Leaderboard

I prefer these. They came with cups.

There is over $5.9M in cap space remaining once Jurco is sent down, more than enough to sign DeKeyser to a reasonable contract as well as Alfredsson to a bonus heavy contract. Both Alfie's and Cleary's bonus' can get bumped to next years salary cap, so that is not an issue. I don't believe that this DeKeyser situation (if you can even call it that) has anything to do with any other player (Quincey, Alfredsson, Cleary, or whichever other player you can think to blame). This is between Holland, DeKeyser and Morris (agent) and a deal will get done, DeKeyser will not miss any games because of this and there will be no bad blood once it is done.

Why doesn't Alfie do what Sundin did a few years back on the Canucks. Let your body rest for a few more months, spend the next 4 months getting healthy and spending time with your family, then in January if you are feeling 100% sign a 1 year deal. by that time, i'm sure someone on our team will have an injury and be on LTIR which will give us a much better picture of what we can sign him to. I would much rather do that and sign him at 100%, then sign him now only to have him day-to-day a few weeks into the season because he is not fully healed. Its a win-win, we have no cap issues moving forward, we easily sign DD, Jurco starts off in the NHL, and Alfie can rest up. Better for us as well come playoff time, Alfie will have enough time to shake off the rust, but wont have to play 82 games which is better for his body. Worst case scenario, come January he still feels hurt, its probably better we didn't sign him anyways, At that point, he can retire a Senator. The only thin im not sure of, is can you do that in the new CBA? As far as I know he doesnt have to pass through waivers since he's not coming from the KHL (ie. Nabokov). I'm not 100% sure of the rules with the new CBA.

I think it's interesting that everyone is blaming KH for this deal not being done, but if it were Tatar instead of Dekeyser we'd be inundated with comments about how Tats is an egomaniac who puts himself before the team. Double standard much? Dekeyser has only played 72 professional hockey games. Whatever he and his agent are asking based on his modest point production and ice time is almost certainly too much. But god forbid anybody call them out, because he's from Michigan.

WTF is wrong with some people? Do you actually try to find the negative in everything just so you have something to ***** about? Ericsson stated that he will be ready to go for the first game of the season and this Alfredsson situation has been well known for months now. He is 41 years old and it has been stated numerous times that management would be happy to have him back if he decides he is healthy, even if he can only play 60-65 games. But all of a sudden the sky is falling. I swear some of you lie awake at night, hoping and preying a Red Wing gets injured just so you can say "I told you so".... Pathetic...

RFA players get less. Dekeyser isn't the #1 young D Dekeyser isn't a Norris candidate who will make or break the season. Quincey is not overpaid by much if at all based on the UFA market. Signing Quincey was not panic or knee jerk.

We get it Kip...

Thank you that's exactly my point. You may not agree with everything I have said, but your view on what some fans are saying, is the point I am trying to make. A large chunk of Red Wings fans hate the fact they we are currently going through a re-build, and have a hard time accepting that we are not currently cup contenders. They look at everything Holland does under a microscope, and when he does something they do not agree with (ie. Cleary signing, Quincy signing, Legwand trade) they call for his head. While Babcock who overall people are happy with right now, may have the same opinions as Holland, but at the end of the day only gets a few people slightly disagreeing/mad at him, never the outrage that is currently being pointed at Holland, nor do I think he should. Babcock has done one heck of a job in Detroit, especially last year with all the injuries. I fully realize that Holland is the GM, Babcock is the coach, and the roster is Holland's responsibility, but my point is that people are overly critical of Holland right now due to the re-build. The only thing I disagree with you on is your verbiage of "makeshift/transitional/mediocre/insert your preferred term rosters and kept them competitive" as I look at what Holland has been doing a re-build, but one in where he is maintaining competitiveness (please don't mistaken competitiveness with contending) during it, rather then doing an Edmonton and getting rid of everyone. IMO a much smarter way to do it.

You definitely do. But read over the last three or four pages and you'd be shocked by the number of people blaming KH for this deal not being done. Ya know, cause he's a screw up and Dekeyser is just an honest local boy with a heart of gold.

Thanks Dickie, finally a logical post in here... I'm a huge fan of DeKeyser and I do believe he is going to be a great defender for us for many years but he is 24 years old and has only played 83 NHL games. He has been very solid ever since his NHL debut in Colorado but one full season in the NHL as an RFA doesn't warrant the same contract as a veteran UFA. How people don't understand this is beyond me. I don't care if the player is better or has more upside, the sample size is just too small. Also, s*** on me all you want but Quincey was one of our most solid defenders in the second half of last season. Like Dickie said, Quincey was not a knee jerk signing and he was not overpaid by much at all. In saying all that, I still think the deal gets done in the next couple weeks, before training camp. I don't get all the panic and overreaction...

Alfredsson should just retire. He emptied the tank last year in the Olympics. He was completely invisible after the break. I would rather see Mantha in his spot.

That's interesting. All the teams that haven't participated in a game yet minus St Louis are expansion/relocated teams from the 90's on. How growing the game coming along Gary?

