Dixie Wingslover

This is bad, really bad for the team..... They are better off in Nashville, if the team could not be moved to Canada. KC really is not going to work this time either. Anyone want to start a pool for how long they last?????

Really really really not a good idea with all the Wings frequent flyer miles.......

I think where the confusion is coming from.... is that Martin is saying 'protection' instead of 'enforcement' Holmstrom literally spent years honing his game so that he can play as close to the crease as possible without bein IN the crease. In the past, goals had been disallowed if someone had a foot in the crease. Let alone some of the beatings I have seen Dom and other goalies take..... remember a certain goal that pushed the goalie over the line????? and the guy was in the crease? If the existing rules were enforced.... that one would never have counted. In the new rules, goalies have been restricted to a smaller playing area...... it only makes sense that the refs should be more aware of who is in the crease, and what they are doing there. But they are not. I tend to agree with his frustration. Getting rid of the instigator rule would go a long way toward helping to police that garbage. And for the most part, Homer takes punishement when he is NOT in the crease. The vast majority of the time he is just outside the crease. Unless a defenseman helps him in.... which is rarely. It is also my opinion that this running of the goalie crap correlates directly to the implemetation of the insitgator rule. Before, almost never..... since, all the time.

I think we may have gotten a little spoiled by 2002..... into thinking we need to have big names to win..... we don't. historically, we have done really well with 'role players' - meaning maybe instead of looking at huge names.... we need to be looking for players who can be developed.... and who may have unexploited playing abilities due to circumstances tht could give the team good value for their pay.

Won't blow up in anyone's face til July 1 or after.... when they are free to sign with another team.

He needs to quit listening to his damn lawyer and agent. He needs to ask himself..... does he want to play hockey to win or for the money? I am dissapointed.... after all his talk of being a 'competitor'. If that is what he wants.($)... go play for somebody else. I bet they still have the Hasek voodoo dolls in Ottawa-It's my feeling that he is worth $2.2-2.4 with incentives. D men are popular right now..... with their own teams.... but if he and agent want to test the waters, be my guest. I suspect they will hear alot of crikets chirping on the 1st of July..... the number of idiot teams out there, like the Flyers are pretty limited. His agent is forgetting that last years salary was negotiated pre-cap. He is not a great player, he is good. And looks better because he has played for the Wings My, how the worm turns,...... amazing.... he was just lucky to be picked up by the Wings, let alone any other team and now he is talking about not wanting to take a big pay cut???? Realistically speaking.... come on. He had back surgery - played what? 3 months of the season last year..... including the rush to medoicrity with the Wings... was re-injured in the play offs, really did not perform..... And that is not even mentioning the friggin bagggage he carries, legally, emotionally, and with the league -he needs to be cutting a really light deal..... like a year..... $1-1.5 million depending - maybe get himself some performance bonuses..... if he is supposed to be a role player here.... he is going to have to prove he plays the role to earn the bucks. Besides, again here we have another player failing to take into consideration that their previous salary was negotiated and set BEFORE the salary cap. I mean, I like Bert and everything..... but geez..... you have to live in the real world. ]

Cheap doesn't always mean bad.... or that player will not work in the Wings system. Given the $$ situation this season, I think he may possibly work out. For the right price. He had good production with the Sedin twins and Bert already...... I suspect that Dats and Homer are going to be the same situation..... We are gonna have to take a couple chances and MAKE a few decent players..... who else is out there who may be undervalued, lacking the proper environment? Those players are where the deals are gonna be made. More often than not, when the Wings pay big bucks for somebody.... it flops. Cujo, anyone?????

