stevkrause

It's just the logjam it creates... I don't think we can reasonably carry 8 defenseman and I'm pretty sure Meech will file for arbitration, as he wants to play, which will then lead to him ultimately being traded, or waived after qualified...

Don't get me wrong, I strongly disagree with the deez on his general thought, but Ladd is a quality hockey player and would probably fit in here well... but I'd still rather have Cleary...

wow... just wow... I'm not even going to elaborate on this one... just, wow....

:clap:

DEAD ON - Anyone who thinks otherwise, doesn't know hockey...

I think I might be more excited for July 1st, because Lebda will finally be officially off this roster, rather than free agent acquisitions...

exactly... he has a down year and plays through injuries like a warrior and people get on him!?!? the man is a true warrior and we should be grateful to have him... how quickly people forget 08... anyone who says yes should be ashamed of themselves and is an idiot...

because he's a UFA on July 1st, when we'll let him walk... he won't be re-signed and it's not exactly like we can trade his negotiating rights...

You're a sick, sick man, you know that? did you just openly admit to being a d-bag? just giving you a hard time I actually chose Avery out of that list too, because he was pretty well behaved when he was here the first time and I actually think the structure would be good for him again... ONLY if we HAD to though... let me just clarify there, I do not want him back here.

I didn't say that he wasn't still a great player or that he wouldn't make any team better, I said that the thought of it makes me sick... you're also forgetting the dream land where the locker room wouldn't be divided by his arrival... so, ok, magic dream world where cap doesn't exist and all the horrible classless plays (multiple incidents against Holmstrom, eye gouge against Cleary, two hander on Filppula's wrist, etc...) could just be forgotten... ok...

never gonna happen - he would easily get 4+ mil on the open market for top 4 minutes (probably top 2 minutes) and we don't have ANYWHERE near that cap available...

I never had the hatred for Bertuzzi that everyone else did... the Chelios one however, is an example that has a lot of merit behind it... I still don't think I ever loathed Chelios as much as I hate Pronger or Tootoo though and Carcillo is just such a ******... I understand your point, it just makes me sick to think of... "They're hated... until they're on your team" Here's another great one, although in another sport:

Is this just a thread to make us all puke all over our keyboards at the thought of any of these d-bags in the Winged Wheel (or BACK in the Winged Wheel in Avery's case)?!?

Well, he's unproven at the NHL level, so it's hard to say if it will be a good signing, but time will tell... his minor league numbers are pretty impressive though and obviously if he was offered a job by Columbus as well, there's something there... Time will tell...

I still love Lils and would welcome him back with open arms, however, I would like for us to wait until after the start of FA, to see if we even have a shot at a guy like Exelby or Boynton... if neither of them sign on at a very reasonable cap hit, and fast, I say we just bring back Lils at 1.2 or less for a couple years and call it a day. Meech will be traded, maybe in a package with other assets that we won't necessarily have room for, but own the rights to (Miller, Ritola, etc...) One way or another though, I am very happy with the way the off season has been worked so far...

Maybe MacLean doesn't actually want one and was only using that as posturing for a raise... there's a lot to be said about being happy where you're at, not everyone needs to take that "next step" to be happy in their career...

I think the point is, someone who makes minimal mistakes and I agree with that 100% - the difference is, that there's nothing wrong with us wanting a guy that can make minimal mistakes, block shots, be good defensively AND clear the crease and throw some big hits for 1.5 a year on the 3rd pairing... if Lilja had never been injured, that's what he was... and at less than 1.5 at that... I have recently joined the Exelby camp and would really like to see him acquired if he can be brought on at a reasonable price In order of what I'd like to see: Garnett Exelby - ≤1.5 Nick Boynton - ≤1.5 Andreas Lilja - ≤1.2 Niclas Wallin - ≤1 Brad Lukowich <1 Francis Bouillon <1

Agreed and I'm in the same boat that I think it's going to be a 2 yr deal in between 2.4 and 2.8 total...

Asham and Nystrom are my 2 choices off that list, but I'd be VERY ok with Winchester as well and wouldn't be opposed to Artyukhin... no thanks on Nichol though - way too many stupid penalties and injury prone, not to mention not a spring chicken anymore and a little guy at that (although with a lot of heart and no fear - a little guy nonetheless)

If that's the case, that saves us a little cap space, but back to the point at hand... I still don't know if we could get Exelby for the cap space we will have... although, I sure would like to see some magic pulled by Holland and co to make it happen...

sheesh... imagine if that never happened and Jiri never had the heart attack... that could have been the most epic blueline in NHL history... Early 2000's... just the top 4 alone that could have been... Lidstrom-Konstantinov Fischer-Chelios sheesh...

Teen Wolf?

that's the problem though - the RFA's can't earn less than that, there is a qualifying clause in the CBA, that players coming off of an entry level contract must be qualified with at least a 10% raise - that's my understanding of the CBA... so all of our RFA's WOULD get a raise, regardless... plus, you really can't risk waiving Ritola unless you don't care that you will lose him for nothing, because another team WILL claim him...

This is pretty much my mindset, although my expectations aren't even that lofty - I just want a guy that will go through a wall for his teammates, can play a solid 8 minutes a night, chip in 20+ pts, is solid defensively and doesn't take bad penalties... anything above that is just gravy... can we go into a hottub time machine and get a Brad May in his prime? I still would love to see us somehow pull a deal and get David Clarkson here from NJ... I wonder what they'd want in exchange for his rights... I wouldn't be surprised at all if at least one team throws an offer sheet at him either this year, which will force NJ's hand to either match, or lose him for draft picks... EDIT - I know it's a pipe dream, but this is one of the only ways I could see parting with Bert - lines arbitrary: Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.955m) Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) / Justin Abdelkader ($0.920m) / David Clarkson ($2.000m) Kris Draper ($1.583m) / Darren Helm ($0.630m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.550m) Mattias Ritola ($0.517m) Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) Garnett Exelby ($1.500m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($0.900m) Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) Jimmy Howard ($0.717m) / Chris Osgood ($1.417m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS ROSTER: 22; CAP: $58.0m; PAYROLL: $57.855m; CAP ROOM: $0.145m BONUSES: $0.000m That roster makes me very happy...

If he will re-sign for even the same 1.5 (let alone for LESS) - it's a no brainer and an absolute steal for that caphit v. point production...