If you follow me on Twitter, you've likely heard that today I landed an internship with the Grand Rapids Griffins. If you hadn't heard, well, I landed an internship with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

To get right down to it... what does this mean for BDS? Well, originally, I had assumed they wouldn't want me to continue blogging. However, they were pretty open to it as long as I knew where my boundaries were... but I knew this would limit some of the things I would like to do, so I weighed my options. I considered attempting to add a writer or two to help me out here, or just limiting my "commitments" (BDS/WIM/TOV/HF/etc) or changing my "style" (more breaking news opposed to sometimes long-winded opinions). I thought heavily yesterday about stopping all together. It's my senior year in college, and I want to be able to do well in school to graduate on time, impress some folks with this internship, work a fair amount of hours at my part-time job so I don't graduate college with no money, and just genuinely enjoy my final year of college before the real world creeps up on me. I won't have trouble managing that, but blogging is very much a "spare time" thing for me, and I'll have less spare time. It does take a fair amount of time, and I know the quality would suffer.

When they offered me the position today and said that they had been reconsidering their offer to let me keep going, I had no reservations in agreeing. I felt like it delayed the inevitable -- whether it was later this week, or a month into the season when I realize the blog is being neglected -- it definitely would have been below a fair amount of things on the list of my priorities. The decision was pretty easy to make -- BDS is going on hiatus, indefinitely. The internship goes until the Griffins hoist the Calder Cup in June, at which point I'll re-assess what my post-college life will look like and whether or not it will include blogging.

I don't intend for this to come across as something I'm disappointed with. Quite the opposite, I'm thrilled to get this opportunity. I started a blog because I was bored and wanted people to talk hockey with, and after about a year of having like two regular readers, I finally broke through and developed a nice little following. I took advantage of all the opportunities that came my way -- contributing at Winging it in Motown, getting a paid gig at Hockey's Future, contributing to The Obstructed View podcast, moving to the Bloguin network, meeting some bloggers/readers at H2H, etc. A lot more than I ever thought would happen. And now, in a way, it's helped me find a new opportunity.

I won't be gone, completely. While I won't be here, or at WIM, or likely much on Twitter, my new responsibilities will include writing. I'll be writing game recaps and doing feature stories on the Griffins official team website. They have a lot of cool ideas for the year, so I'd definitely recommend keeping an eye on the website.

To wrap this sucker up, I just want to thank who's reading this right now -- because you're what made this such a rewarding experience. I can only speak on my behalf, but I'm fairly confident that most bloggers are much less important than most people think. Every comment, e-mail, tweet, whatever, really meant a lot to me and made me feel like dedicating a lot of time to talking about hockey with internet strangers was worth it. It kept me going every time I wasn't feeling up to updating it.

It's been fun. Luckily for you, there are a ton of good Wings blogs out there, available on the right. Check 'em out. These will be obvious to anyone who reads multiple Wings blogs, but if for whatever reason you only come here, I'd like to recommend three of the blogs I've enjoyed the most and who have always been the kindest to me. The newly revamped The Production Line (who've just added free agent/retiree blogger Chris Hollis), the always hilarious Brent and Tyler at The Triple Deke, and Christopher Walken-impersonation extraordinaire Casey Richey and company over at Winging it in Motown.

Sopranos'd.

Since I've last posted, some interesting stuff has happened. However, this has happened to me, in addition to a lot of free time, but it's out of my system and I've re-entered the real world.

Basically.. Chris Chelios retired and moved into the Wings' front office, Jamie Tardif re-signed, Kirk Maltby has to take a two-way deal or take nothing, and Ilya Kovalchuk's contract got rejected, but there's a pretty fine consensus on all three of those things. Chelios was impressive, but I felt his last few years in Detroit just prevented some kids from coming up and caused the log jam that saw the team lose Kyle Quincey. Tardif was no surprise -- Detroit qualified him, which means they'd make an effort to sign him. He was the Griffins' captain last year, and while he's not going to be on the short list of call ups, he's tough and makes a good leader for the AHL. Everyone's known this about Maltby, but until recently, Ken Holland kept saying "we're trying to find a place for him" as if we didn't have 16 forwards ahead of him on the depth chart, but again, he'd make a good Griffin. And Kovalchuk doesn't have an impact on Detroit because Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen's contracts were signed long enough ago where they're not subject to an evalutation. Viola.

The real news is that our roster has come together with the addition of Ruslan Salei, a definite upgrade over the types of names that folks were suggesting for Detroit's #7 spot. I didn't mention him in the few posts where I listed a bunch of these mediocre defensemen because, honestly, I was sure I had heard he signed in the KHL. Clearly I imagined that, or it was a rumor or something, but let's not come to my defense here -- I'm stupid.

And the real question about the real news is.. is Salei actually still good? And the answer is, I don't know. I remember actually thinking the Wings should pick him up after the 2005-06 season, because I felt he was a really underrated piece on Anaheim's defense, but he went to Florida and completely disappeared for a few years. I watch Florida less than any other team so I have basically no memory of him there. He played in Colorado the past two and a half years, but was limited to just 14 games last season. The good news is, despite his physical blend of hockey, he actually stays pretty healthy. This was the third time in his 12 year career he played less than 65 games, so I don't have any big concerns about his health. The bad news is, some Colorado fans were happy to see him gone, but the good news is one of those fans was Adrian Dater.

Not including Mattias Ritola (he'll have to be lights out in camp to win a spot and force Detroit to waive someone who might get claimed, like Drew Miller), Detroit has $862,123 in cap space. That doesn't include the performance bonuses for Salei, at $350,000, or Modano at $500,000, which can carry over to next year if needed. That perfectly fits in Justin Abdelkader's entry level deal, but who knows if he's going longer term.

Either way, we're one body over the roster limit, and Ken Holland has said they'll only carry seven defenseman. What does this mean? Well, goodbye Derek Meech. It's only a matter of time until he gets moved, hopefully. Holland said a few times he'd be comfortable going into camp with the crew we had, but c'mon.. Meech plays eight minutes a night on a good night, and we signed a guy who played 14 games last year. I think both Holland and Meech knew Meech was on his way out. I wouldn't be surprised if he was guaranteed a trade -- why would a player who was headed to arbitration take a deal for the league minimum?

That would free up $500,000, and make the bonuses a little less of an impact on next year's cap, but it's pretty hard to picture a few thousand not falling into next year. Most importantly, we won't see Jonathan Ericsson and Jakub Kindl on the same pairing every night.

Nick Lidstrom was too easy -- for mailbag #5, we went with the player who wore that number before Nick, 1976's 1st overall pick Rick Green. Obviously, I was barely alive for his era, but I knew of him because I'm a draft nerd and I know the first overall picks. What I didn't know was that he played 65 games for the Wings in 1990-91, donning the number his successor was able to secure a spot in the rafters with.

Let's roll. We've got a few questions, but I didn't realize how many of them are multi-parters. So, yep, this is gonna get long.

To start, we've got a few questions from Mat, a Wings fan from out in the UK. I love hearing from anyone, but fans overseas always impress me with their dedication (it's hard enough to follow the NHL in America sometimes, can't imagine what they go through), so he gets to start first with a question about re-uniting Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg.

Do you think the chemistry between Dats and Zatta should have them paired up or would you keep them apart for depth?

