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I hope that those of you condemning Kesler for his trash talk never sit close enough to the ice to hear how players talk to each other. Ryan Kesler's the man.

I wasn't offended by the information he shared but that he decided to be a smug ******* about it. A public service announcement? Since when did it become your job to school all of us on the CBA? Apparently he and Konnan are the ones easily offended by our ignorance and naiveté since they devote so much of their free time to making sure we understand how futile it is to hope for such things.

Kesler sounds like a complete ****** bag. For someone who is considered a star player, he certainly doesn't act like it. His antics remind me more of Matt Cooke or Sean Avery. I just can't imagine any of the Wings stars chirping someone about an injury, let alone flopping all over the ice. Anyway, I just hate Kesler, but I guess the real lesson here is that Clowe should've kept his mouth shut...

I like Draper, but he's like the relative that doesn't know when to leave the party. I'd rather have a younger, bigger forward taking up 4th line minutes. We need to get younger as a team. And that was not easy for me to type.

Veteran Detroit-born center Doug Weight has announced his retirement from the great game we all love. He hoisted the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2005-2006 season. Weight recorded 278 goals, 755 assists, for a total of 1,033 points over 1,238 games. Amazing seeing all of these guys we've grown up with dropping like flies

We want fishsticks, we want fishsticks...

this jersey is freakin' awesome. i don't care what anyone says.

I really don't get the hate for Kesler for talking trash on the ice. Have none of you played sports before?

Omg... RETIRE ALREADY! Cripes

A 5'5" power forward? Awesome.

He was a cross between Sandy McCarthy and Darren Pang.

Because they're all eligible for salary arbitration (which protects a player from offer sheets), and if these players are not signed by July 1st, it's likely that will be taken to arbitration (the arbitration award is not likely to be as high as what exposing such a player to offer sheets could drive their salary to). A team has the option to take a player to arbitration once per each player's career (a tool to protect a valuable player from offer sheets during their most valuable RFA period). A player can still choose to go to arbitration any time he comes up as RFA. This has been a public service announcement. Edit: more information from post below I was on my way out the door when I wrote that, so I'll offer a little more insight to the process here now that my brain isn't quite as numb as it was earlier. RFA: A drafted player may opt to become an unrestricted free agent either when they're 27 or when they've acquired 7 years of NHL experience (10 games or more played counts as a year of experience when determining free agency). Their rights can free up earlier if the NHL team in possession relinquishes them. Offer sheet: Any RFA may be given an offer sheet unless they're protected (either by the team or player) via arbitration. If (and only if) a player accepts the offer sheet, the team in possession of his rights has a chance to match. The match is binding, and so the player cannot be given another offer sheet. If the team in possession declines to match, then the offering team relinquishes draft picks based upon salary. If the team is not in possession of their own draft picks needed for the next draft, they cannot make the offer. They must have the picks for that draft and it must be their own picks, not ones in the same round acquired via trade. Additionally, a player may not be traded in the year in which they signed an offer sheet (whether they're on the new team or on the old team that matched). Here's the chart for offer sheet compensation for this year (based upon league average salary): $1,034,249 and below -- Nothing $1,034,250 to $1,567,043 -- 3rd round pick $1,567,044 to $3,134,088 -- 2nd round pick $3,134,089 to $4,701,131 -- 1st and 3rd $4,701,132 to $6,268,175 -- 1st, 2nd, 3rd $6,268,176 to $7,835,219 -- Two 1sts (sequential years), 2nd, 3rd $7,835,220 and above -- Four 1sts (sequential years) Arbitration: If a player signs a contract after age 20 (meaning they turned 20 before free agency IIRC) then they are eligible for arbitration any year afterwards in which they are an RFA. If they sign before 20, then they are eligible for arbitration for 4 years after they signed. However, an accrued NHL season (>=10 games) takes a year off of this period. If the player is eligible for arbitration, he may elect to go to arbitration any time he's RFA. Deadline for submission of arbitration is July 5th. If a team files for arbitration with a player, the rules are a bit different. The team may only do this once during that player's career. They cannot ask for a salary reduction greater than 15%, and any contract awarded during this period is binding. If it was the player that brought them to arbitration, and not the team, the team can opt to step away from the contract (and automatically do if they don't accept the contract within 48 hours of the verdict). So what effect does this have on Doughty, Weber, and Parise? All are eligible for salary arbitration. In the case of all three, the team is eligible to file. In the case of all three of these players, if they are not signed by July 1st it likely means that they want significant money and they were not able to work out a deal with the team. If this is the case, the teams in question will most likely take them to arbitration. Remember, any salary offered under a $7,835,220 cap hit is worth two 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd at max. Even if those are likely valuable 1sts, it could be argued that is worth it to acquire any of these players. Seeing as their teams would not want to be forced into signing a contract that high (or lose the players for two 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd), and that arbitration will likely not award any of them a salary that high, this greatly increases the chances of all three of these players going to arbitration via the team if they do not have a deal worked out by July 1st. I hope this provides additional insight into the process for some people.

