Datsyuk / Zetterberg / Holmstrom
Franzen / Filppula / Sundin
Maltby / Drapper / Cleary
Samuelsson / Helm / Hudler

Lidstrom / Rafalski
Stuart / Kronwall
Lebda / Ericsson
Meech

Ozzie / Howard

looks pretty good to me.

Posted by Jdunc from Flint, MI on 06/02/08 at 10:20 AM ET

Me too!

Posted by w2j2 on 06/02/08 at 10:25 AM ET

One of the best Centers in the league, arguably the best current faceoff man, and your putting him second line winger??? 

I love Sundin, and I want to see him smiling while losing 82 games this season with the Blue and White.  But go Mats.  Go and win a cup.  Just because us sucker Leaf fans want you to win a cup here, doesnt’ mean it’s gonna happen.  It’s not.  Go and be happy, and retire, and then go live in Sweden.  You owe Toronto nothing, and Toronto owes you 16 years of great leadership.  Too bad Peddie doesn’t see it taht way and get you a hell of a winger to play with.

Posted by 41 Long Ones from Edmonton on 06/02/08 at 10:30 AM ET

yeah I put him on the wing, because when he played for Quebec he played on the wing and racked up a crap load of points.  Plus Fil is leading all centers in face off percentage in the finals, He isn’t going to replace Draper, and he isn’t going to replace Zetterberg or Datsyuk, and he isn’t going to be fourth liner.

Plus on the wing he doesn’t have the defensive responsibilities that Detroit centers have, and lets be honest while Sundin is a mighty fine player and we would love to have him, he has lost a step. I just think the wing would be less taxing on him throughout an 82 game season…

This isn’t going to happen though, when Sundin was pondering whether to be traded or not, he talked to Salming, and Salming told Sundin that leaving Toronto to play in Detroit his final season was the worst decision he made throughout his career.  Now granted, the team Salming played for and the team the wings have now are two different monsters, I’m sure Sundin is still going to let Salming’s advice weigh on him.  There is also a chemistry issue, the wings really don’t need another scorer, it would be nice, but there doing just fine now, and almost everybody is locked up through next season.

Posted by Jdunc from Flint, MI on 06/02/08 at 10:44 AM ET

Won’t happen if Sundin is looking for the two year deal at $8 million each year that he is rumoured to be seeking.

Not with the young players Detroit will have to sign in the next couple years.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 06/02/08 at 11:02 AM ET

I’ll agree with your points there Jdunc....Obviously don’t want to mess up the Zetter-Dats chemistry, but with all those points, I don’t see him signing in Detriot.  Or at least I’d rather him not.  If he’s leaving Toronto, I still want to see him as the great player he is.  But not many teams are looking for a great center right now that is a competitor.  Maybe NYR?  Probably get Jagr to stay, and there’s a few Swedes there too.

Posted by 41 Long Ones from Edmonton on 06/02/08 at 11:07 AM ET

Thanks, Baroque.

Come on, people.  Salary cap.

You aren’t going to be able to afford Stuart at 3+ mil at least AND Sundin at 4+ mil at least AND give Howard a raise AND give Filppula a raise AND be able to absorb Cleary’s 2 mil raise AND give Ericsson and Quncey deals AND maintain a cap cushion for deadline moves.

Go here:

http://www.nhlscap.com/capnumbers/detroit.htm

And then do some math before proposing this kind of goofy stuff.

Posted by HockeyinHD on 06/02/08 at 11:08 AM ET

easy… if Sundin came to Detroit he’d be taking a nice “give me the cup” discount.  8 million a year is outrageous.  If he wants to come to Detroit or any other team for that matter, he is going to have to sacrifice salary to fit a teams structure.  There isn’t a cup contender out there that has 8 million in cap room, real space or self imposed cap room.  Maybe a Minnesota takes a shot at him… outside of that, if he wants 8 million, then he wants it from Toronto, because he isn’t getting it anywhere else -and- winning the cup.

Posted by Jdunc from Flint, MI on 06/02/08 at 11:19 AM ET

I like Mats Sundin, and this is not the first time his name has been linked up with the Wings.  I think should the opportunity present itself, the Boy Wonder signs him. 

But the biggest obstacle is cap space.  Here are the Wings UFAs after this season, what they made this season, and what is most likely to happen to them:

Retire:
Dallas Drake (.550)
Dominik Hasek (2.050)
Chris Chelios (.850)

Re-sign:
Andreas Lilja (1.0)
Brad Stuart (3.5)

Re-sign to very low paying contract or let go:
Aaron Downey (.525)
Mark Hartigan (.550)
Darren McCarty* (.535)

Interestingly, if Drake retires, there is ample room for McCarty.  Plus, he will probably be in much better shape next year comparted to this year.

As far as RFAs go, we have these guys:

Valterri Filppula (.850)
Kyle Quincey (.535)
Jonathan Ericson (.475)
Jimmy Howard (.850)

The only question mark here is Quincey.  If the Wings re-sign Stuart and Lilja, there will only be one opening on the blue line.  Both Derek Meech and Kyle Quincey must play this year, they cannot be sent back down to Grand Rapids anymore, so one of them will play and one of them will not.  I am partial to Quincey, but we will see what Kenny Boy does.

