Yzerman won't do that to Holl.

He's not going to prevent him from an opportunity to be signed by another team.

Good luck getting future UFA's to sign with you by treating a recent UFA like that.

Yzerman is going to try and trade Holl but we all know he won't surrender the sweetener it would take to dump him.

Buyouts suck but it's what Yzerman will do here.

Agree to disagree, I think if he finds a team who wants him with a sweetener, you might be right that he gets bought out as that would be the best opportunity for him. If no team wants him for their roster then the AHL would be the better opportunity.

Regardless, I think both buyouts and demotions probably have a similar effect on UFAs decision making. I'd assume neither factor in very much if at all. Maybe it's something an agent mentions to their client, but you're stretching if you think a player cares enough to know how many players have recently been bought out by a team...

I agree with the above. I think a buyout is the best option for both parties. We aren't good enough to where the extra cap we get from paying someone to take him is worth it.
I live Martinook as a target. I thought we should have taken him off waivers a few years ago.
I don't mind your draft targets. I was just making a post to see who people think we should take with our picks.

Bury, buy out, staple a 2nd round pick to him makes no difference to me as long as Yzerman eats the mistake and gets Holl out of here. I don't mind them taking guys like perron and Fischer back but if they don't add they better get guys like Johansson and Kasper even Mazur in the line up.

Players will value teams that look out for their best wishes, even if it slightly hinders the teams situation. Respect for a long way I think. I feel there will be a good conversation had with Justin and ultimately he will determine his future. If he would prefer a AHL placement then sure. Most players are fierce competitors and want every opportunity to win and play in the show. He would likely prefer a buyout so he can sign with another team and keep playing.

2 meaningless paragraphs.

Michael Hage gets my vote at 15.

My breakdown of the options from an income perspective:

1. stay or get traded his earnings would be $6.8M over the next 2 years
2. go to the minors his earnings would be $6.8M over the next 2 years
3(*). get bought out his earnings will be ~$2.3M + X over the next 2 seasons, and an additional ~$2.3M over the following 2 years.
4. contract termination

*If "+ X" is greater than ~$2.26M over the next 2 seasons, option 3 would be more lucrative than 1 and 2.

Competitiveness also plays a factor, an even larger factor than money for some players. Here's my breakdown of those options:

1. get traded/signed to a Stanley Cup contender for a regular lineup spot
2. get traded/signed to a playoff contender for a regular lineup spot
3. stay in Detroit for a regular lineup spot
4. get traded/signed to a bottom feeder for a regular lineup spot

Both trade and buyout carry inherent risk of being demoted by the new team, granted, he might prefer Cleveland, Rockford, or San Diego over Grand Rapids. I think options 1 and 2 would be just as likely if not more likely to demote him. So his best target would be a bottom feeder if he leaves Detroit looking for ice time.

I'm not going to guess what Holl actually wants to do, because there are many more factors beyond income and playing time… All I know for certain is Holl will definitely make it a top priority to determine how many players have been demoted/bought out from every GM and organization, per @SharkTank

You’re probably right that Stevie will put a lot of weight on what Holl prefers. If you look at the options objectively, buyout has quite a bit of risk for Justin Holl, and I don’t think his agent would prefer/recommend that path.

I honestly think the Wings still see him as an asset. He stayed a healthy scratch because they wanted to put him in the lineup if there were injuries. I think they want to give him more playing time, but it ultimately depends on how he measures up against the rest of the blue line. Lalonde said he trusts Holl when he’s in the lineup.

My guess is Yzerman will certainly try to trade him, but he won’t offer a sweetener. If they can’t trade him I think they keep him. However, if he doesn’t make the opening night roster, I think he gets sent down GR at the beginning of the season.