, $0.5 -- A failed experiment, absolutely a horrific mistake if he's brought back. Refuses to have a fight of value, a liability on the ice, and now publicly taking credit for other people's accomplishments. I honestly believe we're in the last ten games of May as a Red Wing, as you've got to figure with Holmstrom and Williams on the mend, May will soon be a regular scratch and/or AHL-bound. I do like him as a person, hopefully he's able to find work in hockey in some facet next season.

And restricted free agents:

Darren Helm, $0.599 -- Without a doubt, Helm must be signed long-term. That may not be plausible without having a ton of cap space freed up, which would only come from something like a Lidstrom retirement. I think for now we could possibly squeeze out a four-year deal with something close to a $1.2 cap hit. Tough to say what his real worth would be, hopefully he doesn't yet realize exactly how great he is.

Justin Abdelkader, $0.85 -- Definitely coming back, and definitely an NHL regular next season regardless of whether or not he finishes this season there. Like Helm, he looks like he should be a player who needs to be a Wing for life, but it's going to be tough this season to give these players more than they're worth and still fit everyone under the cap. Abdelkader is already making a lot for a rookie, so it's not ridiculous to suggest he takes a paycut if it involves a one-way deal (Howard did), maybe in the $700,000 neighborhood. I'd give him two years at that number.

Patrick Eaves, $0.5 -- Like I said yesterday, he guaranteed himself a contract extension regardless of what happens for the rest of this season. He's formed a formidable tandem with Helm both on the 3rd line and Detroit's regular penalty kill. Durability is still an issue, but he's young and hasn't had any troubles with the concussions that have nagged him in the past few years. I'd try three years at $800,000.

Drew Miller, $0.525 -- I'm a big fan of how hard he works, but I don't necessarily see him as a lock to be signed. I don't think he's been as great in the past few weeks as he had been, and he hasn't really made much of the chances he's had on a scoring line. If you think about it, if Detroit even brings back two UFAs, along with the above three RFAs who are locks, that puts Detroit in a tough spot. If Hudler OR Maltby come back, Miller might be out. Also to be considered is...

..Mattias Ritola, $0.511 -- Ritola is an RFA who needs to clear waivers to play in Grand Rapids next season. He's been waiting patiently and looked especially good in his NHL stint this season. Rumors are starting to swirl that Ritola would prefer to go back to Sweden over another season in the AHL. I wouldn't be upset, at all, if Miller was re-signed, but if it all plays out the way I see it and Detroit had to make a choice between Miller and Ritola, I'd kind of prefer to see what the younger and more offensively skilled Ritola is capable of.

Other FAs: Kris Newbury (UFA), Jeremy Williams, Evan McGrath, Ryan Oulahen, Jamie Tardif, Johan Ryno. I wouldn't expect more than one of them would be re-signed, just for veteran Grand Rapids depth. I'd wager on McGrath.

Next in line: Tomas Tatar, Jan Mursak, Cory Emmerton, Francis Pare.

Defensemen

Brian Rafalski ($6.0, '12) | Brad Stuart ($3.75, '12)
Niklas Kronwall ($3.0, '12) | Jonathan Ericsson ($0.9, '11)
Jakub Kindl ($0.883 '13) | empty
empty | empty

The core is in tact, but the real question is obviously Nick's big decision. Kindl is on a one-way deal and will be on the team in some form. The other interesting nugget is that most teams don't carry eight defensemen, but Detroit has really benefited from having all eight in the past two years. With Kindl graduating, Detroit might be more comfortable carrying their eight defensemen, since Sergei Kolosov, Logan Pyett, and potential rookie Brendan Smith would be their top call-ups from Grand Rapids.

Nicklas Lidstrom, $7.45 -- There was a rumor earlier this season that Lidstrom was close to a new two-year deal, but recently it seems more likely that he won't make a decision until this summer. He'll only play if he feels he's still effective. I think during that goal drought, he might have been doubting himself. I think now he'll keep producing steadily through the end of the year -- that drought, though freakishly long, was a fluke. I think he re-ups for two final years at $5.0 a pop.

