marcaractac

They ended up right in the middle of what they asked. Whooda thunk it?

Gotta imagine a lot of these second pairing dmen making under 5 mil are probably on a contract signed when they had a lot of RFA years left. Complete speculation of course, but this was the deal to prevent him from going UFA next summer. He'd have made at least 5 mil had he hit the open market next summer.

Unfortunately a large portion of the Red Wings fanbase have become insufferable. There is literally nothing to complain about with this deal at all. 5 million per season for a dman of his calibre coming into his prime is as ideal as it gets. Some ***** at the term, but he'll be only 32 when the deal is up. I see no issue.

Was so worried about the talk of a one year deal. Glad he is locked up.

Holland dug his own grave when he signed Ericsson for what he did.

If you need evidence so bad why not Google it yourself? Not everyone on the internet cares about trying to convince random people of what they already know. This team has had identity and depth issues for a few years now. It is of zero surprise that Helm had to log a lot of top 6 minutes. Despite the fact this team is nowhere near contention, at least now there is enough depth to have actual top six players play in the top six. I'd fully expect to see Helm back on the third line this season. If not, the management of this team will just continue to show incompetence.

I'm ok with Miller and Ott is it means guys like them keep seats in the press box warm instead of the kids.

I'd like to see him back in GR tbh. I think he'd make a great leader with that squad.

Just wait for 2 years time when his contract is up, and he has to settle for 1 year at a time backup goalie contracts for the rest of his career. The only chance this team EVER has to get rid of Jimmy is sheer desperation on the part of another GM due to injury at the position. Even then he would have to be given away. Sadly Holland will likely think he has actual value, so we'll be stuck with him. He is right there with guys like Niemi among the worst goal-tending contracts in the league.

The thing is, plenty of teams have two very capable starters. All of which are far superior to Howard.

Because when looking at the 60 or so goalies in the league, he couldn't crack the top 40. Every team will have to expose a goalie. No chance in hell Howard gets picked. We'd have a better chance losing Ericsson in an expansion draft. Agreed. Although I do think it would be a mistake to protect Hank and Kronwall. Building a new franchise, I'd choose Sheahan or Smith over Kronwall or Hank. Why protect guys who will be lucky to have a couple decent years of hockey left in them?

To be fair this team needs a year of missing the playoffs for appropriate changes to be made. With the streak intact, it will be a whole lot of playing it safe to just try and make the playoffs every year.

Salaries have been going up in the league for years. A 4th liner making 1.8 per year is not unheard of this day and age. The only folks who get less than a million these days are those on entry level deals or players who still have something to prove (like Jurco, or any other player fighting for an NHL roster spot). Guys like Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck out there are making far more per year. Role players are important, and those who show they can play are gonna get paid. The sooner folks realize this, the less stressful they'll get when this type of new breaks. The cap isnt 39 million any more. Proven players, even 4th liners, aren't gonna be restricted to league minimum anymore. Salaries have gone up across the board. Why should the guys who produce most of the offense be the only guys to get paid more than they used to? If disney.com hit the market this year along with Matt Martin, you know damn well it would be him getting that 2.5 million per year contract in Toronto instead. This is not me saying disney.com's contract is a steal. This is me saying that a deal like this is par for the course this day and age, as dictated by the market.

There are contracts that hurt this team. This absolutely is not one of them. He has played under two coaches with this team and they both love having him. Maybe, just maybe they know a little more about what he brings than we do? He can skate, very good on the draw, and is very efficient in shutting down opponents best players. Especially in the playoffs. He is also good for chipping in 20 points along the way. He makes very few mistakes. He is exactly what you want as a 4th line center. If a kid comes and outperforms him at that 4C role, the contract is absolutely movable. Hell, in the 2008 playoff run we had Mark ******* Hartigan in the lineup at times. It's safe to say disney.com has been the best 4th line center we've had in some time. Even comparable to the last time we've experienced success. Glad he is sticking around.

Toronto would take him in a heartbeat

Isn't the KHL season also significantly shorter? Gotta imagine just in terms of free time, he'd have a lot more of it to see his daughter. Not like he could pop over there during an 82 game season plus playoffs here.

Ott will likely be the extra forward who plays when toughness is needed in the lineup.

Your answer to getting rid of black holes of possession on the roster is to play Pulkkinen? Really? When the puck touches his stick specifically, the other team is the next to have it.

Shhh. It's only July 3rd

Abby will get it. DD will get his when Kronwall retires, and Larkin will jump right to captain when Hank retires.

Richards

I wouldn't say Kronwall is dead weight, he just needs to be counted on less at this point. He still has a lot to offer in a lesser role. As for Howard and Ericsson, I agree. Sadly we're stuck with Howard unless we get lucky.

And that's a season that got him bought out. Guy has something to prove. I like it.

The way I see it, no players were taken on outside of Neilson that has to be protected for the expansion draft. If Vanek plays well and decided Detroit is a good fit, he can re-sign after the draft. So on the bright side, at least we shouldn't lose anyone meaningful when that time comes.

I feel a lot less bad now than I did a few hours ago. A lot needs to go right for a successful season, but at least the pressure won't be all on guys like Larkin and AA. They now have time to grow into their roles instead of being forced into them.