Nightfall

The good news is that this isn't an auction with Parise. I get the impression that he will select a city where he can win. The chances of him going to Winnepeg or some other crap franchise is slim to zero. My gut tells me he will go to the Wings, Flyers, Devils, or maybe even the Kings for less money.

This was a good article and pretty much sums it up well. I really don't see a lot of action come July 1st with the CBA talks having not even started yet, but I am hoping for the best.

You can still go, but you will be paying through the nose to go. Hell, regular ticket prices are expensive as it is. Could you imagine paying double just go get in the door?

I would rather not put all the pressure on Nyquist. He had one goal and 6 assists in 18 games. If he doesn't produce 25 goals, he will be run out of town like Hudler was last year. I would prefer to get him some playing time without the pressure of having to perform. Datsyuk started out like that by playing with Hull. For the first couple NHL seasons, he wasn't a beast. Dats grew into what he is now and I think Nystrom can do the same.

I have NHL Gamecenter Live subscriber, and I have access to NHL Vault. 4 years of games I can watch plus classic games. I am going to be watching 1 old game per day through the start of the preseason.

Don't get me wrong, I have a nice job and I want to go. But the cost of the seats are ludicrous. Especially for a nice seat where you can see the puck and where it doesn't look like a bunch of ants on a rink from the nosebleed seats. $200 per ticket? No thanks. 2 hour drive for me? No thanks. Watching for free in HDTV quality? No problem!

As I have gotten older, I have grown to appreciate the sport of hockey. I have done tailgating for football games, bought season tickets for hockey teams, and so on. When I see the prices for this one game, I shake my head. Am I the only one that thinks its not worth it to go? Its 2 hours away for me. Then I have to sit in the cold and watch the game? I went to the very first cold war and it was fun, but man, I got in for a reasonable price. This is just price gouging. For the price of admission for a decent seat and gas there and back plus time spent, it will be about $500. I can take $50 of that and make a fantastic dinner, and watch it on my 52 inch LCD TV. Oh, I will be able to see the game better, oh and I won't have to sit in the cold. Oh, and I won't have to deal with drunken idiots, the hassle of parking, or driving all that way there and back. Am I the only one who feels this way?

Damn you Matt!

Look at the history revolving around negotiating rights and Dan Hamhuis. When he was traded to Pittsburgh for a 3rd round pick, the Pens thought at the time he would be a slam dunk to sign. As it turned out, he went to Vancouver and rumor had it he took less money at the time to play there. As you mentioned in your last couple sentences, trading away a 2nd or 3rd round pick with no guarantee is not easy to swallow. Even you cannot guarantee you would do it, so what makes you think Holland would? You are approaching it like a GM should approach it. Make the pick a 7th rounder if the player can't be signed. Making it 2nd or 3rd round guaranteed with no guarantee you are going to sign the player is a risky proposition and due to backfire. Otherwise, I do agree with you. If the Flyers did give a 2nd round pick to Suters rights and he signed there, then they may rebel against Holland. At the same time though, those deals are typically done under the table, and most Wings fans would just know that is where Suter wanted to go at that stage and the Preds just wanted a draft pick for him. Just based on the history of trading for rights to sign, I believe that these deals are done before the sign and trade happens. Very few teams would be willing to trade for the rights of a player that the player has no interest in signing there. Look at the Bryzgalov trade for a 3rd rounder last season. That deal was in the bag before the signing happened. Look at the Stuart trade this year for a 7th rounder. San Jose has his rights, but his chances of signing there are 33% as there are the Kings and Ducks to still be in the running. As for your final point, with 2.5 weeks left before he becomes a UFA, most teams Holland would try to deal with would probably just wait until July 1st at this stage. Why spend for a pick when you can just wait it out. Besides, at that point, Suter may be seen as difficult if the Wings couldn't get him, so why spend a pick on a player that is just hunting for a contract? You are right though, anything is possible.

Very true. I guess if one GM is stupid enough to give away a 2nd round pick for negotiating rights, that is fine. As for the track record of signing free agents, how many wings fans would be pissed of if Holland did that and didn't get a deal done? People would be lining up to flame Holland for spending the 2nd round pick for nothing. The best thing anyone can do is look at the track record and make a judgement call. Would you be willing to give away a 2nd round pick with no guarantee to sign Suter? I would hesitate before making that decision. It better be a situation where my team is the place he says he wants to go before I make that decision.

Read this first, and then let me know what you think. It is reasons like this why you won't see this escalate to anything better than a 3rd round pick. If it does, no team will bite because of the risks in the past. http://blogs.thescore.com/nhl/2011/06/08/the-risk-of-trading-for-negotiating-rights/ From the article... "There’s considerable risk whenever an NHL general manager moves to acquire an impending unrestricted free agent’s rights. There’s next to zero guarantee that the player being coveted will sign with his temporary home, unless an informal agreement is brokered in advance, and even though it’s usually fringe prospects or mid-round draft picks going the other way – teams are giving SOMETHING up for little more than a head start at snatching up a player looking for a raise."