Andreas Lilja, $1.25 -- Sadly, it looks like his career might be over, but Detroit's a classy enough organization that they'd probably give him another chance if he can make some kind of medical break through. In my mind, that would be absolutely ideal, so he could switch in and out with the youngsters in Kindl and Ericsson as needed. Neither are particularly good in their own end, but Lilja is. He could be used when needed, and would likely come at a bargain price since not too many teams would take a chance on him. If he were medically cleared, I would jump all over one year at $1 million.

Brett Lebda, $0.65 -- Lebda's in an interesting spot. He had a pretty regular role as a rookie, but has since had his role reduced with almost every season. He hasn't demonstrated much confidence this season. I believe it will come down to keeping one of Lebda and Meech -- splitting the Mebdeech. I think Lebda is the most likely, as an unrestricted free agent, to bolt for a regular role on a worse team. I don't expect Detroit would get in any sort of a bidding war for him.

Derek Meech, $0.483 -- Meech is in an interesting spot too. He's actually making below the league minimum, because of when his contract was signed and for how long. I would prefer they let Meech walk, but given the choice between Lebda and Meech, I think Meech offers a little more and has less of a problem containing bigger forwards and less of a problem of just staring at the puck. He's a little younger as well. I'm not sure how well he'd respond to likely being a #8 defensemen once again. He might not have a choice, as the lone restricted free agent on this list. One year, $550,000.

Other FAs: Doug Janik, Andy Delmore (UFAs), Sergei Kolosov. I see Kolosov coming back.

Next in line: Sergei Kolosov, Logan Pyett.

Goaltenders

Jimmy Howard ($0.716, '11) | Chris Osgood ($1.416, '11)

All good here. Expect Howard to play even more, and regardless of what ends up happening this year, starts in the playoffs so Detroit can be more comfortable with him if next year is Osgood's last.

Other FAs: Daniel Larsson. He should return, but it's difficult to say where his head is at. Pressure from McCollum and all indications that Detroit is much higher on him could chase him back to Sweden, but if all is well Larsson will be in the mix for an NHL job in 2011-12.

Next in line: Larsson (probably due to get a taste at the NHL at least next year), Thomas McCollum (potentially three years away from an NHL debut, they're going to milk him all they can in Grand Rapids)

Based off my projections, here's a rough estimate of our situation for next year.

Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083, '21) | Pavel Datsyuk ($6.7, '14) | Johan Franzen ($3.954, '20)
Tomas Holmstrom ($1.5, '11)* | Valtteri Filppula ($3.0, '13) | Todd Bertuzzi ($2.0, '12)*
Danny Cleary ($2.8, '13) | Darren Helm ($1.2, '14)* | Patrick Eaves ($0.8, '13)*
Mattias Ritola ($0.6, '11)* | Justin Abdelkader ($0.7, '12)* | Kris Draper ($1.583, '11)
13th forward

Nicklas Lidstrom ($5.0, '12)* | Brian Rafalski ($6.0, '12)
Niklas Kronwall ($3.0, '12) | Brad Stuart ($3.75, '12)
Jakub Kindl ($0.883, '13) | Jonathan Ericsson ($0.9, '11)
Andreas Lilja ($1.0, '11)* | Derek Meech ($0.55, '11)*

Jimmy Howard ($0.716, '11) | Chris Osgood ($1.416, '11)

This gives Detroit $1.862 million in cap space according to CapGeek, which is a safe number because the cap may not go up at all this season. With that cap space, I'd hope they could add another scorer -- maybe knowing that a little earlier will help that player be a little more talented than Jason Williams. Then you could flip that player in and out of the lineup with anyone on the 4th line. Additionally, Detroit could possibly squeeze out a little more cap room in the very likely event that Lilja doesn't re-sign. Another spare defensive defenseman could cost less. In a pinch (say, if a miniature Czech forward comes back), Ritola could be bumped out and Meech could be the 13th forward. Tatar is also a realistic option, while other prospects may need a while.

