YoungGuns1340

Hudler is the Datsyuk? Sammy is the Raf? Talk about stretch comparisons. As for saying Rolston would be a good fit on the Wings, I was speaking strictly about the game he plays. If you havent caught my point in the last dozen posts, I dont want the Wings to sign Rolston as he wouldnt agree to a contract that would fit our terms. What I AM arguing is that he'd be easily on our 2nd line, and our best offensive asset on the 2nd line, unless Franzen continues his insane pace. Also, your suggestion that Rolstons best asset is his speed is wrong. Its easily his wrister. And just to add to that, a lot of time when hes on the point, you'll see him come down close to the boards and go for the wrister. Hes a roving point man without a doubt.

Dude, what are you smoking? Do I have to spell it out for you? 1.Hossa signing at 1 year for 3M = NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN 2. Rolston signing a 1 year contract OR taking 2.5M a year = NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN 3. NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN + NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN = SAME THING. It was really simple logic that you made into some sort of absurd argument over a point I wasnt even making. If you want to fight just for the hell of it, go on Court TV. But dont start arguments about something Im not even arguing. You may have an obsession with numbers, but I was merely throwing out the numbers as an example of the absurdity. I could have also said its no more likely that the Wings will sign Rolston for 3 years at 2.5M than they would sign Todd Bertuzzi for 6 years at 11.34M per.. Typically the point of statements containing the phrase "no more likely" is to express to 2 examples that only grow in absurdity and/or exaggeration. Hence, Hossa at 1 year for 3M. Also, Rolston never regularly played with Gaborik.

1. Rolston is a Right Winger. Occasionally he plays center 2. He had 19 goals twice - pretty much 20, the other times he had nearly 30, and over 30 3. How is averaging 57 points 4 years ago, and then moving up to 67 points for the next 3 years a significant drop? If anything, its impressive that he put up those numbers with the Wild. 4. Todd White is a 3rd line center in any league. Rolston has put up 30 goals with at least 3 different centerman over his career. Him being centered by White again would be a credit to his offense, rather than a knock against it.

07-08: 1) Markov 2) Hamrlik 06-07: 1) Phaneuf 2) Hamrlik 05-06: 1) Regher 2) Leopold 3) Hamrlik 03-04: 1) Aucoin 2) Hamrlik 02-03: 1) Aucoin 2) Hamrlik 01-02: 1) Aucoin 2) Jonsson 3) Hamrlik 00-01: 1) Hamrlik Hamrlik is a "career #1" just as Shea Weber "wouldn't crack the Wings lineup," right Eva? So yeah. As I was saying, Orpik at 3-3.5M is actually a decent rate. Given that Hamrlik hadn't been a #1 in 6 years and was a #2/3 Dman when he was signed by Montreal to 5.5M per year, yeah a little over 3M is likely for a Dman like Orpik. Unless of course, players are signed to contracts based on the type of player they were 6 years ago..

Everyone invited to training camp gets a shot. It would be smart for Kenny to get a veteran with a relatively big name in there at training camp to see what Howard can do if pressed. As much as I think Howard can take the back-up spot, theres no telling if hes developed enough up to this point to be the clear cut choice for back-up. Emery, Raycroft, Denis, Cloutier, etc. All those guys actually do have some decent talent. At least enough to be an NHL back-up. And all of them will be playing their hearts out to build back up their reputation. God knows playing for the Red Wings is one of the best places to make yourself look good. That said, that doesn't mean I want him. But honestly, assuming this rumor is true, if management thinks Emery can be handled, then we really shouldn't second-guess them. They probably know something we don't if this is the case. Also, you have to remember Emery is only 25. If he doesn't get his act back together with some team, he could see his NHL career cut short a good 15 years. Its possible that he recognizes that and is ready to rectify his attitude issues.

Smith is better than Emery (albeit slightly and hasn't proved a whole lot) and Rambo (Ramo) is definitely a guy that should be getting some time. He was pretty solid for Tampa last year..

I actually heard Orpik was only looking for 3.5M, as opposed to the 4-4.5M some people were projecting he'd ask, and he also wants to return to Philly. Like it or not, 3M will actually end up being a decent price for a guy who can fill a #4 spot. That said, I personally dont think hes worth more than about 2.25. But the market dictates otherwise. Hamrlik has been great with the Habs, but it was a great year for him. Career-wise hes more or less a #3, but hes being paid 5M+.

