On the Wings

According to a Detroit News article today, I and my fellow Wings fans are to expect some turnover this off season. That’s because Ken Holland has made it clear there will be changes heading into next year. Those changes could include losing Fedorov, McCarty and Larionov to free agency. Fedorov is considered a priority and all the others come second. He could make it hard for the Wings to keep him, since he’s reportedly asking for $12 million a year, which is something the Wings most likely couldn’t pay. He turned down a 5 year, $50 million contract with the lame excuse that he wanted a longer contract. (He’s 33, five years would put him at 38…….he’s no iron man who’ll go till he’s 40, methinks). McCarty just wants more time on his contract, last I heard. The Professor might be let go, not only because of his age and price but because they need to make room for Williams and Grigorenko somewhere. The Wings will almost definitely drop Robitaille but will supposedly look to keep Woolley. Steve Yzerman’s contract is also up but there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that if he plays next year, it’ll be for the Wings. The only sticking point would be for how much he’ll be playing. I think Datsyuk is a restricted free agent. The Wings also probably have to make room for Niklas Kronvall, a Swedish defenseman who they might bring up next year. No matter what happens, the Wings aren’t likely to play the market too much this year because of the revenue lost from an early exit and with the big contracts needing to be signed. Give us something to pay attention to in the next few weeks before the Awards. UGH!