YoungGuns1340

Beauchemin will continue to improve, but Schneider is a far cry for Niedermayer in every category except offense, where he still isnt as good as Niedermayer.

I agree. I was hoping for Smyth, but this signing nixes that unless the Wings *know* Lidstrom will be retiring next year.

What worries me about that is that it wasnt until the end of the year that he decided to use his size. Hes in his early 30s, so Id be shocked to see him change his game at this stage of his career, but if his physical were to stick around, I sure as hell wouldnt mind. As for this signing, keep in mind that we dont know what management knows. Its very possible that Lidstrom has already had discussions with Holland and co. about his retirement plans, and he may have already told them that hes strongly considering retiring after this year. Theres a ton of information about the motives for signing that we dont know. Personally, Im glad we have a back up plan for when Lidstrom retires. Much better than standing there with your dick in your hand and not many solid options out there for defenseman as of now.

At least someones got their heads on straight. Lidstrom has talked about going back to Sweden tons of times over his career, and yet people think he and Cheli will be playing on for years to come.

Im not talking about Schneider. Im talking about the fact that, if you include Quincey, we now have 7 Dman, and none of them are as physical as Markov.

Yeah, actually Holland can ask him to take a paycut if its for the good of the team. Whats Lidstrom going to do? Hes not going to go to another team, and if he retires, it wouldnt be unexpected or too soon. And the likelihood of him winning any Norris after next year are unlikely. He may be the best Dman now, but hes not getting any better, while a slew of other Dmen in the NHL are. On a different note, Rafalski isnt a "top 4" Dman, hes a #2 Dman, and would be a #1 on some teams in this league.

Where do people get this s***? Zetterberg has 2 more years left on his contract. IF Lidstrom is around he WONT be making 7.6 and if Detroit cant give Lidstrom what he wants, then Lidstrom will retire. If he really wants to stick around a year or two more, hell take less. You people need to relax with the fatalism. If Schneider can get 5.5M at the age of 38, who says that Rafalski cant get 6M when hes 38 and the cap will likely be higher? And if you dont think Rafalski is worth 6M, you need to do your research. Hes an upgrade from Schneider. The only hardcore concern with this signing is that our defense remains small and non physical. Although its a little bit younger now.

I have mixed feelings about this. Rafalski is an upgrade from Schneider, IMO. Hes got great offensive skills, but great defensive skills too. He thinks the game like Lidstrom does, hes younger than Schneider, and hes less injury prone as well. Hes put up big points in NJ on a defensive minded team and will definitely benefit from playing with Schneider on the PP. All those are a plus. The length? Its easy to see why Detroit signed him to a 5 year contract. Lidstrom is no Chelios, and its very possible that he retires after this season, especially if we win the cup. Having Rafalski here for 5 years gives Detroit a lot of insurance. And BEFORE everyone freaks out about the 6M per price tag, keep in mind two things: Defenseman in the new cap era are continually overpaid, and should the cap number continue to rise, the price of Defenseman will too. 6M may look more like 5M next year. On top of all this, Rafalski is a champion. A guy that loves to win. Thats always a great thing to have on your team. However, this signing makes me a little concerned about the physicality on the blueline. Hopefully that will be addressed.

Kenny is probably the least likely GM to pannick in the entire league under this new cap. The two things Im thinking are the reasons for Rafalski being easier to get than Schneider are that Rafalski places a high emphasis on winning, so that limits his choices, and that hes younger than Schneider and might sign something like a 4 year contract for less money than he would if it were 2 years like Schneiders.

the higher the number, the more likely the rumor.

According to Spectors, Rafalski wants to go to a team where he can "win every night." Now that Schneider has gone with Anaheim, I wouldnt be surprised if hes looking seriously at Detroit.

Hannan has no offensive upside and hell still command at least 4M. We need someone who can put up at least 40 points from the blueline. No thanks.

Why? The cap hit is a lot lower than 10M and that means that in the latter years of his contract hell be making significantly less than the cap hit which will be easier to buy him out or trade him if they need too.

I wonder if this means Nylander is gone. Does anyone know if they can afford both?

About 10M

Yeah, people look at the offensive side and think its not that big of a loss, but Schneider isnt much of a PKer, nor is he the best defensively, and hes a helluva lot slower than Niedermayer for sure. But I think the biggest difference here is that Niedermayer was a machine. Not often injured and logging a ton of minutes. Schneider has become increasingly brittle and throwing that kind of money at him is risky at this stage in his career.

I agree, but Martin Biron is an underrated goaltender at this point. Stanley Cup Champ calibre? Doesnt look like it, but a good goalie nonetheless. As for defense, I still think Phillys defense is a little suspect even with Timmonen. Their back end will put up some points, but the stay at home defense is a little iffy.

I wanted him, but Id like Stuart better.

Too much money. With the way his body has been running lately, he wont be playing full seasons. Im glad Holland passed on offering up that kind of cash. Im not too sad about this one. Mathieu Schneider never fully fit in here, IMO.

Basically, all other 29 teams are waiting to see what happens with Briere, Drury, Souray, or Smyth.

Is that a rumor or did it really go down? If so, Florida got robbed.