The wings have about $4 million in cap space this year, smartly staying under the cap to make room for Zetterberg’s raise next year.  With retirements, and a cure-fire cap increase, they will have about $9 to $10 million in cap space with which to sign a handful of relatively low priced players.

The big obstacle comes next year when we have this crop of free agents:

Henrik Zetterberg (2.9)
Johan Franzen (1.150)
Mikael Samuelson (1.2)
Thomas Kopecky (.525)
Jiri Hudler (RFA) (1.150)

Zetterberg and Franzen will most likely command huge pay raises, while Samuelson, Hudler, and Kopecky will most likely sign contracts for close to the same amount they are making now.  I can also see Kopecky splitting to play elsewhere, he gets almost no time but he is a decent role player who would do well on a different roster.

If Holland can get Sundin to sign either a one year contract, or a discounted contract for a longer-term, he will sign him.  Bit if not, then he can’t afford to upset the pay scale for him, especially with Zetterberg’s negotiations coming up.

Posted by John from Pittsburgh, PA (Wings fan for life!) on 06/02/08 at 11:27 AM ET

Detroit would obviously be his best bet at a Cup if he wants to take WAY below what he’s worth.

Toronto is his best bet if he wants max money.

Montreal can give him pretty good money, and a decent chance at the Cup.

Posted by Nathan from Jonny Ericsson's ice cream truck on 06/02/08 at 11:28 AM ET

Nathan, for once I disagree with you.  Montreal is a lot farther away from a cup than a lot of people say.  They look pretty good compared to Toronto, but they need some more time to get comfortable in the playoffs.

Sundin would have to sign there for more than one season and get some assurances that they are building to win.

Posted by John from Pittsburgh, PA (Wings fan for life!) on 06/02/08 at 11:33 AM ET

Let me update my numbers:

Right now the Wings have a $39.040 million cap commitment for next year, leaving about $13.56 million in space assuming the cap does not rise (which it most certainly will).

With that money, they need to sign nine guys.  I have put what they made this year in the first caption, and what I think they will sign for in the second caption:

UFAs:
Andreas Lilja (1.0) (1.5)
Brad Stuart (3.5) (4.5)
Aaron Downey (.525) (.600)
Mark Hartigan (.550) (.600)
Darren McCarty* (.535) (.800)

RFAs:
Valterri Filppula (.850) (2.0)
Kyle Quincey (.535) (.600)
Jonathan Ericson (.475) (.550)
Jimmy Howard (.850) (1.0)

That is $12.15 Million for next season.  Now maybe the wings let go of Hartigan and Downey, and maybe they sign Stuart and McCarty for a little less.  That might free up $2 million, and the cap will most likely only rise by about $1 million.  That gives Kenny boy $4 million in space, and that is a good cushion.  If he can get Mats to sign for under $3 on a one year contract, then I say go for it.  For the record, I don’t think Mats would take that kind of a pay cut.

Posted by John from Pittsburgh, PA (Wings fan for life!) on 06/02/08 at 11:51 AM ET

easy… if Sundin came to Detroit he’d be taking a nice “give me the cup” discount.  8 million a year is outrageous. If he wants to come to Detroit or any other team for that matter, he is going to have to sacrifice salary to fit a teams structure.  There isn’t a cup contender out there that has 8 million in cap room, real space or self imposed cap room.  Maybe a Minnesota takes a shot at him… outside of that, if he wants 8 million, then he wants it from Toronto, because he isn’t getting it anywhere else -and- winning the cup.

That was the number I read - he was asking for a two-year deal for a total of $16 million.  Outrageous or not, he made only $5 million last year, and isn’t going to take even less than that.  (Plus the fact that he knows how unlikely it is for any team to repeat - signing with a solid Cup contender only guarantees a likely high seed int he playoffs, and nothing more.  He won’t win as a given.)

If he can get Mats to sign for under $3 on a one year contract, then I say go for it. For the record, I don’t think Mats would take that kind of a pay cut.

That’s the feeling I read as well.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 06/02/08 at 12:08 PM ET

@ John. Awesome work on all the salary info. Don’t you think they will try to re-sign Zetterberg this summer though? Normally you wouldn’t want to re-sign a guy minutes after he lifts up the Stanley Cup, the Conn Smythe and the Selke, but I think with the realities of the cap and the warm fuzzies after a successful season, they will be able to come to an agreement more easily than in another situation. Ken knows what he’s going to have to pay and maybe Z will be willing to lop off a few 100K to help stay on a winner.

Posted by Kris from Grand Blanc on 06/02/08 at 12:31 PM ET

Kris, I totally agree. Holland is going to start negotiating with Z the minute he is legally allowed to, which I believe is July 1 (one year from the end of his current contract).  That being said, if he signs him to a new contract at $7.5 million a year (which I think is likely), that contract does not kick in until next year and therefore does not hit the cap until next year. 

This year’s numbers remain the same.

On another note, I don’t think Holland is going to have any trouble re-signing Z.  He will have to pay him a good chunk, but still way below what he is worth.  Look for them to come to an agreement between $7 mil and $7.5 mil very quickly this summer. Anything below that is a steal, anything above that is worth the money, but will throw off the Wings salary structure and will cost us down the road.

Posted by John from Pittsburgh, PA (Wings fan for life!) on 06/02/08 at 12:55 PM ET