DD..... I like how you think..... I have been thinking Carter since I looked at the UFA list in May..... He could be a good deal at $1.5 to $1.7 million, has the ability to aggravate me when he played with Columbus.... I believe he played some of his best hockey when with Bert in Vancouver..... and, he has had a problem finding a home..... He could be a good fit, IMO as he played at Michigan State.... so knows the atmosphere in Michigan. I would be willing to take a chance on that particular sow's ear.... I think he could be a silk purse. Nolan.... I think his name is too big given the current climate.... he will proababl y want too much $$$$ unless he is willing to go with a Cup favorite for less

What exactly, in your opinion, was wrong with the way he left? IMO, he handled it in a mature, adult way..... he didn't destroy a locker room or a teams chances during the play-offs with controversy and poisionous emotion...... he made his decision early and stuck to it..... never said a bad thing about anyone or anything...... classy. What is your source for that???? how you would feel??? I never saw anything about that..... It couldn't have been with Stevie retiring that the core that he had been a part of was mostly gone.... and it was going to be too painful to re-work all the old relationships, with the same numbers, on different faces. It is hard work to meld with a team, of any kind, let alone when you sorely miss too many people on it..... Sometimes, if you are going to be starting over, it makes sense to do it in a new place, where there is less pressure about what you used to be a part of....so you can focus on what is ahead..... not the past. I suspect, being a monkey like Shanny, this is why..... It is exactly what I would have done, it was time for him to move forward, not dwell on the past. Just like the team had to when Stevie retired.

Penatly shot change.... not much impact... one way or the other really..... will still be a rare situation......But this..... This is a whole different can of worms.... " at their discretion" ? What is going to be determined an "injury" ? A stretcher off the ice? Guys gotta go to the locker room? Pretty vague..... I see alot of controversy from this one. Blood or no blood on a high stick is pretty cut and dried. This one could not be so clear.

From the numbers? - just the rest of the league I suspect he is one of those that til he plays for you.... you hate him..... and then you appreciate his style, when it works for you..... They sure like him on the Rangers now..... and LA

Reason he would retire.... I suspect that playing for Burke, and with Pronger, makes a class act like him uncomfortable.... reference his comment to the media on what it was like to play with Pronger...... "I don't really have a choice" He, and Selanne, are just way too classy for some of those goofs.

Glad to hear you have $400.... If the online info I got was correct.... they are going to be well over $400 bucks. I guess that should answer some of the leagues revenue problems.

If you are upset about the lux tax.... try googling..... "Michigan driver responsibility fee"

Heresy!!!!!!! :rotflmao:

From listening to Balsillie's lawyer, I think this is what they were depending on..... no move til after 2008..... no litigation til then either..... litigation is going to make the team more unattractive to other potential buyers, though....Leipold may have pulled the trigger too soon here. In watching this dance.... I have to put my bets on the guy who made his own money, in business, (Balsillie) -rather than married it ( Leipold) My my, how the worm turns..... two weeks ago they were not interested in spending the $ to keep the team in town...... but then, that was before somebody seriously looked like they were gonna buy it. Looks like Leipold may get to keep his team, and get the $$$$ he wanted out of Nashville all along..... how convenient

I like Hank's ideas here.... and with the elimination of that stupid "goalie can't play the puck in front of the trapezoid" rule..... should make for some interesting hockey. And I hate to say it, but ANYTHING which will reduce the effectiveness of the trap..... I am for it. It definitely should be given a trial. Whether it makes it or not..... remains to be seen.... Cherry picking.... don't believe it will happen..... not in this defensive minded league. This is assuming that every shot on net will result in a goal....... how many times have we seen a puck go around, stop short, miss an OPEN net? Under this logic, every single one of those pucks should have gone in..... they don't. And there are goalies out there who can, will, and do handle the puck very well...... Something I think should be a part of hockey. It takes the "positional" goalie out of the game....( Cough, Giguere ) so you will not have to tinker with net size, goalie equipment. Some of those guys will be shooting fests.... but not Detroits, they can handle the puck and clear it out..... accurately.

Some valid points and criticisms of owners to my way of thinking...... who ever said that the large market teams just 'happened'. They didn't-their owners worked their azzes off for a long time in some cases to make it a large market. I do take exception to owners who feel, just because they bought a team, they are entitled to profits without being smart and making good decisions. Ilitch bought a market and team in a fire sale, and he built on it. What have the Preds ownership put into it???? A towel give-away??? I have no more sympathy for an owner losing money with out investing.... than I do for an alcoholic who says they are in recovery as they crack open their sixth beer.