That's how I see it. Comments and disagreements are welcome. I just wanted to get people thinking in the second half about who deserves to stick around next season. Despite the struggles this season, looking at it this way makes me feel a lot better about it. There is a lot of flexibility, but I chose to keep most of the team together because I think they'll be fine when healthy. We'll see, I suppose.

Comments (42)

r0bert8841 said:

... Good post, I agree with most everything you say except about Drew Miller's play. Even though the guy hasn't been as good offensively the past few weeks, he still has been pretty decent all while playing a huge role on the PK. He is great defensively and it is great to have a player like him. I think he has earned himself a roster spot next season but I am not sure where he would fit. I think Detroit should trade Ritola and Leino to another team that could use them and that would make room for Miller. You also know he has the potential to breakout big if you look at bloodlines.

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January 19, 2010
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minor_skin_irritation said:

	... Cashin' checks and Breakin' necks.
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January 19, 2010
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Michael Petrella said:

... Great stuff, man. That lineup doesn't look so bad - and we all know my feelings on Bertuzzi. I think that Todd's in one-year contract territory now, particularly due to his age (and health issues). I'd hate to be locked into a 35+ for more than one season at a time, in case his wonky back starts acting up or whatever... Sadly I have to agree with you about Miller. I think he's a hell of a guy, and I'd like to have him back, but when you look at the numbers and the roster for next season - it's tricky to make him fit. Perhaps he can be that 13th guy? And we know how often we've been using the 13th guy this season...

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Danny Bednar said:

... A great post, and so glad to see you take it easy on Meech and Lebda as so many bloggers do not. However, Wings fans DO NOT LOOK FOWARD TO THE NEXT SEASON before the current one is done, we are still in the middle of the regular season and we will be in the playoffs. This means you should size up potential Trade Deadline moves, such as a scoring Right Winger or a 5th defensemen assuming Lilja is (sadly) done. Of course we assume Holland would never trade picks for rentals (not very Detroit) and we have few players that are acutally tradeable, what do you think?

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January 19, 2010
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Coffey said:

	... I do not expect Osgood, Maltby, or Draper to be on the team next season. If the Wings do not get past the first round, you may see six or more new players next season.
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January 19, 2010
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Crater from SoCal said:

... I agree with you on most points. I wouldn't be as easy on Meech though. If by some miracle Lilja could come back i'd let Meech go. The choice between him and Quincy was the only move I've ever thought Kenny didn't make the right call on. Quincy when given time and responsibility rose to it, as seen by his play in La and this season after being traded again. Meech has gotten a decent amount of play this season for us and hasn't shown much improvement. I'm not one to claim he is terrible or isn't an NHL player... I just don't think he fits on this team. Those lines are really interesting. I can't wait till we have all the players healthy to see if they really will look like that.

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Pete311 said:

	... Great post Kyle. As long as we can get another year or 2 out of the Helm/Eaves/Draper line I'll be happy
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January 19, 2010
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kuick said:

... Coffey, I could see Osgood retiring at the end of the season if he can't find his game again, but Drapes is still effective enough that he'll finish out his contract. (One more season.) Kyle, if we can resign Miller for cheap, he's a great option for our 13th forward, likely rotating with Draper or even Homer if he's feeling tired. (Cleary would move to top 6. Miller with Helm and Eaves.) Now, if Lidstrom retires, we'll have plenty of cap space to play with. Obviously we won't be able to acquire another defenseman of his caliber.. What do you think we could do with that space? I'm hoping for a defenseman to play a bottom 4 role (Volchenkov, Hamhuis? if available. Kronwall was pretty impressive before his injury, I'm hoping he could take a top pairing spot) and a top 6 winger. Could be an even more interesting situation of Homer hangs 'em up. Any thoughts/predictions?