I didn't read through this whole thread, so forgive me if it's posted elsewhere, but if you don't want to have to keep searching for news on the move from Atlanta to Winnipeg, just go to this website to see if the move has been made yet: http://www.didthethrashersmovetowinnipegyet.com/

He was very valuable in these playoffs , i felt that when we changed him for miller in game 3 are 4th line had so much more jump. Like you said he's good at faceoffs, i really disagree that his speed is declining the guy can still fly, muck it up in the corners, plays hard every shift, can Pk (even though he doesn't much). And he plays great with both helm and eaves. i absolutely love that line. He deserves to be here, and on the plus side he will be cheap. TBH i would rather have him then miller as i believe he brings more energy to the table.

Hey Kenny, this alone, makes me want to see Wiz on the Wings even more! even though it looks like Wiz hurt himself somehow, man that was a donnybrook with Tootie... I would love a trade to (try to)replace Rafalski, PLUS sign Wiz to round out what would be the best defense corps in the league! (spoken through red glasses) Lidstrom Kronwall Stuart Bogosian Wiz - Kindl Smith Heck they could even sign two UFA's and leave Smith in GRR, but I have a feeling they are gonna make this year Kindl's make or break year...

Oh c'mon, why'd my post get deleted? Yes, he went to school at Southfield Christian.

A couple things I look at when I see Wisniewski and also the same things really make me want to see him in a Wings jersey next season and for a LONG time. He has shown that (so far) he can excell in a system that relies on scoring from defense, and the prototypical team for that is Detroit, so you can only guess that he would continue that trend, also, every team he played for in the West, when the Wings went up against him, he physically punished the Wings (it helps that Chicago and Anaheim were huge rivals and adds fuel to the fire) so you would think that if he continued that trend as well, he would be nothing but pluses for the Wings. I mean, he is no Shea Weber, but he does have a snarl, clears the front of the net, sticks up for his teammates, rarely ever gives up an opportunity to check someone, PLUS he has shown that he can score some points, this could be a huge opportunity for Detroit to get the type of defenseman they have been seeking since Konstantinov was hurt. (disclaimer: I am in no way saying Wiz is just as good as Konstantinov.) I for one, am hoping among hope that he is a Red Wing next season and on a long term basis... (heck with all this Wisniewski talk, he almost deserves his own thread....almost)