It's not like you can really go long either way, but I'm in the camp that they should be together, as much as possible. They've got chemistry together that's really only bettered in this league by those freakish Sedins. It is nice to spread them out, and I think it might hurt a guy like Todd Bertuzzi to not have gift-wrapped passes on his tape every night, but they're equally the two best playmakers and two best finishers on the team (with Johan Franzen in the mix for that second group). They make each other better. The flexibility is nice, but with depth down the middle this year like we didn't have last year, I'd keep them together as long as health permits it.

Following up on this one, maybe some of you who follow me on Twitter saw this, but last month I stumbled upon the top 20 plays between Datsyuk and Zetterberg. It makes me salivate for the potential of these two guys together for a large chunk of next season.

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And a follow-up from Mat:

Do you see similar levels of chemistry between any of our prospects on the Griffins?

This one is difficult because I caught about ten games last year -- you really need to watch every night to find chemistry. But it's tough to argue against what I saw in what was the statistically best line on the Griffins for the middle of the season in Jan Mursak and Tomas Tatar alongside veteran Patrick Rissmiller, who was actually NY Rangers property who was traded to Atlanta this week.

It would be hard to find a pair on the Griffins better than that. They're the two most exciting offensive players on the team. Both of them work hard away from the puck and don't shy away from traffic despite their sizes, but they're equally electrifying with their puck control and finesse. I hope they're re-united to start this next year, because they were on the scoresheet together every night in November and December.

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Question number three of four from Mat:

Given the lack of defensive defencemen on the roster, do you think Sergei Kolosov could cut it in the NHL?

This is a tough one for me. Kolosov looks great in the AHL to me -- he's mobile and much more reliable in his own zone than he was the first few times I saw him. Obviously, he was in the Olympics for Belarus, but many of their games were lopsided, and since he was hurt for the pre-season this past year, I haven't really seen him against NHL competition. I'm really looking forward to getting a look at him in some pre-season action this year to see if he can keep up and play that Lilja-style of underrated puck moving with few mental errors.

The Wings seem to like him, enough to keep him around another year at least, but he is 24 now. Defensemen, particularly bigger ones, take a little longer to peak, so he's hardly a lost cause. It does seem like Brendan Smith and Logan Pyett are the guys who might get a look over Kolosov, and Holland hasn't really mentioned his name in the mix for a roster spot this year. If they need a defensive guy, they'll probably look to the veteran Doug Janik. To me, it's only a matter of time until a KHL team takes a run at Kolosov, but he's certainly been listening to Detroit and staying in North America, and deserves a long look.

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Last one from our new UK friend:

Do you feel Ritola or Mursak are more NHL ready out of our call up options?

This is another one that I base more on pre-season action. When I watch the Griffins, Ritola looks like the better two-way, all-around player, but Mursak's offensive game is harder to ignore, and his 4th line minutes as a rookie really brought his work ethic to where it needs to be, and he's a useful penalty killer. Last pre-season, Ritola looked very good. His skill lends itself well to Detroit's system. He looks like an entirely different player. Ultimately, I think Mursak's speed and hands make him the better NHL player, but I'd give him another year, while I think Ritola should get a long look at camp and first priority on injury recall.

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Moving on to a question from Erik, asking what to expect out of our favorite little defector, Jiri Hudler:

How would you compare the KHL to the NHL? Everyone is expecting Hudler to put up around 70 points, if the KHL isn't as good as the NHL, then how can we expect more from him then when he left?

This is a good question, and another tough one to answer given that I've never watched a KHL game. I've seen a few exhibition games against NHL teams though, and the KHL is definitely the second best league in the world -- they can compete with the NHL. European leagues are a way different style though, with bigger ice being the main factor. As weird as it sounds, all I've heard is that the KHL is a much more defensive league -- even though they're known more for flashy forwards than steady defensemen, and most people chuckle when recounting high caliber KHL goalies: Ray Emery, Robert Esche, Norm Maracle, and now, Evgeni Nabokov. The leading scorers in the league typically land in the 60-65 point range, so Hudler's 54 points in 54 games were not too shabby.

I think it's realistic to expect more of Hudler for a few reasons. First, he's 26, entering his prime for a forward -- 50 as a 24-year-old with his icetime is very exciting. On that note, he's going to be playing a lot more because, while Babcock hasn't said anything publicly, it wasn't much of a secret that Hudler stuck to the bench if Detroit was protecting a one goal lead. I don't think he trusted him, but his recent comments seem to indicate he's got more confidence in Hudler. He'll be playing with better players (the leading scorer on his team was Matthias Weinhandl, who was a speedster with no finish in the NHL before making Sweden's Olympic team this year) and now he has something to prove. He soured a lot of fans and ended up with a much lower salary then he was worth because he bolted to the KHL. He's going to want to prove that he's the 60-70 point player some think he is.

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Next up is Chalem, who's back for a second time after appearing in an earlier mailbag.

With all the talk about Mike Modano and who's going to center the Wings third line come the start of the season, I've started to wonder what kind of player Justin Abdelkader is. From everything I've read and seen, he's a grinder with some offensive skills. But just how good are his offensive skills, he's shown good hands and awareness a couple times but is that his limit? Also, how good is he defensively? Do we have a potential shut down center / first pairing PK guy, or simply a slightly pesty hitter?

Second, I've really started to like Jan Mursak lately. He seems like a fast, scrappy player with good hands and who plays solid defense. Could he become a player similar to Danny Cleary (but faster), or is he something less? Mursak should be up full time after this coming season right?

I talked about Abdelkader a bit in the first mailbag, so check that for a more in depth explanation. But that's a long and rambling explanation, so I'll try to be more to the point here. Basically, I think Abdelkader shouldn't be judged offensively based on what he's shown in the NHL so far. He knew all last season that once the team got healthy, he'd be sent down. He made it 50 games, but likely only because he did exactly what Babcock told him to do. Playing mostly with Brad May, Drew Miller, Kirk Maltby, etc., on the 4th line, he was told to hit everything in sight and get underneath everyone's skin. If he didn't do that every night, he probably would have been sent down sooner.

Once he got sent down to the AHL, he was given an offensive role, and he looked like he didn't even belong in the league. He probably isn't much of a puck control player in the NHL -- I like the Cleary comparison for him over Mursak -- someone who works hard and can be good in front of the net, occasionally showing off good hands and a good shot. He's scored at every other level, just needs the chance in the NHL. It's true that adding Modano takes away that chance to start the year there, at least while everyone's healthy. I think that playing with, hopefully, Darren Helm and Patrick Eaves will be better for him, they're also energy guys who can show offensive ability, and will probably be able to create a little more offense as a trio than May and Maltby.

Regarding Mursak, he was all hands and speed in his OHL days. Then as a rookie in the AHL, Curt Fraser used him as an energy player and he scored two goals. I was worried he was being misused, but I really think it was the right thing now. Mursak showed an edge and two-way ability that I never saw out of him in the OHL, but his speed (which is freakish, not quite Helm-like, but pretty close) was back and he could create offense on his own again. I don't think he's as gritty as Cleary, but he is a better all-around player, which certainly improves his odds of cracking the lineup in 2011-12.

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Next up, another second-timer in Eliott, regarding Jonathan Ericsson.

I thought Ericsson played much more dependably after Lilja returned and also in the playoffs. Do you think the same, and do you think that will carryover into the next season?

Next, what kind style does Ericsson play? He obviously has size, although I'm not sure he always uses it. What kind of defensive role is he fit for? Finally, what kind of player do you think would fit well with his play?

