Wings_Fan_In_Exile

Now that Bert and Schneids are officially outta town, I am curious to see where Holland spends his money. I'm glad he isn't jumping in with the overpayment of players like most of the signings out there have been. I'm confident he'll now lock up Hasek for sure, and bring in a qualilty forward and a decent d'man. I wanted Bert here, but not for 4 mil.

I could not bring myself to read this entire thread... but f***. Damnit Bert. Now I officially don't like him. The Ducks?? Dang. I hope we still get some grit and scoring this off-season..... he coulda been both. But 4mil is risky. Hope it burns the Ducks. I still have faith Holland will get us what is needed.

If the Wings pick somebody up that will drop the gloves and mix it up with Pronger and if the two meet again in the playoffs I can see a rivalry building. It would take a lot of cheapshots to come close to some of the Wings classic rivalries, but oh how the times change. Like Heaton said, Chicago, St. Louis and Colorado weren't playoff teams last year and Toronto and Montreal are off the new and retarded schedule for the Wings. The Ducks can't make up for years of bad blood the the Wings have with other teams, but a new rivalry COULD be born, if not shortlived.

Thanks for the list. Preissing is going to the LA Kings apparently. *link* Report: Preissing heading to Kings

I really want the Wings to sign Bert, but I agree a long term deal- unless reallly cheap- is too big a risk. 1-2 years for 2.5 mil/year is the most I'd want to see. I'm thinking with the way the first day went that there will be a team willing to pay way more.

Aye. I bet the Rangers make some cap space with a trade and hope Shanny takes a pay cut. IMO 90% chance he signs with the NYR, 8% chance he retires and 2% chance he's back with the Wings.

Ditto.

If we keep Bert and Hasek I'll be happy. Although I'd like to see a little grit added on the blueline.

I think there is no way Lundqvist is not a Ranger next year. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Rangers make some trades for cap space though. And maybe, just maybe Shanny comes back to Detroit!

So glad he won't be a Wing. Blake is a TOOL.

If I had $250 to waste I'd totally buy this as a decoration. 2' Stanley Cup Replica

Too bad. I still think it's cool, but pricey for a 2' piece of plastic.

Nice man! Let us know how it is.

Yeah, looking at it closer, without the names on there it's nowhere near as cool. But if it was a lot cheaper I'd have it in my apartment.

I think the days of the Wings nabbing big name free agents is for the most part gone. I'd be surprised if we signed Smyth and wonder if he'd be worth the cap space. I do think we can at least hopefully keep a few UFA's of ours now that the cap is set. Hasek for sure, probably Bert and maybe Schneider. And while we hopefully won't overpay for the top guys, I do think Holland will fill the holes with solid players.

Those are some good ideas.

A terrible idea. I agree with getting rid of the instigator rule or taking a closer look at goalie equipment.

I pretty much agree with that list, except I think Phoenix has been s*** for the past 5 years or so. Might have to put them higher. 1. Chicago - they earned #1 hands down IMO 2. Boston - beyond the miserable Thornton trade, plenty of other bad moves 3. Phoenix -Haven't made the playoffs since '02 I believe, traded Briere for Gratton and never seem to get batter lately. 4&5. Toronto /Columbus/Washington/Philly - enough mediocrity to be passed around. Can I add the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals to this list??

Shucks, I was hoping to see the Ducks lose him.

I still like white as the home team sweater. Maybe it's the nostalgia of Yzerman wearing "home white" hoisting the Cup at the Joe in 97 or maybe it's going to "Whiteout" playoff games back when the Coyotes made the playoffs. And i personally like the white jersey more.

I'm glad it wasn't Holland that made that deal. Of course I don't think Holland ever would have...

I wouldn't mind seeing him here either actually. To keep on topic I also stronly dislike Brett Hull, Adam Foote, Mike Keane and Lindros.

I am assuming he was an RFA. Dang. I knew it was extremely far fetched but I had a very distant hope the Wings would somehow snag him up.

That's pretty funny. haha. I agree. ^ ^ ^ Shoot man an off year with 52 points isn't bad. To put in in perspective, Shane Doan- a player I respect and am a big fan of- was the leading scorer of the Coyotes with 55 points. Sure different circumstances but the Wings are pretty spoiled with the talent we have. That being said, he didn't entirely show up in the playoffs and at 3.8 mil I'm OK seeing him go.

Kinda crazy to me to think Hasek has been around that long. I was two when he was drafted. haha. Pretty cool to see the Wings get 3 of the top 5 spots. Nice having a capable scouting corps.