xtrememachine1

Everybody needs a 7th defensemen. That's a good piece to pick up July 1.

Interesting that all of the other defensemen are going before Niskanen. I figured, he'd go first and then the others would fall. Seeing the others sign somewhere else, could hurt his value. Yes, there's less d-men to go after, however, there's less teams in the running for Niskanen as other d-men sign elsewhere. I think teams are looking at his asking price and saying "yeah right" and moving on. This could cause his price to drop.

I wouldn't mind having Niskanen in Detroit, but he'll want $6-7 mil per year and he's just not worth that kind of money. He's worth maybe $5 mil tops. His offensive numbers were a little up this year, but remember he's passing the puck to Crosby and Malkin all season, he should have at least 30 assists. Before that, his numbers were nothing special. This has Brian Campbell Part II written all over it. Someone will pay him $7 mil per year and his play won't be worth that much and next summer or the year after that, they'll be trading him to some bottom feeder looking to make the cap floor. I don't like Holland's inactivity as much as the next person, but Niskanen is going to want more than he's worth and Holland is smart not to pay it.

Not to be critical of a team I hate, but how are the Pens better off with this deal? Hornqvist isn't as good as Neal and his cap hit is about the same.

Good signing for the Kings, he fit in really well there. However, 7 years for a player who's been riddled with injuries his entire career and they'll only get worse as he gets older. Good deal and cap hit for the next few years, but after that it'll be one of those contracts that hangs around their heads.

I'm happy for all of them, I think they're all very deserving of this honor, but I'm especially happy for Dom. One of my happiest moments as a Wings fan was when he was traded to Detroit. It was like we won the Cup in July. We all knew that it was only a matter of time. This guy on the Red Wings could only produce a Stanley Cup.

I'm not saying the Wings should go out and sign or trade for some superstar, but a secondary scorer and a 5 or 6 dman with all that cap space would be really disappointing. We just keep getting lower and lower in the standings to the point where we're barely making the playoffs. You can't just sign a couple scrubs to cheap deals and expect that to improve. We don't have to sign players to make a run at a Cup right now, but let's at least make qualifying for the playoffs a little less exciting.

I bet Sharks fans say the same thing about Thornton. And Thornton's cap hit is way too high for his lack of production and success in the postseason. At least Franzen has had some strong post season performances.

I feel like Detroit is linked to every pending UFA or available trade candidate in the league right now. I like Thornton and the rumor I read is that SJ wants Franzen, our #1 pick this year and a top prospect. I don't know. Having Thornton as our second line center would mean we could put Z and D on the same line, but then who would be on Thornton's line? Do we go out and get another player? Iginla? Alfredsson? Heatley? Gaborik? How does acquiring Thornton help us on defense? We have plenty of good young talented forwards that get better each year. Plus, when their contracts expire and Thornton's older and not deserving of his $6.7 mil cap hit contract, what do we do then? Joe's a good pickup if we're trying to win a championship now, but I'm under the impression we're playing for the future.

Depending on the price, I'd like to have him back as the backup. He did pretty much exactly what you need from your backup. Yes, he got hurt, but when he's healthy, he's about as effective as a backup can be. Although the price has t be right. I already think we're spending too much on goaltending as it is. When we made it to the Conference Finals three years in a row (Finals two years in a row) we had Hasek and Osgood, both were making under or around $1 mil and we were putting that extra cap space towards the rest of the team.

Although not unexpected, I'm glad to hear its official for both him and Sammy. Both were injured all the time and when they weren't injured they were barely noticeable. The league min is overpayment at this point. Legwand probably won't be back either. It wouldn't surprise me to see Quincey gone too.

It might feel like the same team, but it won't be. The kids will be better. Maybe still just good and not great, but they're heading in the right direction. The defense... its a work in project. Most teams in the NHL are having a tough time with defensemen, which is why they get so much in free agency these days. Zetterberg and Datsyuk probably will get hurt again, but it can't be as bad as it was this year. Rebuilding is a slow process, but at least we can say we're going in the right direction. We could be watching Z and D get older with a bunch of UFA bands aid filling out the other lines because we don't have anything in the minors worth promoting.

Ahh okay. I figured this was something each team had till whenever the next CBA happened. Didn't realize it had to be used this summer or not at all.

I kind of feel like these buyouts should be used like "get out of jail free" cards. Using it on Colo was kind of a waste. He wasn't vastly under performing for the contract he had. As for Tootoo, one more year of him playing in the minors and his contract expires. Its not like Holland is going to spend to the cap this summer anyways. These buyouts should be used on Scott Gomez like contracts.

I'm not really sure what's going on with Cleary here. Maybe he's good with the younger players or something. 15 points in 48 games last year and 8 points in 52 games this year doesn't exactly scream re-sign. Plus, he's injury prone and can't really be relied on at this point.

Congrats to the Kings! After what they went through during this post season, they're very deserving of the Cup. Coming back from a 3-0 deficit, winning three Game 7's on the road, blowing a 3-1 lead to the defending champs and beating them in their house. Just an incredible run! As for the Rangers, the fact that they even made it to the Finals shows how weak the East is right now. They barely got past Philly, the Pens melted down, and the Habs lost their starting goalie. Not to take anything away from the Rangers because they did play hard, but where they ended up had more to do with fortunate circumstances than talent and skill. I think the fact that because the East is so weak right now, this could be a quick rebuild/turnaround for us to get back to the Finals. Honestly, the only team that I wouldn't want to deal with in the playoffs is Boston right now (and of course, that's who we played in the first round). I would go out on a limb and say that they're the only legit elite team in the East at the moment. If someone else knocks out Boston or they have a down year, I think we have a much better chance to get back to the Finals than some people may think.

