Bob Duff: Yzerman Strikes Deal With Lightning The Detroit Red Wings have acquired left-winger Adam Erne from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Would love to see Yzerman waive a clown like Abby and use Erne in that role instead. Also hope Kronwall doesn't come back. Such a brutal supporting cast.

Do you get the feeling that Yzerman wants to move any pieces out before training camp? Are you aware of any other trade talk? Just curious, excited for September!

Alright.

Agree with UofCguy. Unfortunately you still have 3.25 mil against the cap even if you waive Abby. But, i think his NTC is modified if his minutes go down to 4th line. May be worth it if he can be exposed for expansion...

Erne's cap hit is slightly lower than the max relief a team can get from burying a contract in the minors. So theoretically if he's Abdelkader's replacement (he isn't, but a guy can dream) the Wings would actually save $25k against the cap with Erne in the NHL and Abdelkader in the AHL as opposed to the opposite.

Also, unfortunately, Abdelkader has a full NTC through the end of this upcoming season. It isn't until 2020-21 where the NTC disappears if he's not in the top 9 in TOI or the Wings miss the playoffs.

Then again, with a contract that awful an NTC might be redundant anyway.

I hope you guys enjoy him, I think he could be a fringe second liner, but he's definitely meant for a checking role. The thing I hate is that we have no big physical guys now, I miss Yzerman already.

I was hoping the Oil would snag him , and for a fourth ? Gees , an easy third there . I think he can play top six I really do

DET is not close to the upper limit so cap constraints should have no impact on roster decisions. Erne has minimal upside and it can be viewed that he is blocking a prospect. DET sucks either way.

DET is not close to the upper limit so cap constraints should have no impact on roster decisions. Erne has minimal upside and it can be viewed that he is blocking a prospect. DET sucks either way.
- Feds91Stammer

I don't disagree with you on "minimal upside," or the fact that Detroit is going to suck either way.

But I also think Erne is ... probably a decent bottom six forward with a valuable skillset? Not much offense (but more offense than Abdelkader), and my admittedly early / basic read is that he's above average defensively and also doesn't completely suck at zone exits / transition ... like, say Glendening does. Hard to know how much of that is Erne and how much is just Tampa being awesome at hockey, but I think there's probably something there. He's also 24 and making a buryable salary, and an RFA after this season.

Like, it's not inconceivable that Erne is already our seventh or eighth best forward, as embarrassing as that may be.

I am sympathetic to the argument that Detroit should be focused on developing high-end talent rather than necessarily icing the best possible lineup on a nightly basis. So if Erne is the reason that a guy like Zadina or Veleno or Hirose isn't playing in the NHL, I'll fully agree with you that bringing him on was a mistake, even if Erne is technically the better player right now.

But if the roster spot he's taking would have otherwise gone to some other low-ceiling grunt like Ehn or de la Rose, or if he actually takes a roster spot from an overpaid marginal NHLer like Abdelkader, I think I'd consider that a (modest) win.

I don't disagree with you on "minimal upside," or the fact that Detroit is going to suck either way.

But I also think Erne is ... probably a decent bottom six forward with a valuable skillset? Not much offense (but more offense than Abdelkader), and my admittedly early / basic read is that he's above average defensively and also doesn't completely suck at zone exits / transition ... like, say Glendening does. Hard to know how much of that is Erne and how much is just Tampa being awesome at hockey, but I think there's probably something there. He's also 24 and making a buryable salary, and an RFA after this season.

Like, it's not inconceivable that Erne is already our seventh or eighth best forward, as embarrassing as that may be.

I am sympathetic to the argument that Detroit should be focused on developing high-end talent rather than necessarily icing the best possible lineup on a nightly basis. So if Erne is the reason that a guy like Zadina or Veleno or Hirose isn't playing in the NHL, I'll fully agree with you that bringing him on was a mistake, even if Erne is technically the better player right now.

But if the roster spot he's taking would have otherwise gone to some other low-ceiling grunt like Ehn or de la Rose, or if he actually takes a roster spot from an overpaid marginal NHLer like Abdelkader, I think I'd consider that a (modest) win.
- Sven22

If he takes a spot from Abdelkader, I’m going to consider this a mega win.

DET is not close to the upper limit so cap constraints should have no impact on roster decisions. Erne has minimal upside and it can be viewed that he is blocking a prospect. DET sucks either way.
- Feds91Stammer

They’re not at this point, but we have 7 RFAs coming up and 4 UFAs. 6 of 7 RFAs are arbitration eligible. Though it’s down the road i do feel like we’ll see moves made to make sure we can handle everyone. Mantha, A.A. And Bertuzzi all in one shot. Thank God Larkin signed for $6.1...

Erne's cap hit is slightly lower than the max relief a team can get from burying a contract in the minors. So theoretically if he's Abdelkader's replacement (he isn't, but a guy can dream) the Wings would actually save $25k against the cap with Erne in the NHL and Abdelkader in the AHL as opposed to the opposite.

Also, unfortunately, Abdelkader has a full NTC through the end of this upcoming season. It isn't until 2020-21 where the NTC disappears if he's not in the top 9 in TOI or the Wings miss the playoffs.

Then again, with a contract that awful an NTC might be redundant anyway.
- Sven22

Thanks for that. I knew the NTC was circumstantial at some point, but wasn’t exactly sure when. In essence, as horrible as it is, it would be “best” to play Abby all year on the 4th line and pave way for exposing him at the expansion draft or sending him to a cap floor team, etc. not fun either way

I don't disagree with you on "minimal upside," or the fact that Detroit is going to suck either way.

