Why is Suter taking a big paycut? He'll likely get 2 years/3.5 mil AAV. And why do we want Ned back? I can't see Bert coming back here. Johansson and Blueger? Why?

Mostly cause his production dipped this year, at least so far. With Chicago he had 0.49ppg so that would warrant the larger sum of money and trying to lure him to Detroit. With Detroit last year he had 0.44ppg and this year 0.31ppg. I like him and would like to keep him as a depth forward but his production, at least in my opinion, doesn't warrant the same money. I have no issue offering him more money since we have the cap but trying to be realistic with his production.

Having traded away our 2023 first, we're probably only interested in 2023 picks. Sean Durzi is probably worth a first, but neither of the two you own. I could see us doing Durzi for one of your three 2023 seconds and your 2024 second, or Jordan Spence for one of your 2023 seconds. You would keep Sebrango in either case.

That's not realistic. There's no way Suter is taking an almost 2 mil paycut. Red Wings aren't his only option as he's a UFA. He's no star by any means. But Yzerman not trading Suter tells me he wants to re-sign him. He's 26 years old. Not a declining 36 year old looking for league minimum. He's a 3C. He won't be paid as a 4C.

Meh, I have no issue giving him more money, was just paying based on production.

I'm trying to understand your logic. Raymond has 33 points this season. Last year he had 57. He's making 925k. So are we getting him at league minimum in his next contract?

I was thinking this would be more of an offseason trade rather than a draft day trade. All of those 2023 2nd round picks are basically late firsts in terms of value. Right now they are 38, 41, 42 and with how deep this draft is supposed to be those are quite valuable maybe even more than the Boston 2024 1st. I would maybe look at moving that Boston first but would rather a second and prospect.

Raymond has infinitely more potential than Suter does and isn't going to be turning 27 when he signs that deal. Suter is in what would be determined his prime, we already know what we are getting with him. I also feel like we might have paid for some potential when we signed him initially. Raymond averaged 0.7ppg last year and 0.62ppg this year, little bit different.

That's not how UFA works. Players in their primes get raises. Not paycuts. They get overpaid. Not underpaid. That's the trade off. You get a player for free. Lose no assets. But you're overpaying what his value is. That's how it's always been.

Red Wings aren't bidding against themselves. There's 31 other teams. All UFA Suter needs is to find 1 team willing to pay him what he wants. Centers are always in demand. Even 3Cs. Supply and demand says Suter will get a small raise. If Detroit doesn't pay him another team certainly will.

The UFA pool gets shallower each summer. Again supply and demand.

Bertuzzi coming back is unlikely but I don't see Boston resigning him when Debrusk needs to be resigned by the end of next season. If that's the case trading Bertuzzi in division makes a lot more sense.

Yzerman and Bert's agent didn't talk the entire season. Yzerman obviously doesn't want to sign him to a long term contract. So why would they talk this summer when Bert will be looking for a long term deal?

How often have we seen players re-sign with teams right after they traded them? Bruins likely can't afford to re-sign Bert. But he'll have no problem finding suitors this summer.

Ok ok you win, I'll give him more money next time

I didn't know they didn't engage in contract talks.

Bert already has an assist today. Set up Coyle perfectly. So glad he's not a Leaf. Boston paid Stevie's price. Leafs didn't. Boston got Bert. Looks good on Dubas. 👍

Kevin Allen has said many times they haven't talked since November. He made a good point which explains why things turned out the way they did.

Bert and his agent are all about player comparables and stats. Yzerman is all about what do you do for my team? When Yzerman told Larkin his long term plan is to take a bit less so I can surround you with better players a deal came together a week later. Larkin bought in.

Remember it was Yzerman who took less money for the last half of his career so he could be surrounded with more good players. He did the same thing in Tampa but he also had the Tampa no state tax advantage.

Why Ry Jo?

He's actually a top 6 centre. Good at draws, good possession numbers, he just doesn't put up a bunch of points. With his high cap hit he shouldn't cost too much to acquire. We can afford his cap hit for the two years and it fills the void until Kasper or whoever can fill that roll.

Wouldn’t be my first choice but solid enough reasoning.

I just don't think there are many options open to Detroit. Free agency doesn't have much and anyone decent is going to cost too much to acquire.

Yzerman and the staff will be keeping a close eye on the young guys for the rest of the season. I'm sure some of them will be traded, because there is no point in having Suter, Zadina as scratches. Looking at this roster and at the current Wings team, it's clear what the team is missing: High end talent, toughness and righthanded forwards.

Johansen and Blueger are decent, but do we really need them? Wings already have like eight 3rd liners on the team.

Well I did add one righty with Johansen, toughness with the bertuzzi return but it sounds like Yzerman didn't want to bring bertuzzi back. Toughness shouldn't be too hard to find but the high end skill is the tough part to find. Johansen has skill and in my opinion fills the void there for a bit. I wonder if Debrincat will get resigned in Ottawa? He might be able to be acquired for the right price. I'm thinking though we just keep drafting and developing though.