So says Ansar Khan, who notes that the team has made re-signing him a priority. That’s great news, as Mathieu Schneider is a very important piece of the defense and the loss of him would be huge.
Khan also mentions that it’s looking unlikely that Danny Markov will be back. The team wants him and he wants to return, but there may not be cap room. I’m okay with that. I like Danny and his presence makes the defense stronger, but I’m not all that attached to him. He doesn’t fit in with my picture of the 2007-2008 Wings anyway. That picture is pretty simple:
The same basic team, but with a few necessay changes
Old
- Markov
- Calder
- Lang
New
- Meech (as 7th D-man instead of Quincey because Kyle can return to the AHL without having to clear waivers whereas Derek cannot)
- Kopecky/Hudler (one of the two gets a regular role)
- Some upper-level free agent forward to replace Lang (probably not this guy - it isn’t the summer of 2001, after all; but possibly this guy - who hasn’t worn the Winged Wheel since that summer).
Those changes wouldn’t be all that big as far as team cohesion goes. The organization needs to do something about Meech or else they’ll lose him, so giving Lebda the bigger role that he’s earned and letting Markov go is the best way to hold on to Derek as a 7th defenseman. Kopecky can fill Calder’s role using his size and physical play, or Hudler could make a role for himself with his skill using that same roster spot. The biggest (and most looked-for) change, in this scenario, would be the swap-out of Lang for a forward of similar skills but hopefully better performance. If the team can nab someone who will light up the second line, the Wings will be an even harder team to stop next season.
Hey Matt,
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.
Alex,
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.
I’d like to see how Grigorenko will fit into the picture if he makes the team. It may be tough to displace Kopecky or Hudler, but from all the talk this guy seems like he has the right combination of talents. I hope he makes a strong showing at camp and proves to be the touted prospect that he was before the accident. With his new contract, it seems certain that he’ll head back to Russia if he can’t make the jump.
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???
Jordan,
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.
can we bring back shanny, a nice right wing shot to replace lang, already at home with the team and the players and the city, 1 more year then retire, go out with a bang, a gritty forward who will back up the finesse when the going gets tough (i think shanny only signed 1 year with the rangers but i might be wrong).
If hasek leaves i am sure we will be fine, we still got ozzy and with a defensive style game like we had last year we could probably put a pylon in net and still come out with enough points to make the playoffs.Hopefully we don;t break the bank on some goalie that may or not be any good, look at giguere in 03 after signed that huge deal, if we had to go after any goalie i would take brodeur (not going anywhere, or kipper again not going anywhere)so we should stick with what we got, we got a lot of young players that are ion and out of the lineup but we should start getting them in a lot more legends like chely, lids,schnieder, draper and maltby sadly are not gonna be around forever