frankgrimes

Well thats the current pricetag for elite goalies, especially if no one is even close to replacing him. IF Thomas would still be there, they would have had some leverage but like I said Rask knew Boston had to pay him.

If I were Seguin, I would have sued the media for different reasons: 1. calling my mum I mean honestly how did they even get her number? 2. investigating a PRIVATE tweet (thats the name of it?) 3. trash talking and releasing false statements 4. releasing pictures without my permission followed by an official refusal to provide interviews for the time being. The kid is 21 or 22 leave him alone and let him worry about the only thing that matters, on ice performance. The Boston media his horrible probably the WORST in the whole USA, followed by Philadelphia. I always thought Toronto had by far the worst but I guess Boston is really catching up to them which is not a positive. Wouldn't be surprised if Bergeron decides to walk and sign in a more quiet enviroment like Horton did. The term was probably to get his salary a bit down people have to keep in mind the salary might jump to 85 - 90 million in the next 8 years and then 7 m for an elite goalie will be nothing. I mean Mike Smith got 6 m a year, Price 6.5 give Rask 4 times of 4 over any of those the only guys currently better are Lundquist, Thomas, Andersson, Rinne and Quick

Smith played half a season in the league and gets already written off, give him time. The guy never had the benefit of learning from an all-time-top 5 defenseman and like someone mentioned had to play on the worst Wings edition since almost two and a half decade. I hope he gets around 1,2 - 1,5 very managable cap hit and enough time to prove his worth.

Never expected myself to repeat this, but Howards contract is looking better and better. Sure, Rask is elite but 7 mil per is more than Quick is making and I think Quick is indeed the better goalie. Rask had all the leverage in these negotiations, Bruins have no one close to his level, he waited a long time for this chance he took it and ran with it. Also good luck with offering a goalie a 3 - 4 years contract, they are just going to sign a 1 year deal become UFAs and never look back at their old organisation. Lundquist has to love this signing, he is by far the best one and can now ask for 8.5 + if I were his agent this would be a very very good day for me. Also Jonathan Quick would be a good example of a goalie living up to his contract lately.

Whatever, because stats are always telling the whole story... I stand by my point and hoping for Holland to have something upon his sleeve to make the transistion as smooth as possible.

Toronto - McLaren, Orr, Clarkson, Frazer they are getting into Boston territory in terms of toughness. Pittsburgh - Engelland, MacIntyre Devils - Janssen, Bouilton, Clowe Canadiens - Prust, Parros, Tarnasky these guys will take run at the Wings stars and that's why some people here want someone who can protect the players, so the mojo of "we like our team" can be fine but also a healthy, not-intimidated team is fine. The game is changing you need some guys, that can deliver monsterous hits and crash the net skill alone doesn't win games nor does toughness alone, balance is key in the NHL nowadays. So let us hope, that Holland isn't done and does indeed look for some help in that regard. Is it really that hard to understand, to want something who can protect this team against such heavyweights? I don't think so and I really hoped Holland would acknowledge that in his interview instead of talking about how Chicago beat Boston.

Congratulations to everyone well deserved. Although I hated Niedermayer as a Duck - he was just too damn good - class act and easily #2 behind Lidström in this era. Can't wait for the perfect human to finally to get in.

When I say the EAST is big, I mean it otherwhise I would say Boston is big (which they obviously are).

That was really too funny, a team with a guy like MacIntyre refuses to play him against one of the toughest teams in the league. I'd bet the Bruins would have played their cleanest game if the Pens dressed him, he is that kind of a no nonsense presence.

I pray he trades for Bordelau from the Avs.

Holland can disagree with the arguement "the east is bigger" all he wants, it is still a fact. Only bigger wouldn't be a problem but the east is also a lot tougher and filled with tough guys, that will drop the gloves and take runs at the Wings. Having said that, I like his low key approach that's the way GMs should behave and thankfully most are doing it that way. Listened to Holmers presser before and thought it was over the top. Anyway I really hope Holland isn't done for the summer and has some surprises in his sleeve.

I think and hope Babcock will be going with a 1 - 2 lineup: Abdelkader - Datsyuk - Weiss Franzen - Zetterberg - Alfredsson

That's why I don't read Twitter, always so much speculation and rarely the truth. On the other side if Holland really told him "no place at this pricetag" Brunner is going to sign elsewhere soon. Let us just hope it will be outside the East

In terms of rating the other teams (currently), I think it will look something like this 1. Pittsburgh 2. Boston 3. New York Rangers 4. Devils - their goaltending is highly improved 5. Washington 6. Ottawa after that it is wide open between, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, Philadelphia, New York behind this pack: Buffalo, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Winnipeg, Florida

Sure it is easier when it comes to millionaires but I just don't understand why Brunner should sign for undermarket-value? I know nobody wants to admit it, but the RedWings are behind the pack team, in a salary cap wolrd AND can't hand out creative contracts + 50 players limit --->handcuffed. From Brunners pov, he has played here a few months and thats about it. He doesn't owe the Wings anything. Yes, he has chemistry with Zetterberg, the best ownership in the league but he can make more money elsewhere. As a 27 old rookie the time to make a big splash in the NHL is ticking for him, he knows that and I guess thiat's playing a huge part in his decision. He is not worth 4 m per right now no question but something around 3 - 3,5 is more realistic and to be honest should have been offered by the Wings. However this story is paying out, I am will not hold it against him if he decides to sign elsewhere for more money or a longer terms, he doesn't owe the Wings and vise versa. I could see him joining the Senators and become Spezza s winger. The real surprise here is Nashville, they need scoring the guy is a pure goalsacorer and yet not even rumours about them trying to get him.

