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[Son of Sam99]

Sorry for the delays. its my intention to keep this thing moving fairly regularly but work and all that etc.

ANYWAY without further ado...

[Son of Sam99]

Entry: June 30th, 2014

The entry draft was a big success. As is common we won’t know what players were steals or busts for a long time but by the end of the first round we had added Cal Clutterbuck who is a top nine forward at worst plus prospects William Nylander and Michael Dal Colle who appears to have been a steal at 15th overall.
Today marks the end of the resigning period so here’s an update:

RFAs:

Tendered Unrestricted Free Agents
Pos	Player	Qualifying Offer
D	Max Nicastro	$925,000
RW	Mitch Callihan	$610,000
C	Louis-Marc Aubry	$625,000

Each of the RFAs we tendered are guys we’re probably willing to match sheets on but I’m thinking it won’t come to that. Either they’ll step up their games this coming season and make themselves a part of our future or they’ll be supplanted by draft picks down the line.

UFAs

Released Free Agents
Pos	Player	2013-14 Salary/ notes
RW	Mikael Samuelsson	$925,000 / Added depth last season and really didn’t get to see the ice very much. Hopefully he’ll be able to land somewhere that he’ll get more playing time..
G	Jonas Gustavsson	$1,375,000 / A very serviceable backup but the Grand Rapids staff say Mrzaek is ready for backup duties in the majors so that's who we’re going with there, Gus will certainly land on his skates elsewhere
LW	Daniel Cleary	$550,000/ was a tough decision to let go but we want to free the space for some prospects to have a chance to make an impact..

-


New Contracts

Resigned Free Agents
Pos	Player	Length / Salary/ Notes
C	Landon Ferraro	3 years / $760,000 / Least impressive of our center prospects but we’re not willing to pull the plug yet. Without progress in the next two years we may look to move him
C	Riley Sheahan	3 years / $1,490,000 / A very exciting prospect who is getting pait to make an impact in the bigs next seaso, should turn into top defensive forward
C	Cory Emmerton	3 years / $700,000 / At 25 years old it will take a big jump for Cory to be a full time NHL player, for the price though he adds depth in Grand Rapids and options when injuries strike
D	Kyle Quincy	4 years / $4,470,000 / This is almost Kronwall type money but the market is hot for blue liners and we wanted to keep him
D	Danny DeKeyser	3 years / $1,900,000 / This was a bit of a no brainer. Danny didn’t quite have the breakout we would have hoped for but he’s young and for three years under $2MM the hope (& assumption) is that in year three it’ll be a huge bargain
G	Brian Elliot	3 years / $1,215,000 / We went back and forth on this. Though Brian was a playoff hero playing out of his mind I wasn't sure three years would be wise but the price is ok even if he winds up behind Mrazek
LW	Tomas Tatar	4 years / $1,550,000 / We asked for an extra year from Tomas’ agent as he also only wanted three years originally. We ended up paying him a little more but it was worth it to me to have him locked down longer.

Free Agency:

The upcoming free agent class isn’t all too impressive but there are opportunities to better the team. We’ll still be looking to potentially add some bigger forwards but more than anything I’d like to target a top 4 defenseman. We’ll see what happens.

[Tazer19]

Quote: Originally Posted by Son of Sam99

Sorry for the delays. its my intention to keep this thing moving fairly regularly but work and all that etc. ANYWAY without further ado...

Yep, always a challenge.

[HeroWorship]

Quote: Originally Posted by Tazer19

Yep, always a challenge.

Same

I hate being an adult

[HeroWorship]

Also, a first round pick for Cal Clutterbuck? You oughta be ashamed.

[Son of Sam99]

Quote: Originally Posted by HeroWorship

Also, a first round pick for Cal Clutterbuck? You oughta be ashamed.

Had three & wanted to make the deal go through. but you're probably right I could have even gotten more value picking a player and then trading his rights.
Live & learn.

[Son of Sam99]

Entry: September 14th, 2014

The off season is winding down and vacations are coming to an end for players, coaches, and front office staff alike. Training camp is set to begin tomorrow in beautiful Traverse City Michigan with the first preseason game is just nine days away. I would be lying if I were to say it wasn’t a wild off season in terms of player movement as well as celebration with the Stanley Cup.

