A guy the Wings should go after

And I am being serious and honest here.

Nikolai Zherdev.

At this point, it wouldn't take much to pry him away from C-Bus. He
hasn't been any good at all, but he is still absolutely loaded with
talent. His $2.5m cap number is high for what he has produced, but low
for what he could produce in the right situation, and fits under the cap
for the Wings anyway.

The kid is still just 22 years old. He lit things up in Russia every
time he played there, and put up 54pts in 05-06 with Columbus. Last
year, they didn't keep him on a scoring line for the entire year, and
they didn't even put him out there on the top PP unit. His play was a
big reason why he was demoted, but he also doesn't get along with Hitchcock.

I wouldn't imagine it would cost too much more than a high pick and a
prospect to acquire him. Perhaps something like Kindl, a 2nd and a
conditional pick. Maybe a bit more, I don't know.

Regardless, this kid is just begging to be picked up by another team,
where he can fulfill his potential.

For as bad as Detroit is at the draft table, they are very good at
taking other teams' busts and turning them into something nearly
resembling what they were supposed to become. Given what they got out of
a piker like Cleary, imagine what you'd have if you could get Zherdev to
play up to his potential.

Bash away.

-Thomas