7 for Briere, I can understand that, although I think if he goes out West, theyll find that they overpaid for him. The West isnt as offensive and on top of that, Buffalos the offensive powerhouse of the league more or less. I wouldnt be surprised to see his stats fall a bit. 7M for Rafalski is ridiculous. 5M for Schneider doesnt look so bad now.

I had a feeling thats why they werent going after Bert or Markov. Im not worried about Hasek, that deal will get done, but if you think about what Bert and Markov would command, thats the money for Ryan Smyth. Id rather have Smyth than both guys. As for Schneider, 5-5.5M? f*** that. Hes too old and getting more injury prone lately for that kind of money. Id rather see us go with Stuart or Hamrlik instead.

Souray will get at least 6M. He scores a ton of goals for a defenseman and has a physical edge along with leadership skills. Hes the most expensive UFA Dman right now. The next most expensive will probably be Rafalski, but hell probably take less to stay with the Devils. The next guy is Schneider. If he wants more than 5M, hes not worth it. The next group is Hamrlik and Stuart. Ideally, these guys are the Wings back up plan. Both guys have an offensive touch and like to rough it up and will likely cost 4M. After that, theres Preissing who shouldnt be as expensive because hes not really big or physical or a defensive mastermind at that, but I could see a team overpaying for him. The other option is a trade. Joni Pitkanen could be a choice, and a damn good one at that, although hed likely cost Kindl, a 1st rounder, and who knows what else. But if a deal could be swung to get him, it should be done. Hes only 23 and has all the tools to become a Norris calibre defenseman. The other less expensive option for Detroit, although a little risky, would be Derek Morris. Hes not real tall, but hes a big body whos really fallen on bad times after being traded to Phoenix. He had some really impressive years in Colorado, has a mean streak, and is 28 years old, when most Dmen really come into their prime. He costs 3.9M, but would probably be good for 50pts next to Lidstrom on the point, and makes up for some of the physical edge well lose without Markov.

Actually, a front-loaded contract helps a lot for a few reasons. 1) Like you said, the cap average is less 2) because if he absolutely sucks ass in the last 2 years, the buyout hit is less and 3) the last few years make his contract easier to absorb if we need/want to trade him. As for Lidstrom, Im glad you brought him up, because I think thats a big thing a lot of people are missing here. Lidstrom is already 37. Hes a family guy. Hes mentioned going back to Sweden plenty of times. He has a Conne Smythe, 3 cups, and 5 Norris trophies. He is nearing the end of this career. Im mentioning all of this not because of cap issues, although that is a concern, but because I dont think people realize how much Lidstrom has to do with our chances at winning the Cup. He is the backbone of this franchise, and its very possible that our best chance to win the cup in the coming years are those in which he is still part of the team. Not to mention our future in terms of goaltending is extremely uncertain after this years. Detroit already has 12 forwards, almost all of which proved themselves in the playoffs at one level or another. Likewise with the six defenseman we have and with Hasek as well. This team has chemistry, it has all the keys, and with Schneider and Smyth on the team, it gives us one of the most intimidating Powerplays in the league, perhaps the sole reason we werent the cup winners this year. IMO, Detroit should go hard after the cup this year while the cast remains much the same with a few upgrades. As for those considering the issues in the future with the contracts of Lidstrom + Zetterberg + Smyth + Datsyuk, I wouldnt worry too much. People keep on bringing up the issues of Tampa Bay, when in reality, Tampa Bay is doing just fine with their "lack of depth." Their real issue thats kept them out of the playoffs is horrific goaltending. I think for the next 3 years we can bank on the following people being a part of the team: Homer, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Filppula, Draper, Maltby, Lebda, Kronwall, Kindl, and Howard. Add Smyth, and lets see what a potential roster could look like in, say, 9/10, with the cap number at a modest raise of 52M. Filppula(1.7)-Datsyuk(6.7)-Homer(2.25) Smyth(5.5)-Zetterberg(6.75)-X(2) X(1)-Franzen(1.75)-Cleary(1.5) Maltby(.88)-Draper(1.3)-Kopecky(.75) Emmerton/similar Mcgrath(.5) Kronwall(3)-Lidstrom/X(5.5) Lebda(.65)-X(3) Kindl(.75)-Quincey(.65) Ericsson/similar prospect(.5) X(2.5)/Howard(1) All in all, it equals out to be about 49.5M. In case anyone is wondering, I based contract numbers off of recent signings of similar players. For example, Draper at 1.3 per given Pahlsson's signing of 1.4 per. Chris Higgins at 24 years old had 22 goals, about 40 points and signed a two year contract with a 1.7 Cap hit, which we might expect from Filppula this year. A similar player to Franzen might be Mike Grier, who pulled in 1.75 last year as a UFA. As for goaltending, we could expect Howard to either be starting, or splitting time in three years, meaning the 3.5M between the two goaltenders might be distributed more evenly, especially if Osgood decides to sign another 2 year sub 2M contract after this season to finish off his career in Detroit. Either way, its a hypothetical roster with many question marks, but its fairly accurate barring some random career year from an unlikely player. The point is, at any rate, that signing Ryan Smyth does not mean Detroit has to shrivel up once Zetterberg gets his raise in a few years. Sorry for the long post.