Free agency was disappointing as we perused a few players who ultimately didn’t sign with the team. I feel we failed in our goal to add toughness to the roster but in lieu of that we added some solid vets who can put the puck in the net.

Signed Free Agents:

Signed FAs
Pos	Player	Years/ Salary
LW	Wojtek Wolski	2 Years / $2,550,000
RW	Michael Frolik	1 year / $1,630,000
G	Anders Nilsson	3 years / $910,000

- Wolski spent last season in Russia after no one was interested in signing him last off season. This is a speculative move and a bit of a risk at the length and price of his contract but the market took a jump and this is the price we needed to pay to beat out two other teams.
- Frolik has bounced between Europe and the NHL over the last three seasons and there are rumors that he’s too much of a partyer to stick with a premier club. I’m expecting that the leaders in our locker room will set him straight. If he won’t walk the straight and narrow then we’ll ship him elsewhere or just let his contract expire.
- Nilsson was a steal to be sure in the third week of free agency. At 24 years old I think he’s got a high ceiling and given our goalie situation in Detroit we can let him try to realize that growth in Grand Rapids.

The whole coaching staff is excited for camp to see who comes back in better shape than they were last season, whose game has improved, and which draftees will set themselves apart from the rest.

If there is any dead time for the front office its now. At this point we’ll be watching the players for chemistry and listening to the coaching staff to see if any changes need to be made. Other than that we’re just getting our ducks in a row for scouting the 2015 entry draft.

[Son of Sam99]

October 7, 2014

Red Wings 2014-15 Season Preview

Detroit, MI-

Probable Line Parings

FWD 1: Nyquist - Datsyuk - Taresenko
FWD 2: Abdelkader - Zetterberg - Franzen
FWD 3: Tatar - Helm - Clutterbuck
FWD 4: Wolski – Weiss – Frolik

There isn’t much change among the top six forwards coming into this season and one can expect solid chemistry among these lines. The third and fourth lines though bring with them three players who will be donning the winged wheel for the first time on opening night. The first couple weeks of the season should tell Mike Babcock where the chemistry is. Fans can expect to see the head coach shuffle guys around throughout the season until he hits the right combination.

DEF 1: Kronwall - Quincey
DEF 2: Smith - Kindl
DEF 3: Ericsson – DeKeyser

All six of the Wings’ blue liners return from last season. This will likely be the Red Wings strongest area as the season gets under way as each player is capable of highlight reel hits and offensive contribution as well. It will be up to the Wings’ opponents to crack this impressive defensive corps.

Goalies: Elliot – Mrazek

Brian Elliot is coming off of a magical Stanley Cup run and was rewarded for his efforts with multi year deal in the offseason, he’ll be expected to prove he’s worth the money. In the back up role Petr Mrazek will make his NHL debut this season. The team doesn’t expect him to set the world on fire with his play but he’s been very productive in the minors and now is his time to step up.
Given the lack of goalie depth in the franchise this could be a trouble position. If Elliot hits an extended cold streak and Mrazek isn’t ready for the pros the team will have to hit the trade market for a backstop.


AHLers To Watch For

The Red Wings continue to have one for the most loaded minor league systems in the NHL and fans can expect to see the benefits of that this season. Center Riley Sheahan is expected to be called up and log major minutes with the Wings along with Center Joakim Andersson. Young defenseman Brian Lashoff will start the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins but is expected to be called up should the need for an extra body on the blue line arise.

Sources within the organization are saying wingers Tomas Jurco, Teemu Pulkkinen and defensemen Xavier Oulett are all a year or more away from being contributors in the NHL but will provide lots of excitement in Grand Rapids this season.

Defending Cup Champs

No one in the organization has shied away from the fact that repeating as Stanely Cup Champions is an incredibly difficult task, completed only twice since 1990.
“We know the target will be on our back all season.” Mike Babcock commented. “Opposing teams will say ‘hey we’re going up against the champs tonight so lets step it up big time’ but we’re excited for the opportunity.”
“Just like any other season our goal starting out the year is to win the Stanley Cup.” Captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “If anything it gives us more drive to keep it here in Detroit rather than let someone else take it.”

Raising Banners

The Red Wings first game of the season is at home October 11th against the Florida Panthers and will feature a brief ring ceremony followed by the raising of the franchise’s 12th Stanley Cup Championship banner.