King Henry vs the Kings. Ugh! Can't wait to hear NBC run that one into the ground. After what the Kings have been through, I feel like they kind of deserve it at this point. Although, the Rangers, the way they came back in the Pittsburgh series, they have plenty of guts too. I just can't imagine the Rangers winning this though. They really don't seem like they're that good of a team to be there let alone win it. They barely got past Philly, they looked like they were just barely hanging on against Pittsburgh and Carey Price got injured otherwise that would have been a different series.

This has to be one of the most incredible runs ever in NHL history. Come back from 3-0 down in the first round, blow a 3-1 lead and be down 2-0 in Game 7 on the road against the defending Cup champs, win three Game 7's in a row on the road... its astounding! All due respect to the Rangers, the Kings deserve the Cup. As for Chicago, lots of "dynasty" talk in the media after they won Game 6. They did do a lot of good things in Game 7, enough to win, I think, but the Kings ended up with the lucky bounce in the end. I always tell people, its hard to be a Wings fan (or fan of any other successful team) because while you do win a lot and that's great, when you lose, its devastating especially the deeper you get into the playoffs. That's a loss that will stick with Hawks fans for awhile. You don't come back from a 3-1 deficit, force a Game 7 and blow the lead three times and lose in OT at home and get over it anytime soon.

A lot of the Wings needs, are already kind of filled. If we let these young guys grow, the holes in our roster will slowly melt away. Tatar, Nyquist, Jurco, Sheahan, DeKeyser need to be untouchable right now. They'll get better and better each year and the need for a goal scoring snipers, two way shutdown forwards and solid two way defensive men will go away without having to overpay for some name on the free agent market. I think Holland will do what he's been doing, use cap space to lock up young guns and pick up some players that can fit into our system at a good price. While in the past this strategy has annoyed me, we're no longer in the "win now" way of thinking, which is unfortunate for Datsyuk and Zetterberg, but its what's best for the long term success of the franchise. I think if Holland stays the course, we'll be a strong Cup contender in 2-3 years. The young guys have given me hope and showed a lot more quicker than I expected. Granted it was only a couple hockey analysts, but hearing people mention Nyquist's name for the Hart is very promising.

Honestly, I'm surprised it hasn't already happened. If there's one thing he's proven, even back when he was in Boston, is that he doesn't have what it takes to take his team to the next level. Thornton and the Sharks are synonymous with each other and I would think SJ would want to break that.

Bylsma probably won't keep his job. They want to bring in a new GM and let him decide if Bylsma's the right man for the job. I honestly don't see how that can be. Apparently Crosby and Bylsma have been having shouting matches on the bench and he "lost the locker room". If that's true, I don't see how he could possibly stay. Having said that, who would they get instead? I don't think Trotz is right for them. Also, he could end up where Shero ends up which could be someplace that needs both a GM and coach like Washington. Babcock isn't going to Pittsburgh. At least not this year. John Tortorella... HA! Jacques Martin is probably the choice they'll end up with. Knows the team, defensive minded, already an assistant.

I think Shero needs to go, but I'm suprised Pens fans want him gone too. He's made some good moves like trading for Neal and signing Vokoun, but he's made just as many bad moves trading Joe Morrow for a rental, signing Letang to a big deal when you already have very little cap space, not acquiring a veteran back up for Fleury (for this year) after he fell apart in numerous playoffs already. Re-signing Scuderi, trading away Michalek, one of the few defensive d-men on the team. Pens fans get so excited when he signs or re-signs someone to a big contract or makes a big trade and rave about how he's "all in" and he's a "gamblin man!" and now that its all backfired on him, they want his head. Its like when the home crowd urges their team to go for it on 4th and 1 and then when it doesn't work says, "well that was stupid! what were you thinking?!" Trotz is a great coach and has a history with Shero, so maybe Shero stays as a way to lure him to Pittsburgh, but I don't think things will get better for them this way. Trotz did well in Nashville because he essentially had a bunch of nobodies that listened to everything he said and played his system to a tee. The Penguins are the opposite of that. A new coach won't improve their salary cap situation nor will it prevent Shero from taking risky moves.

The remainder of the season has now been cancelled. Seriously though, I can't believe they pulled this out. The Rangers couldn't even score a goal, let alone win multiple games. IMO, this is just as bad as a blown 3-0 lead because the Penguins had just as much control. I watched the last 7-8 minutes of the 3rd period and I couldn't believe they didn't tie it. It was like Pittsburgh was on a perpetual powerplay, mad scrambles in front of the net, everyone smacking into Lundqvist (no idea how goalie interference wasn't called), there was a stick laying in front of the crease that deflected a shot and nearly went in. Whenever Lundqvist got the puck they would push him into the net, as if that would count or something. The Pens looked really foolish and really desperate. Considering these players are in their prime and the East is so weak right now, its really mind boggling (and really fun) to see them go down in flames year after year. Anyways, we should expect to see some big changes with the Pens this offseason, however, they need to sign like 9-10 players and only have $15.9 mil to do it with. It might not be the changes they were hoping for.

I'm really excited to see John Gibson doing so well. He grew up in my neighborhood and his family goes to my church. I saw a woman decked out in all Anaheim Ducks gear and was like "Who the... ohhh right. That's his Mom." lol She flew out to LA yesterday to be at the game tonight. Hopefully she's not a jinx. lol

Apparently Crosby also slew footed someone too. Then he wonders why the fans of every other city chant "Crosby sucks" when he comes to town. It doesn't surprise me in the least that Crosby got nothing, but it'll all be a moot point if the Rangers win tonight.