RedFX

Scott Nichol FTW

The BK lounge. In the car: Windows open or AC on?

I'm taking this rumor with a grain of salt. But I wouldn't object to having Kelly.

A-Rad's issue was complicated, and that's really what started this whole debacle. Radulov was still under contract (neither an RFA or UFA). However, the NHL and KHL had no agreement on transfer rules or anything of that nature. Basically, it was a separate league overseen by separate entities, and the IIHF have no affiliation with either league. So nobody could stop Radulov from basically quitting and heading to another league. Since that time however, there was an agreement between the two leagues about signing players already under contract. But this RFA thing is what makes Hudler's situation so complicated. While the Red Wings have his rights, Hudler is not technically under contract. With that logic, the KHL offer was completely legal. I have no idea how the RFA rights tie into this whole equation though. To me, this is a prime example why the IIHF needs to have some sort of unification agreement with all the international leagues. Have a single set of guidelines for player transfers and signings that hold true for all leagues; similar to FIFA in soccer, except with more of a confederate role. It seems this sort of issue comes up every year. Even before the whole Radulov debacle, all the Russian and Swedish leagues constantly complained of players breaking contract to jump to the NHL (The Malkin thing was a prime example). It's not going to go away any time soon, and unless the IIHF steps in, it's going to get way uglier than it is now.

We get it Mindfly. We're doomed. You can stop now

There was a good reason. Inconsistent, play disappeared altogether at times. Not to mention he's been extremely injury prone

Of course, I'm a college student! TPBM is listening to music right now

If we resigned Hudler, I may have agreed with you. I think we would have had a pretty solid roster at least to start the season. However, Hudler threw a bit of a changeup at Kenny's plans. We now have another roster spot we need to fill, and he may not feel comfortable throwing someone like Oulahan in the mix right away. We have a little extra cap room to work with now, and we may be in a better position to go out and bring in a cheap depth scorer or a grinding style 3rd liner. As far as the whole Cleary/camp-tryout thing: People aren't realizing how rare someone like Cleary was to come out of a situation like that. Every team brings in about 5-6 guys on a tryout basis. It's not common for any of those guys to even MAKE an NHL roster, none the less having the sort of impact that Cleary has had.

Keep in mind the NBA cap system is different than the NHL cap system. The NBA has a soft cap, which does give teams limited flexibility to move around while over the cap. The NHL has a hard cap, which means nobody can cross the cap, regardless of the situation. The hard cap basically makes the need for a luxury tax irrelevant. Come to think of it, weren't the players wanting a luxury tax during the lockout?

I was hoping we'd reunite that Matt Ellis-Josh Langfeld-Matt Hussey line of 2007.

He's too inconsistent/injury prone to be a staple.

Serenity now? TPBM has a much needed day off tomorrow

Mario FTW!!!! Lazy or Suck?

As long as he stays healthy, and can be had for cheap, I wouldn't be opposed to the idea at all.

This +1

First off, my lunchbox is in a stable relationship. Second, nobody is claiming he's going to be the guy to replace the scoring. He's A need is what we're saying. A shutdown 3rd/4th line guy who can match up with the young, energetic grind lines that seem to give us trouble. Strong PK skills. Is he going to eat away at the offense lost, no. But he still fits a need that has to be addressed.

Sounds like a plan TPBM is running on limited sleep.

Horror movie wingnut40 or Danny=Badass?

Really? Not signing Ales Kotalik was what put us over the top?

There's a reason everyone talks about the Red Wings depth. It seems like we've been in this situation multiple times before. We lose a substantial part of our offensive production. Yet it seems every time this happens, there is always someone who steps up and fills their shoes. When Fedorov left, Datysuk and Zetterberg played a bigger role. Stevie and Shanny leave; Cleary, Filpulla and Franzen raise their play. Who's to say Leino can't eventually start putting up 20-30 a year? Or maybe Helm and Abdelkader get a scoring touch? Maybe Datsyuk breaks the 100 pt barrier or Zetterberg stays healthy and puts up 50 goals. Maybe Cleary and Franzen each put up career numbers. Maybe Ozzie continues his level of play and Howard maybe isn't the worst goalie ever *gasp*. If it's January and we're stuck in 5th place, then I'll be concerned.

But look at WHO is going over. Jagr, Fedorov, Zednik. They still have some good play left in them. But they're not the same players they were say 5-10 years ago. So their demand in the NHL is significantly smaller, and their contract offers get smaller, a Russian team steps up and offers them 7-8 million and a chance to once again be the marquee name of the League. Just because David Beckham and Fredrik Ljungburg signed to play for the MLS, that doesn't mean the league is pushing the English Premiership in terms of talent.

Predators still have his NHL rights. If he comes back to the NHL at anytime, he would have to play out the rest of his contract (2 years) with Nashville before becoming a free-agent.

Joel Ward resigned with Nashville....But he would have been a GREAT fit IMO

Valid points. But in the end it's easier said than done. It's one thing to say you're going to flip the switch and actually doing it. Let's face it, Lidstrom and Rafalski are getting older, possibly slower and maybe a bit more injury prone. The bottom 4 has been inconsistent at times, and Ozzie hasn't exactly been Mr. Consistency throughout his career. Last season could very well have been a combination of the factors Kenny mentioned, and can addressed and fixed. But what if it's not? What happens IF the decline continues and that extra offensive cushion isn't there? What if there's an injury, or maybe Ericsson has an off year? Not saying any of the above will happen. And we could very well go back to being a defensive juggernaut. However, don't assume the problem will be fixed just because Holland says it will be fixed.