dropkickshanahans

Looks like Ritola to me.

So he wants to beat us because of something that happened almost 30 years ago to his uncle under different management?

He's probably right if the cap continues to increase. Besides, did he not hear what Ericsson got?

Why do you people have it stuck in your head that this is a big move on defense? A bottom pairing guy was needed, and if he doesn't achieve that #6 spot? Then that means Kindl outplayed him and earned that spot.

Great great signing! Welcome back Patty!

Good signing.

The more I think about it, the more I think Ericsson's deal will be close to the norm for players around his level. He was already speculated $2-2.5 mil, cap raised to what, $64 mil I believe, he received $750k more. The cap being raised already makes contracts like Datsyuk's, Crosby's and Ovechkin's look really f***in good and so far from what we've seen, players are already getting larger contracts than what we've expected from the cap space before. With an NBA lockout going to be most likely happening and the NHL getting alot more attention everyday excluding Sunday, that should give some more legs to the already rumored cap increase to $69 mil. This would make his contract more justifiable, and $3.25 per year is the new $1.7 per year that we expected him to get. Of course that's just me writing out my thoughts, I'm probably wrong on the second paragraph as far as how the increase works (not sure if it's every year or not). Correct me if I'm wrong.

Ericsson is such an interesting player. He gets alot of hate on here, yet Babcock logs him a ton of minutes and Holland signs him to $3.25 a year for 3 years. I'm glad he's back, although I don't agree with the price, but Babcock and Holland know more than I do.

That was my thinking as well. He does log a lot of minutes out on the ice. But I just can't see him playing in the top 4 unless they really believe he can this season. If that's the case, then Kronwall is Rafalski's replacement and we fork out cheaper contracts for the #5-#6 defensemen. Doesn't seem right though. He got Lidstrom to sign into thinking Holland did have a plan to give us a better chance to win this season, IIRC. It has to be a 4 year deal.

Hopefully.

Congrats on the contract, Big E, although I think it's a little high. EDIT: Over-read the unconfirmed part, hopefully it's lower.

Pretty soon Jagr's face will wind up on the back of a milk carton.

Awesome, thank you! I've only been able to watch a couple games this season due to work.

hahaha

My mind is full of f*** over this. He's close to signing, he's not close to signing, he disappears, Shero demands an answer, Pitt news is waiting at the airport for his arrival, he rejected Pitt's offer, he's coming to Detroit, he signed with Pitt. WHAT THE f*** IS GOING ON!

tl;dr-- Yes we had a strong draft, yes our owner will help. In this draft they get an A+ from drafting Brandon Knight alone. We were super super lucky he fell to us at 8 (should've been a top 3 pick). He tested faster than Wall at the combine and .020 I believe slower than Rose. He's very smart offensively, good shooter and passer, although he needs to work on having a higher release on his jump shot (the ball is closer to his forehand rather than being above). His biggest strength is his defense though, he has very long arms to keep players in front of him and he's a good thief. This guy will be our point guard of the future. One other thing that should be noted about him is that he's very, very smart. He had a 4.3 GPA in what's claimed to be one of the top high schools in Florida and was going to attend Yale before ending up with Kentucky instead. My favorite thing about him is how everyone applauds his work ethic. Everything I've read said he has the best work ethic compared to everyone else in the draft. He also was quoted as saying that he was pissed off that teams passed on him in the draft and is looking to make them pay. I loved the Singler pick as well. Although he probably won't be much more than a backup, he'll be a fan favorite just for his hustle and toughness. He reminds me of a players like Anderson Varajao and Jonas Jerebko, just a relentless players that plays hard every night, good or bad, although Singler has a better shot. Our last pick, Vernon Macklin, will probably be nothing more than a taller Jason Maxiell, if he even cracks the roster that is. As far as our owner, Tom Gores probably won't be like Bill Davidson but I wanted him over Illitch when I found out Gores was interested in buying the team and was excited when he finally did. He'll be much more committed to this team, grew up in Flint, and so far has been very involved thus far and I'm liking the consistent conversations with Dumars. Dumars now isn't handcuffed from ownership issues and will be free to fixing his mistakes.

Well since it's Eklund, looks like Jagr and Bieksa will be a Wing. EDIT: Guess I should've read the thread on Bieksa before typing away here.

Hopefully. I mean I'd rather keep him over Rip and Tay, but I'm still sour grapes over him. I like Singler alot too, watched him a bunch the last few years. He'll probably be nothing more than a backup, but I love his hustle and toughness. He'll be a fan favorite for sure like Jerebko. Peace.

NO!!! WE HAVE TO ACT NOW!!!

I'm not part of the organization to make any moves so I couldn't tell you, sorry.

So you're disappointed in him thus far because he's not doing what YOU want him to do? You don't even know what goes on behind the scenes.

What a bunch of pampered babies in this thread. I like how Holland has been voted the best GM of the last decade (and more), but he can do no right by alot on here.

Exactly what Bill Polian and Bill Belichick do every year. Can't complain with that method at all.

How many cups do they have again?

The way I look at it is all these teams are just trying to catch up us. Also, at least we won't have to worry about Seto killing us in the playoffs.