Rice

Love this deal. Very fair contract and it solidifies the best top-four in the league for at least two years.

Great news. Best defense in the NHL once again.

Dumb move, IMO. Columbus is in desperate need of a top-six center. Why give up on Brule this early? He's only 21 and was drafted sixth overall a few years ago. Maybe if they had traded Brule for an established center but trading for Torres doesn't make much sense to me.

TSN. Wonderful signing by Burke, the best GM in the league.

Zetterberg will be a UFA on July 1, 2009. Nothing to worry about right now. The Wings have a year to sign him to an extension.

s***. Stuart's gone.

He's worth a shot if Sundin and Rolston don't work out.

Yes, but the cap ultimately limits gross overpayment. If teams want to be stupid let them be stupid within a limit.

Maybe because when you subtract nostalgia and look at the on-ice product Bertuzzi sucked in his time here.

Kevin Dupont:

Kevin Dupont:

Why are people suggesting Kolzig? This guy is leaving Washingtonbecause he got the message that he was no longer starting material. Why would he come to Detroit to be a backup?

Isn't it amazing that this guy was a centerpiece in the Luongo trade?

Hopefully the Wings and Ducks meet up in the playoffs and the Wings get redemption from '07.

For what it's worth, Spector thinks Hossa is coming to Detroit. Link.

This is the same guy who said the Wings were ready to implode by December in '06 and that Lidstrom was leading a revolt against Babcock. This is also the same guy who said Lidstrom would be out for not three weeks, but three months when he got hurt this year. The Wings were just trying to hide it. Don't believe anything you read on that website.

Naslund and Sundin are about it--if you want to consider Naslund a captain, that is.

Apparently the word is out on Jokinen:

Just try being realistic. Maybe instead of proposing a deal that involves "some defenseman" and Hudler, throw out a name. I just don't understand what the point of saying, "Well the Wings could've traded for Jokinen if..." is. You're speaking in pure hypotheticals. What we know is Florida got two defensemen, so I'm going to venture and say they were looking for two defensemen. One of these defensemen is 25 years old, proven, and capable of playing top-four minutes. Do you see anyone like that in the Wings system other than Kronwall? I sure as hell don't. Jokinen wasn't even feasible cap-wise to begin with. What's the point of speculating? Oh, and believe me, I do armchair-GM. I'm sure everyone does. I've just learned to expect the Red Wings not to make trades like Hudler and Kopecky for Jokinen.

So, what 25 or under NHL-proven top-pairing defensemen do the Wings have to deal? What the hell makes you think Florida would even be interested in Hudler? This team just won the ******* Stanley Cup and you're already annoyed with management for not following through with one of your armchair GM fantasy team deals. Give me a break.

I would too, but I don't think Jokinen over Franzen is feasible long-term. Zetterberg's next deal is going to be worth around $7 million annually and Jokinen would undoubtedly cost around the same. Datsyuk, Zetterberg, and Jokinen would be eating $21 million. Franzen's not going to get anywhere close to $7 million and he's already on the team meaning no assets lost.

Uh, Phoenix gave up two defensemen. Hudler and Kopecky are forwards. Deductive reasoning tells me Florida wanted defensemen -- not forwards. Ballard is a damn good defenseman and he is young. Don't get me wrong, I think Florida got raped on this trade, but it's obvious Florida wanted defensemen and Detroit's equivalent to Ballard is Kronwall. Jokinen was a pipe dream anyway. Detroit wouldn't be able to retain Franzen, Zetterberg, and Jokinen. I doubt they were even involved in the bidding.

St. Louis is actually establishing a nice, young core.

I'm still having trouble believing Florida actually made this trade. It must suck really, really badly to see franchise players get traded every few years. I mean, come on... Jokinen, Horton, Bouwmeester, and Luongo? That is (or should've been) an incredible core to build from.

Say goodbye to Franzen or Zetterberg in 09/10.