First off, in that situation you are not going to hear about the negotiations in that kind of detail. Second, if Poile were given that ultimatum, he would go to both Philly and the Red Wings and ask what they would be willing give up and create a bidding war between them. Lastly, neither team would be willing to "trade for the negotiation rights" for a second round pick. Now, they would be willing to trade for a 7th round pick and if Suter is signed, then the pick elevates to a 2nd round pick. As history has shown us, just because their rights are traded doesn't mean they are a "shoo in" to be signed by that team.

A 3rd is a steep price to pay, but I would bite if the 3rd was conditional to us signing him. As for Ferraro, he had one complete season in GR and is still an unknown commodity. I think he is good trade bait for getting his rights initially. Definitely not the "scrub" I was thinking about though. We got a total scrub in the deal with Stuart. Ferraro is a much better prospect so we better get a deal done if we trade him.

I just don't understand this. Why would anyone trade a 3rd round pick plus another player just for the rights to talk to someone before July 1st? There is no guarantee that they will be signed. A more logical thing would be a scrub player like the one we got from San Jose, and then a 7th round pick if we sign the player.

Look at the last 9 champions.... New Jersey Tampa Bay Carolina Anaheim Red Wings Pittsburgh Chicago Boston Los Angeles So, you are looking at 27% of the league has won a championship over the course of the last 9 seasons. Remember when Tampa Bay was considered to be a young up and coming team with a veteran goalie? What about Pittsburgh in 2009 after they won the cup? Hell, for the last two seasons people thought they had the cup locked up. Including this season! Boston had a great chance to repeat and couldn't get it done this year. In short, the cup hangover is tough. I think LA is going to be competitive. Dynasty? I don't think so. Not in the new NHL.

I bet the Kings are happy they didn't trade Dustin Brown this season.

Make no mistake, the best team won the cup thats for sure. Glad to see them win it. Now, its going to be a long summer with no hockey. Maybe the Tigers can turn things around and give us a good run to the playoffs.

Aside from his infidelity off the ice, he has always been a gracious and nice guy. Not like Roy who liked to talk s*** all the time. I just haven't liked the Devils organization very much. Partially because I was a new hockey fan back in 95 when the Devils swept the Wings.

Hudler is worth a contract for a reasonable amount. I was thinking 3 million per season for 3 seasons would be perfectly acceptable. That being said, he can probably fetch $4 million per season and get a 3 year deal somewhere. If he can get that much, and he wants that much, then go for it. The Wings expect most players to take a discount when they play here. Its part of the reason why we have made the playoffs for 20+ years. Personally, I don't know what the issue is here. If I was a pro hockey player, and I was offered $4 million to play somewhere, but I could get paid $3 million a season and a chance to compete for a championship, I would take less money.

I wonder how many signings we will see before the new CBA is passed. I think many clubs are going to stand pat until there is a new CBA.

This is why you play a 7 game series. The better team always comes out on top. When you lose by a fluke goal like this, you still have other chances to come back and win games. That being said, Norfolk played better in games 1 and 2 from the highlights that I saw. Toronto can't expect to not play their best hockey in games 1 and 2 and expect to win the cup. Just my opinion.

Actually this was Smiths second season with the Griffins last year. I really like the idea though of calling up players if they excel at the AHL level. Kronner, Fil, and Nyquist were all doing very well at the level. Heck, Abdelkader did as well for comparisons sake when he scored 76 points in 109 games in the AHL. Yet he hasn't had the point totals at the NHL level. I like the idea of a 3 year deal though with those restrictions. I just don't like paying someone in that final year of the contract for a one way deal to the NHL at $875,000 or so. Especially if he hasn't panned out at the AHL level. Holland didn't spend to the cap last year, but he has been spending to the cap limit since the cap was put in place. Earmarking funds for a player that is unproven at the AHL level is very risky indeed.

Very true, which is why comparing point totals in juniors/NCAA to NHL success is not the right way to go.

I remember a couple people doing it, and I just shook my head. Its good to remember that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. I hope I see him in Grand Rapids next year.

Aside from your feelings that are purely speculative.... I do agree with what you are saying. I was a strong supporter of having Smith in the lineup, and I would have put him with Lidstrom all season. Give him a chance to learn from the best and get top line minutes. He is going to have to go through the ringer sooner or later, and it may as well be sooner. That being said, I can also see value in assigning them in the AHL and getting better there. We have a wealth of players who have done that tour before and are successful today (Kronwall, Flip, and Hudler just to name a few). Some people are fans of one way or the other. I am a fan of both because you get results both ways.