I was on my way out the door when I wrote that, so I'll offer a little more insight to the process here now that my brain isn't quite as numb as it was earlier. RFA: A drafted player may opt to become an unrestricted free agent either when they're 27 or when they've acquired 7 years of NHL experience (10 games or more played counts as a year of experience when determining free agency). Their rights can free up earlier if the NHL team in possession relinquishes them. Offer sheet: Any RFA may be given an offer sheet unless they're protected (either by the team or player) via arbitration. If (and only if) a player accepts the offer sheet, the team in possession of his rights has a chance to match. The match is binding, and so the player cannot be given another offer sheet. If the team in possession declines to match, then the offering team relinquishes draft picks based upon salary. If the team is not in possession of their own draft picks needed for the next draft, they cannot make the offer. They must have the picks for that draft and it must be their own picks, not ones in the same round acquired via trade. Additionally, a player may not be traded in the year in which they signed an offer sheet (whether they're on the new team or on the old team that matched). Here's the chart for offer sheet compensation for this year (based upon league average salary): $1,034,249 and below -- Nothing $1,034,250 to $1,567,043 -- 3rd round pick $1,567,044 to $3,134,088 -- 2nd round pick $3,134,089 to $4,701,131 -- 1st and 3rd $4,701,132 to $6,268,175 -- 1st, 2nd, 3rd $6,268,176 to $7,835,219 -- Two 1sts (sequential years), 2nd, 3rd $7,835,220 and above -- Four 1sts (sequential years) Arbitration: If a player signs a contract after age 20 (meaning they turned 20 before free agency IIRC) then they are eligible for arbitration any year afterwards in which they are an RFA. If they sign before 20, then they are eligible for arbitration for 4 years after they signed. However, an accrued NHL season (>=10 games) takes a year off of this period. If the player is eligible for arbitration, he may elect to go to arbitration any time he's RFA. Deadline for submission of arbitration is July 5th. If a team files for arbitration with a player, the rules are a bit different. The team may only do this once during that player's career. They cannot ask for a salary reduction greater than 15%, and any contract awarded during this period is binding. If it was the player that brought them to arbitration, and not the team, the team can opt to step away from the contract (and automatically do if they don't accept the contract within 48 hours of the verdict). So what effect does this have on Doughty, Weber, and Parise? All are eligible for salary arbitration. In the case of all three, the team is eligible to file. In the case of all three of these players, if they are not signed by July 1st it likely means that they want significant money and they were not able to work out a deal with the team. If this is the case, the teams in question will most likely take them to arbitration. Remember, any salary offered under a $7,835,220 cap hit is worth two 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd at max. Even if those are likely valuable 1sts, it could be argued that is worth it to acquire any of these players. Seeing as their teams would not want to be forced into signing a contract that high (or lose the players for two 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd), and that arbitration will likely not award any of them a salary that high, this greatly increases the chances of all three of these players going to arbitration via the team if they do not have a deal worked out by July 1st. I hope this provides additional insight into the process for some people. While I cannot speak for Konnan, I personally enjoy teaching others about the workings of the NHL and such things, to the extent of my own knowledge of course (I had to refresh a lot of this stuff this morning after some discussions in chat). Given the complexities of the NHL, the salary cap, restricted free agency, and so on it's easy even for pros to overlook some of the rules and scenarios. I'm sorry if the NHLs rules and options regarding free agency limits or denies your fantasies. In that case, your issue should be with them, not me.

Sign him as a face-off man at the very least. We need someone who can take those damn things. I say he still has some value to the team at this point. One more year isn't going to make or break the season for us and I don't think he's taking a spot away from anyone else who's really ready right now.

Predators' Trotz: We'll match any offer for Shea Weber one could argue that what else should we expect Trotz to say. another way to look at it is, teams can still get Weber to sign an offer sheet so that Nashville has to pay more for him than they planned to, perhaps losing the money to pay Suter or Rinne.

If you announce your retirement, you can't play in the NHL for a year. Neidermayer didn't make an announcement, he just didn't sign a contract with anyone. There's no way Rafalski reverses his decision.

Hudler had a nice little spurt of point production between Christmas and the end of February. Thats pretty much it. Following that, he went pointless for seven games and finally started doing something again around the beginning of the playoffs (as others had mentioned, so did the rest of the team.) Franzen's longest pointless drought was 4 games, while Hudler's was 13. To even fathom the notion that Hudler is as/more valuable than Franzen makes one question your sanity. You mean all ONE game of it?

For f**k's sake eva unit zero, you got to stop this s**t. Explaining it another way is simple. YOU HAVE HUDLER BIAS. Give it a fricken' rest. Franzen has more defensive potential than Hudler, you'll rarely see Hudler in there at the end of a game if the team is leading. You'll see Franzen over Hudler 99 times out of 100. You don't see Hudler play 4-on-4. You see Franzen play 4-on-4. YOU may claim or YOU may say he is a good defensive forward or above average or whatever, but coaches and people making the decisions think otherwise. I will repeat... YOU HAVE HUDLER BIAS in levels beyond unimaginable and annoying and you will not shut up about it. I like Hudler, it's cool that you like him, but seeing your absurd bias with him makes me want to (1) strangle you until you are temporarily unconscious and (2) see him not do well and not be here so there might come a time where you might actually shut up about him. I. DO. NOT. CARE. THAT. BADLY. about you trying to prove that Hudler is better than he is or that Franzen was worse or that Hudler is better than Franzen or whatever numbers or stats you pull out of your rear end. And I think it's a safe bet plenty of other people in here share some of the same thought. When it comes to letting things go regarding this, you have the I.Q. of a deck chair. For the love of god and everything good and holy, give it a fricken' rest.

Zibanejad would be a dream. If he somehow fell to us I'd be so pumped. A 6 foot right-hand center is always a great addition. There are a lot of quality guys this year so I'm sure we'll get someone decent that falls to later in the round, just have no clue who. Hoping is one of those right-handed centers.

1. Let Ericsson walk 2. Let Ericsson walk 3. Let Ericsson walk 4. Trade Hudler