God, I hope Babcock has no influence in trades. Want edge, have Grundstrom a Leaf, Aaltonen in his proper position at centre, forget an overpaid 4th liner. Rosen hasn't proven he's an an NHLer. If the Leafs are going for the "now" with Myers, better keep Gardiner.

No thank you on the Wings trade. Helm and Nielsen are our go to guys on the PK and to shutdown opposition. We already have issues of being stuck in our own zone, losing Helm makes it worse. Plus we don't need another defensemen who's prone to turn overs taking a roster spot that Hronek or Hicketts could fill. The only player I would trade for Gardiner is Ericsson and maybe the Pittsburgh 3rd.

Palhal ...my old rival hater friend..you know babs loooooves him some glendening ..so you know that 3rd rd pick is coming to detroit.. Lol..

Gardiner instantly becomes the best defenceman on Detroit and has proven to be great at moving the puck. He's super soft on along the boards but Detroit needs a major rebuild and having young guys come in with that blue line is a recipe for disaster. You guys need some veterans who can help transition to the next wings contender and currently have the absolute worst defence core in hockey. There are some AHL teams sporting better blue lines than Detroit is currently. Forwards are easier to find than defencemen and I think TO wants to make room for some younger guys to possibly make the lineup.

I can see Detroit saying no though, they may want to just stay bad for a while to keep getting high picks.

Helm at 2.5 million isn't a bad player to have on the team. Fast, skates hard and hits, is a great penalty killer and decent faceoff man. Would insulate the leafs a bit. And if Nylander can't play center, you can move Altonen up or Helm up and move Nylander back to Matthews wing.

As for Gardiner, he isn't terrible. He's top 50 NHL defencemen for puck movers, however his defensive liabilities are the real problem. He is so soft on the boards and come playoff time, I think Dermott in year two is equal to or better than Gardiner. So move him up and let Borgman or Rosen fight for the 3rd pairing LHD. Who knows, maybe the Russian guy they just signed will be ready for the NHL and then you can move Hainsey to his natural side on the 3rd pairing.

We have plenty of veteran leadership with Kronwall, Daley, and Green (very likely he re-signs). They have high hockey IQ's and good leadership presence, it's just their bodies are crapping out on them. Trading for a soon to be 28 year old who has one year left on his contract and choked hard in the playoffs (making it hard to move him at the TDL) doesn't help our rebuild especially when giving up a 2nd rounder for him. The big thing is we have 2 NHL ready prospects (Hicketts and Hronek) who need an available roster spot next year. Gardiner won't be anywhere near 52 points if he's playing for Detroit if anything he'll probably put up similar numbers to Green while being a defensive liability. That being said Green is physical, fast, and actually decent defensively so I still think he would be our best defenseman even with his lingering injuries.

You are looking at the Wings through rose coloured glasses. Green is in the twilight of his career and will make money on the open market. No chance he comes back to Detroit. As for Kronwall and Daley, they wouldn't make a lot of teams in the NHL right now. Also Gardiner would be an easy flip at the deadline. He's basically Kevin Shatenkirk and he got a very good haul when St Louis traded him 2 years ago. Think of the return you guys could get.

There are media reports that Green is very close to signing with Detroit probably somewhere around 2 years at 4.5 million. His neck injury really brought his value down. You're right about Kronwall, but he deserves to finish out his contract and retire a red wing. Daley is our top shutdown defenseman and played a prominent role in Pittsburgh's Stanley Cups, he's still a useful top 4 defenseman. Yeah and Shattenkirk choked hard in the playoffs too, so I don't see the wings getting a better haul than what we gave for him. Hronek is a similar type player who showed a lot of promise at the WC with the added benefit of being waiver exempt, on his ELC, and shooting right (we need righties). Having Gardiner on the team just hinders the development of our prospects while not contributing to our long term goals.

Fair enough, I just tossed him to Detroit cause they need a lot of help on the back end. As for Green, the media reports are that he was offered 1 and 2 year deals and is thinking about it. He may sign but I doubt it, he'll make more on the open market. RHD are so hot right now.

I'm honestly happy either way with the Green situation. I like him as a player and he seems to be a positive presence so I would be happy if he signed with us. If he doesn't sign then it just opens up a roster spot for a prospect that needs to be on the team. Maybe Montreal or Edmonton would be interested in Gardiner. They have talented rosters and need a puck moving LHD.

I thought Babcock had he mulligan getting Marleau. Not that I dislike Marleau but that cap of 6.25m could have been spend better. That being said, you may be right, maybe Helm is a Leaf

Its close...wings retain some helm $ ..might just do it..but yep glendening & helm were his favs here..speed & grinding..yep..they need replacement & upgrade of plekanec in their 3-4 hole.. Marleau won't hurt til this yr but will next yr (not sure how long deal is off top of my head now)..when the kids REAL $ goes to the moon ..starting w nylander this summer.. Tick tock for sure

2 more years for Marleau but its affordable, especially if the cap goes up next year again.