Quite frankly, I’d be shocked if Grigorenko makes the team right off the bat. It seems to me that it’s all but certain he’ll be a Griffin next year, if he stays in North America. He’ll need time to adjust to the game over here, as the days of his being the next Datsyuk or Zetterberg (i.e. capable of making an immediate jump) were gone when he nearly died in that accident. He’s still got a lot of skill and grit (I’ll always remember him being described as a tough Ilya Kovalchuk), but he’s not the same player he was before. I’m certain he’ll be among the first to get the call-up in the event of an injury, but I just don’t think he’ll be a regular. Yet.

For now, I’m assuming Hasek will be back. That’s a situation I’m pretty comfortable with (aside from the usual concerns over his groin) and it’s the best the Wings can do without impairing their ability to go after a forward.

Not sure what Kozlov would wear. He’s worn 13 in each of his NHL stops so there’s no help there. Personally, I’d like to see that question answered. Kozzie was one of the great playoff performers in team history and his return would increase the Wings’ chances of a good postseason run.

Another year with Hasek is a not really a double-edged sword as people have been complaining. He played unbelievably this past season and will command a bit more money, but it will be modest, not exorbitant. If he happens to falter (read: get injured) then we can always fall back on Ozzie and Howard. I expect that Holland will leave enough cap space to make his signature moves on deadline day. I just hope that a goaltending situation is not the one we are dealing with that late in the season. So, I’m all for signing Hasek and I am mostly okay with our backups. I just don’t see the Wings being able to pull in Giguere (even with the Babcock connection) and I doubt that we will sign Manny Fernandez in the event that Hasek decides not to return (heard he has a difficult personality). I forget who that leaves in the high-end market (Biron, perhaps???)

With Bert, you could tell right off the bat that he was not the same as he was with the Canucks. I think and hope the Wings will give him another year. I think the Lang/Calder opening is a great opportunity to bring in Kozlov. But what number would he wear???

So, you’re imagining something like this:

Holmstrom-Datsyuk-Zetterberg
Franzen-Filppula-Bertuzzi
Cleary-Draper-Maltby
Kopecky-Hudler-Samuelsson

Lidstrom-Lilja
Schneider-Kronwall
Chelios-Lebda
Meech

Hasek
Osgood

That’s definitely plausible and I wouldn’t object to it. It just doesn’t seem to fit with the Wings’ philosophy, which is to ice the best team possible. The above squad would be quite good, but it’d also be young and inexperienced on the bottom end. So, I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that the Wings will at least try to land a forward to fill in Lang’s roster spot.

If they get a winger, which I think is more likely because Filppula showed he is ready for the big time (centering the second line), I would foresee that bumping Kopecky off the regular roster, as they’d still need Hudler to center the fourth line. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we were to see Bertuzzi (assuming he is re-signed) return to the fourth line in that scenario.

2. Franzen-Filppula-new forward
4. Bertuzzi-Hudler-Samuelsson

If they get a center, Hudler may be out because the Wings may put Filppula back on the fourth line to center that.

2. Franzen-new forward-Bertuzzi
4. Kopecky-Filppula-Samuelsson

Both of the names mentioned around the Wings blogosphere as hopeful additions are wingers. Like you say, Ryan Smyth would be a dream acquisition, but I think it’s highly unlikely. He’d make the Wings unbeatable around the front of the net, but he’s too expensive. Slava Kozlov seems to me to be the most likely of the two, though I wonder if he’d want to return after getting the shaft in the Hasek deal in 2001.

I take for granted that the team will bring back Bertuzzi, but it’s possible they won’t. That would open up even more possibilities for the lineup. For now, I’m assuming he’ll be back, like I’m assuming Calder and Lang will be gone (opening two spots).

This is all speculation, of course, especially the lines part. Maybe they’re educated guesses, but they’re still guesses. I agree with you that Jiri has earned a regular spot and I hope he gets one. I’d also like to see more of Kopecky. I just wouldn’t be shocked if that’s not the route the team goes.

While it would definitely be a dream acquisition to land Ryan Smyth, I think the team shouldn’t look to replace Lang via another UFA /trade. I think Jiri’s earned a spot on the team, and him centring a line with Fils and maybe Samuelsson or Cleary i think would be dynamite. Huds and Fils have some chemistry, because of playing together so much during the regular season.

I really hope Jiri has a spot come next October. He’s been pushed to the back burner fvor far too long now in my opinion.