MLive’s Ansar Khan answers questions from readers this morning, and Khan duly notes that the Red Wings’ defense is stacked against the possibility of adding prospects to the mix.
With Trevor Daley, Danny DeKeyser, Jonathan Ericsson, Nick Jensen, Niklas Kronwall and Xavier Ouellet under contract for the upcoming season, and Mike Green a decent bet to return as an unrestricted free agent, it’s hard to figure out how any of Dennis Cholowski, Joe Hicketts, Filip Hronek, Libor Sulak or any other of the Wings’ prospects will fit into the blueline:
Q:How does (general manager) Ken Holland plan to address the logjam on defense which is affecting the prospect pipeline’s ability to develop? I cringe when I keep reading they want to bring back Mike Green, because I fear it is going to hinder development of guys like Hicketts, Hronek, (Vili) Saarijarvi, Cholowski, Sulak, etc., when they already have six guys on NHL contracts for next season and other vets in Grand Rapids taking playing time. Will bringing back Green be contingent on moving out a couple of players from last season’s defense corps? – Eric
A: Green’s status is not linked to anything that happens with anyone else. If Green accepts a two-year deal, I think they’ll bring him back because he’s the only consistent offensive threat on a blue line that doesn’t provide much offense. He shoots right, which they lack, and his absence would create a big void on a power play that has struggled.
But if he is seeking three years, they’re not likely to re-sign him. Either way, the logjam on D isn’t going to be alleviated much this off-season.
Khan continues…
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Lol at signing Green. Kenny botched his trade, so signing him makes it appear as if that was the plan all along. Such stupidity.
Jensen is having a solid tournament. Exploit that. Flip him at the draft in a pick swap. Then move on. So Jensen + 4th for someone’s 3rd. Or something like that. Would rather see Hicketts or Hronek than a 27 year old journeyman.
I some times get frustrated with “no room” for adding prospects.
I then realise they can’t move bad contacts and players that can’t play at the $$$ they are paid. As of this year the Wings don’t have an abundance of Rookies that can handle the NHL.(Yet?)
I will wait a couple of years and watch what KH does when a contract ends for a player not in the rebuild process
Some contracts are easy to move. Jensen could be moved for a draft pick. If he fails with his new team, he can be waived and fully buried off the cap. That opens a spot for a young player to take a spot. Unless they think at age 27, Jensen can be more than a 5/6 guy. LOL.
Glendening could easily be traded. Numerous teams would like to add him.
Nyquist could have easily been moved, but we waited too long and now his NTC kicked in.
If you retained money or took back a bad contract, Helm could draw interest. You can also just waive a veteran and bury him in the AHL. So take Kronwall and bury him in the AHL. You get $950K of cap relief for that. replace with Hicketts or Hronek or whoever you want. That’s cap NEUTRAL. But we know we’ll never ever do that to a vet. Whereas other GMs don’t hesitate to bury an overpaid slug in the AHL…