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January 19, 2010
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KyleKujawa said:

... robert -- I wasn't trying to say Miller's been bad. I'm thrilled with his play. But I don't see a tremendous amount of upside -- just a good 4th liner, useful PKer. With Ritola, I see a player who could potentially be a 10-15 goal scorer who plays in all situations. But he has a way to go as well. minor_skin_irritation -- Yikes man, why? Petrella -- does this mark the first time ever that we agree on Bertuzzi? Not so much that he should be re-signed (I know what your preference is), but that it should be one-year deals. Miraculous! Let's celebrate . Danny -- Agreed, this is best for preliminary discussion, but certainly not the biggest thing on the agenda for sure. Just good to keep in the back of your mind. We can definitely add at the deadline -- that's something I'll address a little later when we're closer to that time. That way we'll know which teams are sellers, and we'll definitely hear about who might be available closer to that time. Coffey -- Why would Detroit get rid of Osgood and Draper? I doubt they have faith in Larsson enough if Osgood retires. Crater -- It was actually Meech, Quincey, and Chelios: pick two. We got like 30 games of Cheli and three years of mediocrity from Meech. Then again, Quincey wouldn't be playing as much as he is now if he were still in Detroit -- but I completely agree that he'd be a better fit. Pete -- Agreed. Kuick -- I don't see Nick or Homer retiring.

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January 19, 2010
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minor_skin_irritation said:

... minor_skin_irritation -- Yikes man, why? Why? Because he's an EFFING criminal. Bertuzzi should be in prison. Don't give me anything about the other guy deserving it or it being okay because it was just a hockey fight. That shit was assault. Would it have been cool for Michael Vick to run a dog-fighting ring, as long as he did it on an NFL field? NO! Would it have been okay for that guy to break the shit out of Nancy kerrigan's knee, as long as it was on an ice rink? NO! Besides, they said there were likely athletes from DIFFERENT SPORTS involved in that dogfighting ring, and I'm not implying that nancy kerrigan was involved, but that just totally sounds like something Todd Bertuzzi would be totally in to. That's Why.

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January 19, 2010
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TBertuzzi said:

	... Actually, most of what that guy just sad is true...
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January 19, 2010
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waltdetroit said:

... Your analysis is great. I think the front office would like 3 strong centers - Dats, Z, & Flip - on the top 3 lines and will work to get the right wingers for them. Either trades or a free agent pickup, either before the trade deadline or July. Who has any real trade value among the players you list that are not core keepers? Maybe Williams(I thought he had a 2 year contract, please correct me if I am wrong)and Cleary (not that I want to see hm leave). Maybe they can pick up another center if not a scoring wing. As for the D, I would keep Lids, Raf, Kron, Stu, Leif, & Kindl with someone like Kolosov as the 7th. Someday someone might want to have a stay at home (like a Chelios)to move or hit people around the net. (apology to JTD, I wrote hit & I don't want your mom taking away your blog privileges) I would even like Janik as the 7th or 8th.

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Jonhny754g said:

... I agree with you on most points. I wouldn't be as easy on Meech though. If by some miracle Lilja could come back i'd let Meech go. The choice between him and Quincy was the only move I've ever thought Kenny didn't make the right call on. Quincy when given time and responsibility rose to it, as seen by his play in La and this season after being traded again. Meech has gotten a decent amount of play this season for us and hasn't shown much improvement. I'm not one to claim he is terrible or isn't an NHL player... I just don't think he fits on this team. So true. No one should be easy on Lebda, or Meech. Especially Mr. 'I'm an offensive defenseman who can't score' Lebda. Meech, despite his horrifying play is somewhat useful. Him, Leino and May are the only players I can think of that would be trade bait. Though they wouldn't fetch much.. And Kyle, you think that we need to keep either Meech or Lebda. I don't quite agree with this sentiment, I think that we could sign a free agent. One player who fills that order is Lukas Krajicek, who is 26 years old and making about $1.5M this season, but look for him to take a paycut next year. Playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning, he's 6'2 and 185 pounds, so he'd add some much-needed height/strength to our team. He was the 24th pick overall in 2001, but hasn't lived up to his billing. He will become a free agent this July. Niclas Wallin is a 34 year old veteran playing in Carolina. He is 6'3 and 205 pounds, another big player. He is currently making around $1.7M, but look for him to take a hefty paycut this tear as well. He is 34 years old, and could provide a veteran presence (Plus he's a Swede and you know how much we love them on our team). He'd be the perfect fit for Ericsson or Kindl, seeing as how he's a steady stay at home defenseman.

