YoungGuns1340

Danny Markov averages 54 games a season in his 10 year NHL career. The most games hes every played is 72. If Im calling a Dman tough as nails, he better be able to play at least 80 games per.

This is possibly the stupidest rumor Ive heard all year. Yzerman does this, and his entire reputation with the Red Wings organization would be tarnished forever. Try and think of a time where Yzerman ever exhibited disloyalty to the Wings, and youll realize how stupid this is.

Link A few interesting points: This is exactly the philosophy Burke shouldve used I really dont understand why Burke was willing to take a huge risk with Bertuzzi, but not willing to take a risk with Penner. A 5 year contract at 3.3M probably wouldve been a big enough pay day for Penner AND ended up as a bargain in the end, even on a 3-4 year deal.

Completely agree with this post. If theres one thing overrated about Markov from people on here, its his physicality. And like I said in an earlier post, the only reason Markov looks physical is because the Wings have no flashy physicality to compare him to. You want a physical defenseman? Look at Witt, Pronger, Regher, Exelby, Volchenkov, Vishnevski, etc. Markov is simply NOT THAT and his billing as our "physical defenseman" on the back end is a bit of a joke. Also, about Sutton. If this guy lowers his pricetag, then THIS would be our big Dman. Like you said, he makes his mistakes, but one thing I like about him is that hes a stay at home Dman. Markov sometimes forgot he was on this team to play defense and got caught trying to make the rush.

Detroits players arent the only ones subjected to cheapshots? Just off the top of my head...Robidas? Hollweg? Kaberle? Spacek? All those teams have at least one bona fide tough guy. IMO, we arent going to see much on this team in the way of fighters until Holland finds a guy that has at least 10 goal, 25 point potential. Keep in mind, Holland has had his eye on guys like Drake (even before he was past his prime), Mayers, Lapointe, and Witt, again just off the top of my head. IMO, THOSE are the guys I would love to see on the Wings. But Detroit has too many restrictions right now. A guy like Asham is gonna want more than 1M, and definitely more than just 1 year. I think people forget that Detroit is essentially in their rebuilding phase. Holland is at a point where he needs to figure out whether Quincey, Meech, Hudler, Kopecky, and Filppula are gonna rise to the ocassion or fall back. Similarly he has to figure out what Zetterberg is going to require and whether or not hes going to have to replace Lidstrom, or have to accomodate a new salary for Lidstrom. IMO, thats why we saw the signing of Drake. One year, waivable, and still brings a fighting element to this team, however weak that is.

I really challenge somebody to find 2 more videos with Markov making similar hits. I could show a video of Lilja fighting - doesnt make him an enforcer. And before anyone jumps on my back, I know Markov is a "physical" guy, but the only reason why he seems physical to Wings fans is because we have nothing else to compare him to. On 25 other teams in the league, Markov is AT BEST a middle-of-the-road physical presence.

Pretty crazy that he had possibly his best year in the NHL when he was paired with Lidstrom, huh? And nobody on here is a markov "hater" as much as they are Markov Realists

The only way Markov is worth 4M is if he plans to give 2M of it to Lidstrom, because hes half the defenseman without Lids. Im actually more interested in Sutton at this point, considering he probably realized hes not gonna get that 4 year 16M contract.

Detroit Free Press Obviously we wont be paying Lidstrom league minimum, but I dont think its any stretch to say that Holland could sign Lidstrom to around 5M per... I completely think Lidstrom will be the kind of guy that recognizes that Holland needs to give Zetterberg his due, and he wont want to put the Wings in a sticky situation with some big contracts and no depth..

Nope. Add me to the list of people that dont really care about the Leafs.

When Lidstrom threatened to go to Sweden, he was making 2M, had just put up 4 consecutive 57+ point seasons playing no less than 79 games in all of them, and had just been nominated for the Norris. He then went on to sign a contract for 6M, at which point MacInnis was making 5M, Bourque was making 6M, Chelios was making 5.5, Blake was making 5.3, and Leetch was making 7.6. Its not like Lidstrom used the Sweden tactic to get himself money he didnt deserve, he used it to get market money.