I think that Ericsson was a lot better down the stretch. He was racking up the minuses like crazy early on in the season, but was able to keep it pretty steady in the second half of the year. I think Andreas Lilja could have been part of that, since he could cover for Ericsson's mistakes better than Brett Lebda. In terms of doing it next year, well, I don't think Jakub Kindl is as defensively sound as Lilja. Though the two did play together for an extended time in Grand Rapids, so who knows what kind of chemistry they'll develop.

The frustrating part about Ericsson isn't what he does, or even does wrong, but what he doesn't do. He was clocked with an 101 mph slapshot a few years ago at the AHL All-Star Game. Whether it was a lucky shot or whatever, he can really wire the puck, and he's a few years stronger now. There have been very few times in the NHL where I've seen him carry the puck to open ice (which I know he can do, he's a strong puck mover) and really put everything he has into a shot. He should be shooting more, carrying the puck more, pushing people with more than just his hands, and making quicker decisions, because he has the ability to do these things well, it's just confidence with him.

At this time, I think he needs a defensive defenseman to help him flourish, which is a little worrisome because he isn't exactly putting up great offensive numbers either. While Kindl is more of an offensive guy, Lebda was someone who wasn't really offensive or defensive, too. Maybe Ericsson will become more of a last man back type who Kindl can set up for one timers, which is basically what the two paired up as in the AHL.

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One more e-mail after the jump -- a long and hilarious letter from thenumber19.

Two years, $912,500 cap hit. Could it be any more perfect? Helm is still a restricted free agent after this deal, so the Nodanos can rest easy (but they probably won't). Again, no, signing Mike Modano doesn't mean Detroit will lose Darren Helm or Justin Abdelkader, either this year or in the future. If they can prove themselves over the next two years (assuming Abdelkader gets a similar deal), then you go long-term with them. I like it, a lot.

$1,612,123 left to sign Abdelkader. $2,112,123 for Abdelkader and a 7th defenseman once Derek Meech is dealt. It's looking awfully doable.

I posted this picture because, since ESPN has showed clips of this for the past month, I've now learned this is the proper way to introduce a signed player: Have them parade around a stage in uniform under a sign that said "Yes We Did," indicating that you've won the league despite the fact that these players haven't done anything yet.

It looks like it's finally over though. After some confusion last night involving somebody hacking into or being drunk with (or both) editorial privileges at the Free Press (thanks to Rob at Detroit4Lyfe for letting me take those without his permission or knowledge), strong inferences have come out of Mike Modano's own mouth: this year, he'll be a Red Wing. He's set to officially announce this on Thursday and Detroit has called a press conference for Friday to hand him his #90 sweater, according to Helene St. James.

There isn't much point in debating it anymore, so I'll be brief. "Prodano" and "Nodano" are already staples in the blogger lexicon, and he'll be under the microscope for most of the season. I'm Prodano -- I'm more Prodano than I am Protuzzi, I think Modano will have a much better year. Let's just hope expectations are kept reasonable. Despite the name on the back of his jersey, he's this team's 3rd line center. He will, most likely, be making $1.25 million. I firmly believe he'll fall between 40-50 points if he's healthy, given that he scored at a pace that averages to 41 points over a healthy 82 game season, given that just over 40% of the time, his line consisted of a combination of Toby Petersen, Krys Barch, Steve Ott, Fabian Brunnstrom, Brian Sutherby or Jere Lehtinen -- hardly the type of firepower he'll have at his disposal in Detroit.

If you call the $1.25 million accurate, here's where Detroit's at with CapGeek.

FORWARDS
Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m)
Todd Bertuzzi ($1.937m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Johan Franzen ($3.954m)
Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / Mike Modano ($1.250m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m)
Patrick Eaves ($0.750m) / Kris Draper ($1.583m) / Drew Miller ($0.650m)

DEFENSEMEN
Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / Brian Rafalski ($6.000m)
Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m)
Jonathan Ericsson ($0.900m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m)
Derek Meech ($0.500m)

GOALTENDERS
Chris Osgood ($1.416m) /Jimmy Howard ($0.716m)

CARRY-OVER BONUS PENALTY: $50,000

CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (follow @capgeek on Twitter)
(these totals are compiled using the bonus cushion)
SALARY CAP: $59,400,000; CAP PAYROLL: $56,875,378; BONUSES: $0
CAP SPACE (21-man roster): $2,524,622

In my mind, it would be very easy to squeeze Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader into three or four-year deals which would fit them over the cap. Many people are concerned that Modano eats cap space that could be used to give Helm and Abdelkader "bigger" contracts (for more years). My question is, how long-term do you want to go on two unproven players? It's nice to have guys like Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg locked up for life, but I don't really want that for Helm and Abdelkader. Helm's going to be extremely frustrating if he doesn't learn more patience in the offensive zone, and Abdelkader has only been used as a 4th liner. He's got real playoff experience, but this is his first full NHL season. That isn't worth a lifetime contract. He's only shown that he's a dime-a-dozen agitator and physical presence. When he picks up his offense (granted, something he could have proved this year if Detroit didn't sign Modano), then you talk about a big contract.

I like these numbers. Helm at three years, $1.2 million a year, Abdelkader at three years, $1 million a year. They'll both be unrestricted free agents after that contract, but Detroit's cap situation is going to look completely different in that time. Lidstrom will certainly be gone, and Rafalski may be as well. There's also quite a few scoring prospects in the system that are targeted at 3-4 years away, so who knows what kind of players will be knocking on the door. I am very high on both Helm and Abdelkader, but let's not kid ourselves -- these are not bluechip prospects. They have each shown flashes, and they're in the right place to cultivate that ability, but it's a little to early to be giving them anything longer than three, maybe four years.

That lowers the cap number to $324,622. That's enough to be able to call up anyone you want for injuries without someone going on to IR. However, there seems to be a lot of talk that Meech will be traded should he not crack the top six, leaving up to $824,622 for a 7th defenseman.

Apparently, there's some talk that this defenseman could be Willie Mitchell. Sportsnet says he's down to four teams of the 12 who have contacted him, and Detroit is among those teams. This is strange considering Mitchell just ended a four-year deal where he had a cap hit of $3.5 million -- higher than Niklas Kronwall. Given that Mitchell didn't play after a serious concussion sidelined him in January, and the fact that the 33-year-old wasn't the same shutdown force in Vancouver that he was in Minnesota, he's probably looking at a paycut. But even still, he'll probably get around $2 million. There's no single player Detroit could reasonably get rid of to free up that kind of space. Mitchell would be taking less money to compete for a job with Jakub Kindl, a player Detroit is very high on, for low minutes.

Playing into Detroit's favor is that two of the other teams, Vancouver (already over the cap) and San Jose, have even less cap room than Detroit (pre-Modano signing, anyway). Washington is actually pretty comfortable right now, and they desperately need someone to make Mike Green look good. I just don't see how it would work, but I'll continue to monitor it.

Until then, it's August now. That means there's really only a month and a half until training camp starts. The longer that these players stay free agents, the more likely it is Detroit gets a bargain in the last week of August. Here are some targets, but be warned, I included Shaone Morrisonn in this last time, and today Buffalo scooped him up just north of $2 million a year. Some of these players could command something similar, but it's just a matter of interest. Some will get that money, some will sign for closer to the minimum in late August or early September. I'm sorting these guys (quickly) in order of preference -- meaning the top guys would actually be the least likely to become Wings, because in my mind, they'll get bigger contracts elsewhere.

