stevkrause

This is irrelevant - that's comparing a league in a time when sports in general were down, to current times without taking into consideration inflation, TV rights, the leagues OWN network, etc... This is using skewed examples to make a point... for the final time - just because the owners are making money and the league is doing OK(not great, JUST OK) does not mean it couldn't be doing WORLD'S better

Because that "approximately 3m left" includes another about 700k... We have about 3.7 in cap space right now and that does not include the salary (750k) we'd dump by moving Miller if we signed Modano... also, Meech will probably get no more than 600k even IF he went to arbitration and he will almost certainly be moved as well... So it's more realistic to say: 1m to Helm 1m to Abdelkader 1m to Modano -750k from Miller Meech moved... and that leaves us at about 1.4m in cap space left to sign a vet d-man AND give us cushion for call ups... It's VERY possible and plausible...

Keep in mind, he's helping himself too - he's gotten a lot of quality talent back in return... I just think he should have been more shrewd with the picks he gave up... If anything, this would actually be a good signing for them, with what the lack on the back-end, Campbell would help them a LOT (regardless of his bloated contract) and they have the cap space... If anything Dudley should just pitch them an offer and say something along the lines of - "look, we already gave you a TON and we'll help you lower that cap again, but this time, we're going to need to make a more Atlanta friendly deal - we'll give you (insert 2 low level prospects here) for Campbell"

Pretty common - these guys are trying to earn NHL jobs and as we all saw with the ridiculous contracts of players like Boogy and Shelley this year, toughness equates in that decision... With that said, to fight the same guy twice in the same day is pretty questionable and as the poster above me said, the stick work was pretty classless... I think Bowman is just playing it safe with the comments to the press to downplay it, but I really hope that internally, that his apparent character issues are being addressed...

There, fixed that for you.

once again - just because the owners are making money and the league is doing ok, does not mean it couldn't be doing WORLD'S better - Bettman is NOT by any means (even for the owners) the best candidate and their idiotic for allowing him to remain in position for this long...

and queue the Benny Hill music...

downright disgusting - I don't care if he's "doing what the owners want", he's not even a hockey guy and is a disgrace to the game... Just because the league is doing "ok" - doesn't mean it couldn't be doing great... As I've said all along, Ken Dryden should be the commissioner.

I've said all along that from day 1 off off-season, they should have offered a package of Huet, Campbell and Sharp to some team with an ABUNDANCE of cap space, for minimal return as basically a salary dump - the receiving team gets a top 4 d-man, a top 3 forward and could roll Huet as an expensive as hell backup, or buy him out... Too late for that now... They're going to be SUCH a shell of the team that won the cup, it's laughable...

The only way I could see it going the other way, is IF pride comes into it, but I do not see how him getting (for arguments sake - numbers are just pulled out of thin air) say 1.2m from Anaheim could surpass 1m here (I also don't think 800k was the offer, just to add to the point)... however, if another team wants to offer him almost DOUBLE, now pride comes into play, just because the - "well they think I'm worth this, so why is your offer so low?!" - thoughts enter... With all that said, he should know that 1m here is in no way, shape or form a disrespect and the quality of his season and chance to win alone should off-set any negative feelings from a VERY small difference in salary that he may get elsewhere....

I don't think there should ever be a limit - if a team wants to lock a player in, they should be able to for as long as they want... the only place it gets hazy, is the age which the contract will end, to circumvent the cap... maybe put a cap on what age that contract can take a player to (say 38 for arguments sake)

Why not? He's going to get a few hundred thousand more AT MOST elsewhere and will not have the chance to win another cup that he will here at ANY of those places - he has made plenty in his NHL career and his wife isn't exactly hurting financially either... I could see if someone else was offering, say 1.6+ and we were only offering .8 - As that becomes more about pride than money... but in the grand scheme of things, where he's at in his career, money should not be the deciding factor, or he's still playing for the wrong reasons...

I could not possibly agree more. I think McCollum should be the number 1 starter in GR for at least 2 seasons before he's in Detroit full time... I would imagine that would be a joke... I don't see how he'd want such a menial job which required him to be away from his family that much after such a great NHL career... It'd be VERY odd if he were serious...

I feel like several of us (you and myself included) on this board have been broken records about the retaining of assets this whole off-season, but some people just refuse to listen to logic on the topic and assume because someone is signed = they will be on this team come the end of camp... I don't get it either...

thanks for the investigative reporting!

bolded part could not be more true.