Datsyuks not even close to 7.5. His cap hit for the next (6?) years is 6.7M per. This isnt a particularly good signing. The money is right, but the terms are off. If you're going to pay a 50 point player 5M per it should be on a 4-5 year deal at least. He'll likely never have a year on this contract where his pricetag is a bargain, and it'll only skyrocket in 3 years.

http://deniksport.blesk.cz/clanek/50796/st...i-do-plzne.html Strakas going back to Europe, Jagr might move to the KHL, Shanahan might retire, Averys testing the market, and nothins doin with Roszival or Mara. Any idea what Sathers planning on doing? Thoughts? Comments? Its just crazy to me how potentially reworked this roster could be while putting a pretty good effort together this year, despite a fairly low-key defense. They're stacked at center...but not much place else..

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=241569&amp...s=topStory_main Man the cap rise has lead to a ton of buyouts. Cue the "I want Tucker!" posts..

Doubtful. They already low-balled Avery by about 800k last time he was up which led to arbitration and it seems theyre doing it again..

From what I saw it was speculated, denied, then confirmed.

I think Chicago is in. I think Colorado is out if Sakic retires.

Maybe on the PP, but that could be an absolute disaster defensively..

Im pretty sure they are going to do something significant. They actually have a lot of cap space this year, and Demitra is already pretty much a lock to join the Nucks. Thats already a slight upgrade on Naslund offensively. And word has it they may even make a pitch for Hossa as well, since Demitra is apparently good friends with him and they have the space to with their only issues being offense. Im pretty sure Vancouver has 20M in cap space, with 1 Goalie (their starter obviously), 6 Dman (their top 6), and 10 forwards signed. Basically the need to re-sign Sanford, and a 7th/depth Dman (Miller? Weaver?) And then can basically have at it with UFA forwards. If you figure about 1.8 between Sanford and a 7th Dman, 1.5M on a 3rd/4th liner, 5M on Demitra (big overpayment but likely to pass) and 8.5 for Hossa, thats about 17M of the 20M available to them, so 3M left for a cushion. Who knows if theyll go the Hossa route, but God knows they have the space with no big upgrades to dole out in the future when the cap will likely be even higher. I like Vancouvers chances next year..

Jesus. If thats all you needed to say then fine. My argument was that he was a bona fide 2nd liner regardless of where he plays. I never insinuated that the guy was worth 5M nor that we should sign him.

Haha, what? Rolston is probably the BEST fit for Detroit in free agency right now. Speedy still at his age, great skater, energetic, fairly gritty and plays strong defense. As for knowing why Sammy is on the point. Yes. Its because we have no other options. Franzen has been a standout on the PP, yes, in his stretch run. We'll see if that holds up. Otherwise, our 2nd unit "standouts" don't exactly have strong competition.

Yes he did. Again. I dont know why people are posting this sort of thing when they aren't even clear on who Rolstons linemates have been for the past 3-6 years. This is from an article printed around February/March: Rolstons centers last season were Bouchard and Pouliot

Right. Rolston is going to not even make the PP. Filppula wasn't even a mainstay on our 2nd PP unti last year, yet some how hes Babcock's golden boys? Is that how he wound up with less average time than Sammy, Franzen, Hudler, and Cleary, of which 2 of the latter were playing in Flips position? As for the whole argument, you should look at my original point. Yours is that the Wings shouldnt sign Rolston because he is a 3rd liner on the Wings. My argument is that there is no point to a discussion of Rolston on the Wings, due to his contract terms not matching up with what the Wings want this year. And also that he's a 2nd liner. Which he is. And a bona fide one at that.

You mean how 25% of his ice time can come from the PK and he can still manage 20-30 goals? Ok... Youre the smart guy that thinks Rolston is on a regular line with Gabby...

Rolston didn't play with Gaborik. He was centered by Todd White in his first 2 seasons with the Wild. He was then centered by Bouchard in his third season, and the internet this season was littered with quotes about how Rolston insisted that he and his linemates had no chemistry and how much he missed Todd White, who was his BFF. Rolston and Gabby are both RWs, and Gabby was centered by Demitra, and Koivu occasionally when Demitra went into one of his fits about hating to play center.