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waltdetroit said:

	... J754g I thought about another D too. We sure could use 1 this year. Next year it would mean Kindl, Leif, or the new guy sitting out games. If we picked up Krajicek I wouldn't want him to sit. With Lids, Stu, & Raf, do we need the vet presence?
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Keith B said:

... Minor skin irritation, your a tool. Go Fuck yourself. He' should be a criminal? You're fucking crazy. I bet your an MSU fan who thinks Corey Tropp deserves the A on his jersey. Yes, Bertuzzi's hit was goonish but it happened in 2004 and it was on the ice. Grow up you douche bag troll. Kyle, I think Maltby is going to retire due to his on again off again back injury. I think their is a 75% chance Hudler comes back next year. And if Lidstrom comes back it'll be closer to 3-4 million then 5 I think. I can see a 2 year $7 million dollar deal. Also, with the economy coming back (at the level of the owners aka on Wall Street), I'd expect the cap to go up. While ticket sales remain low, the investments NHL owners make outside of hockey are growing again. Add that and a new NHL TV contract and I'd expect a 2-3 million cap jump. Starting with a $2 million start ($1.2 M from you plus Maltby retiring) plus another $2 million in a cap jump gives Detroit enough room to sign a top 6 forward. Hypothetically, if Detroit had $3.5 million to spend on a forward who do you think they could target that would fit in that range?

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Keith B said:

	... Wow my english was awful in that post. Skin irritation you're a tool. Kyle there is a 75% chance.
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January 19, 2010
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minor_skin_irritation said:

	... Yes, yes it was. If you want to combine the words "you" and "are," you use what is called a contraction, such as "you're." If you wanted to say, for example, "Keith B get the sand out of YOUR vagina," then you would use "your" as you did. But you already knew that.
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January 19, 2010
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Baroque said:

... Definitely one-year contracts only until he breaks. Limit the damage if that does happen. Regarding the Moore incident - personally, I think the punishment should have been far, far harsher and that is why I am upset - WITH THE NHL ITSELF. If you think he should have had a longer suspension, then blame the asinine and arbitrary standards of punishment the NHL puts together on a whim for not doing more. It was his job after that to accept his punishment, whatever it was determined to be, and if he was allowed back into the league to stay out of trouble - which he did. It was the NHL's job to determine an appropriate punishment, and at that they failed miserable (not a surprise). It wasn't his position to decide on a harsher punishment any more than it would be one of ours to decide that a cop who stopped us for speeding shouldn't let us off with just a warning, but we should insist on getting a more severe punishment no matter what he wanted to do. By blaming him for playing you let the NHL off the hook for shirking their responsibility.

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minor_skin_irritation said:

	... Baroque you're totally right. We shouldn't insist on getting a more severe punishment for speeding, that isn't up to us to decide. Then again, we shouldn't sucker punch the cop that pulled us over, breaking his neck and cutting short his career of policing, that would be wrong.
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January 19, 2010
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Keith B said:

	... BTW, I'm super gay
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January 19, 2010
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minor_skin_irritation said:

	... Oh man, I knew it!
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January 19, 2010
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KyleKujawa said:

... Guys, let's chill out a bit. Seriously. Walt -- Williams is one a one-year deal. Cleary is somewhat trade-able in relation to the other guys. He does have an NTC though, but it's weird. It's only in effect for like three and a half years of his contract. Kolosov probably isn't NHL ready yet, at least not over-ripe like Detroit likes them. Jonhny -- I don't think we NEED to keep Lebda or Meech. I'm just being realistic -- they probably will keep one. I hope they don't. There's a couple guys I would get rid of outright, but I was trying to keep this at least semi-realistic. I don't like Krajicek, but I would love Wallin. Keith -- I hope Nick takes less, I think 5 is awfully optimistic though. He and Detroit's brass know there's not nearly as much to this slump as people think. It's optimistic to think he'll take less than Rafalski when he plays a bigger role. But under Stuart and (equal to) Kronwall is probably something he wouldn't settle for. He's not greedy, that's just how I see it going down. Baroque -- Definitely agree. I don't think the Moore stuff needs to be re-hashed any more than it was over the lockout. It was a disgusting black eye on the sport but nothing's going to be accomplished by arguing about it. I tend to believe Bertuzzi's apology was sincere, and he's a new man now. It's not like he's a repeat offender either -- Pronger will always be a bigger joke in my eyes for the smaller stuff that he does continuously, opposed to Bertuzzi who made a bad decision one time.

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January 19, 2010
Votes: +1

Jonhny754g said:

... Minor Skin Irritation, shut it. You obviously don't know anything about hockey, so stop talking. Bertuzzi's 'goonish' hit was in '04, and it was after his coach told the team Steve Moore had to pay for what he did to Markus Naslund (Steve Moore injured Naslund with a questionable hit in the last meeting between these two teams). Yes, yes it was. If you want to combine the words "you" and "are," you use what is called a contraction, such as "you're." If you wanted to say, for example, "Keith B get the sand out of YOUR vagina," then you would use "your" as you did. But you already knew that. Somebody ban this idiot. How old are you? 11? I bet you think you're cool rattling off those words. Minor skin irritation, your a tool. Go F*ck yourself. He' should be a criminal? You're f*cking crazy. I bet your an MSU fan who thinks Corey Tropp deserves the A on his jersey. Yes, Bertuzzi's hit was goonish but it happened in 2004 and it was on the ice. Grow up you douche bag troll. You don't need to use that language either bud. Just cause he's an idiot doesn't mean you have to go around swearing at him. He's an idiot. No one is paying an attention to him, why do you have to post like that?? J754g I thought about another D too. We sure could use 1 this year. Next year it would mean Kindl, Leif, or the new guy sitting out games. If we picked up Krajicek I wouldn't want him to sit. With Lids, Stu, & Raf, do we need the vet presence? Good point, good point. I was just thinking of someone to play with Kindl or Ericsson because they're both offensive minded young defensemen.

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January 19, 2010
Votes: +2

waltdetroit said:

... On Getting a D man - One point I was trying to make is that with Leif & Kindl & (if) Krajicek, all are relatively young so you may want to play them more rather than sit them as the 7-8 most of the year. Unless you think Leif has reached his upside, I don't think you need to get another young D from outside the system. On the other hand, thinking a bit more, Kronner tends to get hurt so having a Wallin (if he is an major upgrade on Janik) would be great.

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January 19, 2010
Votes: +1

Baroque said:

... (Please ignore the trolls everybody. Just like your mom always told you about ignoring your little brother or sister - they only make comments to get a reaction, and if they don't get that, they will eventually stop.) I hope that Maltby decides to retire. He doesn't have the ability anymore to take the minutes that the younger guys are getting, and I suspect he knows that perfectly well. I kind of hope that Hudler comes back just because I miss the spunky little guy. When he signed with the KHL I felt like my baby brother was moving across the continent to go to college and I wasn't going to see him that much anymore. I think it was smart of him to call Holland and wish him a Happy New Year. All through the arbitration process the relations were generally cordial and polite, and it makes sense to keep in touch considering that I think he really does want to play again for Detroit otherwise he would have just bolted for Europe without arranging to have a contract waiting for him when he decided that he was done playing in Russia. Makes sense to take a brief break from the NHL to make a ton of cash and possibly gain different experiences than if he stayed in the same organization.