Willie Mitchell, Mike Mottau, Paul Mara, Brendan Witt, Andreas Lilja, Aaron Ward, Freddy Meyer, Aaron Johnson, Jay McKee, Nick Boynton, Randy Jones, Shane Hnidy, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Christoph Schubert, Lukas Krajicek, Jordan Hendry.

At some point, I'd just prefer keeping Doug Janik. Some of those guys are real wild cards (Ward, Meyer, Johnson, Jones, Mara) and my memories of them gravitate more to fans talking about how awful they are than anything, bad or good, I've seen on the ice from them. And the last few names -- Bergeron, Schubert, and Krajicek especially, are known more as puck-movers, liabilities on defense. Tough to pencil them in on a line with Jonathan Ericsson or Jakub Kindl, potentially. Also interesting to note is that our cap space puts us about $50,000 shy of keeping Brendan Smith. If Kindl is struggling early in the year, they could bring him up around mid-November since his pro-rated cap hit would fit under the cap around that time.

Anywho, Modano is said to be third line and 2nd powerplay. I like the looks of this.

Modano played the point on Dallas' powerplay off and on. Big shot, still. He's an option.

Option is a good word. As in, it's good to have them. I favor young players so I'm bummed Abdelkader doesn't get a chance to prove he's more than a six point player. However, if Modano doesn't work out, we've got five centers in the top nine, plus guys like Abdelkader, Eaves, and Miller to throw into the mix. It's a lot more flexible than not signing Modano and trying to find something if Abdelkader doesn't click

A quick note to cap off the night and announce that I'll be up in Traverse City for a few days, so I might miss some important news. But probably not, because a) nothing's happening and b) I've gone longer stretches without posting this summer when I wasn't in another city. Anywho.

I was checking out the boards at Red Wings Central tonight, and caught wind that Aaron Downey was on TSN's Off The Record (5:50) this past week and announced that he'd be coming to Detroit's camp, as per his own request. Of course, I didn't see that myself so I relayed second hand information via Twitter. Luckily, George Malik was on the case, and so he went in himself and watched the clip to confirm Downey said such a thing. Ansar Kahn subsequently got on this scoop after George and I had done his research for him (kidding, it was just George). Aaron, ladies and gentlemen.

As far as goons go, I'll take Downey any day over Brad May. In his defense, May's had a much longer career and just had less left in the tank. He worked his tail off in camp and earned a contract, then didn't do all that much as a Wing other than fight Krys Barch. While May might be more skilled (what am I saying?!), Downey beats him and most players in the NHL in just pure hustle and desire. This video just makes me ashamed for every hockey game I've ever played where I didn't give 110%. Or play with a cold.

Unfortunately, the numbers just don't add up right now. Too many forwards at the NHL level means he's virtually guaranteed a two-way contract, if anything, and the presence of Tomas Tatar and Jan Mursak means I'll be bitter if he gets called up. But as a Griffins fan, I'd love to see him back in Grand Rapids. As a goon, he's better than the Griffins-contracted Paul Crosty was last season, and he's far more entertaining. Unfortunately, he didn't play hockey last season after failing to make Phoenix on a tryout.

Should be interesting to see him in a pre-season game or two. I think a lot of Wings fans can agree that the guy is just fun to watch, even if his presence might not be needed this season.

We know the drill. Let's empty out my inbox.

First, a trade proposal from Robert. Trade proposals are dangerous territory, but can be worth discussion when they fulfill a need.

I read your blogs regularly on my phone using the Babcock Death Stare app. After reading a few about defense I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this. Its been said that Andreas Lilja wants more ice time. Why not trade him, Chris Osgood, and Mattias Ritola to Boston for Tim Thomas or even Lilja and Osgood and even a draft to Florida for Tomas Vokoun. Both trades give the teams what they need. Boston gets a solid backup to Tuukka Rask and a strong defense in Lilja. Ritola can be good, but not in Detroit. Florida would get a goalie they know  can provide veteran leadership to their prospects. Detroit needs someone to help Jimmy develop more, who better to do that then a hometown boy or a quicker alternative to Osgood?

Well, I'm just not sure that this one fulfills a need. I like Osgood, but he wasn't exactly a reliable backup last season -- through lack of playing time or confidence, who knows. However, both of these trades just create problems. Thomas and Vokoun just have huge contracts -- and Howard had better numbers than both of them, with a much smaller deal. I'm starting to believe less and less in the power of the elite goalie. It's been a few seasons since one of the highest paid goalies in the league has truly carried his team through the playoffs. Sure, Montreal probably doesn't get out of the first round without Jaroslav Halak, but the emergence of Halak on a cheap contract and how easy it seems to be now to groom a solid goaltending prospect (just ask any of the former starting goalies that are now UFAs, Turco, Theodore, etc) I think what we're going to see in the next few seasons is too many goalies for too few jobs. That'll result in more Chris Mason situations. He reportedly was less than a half million away from a deal with St. Louis around $3.5 million, then they traded for Halak and Mason signed days later in Atlanta for $2.1 million. Now they have a great, and cheap, tandem in him and Ondrej Pavelec.

Despite the slight, and most likely overblown, confrontation with Babcock, I think Osgood's a great mentor to Jimmy Howard. More importantly, he's done a great job in Detroit despite the last two regular seasons. He's won two Cups here and he's earned the right to retire a Red Wing. This should be his last season, and while he deserves more starts than he got last year, the number one job should be Howard's. Osgood is cheap and he does have a great game stealing ability should Howard falter and Detroit need a starter for the playoffs.

Finally, I got this e-mail on July 9 -- Detroit lost the rights to Lilja on July 1. They aren't the type of team who would re-sign a player just to trade him. What kind of message would that send to free agents who would want to come here? That's the same reason I don't think Drew Miller is going anywhere, despite his low position on the current depth chart.

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We shift to new, but old, Wing Jiri Hudler and two questions regarding his past and future. The first one is from Matt, who had a Thomas McCollum question in the last mailbag, and the second is from Steve, who may very well be my father.

Hudler went running for more money last season.  This free agency season has season Evgeni Nabokov leave for the KHL.  With Ilya Kovalchuk's contract being rejected because of "cap violations" there is a chance he might bail.  Can the salary cap come back to bite the NHL because they can't afford their high end talent anymore?  We've season several players this year get contracts for way more then they are worth (Booregard, Lebda, others?).  With them getting paid more talented players who actually deserve more are going to want it.  Could these bad deals for Lebda like players price actual talent out of the league?  Anyway, hope to hear your thoughts.

and

I have been hearing talk about trading Hudler. Why would anyone want to do that? He is signed at a salary below his value to the team and his scoring touch is exactly what the Wings were missing last year.

First, regarding trading the guy, you're absolutely right. Hudler took a lower contract than he was worth because he had already signed in Russia prior to his arbitration. Say what you want about his defensive ability and ability to play on the top two lines for the Wings, but despite his ice time he can put up 50-60 points. I really think he could be a 70-80 point guy on a bad team where he's playing 20 minutes a night despite his defensive ability. Either way, teams know that, and they'll pay $3-$5 million for him -- Detroit's lucky they agreed on $2.875 for him. Detroit will get him for two years now before he's a UFA, they'd be foolish to trade him. Even with 3rd line minutes and 2nd powerplay time, he'll produce points. I really think Detroit's goals for will skyrocket this year from last year's off year, and I'll credit depth like Hudler over injury issues for somethings like that.