But I also think Erne is ... probably a decent bottom six forward with a valuable skillset? Not much offense (but more offense than Abdelkader), and my admittedly early / basic read is that he's above average defensively and also doesn't completely suck at zone exits / transition ... like, say Glendening does. Hard to know how much of that is Erne and how much is just Tampa being awesome at hockey, but I think there's probably something there. He's also 24 and making a buryable salary, and an RFA after this season.

Like, it's not inconceivable that Erne is already our seventh or eighth best forward, as embarrassing as that may be.

I am sympathetic to the argument that Detroit should be focused on developing high-end talent rather than necessarily icing the best possible lineup on a nightly basis. So if Erne is the reason that a guy like Zadina or Veleno or Hirose isn't playing in the NHL, I'll fully agree with you that bringing him on was a mistake, even if Erne is technically the better player right now.

But if the roster spot he's taking would have otherwise gone to some other low-ceiling grunt like Ehn or de la Rose, or if he actually takes a roster spot from an overpaid marginal NHLer like Abdelkader, I think I'd consider that a (modest) win.
- Sven22

I like Erne and have no problem with the move. Quite frankly I don’t care if Veleno, Zadina, or Rasmussen spend significant time in the AHL. Sure I might tune in to DET games a lot less but I don’t think it impacts development much.

They’re not at this point, but we have 7 RFAs coming up and 4 UFAs. 6 of 7 RFAs are arbitration eligible. Though it’s down the road i do feel like we’ll see moves made to make sure we can handle everyone. Mantha, A.A. And Bertuzzi all in one shot. Thank God Larkin signed for $6.1...
- Jlaura76

If the RFAs put the team into a cap bind, that’s a good thing.

I like Erne and have no problem with the move. Quite frankly I don’t care if Veleno, Zadina, or Rasmussen spend significant time in the AHL. Sure I might tune in to DET games a lot less but I don’t think it impacts development much.
- Feds91Stammer

Fair enough; apologies for misreading you.

Since I live in Grand Rapids I do appreciate having at least one or two high end prospects playing in the AHL, purely for selfish reasons.

But I tend to think that if a young player is legitimately good enough to make the NHL roster, their development is probably better served by facing tougher competition. I'm not especially swayed by the argument that it's better to get first line minutes in the AHL over third line minutes in the NHL, though admittedly it's probably more of a case-by-case thing. You're probably correct that the difference isn't huge either way, though.

I'm fine with Veleno or even Zadina getting more time in the minors if they truly aren't ready for the next level, but I also am not interested in waiting until they're already above-average NHLers before they finally get their shot, a la Nyquist and Tatar, especially considering how paper-thin the big club is at every position.

Fair enough; apologies for misreading you.

Since I live in Grand Rapids I do appreciate having at least one or two high end prospects playing in the AHL, purely for selfish reasons.

But I tend to think that if a young player is legitimately good enough to make the NHL roster, their development is probably better served by facing tougher competition. I'm not especially swayed by the argument that it's better to get first line minutes in the AHL over third line minutes in the NHL, though admittedly it's probably more of a case-by-case thing. You're probably correct that the difference isn't huge either way, though.

I'm fine with Veleno or even Zadina getting more time in the minors if they truly aren't ready for the next level, but I also am not interested in waiting until they're already above-average NHLers before they finally get their shot, a la Nyquist and Tatar, especially considering how paper-thin the big club is at every position.
- Sven22

Hopefully by the deadline Yzerman can find a way to dump Helm and Glendening.

Fair enough; apologies for misreading you.

Since I live in Grand Rapids I do appreciate having at least one or two high end prospects playing in the AHL, purely for selfish reasons.

But I tend to think that if a young player is legitimately good enough to make the NHL roster, their development is probably better served by facing tougher competition. I'm not especially swayed by the argument that it's better to get first line minutes in the AHL over third line minutes in the NHL, though admittedly it's probably more of a case-by-case thing. You're probably correct that the difference isn't huge either way, though.

I'm fine with Veleno or even Zadina getting more time in the minors if they truly aren't ready for the next level, but I also am not interested in waiting until they're already above-average NHLers before they finally get their shot, a la Nyquist and Tatar, especially considering how paper-thin the big club is at every position.
- Sven22

Jealous you get to see GR play. I recently went from an NHL town to an ECHL town so I likely won’t end up seeing live hockey this season.

Fair enough; apologies for misreading you.

Since I live in Grand Rapids I do appreciate having at least one or two high end prospects playing in the AHL, purely for selfish reasons.

But I tend to think that if a young player is legitimately good enough to make the NHL roster, their development is probably better served by facing tougher competition. I'm not especially swayed by the argument that it's better to get first line minutes in the AHL over third line minutes in the NHL, though admittedly it's probably more of a case-by-case thing. You're probably correct that the difference isn't huge either way, though.

I'm fine with Veleno or even Zadina getting more time in the minors if they truly aren't ready for the next level, but I also am not interested in waiting until they're already above-average NHLers before they finally get their shot, a la Nyquist and Tatar, especially considering how paper-thin the big club is at every position.
- Sven22

We live about 2 hours from GR and 1 from Detroit. Griffins games are a lot more fun. GR is a beautiful city

We live about 2 hours from GR and 1 from Detroit. Griffins games are a lot more fun. GR is a beautiful city
- Jlaura76

Moving back to GR in the next year or two.

Moving back to GR in the next year or two.
- RafiDRW

Nice! My wife goes to concerts at Van Andel. Such a great city

Nice! My wife goes to concerts at Van Andel. Such a great city
- Jlaura76

Spent most of my first 25 years there. Miss it tremendously.