So youre basically saying Rolston can't kick Sammy off the point? Cause last time I checked, teams generally have 4 point men. And Kronwall's set up ability is equal to that of Johnsson or Burns'. As for your 20 minutes a game kick, why dont you bring up the fact that almost 4 of those 20 minutes in his time with Boston was spent on the PK? In fact, the only time in Rolstons last 3 years where he was with Boston when he had 19 minutes a game as opposed to 20, he had 3 minutes of SH time a game as opposed to 4. You're so intent on saying Rolston has always been a 1st liner, but you fail to acknowledge his distribution of ice time. In 03 with Boston, he was #5 in ES TOI, #4 in PP TOI, #1 in PK TOI In 02 with Boston, he was #5 in ES TOI, #3 in PP TOI, #1 in PK TOI In 02 with Boston, he was # 8 in ES TOI, #1 in PP TOI, #1 in PK TOI On the Red Wings Rolston would likely be #4 or #5 in ES TOI, #4 or 5 in PP TOI, and likely # 6 or 7 in PK TOI. So basically, your "he wouldn't get half the minutes in Detroit he has over his career" is again, a fallacy and a straw man argument. The majority of minutes you'd be taking away from Rolston in his time with Boston - a team thats offensive depth was much more comparable to the Wings today than Minnesotas is or ever was - would be PK minutes. Last time I checked, those aren't big stat padding minutes. Also, something I found rather interesting, is that in his last year with Boston, Rolston saw 2:48 average of PP TOI. Sammy saw 2:43 PP TOI this year. Rolston that year scored 31 goals. Sammy scored 11. Finally as for your suggestion that Rolston wouldn't get a minute more than anyone else on the 2nd PP unit is purely conjecture being used as fact. Rolston would be a better point man or slot man (using the wrister) than anyone else on the team. The only reason we have a steady degradation of ice time amongst 5 forwards after the first PP unit is because there are no standouts amongst Cleary, Franzen, Hudler, Flip, and Sammy. Franzen has only begun to rise to the top, but not long enough for it to come through in the season-long stats. Rolston is the better talent on the PP that any of those 5 players and would be a standout amongst those players. Babcock would recognize that and make use of Rolston accordingly, where Brian would likely be a mainstay to the 2nd unit while Babcock rotated the other 3 forwards on the unit again to see if anyone would claim that roster spot for good.

You think Rolston would get 15 minutes of ice time on the Wings? I guess if you really think he'd be our #8 forward. Johan Franzen came in #3 for the Wings, and he averaged nearly 18 minutes a game. Which is around what Rolston would likely average on any team with the Wings depth.

His TOI this season was 20:04. Hardly "well over". And before you jump on my back anymore, my point was never that the Wings should sign him. Purely that if they did - which they wont considering theres no way money or terms can be sacrificed to get the right deal here - he would be more than the oodles of mediocre 2nd liners we have here.

Straw man argument. When Ray Whitney signed with Detroit, he was the league leader in PP Time. That year - his last with the BJs - he was averaging 6:07 minutes of PP time. Of course his stats were going to go down. Just to show how prolific that is, Whitney was averaging 23 seconds more that year than the league leader in PP time this year. (Im not counting Micki Duponts 5:52 average since he only played 2 games). Thats significantly higher than Kovalchuk, Malkin, Crosby, Phaneuf, Ovechking, etc. And as a reference, Whitneys PP time went down to 2:35 with the Wings. (By comparison, if you were to cut Brian Rolstons PP time this year down by 3:32 seconds as Whitneys was in his switch to Detroit, he would average only 15 seconds of PP time per game, but thats neither here nor there.) That is a very inflated comparison. Tell me when Brian Rolston leads the NHL with 6 minutes of PP time and we can have this discussion. As for Brian Rolston, he averaged 3:47 of PP time with the Wild. Ironically, that would put him at 33 seconds below Tomas Holmstrom's 4:21 average, who sits third in PP time amongst Detroits forwards. Good enough for the #1 forward on the 2nd PP unit, which is exactly what he would/should be, despite the fact that hed likely be our 3rd most productive forward. As for the suggestion that Rolston's offensive production would suddenly fall off if he were to join the Wings, I fail to see how going from the defense first Wild who have terrible offensive support and as a group potted 34 fewer goals than Detroit did (and have averaged 42 goals fewer than Detroit in Rolstons 3 years with the Wild) is going to have some sort of incredible detriment to his scoring. At the very least that would compensate for some of the lesser PP time he would see on Detroit. And as for your "1st line" fallacy, he has only been on the first line in Minnesota where their offensive depth has only been decent in 1 of Rolstons 3 years. When he was with Boston, he was relegated to 2nd line duty, as Boston's first line was Samsonov-Thornton-Murray, and Murray was more or less a constant in Big Joes time with the Bs. So no, its not comparable to Ray Whitney's situation, and its a straw man argument to say Rolston will be nothing more than a 40 point producer in Detroit.