This segues great into the first question, which I love. The KHL is interesting in that it's benefited from this year's strange UFA class, despite looking like a complete joke after Moscow Dynamo (essentially the Montreal of Russian hockey), couldn't afford to pay it's players and straight up folded. I'm not so sure it would have been as easy to get Hudler back to North America since he was technically on a two year deal with that club. They landed a few high profile NHL FAs (relatively speaking) and will likely end up with a few more as we get into August. Despite what a lot of people say about the NHL's financial dealings, including how messy Phoenix is right now, I don't think they'd ever have a high profile team fold like the KHL did with Moscow Dynamo. It will be interesting to see how the influx of bigger NHL contracts will affect the mysterious financial situations of different teams.

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Next, two Mebdeech questions. The first one from Joe:

Dude can you believe the Leafs gave Brett Lebda almost 1.5 million a season.... Has Brian Burke lost his head?? He is a depth D-Man at his best going to a team with already to much spent on the blue line.  What do you think his chances are in Toronto now that he will be out of the shadow of Lidstrom, Rafalski and so on?  I don't see it being any different really but who am I right lol... Let me know what ya think man... Joe

and the next one, easily the funniest e-mail I've gotten so far, from Zack.

Serious mega confusion. Why did the Wings re-sign Derek Meech?

First, the departed Mebdeech. Relating this to the last question, I'm not at sure why Lebda gets the contract he did, and, for example, Brian Pothier signed in Switzerland yesterday. Toronto is a bad team, but their defense corps is among the league's best (and most expensive). Lebda seems like a spare part on an already loaded machine. If they can trade Tomas Kaberle for a younger forward, they're in good shape, and Lebda can play a part on the second powerplay unit. Otherwise, he looks like a spare part and another bad contract for my second favorite team. Just who do they think they outbid for his services?

And Zack, simple answer for a simple question -- I just don't know. It seems like he'll be traded, and I know Holland doesn't like to let RFAs go unless they have absolutely no chance at the NHL, but Meech is 26 and Babcock doesn't trust him to put him in even the top seven. He's a bad team's #4 defenseman at best, which is where I think he'll end up.

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Now a personal question from Viki.

ok, so here's my question, do you follow hockey as a hobby or a career?  i am a huge hockey fan and am so envious of your knowledge.

Simple answer -- I follow hockey because it's what I love. I've followed the NHL pretty heavily since I was just a kid, and through video games and hockey cards, I quickly got to know most of the players in the league. In my early teens, I realized that junior hockey and college hockey were right in my area and offered me the opportunity to see NHL players before the became NHLers. I got hooked on following the NHL draft, and I've been a big fan ever since.

I appreciate the kind words, but I don't consider myself a know-it-all. Prospects are so hit and miss. Jimmy Devellano said it best in his book -- it's one thing to watch a game and notice the best player on the ice. It's another to project who the best player on the ice will be, and that's something that I challenge myself with whenever I watch a game.

However, I'm a big supporter of doing what you love. I'm going into my senior year in college studying Communications, and I'm focused on finding some kind of job with hockey after I graduate. I do this because I love to talk about hockey, but I hope I'll eventually be making a living in any fashion.

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Finally, what would a Kyle Quincey-themed blog be without a question about Quincey? Got this one this afternoon:

I just recently came across your blog and like what I have read so far. My question is about how the Wings handled Kyle Quincey. It blew my mind that they allowed him to be picked up on waivers when Lebda and Meech were still on the roster. Quincey has size and was showing signs of what was to come if he could get some ice time. To play Meech and Lebda over him I thought was a mistake. As it turns out, we can't afford Quincey's contract under today's cap but it would have been a nice problem to face.

Two major points with this question. First, it's about compete level as much as it is talent. Quincey is more talented overall than either part of Mebdeech, in my opinion, but if he really lost a full-time NHL position to the two of them and a then 45-year-old Chris Chelios, well, just how impressive do you think he was in camp? I think they knew he could be an all-around better defenseman, but if he wasn't willing to work for it, how would he ever worked his way up the depth chart?

Secondly, Los Angeles gave Quincey major minutes right away, and so did Colorado after his trade there. There's just no way he would have gotten top four minutes in Detroit, and he likely would have been battling with Jonathan Ericsson on the third pairing for minutes, and especially, the special teams minutes that got Quincey so many points and that near Stuart-like contract.

To clarify, I favor young players. I'm upset they lost a guy like Quincey in favor of 12 minutes a night for Chelios. But I don't think Quincey would be the same player he is today. I think he would be much better than Meech or Lebda, but I don't know if he'd have the same confidence and turn into the same player. A definite case of a player being better outside of the Detroit organization.

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Thanks for the comments, everyone. That's the final e-mail I have in my inbox, so keep sending me stuff via the contact button atop this page.

I'm getting a lot of positivity on this so far and I was pleased to see that the second edition of this feature drew so many positive responses. I've got an e-mail inbox littered with questions, and I'm hoping to get them all done this weekend. In the mean time, keep sending stuff in via e-mail or the contact page up top. Let's roll.

Almost half of the e-mails I got were about prospects, so I'm going to dedicate this edition to just those questions and save the NHL/other related ones for this weekend.

Andrew sent me quite the doozy of a question, a five-parter about all different types of prospects. His e-mail has been waiting the longest, so we get rolling on this one first.

My first question is concerning Brendan Smith. Basically, I'm wondering if you think he can be NHL ready next year. Obviously most of us are looking to find a way to replace Lidstrom's point production if not his overall game. Can Smith be that kind of player?

I wrote a little bit in the first mailbag where I outlined that I do think Smith can be NHL ready, and I think for a player like him, he might be better off swapping in and out with Jakub Kindl and Jonathan Ericsson instead of playing riding the bus in the AHL.

I wouldn't be upset at all if he started in the AHL, though. He's a converted forward so his defensive game is still lacking, and at the college level, he could get away with ignoring positioning because he was fast enough to basically chase the puck, and get back if he got burned. I just don't think this is a skill he'll ever be that great at, though, so that's why I'd say no on the Nick Lidstrom comparison. As far as I'm concerned, he already thinks the game and moves the puck at an NHL level. He'd make most teams right out of college and is just the victim of what will likely be a crowded Detroit roster (whether or not Derek Meech is traded) and his less-than-friendly 6th/7th defenseman cap hit ($875,000).

Long-term, I think Smith is going to be a tremendous point producing defenseman that will be able to step right in on the top powerplay whenever he gets up to the NHL. I say when because I have a lot of confidence that his off-ice incidents are limited to his experience at college, and he doesn't actually have a drinking problem as I've seen others suggest. I also think he'd benefit from playing a year with Lidstrom, should this be #5's last year, but either way I'm really happy to see how confident he is in his abilities after three years in college. Detroit or Grand Rapids, he finished his college career like he was ready for a new challenge, so he could be in line for a big year.

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Andrew's next question is similar to one I got from Jeff at the newly constructed Brendan Smithsonian Institution. I'll try to answer them together.

Andrew: Next up is Tomas Tatar.  Obviously he completely skipped going back to juniors last year, and he had a fairly decent year last year.  Just how long do you think he stays in Grand Rapids before making the jump to the big club.  And what caliber player do we have here? Top three?  Top six?  More likely a third liner?