I totally agree with this blogger.... in the new NHL, where flow of game, uninterupted is the goal,,,, the amount of off sides *has* to be reduced. One of the things that attracts new fans to the game is the speed of it. Constant interruptions due to slight off sides calls is a distraction. I am a sesoned fan and I find them to distract from the game...... the flow, the momentum, the excitement....... I would like to see a season with a much ammended, if not totally removed off-sides ruling.

Vandy, you make quite a few valid points. One that I believe you have missed is the nature of the business miss management. You make the observation that Bettman is an uber politician.... and he is. Many of the problems with the league and the owners who are in trouble is just that.....politicians and not small business men. The NHL differs from the 'Big Three' of professional sports ( NFL, NBA and MLB ) in that, for best effect, it needs to be managed, not like a multi-national conglomerate, but like a small business. Successfull small business supports other small business, even those larger than itself. Small business is a constant, you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours..... not a rape and pilage of the local area for stock-holders. A small business should engage in behavior which makes it part of a community. Just an example..... our home games bring in business and revenue to your business.... how about supporting us and help yourself out at the same time????? Buy a block of tickets and do a ticket give away.... Got a contract to show our games???? ( and give us exposure) well, then, we will commit to $50,000 of non-event advertising on your network.... over the next three months of the season..... this is the type of reciprocity that makes a business, any business grow. The successful owners know this, and this is how they remain successful. That didn't happen in Nashville, and in some the other markets that are having trouble. It may, from my reads of the local papers the local business has figured it out.... not because Leipold and his people finally figured out how to market..... but because they got pushed in the pocket book by Balsillie. Leipold and his crew made an elementary sales mistake, they went after the big ticket, sexy sale, rather than the 5 smaller sales that were invested in the success of the team. It is way easier for some corporate flunky to say 'no' than some small business owner who just filled his business last night because you had a home game.......

Yeah, we do tend to forget this.... the Preds took $10 million out of the BoG pockets last season...... and Leopold planned it that way..... see this article, from 2005. I hated him from the moment I read this. Not the Preds, their owner. http://nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?se...p;news_id=43220 I gotta think that the BoG is getting sick of miss-managers profiting off their hard work. They may only be 10- but that is a third of the teams ownership. And some of them are no big fans of Bettman, so somebody who is going to give that little turd a few sleepless nights would get my vote.

What he said...... I suspect that Versus will not pick up the third year of the contract. Leaving the NHL in a bad position..... crawl back to ESPN and take any bone they want to throw.... or try to work out something with, maybe Fox Sports..... lots of the local broadcasts on Center Ice go thru the Fox affiliates anyway. Older article, but interesting read about the media deal, OLN/Versus, and Comcast. Between the lines, I can now see why Charter wanted to dump Versus.... who wants to pay the competition? http://www.classiccolaforthesoul.com/nhl-oln-06

I know, I know; conspiracy theories are rife, and come out of no where.... but I have been asking myself, why oh why and what benefit would the little worm reap if a really poor market won the Cup????? well, always remembering that he is a LAWYER, and will manipulate any situation to his advantage..... This article is posted on MSN.... http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/6886714 gave me an aha! moment :flash: If revenue falls below that $2.36Billion mark, well, then Bettman gets to keep the Cap that keeps his job with the owners.... his arguement all along has been he brought in the Cap to save the owners check books..... at $52 Milliion, aren't we right back where we started????? But...... if a really small market team won the cup..... like Ottawa or even better, Anaheim.... how many people/fans would run out and buy that Stanley Cup t- shirt????? how many in a large market??? Don't know about you guys, but in '02 I spent $300, Fiance spent about same, brother blew $600, parents spent probably $100..... and I would bet we were not alone. - all on licensed merchandise- we supported our team. That adds tremendously to league revenues. Buffalo is another hockey crazy market that would have sent the revenues over the top. How much do you think Anaheim will add to league revenue????? This guy while stupid is not dumb. He is a contract lawyer, and has been scheming how to save his tail since Saskin was canned. Not hard to do the math..... large strong market = million plus people spending lots of $$$$ versus 15,000 people not as enthusiastic spending.

I was 99.99% sure.....