Red Wings News

What will the Red Wings do at No. 15? - Detroit Red Wings - News
If the Wings do not move down, I just expect them to draft whoever they think is the best player available. The Wings have forward depth and defensive depth in their prospect pool, so drafting based on position is not a need this year.

GM Ken Holland: Red Wings to 'explore' trade possibilities | The Detroit News

All teams "explore" trade opportunities, but that does not mean that they will actually make a trade.

Red Wings' new scouting director seeking 'passionate, hard-working players' at entry draft | MLive.com

You cannot have a team just full of Datsyuk's and Zetterberg's, you also need some Helm's and Abdelkader's. That said, a team full of Datsyuk's would be amazing.

NHL News

Toews, Kane asking for $12 million a year deals: Report | Puck Daddy - Yahoo Sports
To put this into perspective, Zetterberg and Datsyuk make a combined total of $13,583,333 per year on average. Obviously, an increasing cap will lead to bigger contracts, but still, $24 million a year is a lot of money to tie up in two players.

Blues sign Berglund to three-year, $11.1M extension | ProHockeyTalk
Some people are speculating that the Blues re-signed Berglund for the sole purpose of trading him. Regardless, Berglund scored 32 points last season in 78 games, which is not terrible, but is by no means great production either.

Matt Niskanen informs Penguins he will test free agency - CBSSports.com
If the Wings cannot sign Boyle, Niskanen is a viable option. But his price may be too high for the Wings to consider him.

NHL Draft 2014: Will the Florida Panthers trade the No. 1 overall pick? - SBNation.com

I hope that the Panthers trade the pick purely for the excitement factor. Plus, I would love to see what the package for the pick would end up being.

Record revenues lead to another increase in NHL salary cap | TSN
The salary cap for the next season is most likely going to be hovering around $70 million.

NHL rumors: Vincent Lecavalier given OK to talk trade with teams - CBSSports.com
Lecavalier's stint in Philadephia seems to be coming to a quick end.

Board of Governors discuss tweaking draft lottery, embellishment | ProHockeyTalk
The NHL is trying to discourage tanking *cough* Edmonton *cough*.

Scandal alert: Evander Kane favorites Tweet advocating trade to Flyers | Puck Daddy - Yahoo Sports

I would not read into this too much, but it is interesting. Safe to say that Kane will have a little "social media lesson" with the Jets in the near future.

Ryan Kennedy’s 2014 mock draft | Post-to-Post
Kennedy has Florida picking Aaron Ekblad at #1, and the Wings picking Jakub Vrana at #15. Vrana is from the Czech Republic, but has been playing for Linköpings HC in the SHL for the past two seasons.

Kevin Allen's NHL mock draft | USA Today
Like Ryan Kennedy, Kevin Allen has the Panthers drafting Ekblad with the first pick. But unlike Kennedy, Allen has the Wings drafting the American U-18 player Dylan Larkin.

Sens aren’t happy with Spezza offers just yet | ProHockeyTalk
Along with Kesler, Spezza is receiving a large amount of attention. He is a good player, a solid leader, and has a reasonable contract. The Wings do not need him, but a lot of other teams do.

Cox: Life without an NHL draft might be better - Sportsnet.ca
This is an interesting concept, however, the NHL would never abandon the draft. Unlike the NFL, the draft itself does not drive enough revenue and attention to warrant itself, but the NHL draft does keep one of the NHL's most sought after concepts working: parity. From a parity perspective alone, there is no way that the NHL would do away with the draft, although, considering this alternate method is certainly intriguing.

Let's Go Red Wings!