Jeff: Tomas Tatar has to make this team for the 11/12 season, right? Kid seems to talented to stay in the minors too much longer.

Tatar is the most talented player I've seen out in Grand Rapids in the third, going on fourth, year that I've lived out in the area. That isn't saying that much, given that even when the Griffins have been good, their strength has been on the backend and in net courtesy of Jimmy Howard and Daniel Larsson. Beyond that, he's clearly one of the most offensively skilled in the league, despite being the youngest player in it last season, and hardly a game goes by where you don't see an instance or two of this. Before I continue fawning over him, that's part of the problem -- he didn't have a strong finish to the season, and it didn't help that he was a healthy scratch a few times down the stretch when Curt Fraser was trying to play young players. Either way, Fraser doesn't give rookies a ton of ice time until he can trust them at both ends (ask Jan Mursak, Logan Pyett, or, gulp, Dick Axelsson) so the fact that Tatar was on the top line for a few months of the middle of the season bodes well for his ice time this year.

While preference might be to Mursak or Cory Emmerton, players who have to clear waivers next season, or Mattias Ritola (should he end up there) for injury call-ups, it's going to be hard for Detroit to ignore Tatar this season if he scores like he was in December and January. I think he's capable of leading this team in scoring, which, to answer both of your questions, could mean a permanent home in the NHL in 2011-12

The sophomore slump is something that I unfortunately believe in, so we'll see how he does. He should be out of Fraser's rookie doghouse and in the lineup full-time -- and with the roster crunch in GR focused more on the bottom six lines among the team's checking prospects -- he should be on the top lines with AHL veterans and proven big point scorers Chris Minard and Jamie Johnson (who are on two-year deals, for the record, which is something I didn't realize for about a week after they signed) and Mursak, who Tatar had chemistry with last season.

He projects that way into the NHL, in my opinion. He's compared to Jiri Hudler, but I think he could be even better. He's quicker than Hudler and he's better in traffic, despite being undersized (but a little bit bigger). Even though Hudler has a good shot, Tatar is a more natural scorer and just has a better nose for the net -- just as creative as Hudler, but probably not as patient at this point. They're similar players to just sit and watch, and it's very, very easy to picture Tatar on the wing of Henrik Zetterberg or Pavel Datsyuk in two years -- conveniently, when Hudler becomes an unrestricted free agent.

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Back to Andrew for question three of five.

My next two questions are about the future of our goalie situation.  First, just what can we expect from Jordan Pearce?  I know he was a free agent signing just to see what he can do.  I know he will likely wind up back at college to be a doctor if this doesnt work out.  But just how likely is it that Pearce can even hit the Wings roster?

I was pretty familiar with Pearce since I saw a lot of Notre Dame games, as the CCHA is fairly well represented throughout the season on FSN and sometimes even BTN or ESPNU. He was their starter for two years, and I would have ranked him among the better goalies in the conference (statistically speaking, he was the best) -- an impressive feat given the solid number of drafted goalies. I always felt like he'd get a chance at the professional level, and I was happy to see that it was Detroit, despite my background as a Michigan fan.

I like his ability. There's nothing really holding him back -- he's well-rounded, and just needs to take it to the next level. He's big, and he's got a quick glove, but it's necessarily the best from side-to-side. I didn't get a chance to see him with Toledo this year, so I'm not really sure how his game changed under his first year with Jim Bedard. His numbers were not that great in his first professional season, but the ECHL is high scoring, so a GAA above 3.00 doesn't mean the same thing as it does in the NHL or AHL. He just didn't get a chance at the AHL, which is where he'll have to prove himself before they'd ever think about giving him a new contract. Unfortunately, this is the second of his two-year deal coming up, so he can't afford the same slow start to the season if he wants to get a shot with the Griffins bringing in an AHL veteran like Joey MacDonald.

I'm not sure how much of a fair shot they'll give him, given that their eggs are now heavily in Thomas McCollum's basket with Larsson's future in limbo. For now, I would say he is definitely last on the goaltending depth chart, and the situation doesn't look like it will work out in his favor. Unless he really proves he doesn't belong in the ECHL (like he began to do at the end of last season), he might stay there all season. I wouldn't say a new contract is out of the question if he has a strong season -- but like you say, he has a backup plan, and he might just enroll in med school if he feels like he's not going to ever get the chance to prove himself to the NHL with a regular job in the AHL.

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More goaltending from Andrew:

Off of that question, I'm wondering what we might expect from Petr Mrazek in the next few years.  I know the plan is most likely for Larsson to come back up Howard (unless Osgood doesn't retire, or Larsson doesnt come back) next year. McCollum could be looking at NHL time in 2-3 years, maybe more.  And I also know that goalies take much longer to mature than most other players. With that said, is Mrazek a potential Red Wing?

For starters, I'm an optimist. We don't have any prospect that I will ever say "will never be Red Wings." Very few of them will, especially in terms of permanent jobs, but I don't say never unless I've watched a player at length and they just have too much to overcome. I do often say, "they can be an NHL player if they improves this skill and this skill," which is the case with most, if not all, of our current prospects.

I haven't seen Mrazek play, so I can't make strong assertions to him. I do follow the OHL so I've read a fair bit about him, and from everything I've read, there's no reason to believe he can't be considered a legitimate goaltending prospect. The only thing playing against him is he didn't become his team's clear starter until the playoffs, but when he did, he looked like one of the best goalies in the OHL. He's a little on the smaller side, but he sounds very quick and active in his net, and he said at prospect camp that he loves to play the puck and get involved -- something that's not a strength with any goaltender in the organization, even Howard and Osgood.

I can speak more to his timeframe. He's a 1992-born, so he'll need to spend at least two more years in the OHL. With his emergence, his team in Ottawa has two legitimate starting goalies -- the other, Chris Perugini, has won 25 games in two straight seasons, and is a 1991-born so he could also play two more years -- basically, one could get moved for more help up front. This means that if Mrazek plays well enough to earn a contract, he can turn professional when McCollum is in his fourth and last waiver exempt season with the Griffins. That means Detroit will need to make a decision on him following that season for an NHL job. Ideally, you want Howard and Larsson to be proven commodities by that point, so you can trade a somewhat young goalie, NHL ready goalie for additional assets. Either way, Mrazek doesn't have many obstacles that he can't control (that is to say, if he plays well, there won't be anyone in his way) should he continue to assert himself as one of the OHL's best and deserve a chance to play in the AHL. After that, the Wings will have time to develop him for 3-4 years, but when Mrazek is 24 and needs a decision (six seasons from now), Howard will be 32, so it's impossible to project what the picture will look like.

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This is getting long, so the last one for Andrew is after the jump, in addition to questions from others about Brian Lashoff, Teemu Pulkkinen, and more on Thomas McCollum.

Update: I just read Chris at Motown Wings' take on this, and I'm happy to see that not everyone has lost their minds.

We must talk about Mike Modano.

Let the man make a decision. To recap, Modano was let go by Dallas. A number of team courted him, including Detroit, and he said he'd only play for Detroit or he'd retire. Detroit took him to a Tigers game, and baseball happened there. He affirmed that he wanted to play for Detroit, but then visited Minnesota (where his career started) and two teams that nobody likes in California, because that's where some actress works. This upset some people, because nobody likes when people take the time to do what's best for them.

