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Helm getting advice on his permanent position? (AP, J. Puskar)
Signing Marian Hossa and John Franzen is no longer a matter of choice for the Detroit Red Wings. The salary cap friendly contract extension signed by Henrik Zetterberg on January 28th has made it possible for the team to sign them both.
A possibility that general manager Ken Holland will turn into a reality.
Now, instead of trying to decide between the two power forwards, the Red Wings will try to determine who from the third and fourth lines can be moved and replaced by NHL ready forwards from Grand Rapids with smaller dollar contracts.
Not that these decisions are any easier than choosing between Hossa and Franzen, but having both of those players on your roster, regardless of who you choose to play on the third and fourth lines, makes your team better.
As Detroit Sports Examiner Jeff Sonne points out the Wings have reshuffled their top lines, reuniting Pavel Datsyuk and Zetterberg with Dan Cleary playing in place of the injured Tomas Holmstrom, and combining Hossa and Franzen on a second unit with Valtteri Filppula. This is a look Red Wings fans should get used to, not only for the remainder of this season, but for next season too.
And as fellow Detroit Red Wings Examiner Lamar Tidwell writes the Wings are taking extended looks at Ville Leino and Darren Helm while Brad Stuart is on the injured reserve list, and this audition will likely continue through to the trade deadline on March 4th, if the team puts Holmstrom on the injured reserve list later, after his surgery.
Tidwell suggests that the Wings are perhaps evaluating Leino and Helm as potential replacements for long-time Red Wings Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby when they retire. I suggest the team is conducting its evaluations for the here and now and to assess whether they are ready for third line duty for the rest of this season, and next season at the latest.
Signing Hossa and Franzen means the Wings will have to move some salary from the bottom two lines, which shifts the focus to whether or not Helm and Leino, and to a lesser extend Justin Abdelkader can replace such players as Mikael Samuelsson, Jiri Hudler, Tomas Kopecky and Darren McCarty whose contracts expire at the end of this season. It's better to make that determination now and try to trade some of those assets before the trade deadline, and avoid receiving nothing in return for them when they become free agents at the end of the season. Draper, Matlby and Cleary are all signed to contracts through next season, and while that does not mean they can't be traded I think it would be difficult to trade either Draper or Maltby for a variety of reasons, and Cleary is a versatile player that can fulfill any role on the top three lines.
Leino's contract expires at the end of this season as well which complicates matters slightly and begs the question are the WIngs evaluating him as a future Red Wing or showcasing him for a potential trade.
I would like to hear your thoughts on whether the Red Wings should sign both Hossa and Franzen at the expense of some third line or minor league prospects, or should they sign just one, and which one, while trying to hold on to as many of their homegrown talents as possible. Which choice makes them a better team?
Stops and Starts
Speaking of Hossa, he was selected as the NHL's second star for the week ending Sunday February 8th. He shared the NHL scoring lead last week with seven points (six goals, one assist), helping the Red Wings post four consecutive victories and move within two points of the first-place San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference standings.
The first star was Los Angeles Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick who stopped 95 of 100 shots and posted three road wins. The third star was Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green who seven points (four goals, three assists) and became the first NHL defenseman in nearly 25 years to score a goal in six consecutive games.
And, on this day two day edition, February 9, and February 10 in Red Wings and NHL history:
February 9
Red Wings
1982: John Ogrodnick represented Detroit in the 34th NHL All-Star Game played in Landover, Maryland.
NHL
1929: Montreal Maroons goalie Clint Benedict recorded his 55th shutout to move past Alex Connell as the all-time leader.
1966: The NHL board of governors announced they had granted six conditional franchises to commence play in 1966-67 to the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis and St. Louis.
1995: The Philadelphia Flyers acquired John LeClair, Eric Desjardins and Gibert Dionne from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Mark Recchi and a third round draft pick in 1995 (Martin Hohenberger).
February 10
Red Wings
1952: Rookie Johnny Wilson plays his first NHL game, and would go on to play 579 more consecutive games to establish an NHL record for most consecutive games to start a career.
1960: The Red Wings traded Red Kelly to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Marc Reaume. Kelly had declined a trade to the New York Rangers just six days earlier.
NHL
1972: Montreal Canadiens rookie Guy Lafleur became the first rookie in the modern era to score three hat tricks in a single seaon.
For more info: For great salary cap charts check out the following websites: Let's Go Wings and Hockeybuzz.
Comments
You are probably right about the potential trade bait. My second tier favs include Helm and Hudler. I think they need to keep Hudler just because he is a hard worker, great playmaker, and is an asset to the team.
They are going to need some toughness and I am not sure where they are going to get that from. No one seems to have filled the role since Drake retired.
I still would love to keep Hudler, Helm and Leino. Cleary has a no trade clause so he can't be moved for awhile.
Some teams wish they had our problems ! Should we let Drapes finish out his contract because he can still skate very well and is one of the best at the ever important face-off's to compliment our puck possession style ? I'd say BigMac is about done , Samuelsson chokes up the puck too much and has a bad shot selection , I'd keep Happy Hoodler , Kopecky seems to be prone to injury so I don't know about him but would liketo keep him if thats possible . I'd like to keep Mule and Hossa , Hossa loves it here or he wouldn't have signed here for less . It all depends how well we do in the playoffs . Our front office will do the right thing , because they are the best in the NHL .
Without denigrating Draper, Maltby, McCarty , Chelios in any way (why is Chelios never mentioned when discussions re cap space come up?) the Wings need to start planning for the future. Personally, I would prioritize keeping Hudler, who is really evolving into a scoring threat, and then go with Leino and Helms . Abdelkader is good but not quite ready. My top 3 lines would look like this: Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Cleary; Hossa, Holmstrom-Franzen, Leino-Filpulla-Hudler
Line 4 could feature Draper and Helm but I have a question (that is hopefully not too stupid..but I am somewhat new to hockey)what would be wrong with a fourth line that is defensively oriented, perhaps two forwards, and 3 defenders emphasizing a strong defense at the blue line with a "quick strike" counterpunch featuring two speedy players like Draper and Helm? I know that in soccer we switch the number of strikers from 4 all the way down to just 1. That brings up my next question...Chelios and Lidstrom are getting old,and just what are the wings developing as a defense?
Why is Flips name never brought up in trade rumors or Cap talk.....He's been a draw on the team and has not lived up to Expectations as far as that goes.... Hudler will be a big loss for this team but when you look at Franzen and Hossa with Dats "Z" and Cleary and Holmstrom (when healthy) its hard to make a case for keeping Hudler when our 4th line is in need of help. Kopecky can leave, Useless. If the Wings take a chance and get Neil from ottawa for a 2nd rounder which is a idea, that would help in making decisions for the 4th line and future. I'm glad I'm not Ken Holland, what ever he does is gonna come with Fans being mad about someting.....
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