TheXym

I think this is a fair deal, and the argument about maxing salary "floor" is a good one. I have a feeling that Nyquist is going to continue to develop, and by the end of the deal this contract is going to look like a steal. Tatar's contract was a ridiculously team-friendly deal, as I believe he is going to still have one year of RFA left when it expires. Not a bad situation for the Wings to be in with version 2.0 of the Euro-Twins.

Thanks for the fix... All the McCarty mentions made me nostalgic for Darren.

I agree, the Housley vote is going to open he floodgates for the "fringe accumulators"

There's a Will Ferrel meme waiting to happen.

From what I saw of him with the baby pens, he was not a physical force at all, so he definitely needs to "learn to use his size"

More of a right than Darren Meech did.

Depth signing for GR, as others have said. I saw him a couple of times in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when he was with the baby Pens and he didn't really stand out.

The Lindros/Philly relationship was far more contentious overall if I recall correctly. Lindros' parents were constantly battling with Philly management, and there were issues with the team medical staff with trainers missing a collapsed lung that was only discovered because his roommate Keith Jones insisted he go to the hospital instead of flying back to Philly as the team trainer was insisting. (his parents sent a letter saying he'd have died if he followed the team's instructions, backed by the docs who treated him in Nashville) as well as a misdiagnosed concussion. It was all over the papers here in PA. His return to the Winter Classic may have mended some wounds, but it was a lot worse than I recall Sergei's issues in Detroit.

I don't know if he'd clear waivers, but it looks like his whole cap hit would disappear if he did get sent down, which is a positive.

I think people are reading too much into the possible acrimonious nature. The key thing IMHO, is by filing it prevents any offer sheets from coming in, and could be viewed as a good faith commitment to the Wings. I seem to remember folks saying Tatar was going to be greedy then he signed a reasonable deal that expires when he is still an RFA. I have a feeling Goose is going to be the same kind of team player.

I wouldn't be surprised, and starting him on the third line will give him weaker opposition to build his confidence as well as motivate him to pass Richards. I've been liking what I've seen from Sheahan so far.

I don't know about that, his response to the HHOF call was quite amusing.

I missed an "n" the first time I read it, LOL. What would Pierre and Edzo say? (cue Jim Ross "Oh, the horror!")

Maybe Holland saw the Babcock departure coming a couple years back and decided to take a longer view to player acquisition to get past the first round AFTER Babs left (coupled with TO missing the playoffs again would be quite irksome to the Leafs loyal). Babs is a good coach, and seems to be a good guy, but his message ran its course here and I think having Blashill will energize the team more than we realize. Cue Kenny lighting up a cigar, Hannibal Smith style, "I love it when a plan comes together".

Despite his acrimonious departure (to some), he had quite a few phenomenal seasons in the Winged Wheel. If he'd stayed a Wing he'd be up there already. First ballot HHOF is a huge feather in the cap and speaks to the league wide respect for his on ice performance, and IMHO carries significantly more weight for the argument than if he'd taken as long as Housley to get in. I'm thinking it happens, as the Winter Classic appearance seemed to help heal some of the old wounds.

I was skeptical of this signing at first, but I think it will prove to be quite beneficial. Letting Sheahan play as an uber third line center against weaker match ups may help build his confidence and keeping Helm on the Wings is going to be a plus. I also think keeping Hank out of he pivot position will help his durability.

Flashback photoshop to the early 90's with their pants on backwards? "Kess Cros will make you... Jump, jump. Evy Malk will make you... Jump, jump!"

I'm surprised he signed for only three years, I'd have thought he'd have wanted more term.

Wasn't he considered washed up by many at that point already? Looking back at that UFA class, Alfie was decent, Weiss was bad, and Clarkson was Milbury as a GM bad with Lecavalier somewhere between Weiss and Clarkson. He'd already had the back issues with Boston, so I was shocked that the BJ's didn't have his contract insured (or maybe that's why it wasn't, the insurance company wouldn't cover it). He seemed like a bigger risk due to it IMHO.

I only took them for three days after shattering my wrist in 2001 (blew the tip of the radius into four pieces) because I was afraid of getting hooked on them. Oxycodones are heavy duty stuff and not to be messed with.

I recall Weiss, Alfie, and Clarkson as the big three that year.

I agree this was more about creating space to resign free agents than making a big UFA signing as there is still some cap hit over the next few years. I also think either Larkin or AA is going to be a big surprise in training camp.

No (well played, btw) but he said something along the lines of "I just had an orgasm" after John Davidson and Lanny MacDonald told him he was in.

Yeah, went to the shore for a bit sharing a house with my best friend's family. Life has been good. I've been lurking though. Did anyone else see the calls from the HHOF on NHL Network? Lidstrom was classy as expected, Fedorov was a bit off color, but my wife and I LOL'd.

The contract negotiations could be a sticky situation. Do we need that after ditching Weiss?