Naturally, a large group of Wings fans feel entitled to hearing a decision and have taken to the streets in full, whiny fashion. This is why people give Wings fans a hard time, and this is why I don't feel bad about it. There's no doubt in my mind Modano can be an impact player on this team, and while I think he's a good player, I can't express to you how frustrating this season will be if Justin Abdelkader is this team's third line center and he can't hack it. It ruins the whole line. Modano can, and I believe he will, flourish with Jiri Hudler and Danny Cleary as his wingers. Yet, people are turning against him, even though I'm 100% confident that he'll come in and score 15-20 and people will be hailing this signing as genius, forgetting that they were in the half of the fanbase that started comparing this to my least favorite non-hockey figure in Brett Favre, just because it didn't fit their busy summer schedule.

Let me just put it like this. What scenario would you prefer? Modano isn't quite sure if he can play another full season, and he signs tomorrow, scores a few goals, and then just totally checks out mentally in the middle of December, giving Detroit over half a season of uninspired play and lazy mistakes from a once great player -- essentially, another Todd Bertuzzi. Or, Modano waits until the first or second week of August, feels confident that he can take a full 82-game season, plus lengthy playoff run, and give Detroit savvy two-way veteran play and a lethal third line for the first time in years -- essentially, an Igor Larionov type (not in skillset, but in impact). I defend Bertuzzi regularly, but I'd take Larionov over him 365.25 days a year.

What's the cost here? I've already outlined how Modano fits at the cost of Derek Meech (who re-signed by the way, but I chose to ignore it because I felt writing about it would cost me page views), who Detroit media seems to be suggesting will be traded, and exposing the player everyone seems to care about but know nothing about in Mattias Ritola to waivers, which he will clear. Now people are upset that this is holding up Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader's negotiations. To this I ask... where are these players going? Both are restricted free agents, meaning they can't sign elsewhere. Abdelkader wasn't eligible for arbitration and can't even receive an offer sheet because of his past experience -- it's quite complicated.

Helm and Abdelkader will be fine. There's two things that nobody seems to be bringing up. First, there will be, gasp, injuries. Yes, as of now they look like forwards #10 and #11 in this picture, and yes, the likes of Patrick Eaves, Kris Draper, and Drew Miller mean that they will probably be healthy scratches at some point. But this is a team that had about seven regular forwards last year miss significant time. It's bound to happen again. Secondly, Modano is, you know, just the greatest American player of all-time and a player who can fill a leadership role. Do you think Helm and Abdelkader might learn a thing or two from him? Do you think they might even get to play with him?Both of them are penciled in for the fourth line, but if you're unfamiliar with how the regular season works, lines tend to get shuffled around.

Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Holmstrom, Franzen, Kronwall, Hudler, and Filppula all played a full season or more on the 4th line and I'm pretty sure a few of those players are pretty good. I'd be willing to sacrifice 1-2 minutes of ice time per game for Abdelkader if it means a Stanley Cup appearance, but I seem to be in the minority for that. To me, I think Helm and Abdelkader will learn more that way, but I guess it's just more fun to be sarcastic and negative.

To me, this doesn't seem to be anything than people having nothing better to do in the summer. It would be nice to have a clear picture of what the team will look like for next season, but the bottom line is it doesn't matter if that puzzle is solved tomorrow or the day before the regular season opens. If this, at all, affects the outcomes of Helm and Abdelkader, I'll be proud to point to this post and say I was wrong.

As per my last post, I'm trying out a new feature here where you, the wonderful reader, send in questions or just general subjects you want to talk about during the dull days of summer. I've been very impressed with the input I've gotten. So much so that I'll need to divide the first set of questions I've got into two parts. I'll do some tonight and then finish up the rest in the coming days, but in the mean time, I encourage you to click that contact button under our beautiful banner.

And again, this isn't supposed to be me saying "this is the answer, I'm right." I'm just sharing my opinion and I want this kind of stuff to feed into offseason discussion that isn't just centered around Mike Modano.

First question comes from Eliott, who demonstrates a good grasp on the game despite admitting to being a new Wings fan.

I get into the habit of growing to like certain depth/younger players and then realizing there is a roster/cap limit. I realize that there isn't enough ice time/games to fit them all in. It seems that we have eight forward spots and five defensemen spots filled in, with the top two lines set and Hudler and Cleary occupying the third line wings. That leaves only four spots for ~6 players. Since we can't fit them all in, especially if Modano does choose to sign, I was wondering a few things about some of our depth players.

I've heard confusing and varying reports on Ritola. What role would he play on an NHL team, and what kind of potential does he have? When he was called up this past season he first held a spot on the second line, which seemed to indicated he was a skilled player with offensive upside, but he was dropped down to the third or fourth line a few games later. I've never heard of Ritola as a grinding type player, but I've also heard that he may not have enough skill to be a scoring player. I've always liked Ritola for some reason but I've never known what kind of player I was rooting for...

Mattias Ritola has definitely been the source of some confusing this offseason. Many people have heard he's skilled -- hence why they don't want to give him away and get burned ala Kyle Quincey -- but nobody knows his upside.

And that makes sense, because Ritola's been confusing to me as well, and I've watched him quite a bit over the past three seasons. When they drafted him in 2005, the billing on him was that he was "skilled, but lazy." Hakan Andersson built him up as one of the most skilled Swedes of his birth year, one that includes Nicklas Backstrom of Washington. Unfortunately, he never got going offensively playing mostly in the Swedish men's ranks, making it somewhat of a surprise to me when he earned a contract.

Then, said "lazy" player came over to North America and killed it in Grand Rapids, leading a team that had just three regular players in the postitive +/- ranks with a +10. Good things just seemed to happen when he was involved. He scored just seven goals, but it seemed everything that was passed through the grapevine was wrong -- he's actually a very smart hockey player who works hard at both ends of the ice. This quickly led him to get ice time in all kinds of situations and he was a big performer for the Griffins the past two seasons, recording 42 points each year.

In my opinion, he's a checker in the making who might offer some flexibility. Until late this season, I was never very high on him. He always looked much better playing in NHL pre-season games than he did with the Griffins. His creativity and hands seem to blossom playing with other highly skilled players, but he's also added a bit of an edge to his game as an energy guy while chipping in offense occasionally.

I think other fans have seen these peaks at his offensive ability and think he's a scorer. I don't really think he has much of a future on the top two lines -- regardless of how skilled the Wings are, two straight 42 point seasons don't say much for high end offensive skill, though he was red hot after his regular season call-up with Detroit. I don't see what Drew Miller offers that Ritola can't: a responsible two-way game as primarily a 4th liner and a penalty killer. The difference is that Ritola would offer a lot more on a 2nd line, though I don't think he has a permanent home there. Either way, I'm quite curious to see which Ritola makes a home in the NHL -- the skilled version he was in his teens, or the responsible two-way, but inconsistent offensively, version he is at the age of 23.

Eliott also has a question about Kris Draper.

Draper saw diminishing ice time last season. I am unfortunately a relatively new hockey fan, having started rooting for the Red Wings at the beginning of this past season, and have not been around long enough to truly appreciate Draper's contributions to the team in the past. However, I do feel like that gives me a pinch of objectivity (if that is at all possible in a fan of a hockey team) and am doubtful as to Draper's continuing impact. I know he can take faceoffs, I know he works hard. But isn't it time to let someone else start to fill in that role? I have heard of Draper as a leader in the locker room, but never understood what that meant. I guess that's why they call it an intangible.

