I may be the minority in all of this but I think KH had one of his better off seasons this time around.


PROS:
He addressed the needs for some offense, grit and 2nd C hole with the Ott, Vanek and Nielsen signings, and lets be honest here... he spent what 8mil on 3 players? ... that is 2.6 per player and two of them you can easily sit in the press box.

He also got alot of cap space in the Datsyuk trade, and a prospect to boot. Getting Vitale knowing he is going to LTIR helped him too.

with the exception of Dekeyser, he also signed some good RFA contracts by my estimation.

CONS:
Did not improve the D corps at all.

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The fallback of the offensive improvements may mean that AA and Mantha start in the AHL, but I dont think they are close to being any time of saviours yet. Have they earned anything... I dont think so, other than Vets losing something.

This will be an interesting year for the Wings... one has to think that we will be better at scoring goals, but I would say the glutonny of forwards is to have some options at moving one/two for a dman somewhere this off season.

I will cry about it once camp starts if it is the same as today.

*I got a s sneaky feeling Vanek will have a big season, but we will lose him when we cannot affford him next year or Vanek will never be seen in the NHL again.
- BooBoo997

If the main objective was "ice the most competitive possible team in 2016-17, whatever the cost," then KH did about the best he could. Key players re-signed, added Nielsen and Vanek. It's not unfathomable to think the Wings might even be slightly better this year than last, especially if Blashill deploys his lineup a little more intelligently than last year.

The reason that I'm so salty about it is because I think, regardless of whether or not the Wings are able to put together a decent season this year (and I think they're at best a coin flip to make the playoffs), I think they're really, really screwed starting 1-3 years out. There was already a crushing weight of very expensive long-term deals on the books (Kronwall, Ericsson, Howard, Abdelkader, Zetterberg) and KH added Helm, Glendening, DDK, and Nielsen to the pile this offseason. Most of those guys are already overpaid for what they provide, and at best they're on borrowed time (if not already in full-blown decline).

If Larkin continues to get better, guys like Tatar, Nyquist, and Smith win the trust of the coaching staff and step into bigger roles, Mrazek gets the crease for at least 60 games, Vanek has big a comeback campaign, Nielsen steps in seamlessly as a dependable two-way center who can score 60 points ... well, maybe we'll have something fun to cheer about this season.

But even if it all pans out, it's not going to last. The inevitable collapse might have been delayed a year or so, but it's coming, and I think KH's moves this offseason are going to make it the crash even worse and harder to recover from than it already would have been.

I may be the minority in all of this but I think KH had one of his better off seasons this time around.


PROS:
He addressed the needs for some offense, grit and 2nd C hole with the Ott, Vanek and Nielsen signings, and lets be honest here... he spent what 8mil on 3 players? ... that is 2.6 per player and two of them you can easily sit in the press box.

He also got alot of cap space in the Datsyuk trade, and a prospect to boot. Getting Vitale knowing he is going to LTIR helped him too.

with the exception of Dekeyser, he also signed some good RFA contracts by my estimation.

CONS:
Did not improve the D corps at all.

------

The fallback of the offensive improvements may mean that AA and Mantha start in the AHL, but I dont think they are close to being any time of saviours yet. Have they earned anything... I dont think so, other than Vets losing something.

This will be an interesting year for the Wings... one has to think that we will be better at scoring goals, but I would say the glutonny of forwards is to have some options at moving one/two for a dman somewhere this off season.

I will cry about it once camp starts if it is the same as today.

*I got a s sneaky feeling Vanek will have a big season, but we will lose him when we cannot affford him next year or Vanek will never be seen in the NHL again.
- BooBoo997

Hey! Theres no room for optimism or logic here! I agree with your offseasom assesment mostly. I like DD and i think a lot of wings fans undervalue him but i can see where theres an argument. Helm is the only one thats hard to swallow for me. I love the guy but the contract makes me not like him lol. The defense still has time to br improved with at least Fowler tho theres others id prefer. Ppl will always complain especially on the internet. Usually the normal ppl are just optimistic and have no reason to run online and share their arm chair gm opinion. Im with you man in optimistic even tho we arent really contenders they will still be fun to watch!

If the main objective was "ice the most competitive possible team in 2016-17, whatever the cost," then KH did about the best he could. Key players re-signed, added Nielsen and Vanek. It's not unfathomable to think the Wings might even be slightly better this year than last, especially if Blashill deploys his lineup a little more intelligently than last year.

