stevkrause

I'd STILL give Hudler an edge on speed and work ethic and needless to say, those aren't exactly his strong suits... +/- doesn't always equal good defense, especially for a forward, and a scoring forward at that... keep in mind, Hudler is also a career + player in the regular season and the playoffs... once again, I'd still probably take Jagr at 1.5 over Hudler at 2.8, but lets not make Jagr out to be something he's not, especially 3 years later and 3 years removed from NHL play...

One thing Jagr will not be confused with, is a tireless worker, even in his prime, he's always been a little lazy... but like you just touched on, due to his supreme size, skill and shot, it hasn't hurt him too much... with that said, that's one of the only advantages he has going for him, is that his game was always based off of ability to hold onto the puck, good positioning and incredible accuracy (passing and shooting) and fortunately, those things don't decline the same with age as speed and strong defensive players...

I'm an unapologetic Ericsson supporter and think he gets WAY too much heat for the role he is in here, but I personally think as soon as he raised his price tag over 2m, it was time to let him walk... I think it's all but a certainty at this point that Salei is not being offered a contract unless it's a 2-way deal...

I was with you until the part in bold... I think that part is VERY debatable...

I know he's not a flashy player, or a "sexy" signing, but I really want Montador in the Winged Wheel and think he could be a major steal for us, not to mention how amazingly he'd compliment Kindl and/or Ericsson if they re-sign him too, he'd REALLY be a steadying presence back there on that 3rd pairing... Markov's durability is obviously a MAJOR concern, but Hamrlik's age concerns me as well, I guess what I'm getting at, is apples to apples, same price tag, I'd rather gamble on Markov, than go with the more sure move in Hamrlik... with that said, I definitely see your point on why you'd prefer Hamrlik over Markov if it was a choice between those 2, I guess it's just a preference thing at that point...

Hamrlik wouldn't take MUCH less, at 3M or so (which I have to imagine is the minimum he'll be looking to get, coming off of a 5.5M a year contract) AND considering that he's already over 35, so it'd be a 35+ contract (I also imagine he'll be looking for at least a 2yr deal), would you still take Hamrlik over, say Steve Montador, at ≤2M? Also, keep in mind that this is for our 3rd pairing, not top 4, and the role said player would be expected to fill...

happens to the best of us! I'm with you on that, the Jagr thing really came out of left field to me and I'm really surprised in the steam it's picked up...

There, I formatted that better for you, for those of us that speak English I'm pretty sure that is what you were trying to say... EDIT - In response to your post, I wouldn't HATE the signing if it's 1.5 or less, but I still wouldn't like it... and with that said, Pitt is in a worse cap situation than us, so it makes sense they aren't willing to pony up the extra 500k - that's a 4th liner for them and a roster spot...

I would rather take a gamble on Markov than Hamrlik, the reward is much higher if it pays off, with that said, I wouldn't be comfortable with them signing either of them to big money... I wouldn't want either though really to be honest, give me Wiz or Bieksa and Montador and the defense position is stronger here than it's been in a couple years...

I kinda hope I'm wrong, because I don't like the idea of him signing here, but I have a gut feeling that when this all shakes out, Jagr is going to be a Red Wing...

I blame Robert Lang.

He's clearly a masochist and likes suffering.

When is this issue from? The Fabian Brunnstrom sub-article is a little funny in hindsight... You could easily re-title that Best. Modern-Era Defenseman. Ever. period. and whats mind blowing, is that he's an ever better human being... if there was ever a role model in professional sports, it's Nick Lidstrom.

Really the only way - :beerbuddy:

Can we have ONE &*^*$%^#%^ thread that does NOT turn into a discussion about trading Hudler?!? This is a thread of joy, not one to be sullied with this tired argument...

Admirable, but odd nonetheless... guess he doesn't care about getting a cup before he retires...

If Hitch was indeed offered the job and did turn it down, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see at least one of the new asst end up being someone relatively unknown...

Well that's a freakin' bummer... EDIT - Parts of this article seem like speculation to me, so I wouldn't completely close the door yet...

They very well could money wise, but he was only there part of a season and doesn't have any roots there... I think the Wings have a better chance of signing him than Montreal does of retaining him dollar for dollar, now if Montreal offers up more than Detroit is willing to, then it becomes a different story...

my day just got 100x better!

The reports are that he's coming back, so I don't think it's bad, for now at least... I think it's a presser, because I suspect he is going to officially announce that this is last season...

This seems to get overlooked a lot... maybe we need to start a thread about it... At the bottom: http://mobile.mlive.com/advannarbor/pm_103364/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=Qd6FDauW

If they can't reach a long term deal, this is risky, because he coule opt for a 1yr arbitration and then be a FA in a season... interesting... With that said, I'm certain he will be locked up... NOTE - referring to Weber here

Its been touched on, but the fact is, he needs some seasoning as a coach before he steps into an NHL gig... now if they wanted to promote Fraser from GR and one of the Assts there to head of GR and make Cheli an asst in GR, that I think would be perfect, then he could take over here as an asst in a few years when Hitch or Boughner (wishful thinking) or whomever else gets the role moves on...

woohoo, teams, keep filling those roles... Gallant and Hitchcock odds get better each filled job!