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January 19, 2010
Votes: +4

yannick said:

... on Bertuzzi... i noticed on the A2Y liveblog post vs the Dallas Stars that McCarty ran into the Star who had a big hit on Yzerman back in the 90s much the same way Bert did on Moore (punch from behind and then samshed his face straight to the ice, just happened that the guy didn´t get injured at all and no suspension was given to Mac of course), so in the end it seems that it doesn´t really matter what you do but if the other guy gets injured or not (you can notice that with hits in the head also, if the other guy gets a concusion then there is a suspension otherwise nothing), which means it only depends on luck, and both Bert and Moore were very unlucky on that one sadly... so just to say i can´t blame Bert for what he did, i just feel sorry for him, and i´m glad he seems to enjoy a bit playing for the Wings this year.

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January 20, 2010
Votes: +0

yannick said:

... I hope we could get Lidstrom back for about $4M but i´m afraid he will only play one more year (and only if we have a good run in the playoffs), if we win the Stanley Cup i think he will retire as well this year. About Hudler, i guess there´s a big chance to have him back next season, but well at the same time with $5M pocket money and all the nice Russian escort girls around, he might stay one more year in Russia

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January 20, 2010
Votes: +0

Tdawg said:

	... Yeah, Bert will not fight, and doesn't play as dirty as he used to. Lesson learned.
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January 20, 2010
Votes: +2

vfsv said:

... Great piece. Conrtary to all the "Red Wings are doomed" chants, there is hope for the future. Obviously, Helm, Abby & Eaves need to re-sign. It will be interesting to see if all three will agree to Holland's terms. If none of these break the bank & Bertuzzi is still skating strong by mid-March, he gets resigned. Two years @ $2M is cheap for the type of big forward the Wings always lacked. With a healthy crew next year, his minutes come down, which helps him stay healthy. His background is why he's cheap & Holland is smart enough to see that clearly. After those are solved, then figure out what to do with Leino & Ritola (I tend to doubt Holland would keep 2 "projects" like this on the roster). Williams & Maltby go. FWIW, Mebdeech can go. Every night one or both of them are on the ice for a goal against &/or off the ice due to a penalty. Plus, it's bringing down Stuart to have to baby-sit them every night. Assuming Nick signs (1-year seems more likely than 2, especially with Raf, Stuart AND Kronwall hitting UFA in 2012) & Lilja is done, bring up Kindl & sign a cheaper veteran. Hopefully, Holland will not be delayed several weeks into free agency in order to help out the NHL with KHL issues.

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January 20, 2010
Votes: +0

minor_skin_irritation said:

	... i can´t blame Bert for what he did, i just feel sorry for him Just like http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ-2OMIQbq4
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January 20, 2010
Votes: -1

talex said:

... If it were me... Keep Eaves, Miller. Sign Helm, Abdelkader. Either try out Lebda at forward or let him go.(I would love to see a Lebda/Helm/Draper line a couple times). If lebda does well at forward, Meech Goes, if He does not... Meech and him go. Leino can go now. Would also like to see Ericsson try at forward just for giggle as he used to be one, he could be a force. Re-sign homer 1 year at a time, if you can get Bert at 1.5 for a 4 year I would do it, but not more. Lilja unfortunately needs to be let go. Williams can go, bring in Ritola. Maltby hopefully hangs them up or at most 1 more year (prefer a young guy though). If you can talk Lids into 2 years (which is what I would do)... you do it, I would shoot for 4 but would go 5 without thinking twice.