I think Abs could play that 3rd line center role just fine in the event that Modano isn't added... Helm, I think, skates too fast even for himself and his hands can't keep up at times, haha

Lets play a game - if you could ice YOUR perfect roster with the remaining Free Agents and who we already have locked in, knowing the salary cap inflator and where it's at now, what would your team look like? Please follow the guidelines: - Everyone currently under contract HAS to be included - No trades - Must include at least 3 of the RFA's which have been qualified - Please also factor in their 5% min raise - Be reasonable ( a guy who could get 2.5m+ on the open market, is not going to sign here for 1.5m or less) As it currently stands we are at: Pavel Datsyuk — $6,700,000 Henrik Zetterberg — $6,083,333 Johan Franzen — $3,954,545 Valtteri Filppula — $3,000,000 Jiri Hudler — $2,875,000 Daniel Cleary — $2,800,000 Todd Bertuzzi — $1,937,500 Tomas Holmstrom — $1,875,000 Kris Draper — $1,583,333 Mattias Ritola — $516,667 Nicklas Lidstrom — $6,200,000 Brian Rafalski — $6,000,000 Brad Stuart — $3,750,000 Niklas Kronwall — $3,000,000 Jonathan Ericsson — $900,000 Jakub Kindl — $883,333 Chris Osgood — $1,416,667 Jimmy Howard — $716,667 ROSTER SIZE 18 SALARY CAP $59,400,000 PAYROLL $54,192,045 BONUSES $0 CAP SPACE $5,207,955

Other than the Madden thing(I don't think he adds anything we don't already have) I agree completely... especially about Hnidy...

and Danny Cleary was a monster offensively with the Belleville Bulls - just because a guy can score in bunches in the OHL, doesn't mean it will cross over to the NHL... it doesn't diminish their value to their club, as they offer other intangibles, but they should not be counted on as HUGE point producers... I think Bolland is exactly what he has been - A very solid, 2-way forward capable of 40-50pts a year... I think he's very good for what he does, I just don't think he is going to have a career year and I think, if anything, his numbers will slide back without the same depth of talent around him as he had the previous couple years... Don't get me wrong - I think he's a very quality player, I just don't think he is going to be a big solution to the amount of offense they are losing (especially since the top lines will be easier to shut down without the same depth)

that's the million dollar question and you could easily argue that Bolland isn't a top 6 player anyway and won't be anywhere near as effective without the players around him... It will basically be a matter of shutting down one offensive line and getting your top offense out on the ice against either of the bottom 2 d pairings and they can EASILY be exploited...

I think most of us here (at least the rational ones) would be very happy with this and fine without them making any moves - at the same time, there are still moves a lot of us would like to see...

As the off-season continues to carry on and with the new additions to the possibility of adding Modano, there are now 2 line-ups I'd like - 1. With Modano (trades must be made to clear up roster spots) - Drew Miller to CBJ for Jared Boll (you could argue this either way, so maybe a pick either way as needed - I still think it's a straight up deal) - Derek Meech and Mattias Ritola and MAYBE a pick or prospect as well to Boston for Mark Stuart (this gives Boston some MUCH needed cap relief and fills out roster spots on the cheap for a capped out Boston team, plus Ritola is still a VERY good prospect and NHL ready) - Mike Modano signed via FA Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Johan Franzen ($3.955m) Todd Bertuzzi ($1.938m) / Mike Modano ($1.000m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) Justin Abdelkader ($1.000m) / Darren Helm ($1.000m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.750m) Jared Boll ($0.850m) Kris Draper ($1.583m) Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) Mark Stuart ($1.675m) / Jonathan Ericsson ($0.900m) Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) Jimmy Howard ($0.717m) / Chris Osgood ($1.417m) ROSTER: 22; CAP:$59.4m; CARRY-OVER PENALTY: $0.050m; PAYROLL: $58.975m; CAP ROOM: $0.300m; BONUSES: $0.000m 2. Without Modano (lines are arbitrary) Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Johan Franzen ($3.955m) Todd Bertuzzi ($1.938m) / Justin Abdelkader ($1.000m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) Mattias Ritola ($0.517m) / Darren Helm ($1.000m) / Patrick Eaves ($0.750m) Todd Fedoruk ($0.900m)/Jared Boll(using trade scenarios) / Kris Draper ($1.583m) Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) Jonathan Ericsson ($0.900m) / Shane Hnidy ($0.900m) Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) Jimmy Howard ($0.717m) / Chris Osgood ($1.417m) ROSTER: 23; CAP:$59.4m; CARRY-OVER PENALTY: $0.050m; PAYROLL: $58.792m; CAP ROOM: $0.608m; BONUSES: $0.000m

or "PLEASE give offer sheets! Then I don't have to try and trade them and I STILL get draft picks without negotiating!" losing a player via offer sheet is actually a good thing for Chicago with the shape their in...