Jedi

While they have considerable cap space, they also have 15 free agents to sign or replace, including their most expensive free agent, Shea Weber. If Weber signs for the exact same salary as last year (not likely, as he'll probably get some kind of raise), that gives them 14 players left to sign, with 14.5 million to the floor. I agree that it's a given that they'll spend above the floor, but I'm not so sure how much above it they will spend. Even though they've made the 2nd round 2 years in a row, they were eliminated in 6 games last year and 5 games this year, so they've only had 5 "bonus" home games outside of the first round in the last 2 years. Those games help fill the war chest for future years, but I'm not so sure that it would be enough to cause them to start spending more towards the ceiling than the floor.

So, about that $650.00 you guys all owe me... http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/collectibles/eb93/

Finished Mass Effect 3. Working on inFAMOUS now. Once I'm done with that one, I have a decision to make with what to play next. A - inFAMOUS again, but with all Evil choices (I'm doing all Good on this playthrough). B - Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Played this game a dozen times, but it never ever gets old. The Metal Gear series has been my favorite game series of all time, and this one was nothing less than spectacular. C - Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. I played this one previously, and made it about 1/3-1/2 through the game, but never had a chance to finish the game. So, what say you? A, B or C?

God, no. We already get enough of that damn "Tootoo Whistle" when we play against the Preds. Don't need someone to bring that to the Joe and hear it every damn game.

Nothing but well wishes for Brad and his family. I know I can't stand it when my family is away for a weekend. I couldn't imagine only seeing my family for a few times during the 6-8 month season.

We Built This City - Starship Worst. Song. Ever.

Ansar Khan is also reporting that the Wings have no interest in Murray. SJ was up against the roster limit, and needed to unload a player to make the trade work.

Sorry, but the expectation of providing source material is up to the original poster of the rumor. It's even covered in the Forum Rules. With Paul "The Mustache" MacLean in Ottawa, it wouldn't surprise me if they're interested in Hudler, since he's coached Huddles for many years. That said, I haven't seen any rumors about the Sens' interest in Hulder. Doesn't mean there aren't any out there, I just haven't seen them myself.

He signed his deal with Ufa in the KHL while still under contract with the Nashville Predators. So he bolted for more money while still contractually obligated to Nashville. Then, there's this... And then there's his antics in the Phoenix series that caused his suspension... I'd bet that Radulov's days in the NHL are done. I doubt that any team in the league would be willing to bring on his baggage. Especially when he can go back to his native Russia, get paid 3x more than he's really worth, and (likely) get his salary paid tax-free.

Four Walls Of Raiford - Lynyrd Skynyrd

Well, in the KHL's defense, he is the reigning MVP (3 years in a row, actually) and he won the Gagarin Cup with Ufa last year. So he's a pretty highly prized player in the KHL. What I think that shows, however, is the disparity in the talent level and work ethic from the KHL to the NHL.

Now that I have no problem believing.

At the current exchange rate, 9 million Rubles would be about $277,563 USD, which is barely over half the minimum NHL salary this year. But that's closer to what I would willingly pay Radulov than $9m, so...

9 mil per?! WOW. Honestly, though, I'd love to see a source for that offer rejection. I'm having a very hard time believing that the Preds offered him anything like that. After the debacle that Radulov & A. Kostitsyn caused in the Phoenix series, I'd be surprised if they even talked to his agent, much less conveyed an offer that's comparable to the cap hits of Ovechkin, Crosby, E. Staal, and Malkin.

It's always tough to see someone struggle so mightily with their demons. I sincerely hope that Darren is able to keep his life on the right track, and that this helps him turn the page on that stage of his life.

Yeah, I'd like to see these comments too. A 1 way deal or a 2 way deal have absolutely nothing to do with a players waiver eligibility. That's solely dependent on a player's age, years of NHL/AHL experience, and number of games played. Pension Plan Puppets has a good explanation of waiver eligibility and 1-way/2-way contracts...

Tone it down, Rich. Advocate physical hockey all you want, but pulling the Internet Tough Guy card is uncalled for. Definitely not a fan of Shea Weber after the game 1 incident, but there's no doubt he'd make Detroit a better team. That said, there's no way he'd be worth trying to sign to an offer sheet. We'd have to offer a ridiculously high amount to ensure that Nashville doesn't simply match the deal, and then we'd lose 4 1st round picks if they didn't match. Losing 4 1st round picks, and being sandbagged with a massively over-inflated contract? Pass. Even if it is for one of (if not THE) best defensemen currently playing the game today.

Pour Some Sugar On Me - Def Leppard

George Malik retweeted that former Red Wing Martin Lapointe will also join the Habs staff. Not sure yet what his role will be. I will always remember Lapointe for this beauty of a goal...

Another Day In Paradise - Phil Collins

From Bob McKenzie...

Your Body Is A Wonderland - John Mayer

For funsies, anybody remember the salary that the '01-'02 Wings team carried? Remember that everyone said we "bought" the Stanley Cup that year (which, I'll admit, we pretty much did). Around $65 million. Anyone here think the same caliber of team could be assembled for even the new estimate of the cap, at $70.3 mil?

Charges against Nicastro were dropped today. http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1061135874

I remember it well. I was on vacation for games 4-7 of that series, in California and then on a cruise through western Mexico. We were at Disneyland for game 4 (I wore my Hull jersey), on the ship for games 5 & 6. I had to spend ridiculous amounts of money for the 3 minutes of internet time just to check the scores for games 5 & 6. (I'm not kidding, it was like a total of $40 for maybe 6-10 minutes total internet time.) Game 7 was the day of debarkation from the ship. My family left the ship, and we went to the J Paul Getty Museum in the early afternoon. As we left the museum, we listened to the local ESPN radio (who were covering the Lakers in their series, of course) waiting for their score updates every half hour. I was thinking that this game would be the most intense, gut wrenching, tight defense kind of game that we'd ever seen. I was incredibly surprised to find that the score was 1-0 on the Wings first shot of the game. The next time the score update came on, it was 2-0 Wings. By the time we got to where we were staying at (about an hour drive), it was 4-0. I was on cloud 9. Ten years. Man, where did the time go. By the way, I can't be the only one who misses Gary Thorne & Bill Clement (Clement, hands of cement) calling games.