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January 20, 2010
Votes: -1

talex said:

... Oh and as far a Bert goes... I have a hard time believing he wanted what happened to happen, I think he was doing payback... what if the turtles neck would have broke when d-mac took him? I think the thing was unfortunate but not deliberate as far as the major injury, was the punch a sucker punch? Definately, but I see those all the time in the NHL, Malkins stink last year in the finals could have hurt Hank bad and it looked malicious to me, however I think he wanted to hurt Hank, not in any major career altering way and I do not think Bert was doing anything different, sometimes things go real bad.

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January 20, 2010
Votes: +1

Keith 23 said:

	... Skin... Next time you sign in under me come up with something better than "I'm super gay BTW". How old are you? I think that was acceptable in 2nd grade. Also, I don't think being gay is an insult. Thanks for registering my name you douche.
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January 20, 2010
Votes: +1

minor_skin_irritation said:

	... I'm deleting the name "Keith B" so you can have it, but you should really register it. It was a douchey thing to do, I know. But seriously, Steve Moore is the Rodney King of the 2000's.
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January 20, 2010
Votes: -2

KyleKujawa said:

	... Didn't realize he'd registered the name, pretty juvenile if you ask me. I think I was able to delete it -- you might be able to register it now if you'd like, real-Keith.
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January 20, 2010
Votes: +2

Keith B said:

	... Thanks Kyle.
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January 20, 2010
Votes: +0

comment said:

	... HUDLER!!!
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January 20, 2010
Votes: +1

Drake_Marcus said:

... Helm at 1.2 mil? That's a big payday for a rookie grinder with almost zero offensive upside. I love the guy for what he does-- he's a great young player. But he'll never be top six material because he's got hands of stone. He scores with hustle, speed and by surprising the opposition. Eventually other teams will be able to contain him better and won't be as surprised. They adapt like they do with all the fast skaters who come into the league. He'll still produce points purely because he's fast as hell and works his ass off, but I'd be shocked if he ever produces more than 40pts in his career. So put it this way-- his agent has to sell Holland on the idea that this kid is worth a bit less than Draper's getting when he's basically a young, inexperienced version of draper. I'm guessing he'll get a 1 million dollar deal but if he gets 1.2 million it won't be because The doesn't realize how good he is. 1.2 mil for a sophomore Helm is market value.

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January 22, 2010
Votes: +1

KyleKujawa said:

... I was just hoping to lock him up long-term. You don't see many players (especially young ones, who all have agents who say "they'll improve, they'll improve!") signing long term deals on the cheap. When's the last time you saw a four-year deal worth $700,000? Actually that's only slightly more than Lebda's current soon-expiring deal, but really.. Helm vs. Lebda. Neither can score goals, but the difference in the impact is substantial. I agree he's got the finish of Draper, sometimes worse. But if you sign him to a long-term deal, which he totally deserves, you're going to have to overpay. When Kronwall signed his deal everyone thought it was way overpaid, but now it's an absurd bargain. Same with Filppula, to a slightly lesser extent. Helm will either sign two years for $750,000ish or 4+ years for a bit over $1 million. An agent would be stupid to sign any longer than that for so cheap when he's an established 22-year-old player on a team that doesn't usually produce young players under 23-25.

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January 23, 2010
Votes: +0

waltdetroit said:

... During the Yserman years, the wings always had a truly awesome 4th line. Draper has said something to the effect "that great players win games but championships are won on the 4th line." Danger is a great 4th liner & we need to lock him up for 5-6 years in a progressive $$ at $8 mil (?). I disagree 'cause I think he does have more scoring touch than the current Draper and there is a possibility it improves, although he was like -13 at GRG last year.

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January 23, 2010
Votes: +0

junkyarddog said:

	... Yea, Walt nailed it. Big upside to Helm. Best analysis yet. Mr. K turn this blog over to walt!!!!!
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January 23, 2010
Votes: +0

waltdetroit said:

	... JYD - Your humor is over-the-top LOL. Actually I am intimidated by all of the great bloggers who contribute to BDS - and Kyle you do a really fine job, no need to worry about being taken over, I have a day job
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January 23, 2010
Votes: +0

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