Priceless. All Bowman has to do is walk into the Leafs arena and suddenly hes going to become the next TML GM Props to the Toronto Media. They must get a ton of people to buy their magazines and papers.

Its crazy to spend a lot of money on your top 3 forwards and your top 3 Dmen isnt it?

saying "Bowman may take job with leafs" is more an opinion than "Bowman offered a job with the Leafs". At any rate, whatever..

Um, I dont get it....is that a joke?? ...Because Homer is getting paid 2.25M over the next 3 years.

Theres no Red Wing named Lindstrom. Datsyuk - 6.7 Zetterberg - 7 Homer - 2.25 Kronwall - 3 Rafalski - 6 Total = 24.95 I guess Lidstrom is going to sign a contract for 10.05M in 08/09 This article is written purely to stir the pot and give the media something to talk Red Wings about, since there is no other news. Whoever wrote this article has no clue what they are talking about. Theres no way Lidstrom is going to get 7.6 ever again, let alone 10 million at the age of 39. Youd have to be a terrible GM to not be able to talk Lidstrom down to around 6M at the end of his career, Norris Caliber or not.

Amen. Lebda was awesome all season. Its funny the memories people have on here. The only time Lebda wasnt playing well was in the playoffs. Why? Because he came back from an injury 2-3 weeks before he should have. Lebda is a steady defenseman with blinding speed and the ability to go end to end in need. He is more of an asset than Lilja, Quincey, and Meech..maybe combined. His ability to cover up for his AND others mistakes is uncanny. Dont think for a second that Babs pairs Lebda with Cheli simply for the hometown connection and for Lebdas benefit. Cheli has been caught in the zone and saved by Lebda more times than I can count. As for Markov, you hit the nail on the head, and described his physicality perfectly - spotty. Sure, he has thrown a few hard hits, but then there are games where hes no more physical than Lidstrom. I think people have an infatuation with him simply for the few (lame) fights he had. He benefitted a ton from playing with Lidstrom (as they all do). The way I see it, if Detroit is gonna be tossing money at yet another Dman, it better be a Dman that you know is going to play a physical brand of hockey night in and night out, not just a guy wholl throw the occasional open-icer to keep his reputation as a "physical" defenseman.

Kronwalls contract gets way too much flack on here. Detroit has every reason to believe that Kronwall will get over his injury woes a la Fischer and be back to status this year. Not to mention, Kronwall has thrived at every level of hockey when he has been given top minutes - with Markov and Schneider gone and only Rafalski coming in, hell likely see those big minutes. Kronwall was all he was billed to be in his first 20 games as a Wing. In those games he showed everything you expect out of a #3 and potential for more. Its funny how quickly people forget that. Its also funny how people can call Kronwall a crappy player when he hasnt even played a full season at the NHL level yet. I also think people dont realize that last year was essentially Kronwalls "rookie" year. I wouldnt be surprised if people are talking about how Kronwall earned his 3M paycheck this year. Theres no doubt that over the next 5 years (up til Kronwalls 31), Kronwall's contract will average out to be a complete bargain.

Thats exactly why he retired from Coaching in the first place. Joing Toronto would be a ton of work. And by the way, this thread title should be changed. Its very decieving. The article doesnt talk at all about Bowmans intentions with its job, but pure speculation on the part of the Globe and Mail, whom I thought had a rough track record as it is.

...or maybe you should just actually make it funny..

1) Buffalo doesnt negotiate contracts during the season 2) they always have a self-imposed salary cap 3) Its not about what Buffalo can offer Miller, but about Detroit being Millers first choice. As for the current Sammy v Cleary debate, Im starting to reevaluate players a little bit. I think Cleary could be a top 6 on this team (any team - no. Detroit - yes) since we didnt sign anyone, but I actually think Sammy will have a good year this year. I think health issues this year really set him back. You could see in the playoffs how Sammy started to get his groove back as the playoffs went deeper. And im no fan of Sammy, but I do think with Lang and Willy gone from the start of the season, Sammy could have a 50 point showing easily. As for Hudler, Im not really concerned about where this guy is going to fall in terms of line combos, but the more I think about it, the more I think Hudler really could do some damage on the PP as a sniper. He probably has one of the better wristers on this team and he definitely does have a great offensive mind and knows how to play the net. I really think this kid could be that sniper weve been looking for down low on the PP. (Cue all the people who'll bring up Hudlers size as an issue) Remember that most good snipers in this league arent big, physical guys. I really think we can get Hudler into a role where his job is to slip into the open spots unnoticed and let off a rocket shot. He wont attract much attention, and if Homer and Franzen/Cleary are going to be taking up their spots in front of the net, he could be good as a PP specialist. Ive always said that Detroit getting a top goaltender hinges on Lidstrom's retirement (and the cap going up, which is expected to happen again per spector). If Lids retires after this season, Kipper could be an option.

