redwinger4747

As far as im concerned, sit Z, Dats, and Lids until Oct. 9. They don't need preseason and we dont need them injured.

i think u are right

Okay, so if we assume Leino wins the 13th forward position, they send Ericsson and Helm to GR, and are stubborn on keeping Cheli, moving Lilja really solves all of our problems. I hope we do that

1. I highly doubt Sammy will be traded 2. Lilja is a real possibility to be traded, see below. 3. Now lets take a look at our situation: 12 forwards: Dats, Z, Hossa, Homer, Franzen, Cleary, Flip, Hulder, Draper, Maltby, Sammy, Kopecky = 30.923 mil 7 defenseman: Lids, Rafa, Kronwall, Stuart, Lilja, Lebda, Meech = 22.583 mil 2 goalies: Ozzie, Conklin = 2.167 GRAND TOTAL = 55.673 mil CAP SPACE = 1.027 mil Now we need an 8th defenseman and have several options. My bet is we send Ericsson down which then narrows our options down to three. 1) Trade Quincey to keep Lilja & Cheli. 2) Trade Lilja to keep Quincey & Cheli. 3) Let Cheli go to keep Quincey & Lilja. Any of these options will be possible with only 500k spent to sign Quincey or Cheli, or both if we move Lilja. Now, our only other need is a 13th forward, my bet is Leino wins it since Helm can be sent down and they will like Leino better than Mac/Downey. Does anyone know Leino's base salary? So that gives us Helm and Downey and/or Mac as 14, 15/16 forward spots, however they are ordered. If Leino makes more than 500k, it will be better for us to move Lilja, since he makes 1.25 mil. Otherwise we are fine with any of those D-man options.

For everyone who thinks we are in cap trouble, and will have to trade a forward, lets analyze: 12 forwards: Dats, Z, Hossa, Homer, Franzen, Cleary, Flip, Hulder, Draper, Maltby, Sammy, Kopecky = 30.923 mil 7 defenseman: Lids, Rafa, Kronwall, Stuart, Lilja, Lebda, Meech = 22.583 mil 2 goalies: Ozzie, Conklin = 2.167 GRAND TOTAL = 55.673 mil CAP SPACE = 1.027 mil We need a 13th forward, and an 8th defenseman, since Ericsson will get sent down and his 900K will NOT count against the cap. We can get each of these 2 players for 500k, which would put us right at the cap. So, add Qunicey at 500k and a 13th forward at 500k and we are all set, OR trade Lilja to keep Quincey and Cheli, and we have even more room. In other words, WE ARE FINE, we only need to get down to 8 defensemen, no one else needs to be traded.

Draper? Are you kidding?

I think we'll get Fedor Fedorov, and HIS #91 will go to the rafters.

Don't forget about Leino, he may be better than Downey and McCarty. BTW, does anyone know 1) Does Leino's contract allows him to return to Europe if the Wings send him to GR? 2) Is Leino an UFA or RFA after his 1-year contract expires? 3) How many times does a player have to be passed over in the draft before they become a UFA like Leino & Brunnstrom?

Its better to have Conklin in the system for a year while Jimmy can still be sent to the minors but it kinda sucks that our hands are tied because Ty can't be sent down. I think signing Ty was a good insurance move, but I really hope they get Jimmy in for some games, hopefully like 10 or so. Then next year, he's #2 unless he plays himself out of it.

Didn't know that, thanks for the info. I think Ovechkin speaks English pretty well and he's ready now, but I guess only he can decide when he wants to take the C.

I agree. It really boosts your rebuilding when you make a young leader your captain. I think it jump-starts the transition. I felt the same way when Pitt made Crosby captain and I think Washington should make Ovechkin captain. Young, rebuilding teams really need an identity, and nothing works better than a new face of the franchise. I'd also like to see LA do this, maybe with Kopitar (I know its a bold move), but in any case, it should be a young player.

No, it will be 7.72 mil. 85mil/11 years = 7.72mil/year, plus it says the average salary at the end of the TSN article.

Not NHL, but Montoya's Michigan mask is my favorite. I love how the winged helmet design becomes a wolverine face. Brilliant!

Ooo if only. Seriously, get this team to Hamilton, or at least out of Nashville. I hate teams in bad hockey markets when there are plenty of good hockey markets without teams in Northern US and Canada. How about Milwaukee?

I agree. Their offense is probably in the top 5 in the NHL, while their defense/goaltending combo is dead last I'd say. I think their ownership just wants to win 8-6 every game for more excitement. I honestly would not be all that surprised to see them get into the playoffs on offense alone in like the #7 or #8 slot. I also would not be at all surprised to see them finished dead last again.

I'm not worried if players like Radulov and Jagr go to Russia. I would only worry if a player like Ovechkin, Malkin, or Kovalchuck left for Russia. Since that is not going to happen, I am not worried about this Russian league taking all the talent.

Wait a minute, how is that tampering? Don't GM's talk all the time about players they are interested in acquiring, especially at trade deadline time?

A week after the Blues were forced to match an offer sheet tendered to RFA Backes by Vancouver, the Blues sign Bernier, a Vancouver RFA, to an offer sheet worth 2.5mil. Do you think St. Louis is sending a message to Vancouver? I expect Vancouver to match since they just got Bernier in a trade for a 2nd and 3rd round pick. If the now lose him, they will only get one 2nd rounder from St. Louis, leaving them out one 3rd rounder for nothing in return. http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=242851&amp...s=topStory_main

I found it on my 3rd try but was prepared to search all day until I got it, like you had to. You my friend are truly committed.

Yeah I bet the Canucks are PISSED because they probably wanted to sign him to a long-term contract. Payback is a *****.

Probably, but they will probably pay more than they wanted to. I'm betting St. Louis was like "since they tried to mess with us, lets turn around and make them overpay for one of their RFA's."

I would love to see this for no other reason than the excitement of great players changing teams. I love how the Sedins were picked 2nd and 3rd overall, 208 and 207 picks before a lesser known Swede named Henrik Zetterberg.

So we're only talking about his salary and his bonuses and being the difference right? In that case, its a complete mystery how much of that goes on the cap because Ryan can still be sent down to the AHL. So right now, the Ducks are somewhere BETWEEN 57.2 and 59.1, thats how I'd put it.

I've watched it twice now, I love it. Great coverage for Datsyuk/Zetterberg, Rafalski, McCarty, and the Playoffs. Can't wait for next years...

Best Buy and Meijer were a no for me, I got mine at Blockbuster.