Jedi

Josh Harding re-signs with Minnesota. 3 years. http://wild.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=635133 Reportedly the deal is for a total of $5.7m, which breaks down to a $1.9m/year cap hit.

The Nature of Reality - Oasis

Woohoo! 4 more years of using this after a Helm goal!

http://theahl.com/fraser-makes-move-to-dallas-p178053

I remember reading a story maybe 2 months back that the Wings' brass liked having Fraser in GR. They were disappointed, of course, that the Grif's never made the playoffs, but they felt that Fraser's role as player developer was second to none. I have no clue, however, where exactly I saw that story, so I have no way of providing any source material on that.

From Darren Dreger...

Blues Re-Sign Barrett Jackman to 3-Year Deal http://blues.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=634952 Seeing reports on Twitter that it's a $9.5 million total deal.

More Than A Feeling - Boston

Fascination Street - The Cure

I Won't Back Down - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Take it for what it's worth, but it was retweeted by George Malik, so there might be a bit of credibility to it... Joshua Cooper, Predators' reporter for The Tennessean, just tweeted the following... And a followup by Malik on KuklasKorner...

The Kings are already fairly well stacked at D, and they don't have any free agents on the blueline. I'm not so sure that they'd be major players in the Suter sweepstakes. Parise, definitely.

The Captain and the Kid - Jimmy Buffett

You're Gonna Go Far, Kid - The Offspring

http://redwings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=634659&navid=DL|DET|home Wed 9/26 @ Pittsburgh, 7pm Fri 9/28 @ Chicago, 8:30pm Sat 9/29 vs. Chicago, 7pm Sun 9/30 vs. Washington, 5pm Wed 10/3 vs. Pittsburgh, 7:30pm Fri 10/5 vs. Toronto, 7:30pm Sat 10/6 @ Toronto, 7pm Sun 10/7 @ Washington, 5pm So... Is it September yet?

To be fair, Detroit did have the highest payroll of any team in the league that year by around $8-$9 million. But you are right in that many of the pieces of that team were in place years before Hull, Luc and Hasek came on board. I brought this up in another thread, but I still feel it's an interesting (albeit, not terribly useful) comparison. 2001-2002 Detroit Red Wings Salary - Around $66 million. 2012-2013 NHL Salary Cap - $70.3 million Granted, inflation and bloated salaries (I'm looking at you, Jeff Finger) have made comparisons like that pretty much invalid, but it's still fun to think about. I don't think there's any way you could put together a team of the same caliber with the current salary cap. And finally, my favorite moment from the '02 run...

Sail Away Sweet Sister - Queen

I remember that day well. I spent all night watching ESPN and searching the few sites on the internet that were out there, trying to find any news updates I could. A terribly dark day, and so completely senseless. Had that jackass Richard Gnida not been driving, on a suspended license no less, then Konstantinov would have gone on to have a fulfilling career and a normal life afterwards. Konstantinov was an absolute BEAST of a defenseman. His big hit in game 3 of the '97 Finals always springs to mind. I can't find confirmation of this, but if I recall correctly, this hit effectively ended Hawerchuk's career. I seem to remember that he didn't play another shift in the game, and I know he didn't play in game 4. Hawerchuk announced his retirement following that season. 528 total GP, 52 total G, 142 total A, 194 total P, 945 total PIM. Norris Trophy finalist in ’97, NHL Plus/Minus award in ’95-96 at an incredible +60 (which hadn’t been done since a guy named Gretzky did it in ’86-’87, and hasn’t been done since).

I'd be surprised if Kenny and the rest of the Wings brass has given even one thought towards trying to acquire Stewart. That's not to say that they wouldn't love having a gritty, scoring forward on the roster. It's simply a cost/benefit issue. Because either way you slice it, they'd have to give up something in return to get him here (be it draft picks for an RFA Offer Sheet, or picks/prospects/players for a trade). Whereas Parise can be brought here for nothing more than his annual salary, or maybe a mid-to-late draft pick if we trade for his rights. Plus, as others have mentioned, there's very little chance that he would get traded to an in-division rival. If the Blues are going to trade him, it makes much more sense for them to trade him outside the division/conference. That way, they get better through the trade, while the rest of the division remains unchanged, as opposed to both teams in the division getting better. You sure it's not because of this? Not me. See above.

Dan Rosen's tweet sums it up well. (Emphasis mine)

Miss Little Havana - Gloria Estefan

Take Me Home Tonight - Eddie Money

I'd put it somewhere in between the two. They'll be competitive for a few years to come, but repeating enough times to be crowned a "Dynasty" will be extremely difficult, if not downright impossible, due to the salary cap. The Kings have 5 free agents to sign/replace this offseason (Dwight King is RFA, Penner, Stoll, Parse and Fraser are UFA), but have over $16m to work with (assuming a 70.3 million cap, pre-CBA negotiations though). So keeping the guys they want from this year's squad shouldn't be too much of a problem. The long-postseason/short-offseason could be a hindrance next year, as well as any issues with "Cup Hangover". The big problem to the "Dynasty" is the parity the league has brought about with the salary cap era. Teams are having a harder time just making the playoffs every year (Only the Wings and Sharks have made it every year since the cap, and just barely for SJ this year), let alone being able to genuinely compete year in and year out. I think the days of seeing any team being crowned a true "Dynasty" are over. That said, LA has all the right pieces in place to be a true contender for a few years, for sure. Although, like the '72 Dolphins, I will be sure to celebrate if/when they are eliminated next year, so that the '97-'98 Wings team still remains as the last team to repeat as champions!

I love the goal horn, and wouldn't change it for anything. As well, I like what T. Campbell does with the individual goal songs and the clever songs that match the game (Hawaii Five-O, for example, when up 5-0 in a game). The one thing I would change with a new arena is the exits. The Joe only has 2 exits, and only one of those with access to the people mover. The time I stayed at the RenCen, it actually took us less time to walk back than it would have to wait to get on the People Mover. I'd imagine that a new arena would have a much easier exit system, so that it's much less complicated to leave the stadium and to leave the area. As far as naming, I think it's sadly inevitable that a corporate name will be used. If I could vote, I would vote for a name that reflects the history/spirit/culture of Detroit, so something like Motor City Arena/Center.