Well, I have not posted for a while for various reasons, but mainly I thought during the playoffs the Wings play said enough. When they were eliminated, everyone finally saw they were tough enough, but I could not say without a bias that I thought Anaheim deserved to win. Actually, I think the Wings could have won it all if they did not play the three toughest teams in the league. Well, the team has a lot to think about going in to the UFA signings starting Sunday, including who is staying, who is going, and who is coming in.
First, lets take a look at the depth chart on offense, without RFAs or UFAs:
x-Datsyuk-Holmstrom
x-Zetterberg-Samuelsson
x-Filpula-Cleary
Maltby-Draper-Franzen
Kopecky
Now right now Bertuzzi, Calder, Lang, and Hudler are not on the list. However, Hudler will almost definitely be back (what he did in such little ice time is amazing). Holland is working hard to keep Bertuzzi, so he may be back. Holland also announced that Calder and Lang will not be back, so they are definitely gone. Igor Grigorenko will most likely make the team, so one more spot is gone. So what does that leave? Well, if all goes to plan, the three Xs will be Bertuzzi, Grigorenko, and Hudler. However, Detroit really likes to add big names, so it is plausible to believe that someone will be gone (Sammuelsson seems the most likely) from the forwards, and a big name will replace him. If rumors that Detroit wants Ryan Smyth are true, the forward lines would be set and probably in te top five in the league. If the rumors are not true, the Wings may still look for a good scorer, maybe Jason Blake or Slava Kozlov. Personally a name I have not heard tossed around much that I would love to see is Handzus. He can score and is really gritty. Problem is the Hawks really want him to stay (and I really do want the Hawks to keep him), and about half the league will too. Ken Holland always seems to have an Ace up his sleeve, so we shall see what happens in the coming days and weeks.
Now onto defense. The depth chart looks like this:Lidstrom-Kronwall
x-x
Lebda-Chelios
Lilja
With a look at that, the defense is not as bad as it looks. Lidstrom, Kronwall, and Chelios can all play first line minutes (how on Earth a 45 year old Chelios can is beyond me, but he can). Lebda had flashes of brilliance in the regular season, and Lilja became a force in the playoffs. In theory both could be top 4. Schneider and Markov seem to be competing for a spot, with Schneider winning. From what I have heard, if Schneider is back, Markov will not be. If Schneider does not resign, Markov will be back. That leaves a spot for a true top four defender. I would prefer Markov to stay over Schneider only because of the age difference. Plus, with the rising prices in offensive defenders this year, I would be scared to guess at what Schneider will ask for. Rafalski, Sutton , Hannan, and Stuart are the big UFA names on defense, and any one of them could fit in Detroit. On the other hand, Detroit also has a few possible NHL ready defenders in Quincey and Jakub Kindl. If either of these guys seem ready, the defense should be set. Also, I hate to bring this up, but Jiri Fischer will be a UFA. It seems as if he will soon retire…however, apparently there is a possibility he will be in training camp to prove he can again play. I always liked Fischer and wish he could come back. He had a physical edge and in his last season, started to show some offensive ability.
Goaltending looks like this:
x-OsgoodHasek is all but signed at this point, so I assume this should be a small interest area. If something goes wrong and Hasek does not resign, there are few names on the UFA market and the best option would be through trade. However, with Jimmy Howard suppose to be ready next season, the team may not make a big move in net.
Too all the teams in the NHL, good luck gettign that big final piece on Sunday.
A look at the Wings before UFA Day
Posted by Chris Wassel on Jun 29, 2007 19:22
