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At the arena now. Really busy here. This place is great

I guess it all depends on what your definition of "fair" is. The reason I say that 1.9 x 2 is "fair" is because its within 500K of what I perceive as fair market value. If I'm not mistaken AA is looking for 2.5-3 per? By my definition 2.5 is fair, but 3.0 is way high. Someone else's idea of "fair" may be different. That's fine, that's what debate is all about. I don't care if Holland is 10 mil under the cap or over, AA is not worth that much- regardless of cap implications. There are at least 6 forwards on this roster that I would play over him on the top 2 lines. He is a 3rd liner at this point. He has yet to prove to me that he can be a top 6 forward consistently. He has yet to prove to me that he can play center, which of course would warrant a higher salary. He has too many holes in his play at this point, and until I see a more rounded player, which I certainly hopes he becomes, he is worth somewhere between 1.9 to 2.5 to me. 1.9 is not "lowballing" - neither is 2.5 "overpayment". He may very well turn into a top 6 forward or even a 2C, and I hope he does- but right now he is overpricing himself IMO, and KH should not give in. And if AA wants to play sooner than later, he will have to give in. The Wings can afford for him to sit. Can he afford to not get paid? Not indefinitely, which is why if he was willing to come down to say 2.2, I think he would be signed by now. If he stays at 2.5 or over, he is going to end up with warm cushions on his sofa.

I agree with everything but the last part. Blashill is no imbecile. He's just not suited for the NHL/our team. He was great in the AHL, he's obviously in over his head now though. He shouldn't have been thrown right into a head coach position. But hindsight is 20/20 and he's getting the opportunity to finish out his contract, and turn things around. He also has a team full of scrubs, according to most people here, which he is not at fault for. Lets not forget almost every poster on this forum wanted him to be the coach.

Not that it means anything for sure, but Booth played primarily with the Griffins and prospects during training Camp. The only time I saw him play with roster players was during the mixed scrimmage games. PAP on the other hand, practiced entirely with the roster players during camp. The impression that i got was that they were looking at Parenteau as a possible replacement for AA, and they were looking at Booth as a depth signing-either a two way deal or solely as a Griffin. I don't think they were looking at DB as a potential roster player, I think it was more of doing a Detroit native a favor.

Yep, its real and it's spectacular! (Shout out to Seinfeld)

I apologize if this was already said ad nauseum (sp?) but I just couldn't go back and read all 10 pages of this topic. As to whether KH's contract should be extended really comes down to whether or not he is doing what ownership is asking him to do, not the fans. If so, then yes, he should be extended. If ownership wants to make the playoffs again and Holland makes moves to accomplish this, then he is doing his job, even if the fans want a rebuild. As much as fans hated KH delaying the rebuild for years in order to squeek into the playoffs and keep the streak going, that's what ownership wanted. They sign his paychecks, they have the ability to fire him, not us. I can never blame someone for doing the job that they were paid to do, even if I didnt agree with how they did it. Criticism by fans over the direction of the team was fair, but it was never fair to blame Holland for that. He had a job to do and he did it, I can't blame the guy for that. Some of his transactions on the other hand... Its the same with Bettman. He is booed and jeered at every event where there are NHL fans present, especially the draft. Yet, he is secure in his job because the owners are happy with the job he is doing, So what the fans think really doesnt matter, he doesnt work for you.

Self-awareness on Tavares' part. A somewhat too subtle insinuation that he isn't capable of being "the guy", and therefore should be looking to play second fiddle somewhere.

Then your problem isn't with Holland, it's with the NHL/the owners. The deck is stacked against RFAs and that's by design. Owners and GMs want as much cost-control power over their players as they can possibly get. I'd argue, though, that players generally do get "paid on their performance." It's just that a player's experience (or lack thereof) is inextricably part of the assessment of the player's performance to date. You can't cleanly separate the two. AA is 23. He only has 100 games of NHL experience. His performance last season had some positives, but it also raised some red flags: He's an unknown at this time, a question mark. We don't yet know what we have in him. If anything, people should be praising Holland for not throwing money at an unproven player. What if Holland writes AA a blank check and then AA proceeds to disappoint? People would then be bashing Holland for overpaying yet another player. AA is not going to Russia. It's an empty threat, a negotiating tactic. Offering $2M x 2 (market value!) and sticking to that offer is not a risky gamble. It's not dangerous. There's no real downside here. Maybe AA sits out part of the season. If he does, well, that's on him. He'd be selfishly putting himself above the team, all over $600K. That would not be a good look for him. I'm with Buppy -- I think it's going to be $2-2.3 x 2. And I think it's going to be done soon.

Also, another thing: I don't see Holland booting a good soldier like Sheahan to accomodate a contract holdout RFA with less than a full season of NHL experience under his belt.

I think Holland should give AA Hudler and Brunner's phone numbers. He is a still a 3rd liner at this point, only played one full season so far. Its a fair offer, sign it, round out your game, and cash in 2 years from now when you have proven you are worth more. If he was going to KHL he would have signed by now. He knows the Wings cant pay him that amount.