The reason that I'm so salty about it is because I think, regardless of whether or not the Wings are able to put together a decent season this year (and I think they're at best a coin flip to make the playoffs), I think they're really, really screwed starting 1-3 years out. There was already a crushing weight of very expensive long-term deals on the books (Kronwall, Ericsson, Howard, Abdelkader, Zetterberg) and KH added Helm, Glendening, DDK, and Nielsen to the pile this offseason. Most of those guys are already overpaid for what they provide, and at best they're on borrowed time (if not already in full-blown decline).

If Larkin continues to get better, guys like Tatar, Nyquist, and Smith win the trust of the coaching staff and step into bigger roles, Mrazek gets the crease for at least 60 games, Vanek has big a comeback campaign, Nielsen steps in seamlessly as a dependable two-way center who can score 60 points ... well, maybe we'll have something fun to cheer about this season.

But even if it all pans out, it's not going to last. The inevitable collapse might have been delayed a year or so, but it's coming, and I think KH's moves this offseason are going to make it the crash even worse and harder to recover from than it already would have been.
- Sven22

I can definitely respect where youre coming from and you may very well be right. My thought is simply...we can know whats gonna happen until it does. We can only watch so ill worry about it when we get there. If everything positive you said plays out and we have a better season then everyones whining will be in vain. Id rarher just be optimistic (although i am realistic and see your POV as well) and be excited rather than just have no power yet continue to complain

What I meant is that Mantha did close to nothing during his stint in the NHL. I agree that he had a really good AHL season, but I don't think he's earned a shot at the roster yet. He's not as far developed as Nyquist was when he was left in the AHL 15 games too long. He needs another year of top-line development IMO.

Same thing with Russo.

Athanasiou had/has a more pro-developed game. His speed is elite. His hands and his shot are very good. His decision making and physicality requires development (even though he was very physical and present during the playoffs) and that's why he was only given 9 minutes/game. I think giving him such little time to think made him look really, really good. I will be disappointed if he doesn't get more time based on how he performed when he was on the ice.

I just flat-out disagree that completing 1 full AHL season means that you've earned a shot in the NHL. No, you dominate in the AHL with what your role is, and then you get your shot. Russo is a little different because he did play at an elite level as a 2-way defenseman for most of the AHL season. Let's see if he can improve on that.
- TwoPieceFeed

Except that he got a terrible Power Play going, by actually going to the net.
But, yeah, he did nothing.

I can definitely respect where youre coming from and you may very well be right. My thought is simply...we can know whats gonna happen until it does. We can only watch so ill worry about it when we get there. If everything positive you said plays out and we have a better season then everyones whining will be in vain. Id rarher just be optimistic (although i am realistic and see your POV as well) and be excited rather than just have no power yet continue to complain
- HomestyleMelt

I guess people that do the complaining may just be being realistic? When you have that much term and money tied up in players that generally aren't difference makers it will cause problems, sooner or later. We basically have a large chunk of the roster that are negative players...other teams won't want even for free.

Ultimately if the wings want to charge $100+ for tickets, fans will expect a good product

I guess people that do the complaining may just be being realistic? When you have that much term and money tied up in players that generally aren't difference makers it will cause problems, sooner or later. We basically have a large chunk of the roster that are negative players...other teams won't want even for free.

Ultimately if the wings want to charge $100+ for tickets, fans will expect a good product
- datswho

And when are you implying that im being unrealistic? Is my optimism unrealistic? Have i stated we are contenders or guaranteed to make the playoffs? Ive simply said theres no benefit to whining. We are still gonna ice the same team. I have stated many thing im unhappy about without sounding like a child. Or pretending I know or could do better than KH. You say they are being realistic but based on what? Your subjective opinion which we all have and none are necessarily more right than the other. Nothing I have said is unrealistic by any means i just choose to try and find the glass half full. Coming on here and complaining like an 8 year old doesnt change the roster. Thres a way to talk about things you dislike (look at sven) in a logical competent way. Most ppl on here are clueless and ignorantly come to whine which is what I say is annoying. But it doesnt matter cause i have no say in what they do so in the end me complaining about them is about as pointless as them whining about the wings! I respect your opinion man thanks for the input