Very unlikely. Bringing in Pronger and retaining Burke does not = a very good job when he also lost Penner (whom he wouldnt have had to pay 4.3M if hed gotten his act together sooner), signed Bertuzzi to a fat contract for 2 years for doing all of scoring 3 goals in the regular season (and still being a question mark in terms of health), and signing Mathieu Schneider to a contract of only 500k less than what Niedermayer was making. Burke's tenure has been rocky AT BEST and the fact that he is the Stanley Cup Champion (of essentially Brian Murrays team) is the thing thats blurring everybodys vision.

It wasnt an OT turnover, it was 2 key injuries that wouldve cost any other team at least 2-3 rounds in the playoffs. The fact that the Wings battled through that is impressive enough. No doubt they wouldve finished Anaheim off if theyd have had Schnieder and Kronwall firing rockets from the point on those extended 5 on 3s instead of...Chelios, and...Lebda.

Just a thought, but maybe thats because the players mentioned are players with something to offer? I didnt see anybody saying OMFG KENNIE SING HIM NOW!!!!!!111!1 in the Brisebois thread. At this point, guys like Weiss and Cammalleri would improve the team. Fedorovs shot from the point would more than replace Schneiders. You get the point. Whether or not we SHOULD sign them is another story completely..

First of all, you must be the one consuming LSD filled cheerios because 1) Chelios is not one of the best defensive defenseman in the league. He is a great PKer, but that's as far as it goes. Theres a reason why he only sees big minutes when the Dman unit is depleted. (See 07 playoffs) He has plenty of lapses in the defensive zone that have cost Detroit many times. 2) Do you even know who Miller is?? First of all, he has played NHL games in 4 seasons, accumulated 129 games to his name, has already played 2 straight years as starter (48+ games each time) and has perennial - "yearly" since you don't seem to understand that 4 years=a series of years - stats of 2.72 and .909 and has YET to reach his prime. IF/when Detroit signs Miller itd likely be to a 4-5 year contract,which would put Miller in the midst of peak goaltending years: 29-33/34. 3) A separate point should be made simply for Millers playoff outings, because Ryan turns it up several notches in the playoffs and has for the past two years been the Sabres MVP in the playoffs, even with Briere and Drury hangin around. He has the swagger and competitveness that has cost Detroit recently in the playoffs. In addition to that, Miller has, through his entire 4 year career, played with a mediocre-at-best defensive unit in front of him. I realize some people don't understand this concept, since Detroit hasn't had a bona fide franchise goaltender in years, but having an elite goaltender means you don't have to have a D corps that is headlined by Lidstrom. 4) Are you blind? Because I CLEARLY accounted for a 4M winger and a 4M UFA Dman. The difference between a roster 2 years from now and todays roster is A- the forward lines would be better given that Hank, Datsyuk, Homer would still be there, Grigorenko and Flip would have 2-3 years under their belts, and there would be an additional forward of the 2nd line variety costing roughly 4M - think Jason Blake, David Legwand, Michael Ryder, Erik Cole. As for the Dman, you can consider a guy like Kuba, Stuart, Hannan, Norstrom, Mitchell. On top of that, mock rosters are always a give and take. UFA vets might take the place of rookies, and all of a sudden youd think the roster is complete just because you cant conceive of the fact that players might actually improve and not all end up like Kuznetsov. 5) Finally, my cap estimate was a modest raise. At the rate in which the Canadian Dollar is going, soon to match that of the US, and the continued competitiveness of the NHL and (at least) superficial improvement of big market teams, namely Philly and New York, the cap would probably be higher, which is why I left roughly 1M in cap space.