betterREDthandead

Man, I like Mark Streit, but he's a $2.5 million guy, not 4.

I think there are plenty enough threads to talk about the possibilities.

I just can't see us getting Hossa. Hossa will get a long-term deal somewhere and the Wings can't give it to him. It'll be Sundin, Bertuzzi, or another 1-2 year deal with incentives type thing. If any at all.

ROFLCOPTER Exact same yearly amount for Commodore and Stuart. Hell, they were even born one day apart. And I don't think there's a single objective observer anywhere who thinks they're equal in talent. It's great to be a Wings fan and watch Kenny Holland get the good deals while every other team in the league hands out money like Halloween candy to Jeff Finger and Mike Commodore. Kenny must be spending the entire night laughing his ass off. And that Kronwall deal looks like a freakin' bank robbery now, doesn't it?

All three will have signed somewhere no later than Saturday night, I think. EDIT: And by Sunday morning there will be at least one LGWer slamming Kenny for not getting it done, if none of them are Red Wings.

Assuming you can trade someone for draft picks is asking for a sixth rounder in return. It's not a good way to do business.

The organization seems to have made it clear to Howard: You're progressing, but not ready to be handed anything yet. I like the signing. I think now we are in good shape at goalie. Whether it's Howard or Conklin breaking camp with the Wings, we've got a good insurance policy for Ozzie.

100% true. The cap is financial prudence. Teams are going to feel their way through and learn what works and what doesn't. It's not like a team is going to go all New York Yankees and spend a billion trillion dollars thus making it bad for everyone else, because they can't outspend the cap - it is a hard cap, for the most part. So let these other teams overspend and then find themselves in salary cap hell. We seem to have a front office that knows what is up with this cap thing and how to work it. And remember: as the cap goes up, so do salaries. I like the system, I'm getting used to it, and I don't want the PA to overturn it next June, so keeping them happy counts for something too.

If it's a team like Tampa offering $10 million, I don't blame them. If they offer the same as Detroit or Montreal, they lose. Tampa is a hockey backwater and they have to set themselves apart somehow. Money is the only way they can. Remember when the Tigers signed Pudge? It was widely ridiculed, and Pudge is still overpaid. But it legitimized the Tigers as a destination after years of signing the Craig Paquettes of the world. Tampa might be doing the same this summer.

Oh man....that was a hell of a thing. I remember watching that. Certain gymnastics events are fun to watch. Floor exercises, pommel horse, balance beam: pretty lame. Vault and uneven/parallel/horizontal bars: fun. The rings can be pretty exciting too.

Rereading I realize he probably meant "it'll be Quincey" as in "it'll be Quincey we cut." I agree that Meech is the guy likely to stick and Ericsson will be in GR until the waiver wire becomes a problem.

Somebody else might. As for what they need, they may find they would rather trade for the depth goalie they want than sign one. Or maybe they would prefer to trade the one that nets a higher pick. Or maybe they trade at the deadline including one of them in a package.

I disagree, I think it'll be Meech. After all, who was the first choice between the two to take the ice when injuries hit in the playoffs?

Don't assume that the better defenseman stays, the lesser one gets shipped off. If Meech is better than Lebda, guess which one is more likely to attract a trade for something the Wings need?

As a former swimmer myself, I love the swimming competitions. IMO Olympic swimmers are the best athletes in the world. Best mix of talent and conditioning.

Not to mention, you'll notice that Malkin seems to have been offered a contract to make him possibly the richest hockey player ever, AND a chance to go home, and turned it down. I'm not really worried about overseas leagues (i.e. Russia) taking all our players.

Oh, really? Who's gone overseas? I can't think of a single player who went overseas to play that had even a good chance of making an NHL roster.

Probably a smart provision. Otherwise a team could, say, offer Mats Sundin half a million dollars.....but a performance bonus of 7 million if he meets his performance goal of picking up one assist. Wink wink. And I can't believe it's already been three years since the lockout. I hope the PA decides to keep the deal. It's too soon for more labor wars.

The assistant coach will be someone very few of us have heard of, is my bet.

I agree - no way Kronwall was deserving of the deal he got at the time he got it. But he blossomed at just the right time. The Panthers are just banking on Olesz doing the same.

The exact same as Z, I imagine: No written offers until July 1.

BIG series with the Twinkies this week, and another one next week just before the break. Seven games in all. It is an absolute must that the Tigers win at least 3 out of the 7, otherwise the season is over barring a miracle. Tigers can't afford at this juncture to drop 3 standings games to Minnesota by going 2-5.

Why? God, Italy is the worst. Anybody who beats Italy - unless it's Mexico - gets a big ol' thumbs up in my book.

I can't think of a single instance of that. Holland was plenty proactive in signing Cleary and Kronwall. And Datsyuk's deal is looking now like an absolute bargain.

Drake was a neat story, and it wouldn't be a neat story if there were lots of Dallas Drakes running around on the market. And Kopecky isn't as soft as all that. Dude even fights every once in a while.