I think most fans will side with you in that Draper's role on this team is diminishing with his ice time. In my mind, Darren Helm is his heir apparent and started to do everything Draper did for nearly a decade. Most people realized that Draper and Kirk Maltby were officially surpassed by Helm and Patrick Eaves as the top penalty killers, but not as many realized Draper's role as the #1 faceoff man was severely reduced. He only took 19 faceoffs in the entire playoffs -- just one or two per game. Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Helm, Abdelkader, and Filppula all took more draws than he did. He was also fifth in the regular season, taking just one more faceoff than Abdelkader despite playing in 31 more games. He's clearly no longer a regular center and only seems to take faceoffs when someone else gets kicked out or when there are injuries.

Draper still has a use, and I think he looked way better this season alongside Helm and Eaves than he did the previous two seasons. His speed is still there, and I think the three of them make up an excellent line that's very good at, if nothing else, controlling the puck in the other team's zone and wearing them down with relentless cycling along the boards. Unfortunately, that cycling doesn't often lead to huge offensive numbers as none of them are very good at finishing, but it's a better checking line than Maltby, Draper, and the 3rd member flavor of the month that the team had for the past few seasons.

To answer your question -- Draper's role has already been severely diminished. I think Draper is a valuable mentor to both Helm and Eaves and can teach them how to play good, responsible defensive hockey while still generating offensive chances.

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Next up comes a name most of you should be familiar with, because he's been a regular commenter on BDS for a long time under the name "waltdetroit."

Having read everything on MLive on the prospects camp, Evgeni Ryasensky was not mentioned, though I think he attended. With your contacts, can you get a read on his performance there? Also, what's the word on Sergei Kolosov next year in GR (or in Detroit for that matter)?

The Ryasensky story was very confusing for me, if you refer back to my post on the matter. He talked to Russian media as if he signed a contract with Detroit and was ready to report to the AHL. Quickly, Jim Nill stated that his agent had only told Detroit they were interested, and they did not make a contract offer. And that was the last anything heard of it.

So as far as I know, it was a fluke. Ryasensky is still a free agent, and I think Detroit would have gotten the deal done if they wanted him to come over to camp. I don't think he's in the system. But his comments are even stranger, he seemed sure that he had a contract. Maybe he'll just show up in Traverse City in September, even if Detroit doesn't want him there.

As far as Kolosov goes, it seems like he's re-signed with Detroit. The only place reporting that is the Russian Red Wings blog at Red Wings Grinder, who claims to have talked to Kolosov on the phone. I don't have any reason to doubt him, so I think it's only a matter of time until Detroit announces it. He'll head back down to Grand Rapids and he should continue to grow and get more ice time, but a lot depends on the two rookie defensemen, Brendan Smith and Brian Lashoff, as well as the two second year pros who don't have much AHL experience Sebastien Piche (9 games) and Travis Ehrhardt (42 games). There are a lot of players competing for very few jobs. Kolosov is reliable and he's a great penalty killer, but it's really uncertain if Detroit has plans for him. Defensemen like him are pretty easy to find in the free agent market, but the only thing Kolosov has going for him is he moves the puck more like an Andreas Lilja (which is to say, good but not great), while a lot of the bigger guys just have hands of stone.

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The last one of the day comes from Jacob, who I know likes to hang out on the Twitter machine. Funny story: he knows my girlfriend personally and I found this out because he wrote on her Facebook wall and said that it was funny/weird that she is "dating BDS." I have it under good authority that he regularly objectifies me by not using my name, and I encourage it. I also have a rough idea where he lives and I'm willing to sell this information. Anywho..

In our last two cup final series the big up and comers were Helm and Abdelkader. I'm curious what your thoughts are on their outlook for the future, which has a higher ceiling, where they'll end up with the Wings, etc. Specifically I'm interested in whether you think Helm is basically a grind line player with energy, as Babcock has mentioned before, or if he has a future as a top line skill player with his speed and puck handling.

Well sir, I'm a big fan of Helm. And from the bit I've seen of him from his WHL days and the bit more I've seen of him in the AHL, I really doubt he has the future Babcock has laid out for him. I think Babcock's trying to be optimistic and trying to encourage a player who frequently overskates the puck, hesitates whenever he can pull off a finesse move, and love to shoot the puck a foot wide and a foot high. Helm wasn't a top line skill player in the AHL and he never looked like he would be. He did have an impressive 41 goal campaign in the WHL, and closed out his career there with two successive season scoring over the point-per-game barrier, but that happens a lot in major junior hockey. A player with one dominating skill -- size, shot, smarts, or in Helm's case, speed, can really tear it up. Frequently, that just doesn't translate to the next level.

That said, I've noticed that a lot of people are calling Helm overrated this offseason and the novelty of having the fastest human to ever put on skates is wearing off. I've noticed he has some flaws, but there's something special with him. I think he can be counted on for the big goal, dominating shift, or incredible moment, and has that true big play ability because of his relentless work ethic and love of the game. There's a lot of room for improvement in his game, and I think he is capable of scoring 12-15 goals a year if he can get stronger without sacrificing speed, as well as more confident that he can carry the puck in the NHL. If he doesn't do that, I expect more seasons around the 10 mark like this season. But he is one of the most dangerous players on the ice at any given time just for the simple fact that, if he's even close to the last man back and there's a puck headed toward the other team's goalie, he's going to be the first one there. So far, his shot is way too uncontrolled and his finish is questionable, leading me to believe he's going to be a faster version of Draper who can hopefully show more consistency. I can't imagine that he'll get a chance on the top line with so many high skill scoring prospects like Tatar, Mursak, Nyquist, Ferraro, Coetzee, Nestrasil, Jarnkrok, and Pulkkinen anywhere from 1-6 years away.

Abdelkader has more to offer offensively. When he's in the AHL, he looks like a dominating player. When he's in the NHL, he's on a short leash and I don't think he's had the chance to show off his game as anything more than a checker. This season, especially if they don't sign Modano and he ends up between Jiri Hudler and Danny Cleary, he's going to get a chance. Abdelkader just has more smarts and patience than Helm. He's a little more creative and even though he has underrated speed, he can find room for himself through stickhandling and an above average shot. I really expect Abdelkader to end up a lot like Cleary. Someone who can play in any situation, but you wouldn't necessarily put on a healthy powerplay unit. Abdelkader will probably end up with a little more sandpaper in his game, possibly even like an Alex Burrows or a (way, way) more skilled Steve Ott, but I think a lot of the tenacity you saw this season was the result of his role as a 4th line player and he wouldn't do that as much on the 2nd or 3rd line. But from everything I saw from him at other levels, it'll still be more a part of his game than it's ever been with Cleary.

In terms of the glut of young players that are in the mix for our 4th line right now, I'd rank the offensive potential like this: Abdelkader, Eaves, Ritola, Helm, Miller. I don't see any of them as top line players, but if they work hard enough and pay their dues, any of them will be able to find a home on the 2nd or 3rd line. Cleary only had four goals his first year here and now if he's healthy, he can be counted on for 20. If the Wings can get even two of these guys to hit that mark on a regular basis, with the high skill guys coming up who I just mentioned, our offense is going to be set for a long time.

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Thanks for the questions everyone. And again, there are more on the way so don't be upset if I ignored you this time around. I just don't want this post to be any longer right now. I'll get to the other ones as soon as I can, but until then, keep them coming! And feel free to debate or discuss any part of these questions, that's why I'm doing them.