Seriously? That's the point. What needs to be said when all parties involved know exactly what went down with Quincey? What do you expect people to say in the press? I am well aware of the overlap and the differences in contracts and careers; I read the articles. Bottom line is that a player of less value than Dekeyser got signed for more money than the Wings want to give Dekeyser, and whether Dekeyser feels he deserves as much or not, you can be assured that he's not going to go down easy after seeing that Quincey deal. I adamantly stand by what I said. "you have to be an idiot if you think that didn't send a message to Dekeyser's camp, and it was the wrong message to send considering Dekeyser stands to be important to this team for the long-run when Quincey should've been a guy shown the door."

DD and Quincey both have the same agent Here is a tidbit from the article posted in this thread by BottleOfSmoke which is written by Nsar Khan regarding DD & Quincey. "His defense partner, Kyle Quincey, signed a two-year, $8.5 million contract on July 1. But Quincey's contract has nothing to do with DeKesyer's negotiations. Quincey was an unrestricted free agent with 418 games of NHL experience, regular season and playoffs. DeKeyser is restricted. They're represented by the same agent, Pat Morris, who hasn't used Quincey's contract as a basis in DeKeyser's talks."

I'd argue DD is the most important young player on this team, above Nyquist and Tatar. And yet Kenny signs Cleary and Quincey while he lowballs his #1 defensive prospect and doesn't have him signed up a few weeks before preseason. Damn, you'd think Kenny would understand priorities.

I love it, the cryptids on there like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster are a nice touch. I think it's cool how the white areas look like a pencil sketch, along with his number on the front part of it. All it's missing is a big almond-eyed alien and a UFO or two. I know they aren't technically "monsters" but a weirdo can dream.

I actually liked Osgood and Hasek's masks, because they were so simple. Sometimes, the simpler and plainer a design is, the more power it has. How many Osgood like masks will we see again?

I cant see an agent giving a GM a hard time by referencing a deal that in fact that particular agent negotiated to begin with. Secondly you are talking RFA vs UFA, two completely different things that I dont have the energy to get into once again.

I defended Tatar. Some thought it was too much for him at this point, I said, nah, not at all. Why? For the exact reason you referenced, but the opposite perspective. We did jerk him around a bit, and we were right to be generous to make up for it. There's a big difference between being an egomaniac and knowing that you should and would be in the NHL if you were on any other team in the league. I wouldn't have bitched publicly about it like Tatar did, and I don't like that, but I don't think he was at all unjustified in feeling frustrated, and I'm happy he got a decent contract at this point as I think he is deserving of it.

The problem I have is I think you're both grossly underestimating how much Babcock influences the roster. He's routinely expressed his desire to have Cleary on the team, he had words with Weiss before he gave his stamp of approval on signing him, etc. etc. Ken and Babs have always expressed that they have a great working relationship and go to one another for input and advice. Which I assume means mostly Holland going to Babcock for opinions on players. To think that Babcock does not have heavy say on his roster comes off to me as a little naive. Holland very much had his own opinion, and his word is final, but his decisions are also very much influenced by what he's told by his scouts and coaches.

When I think about Quincey's contract at this point, I really just lose my will to even care. Then you add in the whole Cleary thing. I had enough distance as the summer went on to become less inherently frustrated with the moves Holland has made, but as this goes on and I'm forced to remember those deals...I get angry for an instant, and then it's just a sinking feeling. I'm sure this will get worked out, but it's just so stupid that it's actually had to get to this point. And to be honest, I think the Quincey signing bothers me more, as it was just such a haphazard decision. At least the Cleary deal went down because Holland was being loyal to Cleary after the handshake agreement the year before, and that agreement was made coming off a 10 point playoff performance. Whether that performance had a lot to do with luck or not (I've said "luck" all along despite not being the most outspoken Cleary critic), at least it was something that is somewhat, well, kinda almost maybe a little understandable, albeit colossally frustrating if not infuriating. But Quincey? That was a stupid, knee-jerk, haphazard decision. And it was for too much money for a guy you clearly didn't want to sign. It's all the more stupid when you consider the fact that you do have to sign Dekeyser still. Yes, it's not a cut and dry comparison as one is a UFA and the other is an RFA, but you have to be an idiot if you think that didn't send a message to Dekeyser's camp, and it was the wrong message to send considering Dekeyser stands to be important to this team for the long-run when Quincey should've been a guy shown the door. This whole summer for the Wings has been nothing short of a pathetic and unfortunate example of why we are not among the elite teams in the league right now. The elite teams find a way to get it done on and off the ice, and the two go hand in hand.

If in 10 years time all the players are wearing some new technology that gives them even better protection that hasn't been invented yet, would that make all current players men and all future players sissies?

I clicked like on your post, but it felt wrong... Very wrong... And now I'm scared...

Just let me check my couch cushions here... Nope, just some old cheetos. Sorry.

Damn it, I only have 1.1 billion... anyone want to pitch in?