Every pro should pay in order to play for Detroit. I mean after all they don't have girlfriends, wives or families to support. It's not like being a pro is a full time job ...

I listened to Nonis and he basically said, for the right deal = making their team better everyone is available but they aren't shopping players BUT also aren't in a hurry to re-sign their two superstars. Do the Wings still hold the rights to Brunner if so I would try to get something out of it and grant Buffalo etc. exclusive access in order to talk with him.

Like every Ufa class, guys like Bergeron wIll never hit the market and I highly doubt either Kessel or Phaneuf will be let go in Toronto. Statsny, Letwand, Grenne and Girardi would be very tempting. Brunner signing with the Sabers would make sense, imagine him on a line with Vanek and that Vancouver guy....deadly but the Panthers? They have Gudbranson, Huberdau and that's about it

The thing is this should have been done some weeks ago why did he wait so long. It is not like the Wings played till January...if Brunner goes I hope he signs with the Islanders they are a young and coming team him and Tavares would be deadly

Great idea just increase the damn offer a bit and sign this guy, he should easily be the top priority right now. If the Wings lose him and re-sign Cleary it would be stupid.

At first I thought if both sides would give a little: Wings + 0,25 to their best offer and Brunners camp minus 0,25 from their demands a deal could be reached, but if he is reall pushing for around 4 m per than sorry, but thats ridiculous and I really like him. If I were Holland, I'd offer 3,25 x 3 take it or leave it.

Ever since Yzerman transformed into the 2 way genius, everyone is expecting pure forwards/goalscorers to become superb two-way players, guys like Toews, Zetterberg and Datsyuk are the exception not the norm. So expecting people with less god given talent to have such a great two-way game is just asking too much. if the guy can score around 30 - 35 goals a year I couldn't give less about his defensive responsibilities, primarely this should be the job of the defenders.

It is useless to discuss the need for grit, size and an enforcerif people just don't want to understand it. The Habs adding another tough guy in Tarnasky should be a big warning shield in terms of what to expect in the east. Canadiens got pushed around, run around and punched around last year like nothing, that's why MB is adding size and tough guys to the line-up. I'm oldschool if someone runs our young-guns or stars I want him to pay on the ice for it, you can't count on that NHL clown Shanahan because not even the players know, what is and what isn't a suspension. Remember when Lidström got kneed by that Avalanche jerk? Downey was there to take care of business and it was a binding element for the whole team. There is a reason why those guys are getting jobs and players feel saver with having them in the lineup. Guess what I think Prust has to be one happy guy now, he can focus on taking on guys in his weight-class instead of going up against the beasts from the east. There is no harm in having a guy, playing 10 - 20 games a season with a salary of around 700 - 1.000k to protect your star players and young guns. Maybe the Wings and some guys who don't believe that the Wings need to get meaner and tougher to play against have to see the actions in the east firsthand before acknowledging that fact.

Judging by what has happened so far: IN Alfredsson + Weiss OUT Fils + Brunner + Colaiacovo NEEDS grit, size + top pairing guy + enforcer I would say Weiss is an upgrade ove Filpulla. In terms of Alfredsson it needs to be seen, what he can provide at this point in his career. The young guns (Dekeyser, Smith, Nyquist and Tatar) now have gained a bit of experience and should take a step forward, although Dekeyser hasn't played a lot. I am looking forward to the pairing of Dekeyser + Smith should be a really good one for years to come. Wings are still without a top pairing guy I think Kronwall has shown, what he really is a great second pairing guy who *should* focus on his shutdown role instead of trying to run the powerplay like a quarterback that's not his job and personally I feel it is asking too much from Kronner. Compared to last year I think, the team has slightly improved but not enough to consider them that much better than last year. So given the status quo I'd say they are for sure a contender, but only for the playoffs and not for the cup. Replacing a pure goalscorer is not an easy task...

I think people are upset, because this could have been done way before. During the last seasons most fans complained about the lack of a pure goalscorer, well here is 27 year old pure goalscorer playing his first season in the NHL and even a shortened one. For sure there is room to growth and he will make mistakes, because basically he is just an older rookie so no surprises here. Is he worth 3,5 m ? Probably not, will he be worth it soon? maybe if the Wings are offering 2,5 I wouldn't sign for that either if I were hi. Give him 3 x 3 or 7 over 2 years if he pans out, fine if not move on. At the end of the day, the Wings are paying Sammy exactly that and Brunner IS better, worth more than Sammy at this point in his career, also a 40 old Alfredsson at 5 million? I understand why Brunners camp is pushing for a better deal. Time to face reality here, the Wings aren't the powerhouse they once were so paying heavily under market value will not get the job done. Tatar, Nyquist, Brunner would really be a good round up for a top 9 bottom 3 type of style.