YoungGuns1340

3 year deal worth 7.95M. Worth 2.65 per. Too much for the Wings.

No. You clearly don't understand the analogy. A proponent of *** marriage is not blinded by an ulterior belief system, i.e. Christianity. Thats the point. Arguing with someone who already has their mind made up about soft, skilled Euros without from the beginning is akin to arguing about same-sex marriage with a Christian conservative because they've never been open to the alternative. Understand, now? And a pro-Hudler "slappy"? Like me? The one has has made trade proposals including Jiri Hudler? The one who said Jiri Hudler won't be a Wing if he wants more than 2.5M? Yeah, I'm so blinded. If anything I'm one of the few on this board who has been able to strike a balance in the Hudler debate. More like, I dont see the point of dropping a 57 point guy who might be willing to take 2.5M or slightly less to stay here when 2.5M doesn't even get you Sami Pahlsson and his 20 points. And I like Sami Pahlsson, too. If the Wings somehow managed to flip Jiri Hudler for Curtis Clencross or Rene Bourque, I'd be ecstatic. But until that happens, I'll stick with Hudler + Leino + Grinder, thanks.

No. This isn't about being against one thing or another. This about being blinded by your philosophy that you can't ignore it enough to open up your eyes to the other aspects of the debate.

I noticed that, too. I think its pretty clear at this point that Hossa wants no part of being the go-to guy. First Malkin and Crosby. Then Hank and Datsyuk. Now Kane and Toews. Looks like Hossa's biggest fear is being the guy that the spotlight shines on. Pretty much explains why the guy folded in the Finals when all eyes were on him.

Thats huge. If thats the kind of pussyfooting he did with Shero, then I can see why he left the Pens on such bad terms. Sounds like DL couldn't get a straight answer out of Hossa no matter what he did. Be a friggin man, Hossa. If you dont want to have anything to do with a team, tell them you aren't available. No need for them to waste their time.

Nope. Antropov and Bertuzzi? Those are the kind of players we shed before winning the cup. Absolutely no need for that crap. Wouldn't mind McCormick at that price though, or Gauthier, but not at 2M.

You answered your own question. Everyone hates Hudler because hes a midget. Thats it. Thats the end of it. If he was pure skill at 6'0, nobody would have a problem with him. Wings fans have a serious complex about small players.

To fill the hole of "takes stupid penalties, floats, drops the mitts twice a year, and will cost you a couple million"? No one.

AT LEAST 5. Hes made a name for himself as 1) a clutch playoff performer; 2) a goal scorer 3) A huge body with soft hands. He would've been the only guy of his type on the market. Remember what Ryan Smyth got?

Bertuzzi had one more fighting major than Hossa. Good pick, bud. Maybe we can ice a line featuring Jason Williams and Todd Bertuzzi, to your liking.

Franzen didn't start scoring til he was 30 because he started scoring when he was 28. And the reason he started scoring then was because he got temporarily promoted due to injuries and proved he could stay there. Williams, on the other hand, got his chance on the 2nd line, and after a season, proved he couldn't stay there.

Just out of curiosity, what makes you think hes signing for under $2M?

Havlat at 5M > Gaborik at 7.5 Both speedy, offensive monsters, similar age, and injury prone. One just costs a lot less. I like Havlat. I thought he was great in the playoffs.

Thank you for making me throw up a little in my mouth. Nice feeling.

Slow, takes stupid penalties, doesn't play defense, and is only physical on occasion. Sign me up for Bobby Lang lite!

Signing Hudler doesn't mean we can't have an enforcer. On the contrary - you should want the Wings to sign Hudler. Because if we sign him, that's all we'll have space for. Otherwise, you're basically asking Holland to sign semi-skilled, excel-at-nothing-in-particular type of players to fill out the bottom lines.

Oh, irony.

Who said the two had to be mutually exclusive? I'd rather sign Hudler - assuming its a number we can afford - and have him for the season with the option of using him as trade bait at the deadline then get screwed over at the deadline offering up picks and prospects at high deadline costs.

This is the irony of LGW. We get excited about the prospect of Colton Orr, while other teams roll their eyes, and we have it out for a 55 point forward because, well, hes small while other teams - and this is coming directly from the mouth of a Sharks fan - would be willing to trade Clowe's rights for Hudler's straight up. There ain't no other place like it in the hockey world.

I'm not surprised, but I was hoping that Kenny would pull a rabbit out of his hat, sign some no name player to a deal worth 545k, and have him turn out to be a 40 point producer a la Samuelsson. Fortunately, theres all summer long for that to happen

Who the f*** cares if they are more useful at even strength? The point is Hudler puts up points at even strength AND on the powerplay. Its not like we have to pick between one of Cleary, Filppula, and Hudler. We're choosing between Hudler or guys who can't even score in the double digits. At any rate, you and GMR shouldn't even be in this discussion, because your bias against small, skilled players doesn't allow you to think clearly. Its like arguing about same-sex marriage with a Christian conservative.

Can Filppula put up 50 points? Can Cleary put up 50+ points? Ok then... Hudler scores. Contrary to popular belief, thats more important that a guy who takes dumb penalties, which, mind you, we'll still have space for. Also, take a look around the league, and see how many teams have 6 players with more than 57 points. Hudler already IS a top 6 forward, regardless of where you stick him in the lineup. And thats the beauty of it. On the 3rd line, Hudler puts up 57 points. Lets just take a look at how much it sucks to have a 57 point forward on the 3rd line. 57 points among forwards would make Hudler: 4th highest scoring forward on Chicago 2nd highest scoring forward on Columbus 4th highest scoring forward on NYR 2nd highest scoring forward on Montreal 5th highest scoring forward on Boston 2nd highest scoring forward on Edmonton 4th highest scoring forward on Washington 4th highest scoring forward on Vancouver 5th highest scoring forward on Philadelphia 4th highest scoring forward on Ottawa 3rd highest scoring forward on Dallas Tied for 5th highest on freaking San Jose 3rd highest scoring forward on Pittsburgh Even on deep teams like Boston, San Jose, Philadelphia, Hudler is STILL statistically a top 6 forward. The fact that he can put up points worthy of a 2nd liner and ONLY take up 3rd line minutes doing it makes him that much more valuable.

Actually, they do exist. Hudler just won't be able to garner one in a trade, which makes MY point all the more important. 2.5M for 55+ points is a steal. Mmk thanks.

He put up 29 ESP in 871 minutes = 1 ESP every 33 minutes Cleary put up 34 ESPs in 973 minutes = 1 ESP every 34 minutes Filppula put up 36 ESPs in 1,084 minutes = 1 ESP every 33 minutes If you have issues with Hudler becoming a top 6 forward, then we have issues with a lot of guys being top 6 forwards.

This. This isn't about keeping Hudler at all costs. This is about retaining some offense from a team that just lost over 50 goals and 100 points. Add Hudler to that and you're looking at a loss of 75+ goals and 100+ points gone out the window. I'm dying to know what better way there is to spend $2.5M in this market. The only way it makes sense to get rid up Hudler is if we're trading him for a youngster who makes around 1M bucks and can put up 35-40 points.